Though the ostensible differences between Elliott Smith and the Softies are broad ones, their similarities are striking. Both Smith and the Softies lived in Portland for a time in the mid-’90s, with Smith playing with post-Fugazi rock act Heatmiser and beginning to release his haunting, intricate solo albums. Like Melberg after Tiger Trap, Smith took refuge in a quieter, more tender sound on albums such as Roman Candle and Elliott Smith, though his inspiration drew from the angst of Big Star and John Lennon’s solo work rather than the candy-coated love songs the Softies inverted. As lyricists, though, Smith and Melberg were certainly colleagues: both write ambiguous, open-ended songs about relationships shrouded by cloudy mystery. Smith’s couplets, too, avoided highbrow diction or flowery verse in favor of deceptively direct language and powerful metaphors. And both songwriters’ works seem to carry an inescapable air of sadness that, at its brightest, shifts to a sort of wounded optimism. That’s not to limit their artistry — just to recognize their perspectives.
More on One Week One Band, as well as my write-up of Winter Pageant, my favorite album ever, most of the time.
Hey this performance is at Stinkweeds, the record store I used to work at in Tempe, Arizona! I wasn’t at this show (I think it was before my time there), but I did work a show where Smith was the headliner, around the time of Either/Or. There are clips of that show on YouTube, though I happen to have a VHS copy of the show that is better quality than those clips. If anyone can help transfer VHS to DVD/YouTube, let me know.
(I also saw the Softies at Stinkweeds aroud the same time - they were opening for Low. I remember standing toward the back of the room while Low played and Rose Melberg was nearby, stunned by Low. I remember her saying something to the effect of “I can’t believe we’re on tour with them,” or something like that.)
3 months ago