Friday, December 28, 2018

Blind Item #12 - Reader Blind Item

Think back to the biggest violent Rock Deaths of the last few decades and one will probably stand out.

This is NOT that death. But think within a decade or so. Same coast, different style, different music, different weapon.

Like the big death, conspiracy theories abounded about possible foul play. Focusing on someone close to The Late Musician. These theories are both convincing and enduring.

What they don’t tell you is that this theory is perpetuated and supported online still after all these years by certain family members of The Late Musician. It is very much in their best interest to keep these conspiracies active and growing because it directs attention away from information that might make them look culpable in other, more indirect ways, for his untimely and tragic death.

Due to the litigious nature of these people, confidants, biographers and journalists have only been able to hint at the nightmare childhood The Late Musician endured. Not only abuse from a close family member but at the hands of others with the full knowledge and enabling of said family member. He wasn’t the only one who was hurt either.  The Late Musician spoke about this often and unambiguously,  off the record, shortly before his death. His next record was going to explicitly tell all.

The family member contacted him again, repeatedly. It contributed to a slide into paranoia, shame and despair.

If friends (or family) of The Late Musician even look like they might make accusations of the #metoo variety the lawyers will quickly put an end to them. The worst part is that they use the profits from his music to do this. People are silenced almost before they can open their mouths.

It will , perhaps, come to light one day in the future. I hope so. He was a sweet human being and  no one deserves what he went through. 

90 comments:

AvignonVagabond said...

chester

Anonymous said...

Elliot Smith

AvignonVagabond said...

Open Letter: Chester Bennington's Death is Rooted in Sexual Abuse
www.iheartradio.ca/.../open-letter-chester-bennington-s-death-is-rooted-in-sexual-abu...
Something that doesn't get talked about often enough is sexual abuse. Chester Bennington spoke openly about being sexually abused as a child and how the ...

Tricia13 said...
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I'mhungry... said...
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Anonymous said...

But Chester isn't within a decade of "The biggest violent rock deaths of the last few decades" - That's referring to Cobain's suicide in 1994. This is Elliott Smith committing suicide by stabbing himself in the chest in 2003. His GF has been a focus of conspiracy theories since it happened.

Tricia13 said...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/genius.com/amp/Elliott-smith-abused-lyrics
Great guess

s.s. said...

Yeah I never bought into that, stab yourself in the chest with a butter knife...

sandybrook said...

As a fellow Texan, I think Enty would take extra interest in Elliott Smith, his career and his death. So a great guess.

Neil said...

Y'all are probably right, but....since when is John Lennon getting shot not the biggest death-by-violence in rock 'n' roll in the last few decades?

james2051 said...

Since 1980 was more than a few decades ago - being pedantic.

Tricia13 said...

Elliot was talented... love the song at the end of Good Will Hunting..Matt Damon was a huge fan and fought for it(and others)

Anonymous said...

Elliot Smith is what I'm going with too.

Anonymous said...

Also, John Lennon was known to be a huge prick, Elliot was known to be incredibly down to earth

Anonymous said...

Smith endured an extremely tumultuous relationship with his stepfather, Charlie Welch. He moved away from home at 16, to remove himself from the abuse his stepfather inflicted upon him. Several months before his death Smith tried to convince his mother that he was abused by his stepfather. Tragically, not only did she not believe him, but she suggested they all get together for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and discuss the situation. Smith despaired that his mother did not believe him, which only intensified his downward spiral into the abyss.

Melanie said...

Michael

Tricia13 said...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qkmxbZTos6w

Unknown said...

I've never heard of Elliot Smith. Was he big? He just completely passed me by I guess.

But the info does fit the blind very well.

TruRes said...

This isn't it, but let's not forget Dimebag Darrell violent death on the anniversary of Lennon's...

Unknown said...
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Sara, Making It Work said...

Elliott Smith for sure. Man, I loved him. "Waltz #2" gets me in the gut every time.

I suppose this blind is saying that the suspicion directed at his girlfriend was perpetuated by Elliott's family. Did they pay her off too?

And Kurt Cobain for the famous violent death with a different weapon.

Tricia13 said...

His notoriety came with GWH and Damon’s/Afflecks strong recommendtionhis music was used.... Ballsy for their first big pic but it got the film(and their and Gus Van Sants vision).
Damon in particular,was fairly devastated over his death.

Jon said...

My thought as well.

Tricia13 said...

Zant*
His music was haunting and perfect.... and yes I love Damon for that.

Jon said...

I also never heard of him. After Googling him...no, he was not big at all. He had a couple of very minor hit albums after his death, but nothing at all noteworthy. Back in my day we would have called his music "alternative".

sam said...

Michael Jackson?

Tink said...

