I am sure a lot of Elliott Smith die-hards wouldn't consider me a fan, but I will get over it. I have never fit in with any of the "scenes" I have been involved with anyway. On the eve of going to see Iron and Wine at the Grog Shop (Cleveland), I learned of Elliott Smith's death and it really came up and smacked me in the face.
I didn't get into Elliott Smith until I heard his songs in Good Will Hunting. Miss Misery is the type of song that reminds me why I listen to music. It is emotional, cathartic, delicate and passionate simultaneously. I am not sure if I would have ever discovered Elliott Smith without that movie, but I will venture probably not. After that movie, I listened to two of his older solo albums and bought XO when it came out in 1998 and fell in love with it. My favorite songs on that album are Sweet Adeline and the two different "Waltz" tracks.
So, last night I am sitting at my desk when I read the awful news that he is dead and maybe he even killed himself. I immediately thought to the Iron and Wine show that I am going to go to this evening and it struck me. Elliott Smith is a much bigger part of my music collection than I knew. Sure I only have XO, the Good Will Hunting soundtrack and a mix cd with some other song on it, but there is NO WAY I would be a fan of Iron and Wine without having listened to Elliott Smith in the first place.
Iron and Wine is very similar to the Elliott Smith solo work. Meaningful, fragile words on top of acoustic guitars and an artistic sense of subtlety that just can't be matched. That connection makes a lot of sense, but as I really started thinking about it, I was introduced to Elliott Smith by my college friend David who had been following him even before the movie. I was introducing David to the finer parts of metal and hardcore and he was introducing me to the more creative forms of indie and emo. Elliott Smith was the first one that I really liked.
Article comments
1 - Craig Lyndall
Smith was found in his apartment yesterday with a single knife wound. Speculation is that it was self-inflicted.
2 - Eric Olsen
thanks Craig, very sad
3 - Albatross
Elliot Smith is dead.... i'm still in shock. and my best friend is going to go insane. he and his music are the only thing she truly loves. his stuff blows me away. this is no good.
4 - Mac Diva
We have lost too many of our Northwest musicians and singers to drugs and suicide. Smith's demise is yet another tragedy.
5 - Paisley
elliott smith, and his music, were yes, of the few things i really truely love. i could never explain what his music does to me. all the things i didn't do, waiting for the future, waiting for the right time... a dream is lost forever. and, what gets me through the days are now tainted with black. bittersweet turns to bitter and for how long i don't know. could i be sleeping?
6 - Steve Rhodes
It is very sad. This is his official site maintained by some fans.
I once sat at his feet when he preformed at an in-store at aquarius records. About a year later he was performing on the Oscars.
7 - Bo
Waaaaaaaah!