My Favourite Elliott Smith Song – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Joining us for the final episode of the season are Will Taylor and Nick Hill of Flyte.

Will and Nick are very talented songwriters based in London. As Flyte, they have released three studio albums so far - with their most recent record, called Flyte, coming out towards the end of last year. They've also worked with some well-known names too, including the likes of Madison Cunningham, Laura Marling and the actor Florence Pugh.

We first saw Will was an Elliott Smith fan when he listed the Elliott self-titled album as one of his all-time favourites. We then got in touch to set up this interview, which Nick very kindly joined. In it, we discuss that self-titled record, what Elliott Smith might have been like at school and their favourite song pick - which they seemed to both agree on without ever discussing it.

Hope you enjoy listening to it!

Extra things:

• Coming Up Roses by Elliott Smith 
• Coming Up Roses music video (which Will and Nick reference in the episode)
• Losing You music video by Flyte (inspired by Coming Up Roses)
• Our episode with Ross Harris
• Flyte website

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Joining us today is Claire Rousay.

Claire is a musician and composer based in Los Angeles. She describes her work as 'emo ambient' and is just preparing to release a new album, Sentiment, which is out later in April 2024. The record is a follow-up to Claire's last studio album Everything Perfect Is Already Here, which came out in 2022.

Claire says she listens to Elliott Smith at least four days a week and, in this interview, we talk about her and her partner's shared Elliott passion, her song choice (which is a track we've never covered on the podcast before) and her 'what would Elliott do' approach to navigating the ethics of the music industry.

Hope you enjoy listening!

Extra things:

• New Monkey by Elliott Smith
• New Moon by Elliott Smith 
• Claire Rousay's website
• More on Claire's new album 
• Between the Bars by Lisa Osborn and Seadog

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Our guest today is Kimbra.

Kimbra is a musician originally from New Zealand but is now based in New York City. You may have first heard of her when she sang on the track Somebody That I Used To Know in 2011 alongside Gotye, who wrote the single. The pair went on to win two Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

These two Grammy wins are part of a huge career, which includes signing with Warner Bros, multiple collaborations, an appearance on a Sims computer game soundtrack and a total of four albums, with her most recent, A Reckoning, coming out earlier this year.
 
Before releasing this record, Kimbra made the decision to break away from her major label recording contract and work independently.

In this interview, we talk about the reasons behind that decision, the parallels between her career and Elliott Smith's, and, of course, we cover her favourite song choice too.

Extra links:

• Everything Reminds Me of Her by Elliott Smith
• A Reckoning by Kimbra
• Far Out: Elliott Smith's Favourite John Lennon songs

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Our first guest of the new season is author, Paul Rees.

Paul has had a great career as a music writer. He's held senior positions at magazines such as Q and Kerrang, he's written several books including a best-seller on the life of Robert Plant, and most recently, penned a biography of Elliott Smith titled, Shooting Star.

In this interview we discuss that book, how Paul decided to write about Elliott, the many stories he learnt along the way, and we also discuss his pick for his favourite song too.

At the end of the episode, we also mention this brilliant Elliott Smith tribute from Adam Walton on BBC Wales and this unreleased interview from the year 2000 (courtesy of Mark Benton).

Thank you for listening!

Music in this episode:

• Kings Crossing by Elliott Smith
• From A Basement On the Hill by Elliott Smith

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

Our guest for our final episode of this season is Lauren McCarthy. 

Lauren is the Executive Editor of Nylon, a publication that covers fashion, entertainment and music. Through her work, Lauren has the enviable opportunity of interviewing some of the most exciting artists working today - people like Phoebe Bridgers, Beabadoobee and Snail Mail.  

One interesting thing Lauren has noticed through her work is the enduring influence on these younger musicians of Elliott Smith. So, for this final episode of the season, we look to the future. We ask why it is that Elliott still lives on so strongly in the minds of this new generation of artists, as well as of course talking about Lauren’s favourite song pick too. 

Thanks for all your support over the course of this season!

Extra things to look at / listen to: 

• Waltz #2 (XO) by Elliott Smith
• XO by Elliott Smith 
• Check out Lauren's work on Nylon
• Follow Lauren on Instagram
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Our cover today comes from Sparky Bosque - listen to it here

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

Our guest today is Julia Shapiro.

Julia is a musician who is perhaps best known as the lead singer and guitarist in the band Chastity Belt, which formed in Washington state in 2010. Chastity Belt have released four studio albums, including, most recently, 2019's self-titled record. Julia's work isn't just limited to that band, though, she's also part of the group Childbirth and has released solo records too. 

