Just In Time For Your Regression

An Elliott Smith podcast is out

As I’ve mentioned previously on this weblog, the current political climate has had an unexpected impact on my listening habits. Where months ago I was languishing in 2016’s many Good New Albums, humming along in the shower to songs about dancing and kissing, the day-to-day grand mal anxiety I’ve been feeling lately has driven me back into the arms of music I haven’t listened to since George W. Bush was president. Emo music, pop punk, shoegaze—anything melancholic and melodramatic ends up hitting the spot. And with those cravings in mind, Elliott Smith has been in heavy rotation.

The other night I watched the documentary about him that came out in 2014, thinking that that was it—I was now officially “up to date” on all of the media surrounding the deceased singer I loved so much in high school—but days later I’ve been proven wrong. It turns out it’s almost the 20th anniversary of Smith’s album “Either/Or,” and in addition to releasing an expanded reissue of the record, Kill Rock Stars has partnered with Sean Cannon’s “The Guestlist” to make “Say Yes: An Elliott Smith Podcast.”

There will be six episodes total, and the first one features interviews with Kevin Devine, Sadie Dupuis (of Speedy Ortiz), and Jessica Lea Mayfield. It’s nice to love things together.