Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the death of Portland singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, an anniversary I hadn’t really taken note of until I heard a radio DJ spin “Angeles” late yesterday afternoon. Smith was an absolutely one-of-a-kind talent, and was–unlike so many widely mourned music deaths–still at the top of his game when he left us.

I was actually at his very last concert, September 19, 2003 at the University of Utah’s Redfest. I’d seen him live a couple times before, and there was just no comparison between those earlier performances and this final one. His voice was even wispier than usual, and he didn’t try any of the complicated guitar-picking that had been a hallmark of his earlier work. He came off as quiet and distant, even a little lost. Just over a month later, he was dead.

I have an eleven-month-old nephew named Elliott, in honor of Smith, but until the little guy produces a handful of brilliant lo-fi acoustic indie-folk albums, and maybe earns an Oscar nomination, I’ll still miss the original.

On a brighter note: Wordplay Wednesday!

1. You know another singer/songwriter who died too young? Otis Redding. When I was in high school, I had an Otis greatest hits CD that had “Cigarettes and Coffee” on it, which I used to listen to over and over. Great song. But “Cigarettes and Coffee” is not the only Otis Redding hit whose last six letters spell a delicious hot drink. Can you name another?
2. Don’t you love it when British people spell things with weird ligatured vowels they just made up? It makes ugly words like “fetus” and “pedophile” even better when you spell them “foetus” and “paedophile.” Anyway, can you think of a common word in American English that uses both an “oe” and an “ae” combination? There are two that are fairly common–and one isn’t a plural noun.

Edited to add: Both questions answered quickly here.