Though the musical components of Sun Kil Moon’s Benji rarely amount to more than Mark Kozelek’s voice and acoustic guitar, its lyrical universe is incomparably vast, spanning countries and decades, populated by dead relatives, high school friends, indie-rock peers, serial killers, and corporate-franchised eateries alike. Like the catalog of samples heard on the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, the production credits on Yeezus, or the movie-credits-length list of people who’ve played in the Fall, a supplementary directory of references is required to fully appreciate its magnitude. So here’s a track-by-track breakdown of just about everything that Mark Kozelek talks about on Benji. It's like Wikipedia, but with all the happy topics deleted.
01. "Carissa"
Carissa: Mark Kozelek’s second cousin, who died last year at the age of 35 in a freak accident involving flammable waste. And as we soon learn, it’s not the first time a member of the Kozelek clan has perished in such a fashion—Carissa’s grandfather (Kozelek’s uncle) was also killed by an exploding aerosol can. The last time Kozelek saw Carissa alive was at his funeral.
Brewster: A village in Ohio (population: 2,112 according to the 2010 census) located about an hour south of Cleveland. This is where Carissa lived, and died. She was discovered in her yard by her daughter, one of two children she raised as a teen mom.
330: Area code of the Canton, Ohio area from which Kozelek hails.
Wadsworth: Small Ohio city (population: 21,567 in the 2010 census) located about a half hour north of Brewster. This is where Carissa worked as an RN. Other notable Wadsworth natives include astronaut Michael Foreman and Warrant drummer Steven Sweet.
02. "I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love"
Mark Kozelek’s mom: She’s 75, and the closest friend Kozelek has.
Scrabble: A classic board game that Mark Kozelek likes to play with his mom.
03. "Truck Driver"
Mark Kozelek’s uncle: The same one referenced in “Carissa”, he died in a fire on his birthday, “redneck that he was, burning trash in the yardway.”
Domino’s: The preferred pizza provider for Kozelek and his cousins when staying over at his aunt and uncle’s.
Happy Days: Comedy series created by Garry Marshall that aired on ABC from 1974-84. A favorite among the Kozelek clan.
Mark Kozelek’s aunt: The widow of the aforementioned uncle, who once nursed a hornet sting on Kozelek’s foot using baking powder.
Navarre: Village in Ohio (population: 1,957 in the 2010 census) where Kozelek’s aunt still lives. Family gatherings at her home involving acoustic-guitar singalongs would inspire Kozelek to become a musician.
KFC: a.k.a. Kentucky Fried Chicken—the fast food of choice served at the funeral for Kozelek’s uncle (“and that’s how he would’ve wanted it”).
04. "Dogs"
Katie Carlin: The first girl Mark Kozelek ever got to first base with, at the age of five. She reacted by hitting him. From that day forward, Mark Kozelek was petrified of blondes.
Patricia: The first girl Mark Kozelek ever got to second base with, in grade six.
"Dogs”: Seventeen-minute opus (for which this song is named) that takes up most of the first side of Pink Floyd’s 1977 albumAnimals. Also, the song that was playing when Mark Kozelek hooked up with Patricia, making it possibly the only time anybody’s gotten horny while listening to Roger Waters sing.
Shelley and Amber: The first girls Mark Kozelek ever got to third base with, at the same time. For his generous efforts, they rewarded him with a bath.
Mary-Ann: The first girl Mark Kozelek ever went all the way with.
Mary-Ann’s friend: The first girl Mark Kozelek tried to go all the way with.
"A guy with sweat bands and a pick-up truck": The dude for whom Mary-Ann dumped Kozelek. After she hit him with the news, dude drove Kozelek home.
Deborah: A woman Mark Kozelek dated who lived by a canal and made him eggs for breakfast.
Red Lobster: Seafood chain restaurant where Mark Kozelek went on at least one date with Deborah.
