#song is half right by heatmiser

[rowrowronnie]

continuation of the comic i made abt silly daft punk scout (o^^o) ！！

[serpentdaughter]

I got tagged by @dishevelledghost to pick a song for each letter of my url. Thank u for the tag z 💖

S - Summertime by My Chemical Romance

E - Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac

R - Reckless Serenade by Arctic Monkeys

P - Petals by Hole

E - Eat Your Young by Hozier

N - Na Na Na by My Chemical Romance

T - Thick Skull by Paramore

D - Dazzle by Siouxsie & The Banshees

A - A Hole In The World by Thursday

U - Unholy Affliction by Soccer Mommy

G - Glue Song by beabadoobee

H - Half Right by Heatmiser

T - The Carnival Is Over by Dead Can Dance

E - ESP by Beach House

R - Remember the Laughter by Ray Toro

I’m gonna np tag @killaura @z0mbiefrank @jetsetromance @sw33tsuccubus & anyone else who wants to!!!

[timehascomeagain]

The bass in this version makes me want to throw myself off a building it's so good. This song is my favourite thing in the world give me the mml cover give me the elliott solo version cook it down stab it into my t4 vertebrae I don't care half right written by elliott Smith and Neil gust I ❤️❤️❤️❤️ you❤️❤️❤️ half right you are ALL right to me❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ half right 4 life

[boyb10gger]

half right - Heatmiser

half right - new moon

half right -live

my rankings of half right by elliott smith thanks for listening

grievances - live from nowhere near you

grievances - songs of pain

grievances - more songs of pain

grievances revisited - more songs of pain

my rankings of grievances by Daniel Johnston thanks for listening blog squad

[v3nus1nfurs]

i couldn’t help but make my own noah marshall playlist

this is just music i think he’d listen to, i can make another with songs that remind me of him :’) i picture sort of a mossy, rainy oregon vibe. a lot of angst, he’s a folk/indie guy for sure!

everything is scary— german error message

saturnine—mystery jets

i’m so scared of losing that i fail to even start— VOYAGES

all over town— the kooks

i think you’re really beautiful— starry cat

aging out of the 20th century— trash panda

go fuck yourself— two feet

half right— heatmiser

the only thing— sufjan stevens

planet telex— radiohead

everything— spilt milk

girl— the beatles

telescope— cage the elephant

drowsy— banes world

pretty boy— the neighbourhood

[godsavetheanimalz]

@742evergreenterrace tagged me to list the first ten songs that come up on shuffle. (thank you my friend!!!!) 💕

1. OxBow by Waxahatchee

2. Speechless by Cico Matto

3. Evangeline by Cocteau Twins

4. 500 Miles by Peter, Paul & Mary

5. Glory by Liz Phair

6. Antibody by Foxes In Friction

7. Half Right by Heatmiser

8. You Make It Easy by Air

9. Sing Another Song, Boys by Leonard Cohen

10. Words of Love by Arthur Russell

I’ll tag @graveyardgirls @smibeans @faeriebarf @strangemercy1 @quietquietlife @chemtrailmix @zoeisstrange @eyelashwish @dubistsehrschon @iwasasprinter @lucylupin @springlullaby @lessdead @christianmilf @sunflowervelvetqueen @pxisonoak @zesteea @smoke-stungeyes @blairwitchapologist @seeingghostsinthepark @telltheplanets @somethingscosmic1251 @erikasally @somethingsunkenin-iam @feeling-iindigo @star-bellied-girl @thethotwithoutfear @hazelstreet @yrpastlife @ripelypine @anthemsfora17yroldgirl @soberingquiet @gourdgril @postcitywave @tyrelltears @kickerofelves @ssugarhiccupp @monasterymonochrome @laniemaiz @girl0nmars @oliviasjaw @angelolsengf @mitskisolsen @flwrbeds93 and literally anyone else who wants to do this thingy!!!! 💞💞💞

[rgr-pop]

I need an ENTIRE afternoon wall of noise. 4/3 music library on shuffle until I hit a killdozer song.

