My Favourite Elliott Smith Song

Our guest today is Aaron Lee Tasjan. Aaron is a musician, songwriter and producer from Tennessee. We first connected with Aaron when he played at the All My Rowdy Friends Elliott Smith tribute show in Los Angeles hosted by New Monkey Studio in 2024, and we've been keen to get him on ever since. At that event, he played Independence Day - the song he's discussing here. Hope you enjoy it! Extra links: Independence Day by Elliott Smith on Spotify XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify Follow Aaron Lee Tasjan on Instagram 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 Chan Kinchla, a musician and the guitarist in the band Blues Traveler. Blues Traveler are a long-running band combining blues, rock, and soul. In addition to performing with them, Chan leads his own band, W4rhors3. Chan chose “Clementine” from Elliott Smith’s self-titled album — a track we had never previously discussed on the podcast. He talks about only fairly recently becoming a devoted Elliott fan and goes deep into what draws him to the song. Because Chan was excited to see New Monkey Studio, we recorded the episode there last spring. During the conversation, he also shares an unexpected coincidence that connects him and the show’s co-host, Elizabeth Withstandley, back to New York in the mid-1990s. Extra links: Clementine by Elliott Smith on Spotify Elliott Smith self-titled album on Spotify Follow W4rhors3 on Instagram Follow Blues Traveler My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Hello! We're doing something slightly different in this episode. As we had two guests who both selected the same song, we’ve combined both their interviews together. In this episode, you'll hear from Anthony Vaccaro, who is the guitarist in the band Beach Bunny and also a solo artist (he plays under the name Helicopter Leaves), and we also have Tess Parks a musician and photographer. They're both talking about the song Rose Parade from Either/Or. Anthony is speaking to Elizabeth Withstandley and Tess is speaking to Rob Comba. Extra links: Rose Parade by Elliott Smith on Spotify Either/Or by Elliott Smith on Spotify Follow Anthony on Instagram Follow Tess on Instagram My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com Photo of Tess Parks is by Ki Price

Our guest today is musician, Charlie Barnes. Charlie is a singer-songrwriter and producer based here in the UK, who also plays with the band Bastille. Charlie's a big Elliott Smith fan and was kind enough to share his thoughts on track Bottle Up and Explode! from the album XO, as well as his interesting route to discovering the song, how Elliott has shaped his approach to music and much more besides. This is Charlie speaking to podcast co-host, Elizabeth Withstandley. Extra links: Bottle Up and Explode! by Elliott Smith on Spotify XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify Follow Charlie Barnes on Instagram Charlie Barnes website 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 Haley Fohr aka Circuit des Yeux. Haley is a Chicago based experimental musician who has been releasing music under the Circuit des Yeux name since 2007. And she released her seventh studio album, Halo on the Inside, in March of last year. Haley's been a big Elliott Smith fan since discovering his music while she was in high school. In this interview, she talks about taking long drives as a teenager with only Elliott for company, how she saw herself in his music and we go deep into her pick: Everything means nothing to me from Figure 8. Photo by Dana Trippe. Extra links: Everything Means Nothing to Me by Elliott Smith on Spotify Figure 8 by Elliott Smith on Spotify Follow Circuit des Yeux on Instagram My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Joining us for episode three of the season is Greg Mendez. Greg is a musician based in Philadelphia, who began making music in 2006. Although he had been playing for some time already, it was the success of Greg's 2023 self-titled album that brought him greater recognition. After releasing that album he also joined the Dead Oceans label, which he then released his EP First Time/Alone under. Like many others, I got to know his music after hearing his self-titled record and became a big fan, so it was great to have this opportunity to speak to him. Hope you enjoy it! Additional links: St. Ides Heaven on Spotify Elliott Smith (self-titled) on Spotify Greg Mendez Bandcamp Our episode with Rebecca Gates discussing St. Ides Heaven 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 musician, Madison Cunningham. Madison is a grammy award winning singer-songwriter who recently released her third studio album, which is titled Ace. This podcast's co-host, Elizabeth Withstandley, recorded the interview with Madison backstage at last year's All My Rowdy Friends tribute show in LA hosted by the good people at New Monkey Studio - the studio that Elliott Smith used to own. Thanks as always to Joel, Robert and Greg at NMS for all their support! photo by Claire Marie Vogel Extra links Sweet Adeline by Elliott Smith on Spotify XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify Ace by Madison Cunningham on Spotify Follow New Monkey Studio My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

