The band is described, along with Low and American Music Club, as one of the linchpins of the slowcore movement, a subgenre of Indie Rock characterized by downbeat melodies, slow tempos, and often minimalist arrangements. The genre was shaped by musical influences like Folk Rock, Contemporary Folk, and later on, Indie Folk, creating a subdued atmosphere that clashed against most of the comparatively brash Alternative Rock that was popular at the time. Kozelek used this group primarily as a vehicle for his very personal and emotional songs of despair, pain and suffering.
While in Atlanta, Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. He then moved to San Francisco, adding guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel to complete the line-up for Red House Painters. After forming, the group played the San Francisco scene extensively, and recorded demos from 1989 to 1992, building up an impressive amount of material. Once they were signed to 4AD Records in 1992, they put out five-and-a-half LPs worth of material in two-and-a-half years--between September 1992 and March 1995, they released three LPs, one double LP, and one EP on 4AD.
Their first 4AD release was an album made up of select demos titled Down Colorful Hill. It was a compilation of haunting melodies complemented by Kozelek's eerie yet rich and emotional vocals. In 1993, the group came out with two self-titled records (now commonly referred to as "Red House Painters I" or "Rollercoaster" and "Red House Painters II" or "Bridge" (based on their cover artwork), solidifying Kozelek's reputation as a talented songwriter with their harrowing autobiographical tales of his troubled life and errant living with no punches being pulled. The music, which ran the gamut from beautiful acoustic folk-rock to intense, dissonant, lengthy soundscapes, effectively conveyed the sadness of the lyrics.
In 1994, they released an EP entitled Shock Me and in 1995, the introspective Ocean Beach, which saw Kozelek's songs becoming more acoustic-based and folk influenced, and featured far less of the lengthy, dreamlike epics of the group's first two albums. His lyrics also showed a considerable shift in tone, as he increasingly began to write about the power of memory and the significance of geography, a subject that would become an obsession in his subsequent recordings.
While Kozelek was beginning work on a solo project, he parted ways with 4AD Records after a somewhat tumultuous relationship. Entitled Songs for a Blue Guitar, which was released on Island Records subsidiary Supreme Recordings in 1996. It was more of a guitar-driven rock album that they released under the Red House Painters name to give the album more publicity. A year later, they came up with Old Ramon, arguably their most accessible, optimistic recording to date. However, major label mergers during the late 90's would leave them without a record label, and it wasn't until 2001 that they were able to release the album on Sub Pop.
Prior to the release of Old Ramon, Kozelek released a solo six-song EP entitled Rock 'n' Roll Singer in 2000. The record was comprised of three original acoustic compositions with minor full-band arrangements and three covers: two AC/DC covers from the Bon Scott era and one John Denver cover. Following the release of the first solo EP, Kozelek released his first solo album six months later. The record, entitled What's Next to the Moon, was released in January of 2001, but would greatly surprise fans. What's Next to the Moon was comprised entirely of shimmering, melancholy acoustic AC/DC covers from the Bon Scott era. The record was also greatly uncharacteristic of Kozelek (though he was prone to enjoy covering songs by his favorite artists) in that it is the shortest full length to date clocking in at just over thirty minutes. Even the first Red House Painters album with only six tracks was more than 45 minutes in length. Both solo albums were released by Badman Records.
4AD would release the best-of package, "Retrospective", on a double-disc in 1999. Kozelek subsequently organized and appeared on a John Denver tribute album, played a part in Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous and also appeared as a rock musician in the Steve Martin vehicle Shopgirl. He contributed to both a benefit album for AIDS and an album of classic rock covers.
In 2003 Kozelek and Koutsos, along with Geoff Stanfield and Tim Mooney, reformed as Sun Kil Moon, releasing the acclaimed album Ghosts of the Great Highway on Jetset Records. In a 2005 interview with The Onion's AV Club, Kozelek confirmed that he considers Sun Kil Moon essentially the Red House Painters, but that he changed the band name to grab the interest of critics who had gotten bored with, or stopped paying attention to, the Painters. The move was successful, as Ghosts of the Great Highway would be his best-selling album yet, while garnering extremely positive reviews.
