Kozelek was born and raised in Massillon, Ohio. Upon relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, he met drummer Anthony Koutsos. After the pair moved once again to San Francisco, California, Red House Painters formed in 1989 with the addition of guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel. From 1992 to 1996, Red House Painters released a series of acclaimed albums, showcasing Kozelek's intense, highly autobiographical songs.
However, Kozelek's parting with the record label 4AD, followed by a major label merger which left Red House Painters' 1998 album Old Ramon on the shelf, proved highly frustrating and stifled the group's momentum. Kozelek opted to occupy himself with a series of idiosyncratic solo recordings as Red House Painters dissolved.
In 2000, he released the solo EP Rock 'n' Roll Singer, which featured three original songs as well as covers of John Denver's "Around and Around" and three AC/DC songs ("Rock 'n' Roll Singer," "Bad Boy Boogie," and "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me"). Two of the AC/DC cover versions on Rock 'n' Roll Singer were radical re-arrangements of the originals which removed the Bon Scott-penned lyrics from their hard rock context and placed them into gentle, acoustic "folk ballad" settings.
Kozelek expanded on this idea in 2001, releasing a full-length album comprised solely of AC/DC covers titled What's Next to the Moon.These new arrangements sounded so unlike the originals that a KCRW radio executive insisted that the title track was a Leonard Cohen song.
This was not the first time Kozelek had drastically re-arranged others' material to his own ends. With Red House Painters, he had previously done similar reconstructions with Simon & Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock," The Cars' "All Mixed Up," Yes's "Long Distance Runaround," Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs," and Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner."
In the years between his band projects, Kozelek's music made a number of appearances on compilations and tribute albums. He contributed the song "New Partner" to the Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) tribute album, I Am Cold Rock. I Am Dull Grass Around this time, Kozelek commandeered a tribute album to John Denver, entitled Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver, featuring Will Oldham, The Innocence Mission, and Low to name a few. The compilation also featured Kozelek covering "Around and Around" as a duet with Rachel Goswell.
A limited edition live recording, White Christmas Live, was released by the Sub Pop label in late 2001. In addition to his solo material, it featured several Red House Painters songs done in a stripped-down, acoustic guitar-and-vocals style, and one a cappella rendition. An early version of his current project Sun Kil Moon's "Lily and Parrots" is tacked on to the end as an uncredited bonus track. It also features one previously unreleased song, "Admiral Fell Promises."
Sun Kil Moon debuted with Ghosts of the Great Highway in 2003, and also features former RHP members Jerry Vessel and Anthony Koutsos as well as new collaborators Geoff Stanfield (formerly of Black Lab) and Tim Mooney of American Music Club. Their follow-up effort appeared in 2005 on Kozelek's newly formed label, Caldo Verde Records. Titled Tiny Cities, the album is made up entirely of covers of songs by Modest Mouse. Once again, Kozelek's cover versions varied greatly from the originals.
In 2006, Kozelek was invited by Toronto indie rock label Paper Bag Records to exclusively contribute to their See You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Ages compilation with his original song "Leo and Luna." Then in November 2006, Kozelek released a live album titled Little Drummer Boy Live. On the album's two discs, he plays songs from his solo career, covers, and material from the catalogs of both Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon.
Kozelek returned in 2008 with the release of Sun Kil Moon's third album April. The album features 11 brand new recordings, including guest vocal contributions by Ben Gibbard, Will Oldham, and Eric Pollard.
The release of the new album also brought the re-issue of Nights of Passed Over, a 256-page, hard-cover book of all the lyrics to Kozelek's solo songs, Red House Painters' songs, and Sun Kil Moon's songs. It also features setlists, handwritten lyrics, and a preface by Kozelek himself. The original edition of this book was released in 2002 in Portugal, and featured all the lyrics up to that point, printed in both English and Portuguese. The updated edition spans to his current Sun Kil Moon days, and the book also includes a 12-track bonus CD, titled Nights LP, featuring live and rare versions of songs dated 1996 to 2007. The edition is sold exclusively on his label's website link and is limited to 2,500 copies.
On December 9, 2008, Kozelek and Caldo Verde Records issued The Finally LP, a CD collection of 10 unreleased tracks, including covers of songs by Stephen Sondheim, Will Oldham, Hüsker Dü, and Low among others, as well as two previously unreleased instrumentals. Two newly-recorded live albums, Find Me, Ruben Olivares: Live in Spain and Lost Verses Live, followed in spring 2009.
On April 23, 2010, the release of Sun Kil Moon's fourth album, Admiral Fell Promises, was announced. The album was released on July 13, 2010.
A documentary film entitled Mark Kozelek: On Tour was released via Caldo Verde Records on August 16, 2011. The movie was filmed during portions Mark Kozelek's European/North American tours of 2010 and early 2011.
