Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing

by Benjamin Nugent

Best known for his Oscar-nominated song "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack, Elliott Smith was catapulted to the status of indie rock star after performing at the 1997 Academy Awards. Some of his albums, XO and Either/Or among them, would become '90s classics, helping to define an understated aesthetic that owed as much to the melodic emphasis of The Beatles as it did to punk. In the afterglow of the success of "Miss Misery," Smith's fame grew--alongside his struggles with depression and substance abuse. First relocating to Brooklyn, and then finally to L.A., he fell into a downward spiral evident to friends and fans alike, even as he continued to write such beautifully realized songs as "Waltz #2" ( XO ). Drawing on new interviews with those who knew and loved Smith, and focusing on the crucial interplay between Smith's life and music, Ben Nugent compellingly and sympathetically portrays an enormously gifted, yet troubled, artist.
 

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Matthew Rossana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Elliott Smith has been one of my favorite musicians for many years, and his suicide was very upsetting. When I read about this biography, I was really excited to get an inside look into the life of this artist to hopefully get some answers to his death. Instead, I got a poorly-written "semi-biography" based on stories and tales of people that barely knew Elliott and it doesn't really offer much insight at all.

The most entertaining part is the addition to the end of the book where the author defensively writes/whines about how his book sucked because he couldn't get anyone important to Elliott (i.e. parents, live-in girlfriend) to participate in the book.

[Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Atrocious biography, this was clearly a rushed project to capitalize on the buzz surrounding Elliott’s death.
I have no doubt Nugent is a massive fan of Elliott, that definitely reads true in the book, but the weird song interpretations and pseudo-psychoanalytical analysis that he tries to turn are just embarrassing to witness. The added afterword in the edition I have is Nugent whining about lack of access to family members and Elliott’s Portland circle of friends for more info.This would not have fixed the biography, Nugent didn’t meaningfully impart the knowledge he did get from interviews and his travel in any substantive way.
2 stars for the fact that it was an attempt, and it had complete sentences, so plus?

Havent read Torment Saint yet, but I have read Autumn DeWilde’s book, and it was better for sure than Nugent’s.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably the worst written and poorly fact checked musical biography I've ever read. Hell, if Austin was really only ten miles from Lubbock, the capital wouldn't go blue every time there's an election. But that's just me, and I don't get paid to edit musical biographies that don't even include interviews from the people closest to the person in question.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author chose to spend most of his time on elliott's life rather than his tragic death. A good choice considering his death is not yet fully explained. A must read for fans.

[Salem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like.. 3.75 stars or something lol
There were some flaws in this biography, mainly some song interpretations that seem far-fetched and not entirely necessary in the book (although it's always made pretty clear that they are only possibilities, not based on facts), as well as a lack of comments from people close to Elliott throughout his life, which according to the author was out of his hands. Despite that I still liked reading this and honestly I did learn a lot of new info that seems to be real and proven on multiple accounts. Overall I guess I just love Elliott Smith with all my heart jesus christ every new thing I learn about him is just so relatable and admirable

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on all of the negative reviews I'd seen, I approached this book with trepidation. But in the end, it turned out to be a satisfying read. Given the fact that Smith's family won't talk about him publicly, there's likely never to be a definitive book on the man -- so this book will have to do the trick. It's got plenty of quotes from old interviews with Smith himself, along with ample input from old friends and musician colleagues. And Nugent's interpretations of Smith's lyrics were well-reasoned and thought-provoking, too. Yes, there are a few typos and long-winded passages that seem to go nowhere, but readers can endure those in order to get to the insights found in this book. In the end, when it comes to telling Elliott Smith's story, "Big Nothing" is better than having nothing at all.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was considering even reading this biography as other reviews were rather negative about the whole concept. After sitting down with it, however, I wonder if those people are out of their minds.

