Good Morning Spider
By Sparklehorse
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Track listing
Show track credits
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drums
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songwriter
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cornet
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songwriter
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vocals, cello
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- 3 Saint Marylyrics 4:00
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songwriter
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violin
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vocals, cello
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- 4 Good Morning Spiderlyrics 1:10
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harmonium, songwriter
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songwriter
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vocals, cello, songwriter
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- 5 Sick of Goodbyeslyrics 3:32
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guitar, drum machine, producer, songwriter
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piano
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songwriter
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- 6 Box of Stars (Part One) 0:33
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songwriter
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violin
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vocals, cello
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vocals
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songwriter
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violin
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vocals, cello
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bass
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drums
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songwriter
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songwriter
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- 10 Come On Inlyrics 3:48
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songwriter
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violin
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vocals, cello
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- 11 Maria's Little Elbowslyrics 4:17
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songwriter
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songwriter
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- 13 All Night Homelyrics 3:43
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pedal steel guitar
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songwriter
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- 14 Ghost of His Smilelyrics 3:11
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songwriter
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- 15 Hundreds of Sparrowslyrics 2:27
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drums
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songwriter
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vocals, cello
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- 16 Box of Stars (Part Two) 0:49
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songwriter
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violin
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vocals, cello
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songwriter
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vocals, cello
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- Total length: 52:16
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
6 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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Good Morning Spider [p] Digipak
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Good Morning Spider Digipak
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Good Morning Spider Digipak
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Good Morning Spider Digipak
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Good Morning Spider 180 gram, 33 rpm
48 Reviews
A completely odd masterpiece that meanders from song to song and style to style -- sometimes while the other song is still going on -- like an unholy (or should that be holy?) mix of Astral Weeks, Murmur and Rain Dogs. Ninety-five per cent of the time I believe this to be a work of genius, and the other 5 per cent I think it a colossal waste of time.
Published
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When is the cost of art too much? This is very, very good. But I still wish he could have instead been a happy man.
Published
Hate to say that this is my least favorite Sparklehorse album as it is quite often a fan's favorite. It's the release most likely to go unnoticed in the background, the entire thing is a giant ball of fuzzy undistinguished sound, which while it does sound warm, it is a bit frustrating trying to make sense of it all. Perhaps the sonic frustration is due to Mark's own frustrations after a near dead experience and tons of hospital time. Having said the negative, the positive is that it will never annoy you, it's interesting enough if you pay close attention to it, it seems to be well enough written and generally decent. Even through all the fuzz and wash you can pick out some brilliant pop sensibilities. Also the experimentation with loops, synths and horns make thing a little more interesting than ordinary fuzzy shoegazey stuff. "Chaos of The Galaxy/Happy Man", "Ghost Of His Smile" and "Come On In" were my favorites, but the album sort of works best the way it's set up as it flows well and each song sort of makes sense in relativity to the next. Definitely worth getting, but get _It's a Wonderful Life_ first perhaps.
Published
Not really an Indie guy
Not a fan of the whole "Indie" sound, but I think this mostly works well for me because there's a mix of other sounds. I certainly need to be in a particular mood to listen to some of the songs on this record. Nevertheless, I found my listen very enjoyable and recommend giving it a listen, Interestingly enough, I did not care for the opening and closing tracks, and ending tracks are usually my favorite.
The highlight track is definitely "Chaos of the Galaxy / Happy Man."
Published
I've discovered a new sense of purpose in my word doodles/art. What you could call a spark of non-capitalist ambition. And it so happens my rediscovery's predicated on abandoning bad music. Letting go of a slew of media absorbing vital space, stuff sitting there fomenting visual pollution and psychic trash. Out it goes.
Sparklehorse stays. Good Morning Spider stays. A tragic album by a tragic artist given rejuvenation through application: the soundtrack to a re-beginning. I dedicate this fresh doodle to you, Mr. Linkous. May you rest easy, wherever your matter dwells.
