Bandwagonesque was all fine & good, but a bit slow (even when going fast) and surprisingly bland as a whole. Pleasant in certain situations, though. This is the only album I can confidently speak on, so feel free to ignore my pronouncements.
― David Raposa, Monday, 22 October 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― Tom, Monday, 22 October 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
'Britpop' = term with huge ever growing scope creep
― Nick, Monday, 22 October 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink
― NA (Nick A.), Tuesday, 4 May 2004 20:35 (9 years ago) Permalink
― Sick Nouthall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 4 May 2004 20:52 (9 years ago) Permalink
The Stax org was in such disarray in the early '70s that it's a wonder the records even got out there as much as they did. I've read that each of the first two albums only got into the marketplace in ridiculously small quantities...4000/5000 is a number I've seen.
I don't know if they "define" any era. A post above maintains that to define era, their records would've have to been bought by somebody. So I guess they were one of the first true indie/critic's bands...the reviews were mostly glowing. In retrospect they do seem to define the period much better than any number of more popular acts, though. I see nothing wrong with revisionist nostalgia myself.
For a long time I loved them without reservation, then went thru a period during which I'd just heard them too much. For a lot of us they were like the Beatles, the absolute gold standard of pop records. Now I just accept them as a great pop band, period, and wish people would quit gushing about them so much, or maintaining that they weren't really all that good. As a live band they seem to have sucked; but I can't think of any better-conceived record than "Radio City." Such style. And they seem to define not an era but a state of mind, one epitomized by the Eggleston "red ceiling" photo that graced the original "RC" LP...bad dreams and vibes in an oversexed room, distilled into melancholy, perhaps? With a few good times vaguely recalled? Maybe that's the '70s, I don't know.
Interesting to see what the new Big Star album will be like...
― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Tuesday, 4 May 2004 21:12 (9 years ago) Permalink
of course, Chilton & company could scrape a chalkboard with rusty chisels and this guy would say it's the best thing ever.
(I think I listen to Third the most, too)
― Will (will), Tuesday, 4 May 2004 22:25 (9 years ago) Permalink
― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 4 May 2004 22:38 (9 years ago) Permalink
I wonder how committed Chilton is to the whole idea of Big Star these days. Probably not very. I didn't think much of "Hot Thing."
― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 00:22 (9 years ago) Permalink
― de, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 00:24 (9 years ago) Permalink
― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 00:26 (9 years ago) Permalink
― de, Wednesday, 5 May 2004 00:38 (9 years ago) Permalink
― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 00:50 (9 years ago) Permalink
guys seriously I love "Ballad of El Goodo" so much
I want to be in a band that covers this
― iiiijjjj, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 01:41 (5 years ago) Permalink
don't make me say a bunch of shit about it, just fire back re: yes this would be a pretty good thing to do, be in a band that covers this
― iiiijjjj, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 01:42 (5 years ago) Permalink
yeah
― ghost rider, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 01:45 (5 years ago) Permalink
I purchased the Blitzen Trapper song 'Summer Town' just because the vocal hook reminded me of BS' 'Thirteen.'
― calstars, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 01:46 (5 years ago) Permalink
iiiiijjjjj where do you live?
Ya know, Evan Dando covered "El Goodo".
― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 01:50 (5 years ago) Permalink
'Thirteen'>>'El Goodo'
― Drooone, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 01:51 (5 years ago) Permalink
fucking love them. i honestly feel sad for anyone who who passes them by.
― Frogman Henry, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 01:51 (5 years ago) Permalink
drooone otm but it doesn't even matter
― ghost rider, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 01:55 (5 years ago) Permalink
overrated Grandpappy Indie (VU notwithstanding); not worthless, but nor are Wishbone Ash, for goodness sake -- mark s, Wednesday, October 17, 2001 5:00 PM (5 years ago)
"overrated"
― gershy, Tuesday, 19 June 2007 05:18 (5 years ago) Permalink
overrated Grandpappy Indie (VU notwithstanding); not worthless, but nor are Wishbone Ash, for goodness sake
-- mark s, Wednesday, October 17, 2001 5:00 PM (6 years ago) Bookmark Link
― strgn, Tuesday, 11 March 2008 11:24 (5 years ago) Permalink
ENLIGHTENING
― strgn, Tuesday, 11 March 2008 11:25 (5 years ago) Permalink
uh x-post
― strgn, Tuesday, 11 March 2008 11:29 (5 years ago) Permalink
and 'mod lang' is what needs to get cover treatment
― strgn, Tuesday, 11 March 2008 11:30 (5 years ago) Permalink
"Mod Lang" is quite easy to play, so a cover would be cool.
