Scott Miller (pop Musician)
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Scott Warren Miller (April 4, 1960 – April 15, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work as leader of the 1980s band
Game Theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...
and 1990s band
The Loud Family The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP from 1991 through 2006. Af ...
, and as the author of a 2010 book of
music criticism '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...
. He was described by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as "a hyperintellectual singer and songwriter who liked to tinker with pop the way a born mathematician tinkers with numbers", having "a shimmery-sweet pop sensibility, in the tradition of
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
and
Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...
." A
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
of Miller by Brett Milano was published in October 2015, and Miller's posthumously completed final Game Theory album, '' Supercalifragile'', was released in a limited first pressing in August 2017. In 2014,
Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore R ...
began releasing a series of reissues of Miller's entire Game Theory catalog, which had for decades been out of print. Omnivore concluded the series in 2020 with '' Across the Barrier of Sound: PostScript'', an album of previously unreleased Game Theory material recorded in 1989 and 1990.


Early life

Scott Miller was born in
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
, California in 1960. He was of Scottish and Irish ancestry, and his mother's family had lived in the Sacramento area since at least the 1850s
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
. His father, Vaughn Miller, was an Army veteran of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
who had a long career working for the state of California. Miller was an only child whose musical interests began "sometime as a six or seven year old, listening to
the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
and
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
." However, his earliest musical influences were wider-ranging, springing from his father's "immense record collection – lots of Broadway
show tunes A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...
. But the things I was really interested in were these New York
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
scene records ...
the Womenfolk The Womenfolk were an American folk band from Los Angeles, California. The Womenfolk were active from 1963 to 1966 and were signed to RCA Records during the folk revival boom of the 1960s. They released several albums, the most successful of whi ...
being really prototypical. And after that it was the Beatles all the way. They were gods walking the earth to me." At age nine, while taking folk and classical guitar lessons from
Tiny Moore Billie "Tiny" Moore (May 12, 1920 – December 15, 1987) was an American Western swing musician who played the electric mandolin and fiddle with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in the 1940s. He played with The Strangers and Merle Haggard du ...
, Miller was writing "little albums' worth" of derivative songs, and started his first band, innocently calling it the Monkees. He later noted, "We were really little kids, and we didn't realize you had to have your own personality... I was
Mike Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their TV series of the same name (1966–1968). His songwriting credit ...
, of course." By 1971, Miller began to learn rock guitar and "had pretty serious bands from seventh grade on." While attending
Rio Americano High School Rio Americano High School, colloquially known as Rio, is a public high school in Arden-Arcade, California, just outside Sacramento, California, Sacramento, serving students in grades 9 through 12 as part of the San Juan Unified School District. ...
, Miller and his longtime friend and bandmate Jozef Becker formed bands called Lobster Quadrille, Mantis and Resistance, as well as the first version of
Alternate Learning Alternate Learning (or ALRN) was a power pop/ new wave band from 1977 to 1982, based in Davis, California and fronted by Scott Miller, a singer-songwriter later known for his work as leader of the 1980s band Game Theory and 1990s band the Loud ...
. Miller began recording his music at age 15, when he obtained his first
TEAC () is a Japanese electronics manufacturer. TEAC was created by the merger of the Tokyo Television Acoustic Company, founded in 1953, and the Tokyo Electro-Acoustic Company, founded in 1956. Overview TEAC has four divisions: *TASCAM - con ...
multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...
machine. He reminisced in 1993: "Writing songs like the Beatles and trying to obtain real equipment – that's been my goal in life since I can remember." Some of Miller's early recordings from 1975 to 1979 were released in the 1990s to his fan club as a cassette titled ''Adolescent Embarrassment-Fest''; several others appear as bonus tracks on the 2014 CD reissue of '' Blaze of Glory'' (1982). Another passion of Miller's youth was art. He noted that, until college, "I was extremely serious about being a visual artist, and only so-serious about doing music. I was producing really bad music and really good art."


Musical career


Alternate Learning (1977–1982)

Miller's first band to release commercial recordings, Alternate Learning (also known as ALRN), released its self-titled seven-inch EP in 1979, and a full-length LP called ''Painted Windows'' in 1981, on Rational Records. Alternate Learning was formed in 1977 in Sacramento, moved in 1978 to
Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of ...
, and performed frequently at
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
and in the
Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...
until the group was disbanded by Miller in 1982.


