Remembering Elliott Smith, Who Left Us 12 Years Ago Today

12 years ago, a legend left us. Elliott Smith didn’t want to be famous – it’s likely the pressure of success that drove him to heavy drug use. But he left behind a string of commercially and critically successful albums like XO, Either/Or, and Figure 8. Having grown up with his music (though experiencing the gravity and importance of it years after his passing), his songwriting and instantly recognizable voice transports me to another world entirely. But who was Elliott?

Before he died under mysterious circumstances in 2003, singer/songwriter Elliott Smith was responsible for some of the late 90’s and early 2000’s best songs (especially “Miss Misery” which landed on the Good Will Hunting​ soundtrack). The singer/songwriter, who battled substance abuse problems for many years, was flat-out incredible at conveying emotions through an indie-pop/indie rock aesthetic, and for that, he’ll forever be among the greats. In fact, he influenced a generation of musicians, including Dallas Green of City And Colour, and Death Cab For Cutie.

If you’ve never experienced the magic of Elliott Smith, it’s time to give him a few hours of your time. Below, you’ll find the 3 aforementioned classic albums that are (in my opinion) his overall best – though in his 6 solo full-length outputs, I’m not sure Elliott was ever capable of writing a bad song, let alone a bad album.