Elliott Smith  Gentle singer with a delicate message of
brutality and despair Elliott Smith Elegantly crafted anatomies
of despair: Elliott Smith The American singer-songwriter Elliott
Smith has been found dead at his Los Angeles home aged 34,
killed by a single, apparently self-inflicted stab wound. It
seems bitterly appropriate that someone who wrote delicate songs
about brutal subjects, and frequently became frustrated that he
had to answer the question "Why are you so sad?" should die in
such a shocking, violent and lonely manner.  Chosen by the
director Gus Van Sant to provide songs for the 1997 film Good
Will Hunting, Smith, whose roots were deep in the American
independent music scene, found himself with an Oscar nomination
the following year. His performance at the award ceremony was
the most incongruous in the all-too-brief career of this shy,
but playful musician, whose small, soft voice and scalpel-sharp
observations of the wilder side of life won him a devoted
following.  The first time we met, I