Every October, I take some time to remember Elliott Smith. (For those who aren't familiar with him, he took his own life on October 21, 2003 at the age of 34.) I don't think I've written much (if anything) about him on this blog, and it's definitely time to change that.
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| I have always loved this picture of him. Image courtesy of www.pagepulp.com. |
Many musicians have inspired and impacted me over the years, but none have ever done so in the way Elliott Smith has.
I began listening to him during my senior year of college. Sometimes I wish I'd discovered his music earlier (he'd already passed away by that time), but I also feel like I found him at a time when I actually needed him. I remember putting in my earbuds, starting an Elliott Smith album on my iPod, and feeling, if even just for a moment, connected. Although I didn't personally know him, I felt as though he somehow knew me ... It was almost as if he'd read what was written in my mind, heart, and soul, and then turned it into some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful music I'd ever heard.
So much of that year (and the year following) was lost in a blur of depression, but I truly believe that Elliott Smith's music was one of the major factors that prevented me from completely losing myself.
This month I'm sharing some of my favorite Elliott Smith songs. While a few of these fall under the "I just like it" category, the majority will give you a glimpse into my thoughts and feelings during that particularly turbulent point in my life. These are some of the songs I wish I'd written ... The songs that made me think, "Elliott Smith is a fucking genius. He just gets it."
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| Click on the link below to listen to this playlist. |
[…] been listening to Elliott Smith almost exclusively for the last week or so. I’ve mentioned before that his music means a lot to me, and I can honestly say that it helped me get through some of the […]
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