We're back! And joining us for a brand new season is musician and actor, Elliott Fullam. Elliott is known for his acting work in the films Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3, as well as the Apple TV show Get Rolling with Otis. He's also a solo artist and releases music under his own name. Elliott is our first guest to be named after Elliott Smith, so we couldn't think of anyone better to kick off our new season. Hope you enjoy listening to the episode. photo by : Jeff Harris Extra links Alameda by Elliott Smith on Spotify Either/Or by Elliott Smith on Spotify Follow Elliott Fullam on Instagram Follow us on Instagram My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

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

Joining us for episode 10 of the season is musician, Mikaela Davis. Mikaela is a harpist and songwriter based in Catskill, New York. Mikaela credits Elliott Smith with helping 'spark' her professional music career, as it was her cover of Twilight that helped bring her to the attention of a booking agent while she was still a college student. She's now a firmly established artist with her 2023 album And Southern Star released to critical claim by Kill Rock Stars (in another Elliott parallel). In this interview, she discusses the enduring impact of that Twilight cover, Elliott Smith's classical sensibilities and her favourite song pick. Extra things: Half Right by Heatmiser Half Right by Elliott Smith Twilight by Mikaela Davis Half Right by Mikaela Davis Follow Mikaela on Instagram Torment Saint (book) by WT Schultz My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Our guest for today's episode is Rey Villalobos, who releases music under the name The Coral Sea. Rey started out as The Coral Sea back in 2004 and has released several albums since then - including Golden Planet Sky which came out last year. Before he went solo, Rey began his music career as a drummer. Playing in bands in Los Angeles and Portland - where we moved in similar ciricles to Ellliott Smith. In this interview he talks about those days, covering A Distorted Reality is a necessity to be free and he also discusses his favourite song pick - which also has a strong Portland connection. Thanks to listener Pierrick for suggesting Rey as a guest! Extra things: Alameda by Elliott Smith The Coral Sea on Instagram A Distorted Reality by The Coral Sea My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Today we're joined by musician, Spencer Fox. Spencer is the guitarist in the New York-based band Charly Bliss. The band have released two albums to date with Guppy coming in 2017 and Young Enough in 2019, and they've recently been in the studio recording their third record too. We had a great time chatting to Spencer. He's a self-confessed major Elliott Smith fan and had a lot to say on his pick for his favourite song, the YouTube rabbit holes he goes down and he kindly humoured attempts to draw parallels between his childhood acting career (he starred in The Incredibles) with his Elliott fandom! Extra things: Thirteen by Elliott Smith Lucky Three (which features Thirteen) film by Jem Cohen Elliott Smith songwriting masterclass (the video Spencer mentions) Charly Bliss' website Follow Spencer on Instagram 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 Violet Mayugba. Violet is the guitarist and a founding member of the band, Destroy Boys. The group formed back in 2015 in Sacramento, California and have gone on to release three studio albums, with one more on the way - in fact, they had just finished recording it the day before this interview was recorded. Violet is a huge Elliott Smith fan. She talks about her favourite song pick and the personal way she relates to it very openly and honestly, and we loved speaking to her. And after the interview with Violet, we catch up with musician Dylan Rodrigue. Dylan and fellow musician Marcus Buser recently hosted an Elliott Smith tribute