Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing
by Benjamin Nugent (Goodreads author!)
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Read in December, 2006
Uit: Elliott Smith And The Big Nothing van Benjamin Nugent. Toen het boek verscheen rond de eerste verjaardag van Smiths overlijden kreeg het vooral negatieve kritiek te verwerken. Nugent, die amper drie maanden na Smiths dood op 21 oktober 2003 aan het boek was begonnen, leverde amper een half jaar later al zijn werk af: een redelijk dun boek (een goeie 200 pagina’s), dat grotendeels bestaat uit interviews met vrienden, kennissen en medewerkers van Smith. Zijn ouders en beste vrienden (althan...more
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Read in November, 2007
I was considering even reading this biography as other reviews were rather negative about the whole concept. After sitting down with it, however, I wonder if those people are out of their minds.
This is the first biography about Elliott Smith; granted, it was published a year after Smith's death, so there could be some question as to the motivation behind the publication, or question as to whether or not it was too early to write a biography about a relatively unknown man to begin with. Out...more
This is the first biography about Elliott Smith; granted, it was published a year after Smith's death, so there could be some question as to the motivation behind the publication, or question as to whether or not it was too early to write a biography about a relatively unknown man to begin with. Out...more
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Read in March, 2007
Elliott Smith has been one of my favorite musicians for many years, and his suicide was very upsetting. When I read about this biography, I was really excited to get an inside look into the life of this artist to hopefully get some answers to his death. Instead, I got a poorly-written "semi-biography" based on stories and tales of people that barely knew Elliott and it doesn't really offer much insight at all.
The most entertaining part is the addition to the end of the book where t...more
The most entertaining part is the addition to the end of the book where t...more
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Read in January, 2008
This book offers a good overview of Smiths life, which will be interesting to anyone who is a fan of his music. However, I was constantly frustrated with Nugents writing style and what seemed to be a lack of proper editing. He would quote something once and then re-quote it almost in full a second time two or three pages later, during interviews with friends he didn't edit out the "like's" which made it (like) hard to follow. At times I just felt like it was purely his intent to p...more
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The author ,Benjamin Nugent, did research but was unable to reveal a lot of fact as most people wouldn't talk to him. I think it may have been too soon after his death with too many questions still left unanswered. I think Mr. Nugent may have been more successful if he had waited a year or two. Not to mention the fact that Elliott Smith preferred his life to be private, and his family and friends respected that for the most part. I enjoyed it because it was something related to a man whose music...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
diehard Elliott Smith fans.
I liked it because it was about Elliott, but Nugent portrays Smith on a very superficial level. The friends and associates he interviewed for the book weren't the people closest to him - I would have preferred for him to have included commentary from his family, girlfriend, etc. - although I understand that his loved ones have kept very private about the singer-songwriter's life and death.
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Read in February, 2005
Probably the worst written and poorly fact checked musical biography I've ever read. Hell, if Austin was really only ten miles from Lubbock, the capital wouldn't go blue every time there's an election. But that's just me, and I don't get paid to edit musical biographies that don't even include interviews from the people closest to the person in question.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who is interested in music
Elliott Smith may have been "emo" as today's society would put it, and at times, his depression could seem pathetic. However, somehow the world could have empathy and related directly to his word and feelings. His demise, is no surprise and I honestly think if he hadn't been killed so soon, he would have killed himself with his drug use.
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Read in August, 2005
I love Elliott Smith, but this book was positively awful. It's as if Mr. Nugent simply got tired of the subject he was researching for this biography, the end result being a mundane and strained attempt at capturing Elliott's life. Sadly, it is as dry as a woodplank and as disinterested as a child in church.
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1 comments
Read in January, 2005
This really is a bad book. Trust me. I know the material. The author basically took a bunch of rumors, a few random facts and expanded upon them. Kind of like if you took a cliff's notes and wrote the book around that. This is a waste of your time. I recommend instead "Elliott Smith" by Autumn DeWilde.
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Read in June, 2008
This book sucks!! But I am going to finish it, damnit! I love Elliott Smith, and I have learned some things about him, but the writing is terrible and unless you are a crazy fan you should never read it.
**I just canned this. No point foolin. I ain't gonna finish this.**
**I just canned this. No point foolin. I ain't gonna finish this.**
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3 comments
Not much is out there in print on one of the greatest songwriters of the twentieth century. This book provides a decent glimpse at the troubled life of Smith but it lacks some cohesion. This is evidence that all we really need to know about an artist is in their work.
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
Fans of good music
Amazing inside look at Elliott's life and music. It's not too long of a read and it's very interesting, especially if you are a fan of his music.
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who loved his music
This author chose to spend most of his time on elliott's life rather than his tragic death. A good choice considering his death is not yet fully explained. A must read for fans.
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Read in June, 2006
recommends it for:
elliott smith fans
Nobody got very close to Elliott while he was alive, and this book does a good job of painting a fair (albeit distanced) portrait of the songwriter.
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Very depressing book about a talented, kind man. I feel like I have a several personal connections (that I won't go into).
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Self-indulgent fluff-reading, but I do have a morbid curiosity about people in my age group who have died.
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this book made me cry a few times but it's really cool an you should read it if you love elliott
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This book was really hard to get through and I put it down several times. Borning...
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My obsession with Elliott Smith is what Sylvia Plath is for young college women.
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