Throwback Thursday (8/6/2020)

Elliott Smith would have been 51 years old today. I miss Elliott Smith.

Smith was a singer-songwriter who spent most of his adult life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity.

After playing in the band Heatmiser, Smith began his solo career in 1994 and rose to prominence with his song "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the song, and awkwardly performed it during the Oscars telecast.

Sadly, the combination of drug and alcohol abuse and mental illness took its toll on Smith, who committed suicide in 2003.

But the music that Smith left us with will live on. He combined dark lyrics with Beatle-esque melodies with a home studio feel.

I always found his music to be beautiful and shy. He didn't want to tell you about his pain, but it was the only way to get it across. Smith said that transitions were his favorite part of songs and that he preferred to write broader, more impressionistic music closer to pop rather than folk music.

So when you think of Smith and listen to his music - listen to it carefully and appreciate what we've lost.