Alex Chilton RIP 2010

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/mar/17/memphis-musician-alex-chilton-dies/

this would make me sad.

whoah

hopeful thought: wtf is "commercialappeal.com"

sad thought: quoted source is jody stephens :(

ohhhh man. massive bummer.

xpost - the Commercial Appeal is a serious Memphis newspaper

this really sucks
rip

ah really? damn.

Pretty sure the Commercial Appeal is a real deal newspaper

RIP

xpost

you've gotta be kidding ....

This is one of those musician deaths where, though I didn't know him personally, it very much feels like a friend dying.

:-(

aw fuck no

no no no

that linked article suddenly became way more fleshed-out btw :(

damn I just put on #1 Record

"Feel like I'm dyin' ... I'm never gonna live again ... "

So terribly sad if it's true.

rip
one of the greats

listening to "Stroke It, Noel" right now...kinda want to cry.

am crying

it's not on wiki yet i noticed

Holy shit I hope this isn't true.

It sounds true.

no no no. this can't be real.

oh man too sad

yeah somebody put the death date on wiki like 20 mins ago. but it's not in the body of the article

yeah, it's on the edit page but not the main body

Commercial Appeal is a legit daily in Memphis tho btw

no, wtf? Isn't Big Star playing at sxsw?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrXM7fKKlR0

oh no

Bob Mehr is a legit journalist... sure he wouldn't just make up a quote from Jody Stephens

His Big Star bandmate Jody Stephens confirmed the news this evening. Chilton had been scheduled to perform with Big Star on Saturday as part at the annual South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

fuck...i guess the mods can take the question marks out. :(

so sad
this is awful, but inevitable i guess

"If he died in Memphis, then that'd be cool, babe."

He didn't, it ain't.

Crank it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTSJYZyouek

fuck.

This is one of those musician deaths where, though I didn't know him personally, it very much feels like a friend dying.

^ this. ;_;

RIP invisible man who could sing in a visible voice. This really is heartbreaking.

Still my vote for the #1 song of all under 2 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD9mCp8SifM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC0Wa3P_dO0

:(

My small obit.

holy fucking shit! i actually thought he would live forever

this sounds a bit like goodbye
in a way it is i guess
as i leave your side
i've taken the air
take care, please, take care

:(

This is horribly sad news.

:(

:( :( :( RIP time to play some Big Star

oh, fuck

no

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL67lMDNzp0

This is "punched in the gut" sad.

goddamn, Mark Linkous and now Chilton, this is a rough month

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF8fnoA1VNM

This is "punched in the gut" sad.

― ô_o (Nicole)

^ This. I didn't expect to cry this afternoon.

ugh wtf ... this guy has meant so much to me over the years. and I've spent the last two months on a big star kick because of getting the box set. goddammit.

goddamn, Mark Linkous and now Chilton, this is a rough month

― Whiney for No Apparent Reason (some dude), Thursday, March 18, 2010 1:46 AM (3 minutes ago)

this is exactly how i am feeling at the moment

barry hannah, too.

FUCK YOU MARCH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsQ977u8Wuk

sigh

one of the great american songwriters. can't tell you how sad this makes me.

aggghhh... ouch.. this is like getting slapped

shit dawg

Wow. When I do my radio show next week, I will definitely lead with "Alex Chilton"/"Thirteen"/"I Pray for Rain."

i feel sad, but mostly i feel thankful
thankful that i heard him when i did, and that he was there to be heard
thanks for being so awesome and writing so many great songs and changing my life, alex chilton.

I wish he hadn't spent the bulk of his life squandering his talent. It makes it doubly sad.

oh come on ... he gave what he had to give, and that was more than enough.

one of the great and pleasing things about moving to glasgow a few years ago was finding myself in a city that worshipped big star, seeing NO1 RECORD prominently displayed in HMV on sauchiehall street, suddenly hearing 'september gurls' playing in a bar, just knowing that alex's music was being kept alive by hundreds of fans and bands - few musicians have meant as much to me, R.I.P

single coolest dude in all of rock, ever? maybe? major bummer.

RIP

Rob Sheffield linked to this Ivan Kreilkamp blog post about discovering BS in the eighties:

http://moonraking.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/big-star-revisited/

while working through this and talking to some friends, i came to the realization that he was one of the most gracious performers i have seen - he played the 7th street entry several (maybe many) years ago, and it was hardly a packed crowd, but he was so obviously and genuinely happy that people cared about him and the stuff he was doing. it was one of the most charming shows i've ever seen, and it's really sad to realize that i will never have another chance to share that moment with him and an audience ever again.

Oh wow - so sad - my friend was so anxious to see 'em at SXSW - havta give him a call ...

I saw Alex Chilton just once, in 1984, at the Uptown Bar in Minneapolis, with the Replacements. It was a glorious, shitfaced drunk, inspired and beatific show. They played a bunch of covers. I bootlegged it on cassette and I think I still have the tape somewhere. Jesus Christ, I hope so.

A lesser songwriter wrote:

I'm in love!
What's that song?
I'm in love
with that song.

Rest in peace.

very sad. recently found myself getting more and more into big star (via the placemats).

Big Star has been my favorite band since I was in high school. Got to meet Alex at the bar in the basement of the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in November, and in spite of all the rumors of his rude demeanor he was about as nice to me as anyone's ever been. He sat and talked with me for a half hour about my horoscope and assured me that the next two years of my life would be really positive. Normally I wouldn't care what anybody said about astrology but coming from him it seemed so plausible. Totally devastated.

thank you for that link Alfred - a nice piece which mirrors, to some extent, my own experience of becoming a british big star fan in the 1980s - even then, when information was scarce, alex's music was championed by a number of uk rock critics, esp. Max Bell (he wrote the sleevenotes to LIVE IN LONDON, which for a long while was a much easier rec to acquire than SISTER LOVERS)- the version of 'kangaroo' by this mortal coil was another example of brit love for big star, and another portal to that sound and feeling

As I wrote upthread, I'm sure the Bangles cover got him some much-needed dough at the time -- maybe not Nick Lowe level, but six figures surely. Anyone know if he ever responded?

ok i freaked my daughter out a little
she's never seen her old man break down and sob like a little kid before

now the whisky

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. I usually count #1 Record and Radio City as my favorite Big Star album, but my first instinct was to reach for Third/Sister Lovers. It captures the mood of the moment with bitter, fractured perfection. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

Deepest condolences to Alex Chilton's wife Laura, son Timothy, and other family and loved ones.

I was about to post the same thing.

damnit, i feel like someone just punched me in the gut. RIP

Strange kind of pride in being a Chilton fan tonight

RIP guy, you friggin rocked.

this sucks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li4CDijYaR4

My small obit.

Good words, Alfred. My own attempt.

I hope he is jamming in the sky tonight with Willie Tee. RIP.

(Although he would probably take offense at my use of the word 'jamming' and freeze me with that withering smile)

Well I personally hope he's jamming in the sky with Chris Bell.

yeah, that's almost enough to make me hope for a heaven

i remember getting the ryko reissue of sisters lovers my senior year in high school and it felt like someone told me a secret.

(maybe a sad secret though)

fuck

Goddamn this makes me sad.

http://www.paulwesterberg.net/2010/03/17/children-by-the-million-mourn-for-alex-chilton/

nyt obit

funny you never know whose death will relly hit hard -- d boon, zappa, now chilton
who will do it next? no idea
meanwhile the whisky

my friend was so anxious to see 'em at SXSW

Me too. Was going to finally see Big Star in three days. Crushing, and unbelievably sad.

His death, that is... not me missing the show.

I saw him solo at the West End in Chicago in the summer of 1985. I was way too young for a fake ID to have worked, but a high school friend was the babysitter for the bar's owner, so we were in. It was a great night to see him perform. The Big Star revival era was just kicking in (between Game Theory, REM, and the dB's, if you liked certain flavors of pop you soon learned you liked musicians who loved Chilton). The club was packed, and Chilton was clearly touched by the rapturous response he got for everything. He dug back and gave us lots of treats, including The Letter (which I'd heard he'd long since disowned), Fields of Clover (maybe on a request?) and plenty of Big Star -- Holocaust was especially good. He wanted to play a song he'd just written but apologized that he couldn't make out the words at his feet; instantly a guy in the front row picked up Chilton's notebook and held it steady at Chilton's chest level for the duration; Chilton thanked him and made sure the crowd gave the guy a round of applause. Thank you, Alex Chilton, for providing that moment, that made me feel like we were all in it together. RIP.

got to see big star at the new daisy in memphs, saw alex (trio) at the overton park "save the shell" benefit -- very thankful now

god this is bumming me out

truly sad .
condolences to family,friends and anyone who is a fan.

listening to the first two big star records, don't know if i can take third

may have to jump to high priest

yeah i went straight to third

started more seriously exploring the box set. will download all of it asap.

i hope you mean buy it

download it on emusic, i meant.

48 "credits."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu_gB34pHLA

feeling sad that I never got to see him live -- one of the few big heroes I could say that about. But I always liked seeing him pop up in unexpected places -- there was a youtube video of his set w/ Yo La Tengo from a few years back and he looked/sounded as cool as ever.

dude was kind of an incredible guitar player, too -- not quite something he gets full credit for, but he had a great style. that live disc from the box set really shows it off nicely.

I admit to wondering how the news was being circulated in Austin, and how many cover versions were going to be heard by the end of the weekend.

Heading downtown now (later than expected, and saddened) -- I'll let you know.

Nice tributes, btw, Ned, Alfred...

saw Alex for the first (and now, sadly, only) time, 15 months ago, Dec'09. At the Old Town School for Folk Music in Chicago. What I have to believe is the most intimate venue for music in these United States. Alex was a gracious host, funny, engaging, and most importantly, it was totally enjoyable *as music*. Not some drunken shit show as some have reported his later career to be. It was, I gather, the typical emphasis on R&B/Soul tracks and a couple things he'd been involved with. Basically, the music that *HE* likes. I thought it was outstanding.

set list:

Everytime She Cha-Cha-Cha's
In The Street
Claim to Fame
Lipstick Traces
umm, something by "the King of Italian Rock and Roll!" haha, i dunno, that's what I wrote in my notes! so, uh, god bless you Alex for introducing me to the King of Italian Rock and Roll
Hook Me Up
The Letter
When My Baby's Beside Me
*some jazzy instrumental
*other track I couldn't identify
------------------------------------
Rock With You (MJ cover)
Too Late To Turn Back Now (Cornelius Brothers cover)

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/03/18/blogs/18chilton_artsbeat/18chilton_artsbeat-blogSpan.jpg

15 months ago, Dec'09

Hmm.

Yeah, I loved his guitar playing, using the best parts of Townshend and McGuinn: slash and jangle.

*fusing

esp. like this from ned
The scale of our ambitions for our creativity varies, and whatever his struggles and losses, Chilton was blessed with the gift of not simply wanting to do one thing over and over again.
i just think that's why reading things like "he squandered his talent" kind of rankles -- I think that his talent was always in evidence, post Big Star, pre Big Star, whatever. Whether or not his music struck quite the chord it did as those classic albums is kind of beside the point ... I don't know, not really making sense.

http://bedazzled.blogs.com/bedazzled/images/boxtops_on_upbeat.jpg

also, re: that gig -- he seemed in super good spirits, and the show went pretty smooth. I think Alex stopped the band and restarted them for one song. haha, that seemed like a good night from what I'd gathered! but yeah man, the guy just looked healthy and happy. he smiled a lot

On the basis of the photo above, Harry Dean Stanton could play him in a movie.

made plans this afternoon to go and see the william eggleston exhibit at the art institute of chicago gallery tomorrow - hopefully gonna get to see the original c-print used for the cover of radio city

i loved his gtr playing too, and i especially loved how he quickly moved beyond that who/beatles/kinks/etc stuff and started absorbing a wide variety of american roots music. he loved music so fucking much. that's the saddest thing of all to me, the thing i will miss the most. such a beautiful soul onstage, especially when he wasn't getting paid to rehash big star songs. and i love all those big star songs.

i'm feeling incoherent right now.

