Comments on: Alex Chilton :: I’m In Love With That Song

By: Ed Peterson

Ed Peterson — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:21:31 +0000

I just found this website a while ago when a good friend recommended it to me. I have been an avid reader ever since.

By: The Color Awesome » Playlist: March 27th Sirius XMU Download 15

The Color Awesome » Playlist: March 27th Sirius XMU Download 15 — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:27:35 +0000

[...] STAR – SEPTEMBER GURLS Tagged: download 15, serena maneesh, She and Him, sirius, The National var [...]

By: Aquarium Drunkard » Jason Isbell :: When My Baby’s Beside Me (Big Star Cover)

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 06:20:28 +0000

[...] 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 [...]

By: Aphrica

Aphrica — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:41:09 +0000

R.I.P.
what a loss.

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:16:53 +0000

I 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.

By: Mickey

Mickey — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:53:05 +0000

I 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!

By: I Remember Jeepster

I Remember Jeepster — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:19:57 +0000

Well you would had to have been THAT dumb to believe in the Beatles that much to begin with…

By: j. neas

j. neas — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:39:04 +0000

I 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.

By: Alex Chilton :: I’m In Love With That Song | musicu.be. featured blog posts

Alex Chilton :: I’m In Love With That Song | musicu.be. featured blog posts — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:47:55 +0000

[...] 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 [...]

By: keep an eye on the sky « brand new kind of photography

keep an eye on the sky « brand new kind of photography — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:08:37 +0000

[...] My friend J. writing about Chilton for Aquarium Drunkard. [...]

By: Nigel Smith

Nigel Smith — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:57:43 +0000

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

By: Jim H.

Jim H. — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:53:31 +0000

There 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,
Jim H.

By: radionowhere

radionowhere — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:26:54 +0000

Ouch. 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.

By: Tix

Tix — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:26:03 +0000

@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!