

My Favourite Elliott Smith Song
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song
The premise of this podcast is very simple - in each episode, we speak to a famous fan of Elliott Smith's to discuss their favourite song of his and how they got into his music.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 15, 2026 • 19min
S7 Ep11: Kevin Devine
Today, we're bringing you the second part of our special recorded at New Monkey Studio's All My Rowdy Friends tribute show (held in August 2024). Last time round, we had Sara Lov and Mehro on the show. For this one, we're joined by musician Kevin Devine. Kevin was our guest way back in episode 8 of season one, where he selected the Biggest Lie as his favourite song pick. In this interview, he reflects on some of the songs he covered at the tribute show, including Division Day, Clementine and Kings Crossing.
This is Kevin in conversation with Elizabeth Withstandley. And do stick around right to the end, as we play a clip from Kevin's cover of Kings Crossing.Extra links
Clementine by Elliott Smith on Spotify
King's Crossing by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Kevin's Patreon
Follow New Monkey Studio on Instagram
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Apr 1, 2026 • 29min
S7 Ep10: Sara Lov and mehro
We have a special episode for you today. We're bringing you two interviews recorded at New Monkey Studio's All My Rowdy Friends tribute show, which was held in Los Angeles in 2024. First up is Sara Lov, a musician who met Elliott and played in a band with his Figure 8 drummer, Scott McPherson. Then, returning to the show, is our season 4 guest, mehro. Both interviews were recorded before our guests took to the stage at the fantastic event. Hope you enjoy this one!Extra links:
Everything Means Nothing to Me by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Half Right by Heatmiser on Spotify
Find Sara Lov on Instagram
Find mehro on Instagram
Find New Monkey Studio on Instagram
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Mar 18, 2026 • 31min
S7 Ep9: Sofia Jensen (Free Range) - The Biggest Lie
Our guest today is musician Sofia Jensen of Free Range.
Despite still being only 22 years old, Sofia already has two acclaimed albums to their name: Practice, which came out in 2022, and Lost and Found, which was released last year. They are now writing new material for the next Free Range record. Sofia is also a huge Elliott Smith fan. In this episode, we discuss their favourite song selection - The Biggest Lie from the self-titled album - the ES subreddit and the joys of playing the full Elliott discography in chronological order. Extra links:
The Biggest Lie on Spotify
Elliott Smith by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Follow Free Range on Instagram
Free Range on Bandcamp
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Mar 4, 2026 • 31min
S7 Ep8: Aaron Lee Tasjan (Independence Day)
Our guest today is Aaron Lee Tasjan. Aaron is a musician, songwriter and producer from Tennessee. We first connected with Aaron when he played at the All My Rowdy Friends Elliott Smith tribute show in Los Angeles hosted by New Monkey Studio in 2024, and we've been keen to get him on ever since. At that event, he played Independence Day - the song he's discussing here. Hope you enjoy it!Extra links:
Independence Day by Elliott Smith on Spotify
XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Follow Aaron Lee Tasjan on Instagram
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Feb 18, 2026 • 29min
S7 Ep7: Chan Kinchla (Blues Traveler) - Clementine
Our guest today is Chan Kinchla, a musician and the guitarist in the band Blues Traveler.Blues Traveler are a long-running band combining blues, rock, and soul. In addition to performing with them, Chan leads his own band, W4rhors3.Chan chose “Clementine” from Elliott Smith’s self-titled album — a track we had never previously discussed on the podcast. He talks about only fairly recently becoming a devoted Elliott fan and goes deep into what draws him to the song.Because Chan was excited to see New Monkey Studio, we recorded the episode there last spring. During the conversation, he also shares an unexpected coincidence that connects him and the show’s co-host, Elizabeth Withstandley, back to New York in the mid-1990s.Extra links:
Clementine by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Elliott Smith self-titled album on Spotify
Follow W4rhors3 on Instagram
Follow Blues Traveler
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Feb 4, 2026 • 33min
S7 Ep6: Anthony Vaccaro and Tess Parks (Rose Parade)
Hello! We're doing something slightly different in this episode. As we had two guests who both selected the same song, we’ve combined both their interviews together. In this episode, you'll hear from Anthony Vaccaro, who is the guitarist in the band Beach Bunny and also a solo artist (he plays under the name Helicopter Leaves), and we also have Tess Parks a musician and photographer.
They're both talking about the song Rose Parade from Either/Or. Anthony is speaking to Elizabeth Withstandley and Tess is speaking to Rob Comba. Extra links:
Rose Parade by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Either/Or by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Follow Anthony on Instagram
Follow Tess on Instagram
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com Photo of Tess Parks is by Ki Price

Jan 21, 2026 • 32min
S7 Ep5: Charlie Barnes
Our guest today is musician, Charlie Barnes.
Charlie is a singer-songrwriter and producer based here in the UK, who also plays with the band Bastille. Charlie's a big Elliott Smith fan and was kind enough to share his thoughts on track Bottle Up and Explode! from the album XO, as well as his interesting route to discovering the song, how Elliott has shaped his approach to music and much more besides.This is Charlie speaking to podcast co-host, Elizabeth Withstandley. Extra links:
Bottle Up and Explode! by Elliott Smith on Spotify
XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Follow Charlie Barnes on Instagram
Charlie Barnes website
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Jan 7, 2026 • 17min
S7 Ep4: Circuit des Yeux
Our guest today is Haley Fohr aka Circuit des Yeux. Haley is a Chicago based experimental musician who has been releasing music under the Circuit des Yeux name since 2007. And she released her seventh studio album, Halo on the Inside, in March of last year.
Haley's been a big Elliott Smith fan since discovering his music while she was in high school. In this interview, she talks about taking long drives as a teenager with only Elliott for company, how she saw herself in his music and we go deep into her pick: Everything means nothing to me from Figure 8. Photo by Dana Trippe.Extra links:
Everything Means Nothing to Me by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Figure 8 by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Follow Circuit des Yeux on Instagram
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Dec 17, 2025 • 24min
S7 Ep3: Greg Mendez (St. Ides Heaven)
Joining us for episode three of the season is Greg Mendez.Greg is a musician based in Philadelphia, who began making music in 2006. Although he had been playing for some time already, it was the success of Greg's 2023 self-titled album that brought him greater recognition. After releasing that album he also joined the Dead Oceans label, which he then released his EP First Time/Alone under. Like many others, I got to know his music after hearing his self-titled record and became a big fan, so it was great to have this opportunity to speak to him. Hope you enjoy it!Additional links:
St. Ides Heaven on Spotify
Elliott Smith (self-titled) on Spotify
Greg Mendez Bandcamp
Our episode with Rebecca Gates discussing St. Ides Heaven
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com

Dec 3, 2025 • 23min
S7 Ep2: Madison Cunningham (Sweet Adeline)
Joining us today is musician, Madison Cunningham. Madison is a grammy award winning singer-songwriter who recently released her third studio album, which is titled Ace. This podcast's co-host, Elizabeth Withstandley, recorded the interview with Madison backstage at last year's All My Rowdy Friends tribute show in LA hosted by the good people at New Monkey Studio - the studio that Elliott Smith used to own. Thanks as always to Joel, Robert and Greg at NMS for all their support! photo by Claire Marie VogelExtra links
Sweet Adeline by Elliott Smith on Spotify
XO by Elliott Smith on Spotify
Ace by Madison Cunningham on Spotify
Follow New Monkey Studio
My Favourite Elliott Smith Song is produced by Rob Comba and Elizabeth Withstandley. Find us on social media @myfavesmithsong.myfavouriteelliottsmithsong.com