Game Theory (1982–1990)

Game Theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...
was formed by Miller in 1982 in Davis, California, and moved its base to the Bay Area in 1985. From 1982 to 1990, Game Theory released five studio albums and two EPs. The early Game Theory was described as a "pseudo-psychedelic pop quartet" for which Miller sang and wrote "almost all of the material." The group, a college-rock favorite associated with the
Paisley Underground Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owi ...
scene of Los Angeles and Davis, developed a strong cult following. The Davis-based first lineup of Game Theory featured Miller on lead guitar and vocals, with keyboard player Nancy Becker, bassist Fred Juhos and drummer Michael Irwin. This lineup released the group's debut LP, '' Blaze of Glory'', in 1982. With new drummer Dave Gill, two EPs followed: ''
Pointed Accounts of People You Know ''Pointed Accounts of People You Know'' is the second release from Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Initially released in 1983 as a six-song EP, a remastered version on 10-inch cl ...
'' (1983) and ''
Distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...
'' (1984). The group's second full-length album, ''
Real Nighttime ''Real Nighttime'' is the second full-length album from Game Theory, a California power pop band founded by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Released in 1985, the album is cited as "a watershed work in '80s paisley underground pop." ...
'' (1985), marked the entrance of producer
Mitch Easter Mitchell Blake Easter (born November 15, 1954) is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontm ...
, who continued as producer for all of the group's subsequent releases. Miller recruited a new lineup of members based in San Francisco to tour after the 1985 release of ''Real Nighttime''. During that tour, the new quartet of Miller, Shelley LaFreniere on keyboards, Gil Ray on drums and Suzi Ziegler on bass recorded ''
The Big Shot Chronicles ''The Big Shot Chronicles'' is Game Theory's third full-length album, released in 1986. Produced by Mitch Easter, it was recorded with a new lineup of Game Theory members after leader and songwriter Scott Miller moved the band's base from Davis t ...
'' (1986). Ziegler left the group shortly afterward. For the band's national tour in late 1986, supporting the release of ''The Big Shot Chronicles'', Miller, LaFreniere and Ray were joined by two new members, bassist Guillaume Gassuan and guitarist/vocalist
Donnette Thayer Donnette Ruth Thayer is a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter most active in the 1980s and early 1990s indie rock scenes of Northern California. Thayer was a member of the band Game Theory, and later formed Hex with Steve Kilbey of The Church. ...
. This lineup recorded the double album ''
Lolita Nation ''Lolita Nation'' is the fourth full-length album by Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Originally released in 1987 as a double LP, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in ...
'' (1987) and the group's final studio album, ''
Two Steps from the Middle Ages ''Two Steps from the Middle Ages'' (1988) is the fifth studio album by power pop band Game Theory (band), Game Theory. After having been out of print for nearly 30 years, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in June 2017 on translucen ...
'' (1988). Despite favorable critical response, Miller was unable to achieve commercial success with Game Theory. According to ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', the group "never garnered more than a cult following through its six-album run (even so, those who caught on will swear that its ''Lolita Nation'' was an overlooked masterpiece)." Among the practical obstacles that stood in the way of the group's success, Game Theory experienced substantial turnovers of personnel after three of their five studio albums were recorded, which disrupted promotional plans and concert tours following the releases of ''Real Nighttime'', ''The Big Shot Chronicles'' and ''Two Steps from the Middle Ages''. The release of ''Two Steps from the Middle Ages'' was said to be plagued by difficulties, which included Miller's breakup with Thayer. After Thayer left to form Hex with
Steve Kilbey Steven John Kilbey (born 13 September 1954) is an English born Australian singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist for the rock band The Church. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter. As of 2020, Kilbey has r ...
of the Church, LaFreniere and Gassuan also left the group. In addition,
Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...
, which distributed Game Theory's records, folded in 1989 soon after the release of ''Two Steps''. Game Theory continued to tour in 1989 and 1990, with
Michael Quercio Michael Quercio (born March 13, 1963) is an American musician. He is the founder, bassist and lead singer of the Three O'Clock, and coined the term Paisley Underground as the name of a musical subgenre. Paisley Underground Quercio is best known ...
of
the Three O'Clock The Three O'Clock is an American alternative rock group associated with the Los Angeles 1980s Paisley Underground scene. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio is credited with coining the term "Paisley Underground" to describe a subset of th ...
(who had produced Game Theory's ''Distortion'' EP) joining as a member, along with Jozef Becker. Prior to the 1989 tour, Ray sustained a serious back injury that left him temporarily unable to play drums. He switched to guitar and keyboards but left the group in 1990. In 1990, Miller recruited original member Nancy Becker to rejoin the group for its final released recordings, in which new versions of three songs (including one previously recorded by Alternate Learning) were recorded for Game Theory's best-of compilation CD, ''
Tinker to Evers to Chance Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Description ''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling groups and Romani pe ...
'' (1990). Game Theory's releases had long been out of print and difficult to find, contributing to the band's inability to transcend what Miller described as "national obscurity, as opposed to regional obscurity." After Miller's death, surviving members of Game Theory reunited on July 20, 2013 for a memorial tribute performance in Sacramento.


