This past Monday marked the 10 year anniversary of celebrated folk rock singer Elliott Smith’s passing. Allston Pudding’s Helen Chen and Sami Martasian have a few words to say about the remarkable complexity of the artist:
I still remember the boy who introduced me to Elliott Smith. He was brunette and older than me. In many ways, I associated him with Elliott – he too had an affliction for idolizing girls and often battled mental and emotional turbulence. Life has tossed and turned this boy away from me, I don’t see or talk to him anymore and I don’t know the person that he is today. He had hurt many of the people close to him as a result of his struggle with his identity and his addiction to instantaneous gratitude regardless of consequence. When I hear Waltz No.2, I would be lying if I said I didn’t think of his emotional pain. But what eclipses that, is the memory of his army green knit cap, gray sweatshirt, big hands perched on the handlebars of his thin bike and the honest excitement on his face telling me, “Man Helen, you just gotta listen to this song…”
Smith’s reputation often precedes him. He, like Kurt Cobain, have become martyrs for the incredible darkness that can exist within the expression of music. As martyrs, they become timeless. Though they have stopped making music, they still collect a growing fanbase every year, as listeners — and humans — our curiosity with the great unknown makes us prone to succumb to the fascination of the tragically abbreviated lives of these artists.
On Monday night, a touching commemorative concert was held in Brooklyn in Smith’s honor, in which esteemed indie rock artists such as Cat Power, Sadie Dupuis from Speedy Ortiz and Zachary Cole from Diiv played homage to Smith by donning knit caps and performing renditions of his songs.
Many of the artists who performed and myself included, were not even remotely close to of age to have seen the spectacle of Smith performing — so uncomfortably and awkwardly rigid and ridden with stage fright, and yet able to generate such a smooth and pure sound. What is incredible is how little relevance that this has. It is truly a musical phenomena, when a musician creates songs that evoke such feelings and hits such wavelengths that truly withstand the test of time. Smith, of course, succeeded beautifully in doing this. But I caution you to simply say that it is solely because he could capture the gutwrench of depression, for that is to limit focus to the darker side of the brilliant spectrum of emotion in Smith’s music. Do not forget about the pensive retrospective vulnerability of ‘Say Yes’, or the musically fun, somewhat bluegrass-y ‘Son of Sam’. Do not forget that he covered Bob Dylan’s, ‘Don’t Think Twice it’s Alright’ and ‘Clouds’ from his friends, Quasi. And most importantly, do not forget about ‘Bled White’, with it’s stirring crescendos and swells and upbeat tempo, immortalizing the glowing moment that comes after feeling so weak and fragile for much too long, and suddenly realizing with the autumnal chill of a clear day, that you are much stronger than you thought you were.
– HC
Like a lot of you, I’ve been sincerely affected by Elliott smith’s music in an enormous way. I’m forever changed and grateful for that connection, but I feel that out of respect for his memory, and those close to him, I’d like to keep it to myself as I never knew him and frankly, some things are meant to be private. It’s a challenge to talk about Elliott Smith publically in an appropriate way that celebrates him without putting words in his mouth or projecting my personal life into a story about his the way so many people do. I don’t feel right publically dissecting his character or exploiting the obstacles he faced.
So instead, here are Ten Things That I Feel are Important to Remember About Elliott Smith:
1- He was an incredible writer and an incredible musician
2- He had a wicked sense of humor
3- If you’re interested in reading stories about him, some of his friends and family have shared personal experiences in books like “Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing”. Some of them are very touching.
4- His music still manages to be relevant and moving to people now, and has lasted the passage of time with resilience. I believe, and most will agree, that his music will still be as relevant and important in another ten years. Twenty. Thirty. And so on.
5- Through a lot of hard work and the efforts of a lot of dedicated people, the mural famously associated with him (seen on the cover of his album “Figure 8”) has been maintained, and you can still visit it outside of L.A.
6- It’s not really fair to make assumptions about his personality without knowing him, but his presence was pretty kind and gentle in interviews and live performances.
7- He worked with a handful of very talented musicians, and not only did he have a fruitful solo career, he also played in a band called “Heatmiser” that you should check out if you haven’t already. You might be surprised by how hard he could rock out.
8- He is a real person. He is not one action, one story, photo, or rumor.
9- Once, an interviewer asked him if he was a “sad sack”. He seemed to think that was pretty funny.
10- He was loved, deeply by the people who knew him personally and the people who knew him solely through his music. He still is loved, he will always be loved.
– SM