Contrarian

Elliott Smith was a genius. Just like Vincent van Gogh, Kurt Cobain, and all those drummers who spontaneously combusted.

Which is to say, I never liked his music either, nor understood why people did. Perhaps people just liked him, or what he represented to them. Perhaps his lyrics are amazing. Perhaps he had a covert ninja marketing team. Maybe he appealed to alienated youth at a time after grunge but before post-grunge. Maybe he used subliminal mind control techniques but it didn't affect us because we're all too smart - or too dumb. I just don't know. I think we should ask a bunch of random people in a bar if they like his music, and, if so, why. In a diplomatic way, of course, or we're likely to be run out in the same way that someone uttering "Fuck the Alamo" in a suburban Dallas honky tonk might be. Except without the waving of (urban) cowboy hats.

I do like "At the Bottom of Everything" by Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst.