Uploaded January 2015 | Updated September 2026, 58 minutes ago

---

"A lot of people are kind of depressed. I'm happy some of the time, and some of the time I'm not."
- Elliott Smith in 1998, as told to Barney Hoskyns

We came across a really lost special tape for this episode of Blank on Blank: Elliott Smith interviewed in 1998 by Barney Hoskyns. It's a little eerie hearing him now more than 10 years after his death, but it's also kind of soothing to hear his signature comfort and discomfort bubbling beneath the surface. It's kind of like his timeless collection of music. Smith died under mysterious circumstances in 2003 at the age of 34.

In this animated film Elliott Smith talks about feeling like a freak in high school, how he initially didn't feel confident singing in the style that became his signature voice, what he said when people compared him to Paul Simon, writing about people with addictions, the internal chaos that people face, and how his music isn't happy or sad. "I couldn't say what it is"

Enjoy, everybody. RIP, Elliott.

ELLIOTT SMITH QUOTES

"There's a bunch of Elvis Costello records that made all the difference between feeling like a total freak and feeling like ... only a freak. A freak among other freaks"
"I've been doing four-track songs by myself since I was like a teenager, where I'd sing in a way that I ... I just didn't think other people would like it, so I didn't play it for them but eventually I got over that, which I'm happy that I did."
"People would be like, "Paul Simon." I'd be like, "I don't feel like I'm anything like Paul Simon."
"Certain songs just feel a way that's hard to put into words and it's not happy and it's also not really sad but I couldn't say what it is"

Get the interview backstory, GIFs and more @ blankonblank.org/interviews/elliott-smith-freaks

Hear the full interview with Elliott Smith @ RocksBackpages.com

Subscribe for new episodes every other Tuesday (it's free):
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=blankonblank

Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska

Watch our previous episodes:

Robin Williams on Masks
youtube.com/watch?v=2PHGmIAv4Dc

Wayne Coyne on Living with Death
youtube.com/watch?v=OJXU7f0hI30

Maya Angelou on Con Men
youtube.com/watch?v=VybIJEA41yk

Bette Davis on The Sexes
youtube.com/watch?v=RNnTUyrxzWY

Michael Jackson on Godliness
youtube.com/watch?v=YoCa3Po7M_8

Jimi Hendrix on The Experience
youtube.com/watch?v=nK2lfs_uiwk

Meryl Streep on Beauty
youtube.com/watch?v=OG_T5dwnJuM

Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness
youtube.com/watch?v=Osn8rjkPyYM

David Bowie on Stardust
youtu.be/lFIDXXDsxAo

Gene Wilder on The Truth
youtube.com/watch?v=8PUW2POEjX4

John Lennon on Love
youtu.be/DmvmnYEy9NY

Johnny Cash on The Gospel
youtu.be/ALGi0tcFCcw

Heath Ledger on Role Playing
youtu.be/qDRUzbAa6lI

Tupac on Life and Death
youtube.com/watch?v=6x2FqX2YZws

Kurt Cobain on Identity
youtu.be/C1Z2BkZaOQc

Janis Joplin on Rejection
youtube.com/watch?v=VdF4b1_LQnQ

Barry White on Making Love
youtube.com/watch?v=SmJIlqjYGkw

Maurice Sendak on Being a Kid
youtube.com/watch?v=KvtgqJTVVhE

Carol Burnett on Finding Home
youtube.com/watch?v=Aixlc1DJZiE

Grace Kelly on JFK
youtube.com/watch?v=K5EOuppHoTM

Farrah Fawcett on Stiletto Power
youtu.be/8Eskff0RUQ8

Beastie Boys on Being Stupid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4mx2P...

David Foster Wallace on Ambition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5R8gd...

Wilt Chamberlain on Tall Tales
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxLiVn...

Larry King on Getting Seduced
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yD8Pz...

Jim Morrison on Why Fat is Beautiful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhszZ5...

Help us caption & translate this video!

amara.org/v/Q8F1