Toronto Mike

Elliot Who?

Elliot Smith

I maintain a Dead Pool page as part of this website.  The most popular part of this page is the ongoing list of celebrities who have passed away.  Everytime I hear or read about the death of someone who is well known in the public sphere, I add their name, age at the time of death and a brief note about why they were famous.  Today I read that Elliott Smith, a singer-songwriter who was critically acclaimed, had committed suicide.

If you visit my Dead Pool page, you'll notice I didn't document Elliot Smith's passing.  The simple truth is that I've never heard of Elliot Smith.  He released five solo albums but I don't think my ears ever intercepted a single note from one of them.  Now he's dead from a self-inflicted stab wound and I can't justify adding his name along side Joey Ramone, Ted Williams, David Brinkley and others who have bought the farm since my brothers and I drafted our Dead Pool in September of 2000.

My intent here is not to kick a man when he's down.  It's just that I'm sort of a pop culture junkie and my musical tastes range from Pearl Jam to Johnny Cash to Alice Cooper.  How is it that I never heard or read a single thing about Elliot Smith before today?  Am I in the minority here?  Please drop me a line and let me know if my ignorance is shared among the masses.

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