My Favourite Elliott Smith Song

The journalist and documentary maker Louis Theroux joins us for the very first episode of the My Favourite Elliott Smith song. Find out his number one Elliott track, how he got into the singer and the story of how the pair crossed paths in London.

William Todd Schultz, the author of Torment Saint - an Elliott Smith biography - joins us for the second episode of the podcast. As well as discussing his favourite Elliott track, he also talks about how he came to write the book and what we learnt when while working on it.

In this episode, we speak to Nickolas Rossi, the director of Elliott Smith documentary Heaven Adores You. As well as talking us through his selection, Nickolas also discusses how he came to direct the film and what it was like using Elliott's music as his soundtrack.

In the fourth episode of the My Favourite Elliott Smith Song podcast, we speak to Denny Swofford. Denny is the co-founder of Cavity Search, the record label that released early Heatmiser Singles and Elliott Smith's first album, Roman Candle.  Hopefully you enjoy this chat - Denny's got some great stories about the Heatmiser days in Portland and listen out for his take on hearing, for the first time, the songs that would later become Roman candle. There are more episodes of the show lined up, so please do like and subscribe so you can get them directly. Thanks for listening.

In this episode, we speak to singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. Phoebe was one of the breakthrough artists of 2017 with her album, 'Stranger in the Alps', in many people's best of the year lists. She's a big fan of Elliott's and you can really hear his influence coming through on some of the songs on that album. It was great to speak to her about (what else) her favourite Elliott Smith Song, how she first got into him and whether Elliott would use Twitter if he was alive today.  And if you haven't heard Phoebe's album, check it out - after listening to this episode first, of course.

In this episode, we speak to Ross Harris. Ross directed three music videos with Elliott Smith - Coming Up Roses, Heatmiser's Plainclothes Man and, perhaps Elliott's most iconic video, the one for Miss Misery. You may also know him as the robot hand salesman in the documentary on Elliott, Strange Parallel.  But, much more than those impressive credentials, Ross was a friend of Elliott's, and he has some great anecdotes. So, hopefully you enjoy this slightly extended chat with Ross - he has some lovely stories about the time they spent together.

In this episode we speak to Sadie Dupuis. Sadie is a New York based musician, who is the founder and lead singer of the band Speedy Ortiz, and she's also got a solo project called Sad13.  Sadie is a huge Elliott Smith fan and is incredibly knowledgeable about his work. She speaks about his music, and the culture surrounding it, with a passion and good humour that will be very familiar if you follow her on Twitter.  Hope you enjoy this one.

In this episode we speak to New York-based songwriter and musician, Kevin Devine. Kevin is a huge Elliott Smith fan and has covered his songs many times, so it was great to get the chance to speak to him. He's also worked closely with Rob Schnapf - the producer behind Either/Or, XO, Figure 8 and From a Basement on the Hill - and here we discuss how their relationship came about, as well as what it was like working with a person who helped shaped the career of one of his heroes. Very much hope you enjoy this episode. Please do like, review and subscribe to the show if you can. Oh, and you can also contact me @RobComba on Twitter if you have any recommendations on who you'd like to take part. Thanks xo

In this episode, a first for My Favourite Elliott Smith Song, we hear from two guests: the musicians Jessica Lea Mayfield and Seth Avett. Both artists made their names separately, Jessica as a singer-songwriter and Seth as part of the band the Avett Brothers, but they joined forces in 2015 to release the album Jessica Lea Mayfield and Seth Avett Sing Elliott Smith. It was so enjoyable speaking to them both. They have a great chemistry and are both huge fans of Elliott's work. In the interview we cover their individual favourite song picks, as well as the album they worked on and a pet named after Elliott. Hope you enjoy it. Things to look at/listen to: Jessica and Seth's Elliott Smith tribute album: https://open.spotify.com/album/45JsKQGdBmDiZxJjxE8UUW From a Basement on the Hill by Elliott Smith (both tracks chosen by Jessica and Seth come from this album: https://open.spotify.com/album/66UbcdMK6oC2XFPLeESamq Elliott Smith playing A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free live: https://youtu.be/Nfy040FRT-U

In this episode, we speak to the singer/songwriter Beatie Wolfe. Beatie has built a reputation as an innovator - she combines music with technology and, last year, she was named in Wired magazine's people changing the world.  Importantly for us though, she's a huge Elliott Smith fan. Such a big fan, in fact, that she's written a song - called Little Moth - in tribute to him and had it beamed into space (yes, really). So, in this episode we speak about her favourite song, how she got into Elliott's work and why her moth analogy works.  Extra things to watch/listen to: Beatie performing Little Moth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buWNjFmQ4uw Beatie's album: https://open.spotify.com/album/3WsRLQElvywEUcM0xAuzfY New Scientist article on her performance of Little Moth: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2130155-augmented-reality-brings-beatie-wolfes-new-songs-to-life/

This episode is with the animator Craig Bartlett. Craig is perhaps best known as the creator of children's TV shows such as Hey Arnold and Dinosaur Train. As well as being a great animator, Craig is also a huge Elliott Smith fan. In this edition, he talks us through his favourite Elliott Smith song, as well as an Elliott comic he drew - you can find that comic on our website myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com. Extra things to look at and listen to: Craig at the Elliott Smith mural: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjuzoH6FGcb/?taken-by=myfavesmithsong No Name #4 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3161kTNVNPqzGHArIpKWvU Roman Candle on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0vgbFgcYqm2B0csVXvo8d5 Find us on Twitter and Instagram - @MyFavESmithSong This episode was produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley.