the thermals - “god and country” reset - "double cross" nirvana - "polly" (1986-88 home recording) nirvana - "radio friendly unit shifter" (2013 mix) peterbuilt - "sateliteyes" the dickies - "got it at the store" apocalypse hoboken - "box of pills" fiona apple - "slow like honey" tex & the horseheads - "big boss man" everclear - "the drama king" anti-flag - "america got it right" neil young - "tonight's the night, pt. ii" everclear - "brown-eyed girl" noooooooooo oh my god no please millencolin - “israelites" listen you know that i'm p tolerant when it comes to this subject but why specifically did you boys do this. specifically you useless id - "note" never accuse me of pop punk nationalism again! that's three of global pop punk the selecter - "selling out your future" built to spill - "some things last a long time" holidays - "proof" let's wrestle - "bad mammaries" radhos - "one breath" ween - "boing" bracket - "g-vibe" local h - "'cha!' said the kitty" sublime - "40oz to freedom" failure - "saturday saviour" blink-182 - "don't leave me" (tmtts live take) why did they make this live album, they were so bad live shrimp boat - "melon song" interpol - "not even jail" the ataris - "angry nerd rock" 50 million - "superhero" skankin pickle - "violent love" the breeders - "put on a side" all - "honey peeps" the commandos (suicide commandos) - "weekend warrior" suicide machines - "friends are hard to find" the eclectics - "laura" good ska block! love this band pansy division - "jack u off" rocket from the tombs - "ain't it fun" dynamite boy - "devoted" young pioneers - "downtown tragedy" the breeders - "so sad about us" fenix tx - "jean claude trans am" fuck i love this song nofx - "bob" hickey - "happily ever after" bob dylan - "tangled up in blue" (bootlegs vol. 2) gas huffer - "king of hubcaps" tullycraft - "crush this town" atom and his package - "goalie" faith no more - "the real thing" carly rae jepsen - "tell me" bis - "listen up" one direction - "still the one" mtx - "she's no rocket scientist" eugene chadbourne - "roger miller medley" grouvie ghoulies - "carly simon" white town - "thursday at the blue note" gas huffer - "moon mission" rx bandits - "sleepy tyme" everclear - "rocket for the girl" failure - "kindred" blood on the saddle - "johnny's at the fair" the distillers - "red carpet and rebellion" cruiserweight - "dearest drew" stp - "plush" everclear - "wonderful" (live, from the closure ep) (don't hate it) new found glory - "sonny" everclear - "otis redding" (impure white evil demo) (BEST song) stp - "adhesive" incubus - "have you ever" cub - "tell me now" everclear - "short blonde hair" i simply do not hate it letters to cleo - "happy ever after" amazing transparent man - “the ocean is a fuck of a long way to swim” nerf herder - “(stand by your) manatee” kitty kitty - “ab tokeless” osker - “the mistakes you made” perfume genius - “hood” radhos - “shut up & deal” (welcome to the jungle take) osker - “the body”  gas huffer - “the sin of sloth” the fall - “bombast” excuse 17 - “code red” mad season - “lifeless dead” unwritten law - “differences” hanson - “two tears” the eyeliners - “anywhere but here” moby grape - “lazy me” brian wilson - “wonderful” 88 fingers louie - “something i don’t know” sicko - “wisdom tooth weekend” the replacements - “love you till friday” suicide machines - “green world” midtown - “another boy” hickey - “cool kids attacked by flying monkeys” the roman invasion suite - “carnations” the beat - “tears of a clown” local h - “24 hour break up session” okay i’m awake i want to end this now toots & the maytals - “funky kingston” local h - “strict-9″ his name is alive - “her eyes were huge things” nirvana - “frances farmer will have her revenge on seattle” slapstick - “almost punk enough” urge overkill - “bionic revolution” janet jackson - “you want this” piebald - “long nights” small brown bike - “now i’m a shadow” the story so far - “left unsaid” crj - “more than a memory” tracy + the plastics - “my friends end parties” liz phair - “6′1″“ fastbacks - “555, pt. 1″ this mix is feminist now swindle - “one track” shockabilly - “burma shave” temple of the dog - “say hello to heaven” amazing transparent man - “shove” cool soul asylum cover from dekalb illinois :)) the vindictives “eating me alive” midwests only!! the judys - “radiation squirm” gulfs only!! frogpond - “sleep” flipp - “rock-n-roll star” throwing muses - “red shoes” everclear - “santa monica” throwing muses on summerland??? mekons - “atone & forsaken” holidays - “take me home country roads” this is a good tone to lead up to killdozer... true believers - “all mixed up again” prince - “adore” beulah - “queen of the populists” eveclear - “rocky mountain high” (99x live acoustic--I don’t have a date for this actually) of montreal - “dustin hoffman thinks about eating the soap” heatmiser - “stray” rickie lee jones - “woody and dutch on the slow train to peking” tar - “viaduct removal” common rider - “carry on” the frogs - “u bastards” mudhoney - “this gift” hammerbox - “outside” fuck my mom would have loved this song if it had gotten the airplay it deserved in 1993... hammerbox on summerland!!!! letters to cleo - “little rosa” kay hanley on summerland!! nine pound hammer “wrongside of the road” hanson - “with you in your dreams” (3cg demo) hamson on summerland!!! fastbacks - “555, pt. 1″ again... fastbacks