The Loud Family (1991–2006)

With a new lineup in 1991 and a new recording label, Miller retired the name Game Theory and chose to call his new group
The Loud Family The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP from 1991 through 2006. Af ...
. ''Rolling Stone'' described this name as both "a hip allusion to the mid-Seventies PBS series ''
An American Family ''An American Family'' is an American television documentary series that followed the life of a California family in the early 1970s. Widely referred to as the first example of an American reality TV show, the series drew millions of weekly v ...
''" and "a clever way to describe the sound and feel of the band. Either way, it's a great hook—smart, funny and instantly memorable. All of which, appropriately enough, are qualities shared by Miller's songs." Miller later described his intended reality-show metaphor: "Going through life is a lot like having cameras on you and you have to perform, but there's no script; you just have to do the normal kind of bumbling thing. Besides, it had the word 'loud' in it." ''
Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...
'', introducing the Loud Family and eulogizing Game Theory, called Miller "an entity unto himself, taking dictation from a mind working overtime without stopping to consider the possibility of success or banishment. Problem is,
hile Hile () is a hill town located in the Province of Nepal, 13 km north of the regional center of Dhankuta Bazar. At an elevation of 1948 meters, it is the main route to other hilly districts like Bhojpur and Sankhuwasabha. The shops and re ...
others have squeezed through the needle's eye to varying degrees ... Miller still labors in semi-obscurity, his back catalog bulging like Ph.D. theses interred in some musty corner of a rarely visited library." Assessing Miller's prospects of success, the article continued:
Let's face it: Smart rock doesn't sell. Despite the best efforts of critics, despite the support of introspective, collegiate humanities majors who have assimilation problems, even despite the soft spot certain record companies occasionally show for music with a brain, the market share is marginal. Therefore, to persevere at making hyperliterate music that has complex motives and is densely constructed—relative to the immediate sparkle and shine of mainstream chart music, that is—is an act of bravery, commitment, or lunacy.
The Loud Family debuted on
Alias Records Alias Records is a small American indie-rock record label based in Lexington, Kentucky. Alias has released albums by American Music Club, Archers of Loaf, Yo La Tengo, The Magnolias, The Loud Family, Too Much Joy and Knapsack, among othe ...
in 1993 with '' Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things'', produced by
Mitch Easter Mitchell Blake Easter (born November 15, 1954) is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontm ...
. The album was later acclaimed by
Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, often d ...
as "one of the five best records ever made." From 1991 until Miller's death in 2013, the Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP. They were also the subject of a concert video documentary, released on DVD in 2003, that chronicled the group's final concert tour in 2000 in support of the album ''
Attractive Nuisance The attractive nuisance doctrine applies to the law of torts in some jurisdictions. It states that a landowner may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if the injury is caused by an object on the land that is likely ...
''. In the 2003 book ''Sonic Cool: The Life & Death of Rock 'n' Roll'', the Loud Family was cited as "perhaps the most sophisticated 'pop' band that ever lived." According to author Joe Harrington, "the songs are beautiful, but they inevitably lampoon some aspect of the culture with biting accuracy. It's the perfect juxtaposition between old/new Pop/Punk that makes The Loud Family simply too good to be true in this day and age."


Unreleased works

In 2002,
Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, often d ...
collaborated with Miller on an acoustic album for her SuperEgo label, but it remained unfinished at the time of Miller's death. Miller indicated in late 2003 that he and Mann had "done each other's songs and written one together," and that the project was "halfway through" but "might be on permanent hold." In 2006, Miller stated that he would "love to finish the thing with Aimee Mann, maybe in altered form," stating that he and Mann still discussed the project. In May 2014, Mann told an interviewer that she and Miller had been trying to make "an acoustic record where we were both singing basically my favorite songs of his, and somehow the hard drive got lost." Mann added that she had "no idea where that record is," and that she had been "really crushed" upon hearing of Miller's death.


Posthumous releases


Reissues on Omnivore Recordings (2014–2020)

