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April 28, 2005
before behind beyond
Elliott Smith - Live at Northsix 6/6/03 - Shooting Star
Is it wrong to want this to be the definitive recording of 'Shooting Star'? It could be because I heard it like this first, or maybe because I always preferred the more acousticore side of Elliott Smith's work, but either way, this is a very pretty version of one of his most compelling/wrenching songs.
Had he ever penned a more vicious line than "you make the scene/like you always do/going upstream/down the avenue/to fuck some trophy boy that you won tonight at the bar"? It resonates, for various reasons. One thing I've always thought about this song: the main progression is almost Sisyphean- it sounds like climbing a cement stairway in the middle of a grassy field only to find that it ends, then jumping over the edge, dusting yourself off, and climbing it again.
Don't get me wrong- the studio version on "From A Basement on the Hill" is fantastic, but there's something about this that just hits home that much harder. [BUY]
Posted by matt at April 28, 2005 08:20 AM
Comments
kevin, i couldn't get this or today's links to work. just fyi!
xo
nicki
Posted by: nicki at April 29, 2005 10:03 AM
Hey Nicki,
They worked OK for me- hopefully they were just down for a little while. Thanks for letting me know though-
Posted by: Kevin at April 29, 2005 02:35 PM