show in Los Angeles. It featured former podcast guests Johanna Samuels, Aaron Embry and Shannon Lay, and we discuss how the show went as well as Dylan's favourite song ES song. Hope you enjoy it! Extra things: Roman Candle by Elliott Smith Listen to Destroy Boys Find Violet Mayguba on Instagram Find Dylan Rodrigue on Instagram In the episode, we play a clip of Johanna Samuels singing Antonio Carlos Jobim on Elliott Smith - here's the ES version 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 Lily O'Farrell, who you may know by her online name @vulgadrawings. Lily is a cartoonist and writer based in London. She began publishing feminist cartoons on Instagram in 2018 and has since reached more than 300,000 followers. She's also published a book, released a podcast (her recent series No Worries If Not is well worth listening to) and, yes, even created a number of Elliott Smith memes. In this interview, we discuss what makes Elliott's music meme-worthy, whether or not you should date an ES fan and the impact her favourite song pick has had on her life. Hope you enjoy listening to it! Extra things: Happiness/The Gondola Man by Elliott Smith Happiness by Elliott Smith live in Paris No Worries If Not - Lily's podcast Follow Lily on Instagram We also share a clip of Calebo playing Happiness at a recent tribute show in London - you can find them here Photo by Holly Whitaker My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Welcome to our first episode of 2024 with Shannon Lay! Shannon is a solo musician based in Los Angeles, who's released four solo albums, as well as a collection of covers that came out last year. And on that covers album is a version of Angeles (by Elliott Smith), which you can hear at the very end of this episode. Before that though, we have the full interview with Shannon, where she discusses Figure 8, listening to albums from start to finish and the lyrical mastery in her favourite song pick. Hope you enjoy it! Extra things: Can't Make a Sound by Elliott Smith You can find Shannon's cover of Angeles here Shannon's website Photo of Shannon is by Kai McKnight My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Joining us for our last episode of the year is musician, Margaret Glaspy. Margaret, who is based in New York City, released her latest album - Echo the Diamond - in August this year. The record is Margaret's third full-length album, and follows on from 2020's Devotion and 2016's Emotions and Math. Margaret says Elliott Smith has been a big influence across her career, so in this episode we dive deeper into that, how she defines the Elliott 'vibe' and why her favourite song pick means so much to her. Extra things to look at and listen to: Stupidity Tries by Elliott Smith Margaret Glaspy's website Line of Best Fit review of Echo the Diamond Kolby Dickens plays us out with Say Yes 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 John Vanderslice. John is a musician, producer and the owner of the legendary Tiny Telephone studio, which initially began in the Mission district of San Francisco. Bands who've recorded at Tiny Telephone with John include the likes of Death Cab for Cutie, Okkervil River, the Mountain Goats, St. Vincent and many, many more. Embarking on his musical odyssey as a singer/songwriter, John has left an indelible mark with the release of 17 albums since 2000. Recently, he underwent a significant evolution by immersing himself in the vibrant realm of electronic music. Notably, he continues to manage Tiny Telephone Oakland. In this interview, he tells us about how Larry Crane introduced him to Elliott Smith, his experience of seeing him live and we also talk about John's changing relationship with narrative in music. Photo by Maria Brand Extra links: Say Yes by Elliott Smith Dear Elliott by Graciela Maria and Sneaky Bellza on Bandcamp Gruesome Details on Bandcamp Tiny Telephone (website) 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.

