smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "S. Kelly Sears" <sksears@eps.mcgill.ca> |
| Subject | 10 Reasons Why Elliott Smith Was Cool |
| Date | Tue, 28 Oct 2003 15:17:08 -0500 |
[Part 1 text/plain us-ascii (2.4 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
According to Chartattack Magazine:
1. He was a sensitive singer-songwriter with real punk rock roots. Smith
began his career in Heatmiser -- who came out of the gate in the
early-'90s as a Fugazi-esque punk rock band. That band also featured Sam
Coomes, who went on to form Quasi.
2. Smith was shuttled out of obscurity in 1997 when he did the music for
the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck movie Good Will Hunting. Smith was personally
chosen to do the music by director Gus Van Sant, who happened to be a
big fan of the folk-punk singer.
3. Elliott Smith was emo before Dashboard Confessional even thought of
entering a recording studio. His songs are sweetly tragic, although the
singer himself always managed to maintain a sense of legitimate edginess
that prevented him from becoming trite or syrupy. No one could sing
about love and heroin addiction on the same album with the same level of
conviction as Smith did.
4. Smith's appearance at the 1997 Oscars was probably the most
delightful moment in the glitzy awards show's history. Clad in a white
suit, a nervous and out-of-place Smith took to the Oscar stage to
perform "Miss Misery," which was nominated from the Good Will Hunting
soundtrack. Smith lost the Oscar to Celine Dion's Titanic ballad "My
Heart Will Go On."
5. He knew how to turn a waltz into a pop song. Very nice.
6. Despite the darkness that often lurked in Smith's lyrics he was also
able to make some gorgeously sunny music. His last proper album, 2000's
Figure 8, was a Beach Boys-inspired work of pop brilliance, belying the
somber lyrical content of many of the songs.
7. Although he was signed to DreamWorks, one of the fanciest major label
imprints around, the label understood Smith's indie roots. Not ready to
record the official follow-up to Figure 8, this year Smith was free to
unleash smaller releases on independent labels. In August he released a
single on Suicide Squeeze and he also had songs in the film Southlander:
Diary Of A Desperate Musician, earlier this year.
8. He was truly a solo artist and a gifted arranger, often playing all
the instruments on his albums.
9. Smith's real name was Steven Paul Smith, but he changed his name to
Elliott while in middle school because he thought Steve sounded too
jockish.
10. Most of all, Elliott Smith's music was really, really great. He'll
be sorely missed.
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.