Sparklehorse: The Horse Fascination

Looks like a serial killer but makes great pop music.

Mark Linkous has an odd fascination with horses, which often causing creepy head scratching results. That is not such a bad thing. It is very refreshing from the crap that Clear Channel pollutes en masse on our air waves. Give me an odd horse reference with a Beatles-esque backdrop over the bloated "Hey, we're hardcore Goth wannabe punk bullsh*t" bands (Creed, Good Charlotte, etc...) any day of the week. So how odd are these horse references? Well in Apple Bed, Mark proclaims:

I wish I had
A horses head
A tigers heart
An apple bed

I admit that I wish I had these things too. Can you imagine what yours truly could do with a tiger heart? I would be the talk of the town for sure! An apple bed? Forget about it! You don't want to mess with a f*cker with an apple bed. Another example of horse obsession is from the excellent Comfort Me:

Dreamed I was born on a mountain on the moon
Where nothing grows or ever rots
I dreamed that I had me a daughter
Who was magnificent as a horse

I won't even try to explain my own daughter-horse dream. It is way too graphic and bizarre for this blog. It was beautiful in a way that only a crack addict could explain advanced Calculus. Anyways, these bizarre lyrics provide a very dreamy backdrop to the often beautiful pieces that Mark pens. It elicits a few chuckles while the music pulls at your heart strings.

Mark chose a very straightforward cover for his new album.

I'm happy to report that Mark has beaten his vices long enough to release his new album: "Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain," which is his first in 5 years (September 26th). Good stuff. You can hear some of the new tracks along with some old on his myspace page. I guess the best way to describe Sparklehorse is... Well it's like Ween and Grandaddy got together and decided to write tunes in the vein of Wilco, but with much more heart. Some have said Flaming Flips. Hmmm... that could be with all the electronic beats.

Sparklehorse Album Reviews:

VivaDixieSubmarineTransmissionPlot
(4.5 out of 5):
This album is quite a triumph. Fun, exciting, bizarre, and a excellent place to begin for a new listener. Some Day I will Treat you Good is such a great alternative rock tune. There are plenty of other great standouts on the album. It reminds me a bit like Ween's excellent Chocolate and Cheese album in that it tries so many different styles.

Must Hear Tracks
Some Day I will Treat you Good
Sad and Beautiful World
Tears on Fresh Fruit
Saturday

Good Morning Spider
(4 out of 5)
Put in a few hard rockers add a ton of ballads, and a few mid-tempos. This album is not as cohesive as "VivaDixieSubmarineTransmissionPlot" and "It's A Wonderful Life." It does however have some of the best Sparklehorse tracks.

Must Hear Tracks
Pain Birds
Pig
Sick of Goodbyes
Cruel Sun

It's A Wonderful Life
(4.75 out of 5)
This album could almost be a soundtrack to your dreams. Slow, strange, beautiful, and the most cohesive album to date. Only those who like atmospheric pop should apply. For some reason, people either love it or hate it.

Must Hear Tracks
Comfort Me
King of Nails
Piano Fire
Apple Bed

Tags:
* comedy * humor * funny * silly * entertainment * pop culture * Sparklehorse * Mark Linkous
* Ween * Chocolate and Cheese * Flaming Lips * Wilco * Grandaddy * Beatles * alternative rock
* music * album review * indie rock * alt-country * atmospheric pop * horses * lyrics * odd
* weird * strange * Clear Channel * punk * Good Morning Spider * It's A Wonderful Life
* VivaDixieSubmarineTransmissionPlot * Some Day I will Treat you Good * Sad and Beautiful World
* Tears on Fresh Fruit * Saturday * Pain Birds * Pig * Sick of Goodbyes * Cruel Sun * Comfort Me
* King of Nails * Piano Fire * Apple Bed