What Sun Kil Moon Teaches Us About Death
After making some of the best alternative rock of the 90s and early 2000s, Mark Kozelek reinvented himself with his 2014 masterpiece ”Benji”.
Hailed as one of the best albums of the year, “Benji” showcased a surprisingly stripped-down sound, with the main focus being on Kozelek’s lyrics rather than the music. Traditional song structures were out the window and we were left with verse after verse of Kozelek’s inner monologues about every trivial thing.
However there is a dark, common thread running throughout this endless stream of consciousness: mortality. Death makes an appearance in almost every song, in one way or the other, as Kozelek sees the people around him dying, from loved ones to distant relatives, old friends and strangers.
In the end, “Benji” becomes Mark Kozelek’s attempt to make sense of mortality as a whole: a beautiful meditation on life, death, loss, and dealing with grief.
Truly deserving of all the praise it got.
00:00 Intro
00:51 Mark Kozelek: Early Years, Red House Painters & Slowcore
02:32 Sun Kil Moon
03:48 Benji
10:33 Conclusion
More album deep-dives: • ≈ Rock
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#sunkilmoon #benji #markkozelek #musicdocumentary #videoessay #musichistory #redhousepainters #slowcore #sadcore #alternativerock #indierock #folkrock #folk #spokenword #contemporaryclassical #grunge #blueoystercult #ericclapton #nickdrake #bobdylan
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Пікірлер: 23
This February marks the ten year anniversary of Sun Kil Moon’s magnum opus ”Benji”. What are your thoughts on this heartbreaking album? Comment below! 👇
@siridahlstrom
7 ай бұрын
My favourite track is "ben's my friend", i just love that he ends the whole album with, what it seems like, just a song about a nice day. I don't know it's something so sentimental about the drums and the guitar, it's difficult to explain. I also love "i watched the film...." in that song he really talks about his own melancholy and some things to relate to i think.. idk i'm done now haha
@AlbumAffairs
7 ай бұрын
@@siridahlstrom That's interesting, I also relate the most to "I watched the film...", his talk of melancholy in general, and the verses about him feeling sorry for a schoolmate he had hurt is basically the exact same experience I had back in high school. It hits hard.
Fantastic review mysterious Swedish man. Glad this channel popped up on my feed. Great stuff. Jim Wise is also a highlight for me on the album.
@AlbumAffairs
8 ай бұрын
Many thanks for the support!
Good on you for giving light to this beautiful album. There is a whirlwind surrounding Mark's public image but his album deserves to be remembered as one of the greats.
@AlbumAffairs
8 ай бұрын
If people pass on listening to Benji because they choose to believe everything they read on the internet, they'll sure miss out on a great piece of art. Thanks for watching!
@saulabbott-atchison6660
7 ай бұрын
Especially a pitchfork hitpiece
that is so very well put together. great video.
@AlbumAffairs
29 күн бұрын
Thank you mate!
Nice video, Kozelek is my favorite musician!
A lovely video about an amazing album by a beloved artist. Tack så jätte mycket från Malmö xx
got here via the BoC video, and it hurts to not see anywhere near the same numbers for your other work. keep going, you're touching on excellent, underrepresented topics. lustigt att så många från sverige hittat videon också.
@AlbumAffairs
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for the support, more vids coming up! Ja, det var överraskande med så många svenskar här faktiskt. Kul! :)
Thank you for this video! I absolutely love Benji and it is one of the mot heartbreaking albums, it's really unfortunate how unknown it is (especially in younger generations). Mark is an incredible storyteller and his devastating lyrics will follow with me forever i hope. It's really nice to hear other ideas about this album and see that some other people appreciate it as much as I do, tack så mycket från en fellow svensk :)
@AlbumAffairs
7 ай бұрын
Varsågod, kul att du gillade videon :) Mark truly is an amazing and super underrated storyteller, one of the best of his generation in my opinion. But I understand he's maybe a bit too difficult and melancholic for the majority of people, especially for the younger generation that has the attention span of a tin can 😅 Thanks for watching!
awesome video, thanks
@AlbumAffairs
Ай бұрын
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this video. It's so nice to see so much effort put into a video about a song writer who needs so much attention and study. On one hand it's nice to have seen him live and chatted with him and been apart of the small community that adores him, but he really deserves the credit for the amazing and oh so different take he has on music and lyricism. Last time I saw him live literally a foot from him he seems to be in a different stage in life. Yes he still has his edge but he feels so humble and grounded (He cried on stage twice in one show about how grateful he is for the life he has been able to live) I could go on forever about him, but what I guess I'm trying to say is that I really appreciate you making such a high quality and thoughtful video about him. I subscribed and can't wait to see what you talk about next....All the best, keep up the great work
@AlbumAffairs
7 ай бұрын
Wow, great story, thanks for sharing! And big thanks for the sub as well :) Do you have a favourite record of Mark?
@user-no7tz7sx5g
7 ай бұрын
Oh that's a tough one, it varies from time to time But as of now it's Universal Themes and Lunch in the Park@@AlbumAffairs
kan du göra om den här videon men på svenska eller?
@AlbumAffairs
6 ай бұрын
Kan lägga undertexter, att göra om hela tar lite för mycket tid :)