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It’s going to be Big Star on the stereo today. Sad.
"Don't trust anyone under the age of 30" - Brian Sabean
by Smotheredinhugs on Mar 18, 2010 5:40 AM PDT reply actions
Depending on your age, you might not recognize the name. But if indie rock is your thing, then the guys in your favorite band certainly would. The Replacements’ “I’m in love with that song” makes the perfect epitaph, but I love what Robert Christgau once wrote about him:
“Coherence and endurance mean less to him than quantum physics….But listen to any three cuts in any order and I guarantee you’ll get off on two-and-a-half.”
Terribly sad.
I believe that Christgau was here reviewing a compilation from his solo years, which really were erratic although he had a nice little run in 80s around the “No Sex”/“High Priest” era. I remember seeing him at Slim’s around 1991—fun, sloppy, and really committed to the solo stuff (no Big Star at all).
But if you haven’t really experienced the full glory of Big Star, the recent Rhino box has everything you need (all 3 albums plus about 2 dozen worthwhile outtakes—especially great are the 3rd demos—and a 1973 live show).
by Duelling Brandos on Mar 18, 2010 12:24 PM PDT up reply actions
another hero gone…
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
This is a song on the Rock Band 2 disc
It’s been out for like two years now. And there’s a song of theirs that is a downloadable song called Kids Don’t Follow, but that’s all they have thus far.
These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others. -Groucho Marx
I feel completely out of the loop. All the media I look at — mainstream stuff like LA Times, CNN, Entertainment Weekly — is covering his death and I don’t know who he is.
Ryan Rohlinger lives in my basement. I let him out to play baseball.
Jesus, that was good.
Thanks.
"I don’t know why people feel the need to come up with reasons 'why' for everything..." - Missing Barry
by victor frankenstein on Mar 19, 2010 5:59 AM PDT up reply actions
“Influence” is a word that gets thrown around pretty freely in rock music, but this was a guy who influenced a hundred bands you’ve probably liked. At 17, he had a hit record with his first group, the Box Tops (“Buy me a ticket for an aero-plane/Ain’t got time to take a fast train”), but he’s best known for being the heart of the band Big Star, which put out only three or four albums in the early-to-mid-70s, none of them hits. But those records fell into the hands of members of future bands like REM, The Replacements, Dream Syndicate and a ton of other post-punk bands who kind of resurrected Power Pop at a time when mainstream rock had (in the opinion of people in my musical tribe) lost its way. I “discovered” them in 1983, probably after reading an interview with Peter Buck. A lot of people my age (43) followed a similar path to their love of Big Star.
Or if that’s no help, try these amazing Big Star songs for starters:
September Gurls
Thirteen
In The Street
Ballad of El Goodo
Back of a Car
and then there’s the Replacements’ song “Alex Chilton”
I’d also like to give a shout out to the Box Tops incredible lesser hit, “Cry Like a Baby” one of my very favorite Memphis soul songs. He was actually 16 when he recorded The Letter. Reputedly, he later took to benzedrine to help lower his voice to sound older. Not sure of the chemistry involved in that concept.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Yeah, that’s a great song.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
Teenage Fanclub, for one, owe their existence to having worn out every Big Star record they bought. And they’re a really good band, too.
"Those that drink the Kool-Aid, please leave the room."
Another great should be stars pop band that can’t sell a record to save their souls.
They learned their lessons well. Although in fairness, they’d probably say they owe their existence to having worn out every Orange Juice album ever.
My Bucardo is better than yours.
A hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill. Insofar as the clutch hitter is not a sportswriter's myth, it is a vulgarity, like a writer who writes only for money.
On Tuesday, I was singing in my car to “September Gurls”at the top of my lungs, and I was hitting all of the high notes. Normally, it’s right at my breaking point. Today I listened again, but I couldn’t replicate it — it’s not in my range.
I’d like to think that a little bit of Chilton’s soul was passing through me on its way to wherever, and that aided my vocals. But I was probably just sitting on my junk.
Who wrote it?
"I don’t know why people feel the need to come up with reasons 'why' for everything..." - Missing Barry
by victor frankenstein on Mar 19, 2010 6:01 AM PDT up reply actions
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