Comments on: Decade :: Sun Kil Moon, Ghosts of the Great Highway

By: James Preller’s Blog » Blog Archive » Music Video Weekend: Red House Painters, “Have You Forgotten?”

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:37:37 +0000

[...] as a way to revive interest in RHP, which had not met much commercial success. Their disk, “Ghosts on the Great Highway,” is fabulous. Highly [...]

By: Young Finance Guy

Young Finance Guy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:17:14 +0000

This is in response to the post about albums that shaped the decade but not in a list form and the posting schedule.

by having a decade as a parameter, it is a list. a list of one group (a decade) by name (in place of number) of author.

this may be the dumbest comment I have ever left. wow.

I think you guys have a cool life

By: Derek

Derek — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:13:42 +0000

I hadn’t listened to this in a while until seeing this post reminded me to take it off the shelf and put it on again. Man, I still love this music. It’s especially great in autumn and in the upcoming months of winter too… Now is a perfect time to appreciate this record’s classic beauty.

By: Charley

Charley — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:58:17 +0000

One of the only albums that I play the whole way through at least a couple of times a week, consistently since it came out. A rarity for me.

By: dpop

dpop — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:33:30 +0000

One of my absolute favorite albums! It’s been in my regular rotation since I first heard it – sometime in ‘03 or ‘04. I never grow tired of it. Perfect soundtrack for a rainy afternoon. And not only does the band’s name come from a boxer’s name, but many of the songs on Ghosts tell the stories of boxers with untimely and tragic deaths. (Thank you Internets!)

By: VW

VW — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:24:53 +0000

Made my day to see a record I love so much featured here. Nice to know others feel the same way – Peter, loved your “sonic ecology” description. And linear element to your description; I always felt that the impact of the record comes in part from a really strong thread strung throughout all of the songs.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:08:11 +0000

I really like Ghosts, but I’d forgotten how much I love Blue Guitar. Also, I never knew the name Sun Kil Moon was based on a Korean boxer’s name – thanks Google!

By: cbd

cbd — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:09:52 +0000

The difficulty in Ghosts lies not its initial accessibility but in being able to get away from its haunting themes and melodies even after you move on to the next cd. More often than not I find myself being dissatisfied and simply going back & relistening to Ghosts. The fact that songs as sonically diverse yet cohesive as Carry Me Ohio, Salvador Sanchez, Gentle Moon & Duk Koo Kim can be on the same cd is amazing. I’m not sure if I can annoint Ghosts as THE album of the decade, but its damn sure in the discussion.

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:10:23 +0000

I happened upon this album by mistake almost, really. Much like your journal analogy above. Never heard RHP before either. This album remains of my favorites of the last ten years. For those of you above who haven’t heard it yet, get it ASAP. I’ve gotten all the SKM work Kozelek has done since and as good as it is nothing touches Highway.

By: Megary

Megary — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:52:23 +0000

Equal parts Nick Drake and Neil Young. I always felt Mark Kozelek and Jason Molina were akin somehow, maybe not by blood but on some other plane. It’s no wonder I can’t stop listening to RHP, SKM, S: O and MEC.

By: Steve A.

Steve A. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:40:05 +0000

Carry Me Ohio is one my all-time favs. Great post!

By: EliCash

EliCash — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:11:16 +0000

Thank You for highlighting this record. Without a doubt, my favorite record of the past 10 years.

By: Kaley

Kaley — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:29:54 +0000

I’ve had April and Songs for a Blue Guitar for quite some time, and enjoyed them immensely. After hearing this, I definitely need to delve a little deeper into all things Mark Kozelek.

By: Matt Sokol

Matt Sokol — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:23:20 +0000

I’m not too familiar with Ghosts of the Great Highway, but the other album he did in this vein (Tiny Cities, featuring reinterpretations of Modest Mouse songs) was fantastic. I really need to check this out at some point.

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:16:28 +0000

A near perfect album. That word “Highway” in the title is apropos. Kozelek created an entire sonic ecology that stretches and unfolds like an empty road through wild land. Perhaps “album” is even the wrong word here. I’d suggest “soundtrack.”