From
Pitchfork
Elliott Smith has died at age 34, according to an obituary posted late Tuesday on Sweet Adeline, Smith's official website. Rumors had been circulating on the Internet all day about Smith's apparent suicide; by early evening, the overwhelming traffic from well-wishers and fans was crashing Sweet Adeline's discussion board. A handful of posts indicated that representatives from Smith's label, Dreamworks, were attempting to contact Charlie Ramirez, the webmaster for Sweet Adeline.
Within hours, Ramirez posted the following: "As you probably realize, I'm pretty devastated about having to say goodbye to Elliott... it's never easy to put into words what someone means to you... Elliott was such a lovely man... I will always have his love, kindness, intelligence, humbleness, creativeness, greatness and so much more in me forever because that's what he was and i'll always love him for being who he was... I'll miss you so much. We will all miss you. See you in heaven, Elliott."
This is so sad.
I was a devoted fan of Elliott's music after picking up a copy of Either/Or. I was blown away by it's understated, almost casual treatment of dark topics. Got to see him perform twice - once solo at the Middle East in Boston, and once with his band on a double bill w/Built to Spill at the Roxy in Boston.
I got to meet him once ...well, kinda sorta. Before he went up on stage at the Roxy he must have been lurking around in the audience checking out the stage. I noticed this guy standing next to me with the hood of his sweater pulled up over his head.. I did a double and then a triple take, then like the dorky fan I am, I said something stupid like "hey, what's up?". He smiled and said "hey" and then headed on backstage.
A great talent has been lost.
