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.”
Things Mean a Lot
Mark Kozelek Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My feet can't make the hill
To the top where your house hides.
Tomorrow she comes,
The one who I've sworn and broke loyalty
To take your place in the bed next to me.
You threaten to make me dead,
Scares you to know that we won't be
Watching the same sun
Or brooding the same thoughts
In the same part of the world.
Scares me how you get older,
How you forget about each other.
Scares me how you get older,
How you forget about each other.
Things mean a lot at the time,
Don't mean nothing later.
Things mean a lot at the time.
The lyrics of "Things Mean a Lot" by Mark Kozelek speak of regret, fear and the passage of time. The song starts with the image of a failed climb, unable to reach the top where the person's lover resides. Instead, they are anticipating the arrival of someone else who will take their place in bed, a replacement that only reinforces this sense of defeat. The imagery is used to reflect their sense of failure and defeat in their romantic life.
The next part of the verse is focused on a conversation, a threat of death, and the futility of all preceding actions, particularly because death would put an end to any possible narrative arcs in the singer’s life. Both lovers seem locked in their own spheres, unable to connect or experience the same things. The sun becomes a symbol of the unbridgeable gap between them. This contrast is effectively used to convey a sense of distance, of not being able to understand what the other is experiencing.
The chorus is the repetition of the phrase "Things mean a lot at the time, Don't mean nothing later." This line is a reflection on the passage of time, on the way in which perspective and the value placed on certain experiences shift over time. The song highlights the importance of not taking things for granted, of living in the present moment, and cherishing what one has while it lasts.
Line by Line Meaning
A descending climb.
An oxymoron that describes the feeling of being on a downward spiral.
My feet can't make the hill
The singer is unable to reach their destination, suggesting a feeling of defeat.
To the top where your house hides.
The destination is a person's home, which could represent a place of safety or security.
Tomorrow she comes,
The artist is anticipating their lover's arrival the next day.
The one who I've sworn and broke loyalty
The artist betrayed their significant other with someone else.
To take your place in the bed next to me.
The new lover will physically replace the significant other in the singer's bed.
You threaten to make me dead,
The significant other has made a severe threat against the singer's life.
And none of this will matter or surface again.
The significant other may be trying to erase everything that happened between them and the artist.
Scares you to know that we won't be
The significant other is scared of the idea that they and the artist will not share the same experiences anymore.
Watching the same sun
The idea of not sharing the same sun highlights the physical distance between the two.
Or brooding the same thoughts
The singer is possibly referring to shared beliefs or values that they and the significant other once had.
In the same part of the world.
The artist and the significant other will not be in the same location anymore.
Scares me how you get older,
The singer is scared of the significant other growing old without them, suggesting a fear of abandonment.
How you forget about each other.
The singer is also scared of the significant other forgetting everything they shared and experienced together.
Things mean a lot at the time,
The singer acknowledges that things hold significance in the moment they occur.
Don't mean nothing later.
However, the artist recognizes that as time passes, the significance of events can fade away.
Things mean a lot at the time.
The artist repeats the idea of events holding meaning at the time they occur.
Contributed by Oliver R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ebony LightRain Vampire
A descending climb
My feet can't make the hill
To the top where your house hides
Tomorrow she comes
The one who I've sworn and broke loyally
To take your place in the bed next to me
You threaten to make me dead
And none of this will matter or surface again
Scares you to know that we won't be
Watching the same sun
Or brooding the same thoughts
In the same part of the world
Scares me how you get older
How you forget about each other
Scares me how you get older
How you forget about each other
Things mean a lot at the time
Don't mean nothing later
Things mean a lot at the time
Olivia Andonian
This album has a body count.
Zaphyra
damn
Ebony LightRain Vampire
A descending climb
My feet can't make the hill
To the top where your house hides
Tomorrow she comes
The one who I've sworn and broke loyally
To take your place in the bed next to me
You threaten to make me dead
And none of this will matter or surface again
Scares you to know that we won't be
Watching the same sun
Or brooding the same thoughts
In the same part of the world
Scares me how you get older
How you forget about each other
Scares me how you get older
How you forget about each other
Things mean a lot at the time
Don't mean nothing later
Things mean a lot at the time
Jordan Andrew Jefferson
Mark has written some of the saddest songs that have oddly enough given me much peace...
lukerr87
So stunning. The echo on "Watching the same sun" gives me chills. Every. Time.
hi there
No. I refuse to accept being brought down by this song....I gotta think positive...I just always go back to this song when I'm feeling down...but I guess it helps to remind myself that things mean alot all the time...
Travis Carver
Remember what you wrote: things mean a lot ALL-THE-TIME.
bladeer
alex relax hope you're holding up
sedantez24
One of the great, under-rated, song writers
ludvik199t
this is absolutely my favorite :D so great song. pure as hell!