Thursday, July 4, 2013

Elliott Smith: Independence Day

I thought I’d feature something a little different for Independence Day. In 1998, Dreamworks Records released the fourth album by Elliott Smith – his first solo release for a major label. Smith had already gained a reputation as an indy audience who layered his tracks with instrumentation and vocals – doing most of the performance himself. An for this 4th of July, we feature Smith's recording of "Independence Day."


The album whose working title was “Grand Mal” was released under the title of “XO.” I think what attracted me to the song “Independence Day” was his use of a Wurlitzer Electric piano (or a digital clone of the instrument). The drums are actually sequenced from a drum machine – but have a real feel to them.

While he had a troubled life and adulthood, Elliott channeled his experiences through his music. In fact, Elliott was not his real name. He was christened as Steven, but felt that the name “Steve” made him sound like a jock and “Steven” sounded too studious. He chose Elliott as his professional name and there are several theories why he select that particular moniker.

He died in 2003 of a stab wound which may or may not have been self inflicted. An official ruling of the nature of his death was never made and the case was not investigated further.




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