on summerland!!! face to face - “sensible” soul asylum - “happy” soul asylum on summerland!!!! television - “see no evil” pinq - “careful not to mention the obvious” the dickies - “nights in white satin” tar - “mel’s” truly - “chlorine” babes in toyland - “deep song” hole - “berry” hellbender - “half driven” hammerhead  - “new york? ...alone?” everclear - “malevolent” guzzard - “last”  archers of loaf - “tatyana” hum - “stars” hum on summerland die kreuzen - “don’t say please” this is not fair joanna newsom - “sadie” down by law - “peace, love and understanding” nirvana - “aneurysm” (1990 demo) hovercraft - “endoradiosonde” modest mouse - “cowboy dan” rage against the machine - “born of a broken man” skatalites - “scandal ska” pylon - “driving school” the vindictives - “babysitter” jimmy eat world - “ten” the get up kids - “lowercase west thomas” oh we’re doing this now? hot rod circuit - “knees” fine triple fast action - “the rescue” FINE  full disclosure i do skip emo diaries tracks at my discretion the amps - “bragging party” everclear - “am radio” this is not fair mxpx - “middlename” MXPX ON SUMMERLAND chokebore - “your let down” bob dylan - “you’re a big girl now” helmet - “primitive” pond - “filterless” blink-182 - “all the small things” local h - “ralph” tar - “over and out” pearl jam - “black” the gits - “sniveling little rat faced git” local h - “eddie vedder” >:) tar - “flow plow” i always misremember this as a subpop single so i’m like “i’m not amphetamine reptile biased?” but it was an a/r release, lol. brad wood produced it. lake michigan as hell  unicorns - “jellybones” this song makes me sad ever since i didn’t get to adopt the jellybones cat oblivion - “clark” desmond dekker - “jeserene” veruca salt - “one last time” veruca salt on summerland!!!! dead moon - “dead moon night” extremely dead moon on summerland fishbone - “i like to hide behind my glasses” dead moon - “on my own” paw - “sleeping bag” tar - “goethe” doc dart - “casket with flowers” smashing pumpkins - “zero” i don’t want billy corgan on summerland and i am sorry for that kicking giant - “&” kicking giant on summerland lmao shockabilly - “pile up all architecture” ween - “sorry charlie” sublime - “april 29, 1992 (miami)” heatmiser - “blackout” the clash - “pressure drop” hellbender - “pissant’s retrospective” the queers - “i won’t be” the vindictives - “circles” the beat farmers - “selfish heart” screaming trees - “end of the universe” 7 year bitch - “second hand” bourgeois filth - “above” nirvana - “scoff” the breeders - “cannonball” saturday looks good to me - “save my life” cara beth satalino - “good ones” communique - “dagger version” soul asylum - “sometime to return” sublime - “jailhouse” tullycraft - “twee” nuns - “wild” beyonce - “countdown” the replacements - “sixteen blue” living colour - “what’s your favorite color” britney - “why should i be sad” mdc - “church and state” alice in chains - “junkhead” rage against the machine - “mic check” everclear - “nervous and weird” soundgarden - “fresh tendrils” helmet - “army of me” the gits - “it all dies anyway” pansy division - “smells like queer spirit” mtx - “i’d do anything for you” 5 year sentence - “just a punk” pennywise - “nothing” mudhoney - “thirteenth floor opening” yesterday’s kids - “eighteen” mxpx - “punk rawk show” small brown bike - “zerosum” incubus - “trouble in 421″ hanson - “speechless” incubus - “circles” dead moon - “my time has come” (!!!!) first of all is this killdozer blink-182 - “here’s your letter” everclear - “electra made me blind” (nervous & weird take) saves the day - “through being cool” groovie ghoulies - “don’t go out into the rain (you’re gonna melt)” babes in toyland - “never” husker du - “target” guzzard - “biro” fairweather - “next day flight” mcr - “house of wolves” broadcast - “until then” liz phair - “never said” the dicks - “rich daddy” quasi - “the iron worm” mustard plug - “not again” janitor joe - “boyfriend” snapcase - “new academy” neil young - “someday” blindsided - “spaceman” placebo - “without you i’m nothing” the creeps - “lakeside cabin” solomon grundy - “time is not your own” the clash - “the card cheat” silversun pickups - “common reactor” lagwagon - “leave the light on” denali - “where i landed” system of a down - “highway song” sprinkler - “personality doll” the vindictives - “structure and function” unplugged” the queers - “ursula finally has tits” we’re entering no repeats territory  buffalo springfield - “expecting to fly” hit squad - “pictures of matchstick men” cows - “almost a god” hop along - “young and happy” pixies - “i’ve been tired” the fall - “spoilt victorian child” camper van chadbourne - “knock on the door” queens of the stone age - “tension head” choking victim - “war story” cool that we have gotten to drop by the greatest song ever recorded :) guttermount - “happy loving couples” audio karate - “nintendo 89″ tad - “pork chop” the kelley deal 6000 - “where did the home team go” colorfinger - “hateful” :} man or astroman - “evil plans of planet spectra” pere ubu - “arabian nights” accepting repeats for  new found glory - “my friends over you” cool moving on american steel - “optimist” tom petty & the heartbreakers - “even the losers” meat puppets - “another moon” black cat music - “wine in a box” wallside - “ready” crucifucks - “pig in a blanket” the bananas - “my charmed life”