This is the first biography about Elliott Smith; granted, it was published a year after Smith's death, so there could be some question as to the motivation behind the publication, or question as to whether or not it was too early to write a biography about a relatively unknown man to begin with. Outside of magazine interviews (which I feel should be taken with a grain of salt in any case) during Smith's life, there is very little published material on his life and the process he went through to create his music. As Nugent describes in different places of his biography, there were limited resources to turn to in order for him to be able to provide as complete a biography as he wanted. Smith's family and nearest-and-dearest friends would not discuss Smith's life or death with Nugent after many had been burned by publications immediately following his death. Nugent was confined to talking to what many consider "obscure" friends, which I find unlikely - my perception of these of the "obscure" is that there were a few ex-girlfriends and exceptionally close friends from Portland, New York and Los Angeles, and a handful of special friends that were with him through all of his moves, from his musical beginning in the band Heatmiser all the way until his final performances.

A heartbreaking read in many parts when reading about Smith's demons (the ones that others new of in any case). Besides that it was a great read about Smith's process as a songwriter and musician. One of my favorite periods in music history is the Northwestern movement of the 90s such as Smith, without whom we would not have singers like Cat Power or Joanna Newsom today, which Nugent is kind enough to point out.

What drops my rating down a star are the pieces of interviews with the artist and ex-girlfriend of Smith's, E.V. Day. Someone seriously needs to edit her brain.

Go in reading the book as though viewing a documentary - perhaps that is the medium it should have taken initially, but I still think it was a wonderful read.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nobody got very close to Elliott while he was alive, and this book does a good job of painting a fair (albeit distanced) portrait of the songwriter.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish SOMEBODY would write a truly GOOD Elliott Smith biography. He was fascinating, and a genius, yet nobody has ever done his biography justice.

[Sonja · Rating 1 out of 5]

As I had heard way before I finally grabbed the copy this time--the missing copy in the library sysmtem magically was recovered after I put the title on hold nearly a year ago--, no surprise that this turned out to be a piece of garb*&^. I had to crack up asking myself why on earth I wound up reading this poorly editted undergraduate paper--it might not be B+ even for a term paper level. The reason that I sought this out was still clear, though: there were very few documents and even fewer when it comes to books based on Elliott Smith, and something that delves into his legacy and mystery. Now that it will be soon a ten year anniversary this year since he deceased, it is highly unlikely that we will have anything better than this poorly written book. Or am I being just optimistic?

I still had to question why this quasi college kid's lazy paper was offcially tolerated to the extent of being put out and not remained to this day as one of the very few to have documented the tragic but enourmously talented musician's short life? This made me feel I was after all one of those who would suck any leftover even long after the party was over and nothing substantial was left. Ironically, this book is nothing more than a series of transcriptions of what those second, third rated acquiaintances alleged on Smith. Also, it is not respectable that the author was really squeamish about his death while he apparently had enormously valuable opportunities to get close to Jen Chiba, who was after all suspected to be responsible for Elliott's death, which was never cleared to this day.

If there was only good thing in this whole book that was worthwhile was that this book made it clear that the institution Elliott used to get clean at the last stage of his life was a total bogus: the doctor who claimed to be it neither had medical or PhD doctor who would qualify to provide the type of treatment for addicts. The hilarity was --check that out--the bogus doctor was from Texas, where Smith was dreaded and somehow haunted by even long after he left for his painful memories associated with his childhood spent this place.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this book for the second time, and upped the rating to 4 stars from 3. Why?

This is a very good book, one of only a few out there on Elliott Smith. Smith has been one of my favorite songwriters and performers for years now, and is one of only a few (along with Nick Drake and Daniel Rossen, in my opinion) who can write very intense music on an acoustic guitar. Tomorrow, Tomorrow is a prime example of this.

This book taught me a lot about Smith. Reading it a second time, I was less shocked and dismayed to hear about the last few years of his life...the tragic thing about the book is that you already know the ending, but you still feel like you understand Smith better.

This book has also been the subject of much unwarranted criticism, all of which I knew nothing about until I read Nugent's afterword. I think Nugent is a very gifted writer and some of his passages are filled with beautiful prose. He also has a gift for rock criticism. While his book was attacked by some because he supposedly couldn't interview some of Smith's closest friends, I don't find that a deficiency in the book and am perplexed why some people would be so hung up about that. The book is very insightful and offers a picture about Smith that is very valuable.

