Elliott Smith

As weird as this may sound, I always find a degree of humor in people finding Smith's death to be a big surprise. You have to wonder if these people had ever actually listened to any of his work. Personally I was amazed he waited so long, obviously I'm thankful. Those last ten or so years of his life were when he crafted some solidmusic. But in that music, behind the simple yet well crafted guitar work you could hear a man that was miserable about his own existence. His death was, in the dictionary definition of the word, a tragedy. He was creating something that really tugged at the heart strings but we all knew what was coming was inevitable.

He started out in a somewhat dull rock band called Heatmiser, they put out a few records, no one cared and Elliott quickly realized he was wasting his time. He then went solo and managed to craft five amazing solo records before his demise. What then came was his label publishing an album that he was making before he finally gave up on life. Bar a few moments of hope the record was next to a suicide note. Even though it was clearly not finished it still sounded amazing. Even more bleak than his previous records but still crafted with real heart.

Here are a few of my favorite Elliott tracks. There are a fair few more that deserve your admiration but after a lengthily process these four came out top.

The Biggest Lie - S/T
Speed Trials - Either/Or
Everything Means Nothing To Me - Figure 8
A Fond Farewell - From A Basement On The Hill

Expired