Love him, though I really don’t think I can narrow down a single favorite from his catalog. I usually put on a full album of his when I listen to him, rather than play individual selections. XO and From a Basement are the best.
I like Either/or the best, followed closely by XO and Self-titled. You’re right, though. He’s an album man.
It’s tough to compare the Kill Rock Stars period with the Dreamworks period. “Between the Bars” is a good choice. I also “Needle in the Hay” and “Son of Sam”.
Ah Needle in the Hay. You have a dark side eh? :P
I always liked No Name #3.
“You have a dark side eh?”
. . . to say the least.
Hehe. me too, my friend. No Name #3 is also one of my favorites. It’s hypnotic. I also think it was the most well-used of the ES songs in Good Will Hunting, which I find is a formulaic but decent movie. Gus Van Zandt’s greatest achievement, in my mind, is introducing Elliott Smith to the mainstream.
I like “Rose Parade” from Either/Or, too.
Great song. I think the only disposable song on Either/or is Cupids Trick, and it’s not even bad at all, switches the mood up a little.
It’s tough to compare the Kill Rock Stars period with the Dreamworks period.
True. I love the minimalism (I guess that word works) of his KRS releases, but I really admire the production on his later albums. Great songwriter. Goes without saying, but I wish he was still around :(.
Waltz #2
“Ballad of Big Nothing” and “The Morning After,” but I adore most of Smith’s work. As Will Oldham once wrote, his “sadness and tiredness keep my spirits up.”
Brilliant, brilliant musician. Hard to pick an absolute favourite song by him, but my favourite album of is Self-titled and the last four songs on it are pure brilliance.
Will Oldham is good in his own right, but I think the majority of his appeal lies in his lyrics, which are fantastic. My favorite album by him is “I See a Darkness”. However, I think the melodies are solid but not spectacular, and his voice is very weak. It conveys vulnerability and weariness well, but is very limited, off-key, and thin. He is a friend of Mark Kozelek and sings background on the Sun Kil Moon album “April”. Mark Kozelek was the driving force behind Red House Painters, but I think he’s finally come to maturity under the Sun Kil Moon moniker. Since the passing of Elliott, Sun Kil Moon has filled the void more than anything else. It can take a few listens to sink in, but the lyrics are fantastic, as is the music and playing. His voice has greatly improved over the years. If anybody is interested, try listening to “Ghosts of the Great Highway” and “April” on headphones, at night, while lying in bed.
‘baby britain’ is like a long lost beatles song. that was the one that hooked me
“Angeles”. It’s so good that Gus used it twice.
St. Ides Heaven. So much emotion in that song, I can’t even handle it.
I’m fond of Clementine : )
the Heatmiser days:
Everybody knows you only live a day but it’s brilliant anyway.
Saw you at the perfect place
It’s gonna happen soon but not today
So go to sleep and make the change
I’ll meet you here tomorrow.
I love the butterfly metaphor in “Independence Day”.
Def. Rose Parade Either Or is my hands down favorite album.
JaxorMax0r
I love this man. I feel like I knew him even though he is gone and I never met him. He is brutally honest, a great picker and piano player, and his lyrics are idiosyncratic and brilliant. I believe his melodies are on the level of The Beatles, and his voice the most naturally emotive, unaffected, and honest in decades. I know this isn’t a music site, but I’ve become fond of you all and would like to know if any fellow Mubians also like him. I linked it to Good Will Hunting, which uses about four of his songs on it’s soundtrack, as an attempt to link this thread to film.
My favorite song by him is probably Between the Bars. How about you guys?