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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "W. Colter" <deedlemusic@sbcglobal.net> |
| Subject | Suicides R (not) Us |
| Date | Thu, 23 Oct 2003 10:19:46 -0700 (PDT) |
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Jamie wrote:
>>Great tunes or not, the guy was a loser. And by taking his life he fulfills
his career long ambition to prove himself right as a tortured artist. Alas,
he'll live on as a martyr right next to Drake and Cobain. At least he'll be
able to teach Cobain a thing or two in hell about good songwriting.>>>
Then Stewart wrote:
>>>1. What a fucking literalist
2. What a fucking drama queen
You cannot tell me there was not an enormous level of self-mythologizing in
this act, and for that, I can only say "Fuck you, 'Elliott' Smith.">>>
Guys, you're talking about a man who had a severe mental/physiological/physical imbalance which led to, or was exacerbated by, addiction, alcoholism and depression. It's a complex disease, and those who struggle with it very often don't recover from it. To be angry or condemning about his choices is to be child-like in your observations and reactions.
People with this kind of condition who kill themselves are doing so because the pain and hopelessness they feel outweighs the joy of living, and "balanced" people like us could never know the intensity of that kind of decision, thank God. Why condemn, or martyr, anyone who struggles with this?
I have a theory on why artists often court this state of mind/being, and perhaps seem more willing to be "sucked into the abyss" than others. Pain is an incredible source of material because of the poignancy, honesty and depth of feeling, and audiences respond to it because these feelings are universal and the most closely and privately held by us. Artists who choose to be the mouthpiece for those states of mind and heart do humankind quite a service. The danger, of course, is in not having enough emotional health to "go over the precipice" and come back safely again. As for Elliott Smith, I'm sorry he never found peace with it, and I appreciate the music he created.
W.
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