Elliot @ MindSay

So, my first blog entry. One of what will hopefully be many! I'm going to be using this blog to share my random ramblings, musings, rants and so forth. I may also post my lyrics or short stories here too.

I've been looking for a good blog host for about a week now. I had initially signed up for Livejournal, but I realized that it had far more settings than I needed. So, I abandoned my Livejournal account and set off in search of a more simple blog. I decided to try Blogger, but I didn't like any of the templates, and when I tried to modify it, it continually played up. So I found My.Opera. Which looked great. Until I tried to put my own header in. The CSS just wouldn't work for me - I swear, that language is evil. It's conspiring against me. It's going to strike when I least expect it. Anyway, after signing up for goodness knows how many other blog hosts, each one of which failed to meet my standards (which, to be perfectly fair, weren't exactly sky-high), I finally found Mindsay. I scouted around the site a bit and it seems to meet every single one of my needs and wants! So, that's how I got here...I told you this was going to be random :).

My username, My Own Eternity, comes from the song "Before The Chance To Leave" by Motion In Colour. The four lines in my header are the lyrics from that song that always seem to grab me. My blog name, Out Of The Blue, wasn't really inspired by anything in particular, it just seemed to fit with both the design of the header and the sheer randomosity of this blog.

I don't have much to say now...just a few dates I don't want to forget:
31st January - Elliot Minor at Wrexham. Gutted we missed the signing, but the gig was awesome! Bought myself a signed poster and hoodie (the hoodie wasn't signed though)!
6th April - Showtime! at Wolverhampton. First time seeing Daniel Boys live; he was amazing, of course! And so was Kerry Ellis, but I wouldn't have expected any less from her! I found out about some really good West End performers, namely Ramin Kairimloo, Chris Key and Rebecca Lock. The students weren't good at all - I know they're only young, but if they want to go into the West End, they're going to have to be a million times better than they were. And the sound guy should have been shot. It's one thing to get the kids' mics wrong, but the pros as well? Off with his head!
12th April - Elliot Minor's album arrived in the post, and it was one of the first 500 to be shipped, which means it's signed! So now I have their autographs twice :), but I haven't met them once :(.

'Til next time, then,
Take care!

Elliot Smith - Elliot Smith is to indie music as Joan de Arc is to the Catholic culture: A saint. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, grew up in Texas, but lived in Portland, Oregon for most of his life, he gained popularity with his rock band Heatmiser before beginning his solo career in 1994. As a solo artist, he was mostly well-known for his guitar playing skills, but he was also rather adept at bass, clarinet, drums, harmonica, and the piano. He was also well known for using multi-tracking to to harmonize with himself. Now that you have the background information as to who he is, time for me to tell you just why this guy is such a badass.

Besides being known as one of the men to 'single-handedly' redefine the singer / songwriter genre, he has influenced artists such as Regina Spektor and Cat Power. He released five amazing albums while he was alive with labels such as Kill Rock Stars and DreamWorks. His self-titled album is my personal favorite out of the five with a single like "Needle In The Hay" that is an excellent example of who he was as a person. But in my opinion, the crowning achievement of this incredible man's career was the album that was posthumously released, "From A Basement On The Hill". This entire album is packed with music that I can't stop listening to. During his life, Smith battled with depression, alcoholism, and even ADHD, and his lyrics really show that more than ever on this album, his voice taking new heights and such a sensitive personal side that he's just too amazing to ignore. Tracks like "Memory Lane" and "A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free" are lyrical genius and makes you want to lay in the grass on a warm sunny day and watch the clouds go by, picking out shapes here and there with the sweet taste of fruit in your mouth.

Now, besides being a pillar in the baroque pop genre, why is Elliot Smith truly such a badass? On October 21, 2003, Elliot Smith was living with his girlfriend Jennifer Chiba. They began to argue as happens with couples from time to time, and Chiba locked herself in the bathroom. Suddenly she heard a scream, and she opened the bathroom door to find Smith standing with a kitchen knife in his chest (!). She pulled the knife out of his chest, resulting in him collapsing and her calling 911. Smith made it to the hospital, but he passed away at 1:36 PM at age 34.

Okay, now let's step away from the facts and look at this. You're the epitome of an indie rock God, you live with your girlfriend, you get in an argument and she locks herself in the bathroom. You feel like killing yourself, and have plenty of antidepressants and ADHD medications and access to who knows how many drugs in order to do the deed. But no, no pills for you; no overdosing. You could slit your wrists, but that takes such a long time and isn't always guaranteed and more looks like a cry for help than an actual attempt at suicide. So what do you do? STAB YOURSELF IN THE CHEST.

Now, the official autopsy report that was released a couple months later in December wasn't entirely conclusive, therefore leaving open the possibility of homicide; but none of the authorities seem to be investigating this further, leaving it at the general conclusion of suicide. Also, a possible suicide note was found written on a Post-it note reading, "I'm so sorry--love, Elliot. God forgive me." What the coroner's report did reveal was that there were no traces in his system of illegal substances or alcohol at the time of death. In other words, not only did he stab himself--he did it stone-cold sober.

If that doesn't scream 'Epic Rock & Roll Badass' I don't know what does.

Rest In Peace Elliot Smith.