In For A Round Of Overexposure

Hard to believe it's already been about 10 years since Elliott Smith took his own life. Rather than focus on that tragedy, this is a good opportunity to reminisce about his major label debut XO. I could go on and on about its beauty and sadness, but this guy says it all.

I'm partial to Either/Or, but XO is quite stunning as well. Time to borrow the kid's Beats and spend some quality time with Elliott Smith.

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I'm in Love With the World Through the Eyes of a Girl

Courtesy of AV Club's Undercover series, here is Ben Folds performing an excellent cover of one of Elliott Smith's finest, Say Yes...

Help Yourself

Finally got to see Up in the Air last night. Clooney is fantastically Oscar-worthy and the story is good - I highly recommend it.

I was struck by the fantastic soundtrack though. One song during a pivotal scene really blew me away. The deliciously folksy tune is called Help Yourself by Sad Brad Smith, a formerly unknown musician from Chicago. Read more about him here and click the image to plop down a mere $.99 for stellar tunage. Could he be the one to pick up where Elliott Smith left off (he's also on the soundtrack, btw)?

HisSpace

Because Your Candle Burns Too Bright

Kill Rock Stars, the venerated indie label that was home to Elliott Smith, is adding his debut Roman Candle and his first posthumous release From a Basement on the Hill to its Smith catalog. Both are quite excellent and quite frankly required listening. Roman Candle has even been remastered. They hit stores April 6.

To mark the occasion, KRS is offering an unreleased Smith tune free! Download below.

MP3: Elliott Smith - Cecilia/Amanda (via KRS)

via R'Stone

Keeping company with this disaster

It was five years ago yesterday that Too Poppy favorite Elliott Smith died. The circumstances behind his death are still unresolved and the music world is less one talent. LAist has an interesting article which for me anyway gives an interesting perspective. If you're not familiar with his work, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

You Want a Taste of What's Going Around

It sounds like Brandon Wilde's Songs from the Deep Sleep is one to consider. Powerpopaholic drops names like Paul McCartney, Elliott Smith, David Grahame, and Radiohead in their 8/10 review of the album. As if you need any more to sweeten the deal, Brandon's group Thisway has had a WB-style hit (link to video) with Crawl, which is a great tune.

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Official Site
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All Your Secret Wishes Could Right Now Be Coming True

Pitchfork is exclusively reporting that Kill Rock Stars is releasing a new Elliott Smith compilation of rarities called New Moon on May 8. The recordings are from the same era as his self-titled release and Either/Or. Angeles is my favorite Smith tune and that can be found on Either/Or, so I have high hopes for this new compilation.

His death still haunts me, not unlike Jim Ellison's. Ridiculous tragedies that stole great pop geniuses from us.

UPDATE: So much for the exclusivity bullshit. Billboard had this story last year and has a much better story detailing the new compilation here, including the tracklist.