On July 14, 2014,
Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore R ...
announced plans to reissue Game Theory's recordings, remastered from the original tapes. Noting that Miller's work with Game Theory had been out of print and "missing for decades," Omnivore stated that it was "pleased to right that audio wrong" with a series of expanded reissues of the group's catalog. The reissue series was produced by Pat Thomas, Dan Vallor (Game Theory's tour manager and sound engineer during the 1980s) and
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-winning reissue producer
Cheryl Pawelski Cheryl Pawelski (born April 11, 1966 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American record producer and record-company executive. Since 2010, she has been one of the founder/owners of Omnivore Recordings, a Los Angeles-based record label specializing in ...
. The first in the series, an expanded version of Game Theory's 1982 debut album '' Blaze of Glory'', was released in September 2014 on CD and pink vinyl. The reissue was supplemented with 15 bonus tracks (four from Alternate Learning and 11 previously unissued recordings). Omnivore's November 2014 expanded reissue of '' Dead Center'', on CD only, included material from the Game Theory EPs ''Pointed Accounts of People You Know'' (1983) and ''Distortion'' (1984), which Omnivore reissued on vinyl only. The reissue of ''
Real Nighttime ''Real Nighttime'' is the second full-length album from Game Theory, a California power pop band founded by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Released in 1985, the album is cited as "a watershed work in '80s paisley underground pop." ...
'' (1985), the first of Game Theory's albums to be produced by
Mitch Easter Mitchell Blake Easter (born November 15, 1954) is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontm ...
, was released in March 2015. In February 2016, nearly 30 years after its initial release, the double album ''
Lolita Nation ''Lolita Nation'' is the fourth full-length album by Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Originally released in 1987 as a double LP, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in ...
'' was remastered and reissued by Omnivore, with 21 bonus tracks that included the previously unreleased full eight-minute version of “Chardonnay," alternate mixes of other album tracks, and live covers of songs by artists such as
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
,
the Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers were an American rock band formed in Natick, Massachusetts in 1970 by Jonathan Richman. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist ...
and the
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
. After concluding the reissue series with the 2017 reissue of ''
Two Steps from the Middle Ages ''Two Steps from the Middle Ages'' (1988) is the fifth studio album by power pop band Game Theory (band), Game Theory. After having been out of print for nearly 30 years, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in June 2017 on translucen ...
'', Omnivore released the 2020 album '' Across the Barrier of Sound: PostScript'', a collection of mostly previously unreleased songs recorded in 1989 and 1990 by Game Theory's final lineup, which included Miller,
Michael Quercio Michael Quercio (born March 13, 1963) is an American musician. He is the founder, bassist and lead singer of the Three O'Clock, and coined the term Paisley Underground as the name of a musical subgenre. Paisley Underground Quercio is best known ...
, Gil Ray (now on guitar and keyboards) and
Jozef Becker The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP from 1991 through 2006. Af ...
on drums.


''Supercalifragile'' (2017)

Miller's record label
125 Records The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP from 1991 through 2006. Af ...
revealed after Miller's death in April 2013 that he had made plans to reunite in the summer of 2013 with some of his old bandmates to record a new Game Theory album, '' Supercalifragile'', the band's first since ''Two Steps from the Middle Ages'' in 1988. In September 2015, Miller's wife Kristine Chambers announced that she and
Ken Stringfellow Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow (born October 30, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. Best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star, Stringfellow's discography include ...
had teamed to produce a finished recording from the source material for ''Supercalifragile'' that Miller had left behind in various stages of completion, "including fully-formed songs and many other ideas, sketches, lyrics, even musical gestures and snippets of found sound." Additional recording took place at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
in London in the summer of 2015. A preliminary decision to release the album under Scott Miller's name, using the title ''I Love You All'', was later reconsidered in favor of Miller's original plans for a Game Theory project. On May 5, 2016, it was announced that the project, now under Miller's planned title ''Supercalifragile'' as the sixth and final Game Theory album, would be released in early 2017. A
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
campaign, created to fund the pressing and other expenses involved with completing the album, was fully funded within two weeks. Participants on ''Supercalifragile'' included Mann, who had written in July 2015, "I'm working on this song I wrote with Scott Miller, and hearing him sing it in my headphones is possibly the most devastatingly heartbreaking thing I've ever experienced." Mann's announcement was accompanied by a photo of sheet music bearing the title "No Love". Other friends and former collaborators whose involvement was announced include
Jon Auer Jonathan Paul Auer (born September 29, 1969) is an American musician who co-founded the power pop band The Posies, along with Ken Stringfellow. Auer and Stringfellow also participated in the rejuvenated Big Star and in 2003 released ''Private Sid ...
of
the Posies The Posies were an American rock band. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are influ ...
,
Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...
of
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
,
Doug Gillard Douglas Scott Gillard (born December 23, 1965) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde. Early ...
,
Nina Gordon Nina Rachel Gordon Shapiro (born November 14, 1967), known as Nina Gordon, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-founded the alternative rock band Veruca Salt and played on their first two studio albums, '' American Thighs'' ...
,
Scott Kannberg Christopher Scott Kannberg (born August 30, 1966), known professionally as Scott Kannberg and Spiral Stairs, is an American musician best known for being a founding member of the indie-rock band Pavement serving as guitarist and occasional le ...
,
Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo (born September 11, 1970) is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Earl ...
and
Will Sheff Will Robinson Sheff (born July 7, 1976) is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River (1998–present). Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter (along with former Okkervil b ...
. The final contributors also included Matt LeMay, John Moremen and
Jonathan Segel Jonathan Segel (born September 3, 1963) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has played with Camper Van Beethoven, Sparklehorse, Eugene Chadbourne, and Dieselhed. Early life and education Segel was born in Marseille, France, a ...
.
Mitch Easter Mitchell Blake Easter (born November 15, 1954) is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontm ...
, Game Theory's former producer, played guitar, drums and synth on the song "Laurel Canyon" and participated in the mixing of the album. A limited first pressing was released in August 2017.