KILLDOZER - “EARL SCHEIB,” UNCOMPROMISING WAR ON ART UNDER THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT, 1994. KILLDOZER ON SUMMERLAND

[heff88]

Elliot Smith - Either/Or

As a musician and an enigma, Elliot Smith has been written about endlessly, yet his music is often underrated, partly, perhaps because no one can agree on his best. There are arguments to be made for each of Smith’s musical snapshots, from the ultra lo-fi world of Roman Candle or his self-titled, through to his mainstream bothering moments in XO and Figure 8, to his final, posthumous release From A Basement on the Hill and you’ll quite easily find a defender of each record’s cause as his crowning achievement.

For me, however, nothing comes close to Either/Or which, in celebrating its recent 20th birthday, has a re–mastered re–release out today. Either/Or is Smith’s perfect distillation of soulful, introspective DIY artist and meaty, angsty catharsis which effectively defined Smith’s way too short career. It also possesses Smith’s greatest range of his immaculate songwriting talents of any of his records, creakily lo-fi but also crystal clear, its production is a shining example of folk and indie-rock to this day; not bad for a Beatles-obsessed songsmith from the north-west of America.

A brief personal history with this record, and its artist. I was incredibly late to the party regarding Smith. Outside of that scene from Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums featuring the then contemporary ‘Needle in the Hay’, I just couldn’t allow myself into Smith’s often grim worldview. Then a couple (clichéd) things happened. A couple years ago, I joined the band of a hugely Smith influenced indie-folk musician whom I got to tour around Norway with (often with Smith soundtracking the long, stunningly scenic drives) and I experienced my first, proper, defining heartbreak. Suddenly I was obsessed, I got what so many, so often were frenetically trying to convince me of. I dived headfirst into Smith’s cinematic music and he still influences me today as a musician.

Either/Or stands out because of its intensity and heaviness. It’s only 35 minutes long, but it never lets up in its emotional tenacity – it’s an album that oppressively sits on your chest and stays there long after the needle has dropped. It often feels like a post-hardcore or “emo” record – released at a time before that became a dirty word – which isn’t surprising given Smith’s roots in the Portland alt-rock band Heatmiser (who had only just split up at the time of Either/Or's conception) but also not surprising is how it is often regarded as a key influence on many musicians interested in punk. Just take a track like ‘No Name No. 5’, it sounds like something a drone-metal band would dream about creating, and yet Smith achieves it with his effected acoustic and a set of drums.

