As I’ve written about previously, “passing by” is my show on WKNC where I put a soundtrack to life’s big and small moments using the best of indie and rock that airs every Tuesday from 1-2pm this semester. This past Tuesday, I curated a set I really loved, and wanted to share it here on the blog in case you didn’t get to catch it through the airwaves.
The set was centered around Elliott Smith. The show was divided into four themes: his inspirations, Elliott Smith himself, covers, and artists who are inspired by him.
His Inspirations
- “Summer’s Gone” — The Kinks
- “Rocky Raccoon” — Charlie Parr, Nicholas Mrozinski1
- “Bob Dylan’s Dream” — Bob Dylan
- “No One Is There” — Nico
- “Parasite” — Nick Drake2
Elliott Smith Himself
“Everything Means Nothing to Me” — Elliott Smith
Covers
“The Biggest Lie” — Bright Eyes
“Ballad of Big Nothing” — Julien Baker
“Clementine” — The Decemberists
Artists Inspired By Him
“Ceilings” — beabadoobee
“How Long” — Palehound
“Big Surprise” — Prateek Kuhad
“Deep Sea” — Snail Mail
“Stranger Things” — Yuck
“It Just Is” — Rilo Kiley3
“Punisher” — Phoebe Bridgers4
- 1: This is a cover of a song by The Beatles, off their self titled album (known commonly as “The White Album”). Smith cited this song as a huge inspiration for him.
- 2: Although Smith never explicitly cited Nick Drake as an inspiration, people often draw comparisons and parallels between the two.
- 3: This song is about Smith’s tragic death, as Rilo Kiley were close to him and opened up for his final shows prior to his passing.
- 4: Bridgers has stated that this track is about Elliott Smith, and how if she got to meet him, she would have made a fool of herself by being such a big fan.
If you want to listen to my set in its exact order, you can queue the songs based on their appearance on my Spinitron page, or if you’re a Spotify user like myself, you can stream it via the playlist.
Until next time,
Caitlin (a.k.a carbon copy)