Tangier:“The premier wedding, banquet, and entertainment center in Northeast, Ohio”—for those dates when Red Lobster seems déclassé.
05. "Pray for Newtown"
James Huberty: Gunman who, on July 18, 1984, killed 21 people and injured 19 in a shooting rampage at a McDonald’s in San Ydidro, California. (A police sniper took him out.) He hailed from Kozelek’s hometown of Canton, Ohio.
Safeway: Supermarket that Mark Kozelek was leaving on July 22, 2011 when he heard about....
The Norway massacre: Coordinated attacks on a summer camp and a government building carried out by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik that claimed 77 lives.
Seoul: South Korean capital city that Kozelek travelled to (by way of Beijing) in the summer of 2012. At his hotel, he turned on CNN and heard about…
"The Batman Killer": a.k.a. James Holmes, who, on July 20, 2012, opened fire inside a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12.
Monteleone: Historic hotel in New Orleans’ French Quarter that Kozelek stayed at in December 2012. While watching TV in his room, he heard about…
Shootings at a Portland mall: This refers to the events of December 11, 2012, wherein 22-year-old gunman Jacob Taylor Roberts killed two people and wounded a third at the Clackamas Town Center before killing himself.
Newtown: Connecticut town where, on December 12, 2012, 20 children and six adults were murdered by Adam Lanza, who then shot himself. A letter from a fan in the town purportedly prompted Kozelek to write this song.
06. "Jim Wise"
Jim Wise (real name John): A friend of Kozelek’s father who is under house arrest, awaiting trial, for mercy-killing his wife. He attempted to take his own life afterward, but the gun jammed, and he "failed at suicide."
Panera Bread: National bakery-café chain from which Mark Kozelek and his father order some take-out before visiting Jim Wise. However, as we learn later on in "Ben’s My Friend", the elder Kozelek’s reasons for frequenting Panera go beyond their fine roast-beef/asiago sandwich.
’90 Corvette: Jim Wise’s car, which he is forbidden from driving.
Mansfield Prison: Ohio correctional facility where Jim Wise will likely serve time. (Not to be confused with Mansfield Reformatory, the notorious and now-shuttered prison where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed.)
The Doors: L.A. classic-rock icons who can be found in Jim Wise’s record collection.
Stevie Nicks: Ditto.
07. "I Love My Dad"
Mark Kozelek’s dad: Kozelek loves him, despite his dad’s occasional tendency to teach lessons using his fists.
O’Douls: Non-alcoholic beer that Kozelek will nurse while his friend has a Guinness.
The Berkeley School: Private Montessori school in California that, according to Kozelek, has “only one black kid.”
They Only Come Out at Night by Edgar Winter: Hit 1972 album from albino blues-rocker that spawned the FM-radio staples "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride". Also, the album that Mark Kozelek’s dad uses to teach his son not to judge people by the color of their skin (or lack thereof).
Billy Breslin: Mark Kozelek’s dad’s friend (and a fellow wrestling fanatic) whose handicap taught the young Mark Kozelek the importance of caring for those in need.
Steubenville: Small Ohio city (population: 18,659 in 2010 census) where Billy Breslin lived (though, sadly, the city is best known for this).
Sears: Department store where Mark Kozelek’s dad bought him his first guitar.
Nels Cline: Renowned avant-rock guitarist who’s played with the likes of Wilco, Thurston Moore, and Mike Watt. This is the second time Kozelek has mentioned Cline's name in song, though this instance is slightly more flattering than the last one.
Mike Tyson vs. Ricky Spain: Title fight in June 20, 1985 that ended with Tyson knocking out Spain in the first round. When it came to father-son fights in the Kozelek household, Mark often played the role of Ricky Spain. 
08. "I Watched the Film 'The Song Remains the Same'"
The Song Remains the Same: 1976 Led Zeppelin film that intercuts footage from a 1973 Madison Square Garden concert with fantasy sequences starring each individual band member. It was a fixture of the repertory midnight-movies circuit in the days before VCRs; Kozelek first saw the film at such a screening in Canton.
