Elliott Smith was one of the most gifted songwriters of the '90s, adored by fans for his subtly melancholic words and melodies.The sadness had its sources in the life.There was trauma from an early age, years of drug abuse, and a chronic sense of disconnection that sometimes seemed self-engineered.Smith died violently in LA in 2003, under what some believe to be questionable circumstances, of stab wounds to the chest.By this time fame had found him, and record-buyers who shared the listening experience felt he spoke directly to them from beyond:astute, damaged, lovelorn, fighting, until he could fight no more. And yet, although his intimate lyrics carried the weight of truth, Smith remained unknowable. In Torment Saint, William Todd Schultz gives us the first proper biography of the rock star, a decade after his death, imbued with affection, authority, sensitivity, and long-awaited clarity. Torment Saint draws on Schultz's careful, deeply knowledgeable readings and insights, as well as on more than 150 hours of interviews with close friends from Texas to Los Angeles, lovers, bandmates, music peers, managers, label owners, and recording engineers and producers. This book unravels the remaining mysteries of Smith's life and his shocking, too early end.It will be, for Smith's legions of fans and readers still discovering his songbook, an indispensable examination of his life and legacy.

(Guitar Recorded Versions). A fixture on the Portland indie music scene, singer-songwriter Elliott Smith was introduced to the mainstream via his Oscar-nominated song "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack. This collection features that song and 17 others, from his first CD, through tracks released after his tragic and untimely death. Includes: Angeles * Clementine * Everything Means Nothing to Me * Pretty (Ugly Before) * Say Yes * Son of Sam * Waltz #2 (XO) * and more, plus a discography and an intro.

The Essential Elliott Smith is an exclusive collection of songs by the master songwriter and guitarist. This book presents 24 classic songs from all five of his albums, plus songs from the two posthumous releases, From A Basement On The Hill and New Moon including the Oscar-nominated song Miss Misery, which featured on the soundtrack of the film, Good Will Hunting. Arranged for Guitar TAB and standard notation, with chord boxes and complete lyrics. Song List: A Fond FarewellAlamedaAngel In The SnowAngelesBallad Of Big NothingBetween The BarsCan't Make A SoundComing Up RosesCondor Ave.Easy Way OutEverything Reminds Me Of HerIndependence DayLet's Get LostMiss MiseryNeedle In The HayPretty (Ugly Before)Pretty Mary KRoman CandleSay YesSomebody That I Used To KnowSon Of SamTomorrow TomorrowWaltz No.2 (XO)Wouldn't Mama Be Proud

A compilation of photographs of musician Elliott Smith and transcriptions of interviews with people who knew him, accompanied by a compact disc of unreleased live recordings.

The death of singer-songwriter Elliott Smith has been an open case for the last eighteen years. The Oscar-nominated musician died of two stab wounds in the chest after a fight with his girlfriend Jennifer Chiba on October 21st, 2003. Even though his death was first reported by the media as an alleged suicide, a police investigation was reopened after the results of the autopsy were made public. Because of Elliott's history with drug addiction, depression, and suicide ideation, it was not difficult for many people, fans included, to believe he had killed himself. However, the circumstances of his death, the findings of the autopsy, as well as a series of inconsistencies and discrepancies have left open the possibility of homicide.The book is written from the perspective of Alyson, a real-life fan who undergoes her own investigation, motivated by her sense of justice and desire to determine the truth. If the exact circumstances of Elliott Smith's tragic death cannot be established beyond a reasonable doubt, after some persistent and in-depth research of the case and the insight of more than 40 people, the story that emerges is quite different from the one that has been too often portrayed in the media. Even though Elliott had well-documented problems, the events surrounding his death appear to be much murkier than previously thought, making it more difficult to believe his death was a clear-cut suicide.

We live in a world increasingly ruled by technology; we seem as governed by technology as we do by laws and regulations. Frighteningly often, the influence of technology in and on our lives goes completely unchallenged by citizens and governments. We comfort ourselves with the soothing refrain that technology has no morals and can display no prejudice, and it's only the users of technology who distort certain aspects of it.But is this statement actually true? Dr Robert Smith thinks it is dangerously untrue in the modern era.Having worked in the field of artificial intelligence for over 30 years, Smith reveals the mounting evidence that the mechanical actors in our lives do indeed have, or at least express, morals: they're just not the morals of the progressive modern society that we imagined we were moving towards. Instead, as we are just beginning to see - in the US elections and Brexit to name but a few - there are increasing incidences of machine bigotry, greed and the crass manipulation of our basest instincts.It is easy to assume that these are the result of programmer prejudices or the product of dark forces manipulating the masses through the network of the Internet. But what if there is something more fundamental and explicitly mechanical at play, something inherent within technology itself?This book demonstrates how non-scientific ideas have been encoded deep into our technological infrastructure. Offering a rigorous, fresh perspective on how technology has brought us to this place, Rage Inside the Machine challenges the long-held assumption that technology is an apolitical and amoral force. Shedding light on little-known historical stories and investigating the complex connections between scientific philosophy, institutional prejudice and new technology, this book offers a new, honest and more truly scientific vision of ourselves.