In this episode, we speak to musician, songwriter and author Amanda Palmer. Amanda came to prominence during the early 2000s as one half of the duo the Dresden Dolls. She's since gone on to release several successful solo albums and books, including 2014's The Art of Asking. You probably won't be surprised to find out that Amanda is also a huge Elliott Smith fan - she even appeared on an Elliott Smith tribute album called Say Yes, which came out in 2016. It was great hearing from Amanda about the influence Elliott's music has had on her, as well as how he's able to so clearly capture what it is to be famous. Hope you enjoy this episode. Extra things to look at/listen to: Amanda Palmer covering Pictures of Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8viCwhAjsLA Bigger on the Inside by Amanda Palmer (a song influenced by Elliott Smith): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icWgTC6Y5-g Pictures of Me on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4q1VulxPSfvFtgHx25FlvV?si=frj8gH8OQ7avLjwLzTjm7Q My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

The musician Max Bloom is our guest on episode 13 of My Favourite Elliott Smith Song. The frontman of the band Yuck talks us through his pick for his favourite song, his experiences covering Elliott as part of the Say Yes tribute album and why (in a weird kind of way) his music reminds Max of a certain British comedy character (see more on this in the links below). This interview was recorded in London in June 2018. Hope you enjoy it. Extra things to look at / listen to: Yuck covering Bled White on Say Yes: A Tribute to Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/0mKKOBllTOKeVXVnIp0f1g?si=va5S1R0tQGmpAFpJJfIBXg Say Yes: A Tribute to Elliott Smith (album link): https://open.spotify.com/album/22vpNv1nma4K9wDMvIDbPg Alan Partridge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdCfuZMD3L0 My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. You can find us on Twitter and Instagram. www.MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

Our guest for episode 14 is the musician Jason Lytle. Jason made his name as the frontman of Grandaddy, and it was with that band that he met Elliott Smith for the first time. Grandaddy had just released their second album, The Sophtware Slump, while Elliott had recently put out Figure 8, and they had been lined up to tour together. In this interview, Jason discusses the moment he met Elliott for the first time, how their friendship developed and, of course, his favourite song. We loved hearing Jason's stories, so we hope you enjoy this interview too. Things to look listen to: Jason Lytle playing on the Color Bars Experience tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-uMXdCUni8 Color Bars Experience website: http://www.the-color-bars-experience.com/elliott-smith/ Jason discussing Elliott in this interview from 2009: http://larecord.com/interviews/2009/06/09/jason-lytle-interview-i-just-want-to-be-that-six-year-old-kid Waltz #1 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4SD4ri0Msp6DxgoXKcf6ug?si=T0LxiCNvSayIHcqy0_fN-Q XO on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zOxlHQGGV6EH7n4OIFTyh?si=PLpMoCgaTvqS2_EAaFHoWg My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MyFavESmithSong. www.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

A few years before he passed, Elliott Smith bought a recording studio in Van Nuys, California. He poured his heart and soul into the place - buying vintage analogue equipment and staying in there for weeks at a time to try and fix it. He called the studio New Monkey because, it is said, this big new commitment was like a monkey on his back.  In this special episode, we speak to the three guys who now run New Monkey Studio. Robert Cappadonna and Joel Graves - who bought the studio from Elliott's family in 2004 - and Greg Cortez, who has been working with the pair since 2009.  We begin with, what else, a discussion of Greg's favourite Elliott Smith song, before discussing some of the studio's history, the guests who've visited and how it's doing now with Robert and Joel.  They are doing a great job building on Elliott's legacy, so it was such a privilege to be able to speak to them. They were also kind enough to master this episode on Elliott's old console. Things to look at/listen to: New Monkey Studio website: http://newmonkeystudio.com Everything Reminds Me of Her on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3nkdVXnH4xC6f3YZS0C8pC?si=26QKiCxpQCaUC0vSvuuF3g New Monkey (the song) from New Moon: https://open.spotify.com/track/257KKUjp1uISAGG3000M8W?si=tRi7a_8vSsecfzXStDTZIA A nice interview with Robert and Joel from 2006: http://articles.latimes.com/2006/feb/01/entertainment/et-monkey1 My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @MyFavESmithSong. www.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Yoni Wolf joins us from his holiday in North Carolina for episode 16 of My Favourite Elliott Smith Song. Yoni is a musician and producer from Cincinnati, Ohio, and is probably best known for his work with his band, Why? Although his work is musically quite different, Yoni became interested in Elliott Smith because the sentiment of his music resonated with him. He talks about this during the episode, as well as his favourite song pick and what it was like playing at a Smith tribute show a few years ago. Hope you enjoy it. Extra things to look at / listen to: Yoni Wolf covers Say Yes at Elliott Smith tribute show: https://vimeo.com/77886136 Yoni discusses Elliott in this interview for Stereogum: https://www.stereogum.com/1528172/musicians-pay-tribute-to-elliott-smith-who-died-10-years-ago-today/franchises/sounding-board/ Angeles by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0Ziohm1Ku8E2yUDYoclfhO?si=iM3YYk6oSgyT7MLERkRuwg Either/Or by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5hryhrT7wEdLnZCbJX9F6L?si=Bu9S7LcvSAG7rd1WoRT8Ig My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. www.MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