Jimmy Page: Led Zeppelin guitarist whose mahogany double SG transfixed the young Kozelek.
Peter Grant: Led Zeppelin’s notoriously surly manager, who makes several memorable appearances in the film. He passed away in 1995.
John Paul Jones: Led Zeppelin’s bassist and keyboardist. Kozelek was especially fond of his dream-sequence scene.
John Bonham: Led Zeppelin’s drummer, who passed away in 1980.
"Rain Song": The shimmering second track on Led Zeppelin’s 1973 album House of the Holy. Despite his love of “the roaring Les Paul” and “the thunder of John Bonham’s drums,” Kozelek admits he was drawn to more atypically quiet songs like this one, and…
"Bron-Yr-Aur": A brief, folk-inspired acoustic instrumental that appears on the band’s 1975 double-album album Physical Grafitti (not to be confused with “Bron Yr-Aur Stomp” from Led Zeppelin III).
"No Quarter": Another brooding Kozelek favorite that first appeared on Houses of the Holy.
Friend who was thrown from his moped: A classmate of Kozelek’s who was killed when a truck rear-ended him.
The girl who sat in front of Kozelek in remedial: Another classmate who perished in a vehicular accident.
Mark Kozelek’s grandmother: And another death Kozelek had to cope with at a young age. (We learn more about her story later on in "Micheline".)
"Some undeserving boy": A kid that Kozelek sucker-punched on his elementary-school playground just to look cool. He still feels really bad about it.
"My band": That would be Red House Painters, the celebrated folk-gaze group Kozelek fronted from 1989 to 2001.
"A friend who lives in the desert outside of Santa Fe": That would be Ivo Watts-Russell, co-founder of the U.K.-based label 4AD that released the Red House Painters’ breakthrough albums. After selling his share of his label to the Beggars Banquet label in 1999, Watts-Russell relocated to New Mexico to completely distance himself from the music industry. Kozelek recently paid him a visit in to say thank you “for discovering my talent so early.” (Another reference to this trip appears later on in "Ben’s My Friend".)
09. "Richard Ramirez Died of Natural Causes"
Richard Ramirez: a.k.a. The Night Stalker, the serial killer/rapist who embarked on a violent home-invasion spree from Los Angeles to San Francisco over the course of 1984-85, killing 13 and torturing many more. He was sentenced to death in 1989, but appeals delayed his execution indefinitely. In 2013, he died of lymphoma-related complications at the age of 53.
Peter Pan: Actual name of Ramirez’s final victim, a 66-year-old resident of the San Francisco suburb of San Mateo.
Tenderloin: The San Francisco district where Ramirez claimed his first victim, nine-year-old Mei Leung.
Bristol Hotel: San Francisco hotel where Ramirez camped out during his killing spree.
"A flight from Boston to Cleveland": A reference to Kozelek’s trip back home to attend his cousin Carissa’s funeral.
Jim Jones: Cult leader who incited a mass suicide of 909 of his followers, and the murders of several others, in Guyana in 1978.
Elvis Presley: The King’s death also makes an appearance on Kozelek’s running list of terrible events that made the news when he was a kid.
Ayatollah Khomeni: Iranian leader at the center of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
Ronald Reagan: Kozelek’s references the former president’s near-death in 1981 at the hands of assassin John Hinckley Jr., who, as legend has it, was reportedly just trying to impress Jodie Foster.
Mark Denton: An old friend of Kozelek’s who died of a heart attack.
Ben: Another old friend of Kozelek’s currently employed as an electrician.
Mary: Ben’s sister, who married…
Jim Evans: A pool shark by trade.
"Those Sexton kids": Former neighbours of the Kozeleks who were subjected to unspoken indignities in a house "that was the scariest of them all."
SFO: Airport code for San Francisco International Airport.
