The Biggest Lie.

Like everyone else, it is very hard for me to pick a piece of art that I have to argue is the best, or amazing, or whatever. There is so much I like in all areas of art; music, painting, photography; it's hard to pick just one.

So today, because I'm sometimes a sap and this guy really means a lot to me, I picked a song by Elliott Smith (he died five years ago today). The song is called "The Biggest Lie"; it's my favorite song of his.

Now, if rules of this blog post allowed it, I could only say that it is AMAZING, and leave it at that. I feel if people hear this song and ask me to explain it, I don't feel I need to because they can hear why it's amazing. But, for the sake of this post, I will go on . . .

This song is very moving. Lyrically and instrumentally. Not many songs do that to me; it's either the instrumentation or the lyrics solely. His guitar playing is rather simple in this song, but it ties in so well with the lyrics. Very quiet, kind of subtle; just like he was. His singing is almost limited to a whisper. This alone makes you want to listen more closely. But, once you put the two together, you get smacked with complete sympathy for this man. It's like you can feel his pain and what he was dealing with.

My favorite part of the song is near the end: "Oh, we're so very precious you and I / and every thing that you do makes me wanna die / Oh, I just told the biggest lie . . ." If you happen to hear the studio version of this song, listen to the way he sings it. He puts a painful emphasis in his voice during these last lyrics. That's what really gets me. After listening to it, I just want to be depressed for a couple of hours (or until I listen to something else immediately after). I think if an artist can provoke that much feeling from his or her audience with their art, then they have definitely done something right.

You won't be able to hear what I'm telling you in the last paragraph through the YouTube video I'm posting because it's a live version ( I specifically like the guy bobbing his head through the whole video), but I also posted a tribute video to him featuring the studio version of the song. Just so you can hear it.





R.I.P Elliott Smith.

Told you I'm a sap.

-Jade N. Amey