I remember kinda making fun of "Set" when it first came out, because it seemed so tossed off, but it quickly became a straight-up favorite. Such a good vibe, definitely a perfect record to play during a party.

xpost me too ;_;

wish i had a joint so bad, haha

whenever I get pretty drunk (fairly often, no surprise there), my first instinct these days is honestly not to reach for a Big Star record, but for this thing:

http://a31.idata.over-blog.com/280x280/0/24/04/68/album-11/Chilton1970.jpg

I just love it so much.

"Happy Song", "Something Deep Inside", "Just To See You" .. DAMN

hits the spot EVERY time

this sounds a bit like goodbye
in a way it is i guess

i just think that's why reading things like "he squandered his talent" kind of rankles

Well, just to address this point... His last 30 years of recording was almost all covers. That's fine, but in my mind, he was more than a great performer; he was a great songwriter. That, to me (in a selfish kind of way), was kind of a waste. Heck, even the liner notes to the reissued #1 Record/Radio City album basically says the same thing. But yet, I understand that we each have to live our own lives, and to his credit, he did follow his own path, so kudos to him for that.

yeah, i see where you're coming from -- and I've probably thought the same thing at one time or another. I guess that if he didn't feel the songwriting muse, I feel like that's OK -- he had already written some of the best songs of the last 50 or so years. He just did it in a short burst, rather than spreading it out over a career. In the end, all that matters is that he did it, you know?

15 months ago, Dec'09

Hmm.

― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor)

whoops -- fat-finger on my part. yep, it was actually '08. sorry about that, "ilxor", whoever the hell you are

I got into Big Star via Teenage Fanclub in the early '90s. Information and actual plays of Big Star were extremely hard to come by back then, and Teenage Fanclub either mentioned them in every interview or were relentlessly compared to them in reviews. I liked Teenage Fanclub, ergo I picked up a Big Star album without actually hearing it first at some record fair. I can't begin to fathom how many plays that copy of #1 record has had now, and naturally I hoovered up everything else whenever I could afterwards. I saw Big Star at the Reading Festival in '92 (I think it was?) and it left me pretty cold. Don't really want to think about that now. I can't go near Third yet. That's just way too much.

He just did it in a short burst, rather than spreading it out over a career. In the end, all that matters is that he did it, you know?

I guess now that you mention it, most great artists who keep writing for decades get worse and worse over time... in a way, he was able to preserve his legacy by not writing bad songs later in his career.

yeah, in a lot of ways, it seemed like he barely considered himself a songwriter -- I know he rarely had good things to say about his Big Star songs, saying that it was just him flailing around.

(obviously he was wrong!)

was about to post this ^^^^^

i mean for me the most depressing thing is the relaxing endgame that Alex has lost. Weird ass entertainment contracts notwithstanding, I have to believe he should have garnered enough money for a modest lifestyle to ride out with ... You know, the Bangles cover, sure, but also the 'That 70s Show' thing. Heck, some nice new royalties from that brand new box set!

Alex should have had many more years to waltz down to Coop's on Decatur, have a few Abitas and red beans and rice, walk back to his place in the Quarter, and enjoy himself spinning those R&B and Soul records that he loved so much. that is what is so depressing. he was owed that. he deserved to get that denouement and it's been taken away.

otm

i hope he got mohtherfuckin PAID from that 70s show

So sad. He did most of his loungey songs the one time I saw him way back when, but it was still him--the guy who did so much cool Memphis stuff.

"i hope he got mohtherfuckin PAID from that 70s show"

i don't think he did... he mentioned it in an interview once, and it wasn't that much (relatively, and at least at that time).

made plans this afternoon to go and see the william eggleston exhibit at the art institute of chicago gallery tomorrow - hopefully gonna get to see the original c-print used for the cover of radio city

Saw this exhibit when it was in DC. Yes you will...

he was only 59, geez

i don't think he did... he mentioned it in an interview once, and it wasn't that much (relatively, and at least at that time).

I think it was $70 every time the show came on. Or that's what he quipped in an interview i think.

not much to add to this thread at this point except that third/sister lovers felt like a discovered secret when i half-accidentally bought it in high school. and still does, really.

r.i.p.

RIP.

Everybody I've ever met who liked good music loved Big Star. They were undeniable.

he was only 59, geez

His "oldies station" status was from when he was 16. It kind of skews everyone's perception of his age.

RIP. A giant, and the fact that this thread is already near to 150 posts attests to that.

the william eggleston exhibit at the art institute of chicago gallery tomorrow

saw this in new york, definitely go!

I saw Big Star at the Reading Festival in '92 (I think it was?)

couldn't be, the U of Missouri show in '93 was their first show in forever. Still can't believe I didn't go to that. I was in high school, some friends roadtripped, I didn't really know who Big Star was. Later I ended up working at the college station that put that show on (what up Mr. Que). The guy who called up Chilton and was like "hey you should do this show" and for who knows whatever reason he said yes is a friend of mine now. I don't want to be like braggin but the story is too weird not to share, the Big Star reunion happened because some college kid called him out of the blue and he said why not. I got to Mizzou right after that and everyone was so massively into Big Star, I got hooked on it hard. They were the best.

takin this real hard

that'd be 350/week from every station that ran it in the afternoons or latenite once it hit syndication right? that'd pay my rent

i can see him being happy like "this won't make me rich but it'll pay the fucking RENT"

so drunk

if bimble felt his feelings this hard all the time i can see why it wnet where it went, this is fucking rough

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I'm not sure how much of a hand The Posies had in Big Star's last album (the 2005 one) but I thought this song was pretty ace...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0LLXoNVU7s

"the william eggleston exhibit at the art institute of chicago gallery tomorrow--saw this in new york, definitely go!"

me too! i spent the whole time looking around for big star/chilton-related stuff, and found plenty. was the cadillac/dolls photo from "like flies" there? i don't recall... it's just another thing i have big star to thank for.. eggleston is one of my favorite photographers because of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP2t6flTmyY

On that "Alex Chilton 1970" record I kinda love the cover of "Sugar Sugar."

was the cadillac/dolls photo from "like flies" there?

yep

thought so... if i remember correctly, it was on a wall all it's own (even if it was a little corner wall beside a door frame). but i could just be making something up. i went with a buddy who was familiar with big star, but had never heard any solo chilton stuff. i hooked him up and his life has gone to hell since.

chilton's on yahoo's front page national news section. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_alex_chilton

RIP.

Thanks to whoever pointed me to "Pray For Rain" upthread. What a lovely song.

there was also a crazy video piece that was all doped up footage of Alex Chilton, Jim Dickinson and everyone else who figured into "It Came From Memphis" (amazing book btw) xpost re eggleston exhibit

yeah that film is called Stranded In Canton... it's on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1eDzz5fKio

this is real sad. only 59? that means he was.. 20 years old when the first big star album came out? 21? wtf.

i have to say, if someone had asked to come up with a list of ten musicians whose death would sadden me most, i probably would've forgotten to include him. but damned if this doesn't hurt so bad. makes those ten names seem kind of insignificant at the moment.

Oh fuck you have to be shitting me. Take care Alex :(

You never know whose death will hit you the hardest. I haven't been this heartbroken over a music-related death since John Peel in 2004 (who, before then, would've been an unlikely candidate as well).

Have officially broken out the single malt. Anyone who wants a glass is welcome to come over.

"Too bad. Such a drag. OW! So much pain. Down the drain. A lot of us haven't got many friends."

You know that whole "at least the albums remain" phrase always kinda grated on me. Always seemed kinda dismissive but then I couldn't really separate the work from the person. Sure much of his later work was ephemeral, but those albums got me through a lot of good times and shitty times. I suspect they'll keep doing that.

listening to "Ballad Of El Goodo", drinking rum

Guys, allow me to be frank with this half-bottle-of-wine post, a little spontaneous, impromptu reaction to this recent shocking bit of news we all got tonight.

I have been on ilx for like 8 or 9 years or some sad amount of time and I have seen my share of RIP threads and whole/half-hearted tributes to obscure ephemeral somebodies that meant something to someone at some time.

But this time is different. Alex Chilton was one of my all-time favorites, I held this man to a completely different level of opinion, judgement and respect than I reserve for any artist I come across.

Aside from undoutedly hearing "The Letter" in a Piggly Wiggly hand-in-hand with my Mother as a snot-nosed kid, I had my first heavy Chilton (well, Big Star) phase from ages 18-21. I had an Italian boot of "Sister Lovers" (pre-rykodisc era) with an alternate sequence that I have reprogrammed my itunes to play in because THAT was the version that I fell in love with. It certainly isn't strange that I ended up cherishing Chilton's music much more than REM or The Replacements or Teenage Fanclub or Posies who gave the man/band much lip service and raised them from cult local favorites/one hit wonders into an international cult niche.

Where I'm from, there ain't much to be proud of... well there's quite a few post-modern literary icons, but an ugly, ugly history of bitterness and unfairness. But musically, there was ALWAYS an unending rich vein that ran throughout the hills between the delta and Memphis. I'd like to think that Alex's legacy although dwarfed by Elvis, Sun, Stax/Volt in the popular opinion, was always supported by the critical wisdom of losers, misfits and weirdos whom my taste in music always seemed to intersecet with.

My first time I ever performed music live was in my lol freshman year at a shitty San Diego bar, I closed with the three song suite from Sister Lovers: Nighttime-Blue Moon-Take Care. I'd never played in the dark with a single spotlight on me in a woodchair with a simple table next to it, a lukewarm double whiskey-coke as my self-confidence crutch. As I sang those songs to a half-full room full of mostly strangers, I heard the words new, differently than I did in my room playing along to the stereo on the carpeted floor. Heard like Kurtz's crystal bullet, for the first time.

Most people go as far as Big Star and maybe LIke Flies On Sherbert, but I was always drawn to the "lost era" of Chilton, his downward spiral in the Lower East Side fueling his genius... some glowing posts of mine form 7 years ago:

Alex Chilton S&D

and even a dumb RFI question posed:

RFI: Lyrics to Alex Chilton's "Tennis Bum"

And yeah I'll admit that's about as far as I go, but what I do have I have spent many, many hours digging deeper into the grooves of.

Okay I've gone on way too long. I'll admit I haven't even read a single post on this thread yet, I will say that I'm listening to Big Black Car right now and it's just about the heaviest thing in the world to me.

Reposting from ITR thread: SAD TIMES CAN SUCK IT LETS ALL BE PARTY AND AWESOME

JUST GOING TO PRETTY MUCH BUMP THIS EVERY TIME SOMEONE WHOSE MUSICAL OR CULTURAL WHATEVER STUFF THAT HIT ME IN THE HEART DIES. BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT I AM PRETTY SURE THAT THEY WOULD ALL SAY THAT SAD TIMES CAN SUCK IT LETS ALL BE PARTY AND AWESOME. I WELCOME YOU ALL SADDOS, GET A DRINK, RIP MR. CHILTON, YOU WOULD HAVE WANTED THIS WAY I THINK.

― First and Last and Safeways ™ (jjjusten), Wednesday, March 17, 2010 10:26 PM (16 minutes ago)

Hanging out there for the evening.

I'm reminded of a really poignant part of David Reisman's "Listening to Popular Music" essay, where he talks about how teenagers, though they felt uncomfortable admitting it, most often listen to pop records when they're alone, and how singers often times worked as vicarious company, as a way to combat loneliness, for the pop fan.

Big Star is one of those bands that kept you company like that. With some bands and singers you don't so much just listen to them as you feel like you invite them into your home, your bedroom, or some other private place, to experience things with you, and thus their death impacts you like the loss of a friend. News of Chilton's death was like hearing that someone I used to hang out with all the time died.

still gutted. can't talk about this. Elvis I'm having a drink with you here in SF.

ach. what a thing to wake up to.

thank you, alex.

rip.

this little note really stuck with me when folks were talking about the box set

description of what's going ahn demo sounds great too, that song's pretty perfect. there are all these beautiful stories about the backstory (like a GREAT one i think i typed somewhere before about jim dickinson's crutches on nature boy), and one of them is a similar sort of thing as above about watch the sunrise; when big star were rock city but starting to hang out with alex, they ended up in the studio asking him if he had any songs or what he could do, and he sat and played it, and that's it, just with an overdubbed twelve string at the start. so great.