A key theme throughout her work, Julia says, is her Elliott Smith influence, which we, of course, discuss in this interview. We also talk about her views on Elliott's songwriting style and why she's never stopped listening to his music. 

Hope you enjoy the episode!

Extra things to look at / listen to:

• Satellite by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/satellite
• Julia Shapiro Bandcamp: https://juliashapiro.bandcamp.com/
• Our cover today comes from The Fencesitters - find out more about them here: https://linktr.ee/thefencesitters
• Read our latest newsletter
• Send us your Elliott Smith cover to covers@myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

Our guest today is Elise Okusami.

Elise is a New York City based guitarist and vocalists who performs under the name Oceanator. As Oceanator, Elise has released three albums so far, including, most recently Nothing’s Ever Fine, which came out earlier on this year.

Elise has covered a couple of Elliott Smith songs during her career, including and the Biggest Lie, which we’re discussing today in this episode. As you might be able to guess from that, Elise is a big Elliott Smith fan. In fact she’s such a big fan that she even wrote a university thesis on him. 

It was really lovely talking to Elise for this episode, so I very much hope you enjoy listening to it.

Extra things to look at / listen to: 

• The Biggest Lie by Elliott Smith 
• The Biggest Lie by Oceanator (cover) 
• Wouldn't Momma Be Proud by Oceanator (cover)
• Elliott Smith live at the Yo Yo A Go Go Festival, Olympia 1999
• Clementine by Sofa City Sweetheart
• Read our latest newsletter
  Send us your Elliott Smith cover to covers@myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

Joining us for episode nine is musician Aaron Powell. 

Aaron is based in Newfoundland, Canada and plays under the name Fog Lake. He’s been recording music for the last 10 years or so and his work has been referred to - quite interestingly - as ‘harrowing nostalgia’. Aaron’s released several albums to date, including 2021's Tragedy Reel, which reflects on his upbringing in rural Canada. 

Aaron is a self-confessed major Elliott Smith fan. He’s got a lot of Elliott knowledge and thoughts on his music that he kindly shares with us during this chat. Hope you enjoy listening.

Extra things to look at / listen to:

• Coast to Coast by Elliott Smith on Spotify
• From a Basement On the Hill by Elliott Smith on Spotify
• Fog Lake Bandcamp
• Circuit Rider by Fog Lake
• Read our latest newsletter
• Send us your Elliott Smith cover to covers@myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

Our guest for episode eight of season five is Nilüfer Yanya. 

Nilüfer is a musician from London. Nilüfer's first ever release came back in 2016 when she put out her debut EP Small Crimes/Keep on Calling and, since then, she's released two full-length albums: 2019's Miss Universe, which was then followed up by Painless earlier on this year - a record that's well worth checking out if you haven't heard it already. 

We recorded this chat with Nilufer over the summer. In it, we talk through her favourite song pick, the importance of having your own interpretation of music, and we also go a bit deep on the nature of fame. We hope you enjoy it!

Extra things to look at / listen to: 

• Angeles by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/0Ziohm1Ku8E2yUDYoclfhO?si=aeb7ca596f144a0d
• Either/Or by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/album/5hryhrT7wEdLnZCbJX9F6L?si=NyNrLWt0QCCAYeaeN5zJtw
• Painless by Nilüfer Yanya: https://open.spotify.com/album/1rw1hpm0jSriJVVCyf6Da6?si=CTEN0SO9QbSrQ7yPlkqktg
• Nilüfer Yanya's website: https://niluferyanya.com/
• Read our September newsletter: https://myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.substack.com/p/newsletter-3-lola-kirke-momma-and
• Our cover today comes from Andre Salvador - you can listen to it here: https://andresalvadorandthevonkings.bandcamp.com/track/needle-in-the-hay-elliott-smith

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

Joining us today is the musician Joshua Burnside. 

Joshua is a singer-songwriter based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He’s released five albums across his career, with his first record, Ephrata, winning the Northern Ireland music prize in 2017. 

Joshua is known for incorporating a wide range of influences into his work, from Colombian and Indonesian music, right the way through to one Elliott Smith. And while Elizabeth was over in Northern Ireland for work this summer, Joshua was kind enough to invite her to his studio to discuss his love of Elliott Smith and talk her through his pick for his favourite song.

Hope you enjoy listening to this episode.

Extra things to look at / listen to:

• Tomorrow, Tomorrow by Elliott Smith on Spotify
• XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify
• More on Joshua Burnside
• Joshua Burnside on Bandcamp
• Our cover this week comes from Jack Lavery 
• Subscribe to our newsletter:
• Send us your Elliott Smith cover to covers@myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.