Cult status and musical legacy


Critical and commercial reception

Miller was long described as a cult favorite with little commercial success, resulting in reviews with such superlatives as "critically acclaimed and quite underrated," "the most criminally unknown songwriter/performer/all-around Rock Genius in America today," "one of America's most underappreciated songwriters", "the most underrated pop genius in music history," and "America's most consistently underrated singer-songwriter ... producing album after album of hook-laden and profoundly literate rock-and-roll." ''Rolling Stone'', in a 1993 review, suggested that "mostly it's because his songs, though insinuatingly tuneful, can be maddeningly oblique, fleshing out each verse with abstruse references to long-forgotten pop songs and TV shows; at times, the results sound like
Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, Literary genre, genres and Theme (narrative), th ...
writing for
Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American ...
." Rock critic
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
wrote that "Scott Miller was a prototypical '80s rock artist—serious, playful, skillful, obscure, secondhand." Christgau criticized Miller's musical obsessions and literary obscurities as "rendering the ostensibly public essentially private," adding, "Adepts recommend 1987's ''Lolita Nation'', which is said to make sense, though I don't know exactly what sense." He also offered mild praise for Game Theory's "Mitch Easter-produced albums," which he likened to "dreams of the early dB's ... which isn't to say Miller and cohorts didn't also develop a groove as they got older," referring to ''Two Steps from the Middle Ages'' as an "excessive" and "funkier" album that "I kinda like". In a 1993 interview with Miller, '' Option'' wrote that success was a touchy subject for him, quoting Miller's joking example of a typical review: "Nothing good ever happens to Scott Miller, but somehow he's managed to drag his broken body into a studio one more time and make another album." Miller continued that he was "past the point of fighting" discussions of how "arty or brainy" he was, but had hoped for greater emphasis "on what the songs are about—be it the boy-girl situation, or being depressed about some key failure I've had, or getting a little bit of understanding about life." In another 1993 interview, Miller mused:
I don't think I'm in danger of making albums that don't age well, because I haven't ever fit into the times spectacularly well. I've always been aware of myself drawing on a musical vocabulary so broad that a lot of people don't get what I consider to be my real songwriting coups. I think they go right past a lot of people. The bad part of that is I probably won't become a big star. But the good part is that I don't think people will find the albums less useful over time. They'll sound as good in 2004 as they will in 1994.
In 2012, more than a year before Miller's death, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' wrote, "Scott Miller was always a little too out of time for his own good, which means his towering talent is near forgotten," attributing Miller's cult status to the contradictions of "pretty but muscular pop, characterised by a mix of acoustic and electric guitars, by literate but often non-specific lyrics, by keyboard sounds and production techniques that were sometimes unfortunately era-specific, by Miller's sometimes quavering and uncertain voice. Too spiky for the chart kids; too smooth for the alternative kids—the curse of Scott Miller was being only himself, rather than finding a movement or a trend he could be part of." Miller's own description of his high tenor vocals as a "miserable whine" or "my usual obnoxious vocals" was sometimes repeated by reviewers of his work in Game Theory, who often added balancing comments, such as "while he's fond of referring to his voice as a 'miserable whine,' he sure knows how to make it communicate." In many reviews, Miller's self-deprecation was outweighed by critical praise for his talents in vocal phrasing, inventiveness and musical ambition.
Stephin Merritt Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for ...
cited Miller's "swooping melodies, large vocabulary lyrics dense with idiom and metaphor," and "gloriously catchy hooks." According to ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' writer Matt LeMay, Miller "had a singular way of making unexpected and counterintuitive chord changes sound downright inevitable." Music journalist Kent Williams added, "What marks Miller's songs as unique is his obsession with coming up with a perfect, and perfectly new
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
. Like his hero
Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...
, he had a fondness for accessible pop music that had lots of moving parts under the hood. Lyrically, he was both class clown and over-achiever. He wanted words as devious and pretty as the best lyrics of
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...
and
Jerry Leiber Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...
, but shot through with almost
Joycean A text is deemed Joycean when it is reminiscent of the writings of James Joyce, particularly '' Ulysses'' or ''Finnegans Wake''. Joycean fiction exhibits a high degree of verbal play, usually within the framework of stream of consciousness. Works ...
obscurity and puckish humor." According to professor
Stephanie Burt Stephanie Burt (formerly published as Stephen Burt) is a literary critic and poet who is the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English at Harvard University. ''The New York Times'' has called her "one of the most influential poetry cr ...
of
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, Miller often wrote "songs about overthinking it, anthems for people who think they think too much and try too hard, who feel at home (if they ever do) only among like-mindedly wordy souls. The tension in Miller's songs—it's never resolved—between guitar-driven pop and keyboard-based New Wave is like the tension between heart and mind, between a
nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...
y identity never fully embraced and a fear of something more." After the publication of his book in 2010, Miller's name was cited as "synonymous with thinking people's pop. Pithy, smart and nearly mathy in his mixing of the avant garde with earnest pop precision, he earned his stripes with comparisons to Big Star's Alex Chilton, but surpassed his influences by crafting his own genre of IQ rock, sporting songs with ... increasingly unpredictable-yet-gorgeous arrangements."


