Mark Kozelek

[patient_ot]

I saw him play recently on the current tour, just him and his guitar. It was a good show. Unfortunately I only got to see the second half of his set, but he played for awhile. The crowd seemed into it other than a couple calls for old RHP songs.

[version sound]

I understand that it makes the most economic sense for him to tour on his own without a band, but it's kind of a bummer. The last time I saw him (2008ish) was a solo acoustic show and it was good, though a bit shambolic. The last RHP tour, on the other hand, was straight-up amazing. I like him solo, but I'm not going to see him again without a band. I've already seen it and heard it on endless live CDs.

[FormerLurker]

Aight, tell me where to start with RHP.

[version sound]

Aight, tell me where to start with RHP.

I actually think that he got better with each record and peaked around Ghosts or April, so I'd say go for the last two RHP records, Songs for a Blue Guitar and Old Ramon. They're all good, but I relate less to the young-and-forlorn vibe of the first few as a married middle aged man.

[FormerLurker]

Is this weepy/mopey indie rock like Sebadoh or actually good, rocking stuff like Come?

[patient_ot]

VS, I also saw the final RHP tour (in 2001 or 2002?) and agree that it was really good. I hadn't seen him since then until this recent show, so perhaps I'm not as burnt out on him as others that have gone to see him many more times. He did take breaks here and there and did some talking, but it wasn't bad or anything. He also did some acapella tracks, which surprisingly worked well. I'm sure he has his on and off nights.

I haven't kept up with all his solo releases and such. I thought Ghosts and April were great too. At the show I bought four discs, two live ones, "Admiral Fell Promises" and the collab disc with Jimmy Lavalle.

I did think Benji was good, but I haven't given it as much stereo time as it deserves. I'll probably put it on some time this week.

[patient_ot]

Is this weepy/mopey indie rock like Sebadoh or actually good, rocking stuff like Come?

It's nothing like either of those artists.

[patient_ot]

Aight, tell me where to start with RHP.

If you want to hear RHP, and not his SKM or solo stuff, I would actually suggest this 2xCD anthology. The first disc is a "best of" and the second disc is odds and ends that's actually really good. One of my favorite songs, Waterkill, is actually unavailable anywhere else. It's a good deal for all the music you get even if you end up buying all the RHP albums later.

http://www.amazon.com/Retrospective-Red ... e+painters

Amazon shows this out of stock for some reason, but you can grab a used copy cheaply I'm sure.

[patient_ot]

I actually think that he got better with each record and peaked around Ghosts or April, so I'd say go for the last two RHP records, Songs for a Blue Guitar and Old Ramon. They're all good, but I relate less to the young-and-forlorn vibe of the first few as a married middle aged man.

I love Blue Guitar, and Old Ramon is good, but I prefer the first two Sun Kil Moon albums (not the Modest Mouse cover one, I don't count that) over Old Ramon.

[version sound]

Is this weepy/mopey indie rock like Sebadoh or actually good, rocking stuff like Come?

It's nothing like either of those artists.

Yeah, it's more like Neil Young mixed with Nick Drake. My biggest complaint with RHP is that he sometimes didn't know when to end a song, so the longer songs can drag a bit. Luckily, there's only one or two of those per album, at most. His songwriting got much more succinct with SKM. If you've heard the SKM stuff, you already know what RHP sounds like, more or less.

[version sound]

I actually think that he got better with each record and peaked around Ghosts or April, so I'd say go for the last two RHP records, Songs for a Blue Guitar and Old Ramon. They're all good, but I relate less to the young-and-forlorn vibe of the first few as a married middle aged man.

I love Blue Guitar, and Old Ramon is good, but I prefer the first two Sun Kil Moon albums (not the Modest Mouse cover one, I don't count that) over Old Ramon.

Me too. I've been a fan since the self-titled RHP (rollercoaster), but I think Ghosts and April are as good or better than anything RHP did. RHP were a great BAND, which is what they have over SKM, which is basically MK alone or with anyone else he chooses to back him.

[FormerLurker]

This thread has been sufficiently informative. Thank you.

[crus]

I thought he was a dick when I saw him live. He spent way too much time tuning his guitar and had nothing interesting to say and sometimes nothing to say while he was tuning. I'm still a big fan of Down Colourful Hill but wouldn't see him live again. The reviewer for the local newspaper thought he was great after reading his review I was sure I went to different show despite knowing I saw the writer at the venue.

[patient_ot]

When I saw him, he did need to tune his guitar between certain songs, but he didn't take too long to do it, and it didn't detract from the show IMHO. I'm assuming the tuning is necessary because some of the songs are were composed/recorded in different tunings. He had to switch his guitar back and forth between "rock" and "classical" postures for certain songs as well. Also, he had no guitar tech and used the same guitar the entire show, so I can't really fault him too much for this.

[JGJR]

I thought he was a dick when I saw him live. He spent way too much time tuning his guitar and had nothing interesting to say and sometimes nothing to say while he was tuning.

It wasn't unique to that show. I'll leave it at that.

[version sound]

He's a grumpy and somtimes bitter middle aged dude. Kinda goes with the territory.

[yourenotevil]

He's a grumpy and somtimes bitter middle aged dude. Kinda goes with the territory.

this should be the daghouse tagline.

[JGJR]

He's a grumpy and somtimes bitter middle aged dude. Kinda goes with the territory.

Sure, but I didn't quite mean it that way.