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Let's Discuss Elliott Smith


ILOVEMYFENDER

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I have been really into his work lately, primarily because of how often I've been told my music is like his (I had honestly never listened to him before making my first album and already sounded like him, go figure). Really, really, great stuff that completely appeals to my tastes. Ridiculously good songs, an underrated singer, and fantastic guitar skills.

 

Discuss.

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I still think the story surrounding his death sounds sketchy. His girlfriend reportedly found him with a knife in his chest, and pulled it out. He was finally out of his addictions and suicidal tendencies too, and improving greatly. Although he threatened suicide in the past, it just didn't seem likely for him to take his life when things were getting so much better for him. I feel almost like a conspiracy theorist when I say that I have my suspicions that his girlfriend may have killed him. They were having an argument at the time...she could have flipped a switch.

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Friends make fun of me all the time but he is far and away my favorite songwriter and one of my favorite guitar players. I'd post videos but it would just be a endless posts of all of his songs so yeah. I'm suspicious of his suicide too, especially since stabbed himself twice in the heart. Fishy as all hell.

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I agree with basically all of this :)

 

There is a short section of Mark Oliver Everett's Autobiography where he discusses his friendship with Elliott. Allegedly E saw Elliott shortly before he died and Smith was convinced that he was being followed by spies, apparently he had a disposable camera with him at all times and would take photos of cars that he believed were following him. Seems like he had more than his share of demons, and his music is in many ways the byproduct of that.

 

If you guys haven't already heard this you HAVE to check it out. One of his last and most intimate performances. Gets me every time.

 

http://archive.org/details/esmith2003-01-31.flac16

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My Elliot Smith fandom knows no bounds.


edit: and I don't care that he was ripping off Nick Drake and The Beatles the entire time.

 

 

It's funny because Elliott admitted to having never even listened to Nick Drake until people told him he sounded like him. The mix of Drake and the Beatles ends up being quite a force though.

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I agree with basically all of this
:)

There is a short section of Mark Oliver Everett's Autobiography where he discusses his friendship with Elliott. Allegedly E saw Elliott shortly before he died and Smith was convinced that he was being followed by spies, apparently he had a disposable camera with him at all times and would take photos of cars that he believed were following him. Seems like he had more than his share of demons, and his music is in many ways the byproduct of that.


If you guys haven't already heard this you HAVE to check it out. One of his last and most intimate performances. Gets me every time.


http://archive.org/details/esmith2003-01-31.flac16

 

My friend was at that show and at the time had only just started listening to Elliott. Yeah, really bummed I missed it.

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I still think the story surrounding his death sounds sketchy. His girlfriend reportedly found him with a knife in his chest, and pulled it out. He was finally out of his addictions and suicidal tendencies too, and improving greatly. Although he threatened suicide in the past, it just didn't seem likely for him to take his life when things were getting so much better for him. I feel almost like a conspiracy theorist when I say that I have my suspicions that his girlfriend may have killed him. They
were
having an argument at the time...she could have flipped a switch.

 

 

It is suspicious. However, I don't really get the impression that he had totally overcome his problems prior to his death. The live recordings from his final months imply that he was in a pretty fragile state, to say the least. I saw him live in the late '90s and he seemed far more confident and comfortable on stage at that point.

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I still think the story surrounding his death sounds sketchy. His girlfriend reportedly found him with a knife in his chest, and pulled it out. He was finally out of his addictions and suicidal tendencies too, and improving greatly. Although he threatened suicide in the past, it just didn't seem likely for him to take his life when things were getting so much better for him. I feel almost like a conspiracy theorist when I say that I have my suspicions that his girlfriend may have killed him. They
were
having an argument at the time...she could have flipped a switch.

 

 

I think it's pretty common that when people commit suicide it's often when they seem to be 'pulling out of it' and look like they're doing better. Not to say that's exactly what happened, but really when someone has a really serious lifetime problem with mental health having a short period of better mood isn't an indication that something bad won't happen.

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