Hi homie! I'm 42 and was absolutely floored by this album when it came out. Life changing, never duplicated. I really think you encapsulated the highs and lows of this album perfectly. A great listen by you, a great journey back for me. A-plus!
This is my first video I’ve seen of yours so you may know this, but Elliott Smith was in a punk band called Heatmiser before doing solo stuff, so whenever he rips into the rock stuff like Bled White, it’s that influence coming through! Heatmiser’s stuff is really solid as well. Any of the ones that Elliott wrote on their last album are especially great, and there are even better acoustic versions of them at the end of the New Moon compilation album. I love to see someone explore Elliott’s discography! He’s been my favorite artist of all time for a couple years now and there’s no turning back!
The latter middle half of the album has always felt a little less captivating to me too, but I still really love this album. Tomorrow Tomorrow is one of my favorite songs by him, when I first heard it, the instrumentals just made me smile in awe.
You and I have different lesser favorites on here, but I totally get what you are saying overall. And the big moments are huge! Someday, you should check out Heatmiser, the band he was in before and partially during his early solo days. They have more straightforward rock moments, but also some great seeds of what will be on his later albums.
4:16 I like your reactions because you DON'T stick to the lyrics much! As a classical music lover (that I hope you'll check out some day) I much prefer hearing about the music rather than the words
listen to either/or first, then if you like the acoustic stuff listen to his self titled and if you like the more full band stuff listen to figure 8. though they are all so good that you could pick any one of them and have a good time :D
You can’t go wrong going in order, but either/or is a good place to start, it’s probably his most popular album. I like From a basement on the hill the most.
I just went through a bunch of your reactions- love watching the journey of discovery, the range of emotions and responses great music can elicit. Huge overlap in musical taste and similar: journeys, separated by a few decades. Some recommendations based on what I’ve seen thus far, not really in any order Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls Animal Collective - Sung Tongs Shugo Tokumaru - Exit Wilco - Summerteeth Silver Jews - American Water The Roots - Things Fall Apart Deltron 3030 Gillian Welch - Soul Journey Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out Lower Dens - Twin-Hands Movement Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal Neutral Milk Hotel - In An Aeroplane Over the Sea Kevin Morby - Oh My God The Knife - Deep Cuts Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest No Age - Weirdo Rippers Andrew Bird - Armchair Apochrypha The National - High Violet Can - Future Days Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly Bob Dylan - Desire, Blood On The Tracks, New Morning, John Wesley Harding, Blonde On Blonde, keeping going back Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town, Thunder Road Patti Smith - Horses Joni Mitchell - Blue Wu-Tang Clan - 36 Chambers Van Morrison - Astral Weeks Neil Young - Harvest, Harvest Moon Gordon Lightfoot - Lightfoot! Jimmy Cliff, others - The Harder They Fall Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman, Tease and the Firecat 2Pac - All Eyez On Me to name a few…
I adore Oh Well, Ok and Bottle Up and Explode! but I do agree Amity and A Question Mark are a little weaker compared to the rest. Still an incredible album though.
The best Eliott Smith album. The first Sufjan album is A Sun Came (1999) so i would argue he probably had already found his own sound. Actually, i find they both have a Paul Simon influence, Smith gets away from it though on this particular album. From memory, the first Sufjan sounded a lot more varied than Smith's first. Sufjan listened to a lot of prog (one of his favorite albums is Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn - also some easten sounding influences, along with a lot of Philip Glass). Eliott's Baby Britain sounds like an XTC song circa 1990.
@@spookyandwithdrawn20 Most young artists hate being compared to their elders. They want to establish their own artistic persona, and that's understandable. But regardless, I (and quite a few others apparently) do hear some Simon here and there, Bookends era. I often wonder how his music would have evolved.
@@benoitdesmarais2948 No I don’t think that’s the case. Elliott never hid or denied his influences which included The Beatles, Big Star, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder etc. He wasn’t a fan of being compared to Paul Simon simply because he wasn’t really influenced by him.
Hey brother, not sure if you’re receptive to doing any punk but I think you may get a kick out of Bad Religion’s breakout album ‘Suffer’ It’s arguably one of the most influential American punk albums of the 90’s and really a bridge between old and new punk sounds.
Perhaps you already listened and knew this, but Pheobe Bridgers is a HUGE Elliott Smith fan. Her song Punisher is about him, and once you’re familiar with him, you can feel his influence all over that album.
I can’t wait to see what you think about From a basement on the hill. I hope you check it out!
Hi homie! I'm 42 and was absolutely floored by this album when it came out. Life changing, never duplicated. I really think you encapsulated the highs and lows of this album perfectly. A great listen by you, a great journey back for me. A-plus!
HELL YEAH
Independence day, baby Britain, amity, and oh well ok are my favorite tracks on here.
WOO! this ones good :D do his "from a basement on the hill" next, its my favorite right now though figure 8 is my all time fav
God don't make no junk, but it's plain to see that he still made me...
I wouldn't be surprised of Conor Oberst took inspiration from Elliot Smith as well
For sure! In fact , after Elliott died Conor did a very emotional live solo cover of The Biggest Lie that really showed that influence.
Conor loved elliott. Bright eyes- reinvent the wheel is about elliott.
He covered “biggest lie”
I think they both started around the same time although Connor Oberst was like 13
@ Yep, very close, maybe within 3 or 4 years of each other with Elliott ahead of Conor due to his Heatmiser stuff. Definitely contemporaries, though.
My bestie was bugging me to listen to this album.. Gosh I'll have to listen to it myself again!!
