My 1001 Albums Journey

<3 Elliott Smith means a hella lot to me. I'm always sus when people say "this artist got me through a hard time" but it was very much the case that this guy was the soundtrack to some pretty sad times in my life - you know that bit in High Fidelity where John Cusack speculates about whether letting kids have access to all this sad music is safe? I feel like if I had a kid and they came home with an Elliott Smith record I'd worry similarly. The latter albums also mean a lot to me - figure 8 and XO have a lot more multitracking and complex arrangements, which works for my imagination. The final album, From A Basement On The Hill, is so utterly devastating that I can barely listen to it. One of my all time faves, and an easy 5-star for me. A beautiful, singular songwriter. Standout track - between the bars, I think it has to be, but I also wanna point to rose parade, because people always remember Elliott Smith for the sad ones, but actually the best ones make you feel strangely happy