Elliott Smith:Overrated
 

Don't get me wrong, I loved XO but he is a very overrated musician. Anyone agree? Disagree? I feel like he is one of those musicians that someone likes to get indie cred points.

Completely disagree. He may get too many brownie points for his suicide/death (similar to Kurt Cobain), but that doesn't detract from how good his music was.

No. If anything he is underrated.

"From A Basement On A Hill" is one of the rare albums that I can put on and enjoy from start to finish.

Yeah, that was the album that got me into his music. Heatmiser was a great band as well.

Pool Guy, is your beef that you dislike his music, or that it is overrated regardless of how good it is?

XO is one of my all time favorite albums and I love a lot of his other stuff too, like Either/Or I can kind of see where you are coming from musicianship wise, his stuff is pretty simple, but his lyrics are fantastic and I for one am a huge fan of simple/acoustic music, so I don't see him as overrated at all.

Either/Or is a guitar player's acoustic album. It sounds simple on first listen, but it is actually quite complex. He is really creative in his chord progressions. "Alameda" is actually a challenge to play before you really sit down and get the hang of it. Either/Or is far and away my favorite album of his.

In general, I also think he is underrated. He is one of the rare occasions where someone has indie cred because he is actually good and not just because it's "cool to like him".

Elliott Smith overrated? I don't think so at all. Not only are his lyrics brilliant, his guitar playing is fantastic as well. I'd have to agree with Duga. Either/Or is my favorite ES album as well.

i like the songs i've heard by him. only a few songs though

What little I've heard makes me think he was overrated. Boring, mopey music. Male Brandi Carlile.

not much wisdom in that post.

I couldn't agree more!:clap:

I actually do tend to find Elliott Smith somewhat overrated. I own XO and Figure 8, and he's written some great songs, but as a whole he continually leaves me unimpressed. There's not much I find in him to keep going back to. I respect him, but ultimately, he doesn't move me.

If Elliott Smith is overrated then what do you say about a musician like Jennifer Lopez or whoever is super famous and makes music of far less merit?

Btw, did he really stab himself in the heart? That seems like a lot of work.

Figure 8 is probably my least favorite, it is one I would never tell sombody just getting into him to start off with. I would rather see somebody go with "Elliott Smith", "Either/Or" or "XO".

I find with Elliott's music it just hits me sometimes.. a song I didn't care for before stands out more, it is like how you can listen to a song 1000 times, but on that 1001th listen you go "ahhh". His music is always opening up to new discoveries for me the more I listen to it.

Excellent songwriter, speaks to the outcasted and addicted a lot.

Personally I may even say he could been seen as his generations Nick Drake. Nick has a devouted following, but will never be a common household name. Elliott I would say is about the same, he may be overrated in the mind of some indie fans, but to the whole world at large who has not heard him he is underrated, every day I usually find somebody who hears Elliott's music and thanks me after. Really resonates with many.



anybody to me who can write something like this, and still remain so little known outside small circles, is not overrated at all. I guarentee you if they played this on the radio, it would floor many people.

I'm listening to that now, uggh. I want music, not half-sung poetry.

it is as I always like to say,everybody listens to music, but not many hear it.

That seems like a backwards anecdote.

I only have his self-titled and Either/Or and they are both very good albums. I enjoy his music from time to time but he's not an artist I would listen to that often, I'd just throw on one of his albums when I'm in the mood for him. I wouldn't say he's overrated a such but I just find it hard to see why so many people make such a big fuss over him. His lyrics are brilliant but as regards the music I just need something that bit more to attach myself onto to really immerse myself in it.

no. I mean listening to something, and hearing and understanding it is different. One can listen to a song, but not "hear it" or relate it it's meaning.

I just mean to listen to something without an understanding of where it coming from is not the same.

Yes, that's true. But I think I hear enough of a message of despair to know to avoid it. Only if I strongly relate to a sad song (for example, "Black," by Pearl Jam) will I enjoy it, and it probably needs good instrumentation to not depress me excessively.

Yeh he probably is overrated, like Nick Drake. But at least both of them did some good songs.

Some people just can't get into the very personal "man and his acoustic guitar" sound. I can see how some of you guys might want more than that. Elliott was much more talented when you limited him to an acoustic. XO is a great album, but the big studio sound kills a lot of what makes him great, in my opinion. For me, I listen to music that is very intricate and has a lot going on, so sometimes I like to strip away all the fluff and just listen to someone who is genuine. Elliott Smith does that the best.

Elliott's great, but I see why someone wouldn't like him - a bit precious and forced at times. I certainly would call him overrated (unless you're using Sweetaddy as the focal point of that assertion), but definitely underrated.

what? you certain would call him overrated? but definitely underrated?