Joining us for episode six of this season are Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten from the band Momma. Etta and Allegra have been playing music together since they became close friends while at high school in Los Angeles, California. Since those early days, they've gone on to record three studio albums, including most recently, Household Name which came out earlier this year. 2022 has been a great year so far for Momma: that new album has been released to widespread acclaim, they’ve been tipped as the next big thing by a range of publications and they’re currently touring with the band Snail Mail. So, what better way to cap that all off than by being guests on this podcast...? Etta and Allegra were great guests and kindly shared lots of Elliott Smith-related anecdotes, as well as discussing their musical influences more broadly. Hope you enjoy this conversation. (Photo credit: Sophie Hur) Extra things to look at / listen to: Christian Brothers (Heatmiser version) Christian Brothers (Elliott Smith solo version) Household Name by Momma Documentary on the making of Household Name Subscribe to our newsletter Today's cover comes from Oisin Ruxton from Cork, Ireland 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 the multi-talented, Lola Kirke. As an actor, Lola has starred in the TV show Mozart in the Jungle and the film Mistress America, as well as many others. And, as a musician she has released two studio albums - most recently Lady for Sale which came out on Third Man Records earlier on this year. Her favourite song pick is a great selection from Figure 8 and, in this interview, she delves a bit deeper into this track, and tells us how her how she was introduced to Elliott Smith by her boyfriend when she was 13. Photo credit: Zack Michael. Extra things to look at / listen to: Son of Sam by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/6tPiCU4LFsXUQPRIykOAnl?si=72633655a1d147e7 Figure 8 by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/album/7DC0pE943VR5tAKIvQXHts?si=kPG8pSi1R-aKcBOzW_wnfw Lola Kirke website: https://www.lolakirkemusic.com/welcome Our cover today is from Dan Caleb (Calebo): https://www.calebo.co.uk/ Newsletter #2: https://myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.substack.com/p/newsletter-2-orono-toledo-milwaukee?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2 Subscribe to our newsletter: https://myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.substack.com/p/coming-soon?r=1jzwzn&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web 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 guests today are Dan Alvarez and Jordan Dunn-Pilz, who together make up the band Toledo. The pair have been making music together since they were 11 years old, growing up in Newburyport in Massachusetts After parting ways for college, Dan and Jordan are now reunited and living in Brooklyn, New York, and are steadily building a big following, with their debut coming out in September this year. For this episode, Dan and Jordan took a slightly different route, and instead of picking one track, we compare two well known recordings of the same song. It was a lot of fun chatting to Dan and Jordan - you really get a sense of their friendship and chemistry as a double act - and I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation. Extra things to look at listen to: Miss Misery (early version) on Bandcamp: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/miss-misery-early-version Miss Misery (movie version / on XO extended edition): https://open.spotify.com/track/4zetUxeSCCDwrr1jJT0SuD?si=a014d56aa5ea4fb9 Good Will Hunting closing scene with Miss Misery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5qajitmZd0 Toledo website: https://www.thebandtoledo.com Our cover today comes from Jake Lamb - you can find it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vXsIoJ4Wdk Subscribe to our newsletter: https://myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.substack.com/p/coming-soon?r=1jzwzn&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web 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 three of season five is Orono from Superorganism. Superoganism are a band now based in London, though they started out more geographically dispersed. When the group formed, Orono would record her vocals separately from Maine, where she attended boarding school. After finding prominence with their debut single Something for Your M.I.N.D in 2017, Superorganism followed it up with their first album - a self-titled record - a year later. The group released their second album, World Wide Pop, in July 2022. Orono has been an Elliott Smith fan since her dad introduced her to his music as a teenager. In this interview, Orono shares more about how she discovered his music, we talk about how the self-titled album accompanied her through some very difficult times, discuss learning to play Elliott songs and, of course, we go in depth on her favourite song pick too. Our listener cover today comes from Andrew Alarcon (featuring Tawnie Lucas). Photo by Jack Bridgland. Extra things to look at / listen to: St Ides Heaven by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/st-ides-heaven Elliott Smith by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/album/elliott-smith Orono's Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/oronooo Andrew Alarcon (featuring Tawnie Lucas) playing St Ides Heaven: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct5YH1EPD2k Read our newsletter #1: https://myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.substack.com/p/newsletter-1-ruth-radelet-carmen Please send us your 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 second guest of this season is Carmen Perry from the band Remember Sports. Remember Sports formed back in 2012, when Carmen and her bandmates were studying at college/university. Since then, they've released five albums, most recently Like a Stone, which came out last year. It was as a teenager that Carmen became an Elliott Smith fan. She discovered his music when she was searching indie artists on download sites and immediately connected with it. In this episode, we discuss her Elliott Smith origin story, how he made the piano cool and, of course, we talk about her favourite song choice too. We close out the episode with a cover of Angel in the Snow from the band Sam and Me. Extra things to look at / listen to: Pitseleh by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/1Q0sk7b7PAGjgC3R5zyuWt?si=964479edaa854f6e XO by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zOxlHQGGV6EH7n4OIFTyh?si=dqsoX_oGQ9mX8WajvucG9g Find out more about Remember Sports: https://remembersports.bandcamp.com Listen to Sam and Me's cover of Angel in the Snow: http://www.samandme.com/downloads.html Subscribe to our newsletter: https://myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.substack.com/p/coming-soon?r=1jzwzn&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web 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 the opening episode of season 5 of My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is Ruth Radelet. Ruth is a musician based in Portland, Oregon, who has recently started a solo career, after a long and successful stint with the band, Chromatics, a group she joined back in 2006. One of her first releases as a solo artist was, in fact, a cover of Twilight by Elliott Smith, which she recorded for the 30th anniversary celebration of the record label, Kill Rock Stars. In this interview we talk about that cover, why Ruth wanted to do that song in particular and what it means to her. As an added bonus, the conversation was recorded at New Monkey Studio in Los Angeles, California and we're very grateful to Greg, Robert and Joel for allowing us to use the space, and for being such great supporters of the podcast. In this episode, we also announce to new additions to the podcast for this season - a newsletter and the chance to have your cover featured. You can find links to these below. Extra things to look at / listen to: Twilight by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/twilight-2 From a Basement on a Hill by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/album/from-a-basement-on-the-hill Twilight by Ruth Radelet: https://killrockstars.bandcamp.com/track/twilight-elliott-smith Subscribe to our newsletter: https://myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.substack.com/p/coming-soon?r=1jzwzn&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Send us your Elliott Smith cover to covers@myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com More about New Monkey Studio: http://newmonkeystudio.com My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

