I maintain a Dead Pool page as part of this website. The most popular part of this page is the ongoing list of celebrities who have passed away. Everytime I hear or read about the death of someone who is well known in the public sphere, I add their name, age at the time of death and a brief note about why they were famous. Today I read that Elliott Smith, a singer-songwriter who was critically acclaimed, had committed suicide.
If you visit my Dead Pool page, you'll notice I didn't document Elliot Smith's passing. The simple truth is that I've never heard of Elliot Smith. He released five solo albums but I don't think my ears ever intercepted a single note from one of them. Now he's dead from a self-inflicted stab wound and I can't justify adding his name along side Joey Ramone, Ted Williams, David Brinkley and others who have bought the farm since my brothers and I drafted our Dead Pool in September of 2000.
My intent here is not to kick a man when he's down. It's just that I'm sort of a pop culture junkie and my musical tastes range from Pearl Jam to Johnny Cash to Alice Cooper. How is it that I never heard or read a single thing about Elliot Smith before today? Am I in the minority here? Please drop me a line and let me know if my ignorance is shared among the masses.
