Red House Painters was the group of Mark Kozelek during the 90´s. I met them late, once the millennium passed away thanks to Rafa, a roommate in Santiago. I found the compilation Retrospective (4AD 1999) in between a pile of CD´s he left me to listen to. I remember playing it after eating, lying in my bed and the first chords of Grace Cathedral Park did the rest, the waltz rhythm of the bass, like the wave motion of a lullaby and the deep voice of Kozelek, romantic, and afflicted…
Punch drunk love, love at first listen.
It seems that there is a sad story behind, like the sepia colour of the album cover, the past has turned the colour into forgotten yellow, the figure of someone who was once important but could not be definitive – If there may exist the definitive.
The park in front of the facade of the Grace Cathedral is located in San Francisco and from it you can almost guess the bustling pier 39, the busy stands of crab and, if you go at night you will be surprised to hear the roaring sea lions? on the pontoons. In public parks abound Asian elderly practicing tai chi, quiet, like dancing in downtempo.
Perpendicular to the main facade of the cathedral is a building with a clearly symbol of Frenchmasonry (ruler, compass and a big G in it) recorded in frosted glass. Inside the cathedral there is a maze, an intricate labyrinth carved into the floor, tradition says that if you arrive into the center you will reach a meditative state, a hypnagogic trance, as it is… by listening to this song…
PS: In 2010 I was fortunate to hear Mark Kozelek live with only acoustic guitar at Heliogàbal in Barcelona, did not play this song, but he played Katy song one of the most beautiful songs ever written, It was a day to remember.
sterileneutrino 