The only part of the book that bothered me (and this is just an issue of personal taste) is that it glossed over Figure 8 and XO because they weren't as raw-sounding as Either/Or for example. I know that many Smith fans feel like that. But I consider Figure 8 one of the best albums of the decade of the Aughts and think it's unfair to hold some of Smith's work as inferior just because it's more polished-sounding than some of his other albums. Still, that's a very minor thing and I don't think that detracted from my appreciation of the book.

[Joshua Nomen-Mutatio · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this on the drive back to Milwaukee from my first visit to Austin. Basically it was not well done. Rather boring. Rather repetitive. Rather overflowing with "tortured-hero myth" tropes.

I remember stopping in Dallas to stretch our legs and see Dealey Plaza, the famed site of the JFK assassination. The strange boredom I felt while looking at, well, nothing but a patch of grass in the middle of downtown Dallas pretty much maps onto how I felt about reading this book. Unfortunately all too culturally familiar tragedies like Presidential assassinations and rock star/tortured artist suicides cannot just be delivered glibbly if one expects reactions to these accounts to be genuinely emotionally transformative.

I found some of the more solidly researched biographical info to be interesting enough but that was about it.

[Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is a reason people who knew Elliott don't want to contribute to to someone's biography of him. If the author wanted to speculate on the lives of musicians and their demises, he would have done better just writing about the patterns and intentionally obscured failures in our governmental system pre Reagan era. There is not enough information in this book to get a real idea of what his life was like.

[Jake Ryave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misquoted lyrics more than once, did not seem to really take time paring quotes down to the important information to fit the story they were telling/the point they were trying to make. The author wrote as if he knew Elliott and had been close with him, which he was not. That made a lot of the book, even if accurate, leave a bad taste in my mouth.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whispy thin and lacking in song history and analysis. Torrents saint was much better.

[Molly Tolsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

If it's got Elliott's name on it, automatic five stars.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book's has much better readability than Torment Saint, it lacks much crucial information included in the other book. Still, this isn't a bad study of Smith's life.


Steven Paul Smith was born August6, 1969 in Omaha. (9)

In sixth grade, Texas bandmate Mark Merritt and he started discussing music and started hanging out.

Smith’s first concert was The Police on the Synchronicity tour. (19)

“David McConnell, who would be Smith’s musical collaborator on his last album, From a Basement on a Hill, recalls that Smith told him he experienced physical abuse as a child, and that Smith said he also suspected he might have been sexually abused, but couldn’t remember any incident clearly enough to say for sure.” (20)

Seventh or eighth grade, first public performance with his Texas bandmates. It consisted of “Tequila” and an instrumental version of “stairway to Heaven.” (22)

“in live versions of [“Some Song”]—and there are at least two recorded instances of this—he sang, ‘Charlie beat you up week after week.” (25)

Across. The street from where Smith lived with his father in Portland “is an Episcopal church with a large circular glass window that is black from the outside and looks as if it could have inspired the reference to ‘the cathedral with the glass stained black’ in Smith’s ‘Speed Trials.’”(28)

“Condor Ave.” and “Kiwi Maddog 20/20” were written in (or begun) while still in high school. (30)

Neil Gust not only appears on the cover of Roman Candle, but also took the photograph cover of Either/Or. (37)

Pete Krebs, quoting Smith: “He said, ‘I’d just get these songs in my head and I’d just concentrate and work through where they went, and by the time I got back from my walk I’d have a song.’” (58)

Margaret Mitteman and Smith would “stick together as he changed record labels (from Kill Rock Stars to Virgin to DreamWorks), moved around the country (Portland to New York to Los Angeles)” and so on. “Her husband, Rob Schnapf, worked on five of Smith’s albums with his partner Tom Rothrock (if you included Heatmiser’s Mic City Sons).” (68) Mittleman is the one who persuaded BMG to give Beck a publishing deal; Schnapf and Rothrock recorded “Loser” and put it out on their label Bong Load. (69)

“The Either/Or recordings were done at The Shop in two different sessions, recalls Schnapf, both between one week and ten days. The three songs originally recorded in The Shop—‘Angeles,’ ‘Between the Bars,’ and ‘Say Yes’—were each essentially one take of Smith’s singing and playing acoustic guitar at the same time, superimposed on another take of Smith’s singing and playing.” (95)

“Smith moved to New York City on May 27, 1997.” (97)

“Bled White” is the song that deals most directly with Smith’s life in New York City. (100)

“For all the good times he had there, New York was by Smith’s own account the place he became a bad alcoholic” (102)

Smith loved a band called Left Banke. This can be heard on his song “Pretty Ballerina,” which sounds like Left Banke’s “Don’t Walk Away Renee.” (108)

DreamWorks staged an intervention with Smith that resulted in Smith both storming off and wanting to distance himself from the label.