Like any musician who died young, the temptation to read much into a record “knowing what we know now” – a fate which befell northwestern peer Kurt Cobain only a couple years earlier – is misleading but ever prevalent all the same. Smith did struggle with depression and addiction most of his adult life, which combined with the fame bestowed upon him after his appearance at the Grammys, would, like Cobain, eventually prove all too much. And there are definite pointers to this struggle to be found, just listen to the crushingly brutal ‘2.45am’, but even that track is followed by one of the most gorgeous love songs ever committed to tape in ‘Say Yes’. That final gut punch, followed by a recuperative kiss and makeup, is Smith’s artistry to a tee. Either/Or, as it’s title suggests, is an album of opposites, something Smith would play with throughout his too-short oeuvre, but he plays it no better here.

The happy side, when it shows itself, is often short-lived and ironic, but that isn’t to say it’s not genuine. ‘Ballad of Big Nothing’ may well be morosely humoured as an ode to futility, but that dual nature reflects Smith at his best and brightest. His biggest Beatles-aping moment here is the wonderful 'Pictures of Me' which romps along like any of McCartney's most pompous tracks, but there is a dark undercurrent throughout that keeps it anchored to an all too real struggle going on in Smith's mind. Meanwhile, opener 'Speed Trials' gets things off to a terrific, tension-filled start - impressive for an acoustic act - and similarly, the deeper cut 'Cupid's Trick' dramatic outro delivers the quietly violent mood that pervades Smith's music.

Ultimately, though, it is Smith's solo arrangements that still ring through the ears of his followers all these years later. 'Between the Bars' and 'Angeles', two unofficial singles due to their placement on the soundtrack of Gus Van Sant's 'Good Will Hunting' (along with Smith's original song 'Miss Misery' which led to his Grammy appearance and brief fame) remain Smith's greatest and most fondly remembered achievements. While 'Waltz #2 (XO)' is probably Smith's most famous and quite rightly adored song, 'Behind the Bars' and 'Angeles' sit right there next to it, two perfect summaries of Smith's talents as the humble, introspective, philosophical and, sadly, tortured artist he will always be remembered for.

Either/Or remains Elliot Smith's finest album for many reasons, but it is his most important as the bridge from DIY solo artist to the widescreen, full band artist he would jump to. While the aforementioned Cobain is the ultimate musical idol of the first half of the 90's, and while his shadow stretched long into the decade he was only present for the four years of, Smith, arguably, is of equally important value. He is yet another relic of Portland's Kill Rock Stars label - already notable for Bikini Kill, Unwound and its ties to early Nirvana - a remarkable DIY movement for truly alternative music in a decade which threatened to devalue "authenticity" in alternative music altogether. Smith's legacy is not just as the truly talented songwriter he was, but also as part of a musical moment which continues to influence a countless amount of aspiring musicians, 20 years on.

[alexjharding]

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Heatmiser - Half Right 

 I'm running on 3 hours sleep and am feeling pretty down so I for some reason decided to record me playing one of my favourite Elliott Smith songs, originally recorded with Heatmiser for the album Mic City Sons. I don't play it perfectly and I forgot the bridge for some reason but the song means a lot to me so I thought I'd put it up anyway.

[objectivesubjectivity]

I’m a bargain bin addict. The vast majority of CDs I purchase are $3 or under. 

Much of that is due to New Radicals.

It happened sometime in high school. I was visiting the now defunct Django Records either after school or during lunch or that one time my economics teacher told us he was done with his lesson 30 minutes into an hour and a half long class (he was also the football coach). I found a copy of “Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too,” in the used CD section for $3. 

I was already a leg up on the majority of potential fans: I had heard the titular track on an Alternative Press compilation, most people just knew the hit. What I didn’t know is how much this album would change my life.

It wasn’t that MYBBT was a masterpiece (it isn’t). It wasn’t that I lamented their breakup a mere eight months after the album came out (I didn’t). It was the fact that for three dollars, not only did I get, arguably, the best hit of the 90s, but I also got the tracks, “Mother We Just Can’t Get Enough,” “I Hope I Didn’t Just Give Away the Ending,” and “Flowers.” It was like buying a dollar scratch it and winning $10.

I could take risks. I could be bold. For $3, I could buy an album by a band with a mediocre hit just on the offshoot that the non-single tracks were better. Hell, I could buy an album by a band that I had only read about. 

Or I could buy Chumbawamba’s “WYSIWYG.” Or The Blood Brothers’ “Burn Piano Island Burn,” because I had friends who swore by them. Or Ranier Maria’s “A Better Version of Me,” because they were on Polyvinyl and that made them emo, right? 

