Elliott Smith-DEAD :(
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I think that's his official website's link..
Here's the only thing close to official I could find...
http://www.undercover.com.au/news/20...iottsmith.html
Here's the only thing close to official I could find...
http://www.undercover.com.au/news/20...iottsmith.html
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Still no official reports, but this site has the same stuff as the link already posted:
http://www.elliottsmith.com/
http://www.elliottsmith.com/
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The British press (The Guardian, NME) are going with the story, but they only seem to be reporting the same information that we already know. Nothing on the AP wire yet.
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Originally posted by Hiro11
This sucks. Great musician. What a ****ing idiot.
This sucks. Great musician. What a ****ing idiot.
This is incredibly upsetting. What a shocking thing to wake up to.
#11
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I'm devastated. I can't react any further than that.
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What a sad thing to hear...and it's sucks to be the first music report that I read morning...
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/03-10/22.shtml
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/03-10/22.shtml
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I'm sad that he's gone and at the same time glad that I finally had the opportunity to see him perform back in June in Philadelphia. At that show you could tell he was not all mentally there. Between songs he'd go off on a tangent and lose his train of thought completely. I'm on his mailing list and several fans have said he had been experiencing pain in his arm for the past few years that sometimes effected his guitar playing to the point where he would mess up half the songs in a show.
He'll be missed greatly.
He'll be missed greatly.
#17
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For those not "in the know", he was an enormously talented singer-songwriter. His music would probably be best described as "art-pop", and it was extremely reminiscent of The Beatles, both in terms of melody and vocal harmony. Unlike most people, he seemed equally proficient on piano and guitar, and he also seemed to be able to channel John and Paul in equal measure. Really, really amazing guy.
ETA - He was probably influenced by the Beach Boys, too, but I don't like them much so I tend to not think about their influence on other musicians.
ETA - He was probably influenced by the Beach Boys, too, but I don't like them much so I tend to not think about their influence on other musicians.
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MTV has a story posted that has details:
There's more, but it's about his career mostly.
Folk-punk singer/songwriter Elliott Smith has died of an apparent suicide, according to the Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner's office. Smith's body was found in his apartment, in the Silverlake section of Los Angeles, by a female friend, who took him to a local hospital at approximately 12:18 p.m. on Tuesday.
He was pronounced dead at Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center just over an hour later. He was 34.
A single knife wound that appeared to be self-inflicted was evident on the body, though police detectives are investigating the incident for foul play and/or other possibilities. No other details were available at press time.
Smith (real name Steven Paul Smith) had battled drug and alcohol addiction throughout his career. His first two albums, 1994's Roman Candle and the next year's self-titled LP for Olympia, Washington's Kill Rock Stars label, intimated these subjects with haunting, sparsely recorded acoustic songs such as "Needle in the Hay" that drew comparisons to 1960s singer/songwriter Nick Drake and Simon and Garfunkel. He reportedly cleaned up midway through his career, but the problem was believed to have escalated in recent years due to a reclusive nature and sporadic public performances.
He was pronounced dead at Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center just over an hour later. He was 34.
A single knife wound that appeared to be self-inflicted was evident on the body, though police detectives are investigating the incident for foul play and/or other possibilities. No other details were available at press time.
Smith (real name Steven Paul Smith) had battled drug and alcohol addiction throughout his career. His first two albums, 1994's Roman Candle and the next year's self-titled LP for Olympia, Washington's Kill Rock Stars label, intimated these subjects with haunting, sparsely recorded acoustic songs such as "Needle in the Hay" that drew comparisons to 1960s singer/songwriter Nick Drake and Simon and Garfunkel. He reportedly cleaned up midway through his career, but the problem was believed to have escalated in recent years due to a reclusive nature and sporadic public performances.
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Originally posted by Mutley Hyde
Yeah, no offense, but,
R.I.P. Elliot Smith, whoever you are.
Yeah, no offense, but,
R.I.P. Elliot Smith, whoever you are.