McConnell says he found Smith on the floor a few times at his home/studio and woke him up, afterwards Smith would confess to trying to kill himself using a mixture of medication and booze. Smith says he tried at least ten times to kill himself at McConnell’s house. (167)

McConnell: “what he would do was he would eat ice cream late at night, he loved ice cream. We would go to the grocery store and buy two hundred, three hundred dollars’ worth of ice cream, stick it in the freezer, and it’d be every kind of ice cream you can imagine. But he wouldn’t eat real food. He’d eat nutritional bars now and then.” (176)

Before his death, Smith talked about wanting to start a family with Jennifer Chiba. (211)

[Ben Gladman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fairly slim book is a good introduction to the life of Elliott Smith, but lacks the kind of depth or real insight that you might be looking for.

Benjamin Nugent takes us through Smith's life, from his childhood in Texas to his death in Los Angeles. Along the way, he pieces together stories from some of Smith's friends and collaborators, but (as noted in the afterword) could not interview many of Smith's closest friends and family. This is no fault of Nugents, nor of those who wished to maintain their privacy, but it does diminish the book's import somewhat.

Nevertheless, over these 200 pages there are many insights to be had. Nugent does not focus his biography too much on any one aspect of Smith's life, covering not only his personal struggles with depression and addiction, but also his professional development. For those more interested in the technical side of Smith's recording process, there are interesting details about the various studios, gear and producers he used.

Modest in terms of scope and style, this book is a sensitive depiction of a complicated man. Worth reading for Elliott Smith fans.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. It's certainly related to recent nostalgia I've been feeling for my young adulthood in 90s/00s Portland...I remember seeing Elliott Smith around town, and it felt like Heatmiser and then Smith were constantly playing shows...yet I never saw him perform. I took it for granted. So I definitely have this regret and thus fascination with him.

Elliott Smith was a musical genius and I found this book super captivating, particularly with regard to his musical process--everything from how he wrote his music to how it was produced and recorded. Nugent also seemed to successfully convey Smith's character and experiences, while acknowledging that it could never, of course, be a fully complete capturing.

[syd · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 : honestly the first half of the book was okay (my favorite chapter was probably XO). but the second half of the book was just elliott’s friends talking shit about him and the author making it seem like it was from a good place? very cool photographs of elliott, neil, amity, etc though and I thought that was cool. took too long explaining things that weren’t important. like at one point i swear he was rambling about churches and the history of one in portland. honestly im glad elliotts family didn’t get involved with the making of this book because it probably would have been worse (with the authors execution, not his family in general). very cool to have on my bookshelf, probably wouldn’t read again.

[leo :} · Rating 2 out of 5]

this biography (if you can call it that) is full of testimonies about elliott from people who constantly talk about how hard it was to be around him, who forced him into rehab, and childhood friends who implied his childhood wasn’t as traumatic as he made it seem because they didn’t remember seeing any of it. people who were angry at him for struggling.

i would give it 1 star but i’m giving it 2 because i did learn things about him i didn’t previously know. but for the most part this book was disappointing and just felt like a perverse misunderstanding of elliott smith.

when the people closest to elliott for the longest don’t want to speak to you, maybe you shouldn’t write the book. and maybe put some effort into using the correct lyrics if you’re such a fan.

[Lauri Zag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting info re: recording techniques and songwriting details, but feels more like a project in process than a finished work. Rambling in places, mostly due to quotes that could have been edited down/paraphrased better. Ending was not satisfyingly tied up, and left me feeling like I was reading a veiled conspiracy theory piece.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book reads like it was written pretty fast (the lack of copyediting actually interferes w/ readability at some points). it is as much elliott smith biography as i (a decently-familiar listener) needed to read, but i imagine its ambiguity, haste, lack of key interviewees, and tendency to hand over entire chapters to a single 'friend''s verbatim recollections would enrage a more devoted fan.

