March 9, 2010 12:40

Patti Smith, Flaming Lips, Steve Albini pay tribute to Mark Linkous

'He was a good dude,' Albini writes of late Sparklehorse leader

Photo: PA Photos

Patti Smith, Steve Albini and The Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd are among those who have paid tribute to Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, who committed suicide on Saturday (March 6).

Writing on his Twitter account, Twitter.com/stevendrozd, The Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd wrote about his memories of spending time with the musician.

"Mark Linkous toured with us in 2003," he wrote. "Every night he and I would share a quiet moment with a shot of whiskey and a few laughs. A nice memory."

Albini, who said he worked briefly with Linkous, took to his messageboard at Electrical.com to write about the singer.

"I only worked with Mark for a couple of weeks, but he was as open, sincere and unaffected a person as I've ever encountered," he wrote. "He was completely unguarded and enthusiastic about the things he loved, and he gave the musicians he worked with freedom to be creative and excel. Prior to seeing him at work I'd never given his music much thought, but during those sessions he impressed me tremendously and I was really looking forward to seeing him again and finishing the record.

He added, "I have no idea what brought Mark to this decision, and I'm sure there's nothing I can say that will enlighten anybody about his death. I just wanted to say I thought he was a good dude and his art was genuine. I don't think there's a lot more you can ever ask of anybody."

Smith, meanwhile, wrote on Pattismith.net, saying that Linkous' songs were "dark like coal compressed into diamonds" before quoting lyrics from his song 'Hundreds Of Sparrows'.

Radiohead's Colin Greenwood paid tribute to Linkous yesterday (8).