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Each year Elliott Smith’s birthday sneaks up on me although I don’t know exactly how considering that mine and Fred’s birthdays are also this week. But it never fails that when this time of year rolls around we are usually graced with some kind of rare, unreleased track from the catacombs of the Smith catalog. This year it’s an alternate version to “Alameda” from Smith’s 1997 album Either/Or. This is supposed to be the first installment in a series that Kill Rock Stars will be putting out in celebration of Smith’s 43rd birthday which was on Monday.

There are quite a few subtle differences between the original studio version and this one but the one that you might notice right off is that the lyrics of the chorus have changed from “nobody broke your heart / you broke your own because you can’t finish what you start” to “see what you’re gonna start / all you’re good at is breaking little hearts.”

Take a listen below to the alternate version as well as the studio track for comparison.