Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith biography

A compilation titled An Introduction to... Elliott Smith was released by Domino Records on November 1, 2010 in the UK and Kill Rock Stars on November 2 in the US.

There remain over a hundred unreleased tracks. Many have leaked on the internet.

Musical style and influences

Smith respected and was inspired by many artists and styles, including Big Star, The Clash, Pink Floyd, Television, Motown and flamenco records, Hank Williams, and Modest Mouse. Smith claimed to listen exclusively to selected albums (such as The Marble Index by Nico) for months. Sean Croghan, a former roommate of Smith's, said that the singer "listened almost exclusively to slow jams" in his senior year at college. Smith was also known to gain inspiration from novels, religion and philosophy. He liked classic literature, especially Samuel Beckett, T. S. Eliot, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky (and other Russian novelists).

Smith mentioned his admiration for Bob Dylan in several interviews, citing him as an early musical influence. He once commented: "My father taught me how to play "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". I love Dylan's words, but even more than that, I love the fact that he loves words." and Smith's lyrics have been compared to those in Drake's minimalist and haunting final album.

Smith was a dedicated fan of The Beatles (as well as their solo projects), once noting that he had been listening to them frequently since he was about "four years old" and also claimed that hearing The White Album was his original inspiration to become a musician.

Regarding his songwriting, Smith said:

Smith said that transitions were his favorite part of songs and that he preferred to write broader, more impressionistic music closer to pop rather than folk music. "I found songs recorded in high school reworked 15 years on. Lyrics became more important to him as he became older, and more time was spent working on them."

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Bibliography

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