My friend gave me a CD to listen to the other day. It was Elliott Smith's "Either/Or" and I was struck at how good it was. Smith would always in a child-like whisper rather than warble or scream like today's assholes (Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba or Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump (isn't that right Jorge?)). It was like he was trying to say something with his music but instead of screaming it he would sing it with a delicate desperation that is only equaled today by Sufjan Stevens.

Sadly, Smith killed himself in 2003. Like many great musicians, he was a drug addict but he eventually succumbed to the thing he said "would be a great failure."

Here's a music video of Smith playing "Angeles":



Gotta love that beginning guitar picking!