This is my first video I’ve seen of yours so you may know this, but Elliott Smith was in a punk band called Heatmiser before doing solo stuff, so whenever he rips into the rock stuff like Bled White, it’s that influence coming through! Heatmiser’s stuff is really solid as well. Any of the ones that Elliott wrote on their last album are especially great, and there are even better acoustic versions of them at the end of the New Moon compilation album. I love to see someone explore Elliott’s discography! He’s been my favorite artist of all time for a couple years now and there’s no turning back!
Elliott Smith is just incredible... you should definitely check out From A Basement On The Hill and Roman Candle!
The latter middle half of the album has always felt a little less captivating to me too, but I still really love this album. Tomorrow Tomorrow is one of my favorite songs by him, when I first heard it, the instrumentals just made me smile in awe.
A reaction to an Elliot Smith album, now that's uncommon (and appreciated)!
Subbed, love to see you feel the music like this
happy to see someone who appreciates his music this much
David's reactions are so great because of how insightful, knowledgeable and articulate he is. Being that cute also doesn't hurt. 😄
We need From a Basement on the Hill, next.
I have to disagree with oh well okay and bottle up and explode, but I see where you are coming from, for me two brilliant songs
You and I have different lesser favorites on here, but I totally get what you are saying overall. And the big moments are huge! Someday, you should check out Heatmiser, the band he was in before and partially during his early solo days. They have more straightforward rock moments, but also some great seeds of what will be on his later albums.
4:16 I like your reactions because you DON'T stick to the lyrics much! As a classical music lover (that I hope you'll check out some day) I much prefer hearing about the music rather than the words
As someone who adores Sufjan Stevens with their life.. I'll listen to all of Elliot's albums now.. Any suggestions from which album should I start?!
listen to either/or first, then if you like the acoustic stuff listen to his self titled and if you like the more full band stuff listen to figure 8.
though they are all so good that you could pick any one of them and have a good time :D
@@12sleep34 thank you!!!
You can’t go wrong going in order, but either/or is a good place to start, it’s probably his most popular album. I like From a basement on the hill the most.
From a Basement on a Hill is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion.
I think you under appreciate bottle up and explode; I see it as one of the best on the album. Give it another listen or two.
XO is an absolute masterpiece.
I just went through a bunch of your reactions- love watching the journey of discovery, the range of emotions and responses great music can elicit. Huge overlap in musical taste and similar: journeys, separated by a few decades. Some recommendations based on what I’ve seen thus far, not really in any order
Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
Shugo Tokumaru - Exit
Wilco - Summerteeth
Silver Jews - American Water
The Roots - Things Fall Apart
Deltron 3030
Gillian Welch - Soul Journey
Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Lower Dens - Twin-Hands Movement
Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal
Neutral Milk Hotel - In An Aeroplane Over the Sea
Kevin Morby - Oh My God
The Knife - Deep Cuts
Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe
Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
No Age - Weirdo Rippers
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apochrypha
The National - High Violet
Can - Future Days
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly
Bob Dylan - Desire, Blood On The Tracks, New Morning, John Wesley Harding, Blonde On Blonde, keeping going back
Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town, Thunder Road
Patti Smith - Horses
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Wu-Tang Clan - 36 Chambers
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
Neil Young - Harvest, Harvest Moon
Gordon Lightfoot - Lightfoot!
Jimmy Cliff, others - The Harder They Fall
Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman, Tease and the Firecat
2Pac - All Eyez On Me
to name a few…
I adore Oh Well, Ok and Bottle Up and Explode! but I do agree Amity and A Question Mark are a little weaker compared to the rest. Still an incredible album though.
If you havent done roman candle. Its the most elliott. Do from a basement on a hill and new moon.
The best Eliott Smith album.
The first Sufjan album is A Sun Came (1999) so i would argue he probably had already found his own sound. Actually, i find they both have a Paul Simon influence, Smith gets away from it though on this particular album. From memory, the first Sufjan sounded a lot more varied than Smith's first. Sufjan listened to a lot of prog (one of his favorite albums is Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn - also some easten sounding influences, along with a lot of Philip Glass). Eliott's Baby Britain sounds like an XTC song circa 1990.
Elliott Smith wasn’t really influenced by Paul Simon. He really disliked being compared to him.
@@spookyandwithdrawn20 Most young artists hate being compared to their elders. They want to establish their own artistic persona, and that's understandable. But regardless, I (and quite a few others apparently) do hear some Simon here and there, Bookends era. I often wonder how his music would have evolved.
@@benoitdesmarais2948 No I don’t think that’s the case. Elliott never hid or denied his influences which included The Beatles, Big Star, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder etc. He wasn’t a fan of being compared to Paul Simon simply because he wasn’t really influenced by him.
We need imaginal disk reactionn!!
Please react to Ani Difranco. Amazing guitarist and poet. Her first album is “Ani Difranco” but most of her early ones are amazing.
Hey brother, not sure if you’re receptive to doing any punk but I think you may get a kick out of Bad Religion’s breakout album ‘Suffer’
It’s arguably one of the most influential American punk albums of the 90’s and really a bridge between old and new punk sounds.
how about the new Aurora album?
XO is the cream of the crop from ES
where is your figure 8 reaction?
i was wondering that too
Maybe patreon exclusive or something? It’s not in his channel but I do remember him talking about the album in a roundup video
I need that you react to “The age of Adz” or “The BQE” both by Sufjan and also very very good projects 😽
Every song is great. Don't try to pick apart these perfect songs
Too simple?! 👀👎🏻
Perhaps you already listened and knew this, but Pheobe Bridgers is a HUGE Elliott Smith fan. Her song Punisher is about him, and once you’re familiar with him, you can feel his influence all over that album.
First
Second
Dave, your lips are too dry