Brings back memories of Silver Lake. The Rumor was his girlfriend had to be involved some how. Apparently she was quite awful back then and treated him poorly and was super paranoid and protective to an extreme. It’s funny even then my friends close to him we’re so hush hush and would just give big eye rolls when she was brought up. Like no one wanted to really say too much. I love his music. So terrible. Justice for E.S..

Brayson87 said...

Never heard of any of this before, seems compelling.

MeMyself&Ivy said...

Yes, exactly. I also thought Micheal Jackson immediately upon first reading the description & everything written there fits.... This is it was going to be a big bean-spill & the family abuser (his perverse filth of a "father who has been abusing & literally prostituting him out to other grown men since Michael was a baby) would never allow himself or any of the others to be revealed/ told on ..so he (the father) & his goons stopped it from going through. ... Now all the fake "allegations" into Micheals death & the family members that put it out there & keep the lies going are all that's left of it. I hope one day Micheals soul can escape this realm/ dimension & be free & at real peace.

Freebird said...

Listen to “Miss Misery” (early version)
This is the original of the song in GWH. Much better than the version they used in the movie.

Ugh. Gets me in the feels. Errrrrydamntime.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=weVSNCodo7c



Sue T. said...

Re: the comments that Smith wasn't famous enough -- he was nominated for an Academy Award and performed his GWH song ON THE OSCAR TELECAST. He may never have been a household name, but that was a pretty big deal at the time.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

It's not Michael Jackson.

Unknown said...
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ihavenocomment said...

Confidants, biographers and journalists?
How many biographies does Elliot Smith have?

While I loved Elliot Smith, this blind seems like it would be a bigger name with at least more than one biography?

Unknown said...
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Nicole said...

This is Michael Jackson.
May his beautiful soul rest in peace.

Velora said...


Every few years I fall down the Elliott Smith hole and listen to nothing else for weeks on end. XO will always be my favorite, with Tomorrow Tomorrow and Pitselah being the tracks I listen to the most.

Pitselah's lyrics are very much in line with this blind, also.

MichiganMama59 said...

Two is a couple, three to five is a "few", six to eight is many and over that is several.

Sarton Bander said...

Biggest violent rock death to me meant the islamic terrorism in Paris.

Velora said...


@MichiganMama

Elliott died in 2003. I'm not sure I understand your post, given that Elliott has been gone for SEVERAL "few years" now. Some of us were also fans prior to his death.

What, are you from the U.P. where math skills and the internet don't exist or something..? LMAO

KMD said...
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Trapped said...

This sounds like Michael Jackson and his family of LEECHES.
They said Joe treated him the worse and he was the one with the most talent.
It was alleged that Michael was going in bars, clubs, strip joints, etc and he would cry about doing so.
Joe would whip his butt and make him perform..
It was said that he raped all his daughters and so much more

#ASTRONAUT said...

Oh sweetie, reread. You look silly. Doesn't say last few years.

Are you from where reading and comprehension don't exist or something..? LMAO

hhstarr said...

I thought of Michael Jackson, too, when I read it, except the last sentence. Never heard of Elliot Smith.

Rosie riveter said...

Omg elliott Smith. I haven't heard this name forever

Rosie riveter said...

The Beatles sucked and JL was an asshole

Jennacheryl said...

Mila Zapata? Rock star killed and savagely raped in Seattle. Murderer still unknown.

Jennacheryl said...

I lied the murderer was found in 2003.

Allie said...

@Sartonbander, This is exactly what I thought as well. The Eagles of Death Metal at the Bataclan in Paris and the islamic terrorist morons from the "peaceful" religion that is Islam (what.a.crock.)

Marlin said...

This

Do Tell said...

How could anyone have any pity for mIchael Jackson? He was a child predator. Sweet human being my ass.

And the Beatles didn't suck. What sucks is the crap that's being churned out right now as music, which might be on the charts right now but certainly nobody will remember in 50 years.

Urban Rosebud said...

THANK YOU ROSIE. I agree. The band was an overrated MK Ultra project that thieved music.

clean4life said...
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clean4life said...

@Neil - Agreed. Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell's death is up there too - gunned down onstage by a fan on Dec 8, 2004, the same date as Lennon's assassination 24 years earlier.

'Violent death' doesn't bring to mind a suicide, which both Cobain & Smith's deaths were reported as being.

Paul Saint John said...

You're kidding, right? May he rot in hell with Bubbles!

PracticalSolipsist said...

Also, ES was very paranoid that he was being stalked by his record label. He said a white van followed him around and that they broke into his home to steal recordings. When getting rides to the studio, he had the driver drop him off hundred of yards away and trekked through thick brush and cliffs to try to throw the label off.


That label... DreamWorks Records.

gauloise said...

Tupac? His family were prominent militant Black Panthers and Black Liberation Army members, his aunt is the famous Assata Shakur, the first woman to be the FBI's most wanted. Tupac himself was a member of the Communist party

The theory is it was arranged by Sean Combes / Biggie, but maybe it was something more political?


