1. Me realizing that Meaningless is so old now that Elliott Smith was still alive and covering songs from it. 2. Me realizing that Jon Brion was five years younger than me here and he's knocking on fucking SIXTY now. 3. Me going coffin-shopping today because holy fuck.
Here's the face of trouble It's the face I wear And it may invite you in But I won't go there Here's a working model That generates despair And this baby cranks it out And it will take you out And I won't care It's a beauty It's the mark of someone Who's beyond repair He'll refuse to help himself Thinking only of himself And though he isn't by himself Well, it's your job now There's a conversation We're about to have And it's full of twists and turns Half truths and vague concerns From one who never learns To one who never learns And I never learn Here's the face of trouble
@@wiishopwednesdayrecords2959 Like @SquillWS said, they mentioned it in Heaven Adores You. Jon Brion says something along the lines of that show being, "the beginning of the end" in terms of his substance abuse.
this recording is from a pilot for a show that never took off -- really low budget, Jon hosted the thing, pretty much just MTV unplugged. Elliott was already scheduled to perform on the show as any artist does when they're on the road. Typical stuff, but Elliott's grandmother had died less than five days before this recording, resulting in a bender and showing up to set completely and utterly faded. The whole 45 minutes is on youtube. There wasn't really a setlist, Jon and Elliott just ask eachother what song to play next, and Elliott's face lights up a few times when they cover bands they mutually like. This cover though he looks like his mind's a million miles away...
Elliott's cover of this is so much better. I don't inherently dislike Brion's voice, but he adds this weird pretentious singing in parts that really don't need it.
@@kevinseyedin4415 I much prefer the original. A gut wrenching song rooted deeply in pop sensibilities. Makes it really consumable and really easy to connect with. Elliott also leaves out half of that second to last verse... Either too emotionally difficult to get through or he just happened to forget the lyrics but I think it speaks volumes for Jon's version that Elliott even decided to sing it
I often think “I wish Elliott were singing this” with Jon’s tunes, of only because Jon B’s voice has the same Ben-Folds-meets-Sam-Coomes poppitudinosity that bugs me in my own voice and that belies the melancholy of the music. That said, Jon Brion is a genius and I fully enjoy the music and wish more people making music now had been tuned into this kind of artistry.
I think I know what you mean by thinking some of the vocal moments sound pretentious, but at the end of the day there’s a whole lot of sincerity in Brion’s voice and character. I think even Elliott Smith would acknowledge that.