Just about any artist that passes prematurely or dies in their prime gets inflated appraisal.

But I find Elliot Smith entirely deserving of the praise he gets as a songwriter. His self titled is on my list for favorite album of all time, after all. Amongst other singer/songwriters, especially making music these days, i find him lacking enough praise.

Also, I agree, XO is great, but not my favorite.

Figure 8 is definitely his weakest album as far as I'm concerned. Try Roman Candle, Elliott Smith, Either/Or and From a Basement on the Hill, then say you're unimpressed.

Smith is, along with Leonard Cohen, my favourite singer-songwriter. The intimacy implicit in his records, along with his grasp and use of melody, harmony and chord progressions, totally engrosses me. He also played and arranged all (or the vast majority at least) of the instruments heard on his albums, which is impressive in itself.

He was a very talented man who made music that has the capacity to deeply touch the listener if given a chance. To that end I don't think he gets enough credit. Of course he won't be everybody's cup of tea, but there'll always be those people out there who sh!t on an artist just to be contrary too.

no
 

I don't really like the word overrated. Elliott hits me, not others. Some music hits people but not others. That doesn't mean they're overrated. With many things, there probably are people who like him just for indie cred but there are so many people that are touched by his music, who have and will love his music genuinely forever. I'm 19 and I've listened to his music almost everyday since I can't remember when.. I'm not pretentious or depressive like most Elliott Smith fans are assumed and I don't use him as a tool to look cool.
I don't think anybody is "overrated" really.. I mean, they're famous for what they do/did, they're loved for it, disliked for it. The Beatles, The Smiths, Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Jimi Hendrix have all been called overrated, but at the end of the day they were there for a good reason.

huh? wha? hell, no

if he were overrated, music critics here will be worshipping his albums

i only have Either/Or and it's awesome

If you expect him to live up to musical canon upon first listen you'll be sadly disappointed. The first time I listened to him I thought Either/Or and XO were his worst works, and I found stuff like Roman Candle and Figure 8 among the best. Now it looks something like...

Either/Or = XO > Roman Candle > Figure 8 > From a Basement on the Hill > Elliott Smith

The one thing I seem to disagree with everyone about is fundamental to my interpretation of his music. Everyone seems to think because he committed suicide that his music must be depressing. As a musician myself it is fucking hard to write music when you're depressed, and even more so when you're subject is depressing. He wrote a good bit of that, but it's more of an introspective view into why our emotions manifest themselves like they do rather than the dim-witted parading of those emotions (like Mark Kozelek). Songs like Say Yes & Coming Up Roses are perfect examples of this.

I mean, the guy named his most well-renowned album after a Soren Kierkegaard novel. He can't be all that bad.

Oh, and I'm not gonna lie. His name is on my short list for whatever future children I might have. So no, I don't think he's overrated one bit. :)

Not Overrated. Can't remember the last time I was subjected to him on the radio. Nobody plays him at the pub because he's kind of a buzzkill. The only time I hear him now is when I'm hanging out with a chick with bangs who wears too much eyeshadow and dark lipstick or I'm watching a rerun of Good Will Hunting or The Royal Tenebaums. He's decent. Not Overrated

I feel like you struck out a bit here...

Gave the guy's music a try several times, love Waltz #2. Sheer Brilliance.
Cannot see anything interesting about the rest of his music. Pity :(

I think he's a somewhat overrated lyricist, especially when i've seen him compared to the likes of bob dylan etc, but as an overall songwriter he's pretty terrific.

Ooh dude, there's a lot more to them than meets the eye...

Elliott Smith - "Say Yes" (Either/Or, 1995)
It is certainly a love song, but I interpreted this as an ode to Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, one of the first existential works to flip the dialectic on its head. I've bolded some of the passages that seem to refer to this inner anxiety that Kierkegaard alluded to heavily in F&T, especially in the coda.

My view is Smith is making an implicit reference to this internal struggle & paradox that governs human behavior & existentialism in general. The album itself is a nod to Kierkegaard's Either/Or: A Fragment of Life, so I can't be very wide of the mark, can I?

I'm a bit neutral about him. I own his self-titled, Either/Or and Figure 8 and although they're fairly enjoyable albums I've never been truly blown away by them either. I admire his songwriting skills and it's definitely his strong point but his music just needs that extra something for me to truly enjoy it. I'd put on one of his albums from time to time and his music works well when you're really in the mood but I wouldn't listen to his music too often.

for me - underrated.
yes alot of it is sad but i don't enjoy his music because he killed himself and i want to give him brownie points. he really has brilliant music, from his basic acoustics to his bigger productions.. it all sounds good to me. anyone who is rated highly is for a reason.

Agreed.