Elliott Smith Interview 07.04.00 - Gothenburg festival, Sweden

[@justscha]

I love finding hidden gems like this. Thanks for sharing.

[@IRememberElliott]

i have been a big fan for a while and somehow missed this interview until recently. its not as often posted online as the others. the person asking Elliott questions does a really great job.

[@justscha]

Memory Lane I found it fascinating, you rarely hear him speak of his step-father and he mentions him a few times. I think ES was definitely more comfortable around the foreign press.

[@Topspin89]

He had the sexiest, most adorable voice ever. It was like velvety, rich chocolate, especially when he'd laugh.

[@mixtap3w0rm]

The sound quality is beautiful, feels so intimate, helps that Elliott is so genuine too

[@exzisd]

He just seems like a really grounded down to earth person in a world that wants to mystify things which most of the time are much simpler than the spectacles and hype surrounding them. I think he was a bit of a downer honestly but not the kind of pitiful downer. It's clear he had some skeletons in his closet and felt things yet it's inspiring how a person like Elliott can create such beautiful songs in spite of the pain. I know he had his issues with drugs for years but I think the music really made him come alive from his old band to his solo career. The Heatmiser tracks are pretty cool and it's interesting to jump from a Heatmiser track into an Elliott Smith track. It's like you go from this grungy heavy sort of alt rock with all this noise and it's as if all the other instruments stopped playing and that voice kept going and the acoustic guitar came out. Maybe it's unsurprising since he's the same person from Heatmiser but I feel like his acoustic stuff shared a lot of the DNA that Heatmiser did yet was unique. Genres and labels are something Elliott never seemed very keen on as far as his music or the singer songwriter tag; I think for good reason. His music is more than singer songwriter, it's not exactly punk, it's not exactly emo, it's exactly Elliott Smith. He made magic. Seems like a person that would really be present and in the moment with you if you ever had a chance to sit down with him. He never seemed distracted and just had this natural sense of awareness and caring for others in subtle ways. He seemed almost apathetic in terms of his own success yet he played the game of the industry doing interviews, television, and radio but really seemed like a means to continue making music more-so than for the fame. I think he really saw through fame before he ever had it himself. Nobody can really say but sometimes I try to imagine where his mind was at with creating music and life itself. Almost as interesting as the music I find Elliott himself to be a very peculiar person that had a certain magnetism about him. He was the kind of person you would feel very good just being yourself around. What you see is what you get. There didn't seem to be much of a difference between Steve Smith and Elliott Smith. I think that name change was just a name he liked better for his life. What I mean is that Elliott seemed to be the kind of person who would be the same either in front of a crowd, on the mic, in an interview, in the studio, etc. There wasn't some big smoke screen obscuring fans from who he was beyond the music. I think the departure from Heatmiser with his solo career may have highlighted him as the person he was. Just as all the other noise was cut out from the band so to were the other bandmembers and so it literally became Elliott on a stage with the spotlight on him. I get this feeling that doesn't have a word with Elliott and his music. It's this sense of innocence and sincerity amidst loss. It's like moving away from your home as a child. It's like a warm blanket on a cold night. It's like continuing to play when the other kids have grown up and gotten busy with life. Almost like being the only person on a swing set as the sun goes down on a beautiful day with no one in sight.

[@bugissocoollike]

i could listen to him talk forever

[@TheDreamingJune]

Gosh, he was just so lovely. 💜

[@sarainbowconnections5280]

WOW!!! SOUNDS LIKE HE WAS IN A REALLY GREAT SPACE, AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME. HE SOUNDS SO INCREDIBLY WONDERFUL, THAT MY HEART SINKS WHEN SUDDENLY REMEMBER HE IS NO LONGER IN PHYSICAL FORM. BLESS HIS JOURNEY. INCREDIBLE GRATITUDE FOR THE MUSIC HE LEFT US WITH. WOULD LOOOOOVE TO MEET BUNNY!!!

[@johnablett6633]

Thanks for sharing this. Probably watched all the other available Elliott interviews a thousand times now but this was a really nice one. Can't help but feel a little like if the world treated him a bit more like this interviewer did, he might have stuck around a little longer. Oh well... he went when he went and I'm just glad he was here. Thanks again :)

[@elsbethsteele9285]

That's not true. I heard of him when I was 12, In upstate NY. That was 20 years ago.

[@Trenzalore-gn6xq]

onemorebrando not true. He got most of his fame from good will hunting and this interview was after that, but yeah I agree with the idea that he became more confident when people were pushing him but I guess that pressure became too much

[@oliviapetrowski4553]

That picture is my phone wallpaper!

[@Minddrops]

Everything is okay I can see your face Down here by the waves Painted and erased But I know it’s just the reflection of the moon A big fake resembling you These lyrics are my favorite, they are just beautiful

[@Trenzalore-gn6xq]

Mind drops wow yeah that’s a good one. I honestly couldn’t choose my favourite lyrics of his

[@benmeltzer]

@@Trenzalore-gn6xq "Angeles"

[@StephenAndrew777]

Elliott's mom's group was almost certainly incredible

[@antrob95]

At 2:30 you can hear the bassline from "Main Offender" by The Hives, a swedish band that made it pretty big internationally around the same time as Elliott. I wonder if they were at this festival too? :D

[@guilhermeneis9182]

I recognized that too

[@loveamerican]

so glad someone else caught this!!!

[@12sleep34]

i thought it was the velvet undergrounds "european son" lol

[@johnnydi2203]

I have to wonder if Elliott was crushing a bit here. Friendlier and jokier than usual in interviews.

