In other words, is there a way to make something of existence? Critics of grunge who see it as nihilistic would probably say no, but I think that grunge is really more hesitantly hopeful than willfully pessimistic. Notably, he performed it with a band on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on April 21, 2000.This is a continuation of a post that I wrote here, which I ended by saying: if we live, for better or for worse, in this “underground” and if we are trapped, for better or for worse, with a nihilistic mess of humanity, what do we do to find ourselves and assert our freedom in the middle of all of it? It was fun because I knew her, and I liked and respected her pictures.' Live performances Įlliott performed 'Son of Sam' live on tour in support of Figure 8, both with an electric band and solo with an acoustic guitar. My friend Autumn, who is a photographer, had never made a film before, but she was very interested in doing it, so she came up with an idea. I didn't want some hot shit Hollywood guy to make God knows what. In an interview Smith said, 'The person who did 'Son of Sam' is a friend of mine. The video opens with whispers by Pascal Nabet Meyer and Autumn de Wilde. Smith is seen following a red balloon that moves by itself this concept resembles that of the 1956 French film The Red Balloon, although de Wilde notes in the photo-book Elliott Smith that the video was inspired by the 1962 French film La jetée. Īn acoustic version appears as a B-side on Smith's first single from Figure 8, ' Happiness'.Ī music video was directed by Autumn de Wilde for the song, featuring intermittent black and white stop frames. The single did not chart in the United States but reached number 55 in the UK Singles Chart. 'Son of Sam' was released on Ap and is the second and final single released from Figure 8. it's just an impressionistic song about destruction and creativity, I guess, if it's about anything.' Release but Shiva's also associated with creativity. There are some destructive figures in it, 'Son of Sam', Shiva. I'm not sure exactly what it's about because it's just sort of like telling someone a dream you had last night. Smith explained, 'It's not about the serial killer. The song was not about the real life 'Son of Sam', serial killer David Berkowitz.

Elliott smith either or meaning