sure he maybe on heroin, and sure he may have impressivley depressive lyrics, but theyre matched by equally impressive music. he also has a bit of a differant backround than a lot of the bigger acts who are sorta similar. you know, types like john mayer. its great music to get drunk to. technically pretty sound stuff too. he has an interesting style of not only playing guitar but the way he will double record stuff. its pretty unique.
I just can't get into him. Can you give me any song recommendations? Preferably something that would inspire me to get OUT of bed?
Unfortunately, he's finished. First off, his worst mistake was to work with that overproducing c**t, Rob Schnapf. Then, yes, the heroin and whatnot. I've heard accounts of his recent shows where he cannot even finish a song. It's really sad to see because I really liked (and still do like) things like "Either/Or" and his self-titled effort. The self-titled one is in my top ten. I mean, even things like "XO" and "Figure 8" had some good tracks, but they were for the most part overproduced. I hope he sorts everything else. Just sad to see him piss it away. I know it's his life and all, but yeah... kevin + http://tullamarine.org
It's a shame really. A friend got me into him when XO came out and I went out and bought his previous stuff. Figure 8 was solid but nowhere near as good as his previous stuff in my estimation. I saw him in concert at The Ritz in Raleigh and he was great, just him and his guitar.
Yeah, I could've. He could've become the next big American singer-songwriter, but blew it with drugs. I'm not saying this as a Portlander, but moving to Los Angeles does not seem to have done him any good. I don't ever think the problem ever truly went away though. He's been known to be stubborn about it (like most people with chemical dependency issues) as evidence on the one track on "XO" where he goes, "F***ing stay the hell away from things you know nothing about" in reference to Kill Rock Stars label owned Slim Moon (and others) who tried to help him by getting him into rehab. Was going to play a sad song of his on the air tonight, but went with "Ballad of Big Nothing" instead. kevin + http://tullamarine.org
You've probably heard "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack. But alas, it will most likely keep you in bed.
Perhaps the only non-stay-in-bed song of his that I can think of off the top of my head is "Bottle Up and Explode" off of his XO album.
see, i could never see him getting THAT big. i just dont think hes mass marketable. i could be completely off th rocker with that, though.
Yeah, so he'd never get played in Hot Topic or anything but there are people who are big without really being all over radio & TV. How often do you hear a Bob Dylan song on your local alternarock station? I just think Elliott could have been big in that way. I mean, if Wilco and Ryan Adams (yuck) can make waves, why not Elliott? kevin + http://tullamarine.org
I worked in record stores in Boston and NYC and you'd be surprised at the range of people who were buying his records 2 years ago-frat boys, sorority girls, indy kids...my dad (no joke). He was definitely mass marketable and he could've been very big.
he just isnt as marketable, i dont think, as, say, john mayer. firstly, he doesnt have that "pop" sounding voice. eliott has always been big in the underground, and in big cities, yeah, a lot of people know about him, but he would never be someone that who would be playing to sold out ampatheatres (ala dave matthews) with throngs of high school/college type fans and people who would travel all over to see him. he is big now, as it is, but i cant see it expanding, no matter what he does. his music, lyrics and voice just dont lend to that. even if elliott wernt pissing his life away, i think that artists like john mayer, josh (or john?) jackson, et all, would be more popular. its just differances in style.
he's a reason why these moves to make internet radio pay royalties seem really counterproductive to me. I heard him on internet radio and went out to buy his Figure 8 cd immediately. Never would have heard of him in the first place, otherwise. How the hell in today's radio market are new artists that break some ever going to get heard? It's almost as if radio didn't even exist.