coincidences there. The last few days and weeks, I've heard a lot about The Replacements and discovered especially their album "Pleased to meet me" for me. Then there is the song "Alex Chilton", a tribute to the example of Replacements chief songwriter Paul Westerberg. I have the song so lately with all the enthusiasm up and down played. And yesterday I read that Alex Chilton died with nearly 59 years.
Chilton has as a musician "touched more hearts than units sold," as in an obituary (I think it was the New York Times) was brought beautifully to the point. Therefore need only write a blog "Children by the million, sing for Alex Chilton" (a line from the Replacements song) with his photo and it concerned all the knew what was meant.
His claim to fame was "The Letter", a hit from the '60s, he sang as a minor lead singer of the Box Tops. Probably his best known appearance to date. Then he took a long pitch. With his next band "Big Star" was, despite the high quality and good reviews after three Albums and chronic failure circuit and Chilton at the end. enrolled in the rock history he has with her until much later - because of great influence after a long re-discovery. It is true that fans and docile students like Paul Westerberg or Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies (they even played in the new version of Big Star in the 90s with) Chilton's memory always held high, but they themselves, as well as her role model, long-overlooked and underestimated, in Westerberg's case, although influential, but rather general and not of happiness pursued unsuccessful musician. A few months ago is a Big Star Showcase released on 4 CDs and the praise had become consensus. How much is Chilton now could cut it knows. And to what extent one may call the whole thing than later recognition is also questionable. He always had good reviews and sold like hot cakes has also showcase not. But he should have done long ago made his peace with the whole thing. Apparently his interest in recent years, rather the classical guitar and baroque music, although he still appeared with Big Star. For this weekend, a festival appearance would have been planned.
My first Big Star album was just the fourth, "In Space" in 2005. I have no idea how the record sounds. I've probably heard it once and almost displaced in that I've never found again.
When then my heart lost in this band was, I do not remember. It must have been shortly afterwards. Maybe it was a "Thirteen" Cover of the Counting Crows or Elliot Smith. "The Ballad of El Goodo" I have noted at least several years in my road movie as the final song. And I know that I knew the band even as I read Rob Sheffield's book "Love is a mixtape. The story of Rob's first wife, a Big Star fan like him, whom he meets through a conversation about the band and who dies in the end out of the blue from a congenital heart defect. A book like a Big Star song - up one minute romantic, bittersweet and deeply sad. Sheffield has now written the obituary in Rolling Stone Chilton.
What was it that my heart was lost to Big Star, I remember very well. First, it was the fact that these great songs no one knew. That they were overlooked. I had for myself. They were my songs and my band Big Star. I had always believe a weak spot for the overlooked, I do. But most important to me was always this big star - every time I hear Big Star, I think that sometime maybe someone somewhere sit and hear my songs as I hear the songs of Alex Chilton. And then I continued to write.
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