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I hear a lotta' love for the guy from people I consider to have good taste, so where do I start looking? Sorry for lack of Phish content, I will just leave this here for you ...
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Figure 8 is my favorite album by him
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the first track off that album
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I liked his last album "From a Basement on the Hill"its pretty bleak but if you don't like bleak you won't like Elliott Smith. One of his most popular songs 'Say Yes' is probably his only lighthearted positive tune.
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also on Figure 8
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probably the "high point" of his career
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also on Figure 8
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This tune really got me into him as well
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His early stuff is very stripped down and lo-fi, just him and an acoustic. He gradually expanded his arrangements and stuff, and his later albums have more diversity in that department. I think Figure 8 is probably the best place to start, and probably my favorite overall. XO is also really good, can't go wrong with that one either.A few favorite tracks:
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Fun fact: G.R.A.B. covered the Elliot Smith song "Coming Up Roses" (2006-07-20 Chicago, IL)
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@harroldHOOD said: This tune really got me into him as wellThis is very good, I think I like him. There's something reminding me on Neil Young, I think it's the unrefined emotive quality of both of their voices, it's very sincere. So far so good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQrhA6QtWOM
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I am pretty sure this was the first song of his I heard. I also learned it on guitar because it was really easy
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my mom always enjoyed his music, which was a plus for long car drives
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great song
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Elliott rules. I was lucky to see him live a few times. The above comparison to Neil Young with the high reedy voice makes sense, and Elliott was definitely a fan of Neill Young. Back in the Napster era I had a bunch of great Elliott Smith covers, one of them was "Harvest Moon," the other I liked a lot was "Don't Fear the Reaper." He was also big into The Kinks, and somewhere I have him saying, 'I only like to do Ray Davies covers.' If you or anyone else is interested I could put up a link to a decent sounding solo acoustic show from 2003. Oh, also-- he does The Beatles "Because" during the end credits of American Beauty.
Here's a rare (b-side?) that I always dug. Pretty sure he played all of the instruments on it in his own lo-fi studio:
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@harroldHOOD said: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcnHjjLdNXQ great songI can never remember the names of his songs, but I LOVE that song
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quit your job then go home and get drunk alone....you will love Elliot Smith.
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the dude is awesome @_________________________ and @HarroldHOOD got off on a great start and glad you guys put the real/better/original "somebody that I used to know" and "Say yes."He's real good for Fall and Winter and being depressed and honestly getting that good cry out.
Albums I recommend: Figure 8, self-titled, and Either/Or.
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"Oh wow Phish had such a great summer run. I think I'll go be sad with Elliot Smith." :c"
Good, but sad. Way over it in my life right now.
Good, but sad. Way over it in my life right now.
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Love love love love love love elliott.
My first introduction to him was this AMAZING sounding show from Stockholm in 98: http://archive.org/details/esmith1998-06-02.flac
So f***ing good. Amazing songwriter. Dive in anywhere and enjoy.
My first introduction to him was this AMAZING sounding show from Stockholm in 98: http://archive.org/details/esmith1998-06-02.flac
So f***ing good. Amazing songwriter. Dive in anywhere and enjoy.
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He has a lot of great beatles covers. Mainly George songs. Is it odd that his "sad" songs make me happy. Wilco does the same for me
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@Freekapaug said: quit your job then go home and get drunk alone....you will love Elliot Smith.Precisely this.
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Thanks a million guys, the musical diversity on this site is terrific sometimes (even if it is mixed with a few Styx and Hall and Oates fans haha, just teasing!) I like him, he appeals to me because of the loneliness that he conveys, which I can really relate to. I've always thought the simplest arrangements (just a dude and a six string) can be the most powerful.
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@_________________________ said: Figure 8 is my favorite album by himI was just gonna say. . .
start anywhere but Figure 8. . .
respectfully disagreeing, AP2NP1. . .
I love ES . . . as well as some of the songs written about him.
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Anyone know the song that rivers cuomo wrote about him. I forget the name
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XO is by far my favorite album.
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he stabbed himself in the heart. thats got to be the hardest way to go...
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Oh and I think his music is awesome
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Can't believe I forgot to mention this if you like Elliott Smith, I urge you to check out Heatmiser, the band he fronted before he went solo.
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XO is a great album.
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Some good stuff guys, thanks for the suggestions everyone. I found this video of him covering one of my all time favorite songs "Care of Cell 44" by The Zombies, theres one on youtube of him doing "Waterloo Sunset" by The Kinks which I have equally romantic feelings about. Funny how such a seemingly sad guy was attracted to such beautiful sunny 60's songs.
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hey I just got his s/t on vinyl and includes a DL code, if anyone wants it PM me
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@greezy_fizeek said: Anyone know the song that rivers cuomo wrote about him. I forget the nameThe Other Way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TukUK7B8p4
Its about him seeing Elliot's girlfriend after he passed away.