We're very happy to welcome Craig Thomas onto the podcast for the final episode of this season. Craig is a writer and producer perhaps best known as the co-creator of the comedy, How I Met Your Mother, but he's written lots of other things as well, including for David Letterman, American Dad and Oliver Beene. It was as a young writer living in New York City that Craig became a big Elliott Smith fan. And, in this interview, he shares a great story of hearing his song pick live during that period. Hope you enjoy this chat with Craig and thank you so much for all your support during this season. We'll be back very soon. Extra things to look at / listen to: Stupidity Tries by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/4ggVOqzCnaK9vFXAuvxUeM?si=c9e8045049b846fe Figure 8 by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/4ggVOqzCnaK9vFXAuvxUeM?si=c9e8045049b846fe Elliott Smith plays Stupidity Tries on David Letterman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrp2hdN9OX0 My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

Our guest today is the musician and podcaster, Hrishikesh Hirway. Hrishikesh is the creator of the excellent Song Exploder podcast - where musicians dissect their songs and discuss how they were made - which has recently been made into a TV show by Netflix. He's also involved in other popular podcasts including West Wing Weekly, Home Cooking and Partners. But music is Hrishikesh's first love and he has been working as a musician on and off for the last 20 years or so. From 2002 to 2011, he put out several albums under the name The One AM Radio and just last month he released a new track, this time under his own name, called Between There and Here. In this interview, as well as talking through his favourite song selection, we discuss where Hrishikesh first discovered Elliott Smith's music, how it influences his own work and what track he would cover on an Elliott Smith Song Exploder episode. Extra things to look at / listen to: Angeles by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/angeles-remastered Either/Or by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/album/either-or-expanded-edition Between There and Here by Hrishikesh Hirway: https://open.spotify.com/track/2QZSKNoM76itD9uLr53PaQ?si=e2d19d010d92491c Arlo Parks on Song Exploder: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Qoy8NA3ItXrFa3X0KSgv4?si=02453e3460d84322 My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.

