Almost exactly a year after his untimely death -- missing the anniversary by just two days -- Elliott Smith's final recordings were released as the From a Basement on the Hill album. Smith had been working on the album for a long time. His last album, Figure 8, had appeared in 2000, and when it came time to record its follow-up, he parted ways with both his major label, Dreamworks, and his longtime producer/engineer, Rob Schnapf, working through a number of different producers, including L.A. superproducer Jon Brion, before recording a number of sessions with David McConnell, which were supplemented with Smith's home recordings. At the time of his death, Smith was still tinkering with the album. There was no final track sequence and only a handful of final mixes; it was closer to completion than Jeff Buckley's Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, which he intended to re-record, but it was still up to his family to finalize the record. For various reasons, the family chose to work with Schnapf and Joanna Bolme -- a former girlfriend of Smith and current member of Stephen Malkmus' Jicks -- instead of McConnell, who went on record with Kimberly Chun of The San Francisco Bay Area Guardian the week before the release of From a Basement to state that this album was not exactly what Smith intended it to be. According to McConnell, as well as Elliott Smith biographer Benjamin Nugent, Smith wanted the album to be rough and ragged, and McConnell told Chun that "obviously Elliott did not get his wishes," claiming that three of the songs on the album were considered finished by both him and Smith, but appear on the record in different mixes.
It's hard to dispute that Smith did not get to finalize the mixes, the track selection, or the sequencing -- he died, after all, with the album uncompleted -- but that's the nature of posthumous recordings: they're never quite what might have appeared had the artist lived. Critics, fans, and historians can have endless debates about whether this particular incarnation of the songs on From a Basement on the Hill would have been what would have been heard if Smith had finished the record, but that doesn't take away from the simple fact that the music here is strong enough to warrant a release, and that it offers a sense of resolution to his discography. While it's likely that From a Basement is cleaner than what Smith and McConnell intended, it is much sparer than Figure 8, and it feels at once more adventurous, confident, and warmer than its predecessor. Perhaps it's not "the next White Album," which is what McConnell claims it could have been, but it has a similarly freewheeling spirit, bouncing from sweet pop to fingerpicked acoustic guitars to fuzzy /p>
eo-psychedelic washes of sound. It's not far removed from Smith's previous work, but it feels like a step forward from the fussy Figure 8 and more intimate than XO. The most surprising twist is that despite the occasional lyrics that seem to telegraph his death (particularly on "A Fond Farewell"), it's not a crushingly heavy album. Like the best of his music, From a Basement on the Hill is comforting in its sadness; it's empathetic, not alienating. Given Smith's tragic fate, it also sadly seems like a summation of his work. All of his trademarks are here -- his soft, sad voice, a fixation on '60s pop, a warm sense of melancholy -- delivered in a strong set of songs that stands among his best. It may or may not be exactly what Elliott Smith intended these recording sessions to be, but as it stands, From a Basement on the Hill is a fond farewell to a singer/songwriter who many indie rockers of the '90s considered a friend.
i didn't write this, i found it on my local craigslist. i don't know who wrote it, but i love this person. *Sometimes I Get Lost*...on city streets. On purpose. Because I have this feeling that I can keep reading the numbers on the blocks and can easily find my way back. It's one of those things that centers me and makes me whole. I'll sometimes turn up Elliott Smith and listen intently. Or L...
More >
the following criteria must be met:a) you must be hungoverb) you must be sleep deprivedc) you must have that jittery feeling that makes you feel unstable for the entire dayd) you must be at worke) looking at post secretf) aloneg) with elliott smith playing on the cd player.if you are ever in this situation, beware:it is entirely possible that for absolutely no reason, you will all of a sudden g...
More >
"you don't deserve to be lonelybut those drugs you got won't make you feel betterpretty soon you'll find it's the onlylittle part of your life you're keeping togetheri'm nice to youi could make it throughthat you're already somebody's babyi could make you smileif you stayed awhilebut how long will you stay with me baby?"--??"Twilight"?? by Elliott Smith
More >
Because who couldn't use a little Elliott Smith to, er, brighten their day?
More >
Thanks to Kate, I have spent the entire day listening to the unreleased version of From a Basement on the Hill. It's lovely, rough, tortured, intricate, and of course it makes me happy to hear the material all uncensored.But the tracks aren't titled or labeled, which for me is a slight form of mental torture. Well, "torture" isn't the best word. I've actually always enjoyed being slightly obses...
