Chaosly

在Elliott Smith的第二张同名专辑Elliott Smith中(专辑的封面让人感觉很不安)，电声乐器和鼓依然只是点缀。第二首Christian Brothers是专辑中为数不多的在四个小节之后就就出现了鼓声的歌曲，也是在这张专辑中最吸引我的歌曲。除了录音质量外，Christian Brothers找不出其他任何的缺点，Elliot Smith柔弱的声音和木吉他营造出的恢宏大气的渐进式的和弦进程混合在一起，使我感觉像是来到了爱伦坡小说中即将倒塌的厄歇尔府，正如歌词中唱到的”Nightmares become me, it’s so fucking clear.”

搜索Christian Brothers，在不同的国家地区有不同的含义：学校、宗教组织，Elliot Smith歌中的Christian Brothers更有可能是一种廉价白兰地的牌子，而无论Christian Brothers中唱的是他对酒精的信任依赖还是引申到他那糟糕的青春期，似乎和远在半个地球外的听者关系不大。能由一首歌产生点感性的感觉，似乎能进入某种意境，也就够了。用句自以为是音乐圈的人会说的一句恶心装逼的话说：音乐是无国界的。

Christian Brothers

No bad dream fucker’s going to boss me around
Christian Brothers going to take him down
But it can’t help me get over

Don’t be cross, it’s sick what I want
I’ve seen the boss blink on and off

Fake concerns is what’s the matter, man
And you think I ought to shake your motherfucking hand
Well, I know how much you care

Don’t be cross, it’s sick what I want
I’ve seen the boss blink on and off

Come here by me, I want you here
Nightmares become me, it’s so fucking clear
Nightmares become me, it’s so fucking clear

Roman Candle是Elliott Smith个人名义发行的第一张专辑，与其说是专辑不如说是小样更为准确，其中的几首歌曲甚至没有名字，而仅仅以No Name #1, No Name #2等等来代替。专辑中的所有歌曲是Elliott Smith使用四轨机在地下室录制完成的，录音质量也确实是家庭级的low-fi水平。

最初听到Elliott Smith的声音立刻使我想起“了不起的盖茨比”的开头自述时的一个词：vanerable。Elliott Smith在Roman Candle中给人的感觉是脆弱和敏感，甚至有点使人感到压抑。但从剥离了嗓音和音乐的歌词上来看，倒有那么点朋克的感觉。

给我印象最深的是专辑第一首的同名歌曲，在Roman Candle中，声音幻化成了高速旋转的轮盘，”I’m a roman candle, my head is full of flames”，尽管包含着愤怒和痛苦，但也巧合地预示了Elliott Smith其后不到十年的生命，就象焰火一样爆发出异样的光辉。

其他：
No Name #3出现在电影Good Will Hunting中
Kiwi Maddog 20/20是一种Elliott Smith喜欢的葡萄酒的名字

Roman Candle

He played himself
Didn’t need me to give him hell
He could be cool and cruel to you and me
Knew we’d put up with anything
I want to hurt him
I want to give him pain
I’m a roman candle
My head is full of flames
I’m hallucinating
Hallucinating
I hear you cry
Your tears are cheap
Wet hot red swollen cheeks
Fall alseep
I want to hurt him
I want to give him pain
I’m a roman candle
My head is full of flames
I want to hurt him
I want to hurt him
I want to hurt him
I want to give him pain
And make him feel this pretty burn