"It is rare for a recording artist to move fans so deeply that news of his death sparks instant tributes and concerts across oceans and continents - from Dublin to Boston, Manhattan to Nashville, Toronto to L.A. But that is exactly what happened soon after October 21, 2003, the day Elliott Smith died in Los Angeles of two stab wounds to the chest." "Known best for his Oscar-nominated song "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting soundtracking, Elliott Smith was catapulted to the status of indie rock star after performing at the 1997 Academy Awards. Some of his albums, XO and Either/Or among them, would become '90s classics, helping to define an understated aesthetic that owed as much to the melodic emphasis of The Beatles as it did to punk." "Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing begins with Smith's childhood outside Dallas and his years in Portland, Oregon, where he first became known locally as a singer and guitarist with the band Heatmiser. But even as a teenager Smith was composing solo material, writing songs that would bring instant attention to his homemade debut Roman Candle. His music soon caught the ear of another Portland auteur, Gus Van Sant, the director of Good Will Hunting." "In the afterglow of the success of "Miss Misery," Smith's fame grew - alongside his struggles with depression and substance abuse. First relocating to Brooklyn, and then finally to L.A., he fell into a downward spiral evident to friends and fans alike, even as he continued to write such beautifully realized songs as "Walts #2 (XO)."" "Drawing on interviews with those who knew and loved Smith, and focusing on the crucial interplay between Smith's life and music, Benjamin Nugent portrays an enormously gifted, yet troubled, artist."--BOOK JACKET.