Elliott Smith

I strongly recommend reading John Darnielle's moving tribute to Elliott Smith. I didn't really know much about Smith other than the unanimous accolades that accumulated around him, having only heard "Rose Parade" on a 1997 CMJ disc. While I like that song very much (I've listened to it every day this week), my interest in singer-songwriters such as Darnielle (a/k/a the Mountain Goats) and Matt Ward developed only recently, long after my fervent record-buying days had passed. Thus, I never really caught on to him. His sudden death didn't hit me as hard as those of Mark Sandman, Joe Strummer or even Jeff Buckley, but it's just so tragic when an artist who has so much to say is no longer around to say it to us, is silenced and taken away from us far too soon. Smith obviously endured a lot of inner pain, which unfortunately is often the boon companion of great artists.