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Elliott Smith's XO

Matthew LeMay

$19.99

Paperback

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English
Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
01 June 2009
Series: 33 1/3
"Many albums could be cited to support the claim that great suffering yields great art. Elliott Smith's XO should not be one of them. Smith's 1998 major label debut defies the ""tortured singer-songwriter"" stereotype, and takes up this defiance as a central theme. At a time when Smith was being groomed for a particular (and particularly condescending) brand of stardom, he produced a record that eviscerated one of the central assumptions of singersongwriterdom: that pain is beautiful. XO insists that romanticizing personal tragedy can only leave you ""deaf and dumb and done."" And it backs up this claim with some of the most artful and intelligent music of its day. Matthew LeMay writes an original take on a widely beloved album, steering clear of the sensationalist suicide angles that have dogged most analysis of Elliott Smith's extraordinary work."

By:  
Imprint:   Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 165mm,  Width: 121mm,  Spine: 10mm
Weight:   130g
ISBN:   9780826429001
ISBN 10:   0826429009
Series:   33 1/3
Pages:   144
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
"Acknowledgements Preface Part One: ""Making Something From Nothing"" - The ""Story"" of XO - XO Song by Song Part 2: ""Pictures of Me"" Sources"

Matthew LeMay has been a staff writer at Pitchfork Media since 2000. His band, Get Him Eat Him, will release their second album in the summer of 2007. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Reviews for Elliott Smith's XO

It was only a matter of time before a clever publisher realized that there is an audience for whom Exile on Main Street or Electric Ladyland are as significant and worthy of study as The Catcher in the Rye or Middlemarch... freewheeling and eclectic, ranging from minute rock-geek analysis to idiosyncratic personal celebration - The New York Times Book Review Ideal for the rock geek who thinks liner notes just aren't enough - Rolling Stone A brilliant series...each one a word of real love - NME Religious tracts for the nock 'n' roll faithful - Uncut


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