― whisperineddhurt, Tuesday, 11 March 2008 15:30 (5 years ago) Permalink
and somehow, strangely, Big Star lives on. http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&interface=shepemp&event=257724 wish i could go ... is this one of them Don't Look Back things? Are they playing Radio City in its entirety? i'll also take this opportunity to say that Alex Chilton probably has one of the top 5 singing voices in rock and roll history. Serious.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 11 March 2008 15:41 (5 years ago) Permalink
Actually, listening to Radio City and Third, Alex Chilton kind of reminds me of a vanilla Barrett Strong Rude from Lethem's "Forttress of Solitude." Moments on Third definitely sound fucked up enough to come from three-week coke binges.
That being said "Blue Moon" and "Stroke it Noel" totally PWNs! The former is better than "Thirteen" (which, sadly, contains no oboes).
― Drugs A. Money, Wednesday, 12 March 2008 02:44 (5 years ago) Permalink
sweet jesus this band is good. they seem to have such a unique and effortless ear for hook and melody. such a pleasure to listen to. and on another note, 'i'm in love with a girl' appeared on a shuffle the other day. i was feeling a little absent-minded and it took me about 30 seconds to recall who it was without checking. such a sweet, simple song and yet it feels about 20 years ahead of its time.
― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 8 May 2008 16:44 (5 years ago) Permalink
"i'll also take this opportunity to say that Alex Chilton probably has one of the top 5 singing voices in rock and roll history. Serious."
Agreed. Vulnerability and attitude in brilliant proportion.
― Usual Channels, Thursday, 8 May 2008 16:59 (5 years ago) Permalink
yeah, i'll concur there
― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 8 May 2008 17:01 (5 years ago) Permalink
Sweet, poppy, cool, but also kinda fucked up. Quite obviously on Third, but also the hatefully desperate vibe on "Life Is White," and "She's a Mover" is some MANIC shit. I loved them when I was younger -- I was listening to "Thirteen" when I was 13 (funny how i hear it differently now -- so I was amazed when I put their records on about a month ago and they sounded better than ever. It's true, they will always somehow sound contemporary, like any inspired true-believing rock&roll, hey hey my my
― people explosion, Thursday, 8 May 2008 17:13 (5 years ago) Permalink
Hes got a good range on Like Flies On Sherbert too, a bit more free than the Big Star stuff
― silkworm exploding, Thursday, 8 May 2008 17:17 (5 years ago) Permalink
I love that album! It was a recent discovery for me. It's absolute proof that he was in complete sympathy with all things Rock n Roll. "Hey! Little Child" is amazing with its "Whold Wide World" beat* and Chuck Berry-level teenage lechery.
"Oh little fool, are you learning anything in school maybe you might drop out, maybe travel somewhere down south Hey hey little child"
*is there a better name for this beat? I had heard it all my life, but it never really came to life until I heard the Wreckless Eric song
― people explosion, Thursday, 8 May 2008 17:28 (5 years ago) Permalink
hehe! very observant. I really dont know though, have to do some research...
― silkworm exploding, Thursday, 8 May 2008 17:31 (5 years ago) Permalink
Radio City: best guitar and drum sound, ever. perfect. archetypal.
― nerve_pylon, Thursday, 8 May 2008 17:41 (5 years ago) Permalink
@people explosion:
it's called the "Cha-Cha".
― Steve Shasta, Thursday, 8 May 2008 17:43 (5 years ago) Permalink
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JC0Wa3P_dO0&fmt=18
from the dvd accompanying the Oxford American Best of the South issue this month
― will, Wednesday, 23 July 2008 13:13 (4 years ago) Permalink
that is sweet! thanks.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 23 July 2008 14:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
the 'aptly titled number one record' thing's kind of off though, right? i thought that lazy stax distribution meant that they never really did much, sales-wise.
i'm seeing them in a couple of months. i think i'd maybe prefer to see alex play skewed guitar solos and clichés stuff alone, but, still, way exciting.
― schlump, Wednesday, 23 July 2008 14:57 (4 years ago) Permalink
aptly titled 'cause it was their first.
cool video!
