I have to say I don't really like doubled up vocals. It works for me sometimes but just as a thing in general it's not my favorite thing, unless used sparingly.
I saw ES twice, I've heard his shows could be really hit or miss, but he was wonderful both times I saw him. His live version of Independence Day was especially good.
I think my favorite song is probably Angeles. I love Coming Up Roses and Color Bars too.
Elliott Smith
Moderator: Aesthetics
bearhead wrote:I don't know how much I agree with this statement, since A Basment on the Hill was quite dark..
Yeah, that's true. I mean, just listen to the lyrics of A Fond Farewell. Sadly prophetic
Then King's Crossing follows and he has a line in that song that goes something like "Give me one reason not to do it" and his girlfriend can be heard in the back saying "because we love you". That song continues to make my jaw drop. I consider it to be his magnum opus, lyrically. From a Basement on the Hill is too good haha.
aged sea wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFSuOqYNF6o
Interesting Lo-fi(ish) version of the song. Never heard that before, thanks!
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pianoforte
- Dayvan Cowboy
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7T wrote:Then King's Crossing follows and he has a line in that song that goes something like "Give me one reason not to do it" and his girlfriend can be heard in the back saying "because we love you". That song continues to make my jaw drop. I consider it to be his magnum opus, lyrically. From a Basement on the Hill is too good haha.
Or what about the line, "It's Christmas time, and the needles on the tree. A skinny santa is bringing something to me." King's Crossing hits like a brick.
rainier wrote:I saw ES twice, I've heard his shows could be really hit or miss, but he was wonderful both times I saw him. His live version of Independence Day was especially good.
you're incredibly lucky to have seen him. i missed the mark because of age but man, Independence Day is such a transcendental song and the lyrics absurdly good.
i'm going to be incredibly harsh in this post cause i love backing his music,
-NO ONE can touch this dude w/r/t song writing. and to the post above, he really cannot be compared to anyone but maybe like, George Harrison or Bob Dylan. again, i got no agenda, but as an objective observer it's absolutely ridiculous what this guy recorded. his prowess with music is truly impressive.
-his right hand technique with guitar is that of a sage who spent years 10 years practicing only that and based on his earliest recordings it has seemingly always been like that. e.g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfWxa-FN8X4
-harmony and the way melody is implied: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzuYdUAPXxw
-his piano chops are impeccable. e.g, in this video he rips through Rachmanihoff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qH2SmPth0A
-he was smart enough to write lyrics that didn't implicitly spell out what he was expressing, and yet were even still captivating without trying to read into them. this is rare.
-he pretty much scored Good Will Hunting, which I think is a timeless film, and no doubt extremely popular. the original track he wrote for the film was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Original Song In A Motion Picture" but naturally lost to Celine Dion. in this video he performs the song (only because they said if he didn't they'd get someone else) to all of Hollywood right after there was a performance of music from the Titanic or something.
Could this video be anymore symbolic?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2IcoVQO7yo
-if you look the three main albums Either/Or, XO, and Figure 8 the diversity is high. tracks like "Alameda" to "Everything Means Nothing To Me" to "Amity". I would recommend starting from XO and then working backward and forward from there.
-his voice. as someone said "I Didn't Understand". this track is next level. he pretty much wrote a 5 part gregorian chant type thing and recorded every part himself, are you kidding me? another example of why he really can't be compared.
-he just understood music in such a gigantic way. e.g this track shares similar musical sensibilities with boc. it was originally recorded for figure 8 but unfortunately wasn't released: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xawASIzzJRQ
-and. i don't consider this a "cool" thing but he stabbed himself in the heart. i feel like that mainly happened in the 16th Century or something. still cannot draw any kind of conclusion from that and probably will never be able to.
anyway, it was only last summer that first listened to all of his music and that was pretty much the first time i heard it. listened almost daily that summer but haven't very much since because the music is so rich.
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pianoforte
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This guy does music in a similar fragile/acoustic style: Ben Kweller - Walk On Me (Nyc) 2-11-01.
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cubistking1906
- Eagle Minded
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Yesterday I was listening to a random-ish radio show performance he did from 1996 and realized to my shock that the New Moon version of Thirteen is taken from this gig and is actually a live one take performance. 
I did some reading and it's the same case with See You Later and Half Right as well.
I did some reading and it's the same case with See You Later and Half Right as well.
cubistking1906 wrote:Yesterday I was listening to a random-ish radio show performance he did from 1996 and realized to my shock that the New Moon version of Thirteen is taken from this gig and is actually a live one take performance.
I did some reading and it's the same case with See You Later and Half Right as well.
I never knew this! That's actually really cool. I thought they were just bedroom demos to be quite honest.