In 2012, an article at Queensberry-Rules.com by staff writer Mark Ortega detailed Kozelek's fascination with the sport of boxing, which inspired the name of his Sun Kil Moon project as well as a few songs on a Desertshore album.
“Their backgrounds are extremely harsh and they work very hard to move up in their careers. I was in attendance at the Manny Pacquiao-Agapito Sanchez fight in San Francisco in 2001. When I heard Sanchez was murdered shortly after, it had a profound effect on me. It hurts when anyone dies young, but when you see the backgrounds of these guys and the path they've taken to try to find some light in their lives, it hurts to see them die young.”
Bubble
Mark Kozelek Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know that we don't think along the same lines
But what do i do
When i can't reach out
Through this iron-built
Bubble of pain
Your house settled in deep country
Your house with a view of purity
Overlooks a hillside of green
Green as your eyes
I embrace the moment
I'm in love with a dream
And toy with ideas
That burn deep inside me
Cause a picture is all you are to me
A picture is all you'll ever be
I know you don't know me
A nervous, wordless face brings shade to your light
But i want so bad
To walk beside you but fall back into a world
Where i believe
I embrace the moment
I'm in love with a dream
And toy with ideas
That burn deep inside me
Because a picture is all you are to me
A picture is all you'll ever be
In Mark Kozelek's song Bubble, the singer expresses their feelings of isolation and the struggles faced in trying to connect with someone outside of their own inner world. The opening lyrics, "I know I don't know you, I know that we don't think along the same lines, but what do I do when I can't reach out, through this iron-built bubble of pain?" convey the theme of isolation, with the singer being unable to make a connection due to a perceived emotional barrier. The bubble imagery is consistently used throughout the song, as a representation of the singer's emotional state, conveying their inability to break free and reach out.
The singer describes a dreamlike image of a country home with acres of land and a stream, painted in vivid detail with green eyes, symbolizing purity and hope. There is a strong desire to be a part of this life that they can only imagine. Additionally, the lyrics "I'm in love with a dream, and toy with ideas that burn deep inside me" suggest a frustration with the inability to turn this imagined connection into reality.
The song closes with the repeated refrain "Because a picture is all you are to me, a picture is all you'll ever be," emphasizing the idea that the person being dreamed about may never be fully known or accessible to the singer, and must remain only an image in their mind.
Line by Line Meaning
I know i don't know you
I understand that we have not met before
I know that we don't think along the same lines
I acknowledge that we have different perspectives
But what do i do
I am uncertain of my actions
When i can't reach out
I feel unable to connect with you
Through this iron-built
Due to a strong sense of separation
Bubble of pain
A psychological barrier that causes distress
Your house settled in deep country
Your dwelling is located in a rural setting
With acres and a farm and a stream to cleanse me
There are open spaces and natural bodies of water around your home, which provide a sense of purification
Your house with a view of purity
Your residence offers a clear and unobstructed sightline to a pristine environment
Overlooks a hillside of green
It provides a vantage point from which you can see a verdant landscape
Green as your eyes
It is similar in hue to your eyes
I embrace the moment
I accept and cherish the present time
I'm in love with a dream
I am enamored with an idealized vision
And toy with ideas
I entertain thoughts
That burn deep inside me
That elicit strong emotional reactions
Cause a picture is all you are to me
Because I only have a mental image of you
A picture is all you'll ever be
That is all I will ever have of you
I know you don't know me
I am aware that you are unfamiliar with me
A nervous, wordless face brings shade to your light
My awkward and silent presence casts a negative connotation on your cheerful and radiant demeanor
But i want so bad
Despite the obstacles, I desire strongly
To walk beside you but fall back into a world
To be alongside you and yet retreat to a different reality
Where i believe
Where I have faith in a fulfilling future
Contributed by Muhammad B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Andy Vought
He's amazing...I can relate to his feeling of not being good at other things...I scrape by my day job...his bravery to get out there and do it is to be commended
Ian Zulick
Whenever I play open key, I feel silly just putting one finger down on a string (maybe that's just me) but seeing a legend like Mark Kozelek doing it makes me feel a little better about my own abilities.
redbreegull
I've never heard anyone complain about his voice before. It's one of my favorite voices.
sedantez24
From the heart.... beautiful - thanks for posting
sedantez24
What a legend!
Kyle S.
so damn good! thanks a lot for posting this.
Sean Eric Anderson
What a great talent.
Freddy Mullins
Koz has been a huge influence on my music and this song is one of my favorites of his cataloge....
Oana Puha
It's soo beautiful it makes me cry.
dtnyc5000
He may be battling depression from what it seems on this interview and like he points out is in now position to afford a rock-star entourage to keep him on his feet. I say he's success is already been acheived and proven - too bad this society won't pay you for being talented unless you kissed everyone's ass and make them all rich before you can even catch up with your rent.