Elliott Smith remains one of my favourite musicians ever. I love the melancholic sound to his songs. There is a kind of introspective, highly understated and sheer brilliance to his work. I became interested in Elliott smith because one of my university friends showed me the film Good Will Hunting. Elliott Smith wrote some of the songs for it. I borrowed my friend's copy of Elliott Smith's Either/Or album and was hooked. Elliott Smith plays a few songs which appear in the film such as “Between the Bars”, “Angeles” and “Say Yes”. I loved “Miss Misery” and learnt that Elliott Smith won an Oscar for the film soundtrack. I remember seeing him playing “Miss Misery” during the Oscars ceremony - he looked dead shy and nervous. He was so nervous about playing that he tried to find someone else to play the song on his behalf. He did play it and he wore a white suit and tie. See below:
Elliott was a highly talented multi instrumentalist. He played the guitar, though he also played the piano, bass guitar and drums. He was a hugely talented studio musician.
What's more he was brilliant at guitar and he had an unusual fingerpicking technique. He created beautiful melodies and harmonies, blending rock, folk and pop influences…and even punk. His chord progressions were both melancholic and beautiful. Elliott had a love for the Beatles and the way they crafted their beautiful melodies, in particular their backing vocals.
Elliott was troubled. He suffered from depression and was also diagnosed with ADHD. He also battled addiction and struggled with drugs and alcohol, the topic of which often appeared in the lyrics of his songs.
Here are two of my favourite songs:
The Biggest Lie (1995) from the album Elliott Smith
One of his best...
A Passing Feeling (2004) from the album From a Basement on the Hill:
Love the heavy, grungy guitar solo here. A beautiful song...
When talking about his first album, Roman Candle, Elliott said: "I thought my head would be chopped off immediately when it came out because at the time it was so opposite to the grunge thing that was popular” such as Nirvana.
From a Basement on the Hill, his last album, was a posthumous release. At this point in time he began to display signs of paranoia, often believing that a white van followed him wherever he went. He was actively working on the album when he sadly passed away at the age of 34 in 2003. It’s a masterpiece.
Elliott Smith had severe mental health problems during his later life.
I would have loved to have met him. He was an unbelievable talent.