Out of the 25 albums I listened to this past week, 13 were purchased for $3 or less. 

Nowadays, there’s not much need for bargain bin hunting. You can type practically any band into Spotify and gain access to entire discographies and recommendations of who to check out next. CDs are literally being thrown out. Entire collections are donated to Goodwill during spring cleaning. Pinterest has a board devoted to crafts you can make out of your old CDs. 

But over a decade ago, I spent $3 and I got more than I gave. 

What I listened to this week:

Top 100 contenders in bold.

Metallica - Master of Puppets

Pulley - Matters

Maxeen - Maxeen

Tricky - Maxinquaye

Alkaline Trio - Maybe I'll Catch Fire

The New Radicals - Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too

McLusky - McLusky Do Dallas

Rufio - MCMLXXXV (PPP #42)

The Wrens - The Meadowlands

Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing

The Faint - Media

John Coltrane - Meditations

The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness

Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue

Five For Fighting - Message for Albert

Metallica - Metallica

Feist - Metals

System of a Down - Mezmerize

Heatmiser - Mic City Sons

A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders

Beck - Midnight Vultures

Dillinger Four - Midwestern Songs of the Americas

Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Monster

Pinehurst Kids - Minnesota Hotel

Day Nasty - Minority of One

Albums listened to in total: 1,021

[parkerbombshell]

Just Another Menace Sunday #841 W/ John Easdale of Dramarama.

Tonight 6pm EST bombshellradio.com New Shows Sunday 4pm-6pm EST bombshellradio.com Repeats Friday 6am -8am EST #BombshellRadio, #melodicrock, #radioshow, #rock, #alternative, #justanothermenacesunday, #dj,#DennistheMenace, #Synthpop, #radio, #today, #Dramarama This Week – Episode #841 A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN EASDALE (DRAMARAMA) – AND HIS MUSICAL SANDWICH   (04/12/2020)    Theme SongJust Another Menace Sunday Theme (Dennis The Menace) - Mighty Six Ninety Hour 1   A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN EASDALE (DRAMARAMA) – AND HIS MUSICAL SANDWICH OPENING SONG: Up To Here – Dramarama JOHN EASDALE (DRAMARAMA) MUSICAL SANDWICH PART 2 TOP BREAD: The Only. Thing (Stupid/Brilliant) – Dramarama Blitzkrieg Bop – Ramones The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway – Genesis Half Right – Heatmiser Pleasant Valley Sunday – The Monkees Tutti Frutti – Little Richard The Happy Organ – Dave “Baby” Cortez Shangri La – The Kinks BOTTOM BREAD: You You You – BONUS SONGS!Wonderamaland – Dramarama Anything Anything – Dramarama  Hour 2   NEW MELODIC ROCK ‘N ROLL OPENING SONG: Domino – Nicole Atkins (Single Lock) Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees (RSO) Charm Offensive – Methyl Ethyl (Dot Dash) Aries – feat. Peter Hook & Georgia -- Gorillaz (Parlophone) Everybody’s Going To Hell (But You And Me) – Nikki & The Phantom Callers (Tiny Tornado) Never The Same – STRFKR (Polyvinyl) Why Do You Want Anything To Do With Me – Hala (Cinematic) Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others – Bloods (Share It) U & ME – Bloods (Share It) This Is It – Hawk (New Garden) This Could Be It For Me – Hotel Mira (Light Organ) I Feel Alive – Tops (Musique Tops) Hard To Face – San Mei (etcetc) Five And Dime – Hazel English (Polyvinyl) CLOSING SONG: Too Late – Washed Out (Sub Pop) Read the full article

[heff88]

As a musician and an enigma, Elliot Smith has been written about endlessly, yet his music is often underrated, partly, perhaps because no one can agree on his best. There are arguments to be made for each of Smith’s musical snapshots, from the ultra lo-fi world of Roman Candle or his self-titled, through to his mainstream bothering moments in XO and Figure 8, to his final, posthumous release From A Basement on the Hill and you’ll quite easily find a defender of each record’s cause as his crowning achievement.

For me, however, nothing comes close to Either/Or which, in celebrating its recent 20th birthday, has a re–mastered re–release out today. Either/Or is Smith’s perfect distillation of soulful, introspective DIY artist and meaty, angsty catharsis which effectively defined Smith’s way too short career. It also possesses Smith’s greatest range of his immaculate songwriting talents of any of his records, creakily lo-fi but also crystal clear, its production is a shining example of folk and indie-rock to this day; not bad for a Beatles-obsessed songsmith from the north-west of America.