#20
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Man, this sucks. The poor guy had a lot of problems with drugs and depression so this sad ending shouldn't be totally shocking -- but somehow, it still is. I was just listeining to "X/O" a few days ago, what a beautiful album. And the use of his song "Needle In The Hay" during the suicide scene in "The Royal Tenenbaums" now seems even more eerie if that's possible.
RIP, Mr. Smith -- hope he found the peace he couldn't find here.
RIP, Mr. Smith -- hope he found the peace he couldn't find here.
#21
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Wow. I can hardly believe this. The guy was so talented and wrote some really terrific songs. I wish more people knew who he was because I think his music would appeal to a wide variety of musical tastes.
I remember when he played "Miss Misery" on the Academy Awards show. It was just him and his guitar standing in front of all those people playing this very sweet, melodic song--a song that a lot of people probably never even heard before. (In the movie ,"Good Will Hunting", just a few snippets of the song are used.) I'd bet that at least half the people in the audience never even knew who he was. I thought to myself at the time, "This is one non-phoney peformer. To stand out there and just let the song speak for itself without any flash or mega production going on behind him." I thought his song was one of the highlights of the Academy Awards that year and he gave the best performance out of all the musicial performers on the show. And IMHO the song that he wrote was light years better than the other crap that was nominated and should have won the Academy Award for Best Song.
Sorry to see him go so young. I guess I'll never get to meet him "Between The Bars" now.
I remember when he played "Miss Misery" on the Academy Awards show. It was just him and his guitar standing in front of all those people playing this very sweet, melodic song--a song that a lot of people probably never even heard before. (In the movie ,"Good Will Hunting", just a few snippets of the song are used.) I'd bet that at least half the people in the audience never even knew who he was. I thought to myself at the time, "This is one non-phoney peformer. To stand out there and just let the song speak for itself without any flash or mega production going on behind him." I thought his song was one of the highlights of the Academy Awards that year and he gave the best performance out of all the musicial performers on the show. And IMHO the song that he wrote was light years better than the other crap that was nominated and should have won the Academy Award for Best Song.
Sorry to see him go so young. I guess I'll never get to meet him "Between The Bars" now.
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Songwriter Elliott Smith Dead at 34
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Elliott Smith, a singer-songwriter whose dark, introspective songs won him critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination, has apparently committed suicide, his publicist and coroner's officials said Wednesday. He was 34.
Smith's body was found by his live-in girlfriend Tuesday, Los Angeles County Coroner Records Supervisor Marsha Grigsby told AP Radio.
He sustained a single stab wound to the chest that appeared to be self-inflicted, she said.
His New York-based publicist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also confirmed his death.
Smith released five solo albums that received widespread acclaim from rock critics and garnered modest commercial success. "Miss Misery,'' recorded for Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting,'' was nominated for an Oscar in 1998.
Smith's songs often were compared with those of Alex Chilton, Nick Drake and the Beatles, his favorite band.
Lyrically, they addressed dark subject matter such as drug addiction, troubled relationships and loneliness - though Smith tried to distance himself from the label of confessional songwriter.
"I don't feel like my songs are particularly fragile or revealing,'' he said in a 1998 interview in the Los Angeles Times. "It's not like a diary, and they're not intended to be any sort of superintimate confessional singer-songwriterish thing.''
However, Smith had recently spoken in interviews about his struggles with alcoholism. "When I lived in New York I was really a bad alcoholic for a few years,'' he told Under the Radar magazine in an interview published in June 2003.
In an effort to quit drinking, Smith said he had undergone treatment which administers an intravenous solution meant to clear the bloodstream of toxins.
Smith was born Steven Paul Smith in Nebraska; his mother was a singer and his father was a psychiatrist. He spent most of his childhood with his mother in the suburbs of Dallas and then moved to Portland, Ore., while in high school to live with his father.
