On Oct. 21, 2003, Elliott Smith died in Los Angeles. The following Wednesday, WW published a cover package that attempted to make sense of losing Portland’s defining musical icon. Twenty years later, what stands out in the coverage is both the rawness of the wound Smith left in those who loved him, and the enduring power of his songwriting as a key to unlocking the soul of this city. These stories first ran in the Oct. 29, 2003, edition of WW. A city is lucky to have a musical icon.