Mark Linkous, a singer-songwriter whose music, released under the name Sparklehorse, was renowned in the indie-rock and alt-country worlds for its dark, allusive themes and fragile beauty, committed suicide on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn. He was 47.

He shot himself in the heart in an alley outside a friend's home, said his manager, Shelby Meade. Lt. Greg Hoskins of the Knoxville Police Department confirmed that the police responded to a call at 1:20 p.m., and that Mr. Linkous was pronounced dead at the scene. According to his family, Mr. Linkous owned the gun that he used. [NY Times]

PREVIOUSLY: Sparklehorse's most recent album features Vic Chesnutt

Mark Linkous' dramatic, lush music often came from a place of pain. In 1996, Linkous actually died for two minutes after ingesting a dangerous mix of Valium and antidepressants while on tour in the U.K. behind Sparklehorse's 1995 debut Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. He recovered, but the incident left him crippled -- he laid unconscious for 14 hours, cutting off circulation to his legs. He suffered a heart attack when medics attempted to straighten his legs, and underwent seven surgeries to save his damaged limbs. But after the incident, he recorded 1999's Good Morning Spider, 2001's It's A Wonderful Life and 2006's Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain. "For a while there, I was really scared that when I technically died -- which I guess I did for a few minutes -- that the part of my brain that allowed me my ability to write songs would be damaged," he told Rolling Stone in 1999.

Linkous most recently teamed up with Danger Mouse and director David Lynch on Dark Night of the Soul, a multimedia project that was tied up in legal issues with EMI; just this past week, Danger Mouse and the label resolved their dispute and agreed to let the album come out as it was originally intended. [Rolling Stone]

Mark Linkous, who spent 6 months in a wheelchair after his near death experience, committed suicide on on Saturday, March 6th 2010. Fellow tortured and talented singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt spent 26 years in a wheelchair before he took his own life and passed away on December 25, 2009.

Sparklehorse co-wrote, co-composed and co-produced Dark Night of The Soul with Danger Mouse (whose most recent collaboration is called Broken Bells). Each Dark Night track features a special guest. Track 8 is Vic Chesnutt. That song & the full Dark Night tracklist, below...

Continue reading "Sparklehorse's most recent album features Vic Chesnutt (Dark Night of the Soul is finally being released)"

Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse has committed suicide, according to a report from Rolling Stone. His family has released a statement reading, "It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There's a heaven and there's a star for you." [Pitchfork]

"Linkous' publicist confirms he was nearly finished with a new album that was due on Anti- Records."

R.I.P.

Continue reading "Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse), RIP "

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Portishead

With a new album reportedly coming out in April 2008, Portishead are officially back in action. They proved that this weekend by playing not one, but two reunion shows at the ATP Festival in Minehead (Dec 8-9, 2007). Portishead also curated the shows that included Aphex Twin, GZA, OM, Oneida, A Hawk & A Hacksaw, Boris, Black Mountain and many others. BV correspondent Zach Dilgard was on hand to take pictures. He caught the second Portishead show (night two), and he had this to say....

everyone was amazing. Portishead played about 1/2 old stuff and 1/2 new material. all of the new songs were monstrous.

aphex twin played a solid 2 hours with material i've never heard before. everyone was dancing like crazy... the floor was literally shaking the whole two hours from everyone bouncing.

Aphex Twin

More photos, videos & reviews, below......

Continue reading "Portishead, Aphex Twin, GZA, Thurston Moore & more @ ATP - pics/video/review"