[Afta Gley · Rating 4 out of 5]

There has yet to be a definitive biography of Elliott Smith, who happens to be my favorite songwriter. Of the three books I know of, this is my favorite. The author had no vested interests and did his best to be fair.

[minnajee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benjamin Nugent: Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing
Da Capo Press 2005 (ensimmäinen painos 2004)
Päiväys 6.1.2012

Oikeestaan siitä hetkestä lähtien kun tokaa kertaa kuuntelin A Fond Farewellin vuonna 2006, Elliott Smith on ollu mulle jotain paljon suurempaa kuin kukaan muu artisti koskaan. Paria päivää myöhemmin omistin jo tuotantoa ja paria kuukautta myöhemmin saatoin jotain muutakin kuunnella välillä. Toki olin pahoillani siitä, että mies itse oli jo ehtinyt kuolla lähes kolme vuotta aiemmin. Jonkin verran kahlasin Wikipediaa sun muita lähteitä, mutta mitään pakkomielteisempää tutkimusta en tehnyt taustoista, vaan keskityin kuluttamaan musiikkia, jonka laadun ja merkityksen oon siis nostanut jo vajaan kuuden vuoden ajan korkeimmalle tasolle henkilökohtaisesti. Nyt sitten luin tämän järjestyksessään ensimmäisen (ei tietoa onko näitä edes monia muita) elämäkertakirjan läpi.

Nugent aloitti tutkimustyönsä kolmisen kuukautta Smithin kuoleman jälkeen ja koitti parhaansa mukaan selvittää Elliottin (artisti on mulle niin läheinen että viittaan tuttavallisesti etunimellä) elämää ja uraa katkeraan loppuun asti. Tiedon määrä ja laatu on luonnollisesti riippunut paljon siitä, ketkä suostuivat Nugentille puhumaan. Elliottin perhe ja monet läheiset ystävät eivät sitä tehneet, mutta Nugent ei kuitenkaan vetele millään omilla päätelmillään pisteitä toisiinsa, vaan käsittelee lyhyemmin aiheet joista ei saanut tietoa. Jotain tiettyä spekulaatiotakin on toki kehissä ja biisien sanoituksia analysoidaan useassa kohdassa. Elliott ei kuitenkaan laulanut "I was abused as a kid and that messed me up for the rest of my life", joten loppujen lopuksi aika harva, jos kukaan, tietää mistä lapsuuden haamuista koostuivat nämä paljon puhutut demonit. Elliott kasvoi Texasissa Dallasin tuntumassa, mistä ei useidenkaan lähteiden perusteella jäänyt lämpimiä muistoja päällimmäiseksi. Uransa hän sai käyntiin Portlandissa Oregonissa, jossa hän omassa yksinäisyydessään kellarissa äänitti levyn, josta oli tuleva esikoisjulkaisu Roman Candle. Sittemmin ura ja elämä vei New Yorkiin ja Los Angelesiin.

Sen tiesin minä ja monet muutkin, että alkoholin ja huumeiden kanssa Elliottilla oli tosiaan ongelmia. Eipä siitä kauaa ole, kun mullekin heitettiin, et enkös mä tykännyt siitä "juoposta" jossain satunnaisessa keskusteluyhteydessä. Kirjakin toteaa, että alkoholistiksi Elliottia varmasti pystyi sanoa monessa vaiheessa, mutta miehen musiikissa se ei ole mielestäni mitenkään iso asia. Toki biisien nimissä ja sanoituksissa toistuvat baarit ja pullot ja neulat ja muut, mutta monestihan kyseessä on metafora jostain muusta. Se kyllä tuli itselleni uutena tietona kuinka myöhään se itse huumeidenkäyttö sitten lopulta alkoi. Kakkoslevyn, sis. mm. Needle in the Hay, aikoihin epäilykset heräsivät monella, mutta Elliott itse vakuutteli ettei ole koskaan vetänyt mitään. Kirjaa eteenpäin lukiessa toisaalta kyllä huomaakin kuinka iso muutos heroiinin myötä tapahtui.