Musical legacy and influence

In 2013,
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
wrote of "Miller's indelible output" and "Game Theory's transcendent tunes" as "his legacy ... ready and waiting for discovery." ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' wrote that Miller's influence as a songwriter outreached his fame. Miller was credited as an influential force in the 1980s- and 1990s-era music scenes, beginning in Northern California with bands associated with the Paisley Underground genre, and later influencing better-known independent pop artists. In 1996, Aimee Mann stated that "Scott Miller is the best songwriter out there, in my opinion. I often think about that when I'm writing: 'Would Scott think this song is any good?'" adding "Scott's definitely better than me." Mann confirmed more than a decade later, "I was very influenced by Scott Miller's songwriting," and "musically, he was a really big influence." According to MTV, Miller's work with Game Theory in the 1980s remained "still visceral and vital" in 2013, "influencing a new generation of indie artists." Significant musicians who have praised Miller's talent and enduring influence on their work include
the New Pornographers The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band currently consists of Carl Newman (vocals, ...
' leader A.C. Newman,
Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...
's
Will Sheff Will Robinson Sheff (born July 7, 1976) is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River (1998–present). Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter (along with former Okkervil b ...
, Charles Bissell of
the Wrens The Wrens were an American indie rock band from New Jersey. The group consisted of Charles Bissell (guitar/vocals), brothers Greg Whelan (guitar/vocals) and Kevin Whelan (bass/vocals), and Jerry MacDonald (drums). They released three albums; a f ...
,
Doug Gillard Douglas Scott Gillard (born December 23, 1965) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde. Early ...
and
Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo (born September 11, 1970) is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Earl ...
, each of whom performed at a New York City tribute to Miller on June 29, 2013, as well as
Veruca Salt Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro, and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, " Seether", which was rel ...
's
Nina Gordon Nina Rachel Gordon Shapiro (born November 14, 1967), known as Nina Gordon, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-founded the alternative rock band Veruca Salt and played on their first two studio albums, '' American Thighs'' ...
,
the Posies The Posies were an American rock band. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are influ ...
'
Ken Stringfellow Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow (born October 30, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. Best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star, Stringfellow's discography include ...
and
Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California, in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk, folk, alternative, country, and world music, among other ge ...
's
Jonathan Segel Jonathan Segel (born September 3, 1963) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has played with Camper Van Beethoven, Sparklehorse, Eugene Chadbourne, and Dieselhed. Early life and education Segel was born in Marseille, France, a ...
, each of whom appeared on Loud Family albums as guest musicians. Many other artists inspired by Miller's music found greater commercial success than did Miller, such as
Jellyfish Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...
,
Velvet Crush Velvet Crush is an American power pop band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record ...
,
Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...
,
Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the f ...
,
Guided by Voices Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...
and
Michael Penn Michael Daniel Penn (born August 1, 1958) is an American musician, singer, and composer. His 1989 single " No Myth" was a top 20 hit in the US and successful in several other countries. Early life Penn was born in the Greenwich Village neighb ...
. Miller was acknowledged by Irish rock group the Revenants in their 1999 song "Scott Miller Said", which opens by quoting Miller's "Andy in Ten Years" from ''Lolita Nation''. Music critic Nick Kelly, writing for Ireland's largest newspaper, named "Scott Miller Said" as the "greatest ever Irish rock song." In January 2014, ''Spin'' led an article with: "The legacy of Scott Miller, the former Game Theory and The Loud Family power-pop songsmith who died early last year, just got that much more impressive," crediting Miller for bringing Leo to the attention of Mann on the occasion of the release of Mann and Leo's first studio release together as
the Both The Both is an American indie rock musical duo consisting of Aimee Mann and Ted Leo. They began collaborating in 2013 and released a self-titled album in April 2014. Origins The songwriting collaboration between Aimee Mann and Ted Leo originat ...
. Their song "Bedtime Stories", which appears on ''
The Both The Both is an American indie rock musical duo consisting of Aimee Mann and Ted Leo. They began collaborating in 2013 and released a self-titled album in April 2014. Origins The songwriting collaboration between Aimee Mann and Ted Leo originat ...
'' (2014), was written about Miller as an expression of mourning and as "a musical salute... consciously a tribute to him, especially the chord progression of the chorus, which is very, very Loud Family." A biography by rock critic Brett Milano, '' Don't All Thank Me at Once: The Lost Genius of Scott Miller'', was published in October 2015. Milano described his book as not only telling Miller's story, but also exploring "the college and indie-rock explosion of the 1980s and 1990s" and how some influential artists "managed to fall through the cracks."


