Punk legend Patti Smith and THE Flaming Lips guitarist STEVEN DROZD have joined stars paying tribute to late rocker MARK LINKOUS.
The Sparklehorse musician's body was found in an alleyway outside a friend's home in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday (06Mar10). He had reportedly shot himself in the heart.
Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood left a touching tribute to his friend, branding the news "very sad", and now a host of other stars have spoken out about Linkous' death.
In a post on her official website, Smith called the musician's songs "dark like coal compressed into diamonds", before quoting lyrics from some of his tracks.
While Drozd writes on his Twitter.com blog, "Mark Linkous toured with us in 2003. Every night he and I would share a quiet moment with a shot of whiskey and a few laughs. A nice memory."
And legendary U.S. record producer Steve Albini adds, "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."