Either/Or (album)

Either/Or was recorded at several locations: Joanna Bolme's house; Smith's own house; Undercover, Inc.; Laundry Rules Recording; and the Heatmiser House – all in Portland, Oregon – as well as The Shop in Arcata, California. The album was produced by Smith, Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf.{{cite AV media notes |title=Either/Or |others=Elliott Smith |year=1997 |publisher=Kill Rock Stars |url=http://www.discogs.com/Elliott-Smith-Either-Or/release/627433 |access-date=June 16, 2013}}

Smith wrote and recorded a song entitled "Either/Or" during the sessions for this album, but it was not included on the final release; however, the song was later included on New Moon, a posthumous compilation of previously unreleased material by Smith.

The album's title derives from the Søren Kierkegaard book of the same name, in which "either/or" refers to the contrast between aesthetic/subjective experience and ethical/objective being. This existential title is reflective of Smith's interest in philosophy, which he studied at Hampshire College in Massachusetts.{{cite web|url=http://undertheradarmag.com/issue4/elliottsmith.html |title=UTR – Issue 4 |website=Under the Radar |access-date=January 31, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615125926/http://undertheradarmag.com/issue4/elliottsmith.html |archive-date=June 15, 2006 }}

The lyrics contain many references to Portland such as the neighborhood of Alameda, Division Street and the Portland Rose Festival.

The album's style has been described as "a bridge between the lo-fi darkness of Roman Candle and Elliott Smith and the studio sheen of XO and Figure 8."{{cite web |url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/delorean/elliott-smith-eitheror |title=Elliott Smith – Either/Or |publisher=Tiny Mix Tapes |date=February 27, 2009 |access-date=January 31, 2013 |last=Brusie |first=David}}

The album's first single, "Speed Trials", was released on October 1, 1996.{{cite web |url=http://killrockstars.bandcamp.com/album/speed-trials-7 |title=Speed Trials 7" | Kill Rock Stars |website=killrockstars.bandcamp.com |access-date=June 16, 2013}}

Either/Or was released on February 25, 1997.{{cite web |url=http://killrockstars.bandcamp.com/album/either-or |title=Either / Or | Kill Rock Stars |website=killrockstars.bandcamp.com |access-date=June 16, 2013}} It did not chart in the US.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/elliott-smith/chart-history |title=Elliott Smith – Chart History | Billboard |magazine=Billboard |access-date=June 16, 2013}} The album's second and final single, "Ballad of Big Nothing", was released on June 29, 1998.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-ballad-of-big-nothing-mw0001189884 |title=The Ballad of Big Nothing – Elliott Smith |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=June 16, 2013}}

Smith would briefly be cast into the international spotlight early the following year when he performed his song, the 1997 standalone single "Miss Misery", at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony, following the song's appearance in the major motion picture Good Will Hunting and its subsequent Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Following this appearance, Smith was signed to major label DreamWorks and started work on his fourth studio album, XO.

As of March 2017, Either/Or is Elliott Smith's best selling release (it still has never charted) and has sold 429,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7735778/billboard-200-chart-moves-trolls-elliott-smith|magazine=Billboard|title=Billboard 200 Chart Moves: 'Trolls' Soundtrack Hits Half-Million Sales, Elliott Smith's 'Either/Or' Debuts|first= Keith|last=Caulfield|date=March 22, 2018|access-date=August 7, 2018}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/either-or-mw0000092082 |title=Either/Or – Elliott Smith |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=January 31, 2013 |last=Cater |first=Darryl}}

| rev2 = Chicago Tribune

| rev2score = {{rating|3.5|4}}{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/04/04/elliott-smitheitheror-kill-rock-stars-star-star/ |title=Elliott Smith: Either/Or (Kill Rock Stars) |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=April 4, 1997 |access-date=May 2, 2016 |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot}}

| rev3 = The Irish Times

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/cd-of-the-week-1.1171258 |title=Elliott Smith: Roman Candle / Elliott Smith / Either/Or (Domino) |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=December 24, 2004 |access-date=April 6, 2020 |last=Clayton-Lea |first=Tony}}