Kaikkein kiinnostavinta olisi tietysti ollut lukea Elliottin omia ajatuksia. Under the Radarin jotain loppuaikojen haastattelua luinkin jonkin verran kirjan lukemisen aikana ja siinä heti pääsi lähemmäs ko. artistia, kuin kirjassa, jossa pysytään koko ajan journalistisen etäisyyden päässä tarkkailemassa ja analysoimassa kohdetta. Monissa kohdissa lainattiin suoraan muiden lausuntoja ja ajoittain häiritsi miten samaa sanaa tai asiaa toistettiin sen seitsemän kertaa. Sekin jäi pintaan, että ystävät varmasti halusivat jättää ne huonoimmat jutut mainitsematta tai vain ylimalkaiselle viittaukselle. Sankaritarina tää ei siis ole, sillä myös huumesekoiluista ja vainoharhoista kerrotaan kyllä eivätkä kaveritkaan pelkkiä ylistyksiä suolla, mutta vaikutelmaksi jää se, ettei nytkään ole täysin valaistunut ja ymmärrä jokaisen biisin jokaista sanaa uudella tavalla. Jotkut kyllä, joista vahvimpana Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands. Yes, everybody cares about you, whether or not you want them to...

Mitä lähemmäs loppua käytiin, sitä hankalammaksi lukeminen kävi tunnepuolella. Elliott Smithin kuolema on musta aina tuntunut järjettömältä kaikkine itsemurha-vai-murha-väittelyineen. Nerokas vasta kolmekymppinen muusikko tappaa itsensä tai murhataan parilla puukon iskulla rintaan vaatteiden läpi, mitäs paskaa tää nyt on? Ei mitään rocktähden yliannostusta, hurjastelua jyrkänteeltä alas tai edes vuosien alamäen jälkeistä yksinäisyydessä kuolemista. Tyyppi on just päässyt/pääsemässä huumeista ja reseptilääkkeistä eroon, kunnes erään päivän eräänä hetkenä riidan jälkeen iskeytyykin puukko rintaan ja lusikka on nurkassa. Mut fakta on kuitenkin se, että lähes 10 vuotta on tämä ansiokas artisti maannut maan povessa.

Kirja kyllä avusti ymmärtämään paremmin Elliottin elämää ja elämänfilosofiaa, vaikka jättikin melko surumieliseksi juuri sen takia miten kaikki sitten päättyi. Mutta musiikki tosiaankin jäi ja sehän on tärkeintä. Kuuntelin nyt tämmöistä hiljattain löydettyä keskeneräistä biisiä Misery Let Me Down, joka kaikessa yksinkertaisuudessaankin muistuttaa kaikesta siitä, mikä Elliottin teki niin upeaksi musiikintekijäksi. XO, Elliott.

[Katie Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives appreciable insight into Elliott's inner life with limited resources.

[Bad Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Elliott Smith and I was really interested in learning more about him. This book, however, was boring and tedious to read and offered almost nothing (apt title...)

[Stephanie Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the nods to Janet Weiss and Quasi, but this book reminded me how insufferable Elliott Smith really was. Super informative and really fitting to my life as a college kid in Cambridge, MA.

[York · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amo profundamente a Elliott Smith pero esta es una de las peores biografías que he leído en mi vida. Si se topan este libro es una lectura que pueden ahorrarse. Incluso siendo fans.

[Brenda Tirado · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first decided to buy this book on Amazon, I immediately went to Goodreads to look at the reviews before I went ahead and bought it. The reviews didn't seem so enthusiastic. Nevertheless, I purchased it. In my opinion, Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing by Benjamin Nugent is a really well written book. This book gave me insight into the type of life Elliott lived. Yeah, he did drugs and ultimately lost himself because of the fame and fortune thrust upon him by being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, but I believe that it wasn't all about the fame in the first place. The book does mention that to an extent. On one of the pages, there is a quote by E.V. Day saying something along the lines, "Elliott is doing what he does to get by, he's an artist. A pure artist."
The quotes found in this book by some of Elliott Smith's closest friends such as David McConnell really encompass what I imagined Elliott's personality was like.
All in all, this is a great read for fans out there who are just starting to discover Elliott Smith.

<3