[@inshambles2]

maybe lmao

[@AyakiKay-kj8gm]

😂​@@inshambles2

[@aoldatabase]

wow!! what a great interview! just plain awesome

[@waz3128]

aaw cute , the thought of a little Elliott playing soccer

[@RTEHeydrich]

Soccer = Art/Music = Life = Soccer...

[@Trenzalore-gn6xq]

RTEHeydrich what?

[@rjskum688]

@@Trenzalore-gn6xq lmao

[@JunkBondTrader]

Apparently he was an aggressive basketball player too, he would throw his elbows. Lol I forget who said this... Rob Schnapf maybe

[@anupamc176]

this is precious...

[@bruce_sings]

Brought a tear to my eye... What a guy

[@singingknives3856]

Anybody know the song that starts at 6:51.. sounds like a rare live tune I need to hear

[@jamesryan74]

Love this. Thanks!

[@jakemetcalfe3091]

This is gold, thanks.

[@danacandilora7013]

nver gonna know you now, but i love you any how

[@mijadreams3486]

😔

[@EuphoniaPooch]

anyone know the song starting at 3:12? Sounds like him singing with a girl in the background...sounds like his music and voice.

[@swedemob1618]

Seconded, I’m super interested as well

[@musicisbrilliant]

WONDERFUL channel!!! Thank you. Subscribed.

[@AyakiKay-kj8gm]

I love you 🥰

[@AyakiKay-kj8gm]

❤

[@SilentAttackTV]

Are there any other interviews where he mentions his lyric/songwriting process, and inspiration for writing lyrics?

[@keremkutal7693]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpC7f5qeibCpp5o

[@babelyubelbarever4591]

the interviewer was rizzed up 💀💀

[@threebythestreet]

This is lego boy fans sister! His story is so funny! Pulled out of soccer to be a fun scout! 😁 P.S. He didn't just have green hair, he also had purple and red and, of all the colors too choose from, yellow hair!

[@threebythestreet]

To Joe McGrath The song that starts at 6:51 is ballad of nothing. Thank for to your time. Lego boy fanatics sister.

[@kide9747]

It seems like Elliott wasn't very fond of his own lyrics. But I think they are quite poetic and interesting

[@TheDreamingJune]

Elliott was an incredible lyricist imo. So many layers and emotion in his writing.

[@harleyQ9000]

Hihi he's been in Gothenburg Sweden! XD would have been awesome to have seen him in Sweden

[@matthewslevin5359]

He played a show in Stockholm that's brilliant, the audio is on KZbin and I highly recommend it!

[@benmeltzer]

both excellent radio broadcasts: solo 1998: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZnCZ5JqeM6tn9k band 2000: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXq6hJeeZsSFo5o

[@Ana-ib1tv]

He was engaged in this interview, you know?

[@jacob7045]

Anilu ya this interviewer let him explain himself

[@retinarental1603]

Anilu ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ғɪɴᴅ ᴛʜɪs ᴏᴜᴛ?

[@JunkBondTrader]

@@retinarental1603 Engaged mentally

[@Topspin89]

I think you just pulled that factoid out of your butt. This interview was from the year 2000. He was doing the Figure 8 tour; in the middle of that tour he hooked up with Valerie Deerin who would be his girlfriend for two years. I highly doubt he just jumped from being engaged to someone to dating another woman.

[@rjos033]

Hey man, I notice you’ve got some interviews/videos that are on “private” - any way you can share those with me? I’m also a big fan of Elliott’s and I just wanna listen to them.

[@threebythestreet]

To Joe McGrath. The song that starts at 6:51 is ballad of nothing.

[@Trenzalore-gn6xq]

Sounds like this interviewer had a bit of a crush on Elliott

[@MothGirl007]

Who wouldn't?!

[@TheDreamingJune]

​@@MothGirl007 IKR?! Elliott was adorable.

[@Topspin89]

Or, maybe it was the other way around, or both.

[@threebythestreet]

To Joe McGrath The song that starts at 6:51 is ballad of nothing.

[@PewQs]

Is that I am Kloot playing in the background?

[@JazzMartian]

ya know?

[@jacob7045]

Rip

[@threebythestreet]

PLEASE READ JOE MCGRATH! This is Lego boy fanatics sister! The song that starts at 6:51 is ballad of nothing.

[@singingknives3856]

OKAY!

[@singingknives3856]

Please know I never got your reply after all this time as you didnt reply to me like on my actual comment. I only found out you replied to me as someone posted it on r/elliottsmith lol

[@threebythestreet]

@@singingknives3856 that's alright! :)

[@AyakiKay-kj8gm]

​@@singingknives3856😂

[@squeeze1778]

0:23

[@fatbizquit2913]

He says "you know" approximately 3.5 trillion times in this😂😂😂

[@singingknives3856]

Fat Bizquit John Lennon did that a lot too, maybe he was channeling John's ghost

[@profd65]

So what, moron? What's your point?

[@keithconneely4725]

He played football. Wonder who he supported.

[@raincats2011]

Did The Beatles Write All Their Own Music? Don´t think so, but Elliot clearly DID!! Mostly George martin and ghost writers and Lennon and MacCartney did the vocals! The beatles live they never palyed Revolver!! What?? they didn´t know the songs??From Sergeant Peper on, you start to hear them actually playing on the recordsNot before 67 ! It is a nice fairy story !! kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZSomaCHZbJnfLs

[@shinesineyes]

Stupid little idiot

[@mustymax5878]

Pathetic loser

[@mustymax5878]

Don’t project your failed art onto everyone else just shut up