Had a dream about my Elliott (my dog) the other night... nearly 12 months have past since Elliott took up residency with my parents in San Benito, Texas.

I spend an absurd amount of hours at the office and opted to have my parents (whom are retired) to look over him and let him outside to roam about their large back yard whenever he pleases.

I see him roughly once a month... the visits are always short lived and when I do get to spend time with him, I usually pull out some Elliott Smith to pass the time. I named my dog after the singer/songwriter so it's hard to think of one and not the other.

I learned about Elliott Smith after seeing the movie Good Will Hunting... I picked up the soundtrack and then discovered he had a handful of albums to pour over. If you're unfamiliar with his work, I ask that you prepare yourself to possibly come to grips with a number of bottled up emotions.

Case in point, the song Baby Britain. I have gone about a good part of my adult life with an undiagnosed drinking problem. I've never sought any professional counseling for it... I read up enough on the subject and avoid situations where I can potentially get rip-roaring-wasted.

I'm not a bad drunk... in fact, I do a great deal of safeguarding when I decide to get pretty shit faced. I just happen to enjoy drinking by myself more than drinking with others. Which translates into me locking myself into a room, turning off my phone, listening to music at alarming high levels, focusing on whatever is upsetting me and then test the limits of what my body can take.

I think the sweetest high I have ever experienced in life is knowing how far I've pushed the envelope. Which has caused me a number of head and heartaches along the way... I can't tell you how many awkward conversations I've had with loved ones about said problem... all of which are incredibly painful to think about right now, but I feel inexplicably better when I hear this song.

We knocked another couple back
The dead soldiers lined up on the table
Still prepared for an attack
They didn't know they'd been disabled
Felt a wave, a rush of blood
You won't be happy 'til the bottle's broken
And you're out swimming in the flood
You kept back you kept unspoken

- Elliott Smith -

Standout tracks:

Artists: Elliot Smith
Album: XO
Producer: Elliott Smith, Rob Schnapf, Tom Rothrock
Label: Dreamworks
Recorded: Sunset Sound, Sound Factory, Ocean Way, Sonora, Jackpot!

I've penned and talked about Boat's - Pretend to Be Brave on this blog before... but the biggest reason I'm bringing them up again in any capacity is because I finally found this album on vinyl at Waterloo Records last night.

I couldn't believe that I found it while looking for a Bombay Bicycle Club album by accident. When I saw it, I nearly dropped the other things I had in my hands... I've been trying to get this album on vinyl for months now. I attempted to order it directly and had my order canceled by the label. I tried ordering it at record stores and was told that it was put on back-order and just recently got word that they canceled there attempts to get it in... Despite various trips to numerous record stores and always being on the look out, it sorta just fell into my hands.

I haven't been this excited to find an album in years. The album is amazing from top to bottom and I truly recommend you hear it from beginning to end.

Stand out tracks:

Artists: Boat
Album: Pretend to be Brave
Producer: L. Crane
Label: Magic Marker
Recorded: Jackpot! Recording Studios