| rev4 = Mojo

| rev4score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite journal |title=Tinseltown in the rain |journal=Mojo |issue=281 |date=April 2017 |last=Segal |first=Victoria |page=102}}

| rev5 = NME

| rev5score = 8/10{{cite journal |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000286reviews.html |title=Elliott Smith – Either/Or |journal=NME |date=May 30, 1998 |access-date=May 2, 2016 |last=Bailie |first=Stuart |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817093414/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000286reviews.html |archive-date=August 17, 2000 |url-status=dead}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 8.8/10 {{small|(1997)}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/s/smith_elliott/either-or.shtml |title=Elliott Smith: Either/Or: Pitchfork Review |accessdate=2023-11-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030219113855/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/s/smith_elliott/either-or.shtml |archivedate=19 February 2003 }}
10/10 {{small|(2017)}}{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22947-eitheror-expanded-edition/ |title=Elliott Smith: Either/Or |website=Pitchfork |date=March 7, 2017 |access-date=March 7, 2017 |last=LeMay |first=Matt}}

| rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev7score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Elliott Smith |last=Berger |first=Arion |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/750 750–51]}}

| rev8 = Select

| rev8score = 4/5{{cite journal |title=Elliott Smith: Either/Or |journal=Select |issue=97 |date=July 1998 |last=Perry |first=Andrew |page=86}}

| rev9 = Spin

| rev9score = 7/10{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HpC1D--hcoAC&pg=PA102 |title=Elliott Smith: Either/Or / The Softies: Winter Pageant |journal=Spin |volume=12 |issue=12 |date=March 1997 |access-date=May 2, 2016 |last=Huston |first=Johnny |pages=102–04}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = 9/10{{cite journal |title=Elliott Smith: Either/Or |journal=Uncut |issue=239 |date=April 2017 |last=Mulvey |first=John |pages=42–44}}

}}

Either/Or was critically acclaimed.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/elliott-smith-death-figure-8-album-suicide-anniversary-20-years-a9469326.html |title='He needed to get it together': The tragic story of Elliott Smith's last album, 20 years on |website=The Independent |date=18 April 2020|access-date=August 1, 2020}} Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club wrote that the album "marks something of a thematic transition" for Smith, noting "brightness and a pop feel" on Either/Or in contrast to the "stark, guy-with-acoustic-guitar confessionals about drug abuse and darkness" on Elliott Smith.{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/elliott-smith-either-or-1798194085 |title=Elliott Smith: Either/Or |website=The A.V. Club |date=March 29, 2002 |access-date=January 31, 2013 |last=Thompson |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Thompson (journalist)}} It was voted the 20th best album of 1997 in The Village Voice{{'}}s annual Pazz & Jop critics poll.{{cite news |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres97.php |title=The 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll |work=The Village Voice |date=February 24, 1998 |access-date=January 31, 2013}} The poll's supervisor, Robert Christgau, was less enthusiastic about the album, finding Smith "tuneful if depressive"{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=February 24, 1998|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj97.php|title=Pazz & Jop 1997: The Year of No Next Big Thing|newspaper=The Village Voice|access-date=July 31, 2020|via=robertchristgau.com}} and believing that, "he could too be popular—he just doesn't want to be, that's all".{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=S&bk=90|access-date=July 31, 2020|via=robertchristgau.com|chapter=S|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=2000|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=0-312-24560-2}}

In its retrospective review, Tiny Mix Tapes opined: "Simply put, the songs on Either/Or are Elliott Smith's best". Trouser Press called it "even more fully realized" than Elliott Smith.{{cite web |url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=heatmiser |title=Heatmiser |website=Trouser Press |access-date=March 29, 2015 |last1=Azerrad |first1=Michael |author-link=Michael Azerrad |last2=Robbins |first2=Ira}}

The album inspired Gus Van Sant to invite Smith to contribute to the soundtrack of the film Good Will Hunting. Three Either/Or tracks were incorporated into the soundtrack, as well as a new song, "Miss Misery." Smith was briefly pushed to the forefront of popular culture after performing "Miss Misery" from Good Will Hunting at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony. Van Sant later also used "Angeles" in his 2007 film Paranoid Park. The song was again featured in the 2020 series Normal People.