― G00blar, Wednesday, 23 July 2008 15:17 (4 years ago) Permalink
"Hey! Little Child" is a cha-cha. xp
― whisperineddhurt, Wednesday, 23 July 2008 15:23 (4 years ago) Permalink
why in the world would they couple this footage with that tune?
― andrew m., Wednesday, 23 July 2008 15:38 (4 years ago) Permalink
ahhh, thanks.
― schlump, Wednesday, 23 July 2008 15:58 (4 years ago) Permalink
have the ardent studio sessions been discussed here yet?
― dell, Friday, 25 July 2008 10:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
I think what the fella meant was that it was No 1 Record as in it's NUMBER ONE, man. As in, Fuckin A, totally bodacious etc.
― Freedom, Friday, 25 July 2008 12:35 (4 years ago) Permalink
is that the thank you friends comp? i think this is where i heard about it. i was pretty excited to hear the demo of downs, because there's a story about the recording of it in the book. apparently they were playing it, when some ardent a & r guy bowled in saying, this could be a HIT!, this song has POTENTIAL!, and so alex said 'i want to use a basketball for the snare drum'. well good.
― schlump, Friday, 25 July 2008 12:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
Could someone explain where the song "Jesus Christ" came from? That is to say, they never had, to my knowledge, any other songs with any religious content and yet it seems to be unironic in its sentiment. The "we're gonna get born now" perhaps belies this a small bit.
― Freedom, Monday, 20 October 2008 16:31 (4 years ago) Permalink
Did any of the other (ie, not what ended up on Radio City) Dolby Fuckers stuff get a legit release? Or were those tapes erased?
― Vol. 3: The Life & Times of E. "Boom" Carter (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 18:29 (1 month ago) Permalink
Big Star's Third: An Orchestrated Live Performance of the Legendary AlbumFeaturing Mike Mills, Jody Stephens, Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, Pete Yorn, Marshall Crenshaw, Pete Yorn, Reeve Carney and many moreSunday, June 30, 2013Central Park, MN7:00 PM – 10:00PM -- FREE EVENT - Arrive Early for guaranteed admissionArtist Website: http://bigstarthird.com/
Big Star's Third is a full performance of the iconic album by an astonishing who's who of rock music featuring famed vocalists including Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, Marshall Crenshaw, Pete Yorn, Reeve Carney (Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark), Jonathan Carney (Mercury Rev) and Beck Stark (Lavender Diamond), supported by an all-star band including Mike Mills (R.E.M.) on bass; Mitch Easter (Lets Active) and Chris Stamey (The dB's) and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star) on guitar; Charles Cleaver on keys; Django Haskins (of The Old Ceremony), Brett Harris and Skylar Gudasz on harmony and guitar; and original Big Star member Jody Stephens on drums, all backed with a twenty- piece chamber orchestra including the famed cellist Jane Scarpantoni. In addition, the concert will feature a selection of earlier songs, including the much-hailed “September Gurls” and “In The Streets” (which was used as the theme of the popular TV sitcom “That ‘70s Show, performed by Cheap Trick).
― brb buying poppers w/my employee discount (forksclovetofu), Friday, 26 April 2013 02:57 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
pete yorn and...pete yorn!
― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Friday, 26 April 2013 02:58 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
i remember admitting to my high school crush that i liked the pete yorn song that was on the radio at the time. things did not go well.
― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Friday, 26 April 2013 02:59 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
good catch on Pete Yorn, I'll ask them to fix that action.
― brb buying poppers w/my employee discount (forksclovetofu), Friday, 26 April 2013 03:00 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
pete yorn...you OWE me now!
― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Friday, 26 April 2013 03:01 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
!!!
Reeve Carney (Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark)
― controversial vegan pregnancy (contenderizer), Friday, 26 April 2013 03:16 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
Today was the 20th anniversary of their first show back together, live in the Hearnes Center parking lot at the University of Missouri.
― pplains, Friday, 26 April 2013 03:17 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
i mean, thank you, friends!
― controversial vegan pregnancy (contenderizer), Friday, 26 April 2013 03:17 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
so...we've never polled "third"?
― brony james (k3vin k.), Friday, 26 April 2013 03:18 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
don't worry, it's "holocaust"
― controversial vegan pregnancy (contenderizer), Friday, 26 April 2013 03:21 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
"nighttime" imho
― brony james (k3vin k.), Friday, 26 April 2013 03:28 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
obviously kangaroo
― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Friday, 26 April 2013 05:04 (4 weeks ago) Permalink