Songwriter Elliott Smith Dead at 34 (Suicide)

fox ^ | 10-22-03

[wheelgunguru]

LOS ANGELES

[Jeff Chandler]

his mother was a singer and his father was a psychiatrist

That says volumes.

[Pete]

He spent most of his childhood with his mother in the suburbs of Dallas and then moved to Portland, Ore., in high school to live with his father.

I think that speaks more.

What a sad story.

[martin_fierro]

Elliott Smith (search), a singer-songwriter whose dark, introspective songs...

He practiced what he preached.

[rabidralph]

at least she wasn't a hamster and he didn't smell of elderberries.

[Psycho_Bunny]

They were marked by intricate melodies written over unorthodox chord changes.

Bach wrote "intricate melodies...over unorthodox chord changes"

This guy wrote ditties.

[Cicero]

Miss Misery? Glad I didn't see that movie, thanks.

[Belial]

Very sad. One of the best songwriters of the 90s.

[mountaineer]

Has anyone here ever heard of this guy?

[RLK]

In a society where neurosis and psychosis has become a social art form, the leaders of that art form occasionally kill themselves.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Frankly, this all makes me puke. He's got all he could ever want, probably constantly pampered, and he thinks he had so many problems that suicide was the only way out? What problems? Elitists, I swear.

[new cruelty]

His song "Miss Misery," recorded for the film "Good Will Hunting," was nominated for an Academy Award in 1998.

heh. I liked that song. I never knew who wrote it. And now he is dead.

[truth_seeker]

Smith had recently spoken in interviews about his struggles with alcoholism. "When I lived in New York I was really a bad alcoholic for a few years," he told Under the Radar magazine in an interview published in June 2003.

In an effort to quit drinking, Smith told the magazine, he had undergone treatment at the Neurotransmitter Restoration Center in Beverly Hills, which administers an intravenous solution meant to clear the bloodstream of toxins.

AA recommends a spiritual awakening, with a power greater than yourself.

The only reason I can think of for wanting your neurotransmitters restored, is so you can continue drinking and drugging, sans addiction.

[Belial]

He's got all he could ever want, probably constantly pampered, and he thinks he had so many problems that suicide was the only way out? What problems? Elitists, I swear.

Elliott Smith was far from a rock star. He lived in an apartment in Silverlake.

[expatpat]

He sustained a single stab wound to the chest that appeared to be self-inflicted, she said.

That's an odd way to commit suicide. Sounds more like a homicide than a suicide.

[tdadams]

Has anyone here ever heard of this guy?

You've never heard of him so you assume he's unknown? That's a bit narrow don't you think. He happened to be quite a uniquely talented songwriter.

[PoorMuttly]

Man, what a rotten way to go. Reminds me of the statue "The Dying Gaul"...a guy who wasn't depressed...just surrounded.

Anti-depressants often work. What an awful thing. To do that...he must have been very obviously disturbed.

[mountaineer]

No, I didn't assume he was unknown. I asked whether anyone had heard of him. And, no, I don't think I'm a bit "narrow," but thanks for asking.

[Puppage]

[martin_fierro]

"TURN BACK! Elliott Smith says life in these United States is JUST TOO HARD!"