Online magazine Pitchfork ranked Either/Or 59th in its list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1990s.{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/?page=5 |title=Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1990s |website=Pitchfork |date=November 17, 2003 |access-date=January 31, 2013}} Spin ranked Either/Or at number 48 on its list of the best albums from 1987 to 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/spin25/readers-poll-spin-25-results?page=15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810184436/http://www.spin.com/spin25/readers-poll-spin-25-results?page=15|title=125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years |website=Spin|archive-date=August 10, 2014|access-date=February 1, 2025}} Blender ranked it thirty-sixth in its "100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums Ever" list.{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/7175/blenders_100_greatest_indie_rock_albums_ever/list/ |title=Blender's 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever |date=November 14, 2007 |website=Stereogum |access-date=June 16, 2013}} In 2013, NME placed Either/Or at number 149 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.{{cite web|last=Barker|first=Emily|date=October 25, 2013|title=The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 200–101|url=https://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-200-101-1426258|access-date=November 28, 2015|website=NME}} Consequence of Sound ranked the album No. 97 on their list of best albums ever.{{cite web|date=September 15, 2010|title=Consequence of Sound's Top 100 Albums Ever|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/consequence-of-sounds-top-100-albums-ever/full-post/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315232025/https://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/consequence-of-sounds-top-100-albums-ever/full-post/|archive-date=March 15, 2021|website=Consequence of Sound}} Rolling Stone ranked the album at 216 on the 2020 re-release of their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.{{cite magazine|date=September 22, 2020|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/elliott-smith-either-or-1063017/|access-date=September 23, 2020|magazine=Rolling Stone}} Pitchfork ranked the album #23 on its best albums of the decade list (2022).{{Cite web |date=2022-09-28 |title=The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-best-albums-of-the-1990s/ |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} The restaurant Either/Or, in Portland, Oregon, references the album's title.

{{track listing

| headline = Either/Or track listing

| total_length = {{duration|m=36|s=52}}

| all_writing = Elliott Smith

| title1 = Speed Trials

| length1 = 3:01

| title2 = Alameda

| length2 = 3:43

| title3 = Ballad of Big Nothing

| length3 = 2:48

| title4 = Between the Bars

| length4 = 2:21

| title5 = Pictures of Me

| length5 = 3:46

| title6 = No Name No. 5

| length6 = 3:43

| title7 = Rose Parade

| length7 = 3:28

| title8 = Punch and Judy

| length8 = 2:25

| title9 = Angeles

| length9 = 2:56

| title10 = Cupid's Trick

| length10 = 3:04

| title11 = 2:45 AM

| length11 = 3:18

| title12 = Say Yes

| length12 = 2:19

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Expanded 20th anniversary edition{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/70686-listen-to-unreleased-elliott-smith-song-i-figured-you-out-from-new-eitheror-reissue/|title="Listen to Unreleased Elliott Smith Song "I Figured You Out" From New Either/Or Reissue"|date=January 4, 2017 |publisher=Pitchfork.com |access-date=February 27, 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Either-Elliot-Smith/dp/B01MZDOPQ3/ref=sr_1_1_twi_aud_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1488192745&sr=8-1&keywords=elliott+smith|title="Either/Or – Elliott Smith"|publisher=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=February 27, 2017}}

| total_length = {{duration|m=63|s=53}}

| title1 = Speed Trials

| note1 = remastered

| length1 = {{duration|m=3|s=1}}

| title2 = Alameda

| note2 = remastered

| length2 = {{duration|m=3|s=43}}

| title3 = Ballad of Big Nothing

| note3 = remastered

| length3 = {{duration|m=2|s=48}}

| title4 = Between the Bars

| note4 = remastered

| length4 = {{duration|m=2|s=21}}

| title5 = Pictures of Me

| note5 = remastered

| length5 = {{duration|m=3|s=47}}

| title6 = No Name No. 5

| note6 = remastered

| length6 = {{duration|m=3|s=43}}

| title7 = Rose Parade

| note7 = remastered

| length7 = {{duration|m=3|s=28}}

| title8 = Punch and Judy

| note8 = remastered

| length8 = {{duration|m=2|s=26}}

| title9 = Angeles

| note9 = remastered

| length9 = {{duration|m=2|s=57}}

| title10 = Cupid's Trick

| note10 = remastered

| length10 = {{duration|m=3|s=5}}

| title11 = 2:45 AM

| note11 = remastered

| length11 = {{duration|m=3|s=19}}

| title12 = Say Yes

| note12 = remastered

| length12 = {{duration|m=2|s=19}}

| title13 = My New Freedom

| note13 = live at the Yo Yo a Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA, 1997 – previously unreleased

| length13 = {{duration|m=2|s=49}}

| title14 = Pictures of Me

| note14 = live at the Yo Yo a Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA, 1997 – previously unreleased

| length14 = {{duration|m=3|s=58}}

| title15 = Angeles

| note15 = live at the Yo Yo a Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA, 1997 – previously unreleased

| length15 = {{duration|m=3|s=3}}

| title16 = Some Song

| note16 = live at the Yo Yo a Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA, 1997 – previously unreleased

| length16 = {{duration|m=3|s=15}}

| title17 = Rose Parade

| note17 = live at the Yo Yo a Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA, 1997 – previously unreleased

| length17 = {{duration|m=3|s=39}}

| title18 = New Monkey

| note18 = keyboard version – previously unreleased

| length18 = {{duration|m=|s=42}}

| title19 = I Don't Think I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out

| note19 = remixed/remastered

| length19 = {{duration|m=1|s=57}}

| title20 = I Figured You Out

| note20 = previously unreleased

| length20 = {{duration|m=3|s=45}}

| title21 = Bottle Up and Explode

| note21 = alternate version – previously unreleased

| length21 = {{duration|m=3|s=27}}

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Alternate Versions from Either/Or EP (2012){{cite web |title=Elliott Smith – Alternate Versions From Either/Or |url=https://www.discogs.com/Elliott-Smith-Alternate-Versions-From-EitherOr/master/564562 |website=Discogs |publisher=Zink Media |access-date=August 19, 2019}}

| total_length = {{duration|m=12|s=23}}

| title1 = Angeles

| note1 = alternate version

| length1 = 2:54

| title2 = Alameda

| note2 = alternate version

| length2 = 3:42

| title3 = Ballad of Big Nothing

| note3 = alternate vocal

| length3 = 2:47

| title4 = Punch and Judy

| note4 = other version

| length4 = 3:53

}}

• Elliott Smith – all instruments, mixing ("Alameda", "No Name No. 5", "Rose Parade", "2:45 AM")

; Technical

• Joanna Bolme – mixing ("Alameda"), back cover photography
• Rob Schnapf – mixing ("Speed Trials", "Ballad of Big Nothing", "Between the Bars", "Pictures of Me", "Punch and Judy", "Angeles", "Cupid's Trick", "Say Yes")
• Tom Rothrock – mixing ("Speed Trials", "Ballad of Big Nothing", "Between the Bars", "Pictures of Me", "Punch and Judy", "Angeles", "Cupid's Trick", "Say Yes")
• Larry Crane – recording ("Pictures of Me")
• Don C. Tyler – mastering
• Neil Gust – sleeve layout
• Debbie Pastor – front cover photography

{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Either/Or}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Elliott Smith|title=Either/or|award=Silver|certyear=2016|relyear=1997|id=13981-4016-2}}

{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true | noshipments=true | streaming=true}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Discogs master|6126|Either/Or}}

{{Elliott Smith}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Either Or (album)}}

Category:Elliott Smith albums

Category:1997 albums

Category:Adaptations of works by Søren Kierkegaard

Category:Albums produced by Tom Rothrock

Category:Albums produced by Rob Schnapf

Category:Kill Rock Stars albums