Helicopter
Red House Painters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It said, "I want to show you new clouds and new sky
From shore to sun we'll soar like one
Brave martyr pilot
So that I can know you
Outside our cold-winded earth
Feel part of your desolate pain
At once with your oddness you enlighten
My slow unnurtured brain
Be mine for a day
Let your lids shut out that bad focus
To die in a storm
Holding you in my last hour
Our burning flesh will blow over
Some nightmare sea
Daylight won't find a trace
Where heaven finds us
Living eyes won't find a sign
Where peace will hear our prayers
The Red House Painters’ song Helicopter is a poignant and haunting composition that touches on themes of isolation, longing, and transcendence. The opening lines of the song describe a helicopter crashing onto a “calm virgin island,” offering the singer a chance to leave behind the familiar trappings of “our cold-winded earth” and experience a new perspective. The pilot, described as a “brave martyr,” seems to symbolize the yin to the singer’s yang, serving as a guide on this journey of discovery.
Throughout the song, the singer expresses a desire to connect with this guide on a deeper level, to “know” them intimately and understand what has made them “grow.” There is a sense of protracted loneliness here, and the singer seems to view this relationship as an opportunity to escape the confines of their own mind, to experience life in a way that they might not be able to on their own.
Despite the soaring imagery of the first half of the song, there is a palpable sense of fear and unease that creeps in towards the end. The apocalyptic vision of the two lovers dying in a storm and their “burning flesh” washing up on a “nightmare sea” is a stark contrast to the initial promise of transcendence. There is a sense of finality to this ending, of a love affair that will remain forever incomplete.
Overall, Helicopter is a striking exploration of human connection and the often-tenuous bonds that hold us together. It is a song that speaks to the fragility of our existence, but also to the potential for transcendence and the transformative power of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Helicopter falls to my calm virgin island
A helicopter lands on a peaceful, undeveloped island where the singer resides.
It said, "I want to show you new clouds and new sky"
The helicopter promises to take the singer on a journey to discover new sights and experiences.
From shore to sun we'll soar like one
The helicopter and the singer will fly in unison, experiencing the thrill of soaring high into the sky.
Brave martyr pilot
The pilot is being hailed as a courageous and self-sacrificing hero for their willingness to fly the artist to new heights.
So that I can know you
The helicopter journey will help the artist get to know someone or something better.
Outside our cold-winded earth
The helicopter ride takes the singer away from the harsh, cold realities of everyday life on Earth.
Feel part of your desolate pain
The singer wants to share in the pain and suffering of another person or thing.
Taste what has made you grow
The artist wants to understand the experiences that have helped someone or something grow and develop.
At once with your oddness you enlighten
The strange and unusual aspects of someone or something can be enlightening and teach the artist something new.
My slow unnurtured brain
The artist feels like their mind is not fully developed or educated.
Be mine for a day
The singer wants to possess or control someone or something for a short period of time.
Let your lids shut out that bad focus
The artist wants someone to temporarily forget their worries or troubles by closing their eyes and blocking out negative thoughts.
To die in a storm
The singer imagines dying in a violent, chaotic way.
Holding you in my last hour
The singer wants to be close to someone or something that they care about in their final moments.
Our burning flesh will blow over
The singer imagines their bodies being burned up in a storm or explosion.
Some nightmare sea
The artist imagines dying in a tumultuous or frightening body of water.
Daylight won't find a trace
The artist believes that no evidence of their existence will remain in the wake of a catastrophic event.
Where heaven finds us
The singer imagines their souls going to heaven after they die.
Living eyes won't find a sign
No one will be able to find any indication of the singer's existence after they have died.
Where peace will hear our prayers
The artist believes that their peaceful prayers will be heard after they have died and gone to heaven.
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Mark Edward Kozelek
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind