new Elliott Smith song: Grand Mal

thanks to Nate for the heads up

I'm really pissed, I've only seen like three blog posts about this news. the blogsphere floods if that weirdo from Deerhunter sneezes, but an absolute gem of a song from one of the greatest recording artists of all time surfaces and...almost nothing.

I am so sorry Elliott. I hope my readers can treat you with more respect than that while the rest of the blogosphere raves about mediocre crap like that new band, The XX.

"Grand Mal" is exactly what we Elliott fans can expect, sheer perfection, overflowing with emotion. I can't really explain it, you've got to listen to understand. all I can say is: it's a great song.

download and listen to "Grand Mal" below, people are saying that it came from XO sessions, and that "Grand Mal" was almost the album title instead of XO. I really like the title XO, so I'm glad that Elliott decided upon it.

Elliott Smith - Grand Mal (previously unreleased) [mp3]

more info can be found at PITCHFORK

Ray LaMontagne - unreleased demos

Ray LaMontagne is a beautiful man. He is a folk singer with a gorgeous voice and a pure soul. He also happens to be my best friend's favourite musician of all time. Recently, she asked me to find her a handful of his demo albums. These albums all preceded 2004's Trouble, and according to my friend, Ray is "embarrassed" by the raw quality of these pre-label albums, which means he'll probably never make them public again. Thankfully, the internet is a great place, so I found them. One of my readers requested that I post them, so here they are. Enjoy!

Acre of Land (2001) [zip]

Green (2002) [zip]

One Lonesome Saddle, version 1 (2002) [zip]

OLS Sessions (2002) [zip]

Introducing Ray LaMontagne (2003) [zip]

here's a track from the first one:

Ray LaMontagne - Acre of Land [mp3]

BONUS:
Ray recently announced a FALL TOUR

AN ENTIRE UNRELEASED ELLIOTT SMITH ALBUM HAS LEAKED!

wow.


so Valentines Day wasn't the worst day of the year after all. Elliott managed to salvage it.

the album is composed of unfinished songs and some earlier versions of songs that actually made it onto From A Basement On The Hill

I've been listening to it all morning, it's breathtaking.

here are my favourite tracks,

Elliott Smith - Abused (instrumental) [mp3]

Elliott Smith - Let's Get Lost [mp3]
I love this one. ah, who am I kidding, I love ALL of Elliott's songs.

Elliott Smith - Suicide Machine (new song!!) [mp3]

Elliott Smith - Pretty (Ugly Before) [mp3]
this one is probably my absolute favourite of the bunch.

and a ZIP FILE (do it!)

many thanks to Rawkblog for posting!

no doubt about it, Elliott Smith was one of the world's most talented musicians. he will always be missed and loved and I am very very grateful that these things keep popping up posthumously. they're a nice reminder that Elliott's music will ALWAYS be with us.

Paul McCartney to release a 14 minute "lost" Beatles song?

according to Rolling Stone,

“Carnival of Light” is supposedly a 14-minute improvised psychedelic jam the band recorded in 1967 and was left off of the Anthology releases because it was “too adventurous.”

I will keep you all posted about this.