I learned about him from the news story about his death. I was depressed and it totally matched how I felt as I started getting into drugs and such. He is a huge loss but he was like Sparklehorse or Vic Chesnutt where they kinda hinted that they may kill the selves. Often they say it out loud, even Elliott. I’m open like that too. I wish I was dead and have been but I’m not gonna try again because I don’t wanna hurt those who love me.
@@ColombianThunder I also like to call Elliot the one man beatle. I love his music so much, as much as I love the Beatles. I can really hear a lot of similarities. Beautiful.
One of my godparents had the painful honor of being his lover at one point in time, and the beautiful gift of knowing him in the years leading up to his death. He died when I was two, so I never got to meet him, but my godparent would tell me stories about where his songs came from, and what kind of person he was in real life. My biggest take away, to listen to his music is to know him. You can't manufacture that authenticity.
Wow! That’s amazing, thank you for the comment. We’re around the same age, it truly would have been awesome to meet Elliott. Your godparent was beyond lucky to get a chance to get close to a real, genuine talent like Elliott.
Any chance you would let me know who your godparent is? I have researched his case for a long time and have already talked to many people. Let me know… thanks
like many, i was really into elliot smith in the late 90's. I graduated in 2002, but had some friends that were older than me who were able to leave our shitty small town first. So in 2001 a friend took a photo of elliot smith with a disposable camera on one of his last tours- The show was in LA. She mailed the photo to like a post card. I still got the photo somewhere. I was so stoked to receive it
@@curly_wyn I agree with you that he didn’t create his own genre but the styles are a bit different than Mitchell and Drake. Elliott gets a lot of comparison to Drake and I get that but he wasn’t folk, more like pop/indie. All three would be impossible to replicate. Judee Sill would be another and I’ve been listening to John Moreland’s album “In the Throes” lately and there’s a song in it called “Gospel” that reminds me of something Elliott would do like “Pitseleh” or something a long those lines.
Kings Crossing could fit right in on any late 60's Earl 70's Pink Floyd album, I say that as a compliment. Elliot Smith's music was so varied, and beautifully haunting. He was an amazing artist, and unfortunately those are often tortured souls.
The picture of Elliot as a young boy at 0:55 ... If you look in the reflection of the car window it seems to show his appearance of later life, dark hair, more pronounced features, creepy dude.
Thanks for the vid! I would love to hear more music playing especially inbetween thoughts and especially as you transition from talkimg about one part of his life to another
I saw him live in Manchester, UK, on the figure 8 tour. It was a fantastic gig. He looked really happy at that gig and he was immense on stage. The band were great, too. I remember watching the drummer closely as I was a drummer in a new band at that time and I was impressed with his style: I feel blessed to have seen him live, especially so close to his death. Elliott Smith was a genius songwriter and a truly wonderful performer that really touched my heart back then. RIP ❤️
Subbed. Great job with the video. I never tire hearing about his music and life. I still haven't found a single artist like ES. I can truly say I don't dislike a single one of his tracks, whether released or unreleased... And I can't say that with any other artist/band.
Yo man you have a fascinating channel, hope you'll get recognition cuz it's definitely a lot of еffort put into this. Good luck, please continue in the same vein :D Not sure if we doing requests here but a vid about Nick Drake or Kozelek would be awesome.
Thanks! But I do actually plan on doing a video on Nick Drake sometime soon, I already made the thumbnail. I might also do a video on Red House Painters in the future
dude this video is absolutely the best elliot smith video on youtube, not just because of the way you approached to his story, but the way you described his songs, congrats
This is the best story of Elliott I've ever seen/heard. You really did him justice (both as a person, and his music) in a way that nobody else has matched. Excellent, excellent job! New sub.
check out the documentary about him called Heaven Adores You if you get the chance, it's really good and essentially a greatly expanded version of this well done video here
XO might be my favorite album he made. Tough to decide. Everything he recorded was truly beautiful art. Just subscribed, very cool series you’ve created dude!
@ 4:50 I'm looking at an advertisement from John Henry's in Eugene, where Elliott Smith played on August 18th, 1994 as part of the Acoustic Pop/Punk Extravaganza Tour.