Writing


''Music: What Happened?''

Scott Miller was the author of '' Music: What Happened?'', a book of
music criticism '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...
published in 2010, which ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' called "a well-received critical overview of 53 years of rock history." In second and third editions of the book, Miller's 2010 chapter and 2011 chapter were added. The book's cover art established a knowledgeable but humorous tone by featuring photographs of Miller in poses that recreated noteworthy album covers such as that of
Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to sta ...
's ''
Exile in Guyville ''Exile in Guyville'' is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair, released on June 22, 1993, by Matador Records. It was recorded at Idful Music Corporation in Chicago between 1992 and 1993 and produced by Phair and Brad Wood. The a ...
''. of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' wrote that Miller's "encyclopedic knowledge of pop," upon which his music drew, made the book a "shining example of the auteur ideal ... a year-by-year, song-by-song journey from 1957 to this decade, connecting the dots for a macro-perspective on pop." For each year, Miller wrote about ten or more of his favorite songs, providing analytical insights and placing the songs in context in the musical world of their era. Miller had kept annual countdown lists of his favorite records throughout his life, and his personal project of compiling those lists onto CDs evolved into a formal endeavor to explain what made those songs noteworthy, for what was then the last 50 years of recorded music. The writing process started in 2006 when Miller took a hiatus from music after the release of ''What If It Works?''. Portions of the book were serially published in draft form on Miller's official web site, where Miller responded to fan requests by writing about one year at a time, in random order. Reacting to the state of pop-music criticism, Miller identified a major issue as critics' failure to "credit an artist with getting a feeling across." Based on past experience as an artist receiving criticism, Miller argued against critics' efforts to maintain journalistic distance or objectivity, suggesting that "acknowledging and respecting readers' stylistic boundaries and keeping their own sentimentality in check" was counterproductive, and hypothesizing that instead, "readers actually want a critic to be their friend by listening ''through'' stylistic boundaries with special gold-seeking ears, and reporting how they unexpectedly turned into a love-struck adolescent over a vocal harmony or a piano run... digging the truth of musical experience out from under half-asleep habits of discussing it." Miller further proposed "more music talk in music criticism" and suggested that readers would appreciate "sensitively modest doses" of musical analysis to support a conclusion "that great melody writing occurred or it didn't." For example, Miller noted that critics rarely "identify catchy melodies as specific passages within a song," in the way that working musicians might discuss "the A-minor in the second measure of the chorus." In response to the book, rock critic Robert Christgau wrote, "The way
iller The Iller (; ancient name Ilargus) is a river of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube, long. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Breitach, Stillach and Trettach near Oberstdorf in the Al ...
describes the songs he loves... is tremendously suggestive. If only he or some acolyte could spin a worldview around those observations, we might really have something to go on." Musician Stephin Merritt wrote that Miller "manages actual humor (a first in music criticism) and major insights that may change the way you think about, for example, 1967. Almost a new art form." In a book review in ''
Ugly Things ''Ugly Things'' (''UT'') is a music magazine established in 1983, based in La Mesa, California. The editor is Mike Stax (born 1962 in England). The magazine covers mainly 1960s Beat, garage rock, and psychedelic music ("Wild Sounds From Past Dime ...
'' magazine, Miller was described as "a sort of fourth-generation rock and roll renaissance man capable of making the printed page jump and sing as deftly as the complex conversations that his
Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...
conducts with a
Marshall stack Marshall Amplification is a British company that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, speaker cabinets, and effects pedals. Founded in London in 1962 by shop owner and drummer Jim Marshall, the company is based in Bletchley, Milton Key ...
."


''Ask Scott''

From 1997 until 2010, Miller periodically wrote on subjects ranging from music to philosophy, theology, physics and poetry in the "Ask Scott" section of his official web site. His initial offer to respond to email questions from fans became for him "a fun exercise" to attempt an honest answer to any question regardless of the level of his expertise. According to writer
Franklin Bruno Franklin Bruno (born December 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986. Bruno has written music criticism for on ...
, Miller's responses were "by turns quick-witted, earnest and appreciative, politely deflecting, and self-deprecating", sometimes openly struggling with "resignation and bitterness about his music career."


