But there’s no question that Smith’s newfound love of power-pop and electric guitar did nothing to dampen his knack for catchy melodies, as “Son Of Sam” demonstrates. Different from its predecessors, it needs to be met on its own terms. 19: Son Of Samįigure 8may be Smith’s toughest album: noisy and cluttered where its predecessors were hushed and spare. “We’re all in the downpour you carry around for/Trashing a lifestyle you’ve never known,” he sings. Like the Søren Kierkegaard text from which the song takes its name, Smith’s lyrics wrestle with futility – in this case, the futility of dealing with someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. It does, however, appear on New Moon, a collection of outtakes from the mid-90s that’s as essential as any of Smith’s studio albums. The planned title track to Either/Or didn’t actually make the cut for the album, though it’s stronger than some of the songs that did. Listen to the best of Elliott Smith on Apple Music and Spotify.

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