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Either/Or is my favorite, but like many people above said, they are all amazing. You might even want to start with the Good Will Hunting soundtrack, which has a few songs from the lo-fi era albums, plus a few just for the movie.
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@BernardShakey said: I hear a lotta' love for the guy from people I consider to have good taste, so where do I start looking? Sorry for lack of Phish content, I will just leave this here for you ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2hN9eBvtFkhey man, elliott has gotten me through some times. if i were to suggest it, i would listen to his albums in chronological order to fully understand his musical progression. even though i sort of went backwards, i think his first albums are my favorites
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Elliott, how I miss him! He is one of those musicians that just pierce your soul! I love the entire span of his career! He had some great electric and acoustic shows that are just amazing. His electric shows were sometimes so darn powerful and his acoustic shows were just intimate and soulful (my $0.02).
Here are some of my favorite shows that can be found around:
2000-09-28 Electric Show (Nantes, France)
2033-05-03 Acoustic Show (Austin, TX)
2003-01-31 Acoustic (Henry Fonda Theater)
Man do I love his Electric Independence Day
Here are some of my favorite shows that can be found around:
2000-09-28 Electric Show (Nantes, France)
2033-05-03 Acoustic Show (Austin, TX)
2003-01-31 Acoustic (Henry Fonda Theater)
Man do I love his Electric Independence Day
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@runawayJame said: the dude is awesome @_________________________ and @HarroldHOOD got off on a great start and glad you guys put the real/better/original "somebody that I used to know" and "Say yes." He's real good for Fall and Winter and being depressed and honestly getting that good cry out. Albums I recommend: Figure 8, self-titled, and Either/Or.Funny you say that. I always find it harder to listen to him in the summer.
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All the above album recommendations. And watch The Royal Tennenbaums - the scene in which Luke Wilson is about to shave. ES's "Needle In The Hay" is playing.
And on a side note, Nick Drake's "The Fly" is playing a scene or two earlier.
Sad guys, with a guitar, who wrote great tunes.
And on a side note, Nick Drake's "The Fly" is playing a scene or two earlier.
Sad guys, with a guitar, who wrote great tunes.
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All of his albums are fantastic but a great place to start would be his Self-Titled Album and a good pair of headphones.
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Twilight is an amazing song...
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I love Elliott Smith! One of my top favorite artists.....his music got me thorough some tough times. I've got an Elliott tattoo and my son's middle name is Elliott so there ya go 
I really love the simplicity of just E.S. and a piano...
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There is also an amazing amount of unreleased and alternate material out there. Here is a link to an 8 disc compilation a guy from the E.S. boards put together. http://www.mediafire.com/?0n7ur2eisc0k5
Here is the tracklisting (the first disc was pulled from mediafire due to copyright infiringement, sorry! )
Disc 1
Take a Fall (released non-album songs)
1. Miss Misery
2. Some Song
3. A Living Will
4. How to Take a Fall
5. The Enemy Is You
6. I Don't Think I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out
7. I Can't Answer You Anymore
8. Division Day
9. No Name #6
10. The Real Estate
11. Take a Fall (instrumental) (alternate outro to Happiness)
12. No Confidence Man
13. Thirteen (Big Star cover) (Lucky Three version)
14. Trouble (Cat Stevens cover)
15. Because (Beatles cover)
16. Figure 8 (Schoolhouse Rock cover)
17. Our Thing
Disc 2
Buried Back Below (unreleased songs)
1. Place Pigalle
2. True Love
3. From the Poisoned Well
4. Cecilia/Amanda
5. Suicide Machine
6. O So Slow
7. Mr. Goodmorning
8. Let’s Turn the Record Over
9. Taking a Fall
10. Grand Mal
11. Abused
12. Stickman
13. See You in Heaven
14. Dancing on the Highway
Disc 3
In the Lost and Found (more unreleased songs)
