Journal Entries
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Elliott Smith
Posted Mar 25, 2006
This songwriter Elliott Smith died in October 2003 of a knife wound to the chest. Some have called it suicide but the case remains open because of some suspicious circumstances surrounding the event, and slso because there were things inconsistant with a suicide including total absence of hesitation wounds, stabbing thru clothing, possible defensive cuts on the hand and forarm, and also the missing weapon and his girlfriend's total unwillingness to cooperate any further than her initial interview with police.
But all that has nothing to do with why I'm writing this. Or maybe it does. This guy's talent inspires nothing short of awe in me. This guy played ALL instruments on his records---drums, guitars, pianos, keyboards, synths, bass, vocals . . . he wrote all his own music, and produced a good portion of it as well . . . You may speak of other talents that have written great songs in the mid-90's to early 2000's . . . but Elliott Smith stands alone.
He made 5 albums while he was alive. The first 2 were acoustic affairs, low-fi yet it seemed as though he was sitting right there in front of you. The 3rd was the pinnacle of his "indy" years, blending superior sound quality and crispness of the instruments with the low-fi-ness of the first 2.
Then came his commercial success. Gus Van Zant showcased 4 or 5 of Elliott's songs in his movie "Good Will Hunting." This produced a hit "Miss Misery" that Elliott performed at the Grammys in a white suite. He hated it.
His 4th was a major label affair, and unlike, say, Nirvana, Elliott didn't balk at the technology afforded him by the move up in status. He added lush orchestration, multi-layered guitatrs and vocal harmonies, taking advantage of the new technology and bigger budget. This was his best selling record because it was released on the heels of the grammy performance and people suddenly knew who he was, even though People magazine called him "a cheap Beck impersonator" or something similar.
Far from it. Wheras Beck was also quiet and reserved, he could handle the spotlight in a way that Elliott couldn't. Elliott moved from Portland to New York to Los Angeles, where he recorded what was to be his final studio album completed while he was alive, "Figure 8." It took the lush orchestration even further, rocking out much more while trying to consciously make a "happy sounding" record in response to the media categorizing him as a depressed sad boy.
While touring behind this record, his habits became vices and soon turned into full blown addictions. Fame will do that, especially to someone ill equipped to handle it. He got off tour and retired to LA to do heroin and crack. He took a little break then decided to make his ultimate album. He told his label that he was going to release his next record on an independant label, and if they hasseled him about it, he'd kill himself.
He recorded something like 50 songs, looking to make a double album with 30 songs ala "The White Album." In the last couple months of his life, he'd gotten completely sober, bought his own studio, and was preparing to marry his longtime girlfriend and start a family. His precious double album was 95% finished.
And then he died.
He'd told the owner of one of the studios he recorded at to not let anyone mess witht his final mixes. Elliott threatened to burn the masters, that's how adamant he was. Yet his family brought in 2 ppl he'd worked with years ago to produce the posthumous release, instead of asking the ppl Elliot had most recently worked with. The family cut over half the songs off the album, perhaps because of the personal nature of the lyrics (Elliott talked alot about how his step father had abused him). Ironically, his step father is now recieving royalties from Elliott's final album.
It was finally released in 2004 as a single disc. It hints at what Elliott was up to, but doesn't really quite make it because obviously the man himself wasn't there to finish it.
There was almost two dozen songs leaked on the internet that were supposedly for inclusion on the album, and they give a much truer sense of what the record could have been.
The discerning fan should take those songs and mix them in with the ones on the actual record and there we have it: ES's almost masterpiece. RIP Elliott Smith.
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Latest reply: Mar 25, 2006
in hindsight.....
Posted Mar 19, 2006
I hesitated before posting my last entry on the forum because the post used heavy amounts of sarcasm to illustrate a point I felt needed addressed. Altho most ppl are polite and nice, some of the posters on there seem to think that having faith in something you can't see or prove yet feel in your heart of hearts really exists, is stupid and foolish. Thier world must consist of nothing but hard facts and data, and the "heart" is a secondary commodity. I agree that following blindly is foolish, but there ARE strange and wonderful things in this world that CANNOT be explained by the science of today. As I believe I stated before, I myself have experienced what could be termed "maricles" in my life and I cannot dismiss them simply because others don't believe me. Where's the proof? It's in my heart. And if that makes me a better person, then that's great. Whatever works for you. I now realize I shouldn't have entered into that conversation because just like everyone else in that discussion, I had my mind made up before I even began posting and tried my hardest to change other's opinions to match mine.
Discuss this Journal entry [3]
Latest reply: Mar 19, 2006
Reality
Posted Mar 17, 2006
Reality is what ppl make it. What's real to me may not be so to you. The way I percieve things is different than the way you do. Truth is questionable in many cases, because what one believes to be truth may in fact be someone else's version of the truth and therefore not the truth. There is no be all end all truth.
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Latest reply: Mar 17, 2006
Be Careful
Posted Mar 16, 2006
"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain---and most fools do. - Dale Carnegie
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Latest reply: Mar 16, 2006
Elitists
Posted Mar 15, 2006
Of all places to run into elitist snobs, I never guessed it'b be here. I was under the impression this was a light-hearted, fun website visited by friendly people, but I suppose every apple tree has some rotton ones, eh? I was posting to a discussion today (it was only the 2nd post I'd ever written) and my opinions were belittled and made fun of by means of sarcastic remarks. It really lowered the intellectual level of the discussion, too. I replied not with malice but with a challenge to the person to prove thier rediculous claim. I have yet to read the reply, but I can but assume more sarcasm and belittling are on the way. If so, then the hell with the discussions. I'll stick with trying to make the best, most interesting guide entries I'm capable of.
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Mar 15, 2006
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Jungle_Stud
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