― corps of discovery (schlump), Friday, May 29, 2009 11:39 PM (9 months ago)

also this post

having interviewed Alex Chilton in 1981 and seen him play in various contexts since then--maybe I've seen him 30 times, in every situation from Panther Burns to Big Star reunion to half-assed Alan Vega thing in NYC to New Orleans gig in which he was part of a band doing Huey Smith and Coasters covers to solo shows--I do think he's been a misunderstood artist in almost every way possible. He, I believe, is interested or was interested or is intermittently interested in the kind of thing Big Star did (gloss on West Coast '60s pop and so forth). The thing that people who have never spent time in Memphis truly attempting to soak up what's unique about the town's musical heritage can never understand is the sheer range of the musical endeavor the town has essayed. In Chilton's case, many people who have a rather limited understanding of what music is and will always be, at least in North America, think that the "powerpop" aspect of Chilton supersedes the other stuff he has been interested in preserving, much like Snooks Eaglin or some other broad-ranging musician who has sensed that the intersection of pop and something deeper and older (Elmore James meets the Beatles). In other words, there's always been something else and Alex Chilton has realized that--it's the source of his power and the reason so many people whose minds stop at "September Gurls" or whatever can't get their heads around the other stuff. The blues, r&b, thwarted pop, and so forth. I mean Artful Dodger were a good band but who cares about 'em now, whereas the Big Star records are a bit deeper.

The rub is that Alex Chilton sorta realized the contrast between the pop expectations of the '60s and the other stuff, which was always there and which is in my opinion as important as the Beatles or the Byrds. Chilton is correct to say that "Radio City" is a matter of production values as much as it is music; incorrect, perhaps, or just perverse, to say that the songs aren't "about" anything. Chris Bell, on the other hand, was more a Beatles obsessive.

So that's why I like the folkie shit on the Big Star box that came out this year. Like "Country Morn," where the words are all about how Chris Bell can't understand the world. Bell, had he lived, would've turned into...what? Freedy Johnston? Hard to tell. Whereas Chilton understood, I think, the limits of pop and its ability to understand the world, and I think he realized his audience (who is in the main rather more stupid than he is, given the short-sighted nature of pop fans who, after all, have an interest in getting RID of their past as opposed to gaining strength from it, as Alex Chilton has at least attempted to do) has the somewhat idiotic idea that pop gets rid of history. Quite the opposite, right? Which is why 99% of everything written about Big Star sorta misses the point. At this late date in my life, I think "Third" is the one. A record that actually sums up what I've tried to grope toward in this post, about the way the past and present fight each other in the struggle to create pop, and the limits of pop. This is what Alex Chilton has tried to describe, and if he failed, so have we all.

― ebbjunior, Wednesday, January 6, 2010 7:25 PM (2 months ago) Bookmark

both from the main Big Star thread

Coincidentally, after hearing some song in the car today (wish I could recall it) I said something to myself along the lines of "God Bless every person who's ever been in a decent power pop band at any point in time -- they all deserve hugs."

The light-hearted fun that's inherent in the tone of the genre is one of the wonderful things about it, and a lot of that comes from Big Star.

good post Shasta

it's not like I need ILX to connect w/people who like Alex Chilton (all my closest friends are big fans) but it feels good to read this stuff tonight

god Third is hard to fucking listen to. I'm up to Femme Fatale. bed soon.

Working my way through the box set. "What's Going Ahn" demo on now. fucking hell...

Watching this was what finally made the tears come. Candid Big Star footage ca. 1972 set to "Thirteen." Fittingly, the last image of Chilton is him running around a corner and then a plane flying away. :(

http://vimeo.com/6806280

kinda don't know what to say, waking up to this.

"I'm just doing what I like to do, what sounds melodious to my ears."

RIP

That 70s Show just came on and the opening credits killed me! RIP, AC.

Aw fuck this.

Sleeve OTM about Memphis, I feel. Only spent a week there once, but I remember feeling a growing understanding of how much what he was could be understood in light of where he came from.

RIP

Always thought he's live to a great age actually: unlike most pop singers, he'd have made a fine old guy: I could see him like Furry Lewis, swapping songs for whiskey or joints, telling tall tales, quietly reveling in being effortlessly cooler than all the young folks: and even, like Furry, somehow blagging a pension off the city of Memphis....

I think I might be the first person on this thread to admit that I didn't know Alex Chilton until I heard This Mortal Coil in the early '80s (I was a huge 4AD stan back then), but after both hearing and being gobsmacked/heartthwacked by "Kangaroo", I at least dug back into Big Star's stuff to enough of a degree that I rejoiced that I'd found another very awesome band to keep me company when actual company wasn't actually working.

Really fucking sorry he's gone.

Damn. RIP.

no words really. would just like to go back to bed and pretend today didn't happen.

Argh, I really wish I wasn't reading this at work. Now I can't go play Thirteen. Now I'm not allowed to cry.

RIP dude, you'll be missed terribly.

Ah fuck, this seems so fucking unreal.

Gah, now they are playing it on the radio. Gotta run somewhere else and not cry.

I'm so sad. So so sad. Listening to "Back Of A Car" as I write this and it sounds so youthful and desperate yet confident. Thank you for the gorgeous moments, Alex.

Oh man, can't believe it. RIP Alex. What a disaster.

Listening to #1 Record now and wishing him well. Time to sleep.

I hope they play "I've Had It" at his funeral. Wanna listen to everything he ever did right now.

shocking news first thing in the AM but steve shasta's fine fine post put it in perspective/RIP

I was just listening to his recording of "Nature Boy," and the sad, happy-desperate laughter that enters his voice in the last verses just broke my heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Ac_rTU62c

testifying to this guy and his guitar
so glad i got to see this guy - leading big star through an elgar cover, because they were playing in london, y'know - and bopping around with the box tops (picking up a bass for green onions), looking sixteen years old throughout.

will be blasting CLICHES asap. there will never be another alex.

This is so sad. I saw him just last year, fronting the Box Tops at an outdoor street fair. He was charming, engaged, ...happy. It was such a pleasure to see. I'm glad that's my last memory of him. That Box Tops reunion cd, "Tear Off," is a lovely little set of Memphis classics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_0Wwv-BZwo&feature=related

i've only just heard about this - this is such sad news. RIP Alex. :(

first saw him at Folk City (in a series of $3 shows booked by Ira Kaplan) circa '83, last w/ Box Tops in the plaza of the World Trade Center in the summer of 2001. RIP

RIP. Some great albums with Big Star, and "September Gurls" will forever remain a true classic.

I know it's not the first thing on his resume, but I was a huge Cramps fan in the early '80s, so I also automatically associate him with his production work--"production work" (in a good way!)--on Gravest Hits and Songs the Lord Taught Us.

^ this

"Kangaroo" god... if a song could swoon...

This sucks. I can't believe it.

Big Star was my constant companion during my high school years. Still love them.

Watching that Neon Rainbow clip,and the YLT Femme Fatale above, reminds me that not least of the things I loved about Alex was his speaking voice and his haut- bourgeois Memphis enunciation: I can imagine what it did to women.....

there was also a crazy video piece that was all doped up footage of Alex Chilton, Jim Dickinson and everyone else who figured into "It Came From Memphis" (amazing book btw) xpost re eggleston exhibit

― dmr, Thursday, 18 March 2010 04:55 (7 hours ago) Permalink

Memphis writer Robert Gordon (not the singer) put that together for the "It Came From Memphis" book tour he did. Awesome footage of all kinds of Memphis-related stuff including if I remember correctly--a local Memphis tv news feature on Chilton producing the Cramps. I don't think Gordon(who has also done work on music docs for PBS and others now) could ever get the rights from all involved to release that video collection. In DC there were just a handful of us there at that bookstore watching the video and we were all mesmerized.

Anything to do with the video stills on the "Like Flies On Sherbert" sleeve?

thanks alex

x-post. Don't remember. There's the Eggleston home movie footage and photos and there's the Robert Gordon home-made comp of Memphis musicians stuff that he acquired over the years. Don't recall everything Gordon included.

I had to poke around a bit, but here's Rob Sheffield's recollection of meeting Renee Christ from Love Is a Mix Tape:

"Renee and I met at a bar called the Eastern Standard in Charlottesville, Virginia. I had just moved there to study English in grad school. Renee was a fiction writer in the MFA program. I was sitting with my poet friend Chris at a table in the back when I fell under the spell of Renee's bourbon-baked voice. The bartender put on Big Star's Radio City. Renee was the only other person in the room who perked up. We started talking about how much we loved Big Star. It turned out we had the same favorite Big Star song--the acoustic ballad "Thirteen." She'd never heard their third album, Sister Lovers. So, naturally, I told her the same thing I'd told every other woman I'd ever fallen for: 'I'll make you a tape!'"

Crist, not Christ.

One thing listening to Chilton has meant for me, over the years, is becoming aware of how different my understanding of what an artist is doing, and where she's coming from, may differ from the artist's self-understanding. He's been tapping into something different than my own pop trajectory---not just more personal, though of course that, but also different musical and even pop traditions. This is pretty obvious for someone from Latin America or even Europe, but I was raised in the South, but still in such a different musical place than him. So when I listen to him I wonder if I'm hearing what he thought I'd hear, or what he wanted me to hear. To me he came to seem more more alien as I became more aware of my own pop understanding, and the promise of following him back to his homeworld remains an elusive hope.

including if I remember correctly--a local Memphis tv news feature on Chilton producing the Cramps

sounds cool. what I was talking about though (what was in the Eggleston exhibit) was the Stranded in Canton movie Hatch linked to upthread

One of the disadvantages to listening to NPR so early is hearing the announcement of someone's death that casts a pall over the whole morning.

RIP

http://chuckprophet.com/blog/alex_chilton/

That opening line!

totally shocked to see this last night. major bummer. RIP crazy dude, you made some beautiful stuff.

all the westerberg quotes remind me what a perfect song about alex chilton it is. at least he got the eulogy he deserved. (and while he was alive to hear it, too.)

I'm not crazy about Westerberg's solo on that song – my only quibble.

many xposts... found the interview where he refers to it as "That $70 Show"

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/alexchilton/articles/story/5923511/alex_chilton_set_to_go

Another fan of the story of the young Steve Shasta hearing the group named after a Memphis grocery store whilst in another Memphis-based grocery store.

OK, I am a slow responder. I heard about this last night but it is just starting to sink in.

all the stories on this thread are making me tear up a bit

Brett Eugene Ralph, author, louisville punk, member of Fading Out and Rising Shotgun on Chilton:

"To ease the ache, I'll tell a story about the first time I saw Alex Chilton play. It was in Louisville, at Uncle Pleasant's, in the summer of 1988. I remember it being a banner night for music in Louisville; besides Chilton, Dwight Yoakam was playing on the Belvedere and Die Kreuzen was over at Tewligan's.

Chilton was backed by an unspectacular rhythjm section. The show was about half fantastically inspired and half workmanlike boogie chestnuts (I remember Chilton's take on "Young Blood" being among the highlights). About forty minutes into the set, they went into "The Letter." During the second verse, someone bumped into Chilton's microphone, and it popped him in the mouth. "I'm not losing any teeth over you fuckers," Chilton hissed and stalked off the stage. Everybody, including Chilton's band mates, looked at one another in disbelief.

Twenty minutes went by. Maybe a half hour. I asked the bass player if he thought they'd play anymore. "I don't know, man," he said. "Alex sounded pretty pissed off." Chilton sat at the bar with not another person in the packed bar within fifteen feet of him.

After 45 minutes, Chilton made his way back to the stage. Seemingly, he'd gotten over it. "Sorry about that," he said, "but when you get to be my age, you get pretty attached to your teeth." He glanced at the drummer. "We'll try to pick up where we left off . . ."

And then, so help me God, he counted off and they went into "The Letter" in the middle of the second verse--right where they'd stopped nearly an hour ago.

Bravo, Mr. Chilton. Bravo."

this still hasnt sunk in yet

rip
no idea why this is making me feel as bad as it is, but then again I've never really been able to understand mourning

loved this story quoted on the awl today -

Paul: My favorite tale is from Our Band Could Be Your Life, when he shut down Gibby Haynes's rampage through the Netherlands:

Moments later a man entered the dressing room and asked if he could borrow a guitar. “BORROW A GUITAR??!!! WELL, WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU???!!! [Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers] screamed, eyes flashing in delirious anticpation of forthcoming violence. But the man was totally unfazed.

