Venture @ MindSay

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.

Ha ha! and once again I return from the vast eons of uncharted places! (ok, so it may have been chartered, but I didn't have a map)

 

 

Been Busy travelling all over.. from hawksnest (how the hell we ended up there, I've yet to ascertain... blame JT and Ayden) and lithgoe and winsor and gerringong and kiama and Mt Kira and Woolengong(sp?) and somewhere in sydney and back...

 

 

Venture was great, Roverscope rocked..  haha! I now have a photo of Cam (i.e. him whom swore he would rather be dead than wear a new uniform) in the selfsame garment.

 

CircusMoot was lots of fun.. Missed a fair amount of it though due to travelling and sleep..  but it was definately worth it!  Mark came down, he's looking at joining our crew, and he's a ball of fun.

There were lots of giant beetles (that bite!) and leeches (i didn't end up taking any home, yet again! Cam has threatened to burn any that I take home.. he's so no fun :(  but i'm negotiating a sort of aquarium thing to keep them in, so they don't crawl around and bite him)  Lots of jumping in the pool and volleyball in the pool with a giant (about 2mx2m) goon bag.

 

Manda's going away to melbourne, break a leg hon!

 

so much to say, so little time to say it.

 

Life is grande.