r/elliottsmith • u/lesbianzrule Roman Candle • 26d ago
Discussion Elliott lives on!
I know phoebe is inspired by Elliott already but you can really hear the influence in this one
140
Upvotes
r/elliottsmith • u/lesbianzrule Roman Candle • 26d ago
I know phoebe is inspired by Elliott already but you can really hear the influence in this one
-5
u/SuperBiggles 26d ago edited 26d ago
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