Big Star

I'm a wasted face, I'm a sad-eyed lie, I'm a holocaust.

Documentary is on Netflix now.

Watching now. Really well done. "When I said Ardent, people thought I had said Argent!"

TGIFs?

great documentary. wish it discussed the making of third a little bit more but can't really complain

Looks like Stranded In Canton is on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1eDzz5fKio&list=PL0FEC235144290819

And just in case you've never heard Elliott Smith sing "Thirteen"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZZWtLch1g0

was posted over in the netflix thread but this panther burns clip is a must watch, so good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U-k32L0KCc

Really enjoyed the movie, and not just as a band bio -- along the way it hits on interesting things about Memphis, the music biz, the weird world of rock crit, how pop culture myths are made and sustained, and the central mystery of how art happens. I almost think it's better that they didn't get to interview Alex. It lets the film revolve around the absence of him and Chris.

otm, every word.

thanks JR for Stranded in Canton, that was fucking great

I like how TGI Friday's was THE place to be. How times have changed.

lol "Axel Chitlin"

I like how TGI Friday's was THE place to be. How times have changed.

Totally agree. It took such a huge mental leap for me to see TGI Fridays as anything other than what it is now.

was it the first TGI Fridays?

second after nyc according to google

Yeah, that part cracked me up. It was so subtle like finding out the Stone's hung out at the first Applebees while recording Exile.

What was the new statute that changed Memphis nightlife? Liquor by the drink? Will never understand Southern alcohol legislation

doc had some nice/funny stuff in it, a bit overlong and hindered by lack of any footage of the band which is a real bummer but not surprising. skirting of Bell's gayness a bit odd.

It helped that there are such great supporting characters in the Big Star story like Jim Dickinson and Wm. Eggleston. Dickinson's widow was great in the doc.

yeah my favorite parts were probably the bits with Eggleston and Dickinson

skirting of Bell's gayness a bit odd.

anything more essentially vetoed by his family

yeah I get that. and man did his sister look uncomfortable on camera.

Guys, one of the Box Tops posted on our borad once, for realz:So it's called _When Pigs Fly_...

Hadn't really dawned on me that some of those other Box Tops also had careers in music.

i didn't think much of the big star doc, but that tav falco clip is just pure unadulterated boss. "well, the best of the worst."

chris bell's sister may have been uncomfortable on camera, but the evident rawness of her brother's death for her came through very clearly and powerfully.

in re. chris's gayness i think the film managed to get across what it needed to.

i bought one of the lesser box tops albums recently, it had the little cut out mark in the //middle// of the jacket! what foolishness is that?

also am impressed with the effeminate quality of alex chilton's voice. tav falco has something of that, too. do you think it was part of their attempt to set themselves apart from conservative suburban west TN or something? or was it just in the water?

best thing on the big star doc DVD is that mini-feature where john fry talked about how the first two big star records were made. that was pure gold. wish there was a whole 2 hours about that.

also why do i get kind of angry when a bunch of british alt.rock mofos show up in these docs to retroactively "validate" their cult heroes? i don't need the guy from hot chip to tell me big star were the best.

I haven't seen the doc yet but there may be some kind of sense to that as the early 90s Big Star revival was mostly inspired by British bands dropping the band's name in interviews.

at least Bono wasn't in it

needed more posies

I haven't seen the doc yet but there may be some kind of sense to that as the early 90s Big Star revival was mostly inspired by British bands dropping the band's name in interviews.

― Position Position, Saturday, January 11, 2014 5:58 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sure, but... who gives a fuck?

Suppose it makes a change from Thurston Moore and Henry Rollins

also am impressed with the effeminate quality of alex chilton's voice. tav falco has something of that, too.

A lot of times IME that's just how some southern men talk. It sometimes codes as effeminate or "gay" but it's just a particular combination of dialect and lilt that I've heard IRL from a lot of men from Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia.

My uncle has the same accent. You can especially tell when he says something like "well I don't know."

Carolinas for sure. I used to find it really distracting in certain men because it had a way of increasing their appeal by roughly 1/3 even when they were not particularly appealing people.

i.e. Lindsey Graham

wait that's a different accent than the one i'm talking about

It's still that kinda sing-songy, rounded and somewhat feminine way of speaking.

No, not the same one, but along those lines.

Somehow this discussion is reminding me of this story Arthur Alexander: Classic or Dud/S & D?

sure, but... who gives a fuck?

ok, but without these talking head dudes the documentary probably doesn't come to be made - their interest and where they took the stuff they found in big star records is kinda part of the story. I actually agree with you, for the most part when one of them comes on I'm like "eh, you're probably just gonna say how much you like the music, not super-interesting" but at the same time, the people who got their minds blown by big star and who made music informed by their take on big star seem like part of the story to me that should somehow be included...to me it's more like, the interviewer should make those dudes dig a little deeper when they're talking

Otm. I'd rather those dudes weren't there or had something more interesting to say but it's kind of the price of entry and if it is kept to a minimum I can live with it.

in the Rob Jovanovic bk on Big Star, p much chris bell's happiest time is when he's hanging out in london w/ glyn johns etc. at some point somebody says, "never underestimate the influence of the beatles on chris bell" - so that musical dialogue with britain is inscribed into big star's music right from the start, and is worth including in a documentary abt them, and showing that it is a living dialogue, even when the ppl engaged in the conversation aren't always esp inspiring

well, i'd say tf guy comes across as far more engaged and engaging than cheap trick were, despite my general higher regard for the works of cheap trick.

i.e. Lindsey Graham

― pplains, Saturday, January 11, 2014 10:57 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wait that's a different accent than the one i'm talking about

― mambo jumbo (La Lechera), Saturday, January 11, 2014 10:58 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

also, lindsey graham is gay.

His sister doesn't want to talk about it either.

Chilton's lyrics swing between awesome and awful, huh

I realised the other day I am kind of burned out on Big Star. Maybe because there are only three albums? but that's not the case with the VU (I never play Loaded really).

The doc is a bit long but overall pretty good I think. The Posies weren't really even interviewed, which was weird. The lack of performance video, especially from the reunion years is odd, too.

Seems like the reason Chris' sexuality was downplayed was because it wasn't essential to the story. His spiritual life was something I didn't know about.