In 1997, Elliott Smith was a respected but largely unknown professional musician who had released three albums (one on a major label) with his recently disbanded group Heatmiser, and three increasingly ornate and well-received solo albums. In 1998, Elliott Smith was an undiscovered, strung out coffee house troubadour plucked from obscurity by director Gus Van Sant. How did this happen? Or, to take a step back; why even bother discussing it? If Elliott Smith’s music stands in such stark opposition to his popular image, why waste time even addressing the latter? The answer is, simply, that I don’t believe that the process of hearing a record is ever an unmediated one. One can come to an understanding of a record that does not match up with that record’s cultural positioning, but the two can never fully be dissociated. As I have found in my own experience with Smith’s music, the way a musician’s name circulates (or that of an author or visual artist) can greatly affect the way his/her music is heard.
What do You think about Elliott Smith's XO (2009)?
