The Elliott Smith narrative is unsettling like his music. A tragic story no matter how much the man hates mythologizing. However, a brief look at his biography disproves everything we know about self-destructive musicians. As a solo artist, Steven Smith started at Kill Rock Stars, a grimly suitable independent label.
His experience shows that untreated mental or physical illness is not romantic or beautiful. Unspoken trauma addictions aren’t counterculture. What a tragic waste of a once-in-a-generation talent. Smith’s records’ remarkable ability to represent that in sound is one of their most moving aspects.
Not simply in Smith’s songwriting, though he was unrivaled at mournfully lovely melodies. The albums, whether his hushed singer-songwriter debut or Figure 8 or XO’s more fleshed-out power-pop, were produced and crafted to showcase Smith’s delicate voice while adding enough hooks to make his Beatles-loving fans proud.
Smith produced his own records, although two others aided. That of Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf. You may not know their names, but you know their work. They formed Bong Load Records in 1990 after meeting at the famed LA Studio Record Plant, where they worked menial jobs.
One of their earliest releases, a strange slide guitar-led rap single called ‘Loser’, impressed Rothrock more than the artist, who was embarrassed by it. Rothrock forced the issue, which worked out well for Beck. They produced Beck’s albums throughout the 2000s for the rest of the 1990s.
They worked on the 1997 Robin Williams tearjerker Good Will Hunting soundtrack after working in alternative rock in the mid-1990s. A film including Elliott Smith songs, including Oscar-nominated ‘Miss Misery’ The three clicked, and Smith hired them to work on his upcoming album Either/Or to expand his sound beyond his debut’s hushed, singer-songwriter cliches.
Even though Smith’s sound was too exotic for his Oscar buzz, the maneuver worked. The album was Smith’s best-selling, and he signed with Dreamworks for his 1998 follow-up, XO, with Rothrock and Schnapf as co-producers. After one record, Smith, a perfectionist, had discovered partners he could trust and wouldn’t let go.
Their collaboration continued on Smith’s remaining albums. Contributing to a sound that, despite their successful producing careers, may never be surpassed.