Comments on: The Over/Under: Elliott Smith

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:30:03 +0000

It’s the same story again, a fan that has a certain conception of what “his star” ought to be like, is pissed off once the artist changes. Then the blame goes to producers or labels, when in fact most of it is the result of the artist’s deliberate decisions. Another fan favorite is being pissed off because the insider obscurity that made it “cool” to know an artist is replaced by somewhat broader recognition, and suddenly the artist “sells out” and is just not hip enough anymore. Also, dismissing a song because of the subject seems very odd. He’s singing about his demons, and you go like “Oh please, don’t?”
Can’t we get over this? Like many others, I believe there are no “bad” or “overrated” Elliott Smith songs. You can pick either one, they all are works of a real superb craftsman who knew his trade and was up there with the real big ones: Brian Wilson, Lennon/McCartney, Townshend, some P. Simon, Costello, Stevie, all of those are in there and their parts form something that is bigger than just the sum.
This much from somebody who’s not a fan, but an admirer of art and beauty.

By: Mirko

Mirko — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:17:56 +0000

Everyone hated this article.

I hated it.

the idea of over-rated Smith songs is just so pretentious. There were no over-rated songs by this artist- the songs were all brilliant. People tend to hand out flattering and unrealistic superlatives like they’re going out of fashion these days, but all of them are true for this man. His songwriting was as good as Lennon. it’s rare to have a writer, in pop, who has such a command of lyrics, melody, harmony and arrangements. And not just virtuosity in these areas, but restraint, and emotional depth.

The article was just a bad idea. that should be very clear by nowl

By: elliotte's recipe

elliotte's recipe — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:39:08 +0000

i am a songwriter for 40 years and can figure out any music.
i have a similar sound as elliotte and felt like elliotte beat me to it when he hit the charts!
that asside,,,,,,i say we have a similar sound..BUT, elliott’s CHORDS and CHORD PATTERNS boggle my MIND !
after listening to hid stuff over and over ..”i can almost see HIS CODE?”
has any more talented and musically educated fan out there UNDERSTAND HIS APPROACH? elliotte for sure uses the same chords to create his sound !
WHAT EXACTLY IS IT?
asside from his voice I AM CERTAIN HE HAS SOME SORT OF MUSICAL THEORY OR TUNING OR ABABBA PATTERN HE USED WITHOUT A DOUBT! HELP ..I AM GOING MAD…I FEEL IT IS SOMETHING I MUST KNOW….TO FEEL MORE COMPLETE HERE ON EARTH AS CRAZY AS THAT IS?
ps. i once had a vision that a friend of mine should play keyboards for elliott.
ironically this person and his significant other nick named me “the prophet” !
that being said….a few years later after losing touch with those folkes i had that elliott vision…and how perfect this friend would be playing with elliott.
WOULD YOU BELIEVE I WENT TO SEE ELLIOTT and my JAW DROPPRD TO THE FLOOR WHEN….MY FRIEND WAS ON KEYBOARDS AND GUITAR IN ELLIOTTS BAND !!!!!!!
SWEAR TO GOD! INSANE !!!!
i was able to go backstage and say hi and shake elliottes hand and say nice job!
I REGRET NOT ASKING HIM….WHAT IT WAS ABOUT THOSE FREAKING CHORDS?
was it an alternative tuning?
TO THIS DAY ……IT IS DRIVING ME MAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
how does he look at that freaking guitar neck?
does he see it as a keyboard?
BUT LISTEN TO HIS CHORDS AND GUITAR RUNS…? THEY ARE repeated in every other song…its like every song is like his last rearranged? HE REALLY NEVER SWAYS FROM THIS THEORY !!! SOMEONE HELP ME !!!
AHHHHHHHHH!

