Music Magnified

Mark Kozelek

with Matt Boyer

Debra A. Zeller

Mark Kozelek

Monday, July 11; Launchpad (21 and over): All should rejoice because the übergenius of rock melancholia, Mark Kozelek, is coming to town. He's the mind behind Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon, who I love. I mean, really love. Sometimes they make me feel like my heart is going to combust. This is partially because of the brooding and nostalgic tone of the lyrics combined with what sometimes initially sounds like conventional singer/songwriter and rock compositions but becomes something much bigger and more complex. It's rare when someone is able to create this kind of aurally stimulating, completelly penetrating, painful-in-a-good-way atmosphere. (Did that phrase sound a little dirty to you, too?) Maybe it's because he feels our pain. Or we feel his. Or maybe it's because he brings the pain, and we just have to submit to his majestic misery. As an interesting sidenote, Kozelek played the role of Stillwater bassist Larry Fellows in 2000's Almost Famous. That's almost awesome.