Rearrange the future like the files in your brain in quantum weirdness. Beep Beep beep. WHat if she hadn’t left me? What if Elliott hadn’t died?
The loss is not what was what what was to be.
Elliott was working on a new album and Larry Crane had been called in and was gonna return to his rightful place as producer. Smith was working with a back up band and the folkie, wonkie, druggy, downer if not gone, even if still reaching forward, was mooted by a fuller sound.
The new stuff was state of the art, ES learing about computers and making obstreperousnoise sound montages and, because Elliott was such a consumate song writer,what would have emerged was melody and tempo.
In November 2003 there was the Iggy Pop concert to play and it would have proven a big time re-emergence for the man.
Meanwhile, drug free (or at least illegal drug free) and happy, Elliott would’ve inevitably moved on to the next stage of his life. Marriage, which is whatever, but children, which by emesing himself in the ghost of the abused child he once was he might well have managed to kill the horrors of the abused boy he once was in the reflection he’d find in his own boy. By giving his love to his own child he could revenge himself on those who neglected him.
As the market diversified Smith would’ve have remained an elderstatemens (actually REMAINS ANYWAY) for the indie rock, brooklyn rock, worl of emotionally devastating heart on sleeve college rock.
And eleven years after nearly dying on October 21st, Elliott would have had a great career plating the world, recording at will, drug free, happily married with the family structure so difficult to maintain in his childhhod viable and real in his own adulthood.
At the age of 41 on August 6th, 2010, the horrors of life still transmogrified in Elliott Smith music would have found the crack of light, of hope,. Cake all round.
If he hadn’t died.