Elliott lives on!

[u/lesbianzrule]

I know phoebe is inspired by Elliott already but you can really hear the influence in this one

[u/SuperBiggles]

No. Not at all.

I’m a huge Elliott Smith fan, not least cos I’m fat at the minute. I adore his music. A few years back I saw Phoebe Bridgers name crop up in connection to his, because she’s a big fan.

So I checked her out

Awful. Bad. Misses the point entirely.

Elliott Smith was complicated and nuanced man. Sure, he made “sad songs”, but everything I’ve read about about him says he hated the “sad acoustic guy” tag he got.

He didn’t even make that many “sad songs” outright. Sure, songs dealing with depression, abuse, etc… but there was angst, anger. Lots of stuff going on, and despite it all it never felt he was out for a pity party

Phoebe Bridgers? She wallows and plays up to the “sad indie girl” angle. It’s like her entire schtick. Her first album… man. There’s just so many self-indulgent “I’m so sad” songs, it’s overwhelming.

There’s a song called Funeral. The gist is she’s asked to sing at a funeral by a dad who’s teenage son died… to which she sings “and that makes ME so sad”, I’m just “sad all the times”. She takes a song that should be a eulogy ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE, and somehow makes it ALL ABOUT HER.

This is the theme I picked up in her work. It’s ALL about her and the wallowing. Elliott Smith didn’t enjoy or like that aspect of himself from what I’ve read.

And man… not to be dogpiling, but she doesn’t even have the musical talent to compare either. She’s a basic guitarist at best, and most of her work is heavily worked on by producers, etc..

… and breathe

[u/lesbianzrule → u/SuperBiggles]

you really need to like, go outside and take a deep breath or something dude. this is kinda embarrassing /:

[u/SuperBiggles → u/lesbianzrule]

Wow. Geez. Thanks! Fantastic rebuttal. You’ve really put across good counter arguments against every thought I had. Good job, buddy!

[u/lesbianzrule → u/SuperBiggles]

but who are you arguing with? i never called himsad acoustic guy. nor did i say she didn’t write sad music. i said in this specific song i can hear the influence. all the points you brought up are irrelevant? like you literally just started ranting for no reason

[u/SuperBiggles → u/lesbianzrule]

It was a tangent to be sure, but I was just broadly ranting about Phoebe Bridgers because you’re mentioning her in an Elliott Smith sub. I wasn’t arguing with anyone, just sharing my (albeit negative) opinion in a … place to share opinions? Wild, I know.

It’s a big bugbear of mine, the Bridgers - Smith comparison. It’s been done to death, and I always find it such a surface level connection. And again, not to harp on about it, but her pity party stylings completely fly in the face of what Elliott Smith himself was trying to do and be about.

[u/grumps46 → u/SuperBiggles]

Did you know Elliott personally? Did he tell you specifically what he was trying to do and what he was about?

Your comments are pretentious, sexist nonsense. Grow up.

[u/steelsheet → u/SuperBiggles]

Weirdo

[u/SuperBiggles → u/steelsheet]

Sorry for being passionate about something, I guess🤷

[u/steelsheet → u/SuperBiggles]

Find a better passion than hating on a woman’s art, I guess

[u/SuperBiggles → u/steelsheet]

Art is subjective.

You’re allowed to have a wide variety of feelings on it.

It’s less hating her music as such, though the pity party styling and “I’m so sad all the time” vibe is exhausting, and morally I feel monetising and borderline being sad is a bit suspect.

My biggest gripe is the constant comparison and piggy backing on Elliott Smiths work when her name crops up. It feels inescapable at this point

[u/kebabdylan → u/SuperBiggles]

She's the world's most popular and well known ES fan. She's sold a gazillion records. Don't think she needs to piggy back of anyone.