By: RomanCandle

RomanCandle — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:33:52 +0000

Generally speaking, is there really such thing as an over-rated Elliott song? Of course not. The one you may think is a dud is quite likely someone else’s favorite.
As to the 5 “over-rated” tunes listed here, “Miss Misery” is a typically melodic gem with a dynamite opening line (”I’ll fake it through the day with some help from Johnny Walker Red”). Sure, the pun on miss/Miss isn’t Elliott’s most artful turn of phrase, but he turns the conceit into a complete chorus all by itself. The arrangement is gorgeous. Harmonies angelic. And it’s so fantastic to hear Mr. Misery, himself, taking a bittersweet swipe at a misanthrope of the fairer sex. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
Regarding “Son of Sam”: how about the aggressive drive of that middle eight (at least up to “king for a day,” after which, it admittedly goes a little overboard with the electric guitars)? And I may be wrong, but I always assumed the Shiva lyric was another of the many heroin references in Elliott’s oeuvre. And of course, the songs isn’t “about” David Berkowitz. Elliott would never be interested in writing something that obvious. I think the gist of song is that Elliott self-identifies more readily with the lamentable side of humanity, confessing “I’m a little like you/More like Son of Sam.”
This brings us to “Baby Britain” where drinking is incidental to the mute, isolation described in rather insightfully psychological detail. Yes, it’s bouncy and decidedly Beatles-esque. God forbid. But no aspect of the performance threatened the quality of this man’s catalog or his potential longevity as an artist.
As for “Independence Day.” What does Mr. DuBrowa require . . . more cymbal crashes than the perfectly contextualized drum loop can provide? Pa-shaw. Is it possible that the title/lyrics refer to Elliott’s self-anticipated early demise?
And finally “Pretty Ugly (Before).” This is an absolute gem of both self-reproach and self-acceptance. Again, close listeners will notice the depth of the lyrics. In a variation of the self-contempt found in “Son of Sam,” Smith describes the ugliness he sometimes felt–physically, existentially, or morally–as an all-encompassing force robbing him of all self-determination (”I felt so ugly before/I didn’t know what to do”). No wonder he was compelled to self-medicate with drugs, a fact of his life that he refers to obliquely in the line “And I’ll feel pretty another hour or two.” Once the drugs wore off, he was always back to square one. This is a bravely revealing and wonderfully crafted song. The kind that differentiates an artist from a craftsman. Notice the call-and-response of the voice and piano in the opening verse. The guitar solo is a tour-de-force of the simplicity and feeling that Elliott was capable of instrumentally. If you want to talk about an aspect of Elliott’s being under-rated, how about mentioning his guitar playing, electric or acoustic? The man developed his own vocabulary on the instrument and wielded it with deadly intent and precision.
We will never see his likes again. And though I grieve for him, I accept the fact that all of his fragile, haunting, heartful music could not have been created without the struggles he seemingly lived with on a daily basis, and that he and his work will remain criminally under-rated as a whole when people speak of the great pop songwriters of our time. XO

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:10:15 +0000

All are great songs. Really, how can you rate Elliott’s songs when he only has a small handful of kind-of-bad ones?

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:50:58 +0000

Longtime obsessed Elliott Smith fan here, and I gotta say, I really agree with these picks, except probably “Miss Misery,” because the Oscar-nominated version of that song really is incredible. “Pretty (Ugly Before)” is definitely one of the worst, and the acoustic version of “Independence Day” is, indeed, better.

But what I MOSTLY agree with about this is the pick “Go By”!!!! This is what I always list as my favorite Elliott Smith song. It’s got the most plays on my iPod. And “St. Ides Heaven” is usually my choice for a mix CD I make for someone else.

I would have picked “No Name No. 6″ (the one with the chorus “This time we can’t lose”) instead of “Some Song” but it’s pretty much the same idea. But that guitar sound in “No Name No. 6″ and the harmony, it’s too good to be a b-side.

As for “Not Half Right,” I actually like all the rockin’ Heatmiser stuff. I’d rather listen to the album “Dead Air,” because if I want to listen to Elliott Smith playing Elliott Smith-type songs, I’d listen to Elliott Smith, not Heatmiser. One lesser known Elliott Smith-like Heatmiser song is “Antonio Carlos Jobim” off Cop and Speeder, ya’ll should listen to that if you haven’t. Also, you should listen to the song Elliott did with Lois, called “Rougher.” He sings back-up and plays lead guitar, and my guess is that he had some assistance in writing the song as well, because it is soo much better than the rest of the album.

Yeah, “Go By”!!!! Yeah!

By: arick

arick — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:42:11 +0000

I like your picks for the underrated songs. Angel in the Snow and St. Ide’s Heaven frequently battle for my favorite Elliott song. Half Right is also amazing. Some Song I hadn’t even heard before this article, so I’m glad I read it. RIP Elliott…

By: Brian Mietz

Brian Mietz — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:22:44 +0000

“I Figured You Out” and “Twilight” would go on my underrated.

By: you only live a day/but it’s brilliant anyway | Gina Diary

you only live a day/but it’s brilliant anyway | Gina Diary — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:53:53 +0000

[...] on Elliott by one of the writers I think has done the best work on him, Corey duBrowa, see this Magnet piece on his most overrated songs (I think he is trying to say these are overrated). Yes, [...]

By: Stephen Toogood

Stephen Toogood — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:49:35 +0000

Have to say, I love both versions of Elliott’s ‘Son Of Sam’…