Sparklehorse stays. Good Morning Spider stays. A tragic album by a tragic artist given rejuvenation through application: the soundtrack to a re-beginning. I dedicate this fresh doodle to you, Mr. Linkous. May you rest easy, wherever your matter dwells.
Published
The more restrained tracks are generally good, and after the devastating opener "Pig", there is a long and pretty interesting sequence of them. But towards the end these increasing regular noise outbursts rather ruin the flow.
Die eher zurückgenommenen Stücke sind generell gut, und nach dem niederschmetternden Opener "Pig" kommt eine lange und recht interessante Abfolge davon. Zum Ende hin ruinieren die zunehmenden regelmäßigen Noise-Ausbrüche den Flow allerdings ziemlich.
Die eher zurückgenommenen Stücke sind generell gut, und nach dem niederschmetternden Opener "Pig" kommt eine lange und recht interessante Abfolge davon. Zum Ende hin ruinieren die zunehmenden regelmäßigen Noise-Ausbrüche den Flow allerdings ziemlich.
Published
Is he calling himself stupid to me?
I did not ask for it, but Mark Linkous just gave me a slice of himself. It's heavy, I'm sad, and I don't know what to do with it. Rest In Peace, Mark.
Published
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Personal tragedy is the cornerstone of many a heartfelt record, yet touching on its intricacies and scale, while remaining totally authentic, tends to transcend the reach of most artists. Good Morning Spider is a reminder of the unbridled power sincere honest songwriting can have: turning misery into catharsis.
Following his near-death collapse whilst on tour, Mark Linkous started his bumpy road to recovery. After a lengthy treacherous hospital stay, he had to reface his once trounced opioid addiction if he ever wished to regain some sense of normality, and while he pushed on in the face of pain and loss, the scars left behind were to hound him for the rest of his life. The culmination of this abrupt turmoil and Linkous’ prudent reflections can be found hidden in the attic amongst the cobwebs. Rummage through the stacks of packed away boxes, between the vinyl-wrapped photo albums and forgotten family heirlooms, and uncover a dusty unassuming music box. And after you blow away the sawdust and start to wind the crankshaft, the notes of Good Morning Spider come pouring out.
From the get-go, we're greeted with this extremely charming lo-fi whimsical vocal and jangly guitar that gives way to the shot of adrenaline in ‘Pig’. As Linkous lays out his desperate plea to have his old body back, spilling with disgust and discontent, the stark candour of what’s to come is set. ‘Painbirds’ sulks in with hazy resigned vocals, heavy-hearted lead lines and sunken melancholic instrumental passages, retreating into a cosy fuzzy cave to hide from the rain, while more intimate tracks like ‘Saint Mary’ show Linkous’ frailty and candidness with his close brush with death in its slow half-awake slumber. How deep these wounds lie are revealed on the confronting ‘Come on In’ as Linkous prays to be free from the constant pain of life and to escape in peace, after tracks such as ‘Good Morning Spider’ inform us of the inescapable bleak standstill of his life, waking up foggy to only spot a spider and to prepare for another miserable day.
The more dressed up moments on the album while equally earnest and troubled, allow for a moment to come up for air in between emotional gut-punches. ‘Sunshine’ has an idealistic carefree wander with of a level of acceptance in our individual insignificance and cherishing the moment, while ‘Ghost of His Smile’ disguises its disparaging sentiment behind a bouncy funhouse of lo-fi synths and zany walls of distortion. Twofer ‘I’m Sick Of Goodbyes’ and ‘Maria’s Little Elbows’ flex Linkous’ alt-country muscles to conceal painful emotion behind a masterful display of catchy pop songwriting. And rounding off the record, ‘Hundreds of Sparrows’ and ‘Junebug’ find Linkous at peace, seeing some solace at the end of the road through their quaint sombre tenderness.