“I’m Alex Chilton,” the man answered calmly.

Haynes was flabbergasted. After a long pause, he methodically opened the remaining guitar cases one by one and gestured at them as if to say, “Take anything you want.”

"i'm alex chilton"

^^wow <3

that is just awesome.

Still can't really believe it. Just seems like someone will say, "nah, just kidding"
Emailed my dad the news cause he was a big fan of the Box Tops. "That's life" he replied.

OK, another story. I was at CBGB, where Chilton was playing in his trio w/ Chris Stamey. Before his set he was crouched down on the stage, making adjustments to his amp. Assuming he was a roadie, someone asked him "Is this guy Alex Chilton any good?" Chilton gave him a smile and said (paraphrasing, forgive me, this was a long time ago), "Yeah, y'know, he's alright. Sometimes he drinks too much, but he's usually pretty good." And went back to his adjustments.

^^^ Great story! I did that once (mistook a band's bass player for a roadie and then started criticizing the band!)

Here's a toast to the greatest high school memory maker I've ever known.

holy shit! alex made congress: http://www.c-spanarchives.org/program/ID/221212&start=1596&end=1715

RIP a lot

holy s--t want to vote for rep. steve cohen ASAP.

used to have this one as 12" ep, great track called 'wild kingdom' on the second side:

http://www.vinylmoon.com/activos/maxis/chiltonsex.jpg

he sorry that was meant for the chilton vinyl thread

http://cohen.house.gov/

And the Chilton tribute is already featured on the page.

Awesome

"That's life" he replied.

I like this. It's not as dismissive at it sounds at first.

rough year for memphis rockers of a certain ilk. dickinson, reatard, chilton. so sad.

steven cohen is one of my favorite reps in all of the house, even before the chilton thing, what a bro

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8574554.stm

wkiw steven cohen

Wow, that was a really moving speech from Rep. Cohen. Pretty choked up right now.

I have this Jon Spencer Blues Explosion poster up in my house, and every day I look up at it, see Alex Chilton's name as the opener and think, jeez, I can't remember a minute of his set. Then I think back to another time I saw him, and all I can remember was someone requesting a Big Star song only to get Chilton covering Michael Jackson (twice, if memory serves!). Then I think back to seeing Big Star several years ago, and he and the band killed it. He had such an uneasy relationship with that group and those songs - and maybe the world as a whole - but my world has certainly been better with them in it. He may be gone now, but at least I still have the songs. If there's one bright spot to the band staying relatively under the radar for so long, it's that Big Star remains not some ubiquitous presence or fashionable affectation but a cherished talisman to be passed on and discovered.

Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie, who describes him as "a genius of rock 'n' roll", joins Teenage Fanclub singer Norman Blake to outline the impact Chilton had.

count how many times Bobby mentions himself and his wretched band in that piece.

(xpost to zingzing)

everytime that bobby gillespie dude says something i just wanna be like "no one gives a fuck about primal scream"

listening to "she's a mover" now...his rhythm playing on this is so weird and awesome

She's a mover is one of my favorites

forgot how beautiful and epic and psych "daisy glaze" is, haven't listened to radio city in a while

count how many times Bobby mentions himself and his wretched band in that piece.

Three.

I like some Primal Scream albums. I don't listen to Bobby Gillespie tho, only Marcello's impression of Bobby Gillespie

Got a call at 10:15 pm central last night with the news, just after I'd started my radio shift. We were doing St Patrick's Day right on the radio, tons of Thin Lizzy, Them and Van Morrison, Taste and Rory Gallagher, songs with Green in the title, some Irish punk stuff, some traditional folk stuff from the incredible stacks at the station I volunteer for...Then THAT. Couldn't believe, hadn't even brought Keep an Eye on the Sky (which I bought last week, ferchrissake). Luckily, we have Radio City in the stacks. We ended up playing two songs from it last night and just made brief mention (I'd been planning this holiday show all week!). Feels wrong, tho.
Wish I could have just dropped everything and paid a proper tribute. There's always next week...and every other week after.

btw Hatch, really liked your "Ballad of El Goodo" last Sunday -- I was listening in the lounge at the time and didn't know it was you til later!

sure bobby g is a berk but the fact is he and mcgee did as much as anybody in the uk to promote and enshrine chilton's reputation in the 1980s and beyond, dude has earned the right to blah abt him now

gratuitous namedrop warning - epic soundtracks, who was prob the biggest big star fan i ever knew, once told me that he thought there were at least five or six great songs on GIVE OUT BUT DON'T GIVE UP, and he actually owned the songbook for that alb (admittedly cos i sold it to him v. cheaply but, yknow) - have been thinking abt epic quite a lot since chilton joined him out there

fuck, been thinking about his own stuff today so much it just hit me how much I love the cramps and gories stuff he produced.

Haven't been this bummed out about a music hero dying since Grant McLennan. That same shocking suddenness and that same regret about not keeping up with their later careers, when they were still here with us.

sure bobby g is a berk but the fact is he and mcgee did as much as anybody in the uk to promote and enshrine chilton's reputation in the 1980s and beyond, dude has earned the right to blah abt him now

I don't know...

I saw Alex in '85 in a packed Mean Fiddler, and Live in London was recorded in a not empty Dingwalls in 1980: people did know who he was, long before Alan McGee was around to tell us.

Several late nights spent at Metro watching this dood just throw down. Some of my latest rock 'n' roll nights indeed. Spilling out onto the streets at 3:30 a.m. just filled with an appreciation for his craft. That big Gibson hollow-body. Great times. RIP, Alex.

Then I think back to another time I saw him, and all I can remember was someone requesting a Big Star song only to get Chilton covering Michael Jackson (twice, if memory serves!).

This was at Schuba's . . . man, what a fantastic show. He played "Rock With You" and I cannot remember the other right now. Great live shows from this guy.

Steve Wynn's cool story

3.18.10: New York City

This is the short version. The longer version has been told and will be told again, I'm sure, in greater detail and with greater poetic dexterity.

When I was 20 years old I was so moved by the Big Star 3rd album that I found it absolutely necessary to jump on a Greyhound bus to Memphis merely to soak up the environment and maybe meet the man who could make such beautiful, vulnerable, transparent, honest music.

I not only experienced the city but also was welcomed by Alex Chilton himself. I spent a full week that summer in 1981, buying beers and smokes for Alex, talking about love and art and philosophy and life-everything but his actual music, as it turns out-over many late Memphis nights. We heard that week that Jerry Lee Lewis was on his deathbed in a Memphis hospital and parked across the street, drinking beer and toasting his health.

30 years later Jerry Lee is still here and now Alex is gone.

That night Alex invited me back to his parents place where he was living at the time. I took in the gold records for "The Letter" and "Cry Like a Baby" as I walked in. So what-I was a fan. And he made me some very tasty grits for breakfast the next morning

Since then, I encountered Alex here and there. We played a festival together in Norway in 2007. The next day Linda and I met up with him at the Oslo airport and helped him find his gate to Paris. He wanted to talk about our birth dates, astrological signs, compatibility and that curiosity almost made him miss his plane.

Last year I saw Big Star play in Brooklyn. Alex and I talked for a while after the show. We exchanged phone numbers and I was looking forward to seeing him when we were in New Orleans for Jazz Fest next month. My hero had become my pal and that made me very happy.

In a very sad month when I have lost one of my oldest and best friends (Mary Herczog) and am still taking in the horrible suicide of my pal Mark Linkous, I find myself shattered by the untimely death of a man I didn't know all that well, a man I wish I had had the chance to know a little bit better. I wish I could have seen Alex play a show when he was 90 years old (I guess I would have been approaching 80 if my math is right). He was a guy who had so much curiosity, enthusiasm and talent. His passing is a great loss for his fans, for music and for people like me who drew so much inspiration and solace from the beauty and love that he chose to make so public to anyone who cared to look within

As Alex said...take care

Steve Wynn

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2010/03/andy_hummel_on_alex_chiltons_d.php

News of Alex Chilton's death came as a horrible shock to Andy Hummel, Chilton's friend and former Big Star bassist profiled in the Dallas Observer after the release of the Rhino box set Keep An Eye On The Sky.

Hummel and Big Star's Jody Stephens were scheduled to speak and perform Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on the SXSW panel "I Never Travel Far Without A Little Big Star," about the legacy of one of America's most influential cult bands. There was also the possibility that he would play a few songs with Big Star at its 12:30 a.m. Saturday-night set at Antone's, which would have been the first time for him to play with the band since parting ways in 1974.

Chilton died yesterday of a suspected heart attack in a New Orleans hospital, after collapsing while mowing his lawn.

"We're all still in shock about the whole thing," Hummel says. "It was completely unexpected."

Obviously, Hummel says, the death will significantly change the nature of the panel discussion. But he still plans to participate and pay tribute to one of his dear friends and someone he considers a musical genius.

"We're just trying to pull together what all that's going to look like now, without Alex," he says.

The panel would have been a 90-minute discussion of the legacy of Big Star, focusing on the years from the release of Third/Sister Lovers to the present, as a continuation of a previous SXSW panel that focused on the beginning years of the band. Stephens and Hummel would also give an acoustic performance.

Now, Hummel says, Stephens is reaching out to Cheap Trick singer Robin Zander and R.E.M.'s Mike Mills to join Big Star's surviving members at the Antone's show. (Members of R.E.M. have long championed Big Star, and Cheap Trick's cover of "In The Streets" was the theme song for That '70s Show.)

"I don't know how successful he's going to be trying to pull all that together in this short a period of time, but he's trying to get something together," Hummel says. "If nothing else, the panel is still on. ... I think he's having trouble dealing with this, as we all are. So he's trying to focus in on what he needs to do, as opposed to just sitting around and getting too immersed in the tragedy of the situation."

Hummel said he last spoke to Chilton last summer on a visit to New Orleans, where Chilton showed them areas of the city that were affected by Hurricane Katrina--and had spirited political discussions with Hummel's wife.

"My wife and I made what used to be our standard annual trip to New Orleans, and spent most of the time hanging around with Alex," he says. "He was a real fan of New Orleans, and was like a walking encyclopedia of New Orleans, so it was a lot of fun to hang with him when you went there. This was our first time since Katrina."

Along with remembering Chilton as a friend, Hummel champions his artistic brilliance.

"I hope people really understand and appreciate what a brilliant musician the guy was," he says. "He should be remembered in that way. He was really a creative genius, always testing the limits."

and had spirited political discussions with Hummel's wife

Fly on the wall wishes here, I admit.

God yeah....I bet the journal he talked about in that Rolling Stone piece up yonder was a put on, but imagine if it wasn't?

this guy was great

for me to poop on

oh yay, cankles

― you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, January 13, 2010 6:51 PM (2 months ago)

Pretty shocking, 59 is way, way too young.

My wife and I made what used to be our standard annual trip to New Orleans, and spent most of the time hanging around with Alex," he says. "He was a real fan of New Orleans, and was like a walking encyclopedia of New Orleans, so it was a lot of fun to hang with him when you went there. This was our first time since Katrina."

I would have paid good money for this tour.

I like the Steve Wynn story. He's one of my favourite musicians (I interviewed). Awesome AWESOME guy.

"That's life" he replied.

I like this. It's not as dismissive at it sounds at first.

My dad has the best approach about life (and its end, death).

Anyway, I recommended my friend - who never EVER listens to music - some Big Star. She was on itunes for the first time and wanted to buy some music. She said she cldnt tell much from the 20 secs of Thirteen.
I told my husband that I still remember running home with #1/Radio City in my hands being so fucking excited.

Anyway, gotta shed another tear.

For years, his rep as an ornery cuss preceded him, it seems.

As per, it's now we discover he was a nice guy, when not pushed where he didn't wat to be.

(The mic/teeth story for instance)

It seems churlish to say his music didn't resonate bigtime with me. I'll try again with that 'best of', so don't mind me.

Found out about this in the Newspaper an hour or so ago.

RIP you magnificent bastard.

this is starting to sink in. fucking shit. dude didn't look remotely unhealthy just like six months ago. but you know, that's life. or death.

The NPR obit has been amended to say he was cutting his lawn when he dropped to the ground. What a comfortingly domestic way to go.

