Even After Death, Elliott Smith's Legacy Plays On

Author: Erika Mercer

It is a rare artist who can employ subtle colors to paint the most complex pictures of human experience and emotion. Elliott Smith achieved this in his short musical career, depicting scenes of heartbreak, addiction, redemption and desire with profound delicacy and sensitivity. He leaves behind six albums which, through their sparse melodies and raw emotion, attest to the understated genius of their composer.

Smith, 34, ended his career Tuesday, Oct. 21 with a single, apparently self-inflicted knife wound to the chest. His girlfriend discovered his body in their Los Angeles home, and he was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead one hour later.

Born Steven Paul Smith on Aug. 6, 1969, the artist spent his childhood in Omaha, Neb., where he began playing music at age nine and composing one year later. During high school, he moved to his father's house in Portland, Oreg., and formed his first band, Stranger Than Fiction. It was also during this time that he adopted the name Elliott, after deciding that Steve sounded too "jockish" and Steve Smith too "alliterative."

Smith went on to attend Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., majoring in philosophy and political science. There, he met Neil Gust, with whom he later moved to Portland and formed the punk band, Heatmiser, which released three albums between 1993 and 1996. During this time, Smith also experimented with more folk-rock based solo recordings, releasing two albums, "Roman Candle," in 1994 and "Elliott Smith" in 1995. When Heatmiser dissolved in 1996, Smith devoted himself to his solo work, recording a series of three albums within the next four years - "Either/Or" in 1997, "XO" in 1998 and "Figure 8" in 2000.

Additionally, he contributed several songs to the soundtrack for the 1997 Gus Van Sant film, "Good Will Hunting," including his breakthrough hit, "Miss Misery." The success of this film's soundtrack had a mixed effect on Smith - though "Miss Misery" was nominated for an Oscar Award and garnered much acclaim, Smith was never comfortable with the amount of attention it received and thereafter refused to perform it live.

This disdain for commercial attention was in many ways representative of Smith's life and music in general, which were consistently marked by tensions between a fragile self and an ever-strengthening career. His unassuming and quiet physical presence, together with his melancholy, intimate sound, suited many listeners, who found in Smith a wise friend. Yet as his following grew, Smith's subject matter darkened as he battled with alcohol and drug addiction, though he consistently denied any autobiographical connections to his songs. After his 2000 release, Smith's output slowed - in the time between "Figure 8" and his death, he released only several singles, 7" records and EPs, though at the time of his death he was working on his seventh full-length album with the working title, "From A Basement on the Hill."

Smith's unique sensibility for coloring in the negative spaces of life - those moments and emotions generally left blank - will ensure his legacy for much time to come. We'll miss you, Elliott.