Elliott Smith.

I love Elliott Smith's music (the soundtrack to Good Will Hunting [a brilliant movie, the music is perfect for the feel and vibe of the story]is mostly his music). He died in 2003.

I was reading an interview with him tonight and there was a quote that I liked especially in regard to creating. Many times, artists can be their own worst critics and won't give the time for something (song, dance, play, video, design) to evolve fully and kill it right away. However, we grow so much from just producing. It's not that every idea will be great, but if you put out enough ideas there will be something that is worth pursuing. He said:

"It's very important to try all things that occur to you. You can't not try something just because it might be cheesy. It's a fine line between something that sounds like bullshit and something that sounds really cool. A lot of people agree that Picasso is the greatest painter of the 20th century, but I was told that he has more terrible paintings than everybody else too. He just painted more than everybody else! He didn't demand of himself that everything he did had to be stellar. It's sort of like, do everything and sort it out later, because you learn from your mistakes."

I know this sounds obvious, however while I try to teach this idea to people I come up short in regard to living this principle in my own life. Mostly when it comes to songwriting. As one of my resolutions for this year I want to continue growing as a musician and write more songs. I typically think everything I write is just shy of being mediocre, but I need to keep writing if I every to expect anything to be worth a damn.

I was just thinking about that tonight and was reading a little about Elliot Smith. If you've never heard him before, you should search some stuff out. Its typically mellow and haunting, which is a perfect combination for some car music. There is also a lot of his music on YouTube so you can check it out for free. Hope you like it and don't be afraid to try something, even if you fail wince we typically grow from our failures (except for algebra, failed it in 11 grade [only class I ever failed] and I never recovered). Cheers.

Chris