Yeah, saw that a little while ago. I don't want to die mowing my lawn because I fucking hate lawns and having to mow them, but dying in my tracks while out working in my vegetable garden would be the best way to go, I think.

The NPR obit has been amended to say he was cutting his lawn when he dropped to the ground.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM975_Ld9S0

http://idler.co.uk/conversations/conversations-alex-chilton/

pretty rad old interview that frequent mentions of astrology upthread reminded me of. seeing him with the box tops last year he just seemed so happy, bopping about, and iirc in the interview above he's talking about earning enough money to have the next six months worked out, then starting again. seemed to have a good life.

also i don't think we've brought up the time he socked charlie manson yet. lot of stories to get through.

"the time he socked charlie manson"

yeah?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9LGwzGnx5w

Via the Commercial Appeal, Bob Mehr's story a year and a half back about Chris Bell. It seems an appropriate complement now.

e socked charlie manson"

yeah?

― zingzing, Thursday, March 18, 2010 11:00 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

seem to recall some discussion in the big star thread; there isn't actually much more to the story, just a graf in the jovanovic book saying he did just that, not having placidly taken to the family's attempts to lure him in.

Just listened to his demo for Big Black Car from the boxset- so so sad...I'm really at a loss for words.

RIP

Been spinning his work all day long. I never got to see him perform, damnit. "High Priest" was my gateway in, still love that records and the associated EPs.

schlump, i can imagine he'd punch just about anyone, and manson was certainly someone worth hitting, i suppose... i guess he was visiting with dennis wilson? (dennis is someone i'd compare him to, in a lot of ways...)

i've been listening to this live album from berkeley in 1985. it's great. he's reconciled with his past to the point that he plays things straight, but he still whips it out on the guitar. i'm totally a lost-period chilton fan, but when he played it with reverence, he's just as compelling. i love this man.

it doesn't take his death to remind me that he's possibly the greatest rock star of all time, but it does reinforce it. sad, but happy.

I have always been a Chris Bell guy but this is really sad. Spinning Third tonight.

Damn.

Crank it:

Cranking it.

wish we had a joint so bad

RIP Alex Chilton

Thoughts from Mr. Westerberg, plus Craig Finn and Patterson Hood:

http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/03/18/alex-chilton-paul-westerberg-patterson-hood-craig-finn/

oh man "Motel Blues", search that shit

totally cried today listening to "For You". the guy wrote like a good half dozen or more of the finest songs ever recorded in this sorry modern era.

("For You" is by Jody Stephens)

goddamn, Mark Linkous and now Chilton, this is a rough month

― Whiney for No Apparent Reason (some dude), Thursday, March 18, 2010 1:46 AM (3 minutes ago)

this is exactly how i am feeling at the moment

― First and Last and Safeways ™ (jjjusten), Thursday, 18 March 2010 01:51 (Yesterday)

Thirded.

haha sorry Jody (xp). Doesn't Chilton still sing it though?

also "Motel Blues" is by Loudon Wainwright (although yeah Alex's version is great)

is "it came from memphis" worth getting? it seems that the copies from the ny public library aren't available for loan, which is kinda shitty. ("kinda" in that they're available for research and "performing arts," which i don't understand.. what that means...)

by that, i mean will i learn anything significant about chilton or the memphis sound (particularly post-big star) with which he was associated?

So many people have said the sorts of things that I would like to say about Alex. It really boils down to the intimacy. The one on one. I always felt like he was singing about what I was thinking and feeling.

I was 19 when I bought a Big Star compilation on Line Records. I think it was called Big Star's Greatest. Silver cover with a giant red star on it. This would have been around 1991. I wore that thing out. And then the Fantasy "#1 Record/Radio City" disc landed. Wow.

Big Star traced some connection between my intense love for the Beatles and the alternative rock I grew up on throughout the 80s. But more than that, Chilton, particularly from Radio City on, was singing about being the underdog. The awkward, uncomfortable young adult. All these girls come and go. I loved you, well nevermind. That stuff resonates when you're scared, insecure and looking for reasons why you feel that way.

But beyond that, there was that voice. So pure, so crystalline. It's like the best fucking voice in the world. And that guitar. That bell-tone out of phase Strat through a wound up Twin. Compressed - Byrdsian, Nowhere Man chime. It all conspired to create some Parsifalian ideal of the perfect pop frontman. At least in my mind.

Something about the way Alex combined his voice, lyrics and guitar really affected me in a way no other musician ever has. I really thank him for that. And that's why I'm really, truly gutted by his passing. It was said above, but I feel like I lost a friend. Someone I never met, but a friend none the less.

That's the true magic of music. That a song can reshape your entire outlook, a vocal can send shivers down your spine. A guitar figure can make you ecstatic. Alex Chilton managed to do that to me for nearly 20 years, and he'll do it for the rest of my life.

amen

'It Came from Memphis' is good: not a whole lot of it is about Alex, really, but also, it all is. Really insightful on figures such a Dickinson, on John Fry and Manning, on the Memphis bohemia that nurtured Big Star.

x-post

so that craig finn thing:

But there are so many songs that just give me so much joy. ‘Thank You Friends’ is one of my favorites. As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about positivity in rock n’ roll, I think that’s about as positive a rock song as has ever been written.

lol what?

sure bobby g is a berk but the fact is he and mcgee did as much as anybody in the uk to promote and enshrine chilton's reputation in the 1980s and beyond, dude has earned the right to blah abt him now

Oh yeah, what a surprise, two guys from Glasgow who liked Big Star and Alex Chilton, how novel of them. Give Bob his due though, at least he didn't claim to have been at the first Big Star rehearsals or to have played synth on the title track of "Like Flies On Sherbert". On the latter, had that blasting on the headphones as I walked (dawdled) to work this morning, walked into the building as the last notes of the title track (Bobby and all) died away...

i'm totally a lost-period chilton fan, but when he played it with reverence, he's just as compelling. i love this man.

yeah: there's something super satisfying, in terms of career arcs, in the teenage rock star turning into this guy who loved playing standards with pickup groups, putting out let's get lost and jamming on ah ti ta ti ta ta

Yeah, I always thought Alex was being deeply sarcastic in Thank You Friends

x-post

you can hear it either way, but in the context of that record it sure sounds like the friends who made this total collapse all so "probable" are being blamed as much as they're being thanked

It's a great song, any way you slice it.

But not surprising that Finn, who is neither stupid nor unaware of rock history, chooses to interpret it literally, given his interests in rock'n'roll as a source of positivity.

yeah - it's not like Finn doesn't write songs that are ambivalent and conflicted about the positive power of rock'n'roll himself

I think it can be taken both ways: sarcastic because he's thanking his "friends" for success that never materialized, but he is also genuinely thanking his friends for keeping him alive through the dark times.

can't believe craig finn died

Heaven needed another Springsteen fan.

weird i guess i never ever thought about "thank you friends" as being sarcastic.

deeply moving song to me.

he is also genuinely thanking his friends for keeping him alive through the dark times.

i think this interpretation is fine as long as you dont listen to the vocal.

I never paid attention to it, so I never thought it was sarcastic. I had the same problem for about thirty years with the song "Reason To Believe."

yeah, it always seemed kinda bitter to me

huh weird. well i'm going to keep interpreting the song the way i need it to be.

I think he might be genuinely thanking his friends for keeping him super-wasted, and acknowledging that maybe more could have happened for him career-wise if that hadn't been the case.

i never heard it as sarcasm, either, but interpreting it that way is an interesting twist!

thanks again, ilm.

i find it very moving too. mainly for the severe disconnect between the vocal and the lyric/arrangement/production. i mean this is why radio city songs are more powerful than
#1 record songs, cos you can hear the anger and bitterness and distaste. that's doubled on third.

frogman otm

It's too bad they never had a number one record. The greatest band ever. Why bother going on.

I've talked about Alex, the whole Memphis thing and all that a lot on here. Getting to burrow under that scene a bit and walk the streets down there, and in New Orleans too, taught me a lot about what it takes to play music. Or at least rock 'n' roll music. I find it interesting that Chilton was into baroque music in the later years of his life. I think Chilton was interesting not least because he kind of saw through what had happened in "rock" "pop" "indie" or whatever that shit was, starting around the time he took some time off to get his head together in New Orleans. I'm basically one of those people who likes a lot of what "rock" and "pop" and "indie" or whatever the fuck that was had to offer, after about 1980, but doesn't really connect with a lot of it all that much. At least compared to how I feel about New Orleans r&b or soul or '60s/early '70s pop. I never though that New Order or even Bowie were exactly good for the general state of music-making. Or Roxy Music; I like Roxy Music, but it never was any kind of template for how I may want to lead my life. I understand there's a big wide world of deracinated music out there and that's how pop works, to some degree. But my latching onto that--what did that ever really do for me?

I think a lot of people felt Alex Chilton was a conservative if not a reactionary, always covering Ernie K-Doe and Chris Kenner and soul shit that was like, nice, but hardly modern. Or that he tried some of the more or less typical experimental extensions of existing pop forms in the '70s and then decided he'd had enough of it. Hard to say. When you saw Alex Chilton you saw something that wasn't always perfect--he could sing out of tune, play indifferently, and coast; but he could also hit it just right in the moment and I, at least, had to sit back and think, "Hell, I couldn't do that in a million years." There weren't any drum machines or overly rehearsed or perfect elements to what he was attempting. I believe that part of what went wrong in American music after about 1980 has to do with the lack of a real tradition--beyond rock 'n' roll and Bowie and the fucking Stooges and all that kindergarten shit. You could call it jazz sensibility, I guess--professionals living in the moment and trying to hit it right, within certain parameters that may seem (no, did and do seem) old-fashioned and proscriptive to indie people who have only a blurry conception of what music used to be, say, in that old-tyme Fats Waller era or whatever. A foreshortened and rather dim idea of what music-making could be. I'm not saying I think everything after 1980 is worthless at all, I certainly like and love a lot of it, from hip-hop to Nashville country to, fuck, the Japandroids or whoever: noble savages with their guitars and all that, all the revisionist young people attending to their Zombies or Gang of Four records, the neo-folkies.

But put 'em up there with some simple--seemingly simple--r&b song to play more or less the way it was intended to be played, hit it and make it work, without the apparatus of irony. Who among them has the wisdom to do that, or the professionalism to make it work? I mean, if Count Basie could play them old standards more or less in the way you'd expect, having paid your money, then tell me why it's an advance that a whole generation or two of musicians have rejected that outright, given their social/cultural advantages? I'm not saying I know the answer, but that it's a legit question. It's like I always tell people here in fucking Nashville: these people here expect music to be a certain way that is just so out of proportion with what music actually DOES or at least what it used to do. Doesn't make sense to me. Of course, here, you just plug into the machine and get some songs tossed off by people whose idea of human experience is pretty lame and make a record that is controlled by fifty people from start to finish, so you're naturally gonna have expectations that have stepped off the actual stage or parlor or room that music used to be made in.

Chilton's career more or less embodied what I'm talking about, and I believe he understood a lot of this far better--because he was a working musician--that what I can express above. Has something to do with humanity, humility and all that shit.

(if you don't mind, could you please keep going?)

Yes, please.

totally feelin you on the lost tradition angle - very true. kinda destroyed by punk's whole "you don't HAVE to know how to play your instrument" thing which is true in some ways but horribly wrong in others and in general bad for maintaining any general level of cultural vitality and continuity

chilton played it both ways, too,

Chilton later said that when the recording sessions began, he began to think, "'Man these guys don't know the songs...this must sound terrible'. But when I went in the control room and heard what we’d been doing, it was just incredible sounding. Getting involved with Dickinson opened up a new world for me. Before that I'd been into careful layerings of guitars and voices and harmonies and things like that, and Dickinson showed me how to go into the studio and just create a wild mess and make it sound really crazy and anarchic. That was a growth for me."

