Songwriter Elliott Smith Dead at 34 (Suicide)

fox ^ | 10-22-03

[Jeff Chandler]

if you want to be provincial and assume all singers and psychiatrists have suicidal children

I said that? How provincial of me.

[new cruelty]

Not really -- think of 3/4 time (Waltz) and 6/8 time (jigs). The first has 3 beats, the second has two beats, with a triplet of eighth-notes to each beat.

Yeah. you're right. thanks for helping me out with that.

[NutCrackerBoy]

And then there's 12/8 time (shuffle). 4 beats with a triplet of eighth-notes to each beat. The first two eighths of the triplet sound as one quarter.

[expatpat]

Love your cat!

[I_Love_My_Husband]

It's sad. But it sounds like he came from a pretty wealthy family. I've known the type. They romanticize the poor and drug addicted and become what they romantacize, only they get caught in a vicious circle and can't get out when they're addicted to drugs.

Probably the worst thing was moving to Portland with his dad to go to HS. At least in Texas you didn't have these kid hustlers all around downtown like you did in Portland. Portland is depressing. I imagine back in HS he met loads of these aimless drug addicted kids and got caught up in the scene.

[KneelBeforeZod]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=795&e=2&u=/eo/13198

Wed Dec 31, 4:30 PM ET
By Josh Grossberg

Sad-song troubadour Elliott Smith was thought to have died by his own hand two months ago.

Now, those investigating the presumed suicide of the 34-year-old folk-rocker aren't so sure.

A statement issued this week by the Los Angeles County coroner has clouded the case, saying officials have been unable to determine whether Smith was the one who initiated the two "penetrating stab wounds" in his chest.

Therefore, an official cause of death has not yet been filed.

"Despite a comprehensive and ongoing inquiry into the death by the LAPD (news - web sites) detectives and coroner investigators together with a thorough examination by the coroner's pathologist, the mode of death remains 'undetermined' due to incomplete knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the death," the coroner's office said in a press statement.

The coroner says the wounds could have been inflicted either by Smith or a second party.

The body of the brooding singer-songwriter was discovered October 21 in the kitchen of his Los Angeles apartment.

Given Smith's history of drug and alcohol abuse and depression (he was once dubbed "the unhappiest man in the land" and his most famous song was "Miss Misery"), police initially declared the case a suicide. But toxicology tests showed no drugs in Smith's system and, with the coroner's most recent pronouncement, authorities say they plan to revisit the suicide theory.

The coroner's office will revisit the case should new information surface; until then, the file will remain open.

Smith rose through the indie ranks in the '90s with fragile melodies that stood in stark contract to the grunge, nu-metal and rap dominating radio.

He released his solo debut, Roman Candle, in 1994, and received critical acclaim for 1997's Either/Or.

Smith's music caught the attention of director Gus Van Sant, who included several of the singer's tracks on the Good Will Hunting Soundtrack (1997), the most popular of which, "Miss Misery," earned Smith a surprise Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

His major-label debut, XO, was released the following year on DreamWorks Records.

In August, Smith released the vinyl single "Pretty (Ugly Before)" with the flip side, "A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free." It was his first recorded work since the 2000 album, Figure 8.

[Little Bill]

Noone kills themslves by stabbing themselves in the chest, Arkincide involved.

[Miss Marple]

I happen to have very fond memories of Queen, not to mention the guitar riffs of Steve Vai.

One of the reasons I have always liked Queen is the complexity of their music, and their obvious borrowing from the classical masters.

[giotto]

Smith graduated...with a degree in philosophy

That was his first mistake.

[bc2]

Thank you very much for posting this article and pinging me to it.

If Smith was murdered let me lead us in a toast to his murderer being caught and rotting in prison until it's time for him to rot in hell forever.