EPTAll too often, people try to be a part of pop culture and listen to everything that everyone else listens to... but nobody is really quite sure whether they like it or not.
The difference between Elliott Smith and so many other people is he writes what he wants, and he does a great job doing it. His ability to write beautiful melodies (honestly, his melodies are some of the most amazing i've ever heard out of ANYONE. Period.) and also match up his lyrics to those melodies is incredible.
One of my favorite songs by him is Tomorrow Tomorrow off of the album "XO"
The reason? First of all, his ability to play his guitar is demonstrated INCREDIBLY in this song. Very few people can play it, let alone sing it while playing. Also, I love the way the song builds up as the story in the lyrics materialize. I specifically love the lyrics towards the end of the song -
"I got static in my head
The reflected sound of everything
Tried to go to where it led
But it didn't lead to anything
The noise is coming out
And if it's not out now
I know it's just about
To drown tomorrow out "
He's probably one of the best acoustic guitarists to ever walk the face of the earth.... Trying to learn to play his songs well is really something that takes a while... His finger picking (adequately demonstrated in songs such as Angeles, Southern Belle, and tomorrow tomorrow) Is quite incredible. But it's not over the top, either. It's exactly the way it needs to be. He's not showing off, he wrote what he liked. He didn't try to be as impressive as he could, he just was. The songs are beautiful and well rounded... And the lyrics match the music so well.
I also happen to love his ability to tune to pretty weird tunings on his guitar. A song that demonstrates this ability very well is the song 'Independence Day' (This song is also amazingly enjoyable to play on Guitar :D )
Also, if you can find it, and want a little light-hearted Elliott Smith comedy, I would encourage watching 'A Strange Parallel.' I dont know about you, but I thought it was hilarious, and kind of showed you what Elliott Smith thought of interviews as well. There is also a robot hand involved. Unfortunately, Part 1 isn't available... I would totally say 'buy it if you can' but i don't think it's available anywhere. This is The ONLY reason I'm posting it. It also gives you some nice versions of songs and it's just a good watch in general.
Here is part 2
Here is part 3
Having to do with 'A Strange Parallel,' the band Elliott Smith played with very often was a band called 'Quasi,' which is still around and making music. They are very weird, but they have grown on me. If you want to listen to them, their Myspace page is http://www.myspace.com/theequasi
I also liked a lot of his older stuff... This is from his Heatmiser days... This is a GREAT song from 1996.
This is a great song from 1995.. A really simple video, but really nostalgic and really a great song with great feeling... another one of my favorites.. my favorite part of the video is the very end.
Here is a song I really like to play on my piano when I just want to relax and chill out when im at home by myself
I love how beautiful his music is when you're playing and singing it to yourself, just letting your mind wander.. Some people may tease me for that, but I'm not ashamed of myself for loving his music as much as I do.
Elliott Smith was an amazing songwriter and an amazing human being..And there is so much more to his music than just these songs, so if you are unfamiliar with his music, but like what you hear, definitely check him out.. you can find his music on Youtube, and you can purchase albums / songs off of itunes (of course...)
The Elliott Smith Official Fan Site is http://sweetadeline.net/ ,where you can find news, unreleased tracks, and a bunch of other stuff. Just go through the forums on the website and you'll find plenty of interesting things.
One of my favorite quotes of his in response to a question referring to song writing, he responded
"Just write the way you want to write. If you like it there has got to be something good about it because you liked it."
I think that's how people should write music... Not expecting anyone to like it, but writing something because they liked it themselves. It's helped me a lot to become a better musician and to be content with just enjoying music and having a love for it. And for that, I am very thankful.
EDIT: roman candle (remastered) & from a basement on the hill (rerelease) out now in n america, australia, and japan!
April 6th, 2010 marks the release of roman candle (remastered) and from a basement on the hill (rerelease) from kill rock stars. please check out your local record store for availability! some fans who pre-ordered the album received the album early and if you were one of the first 300 fans to pre-order either album or both got a free poster of a rare picture of elliott. the poster also advertises both releases by jj gonson. these releases will be on kill rock stars in n america, australia, and japan and are available in 180 gram vinyl, regular vinyl and cd. this also marks the first time roman candle has been released on vinyl for the first time in the u.s.! if you are unable to pick up a copy of roman candle in your hometown in n america, australia, and japan, please order it from kill rock stars' online store by click on either link below:
roman candle - http://www.buyolympia.com/killrockstars/Item=KRS523
basement - http://www.buyolympia.com/killrockstars/Item=KRS524
and by the way, if you followed the link to the fan site, it's 'Sweetadeline.net' 