Dickinson affirmed that Chilton consciously wanted the musicianship to be sloppy. He clarified that he plays guitar on the album despite not being technically proficient: "A lot of the guitar on Sherbert is me. Alex said, 'You still play like you’re 14 years old.' I said, 'Yeah, I play bad.' That's what he wanted."

chilton played it both ways, too,

aw man I thought you meant he and Chris Bell really did have a thing :(

there's kinda a similar strain with Miles (or Sun Ra) in the 70s making people play instruments they weren't familiar with etc. but I think the key difference there is that guys like Chilton and Miles and Sun Ra were exceptionally conscious of tradition, and were trying to figure out how the traditions they were versed in could accomodate that other kind of unschooled/wild playing and expand the existing boundaries.

whereas several generations later you just had kids who literally didn't know anything beyond "Sid Vicious couldn't play his bass - why should I bother learning?"

xp

like, it didn't go any deeper than that - there was no experience, no wisdom behind it

kids these days

I fully admit that I subscribed to this "you don't need to know how to play!" philosophy as a young'un. it's true at first, but obviously if you keep playing you um learn stuff. I do think that what is still completely true is that you do not need to subscribe to any established convention about HOW to play your instrument, but you should have some idea of the sound you are trying to achieve and a technique/method for achieving it.

i really feel like people say "oh punk bands couldn't play" but honestly lots of the great punk bands had some SICK players in them.

like okay who are the fathers of american hardcore? you'd have to say bad brains and greg ginn - dudes could fuckin' tear it up...shit the minutemen were next level and most of the bands that started sorta ramshackle, like huskers or ESPECIALLY the meat puppets, got good really quick...by the time the meat puppets do up on the sun they are on some super crazy grateful dead fast shit

frankly one of the problems with capital P punk bands now is that most of the bands are so guitar center with their chops IMO

if you count the matlock era pistols as the "real" lineup, then all the dudes could play really well

(edd, I'm waiting 4 u 2 continue, even thru this zzz off-topic sidebar)

i really feel like people say "oh punk bands couldn't play" but honestly lots of the great punk bands had some SICK players in them.

this is totally true and I'm not gonna dispute it - it was more the generations that came after it (I'm lookin at you Calvin Johnson) that took this philosophy to unfortunate extremes

calvin johnson was mostly inspired by sid vicious? not seeing it...

no, he was inspired by the "anyone can play three chords" idea/philosophy

at the risk of boring Shasta further, there's a through-line from the accusations leveled against the first generations of punks by its detractors (ie "they don't know how to play!") to the DIY aesthetic that rippled through the American underground in the 80s, who basically took that charge and ran with it as a badge of affirmation, of opposition to existing "professional" orthodoxy. which is where stuff like the naif, amateurish bent of stuff like K Records comes in.

xp

*suggests reviving thread: primitivism vs. virtuoso*

the funny and relatively unique thing about Chilton was that he was both

dude recorded/engineered the gories ffs. can u pls take the zzzz to another thread pls?

sorry shasta :(

continue on with the much more important chilton love.

honestly i don't like using alex chilton for best-practice arguments. using him as a stick to beat "contemporary music" or whatever. we can agree that there is inspired amateurism and inspired professionalism, weird mixes of the two, and then there are many uninspired amateurs and professionals. making big sweeping statements just seems unnecessary.

Thinking about the guy's career arc the closest I could come up with for somebody similar was Jonathan Richman, another guy who at one point renounced his early work, put off many of his fans with his contrarian attitude, did interesting covers, was interested in earlier R and B, kept working on his guitar playing, who after one if his shows maybe you didn't always like what you saw but you always had something to think about. (Note: don't know what tense to use when one guy is still with us and the other isn't) Obviously lots of dissimilarities as well, but still.

One particular "Lost Era" period I revisited over the last couple days are the 1977 Elektra demos, and the Peter Holsapple session from 1978.

This is some of my favorite stuff: really loose and dreamy, with some topical nods to new-wave and pop-reggae. The only thing I can do without are the squelchy high-pitch Farfisa fills/runs that pepper some of the Elektra demos.

like is this the perfect summer song or what?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NUi81X3-zk

Where may one find those? Are they official releases?

try google blog search, i had some 15 year old bootleg on CD that I probably paid $20 for (lol) that I burned a few years ago.

shhhh:
http://www.atomiurl.com/popdose-coms-bootleg-city-big-star-%E2%80%9Cradio-city%E2%80%9D
http://www.tapecity.org/showthread.php?t=29850
http://onlybootleghere.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-star-and-alex-chilton-beale-street.html
etc.

Had no idea that stuff existed. Thanks.

Tennis Bum!

Ann Powers for the LA Times, plus a slew of great comments:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/03/rip-alex-chilton-american-music-man.html

That record remains one of the most lucid expressions of youthful sorrow in the annals of guitar pop, a perfect encapsulation of the pain of that worst, first heartbreak.

Nice piece, but i don't know about that as an encapsulation of the Third Album: sorrow, dread, horror, pain, not tied to youth or love......it's the darkest record ever sometimes: the horror of the person Holocaust could be about AND the horror of how a person could sing that about anyone.

Also, a little more on Steve Cohen's speech:

Reached later by phone, Cohen said he learned of the musician's death late Wednesday night and had spent a lot of time since then listening to Chilton's music on his iPod, including such songs as "Bangkok," "Tee Ni Nee Ni Noo" and "No Sex." He decided on his way into work Thursday to make the speech on the House floor.

"I miss him greatly," said Cohen, 60, who had known Chilton since he met him at Chilton's father's funeral. "There's just something about Alex. He's my generation and most of us in Memphis knew him and his music. This is a great loss to the Memphis scene."
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Between meetings on Thursday the congressman "spent the day reflecting" on the singer. Chilton's songs, he says, "remind me of episodes of my life and the life of the city of Memphis."

This wasn't the first time Cohen had mentioned Chilton in an official setting. In a transportation committee meeting Cohen says he quoted "The Letter," as a way to make a point about getting fast rail to Memphis. He told those present that if faster rail service was provided he would ask Chilton to write a new song.

Cohen had another personal reason to mourn his friend's passing. He was set to introduce Chilton and Big Star at a May concert in Memphis.

Cohen says he quoted "The Letter," as a way to make a point about getting fast rail to Memphis. He told those present that if faster rail service was provided he would ask Chilton to write a new song.

Lols...

I went into the Amtrak station in Memphis once on a Wednesday to see what time on the following Saturday I could get a train to St. Louis. Being European, I expected choices and baroque ticketing, and was puzzled when i couldn't find a timetable on the wall - eventually I asked: there are precisely two trains - one to New Orleans in the morning, and the same train going the other was to Chicago in the evening. That's it for train services in and out of Memphis.

Sounds about right.

Later in life, he turned his attention to classical guitar, and specifically Baroque music. His widow, a flutist with whom he frequently duetted, said it comprised most of his recent listening.

awesome.

I went into the Amtrak station in Memphis once on a Wednesday to see what time on the following Saturday I could get a train to St. Louis. Being European, I expected choices and baroque ticketing, and was puzzled when i couldn't find a timetable on the wall - eventually I asked: there are precisely two trains - one to New Orleans in the morning, and the same train going the other was to Chicago in the evening. That's it for train services in and out of Memphis.

― sonofstan, Friday, March 19, 2010 7:31 PM (40 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yikes. that sucks.

cohen is a dick about some things, but on the whole he's one of the better congressmen. he's a jew who represents a district that's overwhelmingly black. IIRC he beat back some really tacky challenges from black challengers who basically used his jewiness against him.

kind of awesome that he was listening to some of chilton's 1980s stuff. by any standards, and particular by those of people holding elected office, that's pretty hardcore.

sorry for typos.

it's sad that it's taken his death to inspire me to listen to some of the alex chilton boots and other stuff from the 80s/90s. i have all the "big" records (he said w/ light irony) but haven't dived in much father, fearing i'd just be hearing a bunch of really broken-down shit. but some of it's real good. and even though he had about three different voices, all of them are pretty unmistakable and inimitable. really dig this dude, am very sad he's gone.

Took a bit of searching but I found this post from Will Rigby a couple of years back that Elvis Telecom had linked on the Chris Bell thread, along with a rebuttal concerning part of it via Terry Manning in the comments, worth keeping in mind given part of what Chilton told Rigby and those with him at the time back in 1978. Something all the more strange and moving about it all given that three of the principals in the recollection are now gone. To pull out one part of it:

Alex spent another afternoon with Mitch (Easter) and me (Peter (Holsapple) had to leave early) driving down into Mississippi and onto a levee and being effusive about the Delta blues, with some barbecue in there somewhere. He took us to 706 Union Avenue, what had been Sun Studio but at the time was an unoccupied storefront. He found a way in through a broken back door. It had most recently been an auto repair shop; in what had been the recording room was the abandoned shell of a car—no wheels, no windows, no doors, no engine. There wasn't anything left of what had been a fulcrum of musical change EXCEPT, as Alex pointed out, the acoustical tiles still on the ceiling. He climbed up on the car and liberated one for himself and one for Mitch. To my eternal regret, I declined. (A few years later the site was renovated and now is a tourist-magnet re-creation of the original studio, but I knew it when.)

Meantime Cheap Trick are playing some Chilton songs right now, it seems.

A clarification -- dedicating "Heaven Tonight" to him. A slightly disconcerting choice but it does suit.

when were the first three songs on dusted in memphis recorded? actually, when was all of that stuff recorded? i know next to nothing about that record, yet it's one of my favorites.

Alex's choices of covers were inspired. Can anyone recommend me some compilations of similar source material? I guess it's kinda like the Nuggets of soul, blues and r&b?

Paul Westerberg wrote a very nice NY Times piece about Chilton.

Just posted this in the SXSW 2010 thread. Any thoughts?

Really can't decide if attending (or even trying to get into) the Big Star tribute tonight at Antone's is a really good or a really really bad idea. Members of Big Star, Cheap Trick, the dB's, Mike Mills of R.E.M., rampant rumors of Paul Westerberg... would it be an enjoyable, fitting tribute with great music? or a shitstorm of poorly rehearsed covers, rubbing in Chilton's death when instead I could go see Death play down the street? To go or not to go? Hmmmmm...

― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Saturday, March 20, 2010 6:53 PM (2 minutes ago)

SXSW 2010: the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas (March 17-21)

have seen mills play drunken covers shows before, man is enough of a pro to hold everyone together i'd reckon

if you can get in, go

if you can get in

Truer words ne'er spoken.

xpost to zingzing:

take me home, walking dead and lovely day: Memphis 75
can't seem to make you mine and shakin the world: Wallingford, CT 77
tennis bum: Memphis 80
baron of love: Memphis 78
the other four songs: NYC 78

Paul Westerberg speaks:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/opinion/21westerberg.html?hp

Alfred, I really can't throw stones, but that was linked to about five posts ago.

No worries. Haven't kept up today.

if you can get in

Truer words ne'er spoken.

― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Saturday, March 20, 2010 8:41 PM (59 minutes ago)

Also, I think Mike Mills knows the three chords to "September Gurls" and has probably heard the record enough to play the correct bassline. Like the guy upthread said, he is a pro.

Well, there goes that idea. This was posted on Austin360.com about an hour and a half ago:

http://fwix.com/austin/share/8f582cbfa6/sxsw_scene_update_the_line_at_antones_for_big_star_tribute_already_down_the_block

SXSW scene update: The line at Antone’s for Big Star Tribute already down the block

By Music Source | Saturday, March 20, 2010, 07:23 PM

At 7:05 p.m., the line was already down the block (Lavaca) at Antone’s, presumably people lining up for the Big Star - Alex Chilton tribute, scheduled to being at 12:30 a.m. The show is badges only.

duh--did you think it wasn't going to be a popular show?

is this yr first sxsw? OF COURSE it'll be crazy oversubscribed

noble savages with their guitars and all that, all the revisionist young people attending to their Zombies or Gang of Four records, the neo-folkies.

But put 'em up there with some simple--seemingly simple--r&b song to play more or less the way it was intended to be played, hit it and make it work, without the apparatus of irony. Who among them has the wisdom to do that, or the professionalism to make it work? I mean, if Count Basie could play them old standards more or less in the way you'd expect, having paid your money, then tell me why it's an advance that a whole generation or two of musicians have rejected that outright, given their social/cultural advantages?

Just to say, that's -the whole lot, not just the excerpt - one of the best things I've read over the past few days.

yup. ed had some more great writing on another Big Star thread (thought it was a poll) that I kind fins via search.

CAN'T FIND

He posted plenty of stuff about Chilton, but it was under his previous login id.