Guesser said...

I was just going to bring this up,yet another "suicide"connected to Geffen/Spielberg. And connected to public child sex abuse advocates.

Unknown said...
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Bleu said...

OMG Cobain's death was by gunshot wound to the head. How TF is that not a violent death? It definitely was portrayed as vilolent in the news reports of his suicide. JFC it's your own personal problem if the word suicide itself is somehow to you an apparently a safe clean nonviolent euphamism for I don't know what? Gently drifted off to sleep and never woke up?

totaji said...

The Beatles being great is not an opinion but a fact. Saying they suck says more about the person stating it.

totaji said...

My only question about this being MJ, who controls his estate and would block the truth? Wouldn’t he have blocked his dad from controlling it?

Alyson Camus said...

If you are talking about Elliott Smith and referring to me (Alyson) as one of the bloggers supporting the ‘conspiracy theory’, you have to know 2 important things: first I have no support from the family per se, I have communicated with one member but nobody is publicly supporing me or approving my posts online. I am on my own, believe me. Secondly, this is NOT a conspiracy theory, I have communicated with the homicide detectives in charge of the case for years, and I could show you a recent email from Det. King which says exactly this.. not a conspiracy theory, his death was never determined a suicide and the case is still open (not cold)

Joey JoJo Jr Shabado said...
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Alyson Camus said...

First, to my knowledge, the family never sued anyone? May be you can tell me the source? Then his stepfather does not profit from his estate. His stepmother, married to his biological dad, is running the estate and the two sides of the family don’t talk to each other. Plus Elliott had been through rehab in 2002, he was clean when he died and no illicit drugs were found in his body in the toxicology report.

eeorr said...

Etsy refers to Michael Jackson as the Big Death, then says it isn't that, it's someone else. E.S. My first thought however was how many deaths dovetail this type of situation. So many it's awful...

Alyson Camus said...

'ES was very paranoid that he was being stalked by his record label.' This was reported years before he died, at the time, he was taking drugs. When he died he was clean (at least no illicit drugs were found in his system) and the paranoia was only reported by the girlfriend, very conveniently. I talked to him a few times in 2003, even a few weeks before his tragic death, and he was doing much better

Joey JoJo Jr Shabado said...
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Joey JoJo Jr Shabado said...

@Guesser Whats the Dreamworks theory? Which other suicides? Do tell.

This is totally about Kurt/Courtney ( the " Big Death" is clearly Lennon/Yoko. There are fringe theories about Yoko being responsible. I thought Courtney was hated… Boy people REALLY hate Yoko.)

The Cobain family were pure trash. I wouldn’t be at all surprised. Kurt was a pretty disturbed kid too. I never bought the 'Courtney is a murderer' stuff. She could have allowed him to die in one and got a big insurance payout but instead chose to save his life. Why would she kill him shortly after in a way that would fuck her over financially?

Joey JoJo Jr Shabado said...

I'm inclined to think MJ was guilty of every last thing he was ever accused of and more besides. But that doesn't mean he wasn't abused himself. Joe was a monster.

Unknown said...

This is Michael Jackson. He suffered horribly

Paul Saint John said...

"Boy people REALLY hate Yoko"

You've never listened to any of Yoko's songs, have you?

Unknown said...

Thought MJ too.

PracticalSolipsist said...

@alysoncamus I was mostly just being provocative. You're work looks really interesting. Do you have a link to an article that kind of sums it up?

PracticalSolipsist said...

*your, not you're

Alyson Camus said...

Thanks! it is a very complicated case, with many different sides, but if you want just a summary of the forensic data, here it is:
https://justiceforelliottsmithcom.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/five-reasons-why-elliott-smiths-death-is-probably-not-a-suicide/
But there are many, many other questions: for example https://justiceforelliottsmithcom.wordpress.com/2017/08/17/the-numerous-knife-tales-in-jennifer-chibas-life/ or this https://justiceforelliottsmithcom.wordpress.com/2017/11/20/excerpts-of-conversations-pointing-to-domestic-abuse/... I continue to look for the truth

Alyson Camus said...

There are 2 bios (Big Nothing by Ben Nugent, and Torment Saint by WT Shultz) and 2 movies (including an unreleased one): Searching for Elliott Smith and Heaven Adores You. Plus numerous articles

PracticalSolipsist said...

Fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to share. Elliott was one of those canonized saints I venerated, growing up playing in punk/indie bands as a kid. There are more questions than I realized. Thanks for doing the hard work to get it out there.

Eupheme said...

Agreed. Horrific violence against one's own self.

Bonby Haud said...

Was it Marvin Gaye or stevie Wonder who was murdered by their own Father? I put them as my guess

gauloise said...

The big death cant be john, that was the east coast, all the other deaths mentioned are west coast deaths.

