Maps of Music

Figure 8 (2000)

Where the lyrics of Figure 8 take you, and where it was really made.

The mural behind Elliott Smith on the cover became a de facto memorial to him after his death, and part of the wall was removed in 2017.

Key places

Sunset Sound, Hollywood (2000)

Recording site Sunset Sound — Sunset Sound in Hollywood is one of four studios named as recording sites for Figure 8. The album was recorded from 1998 to 2000. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sonora Studios, Los Angeles (2000)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Sonora Studios in Los Angeles is one of the four studios named as recording sites for Figure 8. The map point uses the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Capitol Studios, Hollywood (2000)

Recording site Capitol Studios — Capitol Studios in Hollywood is one of four studios named as recording sites for Figure 8. The album was recorded from 1998 to 2000. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Abbey Road Studios, London (2000)

Recording site Abbey Road Studios — Abbey Road Studios in London is one of four studios named as recording sites for Figure 8. The album was recorded from 1998 to 2000. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Jubilee line to St John's Wood station, then about a 5-minute walk.

Mural wall on Sunset Boulevard (2000)

Album cover 4334 Sunset Boulevard — The mural wall behind Smith on the Figure 8 cover is located on Sunset Boulevard near Fountain Avenue. It has become a de facto memorial to him since his death. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Figure 8: fifth studio album by Elliott Smith
• Final album released during his lifetime
• Recorded from 1998 to 2000 at several studios
• Released April 18, 2000 through DreamWorks Records
• Smith's second release on a major label
• Preceded by the singles 'Happiness' and 'Son of Sam'

Background

• Initially titled Place Pigalle, after a square in Paris
• The title is thought to come from a Schoolhouse Rock! song that Smith covered; the cover did not make the final track listing
• Smith described the title image as a skater going in an endless twisted circle with no real endpoint
• Smith described the songs as more fragmented and dreamlike
• Lyrics refer to serial killer David Berkowitz, the Hindu deity Shiva, actor Bruno Schleinstein, the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, and the comic book character Sgt. Rock

Recording

• Recorded at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, Sonora Studios in Los Angeles, Capitol Studios in Hollywood and Abbey Road Studios in London
• Credited producers and engineers: Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock
• Mastered at Precision Mastering

Cover

• Cover photograph by Autumn de Wilde
• Smith stands in front of a mural wall on Sunset Boulevard
• The wall was a local landmark to de Wilde, who grew up in the Sunset Boulevard neighborhood
• Since Smith's death the wall has become a de facto memorial
• In 2017 a section of the wall was removed to open a business inside the building; the part shown on the album cover is still largely intact

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · fr.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter.
• Raised primarily in Texas; lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he gained popularity in the 1990s.
• Began playing piano at age nine and guitar at ten; at fourteen moved to Portland to live with his father.
• Took the name "Elliott" after high school; graduated from Hampshire College in 1991 with a philosophy and political science degree.

Members

• Formed the band Heatmiser with classmate Neil Gust while at Hampshire College; the band performed in Portland from 1992.
• Heatmiser released Dead Air (1993), Cop and Speeder (1994), and Mic City Sons (1996) before disbanding.

Career

• Began a solo career in 1994 with Roman Candle on Cavity Search Records, then released albums on Kill Rock Stars (Elliott Smith, Either/Or).
• Signed with DreamWorks Records in 1998; released XO and Figure 8 (2000).
• "Miss Misery", written for Good Will Hunting (1997), was nominated for the 1998 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
• Known for a whispery vocal style, artful chord changes, and themes of addiction, depression, and alienation.
• Died in 2003 from two stab wounds to the chest; From a Basement on the Hill was released posthumously in 2004.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Met with universal acclaim from music critics
• NME: called it Smith's best effort to date
• Spin: wrote that the record is not a disappointment but a progression
• The A.V. Club: even better than the previous records, a strong collection of lush, densely arranged power-pop
• Pitchfork: described the album musically as muscular chamber-pop
• Tiny Mix Tapes: said the album dabbled in Spiritualized-style neo-psychedelia
• AllMusic was more critical: a very impressive statement overall, but not quite the masterpiece it wants to be
• Trouser Press: a record that feels very different from its predecessors, brisk, busy and upbeat, without making a direct connection to a soul and heart

Reappraisal

• Metacritic: average score 81 based on 19 reviews
• Pitchfork (2009): placed it at number 190 on its list of the 200 greatest albums of the 2000s, calling it a subtle refinement of Smith's songwriting
• Rolling Stone: placed it at number 42 on its list of the 100 greatest albums of the decade, calling it Smith's haunted high-water mark
• The Guardian: ranked 86th on its 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century, based on a 2019 poll of music writers
• Treble: ranked 56th on its Top 100 Indie Rock albums of the '00s
• Included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Records

• Debuted at number 99 on the Billboard 200, selling 19,000 copies, and stayed on the chart for 5 weeks
• Smith's highest-charting album in the US during his lifetime
• 185,000 copies sold in the United States as of 2004

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The promotional CD featured cover artwork by Mike Mills, director of Thumbsucker, for whose soundtrack Smith had contributed songs.
• The Japanese release added Smith's cover of the Beatles' song 'Because' from the film American Beauty and an abridged cover of a Schoolhouse Rock! song.
• The track 'L.A.' was included on the soundtrack for the 2009 game Guitar Hero 5.
• A music video for 'Son of Sam' was directed by Autumn de Wilde, who also shot the cover photograph.
• At two shows in 2003, Smith appeared on stage with the words 'Kali - The Destroyer' written on his arm, repeating his reference to Hindu deities.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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