Or maybe the one before that.

i think it reads snobby and dumb and old fogey-ish but i do love a good "lol indie rockers ain't got no soul" crack. i make lots of them. and i did walk out of a club once when mac superchunk broke into an excruciating cover of up on the the roof once. and i even paid money to get in and drink! couldn't take it.

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2010/03/sxsw-2010-alex-chilton-big-star-tribute-concert.html

Yes, it was recorded. Jody Stephens has the tapes. I don't doubt there will be some kind of release.

nice to see andy hummel playing with them

duh--did you think it wasn't going to be a popular show?

― Mr. Que, Saturday, March 20, 2010 10:12 PM (Yesterday)

is this yr first sxsw? OF COURSE it'll be crazy oversubscribed

― Wat ho, goatee'd man? Thy skinnee jenes hath byrn'd my corneyas. (stevie), Sunday, March 21, 2010 5:34 AM (12 hours ago)

My eighth... thanks.

I wasn't surprised about the line down the block thing, I was surprised at the "badges only" comment. Usually that sort of judgment isn't made before a show even starts.

beautiful words from tav falco:

Let us raise our glasses to a fallen comrade. And ask ourselves did we celebrate this man in life as we do now in death? Ah yes, we embraced our comrade and drew him close to our hearts and minds... as close as he would allow. Sure he touched us literally and he touched us profoundly: as an artist with lyrical intensity, as a person with camaraderie granted and camaraderie rebuffed. Such are the complexities of the artist and of the person. We realize it's not so easy to be friends with an artist, especially a gifted one. His smile often twisted into a leer, even when he was amused by your bonhomie and by your adulation. Be careful of tendencies: OK we’ve created it; now let’s deconstruct it. Godhead on the one hand, destroying angel on the other… Lord help you if you were caught in between. His tones were golden, and he knew that... better than anyone. Was he resentful because he had given so much, and had received less than the key to the temple of abiding good fortune and fame immemorial? Was he content in his rickety 18th cottage on the edge of the French Quarter surrounded by his guitars and aquatints and a cognoscenti of musicians who celebrated him as we do now? Did he draw all that he could take from his talents? Did he quaff draughts of indolence? The answers mean little, and the questions even less. What matters is that those whom he touched, were touched immutably. His legacy is of the mind, of the soul, of earthly pleasure, and of just and lost causes. He left us that redeeming spark of wit and flame to keep us going when were hovering down in the foxhole of doubt and uncertainty and dodging the adverse missives of Lady Luck... comforted in thinking that Alex would have liked that, or he would have appreciated this, or he would have been elated by this or that, or let’s do it the way Alex does it. His opinion, his taste, his love is what matters in the end. The last time I saw Alex was in Paris visiting in his posh suite at Hotel George le Cinq. He was pleased with his rooms, and we stayed up late while he merrily tutored me with the unending music lesson that had been on-going since I met him some twenty-five years before... the lesson that never seemed to quite 'take', and which I understood little better than the first time he drilled me. He would say Tav, somebody's got to keep the rhythm. And now I wonder, as the last grain of sand has sped through the hourglass, who... will keep the rhythm? Raise our glasses to console the living for the loss of a comrade fallen in the snow, which in its chill and whiteness is purifying, rather than fallen in the desert, which is barren.

sitting not far above his obit for jim dickinson. sadtimes.

Wow.

i think i want tav falco to deliver my eulogy.

The answers mean little, and the questions even less.

Some interesting comments and stories on Bob Leftsetz' e-mail thing (his story about Chilton is not as interesting). Producer Richard Robinson, singer Eric Carmen, and John Fry of Ardent Music, among others, all offer their thoughts. I think it gets posted eventually on his archive--http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/

Lefsetz

Hm. His part is already there on the website, but nothing from Eric Carmen et al.

Cut and paste from Lefsetz e-mail:

From: Eric Carmen
Subject: Re: Re-Alex Chilton

I always liked Big Star, but never met Alex until the summer of 2005 when the Box Tops played on the same bill with the Raspberries in Denver and Chicago.

The Chicago show was an outdoor "rockfest" sort of deal, and I saw Alex walking around backstage (which meant outside the trailer/ dressing room). He looked like a rock'roll version of Tom Wolfe, dressed in a cream-colored linen suit as I approached him and introduced myself. We chatted for a few minutes until one of the backstage photographers saw the two of us together, and suddenly there were a bunch of photographers asking for a picture of Alex and me (two icons of power pop, etc.) Alex refused to do it, because he knew someone would sell the photo to a rock magazine and profit "in the crass, commercial, materialistic world," which he refused to be a part of. I thought that was pretty funny, but I wish I had the photo.

Eric

_________________________________________

My father, Si Siman, published "The Letter." It was written 100% by the incomparable Wayne Carson. In Springfield, Missouri that in years previous had battled Nashville for the country music capitol. That year ('67) Wayne had two #1's in two different formats. "The Letter" with the Boxtops and "Somebody Like Me" with Eddy Arnold. Not sure anyone else has done that...

It was my home's national anthem. We stood up and saluted when it came on the air. Put me through college ("Always on My Mind" through law school). Talk aboutshort, it has 30 seconds of jet airplane on the end. 1:26 of raw power.

Alex Chilton was an amazing singer. His voice will be missed. He was part of the Memphis music scene when it DOMINATED the charts. Chips Moman, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, American Studios, world class musicians (like Reggie Young and the Memphis horns), world class writers (like Mark James). It was a magical time for an impressionable kid.

Rest in peace.

_________________________________________

I engineered for Alex in the late 70s when he was in New York and it was a dark period for him. Heavy drug use, heroin apparantly.

But he had his vision, and he never acted like a rock star with a track record, just an artist doing his craft. I engineered Chris Stamey's record (which Alex produced) and several Alex songs (originals and covers) during that time. They were supposed to appear on ORK records but never did. Cassettes were made and some appeared here and there from the cassettes. The masters are still at the studio.

Alex was a lovable guy and was always polite. We talked about engineering and tech stuff. I loved his production methods. The songs he did included "Can't seem to make you mine" and "Shakin the World". There were others that I cant remember now.
Alex, RIP, you were great.

Cheers,

Richard Robinson

RIP Alex!

Another tribute here:

http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/alex-chilton-remembered

Guess it's too late for an NME tribute thesedays.

Unless Bobby Gill's prompting it.

man what an absolute bummer. dude was younger than my father, and based on a brief spotting of him in NOLA a couple of years back looked to be fairly healthy and in good spirits. i was really getting excited about an upcoming Big Star homecoming performance at the recently refurbished and storied Levitt Shell (WPA-built, site of Elvis' 1st paid concert, and of course the second side of Nobody Can Dance).

listened to the Beale Street Green bootleg this morning, which features a wild version of Baron of Love w/ Jim Dickinson on vocals -- hopefully those two are fucking things up in the afterlife ...

This is one of those musician deaths where, though I didn't know him personally, it very much feels like a friend dying.

:-(

― Cunga

This. Instant choke up when I heard about it.

Nice Chilton overview/memorial on Pfork today written by Joe T., with an unfuckwithable playlist to accompany:

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7779-the-life-and-music-of-alex-chilton

just saw that the link for the Chilton/Jody Stephens 1975 radio broadcast is still active, if anyone's interested. http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/187210978/dusted-in-memphis-in-honor-of-yet-another
a very cool performance ...

^^
Radio City 'nearly as good' as #1 Record? Anyone else think that's fucked up?
I like the first one, but compared to the other two it's a very nice record in the company of works of genius.....or am I out on a limb here?

x-post -quote from P'fork piece

think it's just a matter of taste ... i like Radio City better, but I love #1 Record, too.

.....or am I out on a limb here?

Nope: Hey Hey Hey It's the Big Star #1 Record vs. Radio City Poll

The Billboard article on the SXSW tribute has a powerful memorial from his widow Laura:

Laura Chilton's complete statement:

"Even though Alex left this world way too soon, I feel so fortunate to have been his friend and wife. I would like to say a fewthings about his relationship with music and also speak of what he was about as a person. He was an individual who did what he pleased. However, he was also the most considerate and sincere person I've ever known. He loved life and people and usually befriended the underdogs. He saw beauty in what other people would just dismiss- old ricketyhouses about to fall down- he would say- "now that's a great house worth buying." He would spend 10 minutes chatting with ahomeless person on the street and always helped them out with some money. He was a good listener and was very compassionate. He was extremely generous- always giving time, energy and money to his friends with a no strings attached attitude.

There is one aspect to his personality that seemed to define how he approached and interpreted life and that is a consistenttendency to be absolutely clear in expression and communication. His mind worked analytically; he had a low tolerance level forvagueness and carelessness. His relationship with music was all about analysis. When listening and appreciating a piece of music,whether it be a Beach Boys tune or a Bach partita, he was able to pay attention to individual elements simultanously: harmony,rhythm, melody, meter, etc.

I believe this is why he loved working in the studio- producing records. He spoke a lot about John Frye teaching him how to do work in the studio and how he enjoyed playing around with the different elements. The one thing he was absolutely proud of was producing the Cramps records. He would play them at home and and just talk and talk about the experience. He was also quite proud of the Detroit garage band The Gories -- both his work with them and the band itself. He was very excited for them now that they are playing shows again.

At home in New Orleans Alex lived a simple and relaxed life. He watched a lot of TV while fooling around on the keyboard and guitar. We played music together- both classical and pop. He rode around town on his bike and loved to strike up conversation with whoever he came across. For the past few years, when I lived with him, he listened and played classical Baroque music, Scott Joplin rag tunes and 60's pop music. Names that often came up include the following: Carole King, Petula Clark, Brian Wilson, the Byrds, Frederic Knight, the band Free, George Frederic Handel, Georges Muffat, Haydn and the baroque performance group Musica Antiqua Koln. There are dozens more but these names come to mind as I'm writing this.

The final point I would like to draw attention to was he valued spontaneity. This would seem to contradict his insistence on analysis and accuracy but somehow he managed to be both at the same time. Honestly, this remains a mystery to me and is probably why he has been described as a genius and a musician's musician. I am only speculating on this but I am thinking it is probable. I will miss him forever and will honor him by maintaining and developing what I've learned from him: compassion, spontaneity, honesty, directness, generousity, an excellent listener and enthusiasm about what life has to offer. He had a blase attitude towards death- it didn't interest him. The same goes for sleep;,he just said the other day that he wished he could be awake 24/7- life was too interesting and he didn't want to waste it sleeping. I laughed at that but I knew he was serious.

On that note, I need to end this little essay and go take a nap- here's what Alex would say: "Night, sug."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGkECbnFTFU

:-)

hey so like dmr said, the college radio station we both worked for put on the first Big Star reunion show. I did a zine about it a long time ago and i've thrown it up online if y'all want to take a look

http://matchnumbereight.tumblr.com/

The one thing he was absolutely proud of was producing the Cramps records. He would play them at home and and just talk and talk about the experience.

Hero.

john davis (superdrag) wrote a nice sad song, which is up on their website. deliberately in a sister lovers mode, i guess. (he also wrote a little eulogy for chilton on magnet's website.)

roots punk performer, raconteur, ex-Panther Burns drummer Ross Johnson talks about Alex. recorded last fall but serves as a nice eulogy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmB-qRATuxA

I posted that big star/chilton bootleg over at doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com -- I see a link to it was posted elsewhere in this thread, but if you haven't gotten it, do it! Really essential stuff. the "surfer girl" cover is priceless.

I love that he was so proud of The Gories and Cramps records!
Has Poison Ivy been quoted anywhere in any of these tributes? Would be interesting to hear her take on him.

Y'know, for some reason I get bummed out a lot thinking about ol' Poison Ivy living without Lux. I hope she's doing OK.

lifted from Eggleston's Stranded in Canton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-eVsH49_2U

Rock hard
Cripples
Rock hard

"My rival, I'm gonna stab him on arrival" cracks me up every time I hear it

dad a-- "take me home, walking dead and lovely day: Memphis 75..." etc

now where did you learn that? i'm not doubting you, i'm just looking for a source of information.

All info gleaned from the back cover of my copy, which clarifies that it's really "Dusted In Memphis (And Elsewhere)." This and the Big Star radio thing that Ryko eventually reissued were the first two bootlegs I ever bought.