Today, we're joined by Elliott Smith's close friend and publicist, Dorien Garry. Although they had already known each other for a little while, the two cemented their friendship when Elliott moved to New York City in the late '90s and stayed for a while at Dorien's apartment. At this time, Dorien was also working at Girlie Action, the PR agency that represented Elliott. So, in this interview Dorien talks about their friendship, how it developed over the years and how another one of their good friends in New York inspired the song she’s chosen to talk about today. Hope you enjoy it! Extra things to look at / listen to: Independence Day by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/3pM7gfel0ho7yVJw4KK5Eq?si=27891cc0611b4787 XO by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zOxlHQGGV6EH7n4OIFTyh?si=cbt2IPMvQVelsBTmTZvNqw Elliott Smith discusses the origin of Independence Day: https://soflawedanddrunkandperfectstill.wordpress.com/2017/04/17/i-was-actually-thinking-about-someone-in-particular/ 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, mehro. mehro is based in Los Angeles and has spent the 18 months or so of the pandemic amassing a huge following online. He hadn't released a song before February 2020 and has since put out a handful of singles as well as a debut album, SKY ON FIRE, which came out earlier on this year. He came to Elliott Smith's music relatively recently too, having been introduced to him by an engineer he was working with. He has since dived deep into his back catalogue and recently took a tour of Los Angeles to visit several of the places Elliott played. It was a pleasure talking to mehro for this episode - hope you enjoy listening to it! Extra things to look at / listen to: Between the Bars by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/52Bg6oaos7twR7IUtEpqcE?si=f5a1e29b6fee4446 Either/Or by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/album/5hryhrT7wEdLnZCbJX9F6L?si=S7VIEUayQG6NAP7SCGl0yg&dl_branch=1 SKY ON FIRE by mehro: https://open.spotify.com/album/78pXYuIlTIUBQhtQTH8gTP?si=lu5FXV7yQ2GQRZBp-neutA&dl_branch=1 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 musician Johanna Samuels. Johanna is a singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, who put her first full-length album, Excelsior, out earlier this year. She's also a huge Elliott Smith fan and recently appeared singing Elliott Smith's Single File on a Kill Rock Stars cover record. In this interview, she discusses that tribute show, connecting with a good friend of Elliotts and of course we discuss her favourite song pick, which is one we’ve never spoken about before. Extra things to look at / listen to: Antonio Carlos Jobim by Elliott Smith (solo live): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83XMNCuZa_g Antonio Carlos Jobim by Heatmiser: https://open.spotify.com/track/5d00XHKV66BAMEyrXgl5d7?si=1ba1aee3fc204c7b Excelsior by Johanna Samuels: https://open.spotify.com/album/3Fnql0RShULAYWGq0oBpcl?si=QbrheUIlR9Ch05ubHOO_Fw&dl_branch=1 My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

Our guest for this one is Steven Page. Steven is a musician, who is perhaps best known as the lead singer and a guitarist in the band Barenaked Ladies. He was one of the founding members of the group and was with them for just over 20 years until 2009, when he left to pursue other projects. Steven is now a solo artist and is soon heading out on a solo tour of North America. He’s a big Elliott Smith fan too, of course, and joined us for this interview to talk about his song pick, his love of the album XO, Elliott’s drumming abilities, and much more besides. Extra things to look at / listen to: Everybody Cares Everybody Understands by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0uEGjq4WbwCb4C6ZpEA25c?si=252c17d879124ab3 XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zOxlHQGGV6EH7n4OIFTyh?si=RV5vjiziSH6KNYVk-g59vA&dl_branch=1 Steven Page's website: https://www.stevenpage.com/ Elliott Smith cover of Schoolhouse Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XikZCsZkdtk 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 the musician Matthew Caws. Matthew is the lead singer and guitarist in the band Nada Surf, a band he formed in New York City in the early ‘90s with his friend, Daniel Lorca. In total, Nada Surf have put out nine studio albums, and their most recent, Never Not Together, came out in 2020. Nada Surf also had the pleasure of touring with Elliott Smith and the band Quasi in 1998, and in this interview we discuss Matthew’s memories of that tour, why he decided to turn down the opportunity to play solo shows with Elliott and his 'favourite' song pick too. Hope you enjoy it! Extra things to look at / listen to: Coming Up Roses by Elliott Smith on Bandcamp: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/coming-up-roses Elliott Smith (album) by Elliott Smith on Bandcamp: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/album/elliott-smith Nada Surf website: http://www.nadasurf.com Follow Matthew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nadasurf?lang=en My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