I guess it is what generation you belong to, but Cobain always seemed like the biggest rock death in the past decades, as he died at his height, while Lennon was already kind of past his prime, creatively.

Alyson Camus said...

you are welcome and thank you for your interest. I have been 'working' on this for a few years. I am certain of a few things (it is suspicious, the girlfriend's behavior and stories are alarming and the case is still open), but I am not certain about what exactly happened.

Now, I never read what is posted here, do you think this blind item is about Elliott? To my knowledge, the family has been very quiet but has never tried to sue anybody (they got sued by the girlfriend but that's different). But I may not know everything.

Alyson Camus said...

@Marianna Trench: 'He had taken an almost inconceivable amount of drugs for a long time though. 37 perscriptions at one time and street drugs. Then went cold turkey on everything against medical advice. Drug induced schizophrenia isnt unusual in a situation like that.'

I also know for a fact that this is false, he didn't go cold turkey on prescriptions, he had therapeutical doses (and sub-therapeutical doses) in his system when he died. This was a lie told by the girlfriend, but the autopsy revealed otherwise. He didn't have any illegal drugs and was not abusing his prescriptions, but was taking them when he died

Joey JoJo Jr Shabado said...

@Unknown I got sucked into your site. Very compelling stuff. Disturbing. I remember reading Spin Magazines profile on him when I was a teen but never really getting into his music, and knowing he'd died but not much about the circumstances. I've been inhaling Elliott Smith's music on Youtube all day. Glad I did.

I don't know how honest you consider Liam Gowling but he said on the piece you published that the family had tried to sue the magazine he wrote for so theres that. I'm really glad you included material like that on your site because it shows balance.

https://justiceforelliottsmithcom.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/liam-gowing-returns-to-the-scene-of-the-crime/

"the Smith-Welch family was refusing to discuss any of the allegations of abuse that Elliott had made at the end of his life, then trying to intercept the subject before it could reach the public record (not merely through legal posturing but by withholding some of Elliott’s music)—I began to see a picture that was a lot bigger than just the coroner’s report."

"As for the Smith/Welch family, they first “declined to be interviewed,” then told other contacts not to speak to me based on the questions I’d been asking (I’ll let you wonder how they knew what I’d been asking), then removed the song “Abused” (with its chorus “I’ve been abused / abused / abused”) from the final mixes Rob Schnapf had prepared for the “From a Basement on the Hill” record, then threatened to sue SPIN for libel if they published my article. (They didn’t, of course, because my article was solid, but the see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil posture they took works against the notion that it was Chiba who was hiding something.)"

Do you think he's making it up? I dunno. I can certainly see their side. If a dead relative of mine had been calling me/ my relative a child rapist before he died I wouldn't be happy about it. But at the same time it seems there was more going on behind the scenes on that score than anyone knows. I can't help but feel Elliott was badly served by a lot of people both before and after death. I don't think the idea of his family hiding something means the case wasn't suspicious though. the two ideas aren't mutually exclusive.

Joey JoJo Jr Shabado said...

I'm sill not convinced the blind is him because it seems most of this stuff has been common knowledge for years but still glad I rediscovered his work.

Anonymous said...

Looks like someone wanted to advertise their Elliot Smith blog, so you accommodated them.
Nice commercial, Enty.

Unknown said...

@mercyprosperity Eh... At least it's not more Dancing Boy.

Alyson Camus said...

Thank you, and thank you for reminding this! It was Gowing who wrote this indeed.
I spent about 2-3 hour on the phone with him years ago, but he didn't really mention that possible lawsuit. Sure the family was not happy with his article, but I don't know if they really threatened to sue him. Elliott's first cousin told me it was total nonsense...

The thing is that they are 2 families, Elliott's parents are divorced and the 2 sides do not talk to each other at all.
I mostly talk to one side (Portland family, Gary's side, he is the biological father) but this is the Texas family (stepfather Charlie's side and possible abuser) who should have been more upset about the article.

As for Gowing, I know he is friendly with Chiba, he said to me she was not a real 'friend' but he was certainly in good terms with her. Plus he talked to me about some totally unrelated stuff (the fact that one of his roommates committed suicide a few years ago), so he was obviously projecting a lot of his own story on Elliott's. Someone else told me that too.

Plus there is another thing. He talked to Dr. Scheinin, like me. With me, she stayed extremely neutral, she said: 'In this case, there was truly no clearcut way to assign the mode of death.' Then, in WT Schultz's book, you can read page 325: 'Gowing said Scheinin her gut feeling was that it was actually a suicide'... so I don't know who was dishonnest there, Gowing or Schultz ? May be both, but she never said this to me and I know someone else who communicated with Scheinin more recently, and she, again, never said this to her.

Etow said...

THREE biographies, now that there's a french book about him as well

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