Elliott Smith - Figure 8

'Either/Or' is his apex by the way.

Thoguh "From a Basement on the Hill" has become my favourite due to the wait for it and the emotional impact his death brings with it.

There are sooooo many good songs on it though. "Son of Sam", "I Better Be Quit Now", "Easy Way Out", "Can't Make a Sound", "Somebody That I Used to Know", "Stupidity Tries" and the gorgeous closer "Bye" (among others).

It may be too much (or too little) for some E.S. fans, but it's a fascinating examination of Elliott with time and a budget. I truly believe sometimes that his music was like a one man Beatles, especially his more produced stuff. Not the songs per se, but the atmosphere.

Well, maybe Lennon anyway

Supposedly "From a Basement..." was supposed to be a double CD with the second disc consisting of instrumentals. I would personally have found that mindblowing, but unfortunately it was not to be.

Alas, when I opened the case, the CD was missing. Roommates from the past are laughing.

Don't really tell them that.

to the YSImobile!

sold it. . .

that's 5 undisputable winners on one album. and there's nothing bad on it. perhaps only 2 or 3 below-par tracks at worst.

nevertheless, my least favourite elliott record. everyone should have a copy though :)

OTM. This is my fave album of his and really the only one I've gone back to repeatedly.

I don't think it's his best, but I listen to it as much as anything he's done.

love this album

the slow motion moves me

how has anyone not mentioned this beautifully heartbreaking song yet? one of his best, this is an amazing performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmX0LRShtIc

"Easy Way Out" and "I Better Be Quiet Now" are recent discoveries for me. I like that there are still ES songs that can sneak up on me after hearing them in passing on record or on a live bootleg and not even noticing them. Happened with "King's Crossing" a couple of months ago, what an incredible song, specifically this performance. Just the death march vibe of the whole thing, and it's a uniquely competent and compelling performance considering this was coming off two years of disaster gigs, and only four months before he died:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX6etUAIbRU

Aaron Embry, touring member on the Figure 8 tour, on his favorite ES song ("Strung Out Again"). Really cool story: http://www.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpqnZuIAn5iRENu4P7zlNRNef47HdieOgSUbQs0/

RONG DUDE

cool flaps, thanks. just listened to Mary Lou Lord too, who unsurprisingly chose I Figured You Out, and yeah I never got the Eagles comparison! That has been my favorite ES song off and on over the years.

the harrison guitars tho

opener is the all-timer. "everything means nothing to me" is for the heads.

this is a really great record that i never want to listen to because i don't want to be in the emotional zone it takes me to

otm but what if i want to revel in it

or better yet 'wallow'

i'm very familiar with that impulse, bud

this is a really great record that i never want to listen to because i don't want to be in the emotional zone it takes me to

Right. this is why I never play any Vic Chesnutt.

as far as emotional state, i don't tend to get a sad or weird feeling from this album. on a contrary, i might put his records on if i'm feeling sad or weird, but not typically. i often have it on when i'm walking around cities - it feels perfect for that by way of transience and colour in the lyricism and contrast between tracks. at any rate, F8 is an exemplary demonstration of his virtuosity and prowess... while it's not as vulnerable as the first few, and not as biting as XO, it seems to me the most thoughtfully arranged and sonically refined of his. it's easy to forget that he's playing so many parts on it...! it's always amazin when you remember and you're like ok wow: piano, bass, drums, rippin guitar licks, backing vox... probably some mixing, too... just magic.

the spin of the earth impaled a silhouette of the sun on a steeple

I like this record well enough, but the pop stuff is better on XO, and the introspective stuff is better on the previous three, and for the first time there were a couple of cringey things, so I've never felt the same pull to put it on. It's good! It's just not on the same level as the first four.

Yeah

The way I can tell is that the energy really goes up orders of magnitude when Pete Thomas shows up on "Wouldn't Mama Be Proud."

My seventeen-year-old niece is into him, I'm glad people are still discovering him. I wonder - although with Spotify this isn't such a problem - if all the reissues and compilations have made it difficult for new listeners to figure out which the core albums are. Similar problem with Nick Drake.

this is a really great record that i never want to listen to because i don't want to be in the emotional zone it takes me to

yes, definitely

altohough there's a lot of records i can't listen to because of the emotional zone I was in at the time - the records themselves are blameness and maybe not even particularly miserable