One of indie-rock’s most important pioneers and songwriters died today. Alex Chilton, founding member of Big Star, died at the age of 59. It is especially sad given that Big Star was only two days away from a major performance at the South by Southwest music festival, but would be sorrowful regardless.
It’s kind of hard to know what to say about the death of Alex Chilton. It’s sudden and it’s unexpected and tragic. Without him, it’s hard to see how the ‘college rock’ branch of the indie family tree would have developed in the same way – he’s the indelible link between the world of the Beatles and of R.E.M. The chiming guitars, the heart-on-sleeve vocals, the vision of pop music as something greater than its parts – all of this was honed across the three Big Star records. There’s a reason that all three of those albums showed up in Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of all Time list.
I’m probably not alone amongst Big Star’s younger fans in that I got into Chilton’s music through the Replacements. I first heard them cover “September Gurls” on a bootleg and soon worked to hunt down the original artist, eventually snagging the 2-for-1 CD reissue of #1 Record and Radio City. It’s fairly safe to say that my musical life hasn’t been the same since.
While there are many parts of the Big Star oeuvre that I return to over and over, “September Gurls” is still at the top among many. And tonight, the lyrics’ to Third / Sister Lover‘s “Take Care” seem especially poignant as well. Rest in peace, Alex. words/ j neas
MP3: Big Star :: September Gurls
MP3: Big Star :: Take Care
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RIP Alex, you will be missed.
1 | Ryan March 18th, 2010 at 6:30 amRIP Alex. You wrote perfect pop songs.
2 | JC March 18th, 2010 at 9:00 amwhat a loss ugh
3 | r.carver March 18th, 2010 at 9:03 am[...] Big Star/ Chilton’s greatness (and relevance to modern music) than I possibly could with his elegiac piece published today. Like him, I discovered the work of A.C. via my beloved Replacements (different songs, though: [...]
4 | Podcast: Big Star live in Cambridge (3.31.74) / RIP Alex Chilton : web in front [dot] net | L.A. music news, reviews and interviews March 18th, 2010 at 11:07 amVery sad news. He was one of a kind, no doubt. As to the Big Star era, if you’ve not read it, the 33 1/3 series volume on Big Star’s “Radio City is a great little book.
5 | JK March 18th, 2010 at 11:16 amI’m making all my students listen to a few songs on a vinyl EP I have today while they do their opening work in class. None of these kids have ever heard Big Star, and I want them to at least have heard “September Gurls” once in their life. I think I’d be a poor teacher if I didn’t give them that chance. Thanks for the amazing art, Alex.
6 | j. neas March 18th, 2010 at 12:39 pmj neas– “Coolest… Teacher… Ever”!!! That is just the most fantastic idea! Back in the schooldays, I don’t think we ever got to hear anything other than isolated tunes by (I kid you not) Simon and Garfunkel, Yes, Foreigner and Pat Benatar. It’d take a while to explain….
7 | JK March 18th, 2010 at 1:58 pm@j.neas:
Very nice words and a great pic on your post. By the way, what do you teach? I just think that is a great idea. I wish I would have had teachers like yourself. There is something to be said for “cultural literacy” and people should know who Big Star were. Keep up the great work!
8 | Tix March 18th, 2010 at 2:26 pmOuch. Way too early for Alex Chilton to go. Thanks for all the great songs, and thanks to David Poe and the Replacements for getting me hooked in the first place.
9 | radionowhere March 18th, 2010 at 2:26 pmThere was something about living in the American South in the ’70s that Chilton’s Big Star managed to capture in spare, elegant poetry: angst, disaffection, loneliness, despair, love glorious love, friendship, hope. Big Star was relevant—at least for me. It might not be so much so today; you had to be there.
Then there was that clean, shimmering guitar and emphasis on pop songwriting craft that had gotten lost in all the glitz and prog-rock messsiness. It spoke to those of us who could find it; #1 Record was an obscure gem, and that made us want it more. Radio City even more so.
Chilton’s death washes over me as a warm breath of nostalgia for a certain time and a certain place—not necessarily a time or a place I’d want to go back to, but nevertheless a time and a place that I had to pass through to become who I am today. I would not want to be that Big Star-loving kid again, but I do have a certain fondness for who he was and the struggles he faced and, eventually, conquered (“at my side is God!”). And every time I listen to those first two Big Star records, in particular, I think of that kid.
And yet it’s not all about the nostalgia, many of those songs endure. There’s never been a time in my life—since ’73, I think—that I haven’t I had one or more Big Star records in my collection. And there’s never been a time that I’ve shined one of their songs on when it’s cycled through my iPod.
Rock and roll will never die, but Alex Chilton just did. RIP, man.
Best,
10 | Jim H. March 18th, 2010 at 3:53 pmJim H.
Very sad. I got into Big Star around the same time as you I think via REM, The Jayhawks and the Lemonheads. I’ve posted some MP3s, inc Wilco’s cover of Thirteen, on my blog Carnival Saloon.
Carnival Saloon: Alex Chilton R.I.P
11 | Nigel Smith March 18th, 2010 at 4:57 pm[...] My friend J. writing about Chilton for Aquarium Drunkard. [...]
12 | keep an eye on the sky « brand new kind of photography March 19th, 2010 at 12:08 pm[...] Chilton :: I’m In Love With That Song Posted On: March 19, 2010 Posted In: Comments: No Responses Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this [...]
13 | Alex Chilton :: I’m In Love With That Song | musicu.be. featured blog posts March 19th, 2010 at 2:47 pmI teach English literature, mostly American and British. Though it obviously fit in more with my American lit students, I played it for all my classes. If Chilton’s music is timeless, then it certainly transcends arbitrary borders as well.
14 | j. neas March 19th, 2010 at 4:39 pmWell you would had to have been THAT dumb to believe in the Beatles that much to begin with…
15 | I Remember Jeepster March 19th, 2010 at 6:19 pmI first experienced Alex’s throaty, blues vocals when he sang lead on The Boxtop’s big hit “The Letter” back in the 60′s hen he was, like 15 years old. Had the Rock ‘n Roll planets been aligned somewhat differently, it is very conceivable he could have ended up on the Mt. Rushmore of rock, along with the likes Jimi, John & Paul, Mick & Keith, Bono and Michael & Peter. RIP, my friend!
16 | Mickey March 21st, 2010 at 3:53 pmI too got to Big Star by way of the ‘Mats. However, by the time I got there, they proved to be one of those vaunted influential bands that actually was worth the listen.
17 | Doug March 21st, 2010 at 11:16 pmR.I.P.
18 | Aphrica March 22nd, 2010 at 3:41 pmwhat a loss.
[...] the revelry in Austin last week during SXSW, Alex Chilton’s sudden passing, and his enduring influence, cast a large shadow throughout the week’s festivities. At every [...]
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