Sinister: top 12/am i stoic?

[Evan Gregg]

<<<7. Elliott Smith - XO
Perhaps the greatest songwriter alive today (along with Beck). If you
werent
moved by "either/or" you are a stoic creature from the deepest lagoon.
This
album uses more instrumentation than "either/or" and you hear the
Beatles
inflences oozing from this masterpiece. Yes, i will call it a
masterpiece
because it is. Listen to this album once and tell me you were not moved.
If
you weren't check your pulse. Quickly.>>>

well...um i was almost moved, i think this album is pretty far from a
masterpiece
the arrangements while large are not all that spectacular (the duncan
sheik mentality that more=better even if they're arranged simply)
(though the arrangements on xo are far beyond duncan sheik)
there are some great parts, the music is the best part for sure
the lyrics have great moments but his phrasing throughout most of the
record is very irritating
i certainly admit that i am over sensitive to that (i was angry first
time i listened to TBWTAS because the phrasing seemed off but that was
because i had been listening on crappy headphones and couldn't hear the
vocals w/ the instruments)

it seems that elliot found as many people as he could with as many
instruments put them in a big studio and found some semblence of a
melody for the instruments and then tried to sing around it
many times a loose structure and improvisational feel is good but not
for this type of pop music, at least not in my opinion
it just seems like he didnt really try very hard to set the words to
music, the lyrics read well, but he doesnt present them very well
and amity is one of the worst pieces of crap i heard last year
i love the first half of the album pretty much but can't listen to
anything after amity
ill stick with Roman Candle for elliot
and if i want something with admirable orchestral-pop arragements ill
stick with Pernice Bros, Mojave 3, Merc Rev and whoever else im blanking
on

oh and as for best songwriter...hmm...people always will argue about
that no matter who it is but...
im pretty sure Tom Waits is still alive, Mark Eitzel is (at least
physically, he always seems emotionally dead but thats another story),
Will Oldham gets better and better very time he changes his name, Mark
Kozelek (of Red House Painters) Geoff Farina has written some of the
most beautiful songs ever, stephin merritt...blah blah blah
i wotn go on naming more because songwriters are a very personal
selection because not everyone can appreciate or handle Eitzel's pathos,
and a lot of people think Mark Kozelek is a whiny little twit, and Tom
Waits is to icky for some people, Will Oldham is too stuck in another
century (along with Jason Molina from Songs: Ohia), and most people
don't know who Geoff Farina is or at least not as anything but the
geetarist in Karate for which he uses hismost mediocre lyrics
so anyway, i disagree but that doesnt mean a hell of a lot
i don't much like when people use the term "greatest" to describe
anything esp in music but you used perhaps so its all good (|=-)
i think thats all ihave to say
i have to pee anyway so thats it, no editing so i prolly stuck at least
one toe in my mouth
-----Ev
np-Lisa Germano-Happiness (me sad, there are rumors that shes leaving
the music bidness, hopefully the way Robyn Hitchcock did)
-- -----------------------------------------------------

I was happy when I put my new record on
But I was sad as I listened to it all alone
---"Feeling Fine" by Class

my home page:
http://www.angelfire.com/ma/dixiecluck

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
      +---+  Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list  +---+
 To send to the list please mail "sinister at majordomo.net". To unsubscribe
   send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
 "majordomo at majordomo.net".  For list archives and searching, list rules,
   FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister
          +---+   "legion of bedroom saddo devotees"  +---+
 +-+  "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list"  +-+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+