He studied piano and guitar as a youth and began composing songs when he was 13. He began calling himself Elliott in middle school, he later explained to a reporter, because Steve sounded too "jockish.''
A graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., he later joined a Portland punk band called Heatmiser. On the side, he recorded several solo albums - "Roman Candle'' (1994), "Elliott Smith'' (1995) and "Either/Or'' (1997), all on independent labels - that won him a devoted underground following.
In 1997, he moved to New York, where Van Sant approached him with an offer to use several of his songs on the soundtrack to "Good Will Hunting.'' The movie was a hit, bringing Smith's music to a mainstream audience.
Smith subsequently signed with DreamWorks Records and recorded two albums; "XO'' (1998) and "Figure 8'' (2000) continued his critical winning streak, and took him to the middle reaches of Billboard's Top 200 albums chart.
"I don't really have any goals as a songwriter,'' he once said, "other than to show what it's like to be a person - just like everybody else who's ever played music does.''
Associated Press writer Justin Glanville in New York contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Elliott Smith, a singer-songwriter whose dark, introspective songs won him critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination, has apparently committed suicide, his publicist and coroner's officials said Wednesday. He was 34.
Smith's body was found by his live-in girlfriend Tuesday, Los Angeles County Coroner Records Supervisor Marsha Grigsby told AP Radio.
He sustained a single stab wound to the chest that appeared to be self-inflicted, she said.
His New York-based publicist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also confirmed his death.
Smith released five solo albums that received widespread acclaim from rock critics and garnered modest commercial success. "Miss Misery,'' recorded for Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting,'' was nominated for an Oscar in 1998.
Smith's songs often were compared with those of Alex Chilton, Nick Drake and the Beatles, his favorite band.
Lyrically, they addressed dark subject matter such as drug addiction, troubled relationships and loneliness - though Smith tried to distance himself from the label of confessional songwriter.
"I don't feel like my songs are particularly fragile or revealing,'' he said in a 1998 interview in the Los Angeles Times. "It's not like a diary, and they're not intended to be any sort of superintimate confessional singer-songwriterish thing.''
However, Smith had recently spoken in interviews about his struggles with alcoholism. "When I lived in New York I was really a bad alcoholic for a few years,'' he told Under the Radar magazine in an interview published in June 2003.
In an effort to quit drinking, Smith said he had undergone treatment which administers an intravenous solution meant to clear the bloodstream of toxins.
Smith was born Steven Paul Smith in Nebraska; his mother was a singer and his father was a psychiatrist. He spent most of his childhood with his mother in the suburbs of Dallas and then moved to Portland, Ore., while in high school to live with his father.
He studied piano and guitar as a youth and began composing songs when he was 13. He began calling himself Elliott in middle school, he later explained to a reporter, because Steve sounded too "jockish.''
A graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., he later joined a Portland punk band called Heatmiser. On the side, he recorded several solo albums - "Roman Candle'' (1994), "Elliott Smith'' (1995) and "Either/Or'' (1997), all on independent labels - that won him a devoted underground following.
In 1997, he moved to New York, where Van Sant approached him with an offer to use several of his songs on the soundtrack to "Good Will Hunting.'' The movie was a hit, bringing Smith's music to a mainstream audience.
Smith subsequently signed with DreamWorks Records and recorded two albums; "XO'' (1998) and "Figure 8'' (2000) continued his critical winning streak, and took him to the middle reaches of Billboard's Top 200 albums chart.
"I don't really have any goals as a songwriter,'' he once said, "other than to show what it's like to be a person - just like everybody else who's ever played music does.''
Associated Press writer Justin Glanville in New York contributed to this report.
#25
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I'll never forget the first time "The Biggest Lie" and "Between the Bars" showed up on a tape my then-girlfriend made me. Truly life-changing musical moments. The saddest thing, for me, is, like when Jeff Buckley died, is never being able to hear anything new sung by their voice. My heart goes out to fellow fans, and Elliott's friends and family.