Mark Kozelek’s girlfriend: The person Mark Kozelek is most looking forward to spending a three-month break with, between making a record, fixing his kitchen, and hiring a plumber.
James Gandolfini: "Sopranos" star who died last year at the age 51, which is the same age as…
"The guy who’s coming to play drums": Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth.
"Some airline crashed and two people died": That would be Asiana Flight 214, which crashed on approach from Seoul into San Francisco on July 7, 2013.
10. "Micheline"
Micheline: A girl Kozelek knew from childhood whose "brain worked a little slower than the others."
Paul McCartney: This is a rare instance on Benji where Kozelek drops a name simply as a simile, describing Micheline as smiling "like she just got Paul McCartney’s autograph." (Such an acquisition would make Kozelek happy, too—he covered McCartney’s "Silly Love Songs" on Red House Painters’ 1996 album, Songs For a Blue Guitar.)
"A neighborhood thug": The deadbeat asshole boyfriend who made off with Micheline’s welfare checks and lifesavings. He’s currently serving life in “a Florida penitentiary with his father, both of them for murder.”
Brett: An old high-school friend of Kozelek’s. Of all the sad stories we’ve heard so far on Benji, none fully prepares you for what happens to poor Brett.
"A part in a movie": Kozelek appeared as the mostly silent bassist for Stillwater, the fictional southern-rock band at the center of Cameron Crowe’s autobiographical 2000 movie Almost Famous.
Malmo: Swedish city to which Kozelek was travelling by train when he receives the news from his mom about Brett.
Huntington Park: The Los Angeles area where Kozelek’s grandmother resided (he thinks).
Marcel and Cyrus Hunt: Friends the young Kozelek made when visiting his grandmother. "We’d go downtown and get ice cream and feed French fries to the pigeons and talk to the handicapped vets from Vietnam."
"Young Americans": Soulful 1975 David Bowie single that reminds Kozelek of that summer in Huntington Park.
Benji: Hit G-rated 1974 film—seen by Kozelek on the aforementioned California visit—about a dog that helps solve a kidnapping case, and which gives this album its name.
62: The age at which Kozelek’s grandmother was diagnosed with the fatal disease that would claim her.
11. "Ben’s My Friend"
"I needed another track to finish up the record": That would be this song.
Union Street: Popular shopping strip in San Francisco where Kozelek and his girlfriend managed to spend $350 on lampshades.
Perry’s: Union Street restaurant that’s been a neighbourhood institution for over 40 years. Mark Kozelek highly recommends the blue crab cakes, if not the décor.
Mark Kozelek’s sister’s new boyfriend: He’s a deer hunter, and she’s getting used to venison.
Mark Kozelek’s father’s girlfriend: Wishes her boyfriend would spend a little less time at Panera Bread.
The Postal Service: Electro-pop collaboration between Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard—the "Friend" referred to in this song’s title—and producer Jimmy Tamborello. Last year, this tape-swapping venture embarked on its first ever tour to mark the 10th anniversary of their lone album to date, Give Up.
Greek Theater: Outdoor amphitheatre located in Berkeley, Calif., where Kozelek went to go see the Postal Service play, and suffered a midlife crisis in the process. (For one, "getting there was the worst—trying to park and getting up the hill and finding a spot amongst the drunk kids starting at their cells.")
Spain: Site of a festival where Mark Kozelek first met Ben Gibbard back in 2000. (“He was on the small stage then.”)
Two cute Asian girls: Recipients of Mark Kozelek’s all-access backstage passes to the Postal Service show, after he decided to bail on the backstage meet-and-greet.
Tahoe: Where Mark Kozelek likes to unwind in a hot tub after midlife-crisis-inducing Postal Service concerts.
"Ba ba ba": The final words Kozelek sings on Benji, a blissful fadeout that signifies both the sense of relief he felt upon completing this record, and yours after trudging through this list.