David, Elliott, Kurdt, and Mark from John W. Yost on Vimeo.

On March 6th, 2010 Mark Linkous, the lead singer of a band called Sparklehorse, (look it up for sure) shot himself in the heart outside a friend’s house. He had been drinking all day and had a history of drug abuse, depression, and alcoholism.

When I heard the news I cried.

I cried hard for a few minutes while listening to his song, “It’s a wonderful life” and looking out over the Hudson River from my office window.

It IS a wonderful life for some, and for others it can be rough; for some it’s downright unbearable. It’s funny how some folks, in some of the worst situations in the world, can stay optimistic. While some of us that don’t have it so bad, want to wrap their lips around a shotgun. But in both cases…human emotion is the only thing that’s real. It can warp time, outlooks, and good situations to bad.

I think the reason that the death of folks like Mark Linkous and Kurt Cobain hit hard, is the same reason that some people think Elvis is still alive. These singers, writers, and artists whose work have a relevant honesty and emotion seem like lighthouse tenders. People in the dark that you can relate to. We engage with their work and for a moment it is a wonderful life, it is doable, and someone out there, other than you, is in on it too. Sometimes that makes all the difference.

So I thought for a while and made the video below. It’s meant to be projected in large space all at once…with all four channels split onto their own screen. The audio would also preferably be 5.1.

It would also loop forever.

I think I made it as an attempt to understand, and to wish them back to life. Just like with those who think Elvis is still alive…if I believe hard enough…maybe they’re still alive.