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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "JK in L.A." <jbkxtc@sbcglobal.net> |
| Subject | Elliot Smith vs. Nick Drake |
| Date | Thu, 23 Oct 2003 08:39:45 -0700 |
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Hi all,
Coming out of lurkdom on this issue:
I don't actually know a lot about ES, other than what I've read since his
suicide (a horribly painful suicide, I may add). I loved his songs in "Good
Will Hunting" but never completely followed up on him after.
However, comparing him to Nick Drake seems off to me for the following
reasons.
Nick Drake, from all anecdotal evidence, seemed plagued with what was
probably a severe chemical imbalance at a time when not much was really
known about this area.
There is also evidence to support the theory that ND's "suicide" was
completely accidental. According to his parents (I'm using Patrick
Humphries' biography as my primary source here) Nick's mood had
substantially improved in the months prior to his death and it is believed
that his overdose on Tryptizol may have resulted from his using it to help
him fall asleep most nights and perhaps he simply took too much. His
sister, however, does say that she prefers to believe he ended his life to
end his suffering, rather than have to consider it an unfortunate error.
Ultimately, for me, I'm in no position to judge the pain, or the biological
or self-inflicted reasons that caused the pain, that they, or anyone else,
must go through that leads to suicide. It's a terrible thing to do to
themselves and, certainly, to the ones they leave behind.
Back to my self-inflicted lurking,
JK
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