I can still recall clear as day the first time I heard Elliott Smith. It was 'A Fond Farewell' somewhere on a new music compilation. I was shocked both at not having heard of him before and to learn that he'd already passed away. There are just some artists that speak directly to your soul, and I do mean directly; not sometimes or some songs, but every time you put a record of her/him on it triggers an emotional response you're not able to control. You laugh, you cry, your stomach turns... That's what Elliott Smith does for me. From 'Roman Candle' straight to 'New Moon'. Every. Single. Record. Every. Single. Song. Like I said, not something I'm able to control.
So obviously it's kind of daunting to try and come up with the right song to cover and should you argue this isn't it, I'd probably agree because it could've been any other song just as well. But the reason I ended up with this one is that riff I've added after the second chorus and at the end. I have no recollection about how I ended up with that riff or even how I entered it into my cover version, but it had both a Elliott Smith vibe and a dance-y vibe at the same time. Not two things I'd dream of mixing together really, but then again, that's always one part of my approach to these things. Just to try and mix it up a bit, marry the unexpected, even if it means almost polar opposites like in this case.
I'm totally ready to go into full essay mode about my love for Elliott Smith, both the person and the musician, but I'm going to save that for a later date.
This marks the end of our 'A Sea of Heroes' Youtube series, a bittersweet feeling. I'm going to miss making these covers and videos. But I'll get into all that stuff on the 24th when we release the whole series as one long-ass Youtube video.
Until then, all the best!
-Jon
P.S. Here's the original: