By Gabriel
Elliott Smith
mith's music should be the soundtrack to Portland. The buildings should have speakers that pump his albums to conduct people on the street. Everything about his work reminds me of my time there, and I was exposed to everything but the last album before I actually moved there. The songs paint images of every street, building and event specific to the city. This is a more romantic vision of his music since he ultimately left Portland for Los Angeles. Regardless, he seemed to be the ghostly saint of the rainy city. As sad as he was in his life, it felt like you were taking care of him by listening to his music.
On a less serious note, this dude could pick. His playing, although different, sounds like it could stand up against some old-school country and bluegrass players. Again, like Sam Roberts, Dr. Dog and many others I love, Elliott Smith channeled The Beatles. I'd bet that he had an affinity for George Harrison's sound over the rest of the players because of his lean towards balladry and crunchy guitars in upper tempo tunes. Smith also delivered something unexpected with every album. You're lead through with soulful, poetic and heartfelt compositions and then taken off guard by a gritty, groove-filled tune towards the end. When he chose to do a rock song, he did it really well. The other great thing that surrounds it all is that his work didn't really belong to a genre or movement in music. The music stood on its own.
From Heatmiser to his solo career, Elliott Smith's library is something to cherish as he was one of our greatest modern songwriters.
Supergrass
You know the saying about certain things that how you either really love them or really hate them? With Supergrass, I've never heard of anyone that hated them so if you like them, then you really love them. It bothers me that Supergrass coasted in on the 90s wave of Britpop because they seem so removed and beyond everyone else associated with it. I believe I first learned of them by seeing their video for "Cheapskate" on 120 Minutes. At the time, I wasn't buying into the whole British Invasion Part 2. Skeptical about the album In It for the Money as a whole, it took me a year or two to go all in.
These guys are what they refer to as "cheeky." Every album is fun, rambunctious, clever and earnest. They even touch on loss, love and that ongoing search for self. I can't accurately describe their sound but Gaz Coombe's voice is part of the draw. Sharp, high-pitched and full of personality, Gaz adds the arousing cheer to the zippy pop-punk sound. While being a highly reliable band, they've also developed a bit of a pattern in their albums. Every other record is standard, infectious Supergrass music with wide appeal. Those in between take a break from the usual and require more patience and consideration. I'll let you figure out the pattern for yourselves but In It for the Money is a great starting point.
Plus Supergrass did that awesome "Stereo" video that channeled Jim Henson (maybe his son even worked on it? I seem to remember that)
ReplyDeleteNice post on them. You're right - too many people lumped them in with the likes of Oasis and Blur and didn't give them a chance.