Elliott smith - between the bars

Elliott smith - roman candle
Elliott smith young
Elliott smith rym

•

I still reach for Elliott Smith, 20 years after his death

Commentary

My 2023 concert calendar has been packed with reunion tours — bands celebrating anniversaries of the albums I cherished while coming of age, artists whose lyrics were landing gear for my adolescent angst. But, in reveling in the music that made me, I’ve been reflecting on a different anniversary. Elliott Smith — my favorite artist — died 20 years ago.

In the two decades since his passing, there have been posthumous album releases and re-issues, articles, books, a documentary, a podcast and tribute covers — from artists like Beck to Madonna. Elliott’s music has inspired a new generation of artists, from Frank Ocean to Phoebe Bridgers, who avowed, “If someone doesn't like his music, I actually feel like I'm not going to agree with them about anything.”

I first heard Elliott Smith in college when his single, “Needle in the Hay” appeared on a playlist circulating around my dorm. It was 2008 — the age of the indie singer-songwriter — but from those first guitar strums, I knew he was special. I disappeared into h

•

One of the last videos taken of Elliott Smith shows him at the Fonda Theatre, in Los Angeles. He’s sitting in a metal stacking chair, wearing faded dark pants and a T-shirt that says “I 💔 METAL.” He’s slumped over his guitar, and his hair is falling in his face, like it always did. His voice is weak and drowsy, like he might be on something, or coming off it. About forty-five minutes in, after he finishes up “Pretty (Ugly Before),” someone shouts from the audience, and Smith doesn’t quite catch the words. “Get a what?” he asks. “A backbone?” He tousles his hair as the comment starts to sink in. “Get a backbone?” he repeats. “What the fuck? I could tell you a dream I had last night, otherwise I can’t be more fuckin’ for real.”

He seems upset, in disbelief, and then, fingering the neck of his guitar, he starts to turn the phrase over in his head, assimilating it. The anger in his voice dissolves. He apologizes. “I’m not trying to pick on you,” he says. “Maybe I didn’t understand what you were saying.” He doesn’t want to be mean. Who knows what the heckler is really thinking? Maybe

•

When Kill Rock Stars started working on the 25th anniversary reissue of Elliott's self titled album, we were thinking about how it could be fun to bring his music back into people's lives in a way that was bigger than sharing the original recordings.

We decided to ask a handful of artists to cover his songs in whatever manner made the most sense to them, including Marisa Anderson, MAITA, Palehound, Shaylee, Portland Cello Project,Prateek KuhadCalifone and Bonny Light Horseman.More will be announced as we make our way through the rest of the album.