Our guest for episode 17 is Marissa Nadler. Marissa is a singer-songwriter based in Boston, Massachusetts. She regularly cites Elliott Smith as a big influence on her and also took part in the same Elliott tribute show as our guest for episode 16, Yoni Wolf. In this interview, Marissa talks about covering Elliott for that show, how his music has helped her as a shy person and her selection for her favourite song. It was lovely speaking to Marissa for the podcast. Her answers both on the song, and about Elliott's music in general, are very thoughtful, so hope you enjoy it. Extra things to look at / listen to: Marissa covering Pitseleh by Elliott Smith: https://youtu.be/-owQSCA_Jmw Pitseleh by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1Q0sk7b7PAGjgC3R5zyuWt?si=wAfuU2u9T0WvXofj4Dpicg XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zOxlHQGGV6EH7n4OIFTyh?si=AXyLG0oQTeSma6m_uBY8hw My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @MyFavESmithSong. www.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Episode 18 of My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is with Andy Hull.  Andy is a musician probably best known for his work with the band Manchester Orchestra. He also has a couple of other side projects too and one of those is called Bad Books, which is a collaboration with Kevin Devine - a former guest on this show.  And Andy was recording with Kevin when we called him up for this chat. It was a lovely conversation, where Andy spoke very thoughtfully about his song pick, about what he calls 'the bible' of albums, and also what Elliott Smith meant to him growing up in a small town in Georgia.  Hope you enjoy it.  Other things to look at/listen to: I Didn't Understand on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3IQApXKUun0iHHtpsvI7xL?si=li7LZsifS4aRCnjwWxf6tA XO on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zOxlHQGGV6EH7n4OIFTyh?si=g-W9cFetS7mwGkIExM4EGw I Didn't Understand (alternate version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANrRoKTFtls I Didn't Understand (piano version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jivTIbXNGjQ My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley.  You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @MyFavESmithSong. www.MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

Our guest for episode 19 is the musician Pete Krebs. Pete is somewhat of a legend on the Portland scene. His band Hazel broke through in the early '90s at a similar time to Heatmiser. As well as playing numerous shows with Elliott Smith, Pete was also good friends with him - the pair drank in the same bars and worked the same construction jobs to fund their music careers. They even released a split seven inch record together in 1994, with Pete's Shytown as the A-Side and Elliott's No Confidence man on the other side. We were delighted when Pete agreed to be on the podcast. Not only does he talk through his favourite song pick for us, when we told him that Rhys Buchanan, a British journalist, was visiting Portland, he took him round a few of the old places he and Elliott used to play in and drink at. So, in this episode, we begin by Pete sharing his thoughts on his favourite song before cutting to Pete's car driving through the streets of Portland, where he points out some of the famous venues they used to frequent. Extra things to look at/listen to: Say Yes by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7zVfEu1dEvRw4EkWoqrBkx?si=rNX93AzBTv2opoC3W4dXSA Either/Or by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5hryhrT7wEdLnZCbJX9F6L?si=GvA4gXkoSo6O607_H7bmVw Shytown/No Confidence Man by Pete Krebs and Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://www.discogs.com/Elliott-Smith-And-Pete-Krebs-Shytown-No-Confidence-Man/release/1014717 Nice profile piece on Pete from PDX Monthly: https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2015/11/23/one-legendary-musician-unites-decades-of-portland-music My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @MyFavESmithSong. www.MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

Our guest for episode 20 is the musician Jade Bird. Jade is a hotly tipped artist from the UK - in the last year or so she has been on the BBC's Sound of 2018 list and Rolling Stone have called her a country artist to watch out for. She's also a massive Elliott Smith fan, albeit one who has discovered his music relatively recently. She can, of course, be forgiven for this though, as she just turned 21 the other week. Hope you enjoy this episode - Jade has an interesting take on Elliott and his work, particularly on how his approach can help newer artists like herself. Extra things to look at / listen to: Colorbars on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5HaOloWn9b5PJtxvE6Vtke?si=K0KXbLlVTGSdcRyoJP64Ug Figure 8 on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7DC0pE943VR5tAKIvQXHts?si=B5wrTqs9StKwNvfFvVXptQ Who is Bruno S?: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/22/bruno-schleinstein-obituary My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @MyFavESmithSong. www.MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com