Slight correction in the first couple minutes, Elliott wasnt allegedly abused by a "close family member" he was abused by his mother's boyfriend Charlie, who is mentioned in quite a few songs of his. At some point Elliott did start thinking that he had memories of being sexually abused by Charlie, but he denied that. He did apologize to Elliott at some point for the verbal/physical abuse, and before Elliott passed away he had spoken to his sister and told her that Charlie called him and they talked. He has a song called Flowers For Charlie
Ah, you're right, Charlie wasn't technically in the family. But yes, I know the story. I didn't want to dive too deeply into such a sensitive subject, so I simplified it down. Also, I didn't want to make an accusation I couldn't 100% verify, even with all of Elliott's songs referencing the situation. I just wanted to err on the safe side.
@@TheMusicNarrative plus, "Flowers For Charlie" doesn't LITERALLY seem to be about an abusive step father figure. It MAY be, symbolically, but LITERALLY, it's more about the Vietnam War and it's controversial aspects. Also "Charlie" was the nickname given to the Viet Cong. "Victor Charlie", to be exact.
Elliott never talked about his abuse publicly, so he certainly never mentioned being sexually abused. Even his close friends do not know exactly what happened. Charlie was his stepdad, not his mothers boyfriend by the way. Elliott probably was mistreated and probably abused by this man but we don’t know the details of the abuse
Well Made, My Friend..! I'm Glad You didn't go too " Pollitical " on His Death.! But gave New Fan's, just enough Easter Egg's, for them to Want to do thier Own Detective Work.!? Well Done & Thanks , I Still & Will Miss Him Every Day, and, Wonder What Could've been.!? You Know What I Mean..! XO
All of Chiba’s ever changing stories stink on ice. Even worse than her ridiculous stories, was the police’s absolutely embarrassing response and “investigation”. Long story short, and just the facts; Smith is dead from two stab wounds in the chest. Chiba’s fingerprints on the bloody knife. She chased him from the kitchen to the balcony. Summary: “He talked about suicide, so that’s what it was.” The end.🤦♂️🤔
Just be careful with this man’s music if you’re already prone to heavy depression as I am. Can be comforting but also It can keep you in a feedback loop of negativity. His songs are honest and I love that but they’re generally very negative and I just can’t handle it sometimes, it’s so beautiful and perfect but dark, it’s like peaking off the edge of a cliff into the abyss. The more you listen, the closer you inch up to that edge. This is a companion in dark times but just remember it might keep you in a dark place. It’s powerful music, to put it simply.
Really nice job on this. You probably have already - I recommend you listen and read lyrics on Kings Crossing from basement on a hill. It’s really powerful and chilling.
A comment on the "nom de tune," yeah, maybe it fit better on the young man than Steven/Steve, but also "Elliott" never suffered at the hands of his step-dad Charlie. All that (allegedly) happened to Steven.
I never really liked Elliot smith, his voice is just not good and his music kinda sucks but his guitar playing is great and I just happen to think his story and the way he went out is wild but RIP to the guy I hope he’s at peace
I think a lot of artists earlier records are better. But with Elliot Smith, the songwriting and production got better and better with each record. Who knows where he would be today.
I listen to his songs and watch videos about his life and I don't know what to say or feel. I don't know what to say about his suicide either. Most of all, I just don't understand any of it. It's hard to live and share time with Elliot Smith and then have that just stop. It's like, okay, what now?
Honestly the best thing I can say is share him with people. When you can manage to introduce him to someone its like living vicariously through them and experiencing him for the first time. They really are blown away and his music enriches youth. Lets keep telling it and sharing it.
Elliott is so good that he can ruin other artists for me. Sparklehorse and Elliott are my go-to albums when I’m depressed and wanna wallow to some good music. Radiohead and The Beatles are my favorite non-depressive bands probably.
What's that 'tony iommi looking' silver thing on the other guitar players picking finger at 3:38(!)???? Possibly a slide but wrong hand......, idk, I'm stumped
Great video, thank you. I'm a singer songwriter and Eliot is a big inspiration to me. I got to know his music before I knew about his death, I was shocked when I found out. I felt a deep pain and wish he was still alive, keeping making music. I want to make a cover to one of his song someday but haven't decided which one yet, there are too many good ones..
