I’m never gonna know you now, but I’m gonna love you anyhow…

This entry has actually been rather difficult to write, because I have so much to say about this artist and when trying to choose songs to mention, I’m finding that every song that he wrote is worth talking about. There are so many gems in so many songs, it’s damn near impossible to just pick a few. I’m going to attempt to limit this post to just a few of my most played songs of his, but I’m not gonna guarantee anything!

So, Elliott Smith has been a major part of my life for the last five years. For those of you who aren’t familiar with his work, he was an indie singer-songwriter. He wrote some of the most beautiful lyrics I’ve ever heard – with absolutely gorgeous imagery and layers of emotional depth. I love the way he strings together those words... I've always had a fascination with the way a writer strings together words, where they become a beautiful poetic jumble – and he would use some really pretty words. His melodies are exquisite and feature an intricate musical structure. Elliott was an amazing guitarist and his voice… Well, I’m more than a little in love with that voice. It’s soft, haunting, ethereal … and distinctive. But you should know, he did not write happy and silly pop songs. His lyrics articulate thoughts of sadness and loneliness and feelings almost anyone can relate to at one time or another. His life was, admittedly, kind of a mess – marked by unhappiness and drug use and ending tragically with his sudden death in 2003. But the way he wrote about his troubles, it makes the pain and heartbreak beautiful.

My relationship with Elliott began in the summer of 2007 and I was immediately taken by him. The first song of his I ever heard was “Condor Avenue” from the album, Roman Candle. He wrote that song while he was still in high school. That is one song that I love singing because of all the great words and imagery he uses. “…slipped past into rhythmic quietude”, “the chimes fell over each other”, “they never get uptight when a moth gets crushed, unless a light bulb really loved him very much”, and “I’m lying down, blowing smoke from my cigarette, little whisper smoke signs that you’ll never get”… I don’t know. The words are just so pretty and paint such vivid images. You’ll hear a lot of imagery in Elliott’s songs. His words in “Waltz #2” about how she “stares into space like a dead China doll” are another example. And in the song, “Plainclothes Man” (that was recorded while he was still with his band, Heatmiser) has possibly my favorite way of describing a photograph: “A perfect moment in a flash of light”. How amazing is that? Or is it just me? … Yeah, okay.

My first favorite song of his was off the album, Figure 8. “Wouldn’t Mama Be Proud.” Love the harmonies – and love hearing Elliott singing harmony with himself. And the lyrics (as always), pretty amazing. “Stupidity Tries” was another of my favorites upon first listen. It has a wonderful build up and I love the guitar “falls” (I have no idea if that’s the technical term for what’s going on, but it happens in every verse – the first time is about 13 seconds in, after “and he’ll cut…” and the guitar notes slide down. You would think I’d know the technical terms, wouldn’t you?). And it’s pretty awesome that he uses the word “conquistador” in a song. Not often that you hear that word in music – except, y’know, the Procol Harum song, but I digress. Another song from Figure 8 that gets a lot of airtime on my playlists is “L.A.” As far as Elliott songs go, this is maybe one of the happiest. So yeah, maybe he was feeling bad the night before, but today he’s feeling better. It’s extremely catchy, more great harmonies, and the guitar… Great riff and I love (love, LOVE) the palm muted, clicky guitar bit. Kind of a ‘70s-ish vibe to it. It’s one of those songs that always makes me smile.

Honestly though, just about every song you listen to, you’re going to find something amazing in it. Some of my other most played Elliott songs are “Say Yes”, “Between the Bars” (lyrics are fantastic on both of those), “Cupid’s Trick” (as fantastic as the album version is, I am a bit partial to the live version of the song), “Coming Up Roses”, “A Fond Farewell”, “New Monkey”, “No Name #4”, “Independence Day” (fabulous groove to the song), “Bottle Up and Explode”, “Waltz #2” (yeah, I dig the way he names some of his songs too), and today my song of the moment was "Oh Well, Okay"… And then there are a couple of bootleg recordings I got my hands on, but my favorite of those may be the song, “See You In Heaven”. There aren’t lyrics, but the music, the melody… It’s beautiful and uplifting.

One of the things about Elliott though… It’s a little bizarre, but I feel a connection with him. I feel like I know him – and what’s even crazier, I feel like he knows me and understands me. It probably says more about me than I should be revealing in such a public forum, but there have been periods of my life where I’ve felt like he’s the best friend I have. I know it’s strange to feel such a strong connection with someone I didn’t even know existed until after he died (though, it may be a little reminiscent of “Pictures of Lily” by The Who), but I think it says a lot about his songwriting ability – that he was able to build that kind of connection with people through his music. I know in reality, if I had known him, he wouldn’t have been the easiest person to be friends with… I know enough about him personally to have figured that much out, but I’m also pretty sure I would have loved him just the same.

And okay, I’ve got a bit of a crush on Elliott…