#mark-kozelek — Public Fediverse posts

The bit that you skip #253: Red House Painters – Lord Kill The Pain

When I was a kid, I had this uncle who was a bit of a hero to everyone. He made the greatest parties, he always had a quick smile with a wink, could make the best drinks, and always made you laugh. The entire family was always there for gatherings at his massive house in an upscale neighborhood in Mexico City.

One day we went to a water park/spa about an hour or so from my house. While we were there, my brother spotted him by the train ride. He was with another woman and a baby. My dad and my mom hurried us away.

A year later, he was dead. A highway accident on the beautiful but hazardous Mexico – Puebla highway claimed him.

We all mourned him, but I was too young to put two and two together regarding the other woman and the baby. It wasn’t until years later when I was on a bus ride with my mom and my aunt that I found that my uncle had a second family and because there was no will, everything was being still fought for.

I felt horrible as I had him in this pedestal, but that’s my mistake. Never place anyone on a pedelstal.

I discovered Red House Painters through Elizabethtown, Cameron Crowe’s wildly uneven but lovable flick. For years I collected everything related to the project, and then whatever came from Sun Kil Moon. I saw Kozelek live in 2009 in Salford and although it was a brutal trip from Sheffield to there (due to train issues), I quite enjoyed his live show, even if the confrontational nature went beyond banter.

It wasn’t until 2014 than I got my first taste of how troublesome the fellow was. I was at SXSW, talking with a musician who I’ve recently interviewed. It was about half an hour after Kozelek’s set had finished. Kozelek approached us, saw me, and cut between us. “Great show” I said to him, and he barked a dismissive “thanks”. Between that, the way he treated The War on Drugs and the rambling, unfocused output Sun Kil Moon started churning out, I tapped out.

With the news coming out during the pandemic about Kozelek’s behaviour , I even started questioning why did I ever liked his stuff. You can pick a few red flags here and there in retrospective, and again, a person falls from a pedestal you dumbly placed them upon.

After the pitchfork article, I just decided to leave Kozelek’s music in the past. I might revisit a few of his albums from time to time, but, just like Marylin Manson’s output, I find it too hard to separate artist from the art. If y’all can do it, kudos, but I can’t in both cases.

Oddly enough, I had a terrible day yesterday and the first song that came into my head once I got into the car was Red House Painters’ Lord Kill the pain. “Kill my best friend Sam…” resonates as I type this and I still wonder where’s the line we draw and how we decide separations of artists and art. What’s our rubric? What’s the limit we set? And what does it say about us to keep consuming or avoiding this or that act?

A question for a better thinker and a better writer than me.

-Sam J. Valdés López

https://youtu.be/dn7NKsAftHg

This week’s #SundayFunnies leading road dogs and their crew are Fairuza Balk, Billy Crudup, Anna Paquin, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, John Fedevich, Patrick Fugit, Mark Kozelek, Olivia Rosewood and Noah Taylor
#AlmostFamous #FairuzaBalk #BillyCrudup, #AnnaPaquin #KateHudson #JasonLee #JohnFedevich #PatrickFugit #MarkKozelek #OliviaRosewood #NoahTaylor

Red House Painters – Old Ramon

Been a very long time since I've been in the mood for some Red House Painters-Then, suddenly, this feels like the only thing I can listen to. Just perfect.

When I bought this (around the time of the release, I think), I wasn't really ready for this style — too boring, I thought — and it took me about 10 more years to realize that I love everything they did.

Best track is of course the longest: River

#RedHousePainters #MarkKozelek #slowcore #cd #nowPlaying