Today, we're welcoming Phil Elverum onto the podcast. Phil has been releasing music for over 20 years now. First, through his band The Microphones and then under the name Mount Eerie - a project he started in 2003 and is still running today. Over the course of his career so far, Phil has put out more than 40 albums. Phil discovered Elliott Smith’s music in the mid-'90s and even saw him play live a couple of times. He has lots of interesting perspectives to share - so hopefully you enjoy this interview! Extra things to look at / listen to: I Didn't Understand by Elliott Smith: https://open.spotify.com/track/3IQApXKUun0iHHtpsvI7xL?si=db96c08b1b0b4596 XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zOxlHQGGV6EH7n4OIFTyh?si=ycBNDKIPQseK8I_WFHiKLw&dl_branch=1 Phil Elverum website: https://www.pwelverumandsun.com 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 the writer, Maggie Smith. Maggie is a poet and author based in Columbus, Ohio. She has published several collections of her poetry, including most recently Goldenrod, which came out in July 2021. After seeing her tweeting about Elliott Smith, I got in touch with Maggie to invite her on the podcast. We had a lovely chat about Elliott's music, her favourite song pick and why it might be a good choice to walk down the aisle to. Hope you enjoy listening to this episode! Extra things to look at / listen to: Rose Parade by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/rose-parade Either/Or by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/album/either-or-expanded-edition Maggie Smith website: https://maggiesmithpoet.com 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 the musician Ed Harcourt. Ed has released six studio albums - one of which was nominated for the mercury music prize - and has written songs for lots of other artists too, including the likes of Marianne Faithful, Paloma Faith and Sophie Ellis Bextor. Ed also counts himself as a big Elliott Smith fan. And in this episode, he talks to Elizabeth Withstandley about his favourite song pick, Elliott Smith’s enduring influence on songwriters and we talk about an Elliott cover he did as well. Extra things to look at / listen to: Ballad of Big Nothing by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/ballad-of-big-nothing-2 Either/Or by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/album/either-or Ed Harcourt: https://edharcourtmusic.com 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 the musician Rebecca Gates. Rebecca is based in Portland, Oregon and was one half of The Spinanes before she left to release music as a solo artist. The Spinanes were a firm fixture on the Portland music scene and it was there that she met Elliott Smith for the first time and established a friendship that would lead to her recording backing vocals on the song St Ides Heaven, which appears on his self-titled album. That makes Rebecca - as far as I understand - one of only three people to have sung backing vocals on an Elliott Smith album track. Thank you to Reddit for the answer! So, you might have guessed that St Ides Heaven is the song we discuss. Rebecca very kindly shares her memories of recording her vocals for the song, what she thinks of it now and a few other Elliott related stories besides as well. Extra things to look at / listen to: St Ides Heaven by Elliott Smith: https://elliottsmith.bandcamp.com/track/st-ides-heaven St Ides Heaven performed by Rebecca Gates: https://rebeccagates.bandcamp.com/track/st-ides-heaven-live Madding by The Spinanes: https://thespinanes.bandcamp.com/track/madding For No One Else by The Spinanes: https://thespinanes.bandcamp.com/track/for-no-one-else My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

Mike Doughty is a musician and the founder of the band Soul Coughing. Mike set up the experimental group in 1992 and they released three albums before going their separate ways in 2000. Mike has since gone onto pursue several solo projects. Already an established fan, he met Elliott Smith during the 1990s and Elliott also recorded some vocal tracks for Mike during that period. He discusses those encounters, as well as his favourite song with Elizabeth Withstandley in this interview. Extra things to look at / listen to: Christian Brothers by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4oAk3085zSd1SAhjBdx4MV?si=cb21837b50214bcd Christian Brothers (Heatmiser version) on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1QUXSToImDkW7CUzJwRrWQ?si=25d384f81b7c4311 Mike Doughty website: https://www.mikedoughty.com My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

We're delighted that musician Aaron Espinoza joins us to round off our third season. Aaron is a producer, who owns his own studio in Los Angeles called The Ship. He's also in the band Earlimart and it was when he was starting out with that group in the early 2000s, that he became friends with Elliott Smith. Aaron, Elliott, the members of Grandaddy, Lou Barlow and many others were all part of the same vibrant LA music scene back then. And Aaron has lots of great stories from that time that he shares with us in this interview, as well as his choice for his favourite Elliott Smith song. We couldn't think of a better way to end the season - hope you enjoy it! Extra things to look at / listen to Punch and Judy by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1vOD1DZtgbKxxpgKTDfLXl?si=L7J3_6ZRQ9aj4-ZywFjENg Either/Or by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3UVJu0QdTJBfGJBl1AMWEM?si=qHijyU-4Q5GZ_bg-0PqH7Q Heaven Adores You by Earlimart on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6VkUaLenR8WwsuP5n9AVZV?si=8FgzSCtzQ2epMMezryOElQ Heaven Adores You (film) now available on Amazon Prime UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elliott-Smith-Heaven-Adores-You/dp/B07PNSK4HS Heaven Adores You (film) now available on Amazon Prime US: https://www.amazon.com/Elliott-Smith-Heaven-Adores-You/dp/B07PQYGQRG My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com