"My rival, I'm gonna stab him on arrival" cracks me up every time I hear it

― famous for hating everything (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, March 23, 2010 6:22 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

doesn't he then say he's going to shoot the guy, too.

"like flies on sherbet" is really unaccountably great. the title track and "my rival" are probably my faves.

i don't know any other folks chilton's age who seemed so at home with the postmodern ironies of post-new wave musical culture. in a weird way "like flies" seems roughly analogous to "mccartney ii," doesn't it?

sorry, "sherbeRt"

i guess it would figure that there wouldn't be a lot of crossover between the American Idol thread and the Alex Chilton thread, but this happened tonight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8T2sVNAfr4

no real clear indication whether the guy was doing it as a deliberate Chilton tribute or it was just a coincidence, but i enjoyed it

Dating myself, but I liked it better when that guy was doing his Joe Cocker shtick than when he was doing Michael Bolton shtick.

Dating myself

Need to get out more.

Knew that was coming, and should have been able to predict where from.

Actually, now that I am more fully awake, I remember that Joe Cocker DID do a version of "The Letter" and that horn part is copped from his version.

just saw that the link for the Chilton/Jody Stephens 1975 radio broadcast is still active, if anyone's interested. http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/187210978/dusted-in-memphis-in-honor-of-yet-another
a very cool performance ..

I remember reading how Jody Stephens song 'For You' aka 'Sometimes' was performed during this set, yet it doesn't appear on this bootleg. Has anyone ever had a copy of it? Sure I saw it on some bootlegs list online.

The one thing he was absolutely proud of was producing the Cramps records. He would play them at home and and just talk and talk about the experience.
Hero.

was going to pick this line out of the eulogy too. knowing how invested he was in those at the same time as digging on elgar and haydn is so satisfying. that his widow feels compelled to talk about what kind of listener he was and who he most enjoyed in an obituary is testament to where that stood in his day to day life.

-a local Memphis tv news feature on Chilton producing the Cramps.

haha!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQYhQuO458o

OMGGGGGOD

reporter name-checking the Klitz at the end is lol

yo tylerw thank u for posting Beale St Green, Shasta gave some linx upthread but they were all dead.

no prob -- it's a pretty killer collection. The Big Star rehearsals are crazy tight -- I'm honestly not sure how Chilton is playing guitar and singing at the same time on a lot of it. He really was an incredible player -- all kinds of crazy chording/lead/rhythm things going on. Bummed that I never got to see him live just to watch his hands!

lux pretty much indistinguishable from elvis in the interview segments. the clips with alex remind me of how bubblegum his speaking drawl was; i remember there's some big star acoustic thing where he plays thirteen and manages to stretch out 'anachronistic' to like ten syllables introducing it.

I am personally really psyched to hear the other Elektra demos, 'She Might Look My Way" is a lost pop gem (xp).

Some of this stuff is on the Beale Street Breakdown/Starcrossed boot I have, I guess I should put that up on my blog.

yeah, the elektra stuff is great -- though I can understand why it didn't result in him getting a record deal! pretty ramshackle.

Poison Ivy on Chilton from a 2006 interview

http://www.plan9music.com/Article/4499

9x: How did you run into Alex Chilton?
PI: Alex was dating this photographer who have photographed us a lot. For instance, she took the photo that was the front cover of GRAVEST HITS. We became friends and he'd seen us quite a few times, it turns out. He really dug us, and we dug him, but we didn't know each other prior to that, and he just said, 'How'd y'all like to go to Memphis?' and we were like, boing! 'Yep, we would.' I don't know if you know what a drive-away service is. When somebody needs their car taken from one city to another they give it to a drive-away service and waits until someone is going to be going that way. I don't know if people realize that people like us end up being the people driving their car. We slept on the floor of Alex's girlfriend, and even at Alex's parents' house. He got us in Ardent; he seemed to have some relationship with Ardent Studio, and Sam Phillips' studio, to where we could get cheap time or free time. He created a situation that was great. We tried to record in New York before, at Bell Studio, and it was just horrible. We didn't know what the producer was looking for. He'd have us do "TV Set," like, ten times. With Alex it was the opposite. He'd say, 'Aw, you're on a groove, man. Just keep playing,' so we just played our whole set, one song after another, without retakes. We learned a lot from that about the importance of keeping it loose. A lot of top recording artists never learn the importance of keeping loose in a studio. It is kind of a sacred event. It's going to last forever. Nick Knox barely knew us, and he even seemed somewhat frightened of us at the time which, if you knew Nick, is strange, because a lot of people are frightened of him. He's a frightening person. He didn't know us that well yet, and he had the guts to go down to Memphis with us. He'd never even seen us live before he played with us live, so that was interesting. That was quite an initiation. 9x: What was so frightening about Nick? PI: He was just dangerous, creepy, and sweet, with a crazy, sick sense of humor.

When somebody needs their car taken from one city to another they give it to a drive-away service and waits until someone is going to be going that way. I don't know if people realize that people like us end up being the people driving their car.

I bet they do...

listened to third all the way through last night

what a great album

kinda hard to hear now

Is the 1978 KUT session, complete with 'Riding Through The Reich', widely known about? I got it off Soulseek a few years ago.

Robert Gordon: http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/remembering-alex-chilton/Content?oid=2002169

xpost would love to hear that -- read about it in the recent big star bio, but never tracked it down ... "riding through the reich" sounds uhhhh interesting.

TS: Big Star - Third vs. Portishead - Third vs. Soft Machine - Third

I've got the KUT session, but only 128kbps on AAC format - just so you know

http://www.mediafire.com/?yiitzyk2wdz

nice, thanks! just would like to hear it, regardless of quality ...

He really does sing the word 'nazis' beautifully, doesn't he?

thanking u xxp

beale street breakdown / beale street green are a pretty jaw dropping twosome, thanks for the links! favourites at the mo are the preamble to o dana and jesus christ and the stunning she might look my way/Windows Hote/All The Time. i'm glad i'm hearing this stuff for the first time now in a weird way.

I'm not articulate enough to add to this thread.

I've listened to nothing but Big Star all week.

just want to say one thing

years ago, i was all set to live, oh yeah

In this town, television shuts off at two
What can a lonely rock 'n' roller do?
The bed's so big, the sheets are clean
Your girlfriend said you were nineteen

The Styrofoam ice bucket's full of ice
Come up to my motel room and treat me nice

I don't wanna make no late night New York calls
I don't wanna stare at those ugly grass mat walls
Chronologically I know you're young
But when you kissed me in the club you bit my tongue

I'll write a song for you and put it on my next LP
Come up to my motel room and sleep with me

There's a Bible in the drawer, don't be afraid
I'll put up a sign to warn the maid
We can steal all the soap and towels
And never mind the way the desk clerk scowls

I'll buy your breakfast, they'll think you're my wife
Come up to my motel room and save my life

that's a cover iirc

it's loudon wainwright ... chilton's version is fab though.

wow I never knew that, damn bootlegs

If only:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BIG-STAR-3-ORIGINAL-ARDENT-PRESS-ALEX-CHILTON-PSYCH_W0QQitemZ120549693091QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item1c115256a3

Robyn Hitchcock weighs in. I like the idea of these guys hanging out.

It's difficult to accept that Alex Chilton is gone and won't be back.
He was always around, in his wry, low-key way, decorating the music
world with his casual brilliance. From Norway to San Francisco to Milan
he would be standing out there by the flight cases to greet you with
his quizzical smile. He had something of the ex-patriot in him: even at
home in the US, he seemed like a gentleman visiting from the past, most
comfortable on the fringe of things. His refusal to stand centre-stage
in Big Star was typical of this: he was too big a star to need to prove
it, perhaps.

The fount of indie-rock stems from him as much as from Arthur Lee, The
Velvet Underground, and Syd Barrett. His lack of interest in stardom
and all the steps up to it was, and will be, a constant inspiration to
many of us, as much as his sweet, dark, soulful music. Myriad musical
roads met in Alex, and he diverted their course to his own artistic
purposes with much grace and few illusions. All of us who knew of him
will want to join me in sending our thoughts and condolences to Laura,
his wife, and Jody Stephens, his collaborator of 40-odd years.

He and I enjoyed many smoky moments over the years. it's sad and
perplexing to think that there'll be no more. Last time I saw him we
were exhaling out of a window in Shepherd's Bush after the triumphant
Big Star gig there in 2008. I can't believe he's not here any more.
Alex? Alex?

that tracklist on that Ardent/Stax pressing is totally bizarre:

Side 1:
1. Stroke it, Noel
2. Take Downs
3. Femme Fatale (Lou Reed)
4. Thank You Friends
5. Holocaust
6. Jesus Christ
7. Blue Moon
SIDE 2 :
1. Kizza Me
2. For You (Jody Stephens)
3. O, Dana
4. Nighttime
5. Whole lot of shakin' goin' on (David / Williams)
6. Kanga Roo
7. Take Care

second side seems solid -- except that they've got "whole lotta shakin" smack dab in the middle. Inappropriate!

i guess i'm just mystified by the variety of odd sequences available and Alex never committed to one either...

that tracklist is pretty much the same as my copy

Hey, this 1978 KUT session almost definitely isn't 1978, right? He talks about Chris Bell in the past tense ("Chris was a homosexual. That's why we had to break up.") but Chris died at the very end of 1978. Also the people heard laughing at his comments couldn't possibly have been comfortable with this so soon after his death. When is this from?

it's referred to in the Big Star Jovanovic book, which, unfortunately I do not have at hand at the moment

it's from 1978. i think he's just talking in the past tense about Big Star -- Bell was still alive at that point ...

http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2010/04/post_7.html

Great story. And this part!

He tuned in to deejay Joe Hastings on classical station WWNO 89.9 FM and stayed up all night watching television. “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Touched by an Angel” fascinated him; he taught himself the “Walker” theme music on guitar.

The power of Chuck Norris (who IIRC wrote said theme).

Wow, Keith Spera did a great job with that piece. Lots of fascinating anecdotes and also some sad ones.

yeah, nice article! thanks for posting.

Nice piece - the detail about not having insurance hurts.

That's what stuck with me too. But I wonder if it was that he couldn't afford it, which would be appalling, or that he didn't prioritize it or chose to accept whatever came.

I guess - but you have to understand that, from a European perspective, not going to hospital with chest pains because you couldn't afford it simply wouldn't arise.

and that's the grim truth

via @KenStringfellow Another sad loss for Big Star fans as Andy Hummel passes away after long illness.

RIP if true!

ugh, really? that sucks. amazing bass player imo.

WTFFFFFFUCK

It's almost like long married couples passing one shortly after the other. If I were Jody Stephens I would take it easy on the beach and enjoy life.

This reminds me of when the Ramones started dropping off in rapid succession. :(

I really hope Jody lives to be about 110 years old.

anyone going to this? http://www.citywinery.com/events/93429
seems kind of cool. Lesa Aldridge ... !

Did anyone mention that Tommy Hoehn died in Memphis a few weeks ago? Another power-popper from down there. "Blow Yourself Up" is one one of those Rhino power-pop comps, and he also wrote "She Might Look My Way" with Alex.

The KUT interview is great. I've also been checking out a lot of live stuff that's popped up after Alex's death. The Teenage Fanclub show from 1996 is pretty good, good version of the Everlys' "Walk Right Back" and also a Joe Meek medley. Some '88 stuff from Germany has some good moments on it too. There's a Memphis WYLX show from '75 that includes Alex doing "I Will Always Love You." There are some CBGB tapes out there too that aren't the same as the stuff on One Day in New York.

I hear that Jon Tiven has been shopping the complete 1975 sessions he did with Alex and released a couple times as Bach's Bottom. Maybe there's some good stuff. I hope someone is facilitating a good overview which up until now has been difficult--release those Elektra demos with some of the stuff he did at Ardent in '75, cull through a few things, perhaps include some of that CBGB show. Viola, the lost decade explicated.

There will never be another Alex Chilton!!

Sad to think about

his there will never be another you is something else :(

i just listened to that song yesterday in the car and it made me super sad. :(

This popped up on the Big Star facebook page: It's alex appeaering on Conan in '95. Good guitar solos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg5Qc8xumUM&feature=player_embedded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-eVsH49_2U

alex doing my rival, filmed by william eggleston, via the always excellent dust congress blog