16 replies to this topic

[Brodie]

I live a hop, skip, and jump away from this wall in Silverlake. About a month ago, I saw that someone had tagged it.



It upset me, but I assumed it'd have been taken down by now. But it hasn't, and a post went up on Defamer about it, so I thought I'd finally share it here since they saved me the trouble of going to take a picture.

I like Smith's music, and even if you're not a fan, you have to admit that tagging someone's memorial is a serious offense.

[hunter]

That's a shame... I started listening to Elliott Smith after I randomly saw him in 96 @ Stinkweeds... this makes me shed a tear. /weep

[Big_Poppa]

For years I haven't been able to look at "tagging" without thinking of this.....

[Jadbgjoka]

That sucks. I'm a big fan of Elliott Smith, and I would have loved to visit that sometime.


I hope that what the fans wrote can be saved.

[Andrew James Matthews]

Jesus H. Christ, people! - Brodie, Phoenix's favorite son or whatever, why are singer/songwriters so goddamn ridiculous? - can you answer me that? - someone spraypaints a wall and you turn into an outraged grandmother, all "well i never"-ing - why do so many musicians take themselves so seriously while calling the act of music "playing?" - these are just questions that i'm asking beacuse i have a curious and playful mind, but i'm sure this will give a bunch of people an excuse to be personally outraged - so get that out of your systems first - get offended - tell all the girls you know that i'm an asshole, etc. - then honestly answer my question - i am seriously interested - WHY ARE SINGER/SONGWRITERS SUCH SELF-CONGRATULATORY, SERIOUS, MISERABLE CHILDREN??!! -

[Naz]

well, seeing as this was a memorial painted to honor the musician, I wouldn't have called him self-congratulatory.
I would say he had touched the lives of enough people that they chose to honor him for the contribution that he made to their lives.
Music is a wonderful thing that can touch people deeply. Maybe he didn't fit a war or go to the moon, or invent a cure for cancer, but sometimes art can touch people deeply any way.

[Brodie]

I would say he had touched the lives of enough people that they chose to honor him for the contribution that he made to their lives.
Music is a wonderful thing that can touch people deeply. Maybe he didn't fit a war or go to the moon, or invent a cure for cancer, but sometimes art can touch people deeply any way.

Andrew,

Naz answered it better than I could have.
Neither my ego, superego, or id have anything to do with it.

B

[unluckycharm]

hmm well see this wall was actually painted before he died (hence why he's standing in front of it on the cover of figure 8) ... it was never (no matter what any superfan will tell you) designated as an 'official' memorial or anything. people just sorta gravitated to it and started writing on it, lighting candles, etc., and the owner of the pro-audio shop was ok with that (the owner of the wall). so yeah it sucks it was tagged, but it clearly is a public wall in Los Angeles (a tagtastic destination). my understanding is that fans pretty much do the work to paint over the tagging to preserve the original wall design as it isn't the first time it's been tagged. what i never really understood is why that place is some sacred 'memorial' site; seems to me portland would be a better place, but meh what do i know? also if you stand at the wall long enough spelling elliot with one 't' the rumor is you will be struck by lightning (j/k).

[Brodie]

You're right, the mural was there before it became a memorial.
But it has become a memorial, and that should be respected.
And from what I understand, "real" taggers do abide by a code, and this clearly breaks it.
But this isn't a tagger, this is just a piece of shit with a spray can.
Honestly, if it were "just a wall," I'd still think it was a lame thing to do.
The fact that the wall means something to a lot of people makes it an even worse thing.

[Jacki O.]

from the photo it looks like a lot of people "tagged" on it so i dont think its original integrity was ever really preserved...i dont understand the big deal, just paint over the blue spray paint.....

[Brodie]

I expected the Shizzite community to be kinda up-in-arms about this. I got more of a sympathetic reaction from the punk rockers than the indie kids!

Y'all's HATERS!

P.S. The graffiti is still up, but seems to be almost fading, or my brain is blocking it out. Whatever. Still hope the kid breaks his head on the pavement after climbing a billboard or some shit.

P.P.S.

Anyone know what's going on at the Phix with the tribute? Are bands playing covers, or what?

[Brodie]

Fixed!

[Folofo]

For some reason I think Elliot would've appreciated or gotten a kick out of people putting graffitti on his memorial....he used to write on himself all the time....

[Brodie]

Hey! An update, some three years later... the wall is all cleaned up and now has a picture of Smith, too.

Silver Lake Elliott Smith Wall Now Has More Elliott Smith

[JRC]

Hey! An update, some three years later... the wall is all cleaned up and now has a picture of Smith, too.

Silver Lake Elliott Smith Wall Now Has More Elliott Smith

Gotta say, adding a stencil is overselling it.
Like the way they had to make 2 Vietnam Memorials because some people "just didn't get" The Wall.