Big Star

Skynyrd getting there.

Jimi Hendrix Experience completely gone.

How quickly we (I) forget.

Badfinger? I just looked at their wiki page to check and apparently, there were like 26 Badfinger line-ups.

the band's just garth and robbie now, right?

^Yeah, and Ronnie Hawkins too (if he counts).

MC5's just Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson.

Then there's lonely old RIngo....

Only one of the mid-'60s Temptations still living. (Dennis Edwards, who replaced David Ruffin in 1968 is also still alive)

Then there's lonely old RIngo....

Erm . . .

Paul died in 1968 as any fule kno

Yeah, seriously. Did no one tell you? They replaced him in the studio with the guy from Badfinger.

Just wanted to post on some of the Chris Bell comments above. First, I was prepared to judge the film based on how much time they spent on Bell, and am happy to report it's a ton. He's so fascinating, and sadly, just as this thread has become obsessed with AC's MJ covers, overlooked. The Jovanovic Big Star bio which came out in 2005 noted that it was quite possible he was struggling with being gay (I don't have the bio sitting around with me, but it's pretty well sourced IIRC).

Much more importantly, the bio & film documented that Bell in fact had a pretty decent hand in writing Radio City as well. perhaps someone can jump in with more info, but given that there isn't a bad song on that record, but it seems like I have read it's more than just 'Back of a Car' which is more than enough.

Bonus awesomeness-a John Jeremiah Sullivan piece on Chris Bell: http://www.oxfordamerican.org/articles/2010/apr/05/john-Jeremiah-sullivan-chris-bell-big-stars-other-/

My fave part in the entire documentary is when folks hear "I Am the Cosmos," and exclaim "so this is where Big Star went!!!!"

The doc claims they wrote a lot in the studio, so I imagine it's a lot like early Beatles: maybe one guy wrote more, but they made each other better. I'm not sure the first album is better than the second, but it's more ... pure. Less restless. Man, when my teacher and I went through the first two albums on guitar, "O My Soul" took at least twice as many pages to chart out than anything else!

link above not working for me; try this:

http://www.oxfordamerican.org/articles/2010/apr/05/john-Jeremiah-sullivan-chris-bell-big-stars-other-/

and I agree; Chris Bell as important as Alex Chilton was on Big Star's first album, and yes he did make several uncredited contributions to Radio City as well, though it's unclear exactly what and how much from what i've read.

My fave part in the entire documentary is when folks hear "I Am the Cosmos," and exclaim "so this is where Big Star went!!!!"

there were people interviewed for a documentary about this band who had never heard that album?! did they just grab random ppl off the street?

the interviewees mean "this is where some of the spirit of big star went" more or less
i liked the doc, not a big fan of the band or the tour. Thinking i should try third again though.

Yeah, it meant "there was this band I loved that changed its sound, and I just realized that sound had disappeared with its founder Chris Bell, who reappeared picking up right where he left off." Back then, barely anyone knew anything about Big Star, let alone that its founder had departed for Europe and practically disappeared. If you were one of the few who bought the records as they came out, you'd probably think Chilton was the mastermind, too. And if you followed Chilton post Big Star, you'd probably also have wondered, huh, what happened to that guy? Solo Chris Bell underscored his contributions better than they could be heard in Big Star, I think.

i liked the doc, not a big fan of the band or the tour.

What tour are you talking about?

I can't imagine anyone not liking the bulk of those first two records. They should have been '70s dorm-room standards.

http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/calendar/big-stars-third/
not so much a tour as an ongoing tribute performance
I'm likely showing my age but "70's dorm room standards" kind of explains why i don't care much for big star

chris' original is fine but i prefer this cover version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAsubglfwGQ

I really enjoyed this movie. It was disjointed a bit, but generally very moving.

Much more importantly, the bio & film documented that Bell in fact had a pretty decent hand in writing Radio City as well. perhaps someone can jump in with more info, but given that there isn't a bad song on that record, but it seems like I have read it's more than just 'Back of a Car' which is more than enough.

In the Rick Clark notes on the old cd twofer, John Fry is quoted that "There somewhere between two and four tracks on Radio City that Chris had a hand in writing, where he said, 'Well I'l get rid of my interest in those.' "Back of A Car" was certainly one...You can probably figure the rest out by listening..."

My guesses: "Back of A Car", "What's Going Ahn" (demoed right after he quit), "You Get What You Deserve" and "Daisy Glaze" (ambitious structure I don't quite see coming all from Alex, although Stephens & Hummel are also credited so who knows...). it also should be mentioned that in that first post-Bell demo session, the band tackled both "I got Kinda Lost" and "There Was A Light"--both solo Bell compositions, possibly suggesting Fry's memory was fuzzy regarding what was recorded and what actually went on the lp.

huh, to me the keepers on the Bell album are Cosmos, Sister, & those two, "I Got Kinda Lost" & "There Was a Light". & those I've gone back to again & again since I got the Ryko v in the early 90s. but the rest of that album has never really sunk in.

I've always felt that "Daisy Glaze" (my favorite Big Star song, most days) felt more like Bell than Chilton.

huh, to me the keepers on the Bell album are Cosmos, Sister, & those two, "I Got Kinda Lost" & "There Was a Light". & those I've gone back to again & again since I got the Ryko v in the early 90s. but the rest of that album has never really sunk in.

"Speed of Sound" is my favorite in spite of the pained vocals in the first verse.

That Big Star recording of "There Was a Light" is like my favorite thing ever. Love it.

"You Get What you Deserve" seems like a Bell tune, the lyrics especially.

I couldn't tell you why, but that's the one that's always seemed like the most "classic rock" of their discography, even more so than "September Gurls" or "Back of a Car". Would totally fit into a ROCK 99.1 THE BRICK set between Steve Miller and Fleetwood Mac.

"Don't Lie to Me" is straight-up '70s blues boogie, until the weird breakdown.

I know there's a 1000 reasons why Big Star's not in the Classic Rock canon, but back in my DJ days when I'd be playing "Fox on the Run" by Sweet or Diesel's "Sausalito Summernights", I'd still wonder.

Seems the Bangles couldn't make out the lyrics to 'September Gurls:'

"September gurls, do so much
And for so long, 'til we touched"

vs

" I was your butch and you were touched "

They may have changed them.

i really can't parse "i was your butch" (which i didn't know was the line til, uh, last week)

http://wdet.org/media/news_images/butch_patrick_young.jpg

is there a good accurate source for Big Star lyrics? They have a lot of lines that I've always wondered about.

I think I just found the answer to my question

for all your big star reference needs

That site did not answer my question about what a September Gurl is.

Always makes me think of the beginning of a new academic year.
I work on a college campus.

That site did not answer my question about what a September Gurl is.

http://theeinspired.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/katy_perry_california_girl-wide.jpg

I thought the college reference for a long time, but then that fails to explain what a December Boy is.

^^Ready for holiday break, footloose & fancy free?

I think Alex once said something to the effect that the dates in the song had to do with star signs and such.

"I was your butch" wtf???

Of course there's always the possibility that they are just crap lyrics

needs kd lang cover

xp

i wish old butch and you would touch

i didn't believe the "i was your butch" line either until i heard mike mills sing it a week ago with the world's big star experts standing behind him (stephens, stamey, the posies guys, etc.).