A brief personal history with this record, and its artist. I was incredibly late to the party regarding Smith. Outside of that scene from Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums featuring the then contemporary ‘Needle in the Hay’, I just couldn’t allow myself into Smith’s often grim worldview. Then a couple (clichéd) things happened. A couple years ago, I joined the band of a hugely Smith influenced indie-folk musician whom I got to tour around Norway with (often with Smith soundtracking the long, stunningly scenic drives) and I experienced my first, proper, defining heartbreak. Suddenly I was obsessed, I got what so many, so often were frenetically trying to convince me of. I dived headfirst into Smith’s cinematic music and he still influences me today as a musician.

Either/Or stands out because of its intensity and heaviness. It’s only 35 minutes long, but it never lets up in its emotional tenacity – it’s an album that oppressively sits on your chest and stays there long after the needle has dropped. It often feels like a post-hardcore or “emo” record – released at a time before that became a dirty word – which isn’t surprising given Smith’s roots in the Portland alt-rock band Heatmiser (who had only just split up at the time of Either/Or's conception) but also not surprising is how it is often regarded as a key influence on many musicians interested in punk. Just take a track like ‘No Name No. 5’, it sounds like something a drone-metal band would dream about creating, and yet Smith achieves it with his effected acoustic and a set of drums.

Like any musician who died young, the temptation to read much into a record “knowing what we know now” – a fate which befell northwestern peer Kurt Cobain only a couple years earlier – is misleading but ever prevalent all the same. Smith did struggle with depression and addiction most of his adult life, which combined with the fame bestowed upon him after his appearance at the Grammys, would, like Cobain, eventually prove all too much. And there are definite pointers to this struggle to be found, just listen to the crushingly brutal ‘2.45am’, but even that track is followed by one of the most gorgeous love songs ever committed to tape in ‘Say Yes’. That final gut punch, followed by a recuperative kiss and makeup, is Smith’s artistry to a tee. Either/Or, as it’s title suggests, is an album of opposites, something Smith would play with throughout his too-short oeuvre, but he plays it no better here.

The happy side, when it shows itself, is often short-lived and ironic, but that isn’t to say it’s not genuine. ‘Ballad of Big Nothing’ may well be morosely humoured as an ode to futility, but that dual nature reflects Smith at his best and brightest. His biggest Beatles-aping moment here is the wonderful 'Pictures of Me' which romps along like any of McCartney's most pompous tracks, but there is a dark undercurrent throughout that keeps it anchored to an all too real struggle going on in Smith's mind. Meanwhile, opener 'Speed Trials' gets things off to a terrific, tension-filled start - impressive for an acoustic act - and similarly, the deeper cut 'Cupid's Trick' dramatic outro delivers the quietly violent mood that pervades Smith's music.

Ultimately, though, it is Smith's solo arrangements that still ring through the ears of his followers all these years later. 'Between the Bars' and 'Angeles', two unofficial singles due to their placement on the soundtrack of Gus Van Sant's 'Good Will Hunting' (along with Smith's original song 'Miss Misery' which led to his Grammy appearance and brief fame) remain Smith's greatest and most fondly remembered achievements. While 'Waltz #2 (XO)' is probably Smith's most famous and quite rightly adored song, 'Behind the Bars' and 'Angeles' sit right there next to it, two perfect summaries of Smith's talents as the humble, introspective, philosophical and, sadly, tortured artist he will always be remembered for.

Either/Or remains Elliot Smith's finest album for many reasons, but it is his most important as the bridge from DIY solo artist to the widescreen, full band artist he would jump to. While the aforementioned Cobain is the ultimate musical idol of the first half of the 90's, and while his shadow stretched long into the decade he was only present for the four years of, Smith, arguably, is of equally important value. He is yet another relic of Portland's Kill Rock Stars label - already notable for Bikini Kill, Unwound and its ties to early Nirvana - a remarkable DIY movement for truly alternative music in a decade which threatened to devalue "authenticity" in alternative music altogether. Smith's legacy is not just as the truly talented songwriter he was, but also as part of a musical moment which continues to influence a countless amount of aspiring musicians, 20 years on.