More >
This is the place you end up when you lose the chaseWhere you're dragged against your will from a basement on the hillAnd all anybody knows is you're not like themAnd they kick you in the head and send you back to bedIsolation pulled you past a tunnelTo a bright world where you can make a place to stayBut everybody's scared of this place, they're staying awayYour little house on Memory LaneThe ...
More >
elliott smith holds my heart with just about every song he sang. this one seems to resonate tonight, the sun setting and twilight lingering just outside my window. so, i thought to post this and then went looking for a picture. sometimes i like to just do a random image search by typing in the title of the song. twilight. this is what i came up with.the image and the song are a juxtaposition of...
More >
Thanks to Kate, I have spent the entire day listening to the unreleased version of From a Basement on the Hill. It's lovely, rough, tortured, intricate, and of course it makes me happy to hear the material all uncensored.But the tracks aren't titled or labeled, which for me is a slight form of mental torture. Well, "torture" isn't the best word. I've actually always enjoyed being slightly obses...
More >
i didn't write this, i found it on my local craigslist. i don't know who wrote it, but i love this person. *Sometimes I Get Lost*...on city streets. On purpose. Because I have this feeling that I can keep reading the numbers on the blocks and can easily find my way back. It's one of those things that centers me and makes me whole. I'll sometimes turn up Elliott Smith and listen intently. Or L...
More >
the following criteria must be met:a) you must be hungoverb) you must be sleep deprivedc) you must have that jittery feeling that makes you feel unstable for the entire dayd) you must be at worke) looking at post secretf) aloneg) with elliott smith playing on the cd player.if you are ever in this situation, beware:it is entirely possible that for absolutely no reason, you will all of a sudden g...
More >
(Originally posted on September 14th, 2006)The tragedy of great performers dying young is nothing new as far as history is concerned. Plane crashes, drug overdoses, murders, suicides… However, it doesn’t make it any easier when a new name is added to that list of heroes cut down in their prime.It could be asked “Why do we always lose the GREAT ones?”It’s no secret that Elliott idolized J
More >
"you don't deserve to be lonelybut those drugs you got won't make you feel betterpretty soon you'll find it's the onlylittle part of your life you're keeping togetheri'm nice to youi could make it throughthat you're already somebody's babyi could make you smileif you stayed awhilebut how long will you stay with me baby?"--??"Twilight"?? by Elliott Smith
More >
In my humble opinion.such a beautiful song, i don't know how anyone could not like it. there are a lot of talented guitarists who do good elliott covers on youtube (and trust me ive seen a good slew of them), but this is the one i keep coming back for. his voice plus the lyrics plus elliott's music makes for my favorite youtube cover to this day c:
More >
Because who couldn't use a little Elliott Smith to, er, brighten their day?
More >
Whenever I hear this song I think of the summer. I think of our friendship. The music. Time and space didn't matter. I think of my life without you in it. I hope New York treats you better than it has. I think of you and your hate for the night and how you've fallen into love with it deeply. Take care of yourself. xo, Juanita
More >
If you can't help it,then just leave it aloneLeave me aloneYeah, just forget itIt's really easyI'll just forget it tooCoast to coastCoast to coastI'll do what I can so you can be what you do...Is there anything that I could doThat someone doesn't do for youThat someone didn't do for youThat I've already done for you...I don't know what it is about his lyrics that invariably scrape my insides mo...
More >
this video of elliott playing king's crossing makes me heart hurt. i don't know why. it just does.
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Coast to Coast |
|
|
| 2 Let's Get Lost |
|
|
| 3 Pretty (Ugly Before) |
|
|
| 4 Don't Go Down |
|
|
| 5 Strung Out Again |
|
|
| 6 A Fond Farewell |
|
|
| 7 King's Crossing |
|
|
| 8 Ostrich & Chirping |
|
|
| 9 Twilight |
|
|
| 10 A Passing Feeling |
|
|
| 11 The Last Hour |
|
|
| 12 Shooting Star |
|
|
| 13 Memory Lane |
|
|
| 14 Little One |
|
|
| 15 A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free |
|
|
Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "From a Basement on the Hill")