Engineering career

Miller attended the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
, intending to study art. After switching majors, he graduated with a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering and obtained a full-time job in
LISP Lisp (historically LISP, an abbreviation of "list processing") is a family of programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized Polish notation#Explanation, prefix notation. Originally specified in the late 1950s, ...
compiler development at
Lucid Inc. Lucid Incorporated was a Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, California-based computer software development company. Founded by Richard P. Gabriel in 1984, it went bankrupt in 1994. History The first CEO was Tony Slocum, formerly of IntelliCorp ...
with several future Loud Family bandmates. Miller stated in an interview that his employers "let me go whenever I have to do band stuff, which is very big of them." Miller described his job situation as "kind of a carrot in front of me and a boot behind me," acknowledging that his engineering work was highly paid and noting his need to make a living. After Lucid's dissolution in 1994, Miller was a manager and software developer at Objectivity, where he became director of development and technical publications. From 2011 until his death, Miller was a lead engineer at
MarkLogic MarkLogic is an American software business that develops and provides an enterprise NoSQL database, which is also named ''MarkLogic''. They have offices in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In February 2023, MarkLogic was acquired ...
. was issued to Miller on July 20, 2010 as the inventor of a technique for object-oriented database management.


Personal life and death

Miller lived in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife Kristine and their two daughters. On April 15, 2013, Miller died by suicide at the age of 53. In response to Miller's unexpected death, friends and bandmates established a memorial fund for the education of Miller's children.


Discography


With Alternate Learning

* ''ALRN'' 7-inch EP (1979) * ''Painted Windows'' (1982)


With Game Theory

* '' Blaze of Glory'' (1982) * ''
Pointed Accounts of People You Know ''Pointed Accounts of People You Know'' is the second release from Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Initially released in 1983 as a six-song EP, a remastered version on 10-inch cl ...
'' EP (1983) * ''
Distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...
'' EP (1984) * '' Dead Center'' (1984) – compilation * ''
Real Nighttime ''Real Nighttime'' is the second full-length album from Game Theory, a California power pop band founded by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Released in 1985, the album is cited as "a watershed work in '80s paisley underground pop." ...
'' (1985) * ''
The Big Shot Chronicles ''The Big Shot Chronicles'' is Game Theory's third full-length album, released in 1986. Produced by Mitch Easter, it was recorded with a new lineup of Game Theory members after leader and songwriter Scott Miller moved the band's base from Davis t ...
'' (1986) * ''
Lolita Nation ''Lolita Nation'' is the fourth full-length album by Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Originally released in 1987 as a double LP, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in ...
'' (1987) * ''
Two Steps from the Middle Ages ''Two Steps from the Middle Ages'' (1988) is the fifth studio album by power pop band Game Theory (band), Game Theory. After having been out of print for nearly 30 years, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in June 2017 on translucen ...
'' (1988) * ''
Tinker to Evers to Chance Tinker or tinkerer is an archaic term for an itinerant tinsmith who mends household utensils. Description ''Tinker'' for metal-worker is attested from the thirteenth century as ''tyckner'' or ''tinkler''. Some travelling groups and Romani pe ...
'' (1989) – compilation * '' Distortion of Glory'' (1993) – compilation * '' Supercalifragile'' (2017) * '' Across the Barrier of Sound: PostScript'' (2020) – compilation


With The Loud Family

* '' Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things'' (1993) * '' Slouching Towards Liverpool'' EP (1993) * ''
The Tape of Only Linda ''The Tape of Only Linda'' is the second full-length album by the Loud Family, released in 1994. The title of the album is a reference to the notorious tape recording of a live performance of "Hey Jude," by Paul McCartney, in which an engineer ha ...
'' (1994) * ''
Interbabe Concern ''Interbabe Concern'' is The Loud Family's third full-length album, and their first to be produced by Scott Miller instead of Mitch Easter. With the exception of keyboard player Paul Wieneke and Miller, this was a new line-up of the band. Pers ...
'' (1996) * ''
Days for Days ''Days for Days'' is an album by the Loud Family, released in 1998. The band's leader, Scott Miller, and the bass guitar player, Kenny Kessel, are the only members of the band remaining from the previous album. Gil Ray, who had been a member o ...
'' (1998) * ''
Attractive Nuisance The attractive nuisance doctrine applies to the law of torts in some jurisdictions. It states that a landowner may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if the injury is caused by an object on the land that is likely ...
'' (2000) * '' From Ritual to Romance'' (2002) – live * ''
What If It Works? ''What If It Works?'' is the Loud Family's seventh full-length album, a studio collaboration with Sacramento-based pop musician Anton Barbeau released in 2006. A March 2022 reissue of the album, with eleven bonus tracks, was announced by Omnivo ...
'' (2006) – as The Loud Family and
Anton Barbeau Anton Barbeau is an American singer-songwriter and producer from Sacramento, California. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano, bass guitar, drums, synthesizers, and Mellotron. Barbeau is known for combining surreal lyrics with p ...


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Scott 1960 births 2013 suicides 2013 deaths American pop musicians American music critics American rock songwriters American male songwriters American rock singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from Sacramento, California Singer-songwriters from California University of California, Davis alumni American male pop singers Guitarists from California 20th-century American guitarists American male non-fiction writers