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. 

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song

S4 Ep12: Craig Thomas

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.

S4 Ep11: Hrishikesh Hirway

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.

S4 Ep10: Dorien Garry

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 

S4 Ep9: mehro

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

S4 Ep8: Johanna Samuels

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

S4 Ep7: Steven Page

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 

S4 Ep6: Matthew Caws (Nada Surf)

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 

S4 Ep5: Phil Elverum

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

S4 Ep4: Maggie Smith

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 

S4 Ep3: Ed Harcourt

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

S4 Ep2: Rebecca Gates

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

S4 Ep1: Mike Doughty (Soul Coughing)

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

S3 Ep14: Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart)

Musician Charlene Kaye joins us for our penultimate episode of season three. Charlene is a solo artist, who goes by the name KAYE. She's preparing to release her new album, Conscious Control, which comes out in November 2020. You may also know Charlene as the lead vocalist of the band San Fermin, which she was part of for five years. She's a big Elliott Smith fan too. And in this episode, we discuss how his music takes her back to a certain place in time, his impact on her and the wider music world, and of course we take some time to go through her favourite song pick too. Extra things to look at / listen to: Satellite by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6ybrBH5DdnCwEilkEtuMtI?si=BDLV9xV0TTiCroisfS0kKA Elliott Smith (album) by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0w0jXq1fLPMPCNsVmmxNnc?si=5TDcO5nNRaCDpvmJbqa4iQ Elliott Smith plays Satellite live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCY-zHvtVcQ Charlene Kaye announces new album Conscious Control: https://guitargirlmag.com/news/music-news/music-premiere-kayes-new-single-earthrise-from-upcoming-album-conscious-control-due-out-november-20/ My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley.  Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com

S3 Ep13: Charlene Kaye

Catherynne M. Valente - or Cat - is a writer of fantasy and science fiction books. Her work includes the novels Palimpsest and Space Opera, and the Fairyland and Orphan's Tales series of books. Cat heard Elliott Smith for the first time in Miss Misery and immediately set about saving the money she needed to buy the film's soundtrack. In this interview we talk about how her love of Elliott has grown since, how it has helped her through some difficult times and, of course, her pick for her favourite song. We round this off with a listener pick from Laura. If you want to feature on the show, just send us a voice note telling us what your favourite Elliott Smith song is to submissions@myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com. Extra things to look at / listen to: The White Lady Loves You More by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1GRafxm1wx4A31ULSBhKRt?si=1Jp9CvGuQlykyuUF5v4Z4A Elliott Smith (album) by Elliott Smith on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0w0jXq1fLPMPCNsVmmxNnc?si=XlzOkMiQSx-q0F2t9Zk_Vw Blackbird (Beatles cover) by Elliott Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTOZTK-yDr4 Catherynne M. Valente website: http://www.catherynnemvalente.com/ My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley.  Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong. MyFavouriteElliottSmithSong.com 

S3 Ep12: Catherynne M. Valente

The premise of this podcast is very simple - in each episode, we speak to a famous fan of Elliott Smith's to discuss their favourite song of his and how they got into his music.