1. Everything’s Okay
2. Burned Out, Still Glowing
3. Crazy f***er
4. Brand New Game
5. Instrumental #2 (Waltz)
6. No More
7. Splitzville
8. Yay!
9. I'll Be Back (Beatles cover)
10. Heatmiser - Revolution (Beatles cover)
11. No Life
12. Stained Glass Eyes
13. Sorry My Mistake (instrumental)
Disc 4
Some Kind of Holiday (even more unreleased songs)
1. The Assassin or (Kill) f***
2. Like a Cop
3. Where I Get It From
4. She Won't Ever Look at Me
5. Shiva Opens Her Arms
6. I'm Gonna Get Crushed
7. A Murder of Crows - Coraliza
8. A Silver Chain (instrumental)
9. Heatmiser - Everybody Has It
10. Concrete Jungle (Bob Marley cover)
11. Stranger Than Fiction - The Machine
12. O So Slow (alternate version)
13. Melodic Noise
Disc 5
Watch the Worlds Collide (Either/Or and XO alternate versions)
1. Speed Trials (alternate lyrics)
2. Alameda (alternate lyrics)
3. Ballad of Big Nothing (alternate lyrics)
4. Between the Bars (alternate version)
5. Pictures of Me (alternate lyrics)
6. Punch and Judy (alternate lyrics)
7. Angeles (alternate version)
8. Cupid's Trick (alternate lyrics)
9. Waltz #2 (XO) (edit)
10. Baby Britain (remix)
11. Bled White (alternate version)
12. Waltz #1 (demo)
13. Amity (alternate mix)
14. Bottle Up & Explode (early version)
15. A Question Mark (instrumental)
16. Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands (alternate version)
17. I Didn’t Understand (alternate version)
Disc 6
Chained to the Ground (Figure 8 and Basement alternate versions)
1. Son of Sam (acoustic)
2. Junk Bond Trader (alternate version)
3. In the Lost and Found (instrumental)
4. Color Bars (instrumental)
5. Happiness (acoustic)
6. Pretty Mary K (alternate version)
7. Can't Make a Sound (alternate version)
8. Snowbunny's Serenade (alternate version of "Bye"
9. Coast to Coast (alternate mix)
10. Let's Get Lost (alternate mix)
11. Don’t Go Down (alternate version)
12. Strung Out Again (alternate mix)
13. A Fond Farewell (alternate mix)
14. King's Crossing (alternate mix)
15. Twilight (alternate mix)
16. A Passing Feeling (alternate mix)
17. The Last Hour (alternate mix)
18. Memory Lane (alternate mix)
19. A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free (7'' version)
Disc 7
Just a Ghost (more alternate versions)
1. Two Timed (alternate version of "Go By"
2. Stickman (alternate version)
3. Brand New Game (alternate version)
4. Division Day (alternate version)
5. Some (Rock) Song
6. Mr. Goodmorning (instrumental)
7. You Make It Seem Like Nothing (Live at Impala Cafe 9-21-1996)
8. I Didn't Understand (2 Meter Sessions)
9. Miss Misery (2 Meter Sessions)
10. Misery Let Me Down (Live at WMUC 1997)
11. Tiny Time Machine (“Suicide Machine” instrumental)
12. Elliott Smith & Mary Lou Lord - I Figured You Out
13. Pretty Mary K [other version] (alternate mix)
14. New Disaster (original acoustic version)
15. Abused (instrumental, acoustic)
16. True Love (alternate mix)
17. Dancing on the Highway (alternate version)
18. Baby Britain (instrumental)
Disc 8
Crushed Blind (even more alternate versions)
1. Between the Bars (orchestral)
2. Coast to Coast (instrumental)
3. Needle in the Hay (alternate mix)
4. Miss Misery (alternate version)
5. Some Song (alternate mix)
6. Bled White (early version)
7. Bottle Up & Explode (demo)
8. Junk Bond Trader (instrumental)
9. Stranger Than Fiction - The Real Estate
10. Brand New Game (alternate mix)
11. I Don't Think I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out (alternate mix)
12. Going Nowhere (alternate mix)
13. Go By (instrumental)
14. New Monkey (alternate mix)
15. Angeles (alternate mix)
16. Trouble (Cat Stevens cover) (alternate version)
17. Abused (instrumental)
18. High Times (alternate mix)
19. Stickman (alternate acoustic version)
20. True Love (instrumental)
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@HypocriteOpportunist said: There is also an amazing amount of unreleased and alternate material out there. Here is a link to an 8 disc compilation a guy from the E.S. boards put together.I'm having some problems getting these files to download. Can you check the link? Thanks. These look amazing.
http://www.mediafire.com/?0n7ur2eisc0k5
Here is the tracklisting (the first disc was pulled from mediafire due to copyright infiringement, sorry! )
Disc 1
Take a Fall (released non-album songs)
1. Miss Misery
2. Some Song
3. A Living Will
4. How to Take a Fall
5. The Enemy Is You
6. I Don't Think I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out
7. I Can't Answer You Anymore
8. Division Day
9. No Name #6
10. The Real Estate
11. Take a Fall (instrumental) (alternate outro to Happiness)
12. No Confidence Man
13. Thirteen (Big Star cover) (Lucky Three version)
14. Trouble (Cat Stevens cover)
15. Because (Beatles cover)
16. Figure 8 (Schoolhouse Rock cover)
17. Our Thing
Disc 2
Buried Back Below (unreleased songs)
1. Place Pigalle
2. True Love
3. From the Poisoned Well
4. Cecilia/Amanda
5. Suicide Machine
6. O So Slow
7. Mr. Goodmorning
8. Let�s Turn the Record Over
9. Taking a Fall
10. Grand Mal
11. Abused
12. Stickman
13. See You in Heaven
14. Dancing on the Highway
Disc 3
In the Lost and Found (more unreleased songs)
1. Everything�s Okay
2. Burned Out, Still Glowing
3. Crazy f***er
4. Brand New Game
5. Instrumental #2 (Waltz)
6. No More
7. Splitzville
8. Yay!
9. I'll Be Back (Beatles cover)
10. Heatmiser - Revolution (Beatles cover)
11. No Life
12. Stained Glass Eyes
13. Sorry My Mistake (instrumental)
Disc 4
Some Kind of Holiday (even more unreleased songs)
1. The Assassin or (Kill) f***
2. Like a Cop
3. Where I Get It From
4. She Won't Ever Look at Me
5. Shiva Opens Her Arms
6. I'm Gonna Get Crushed
7. A Murder of Crows - Coraliza
8. A Silver Chain (instrumental)
9. Heatmiser - Everybody Has It
10. Concrete Jungle (Bob Marley cover)
11. Stranger Than Fiction - The Machine
12. O So Slow (alternate version)
13. Melodic Noise
Disc 5
Watch the Worlds Collide (Either/Or and XO alternate versions)
1. Speed Trials (alternate lyrics)
2. Alameda (alternate lyrics)
3. Ballad of Big Nothing (alternate lyrics)
4. Between the Bars (alternate version)
5. Pictures of Me (alternate lyrics)
6. Punch and Judy (alternate lyrics)
7. Angeles (alternate version)
8. Cupid's Trick (alternate lyrics)
9. Waltz #2 (XO) (edit)
10. Baby Britain (remix)
11. Bled White (alternate version)
12. Waltz #1 (demo)
13. Amity (alternate mix)
14. Bottle Up & Explode (early version)
15. A Question Mark (instrumental)
16. Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands (alternate version)
17. I Didn�t Understand (alternate version)
Disc 6
Chained to the Ground (Figure 8 and Basement alternate versions)
1. Son of Sam (acoustic)
2. Junk Bond Trader (alternate version)
3. In the Lost and Found (instrumental)
4. Color Bars (instrumental)
5. Happiness (acoustic)
6. Pretty Mary K (alternate version)
7. Can't Make a Sound (alternate version)
8. Snowbunny's Serenade (alternate version of "Bye"
9. Coast to Coast (alternate mix)
10. Let's Get Lost (alternate mix)
11. Don�t Go Down (alternate version)
12. Strung Out Again (alternate mix)
13. A Fond Farewell (alternate mix)
14. King's Crossing (alternate mix)
15. Twilight (alternate mix)
16. A Passing Feeling (alternate mix)
17. The Last Hour (alternate mix)
18. Memory Lane (alternate mix)
19. A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free (7'' version)
Disc 7
Just a Ghost (more alternate versions)
1. Two Timed (alternate version of "Go By"
2. Stickman (alternate version)
3. Brand New Game (alternate version)
4. Division Day (alternate version)
5. Some (Rock) Song
6. Mr. Goodmorning (instrumental)
7. You Make It Seem Like Nothing (Live at Impala Cafe 9-21-1996)
8. I Didn't Understand (2 Meter Sessions)
9. Miss Misery (2 Meter Sessions)
10. Misery Let Me Down (Live at WMUC 1997)
11. Tiny Time Machine (�Suicide Machine� instrumental)
12. Elliott Smith & Mary Lou Lord - I Figured You Out
13. Pretty Mary K [other version] (alternate mix)
14. New Disaster (original acoustic version)
15. Abused (instrumental, acoustic)
16. True Love (alternate mix)
17. Dancing on the Highway (alternate version)
18. Baby Britain (instrumental)
Disc 8
Crushed Blind (even more alternate versions)
1. Between the Bars (orchestral)
2. Coast to Coast (instrumental)
3. Needle in the Hay (alternate mix)
4. Miss Misery (alternate version)
5. Some Song (alternate mix)
6. Bled White (early version)
7. Bottle Up & Explode (demo)
8. Junk Bond Trader (instrumental)
9. Stranger Than Fiction - The Real Estate
10. Brand New Game (alternate mix)
11. I Don't Think I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out (alternate mix)
12. Going Nowhere (alternate mix)
13. Go By (instrumental)
14. New Monkey (alternate mix)
15. Angeles (alternate mix)
16. Trouble (Cat Stevens cover) (alternate version)
17. Abused (instrumental)
18. High Times (alternate mix)
19. Stickman (alternate acoustic version)
20. True Love (instrumental)
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