But the heart of Good Morning Spider lies in ‘Chaos of the Galaxy / Happy Man’, a breathtaking realisation of form and subject. From capturing his will to fight through the staggered entry of its crashing instrumental, to its falter and inevitable hopelessness, again returning back to the woozy crackle of its electric piano. Further, the humanity of ‘Chaos of the Galaxy / Happy Man’ shines through its charming intricate sound play between radio transmission, studio creaks and the ablaze beacon at the core of the track. There is no escape from the heartache and pain in this track. Linkous’ unhinged desperate vocals and frenetic guitar lines grab you by the throat and demand you see how he yearns for normality; to get away from the darkness.
But he can’t.
And that is the crushing reality behind Good Morning Spider. It reels you in with its subdued quaint songwriting and overwhelms you with its potent messaging around loss, misery and the dangerous beast which is hope. Behind the soothing sonics is the bleakest of torment: a man’s desire to regain the normality that was unjustifiably ripped away from him.
To be happy.
Following his near-death collapse whilst on tour, Mark Linkous started his bumpy road to recovery. After a lengthy treacherous hospital stay, he had to reface his once trounced opioid addiction if he ever wished to regain some sense of normality, and while he pushed on in the face of pain and loss, the scars left behind were to hound him for the rest of his life. The culmination of this abrupt turmoil and Linkous’ prudent reflections can be found hidden in the attic amongst the cobwebs. Rummage through the stacks of packed away boxes, between the vinyl-wrapped photo albums and forgotten family heirlooms, and uncover a dusty unassuming music box. And after you blow away the sawdust and start to wind the crankshaft, the notes of Good Morning Spider come pouring out.
From the get-go, we're greeted with this extremely charming lo-fi whimsical vocal and jangly guitar that gives way to the shot of adrenaline in ‘Pig’. As Linkous lays out his desperate plea to have his old body back, spilling with disgust and discontent, the stark candour of what’s to come is set. ‘Painbirds’ sulks in with hazy resigned vocals, heavy-hearted lead lines and sunken melancholic instrumental passages, retreating into a cosy fuzzy cave to hide from the rain, while more intimate tracks like ‘Saint Mary’ show Linkous’ frailty and candidness with his close brush with death in its slow half-awake slumber. How deep these wounds lie are revealed on the confronting ‘Come on In’ as Linkous prays to be free from the constant pain of life and to escape in peace, after tracks such as ‘Good Morning Spider’ inform us of the inescapable bleak standstill of his life, waking up foggy to only spot a spider and to prepare for another miserable day.
The more dressed up moments on the album while equally earnest and troubled, allow for a moment to come up for air in between emotional gut-punches. ‘Sunshine’ has an idealistic carefree wander with of a level of acceptance in our individual insignificance and cherishing the moment, while ‘Ghost of His Smile’ disguises its disparaging sentiment behind a bouncy funhouse of lo-fi synths and zany walls of distortion. Twofer ‘I’m Sick Of Goodbyes’ and ‘Maria’s Little Elbows’ flex Linkous’ alt-country muscles to conceal painful emotion behind a masterful display of catchy pop songwriting. And rounding off the record, ‘Hundreds of Sparrows’ and ‘Junebug’ find Linkous at peace, seeing some solace at the end of the road through their quaint sombre tenderness.
But the heart of Good Morning Spider lies in ‘Chaos of the Galaxy / Happy Man’, a breathtaking realisation of form and subject. From capturing his will to fight through the staggered entry of its crashing instrumental, to its falter and inevitable hopelessness, again returning back to the woozy crackle of its electric piano. Further, the humanity of ‘Chaos of the Galaxy / Happy Man’ shines through its charming intricate sound play between radio transmission, studio creaks and the ablaze beacon at the core of the track. There is no escape from the heartache and pain in this track. Linkous’ unhinged desperate vocals and frenetic guitar lines grab you by the throat and demand you see how he yearns for normality; to get away from the darkness.
But he can’t.
And that is the crushing reality behind Good Morning Spider. It reels you in with its subdued quaint songwriting and overwhelms you with its potent messaging around loss, misery and the dangerous beast which is hope. Behind the soothing sonics is the bleakest of torment: a man’s desire to regain the normality that was unjustifiably ripped away from him.
To be happy.
Published
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