Alex Chilton Dies

[mpolak21]

Ugh. I can still remember grabbing the CD issue of #1 Record/Big City from the library when I was 17, it was one of those excellent music listening experiences where the material lived up to the raves I'd read about it. He lead one of the quintessential American bands, sang one of the greatest songs of the sixties, inspired my favorite Replacements song, shame to see this news.

 

--Mike

[solace]

such sad, sad news.

 

Deserved its own thread, IMO ... but if anybody wants to read the last thread, it can be found here ... http://forums.viachi...41430-big-star/

 

thanks for making it it's own thread... i didn't want to until it was 100% confirmed.

 

*sigh*

 

while i did see a great Ike Reilly show tonight, my mind was clearly kind of elsewhere.

 

i'm just super glad I was able to see him twice, i'll cherish those memories forever.

[hardwood floor]

I saw Alex once in the late 1980s & he was bizarre, strange and totally wonderful. He ignored all the calls for "The Letter" or "September Gurls" and just played only his own bizarre, quirky solo stuff.

 

Amazing artist and musician & guitar player, singer, writer.

 

I played about five Chilton songs & "Alex Chilton" by the 'mats on my (non-music) radio show tonight & made me feel better and sadder too

[kidsmoke]

Aw, crap. RIP and thanks for all the incredible music, Alex. A true one-of-a-kind.

[Gobias Industries]

Rest in peace, Alex Chilton. I don't know what else to say. I'm devastated like everyone else is. Alex Chilton was the fucking man. He made some of the best fucking songs and records to grace rock and roll. Trying to say much more would probably be lavishing praise on someone who didn't look for it...so I won't.

[Somnambulist]

So sad to hear this news. Saw the reunited Big Star in the 90s and they were great. Big Star has been a big influence on me over the years. I'm sorry we won't be able to hear the quirky directions Alex would have gone into in the future. His backup vocals on Chris Bell's You and Your Sister always give me the chills.

RIP.

[augustus westerberg]

Got the incredibly sad news at work in the middle of the night and listened to Keep An Eye On The Sky on the ipod for the rest of the shift, so many great songs and the spooky ones off the 3rd album were downright bone-chilling last night. Thanks for all the great music Alex, rest in peace.

[PopTodd]

I saw the reunited Big Star in 1994. Metro. Chicago. It was one of the best shows that I've ever seen.

I brought my girlfriend at the time and, when we left, she looked me dead in the eye and asked, "WHY have I never heard of these guys before?!!? That was INCREDIBLE!"

I married her a couple of years later.

 

Rest in peace, Alex.

 

(A side note: around the time that we got married, I found a copy of that show on "import" CD. I'm listening to it now, in tribute.)

[KevinG]

wow, that is incredibly sad.

 

I have no idea what to say.

[moxiebean]

Just found out driving into work this morning - i'm listening to the news on NPR and they play a clip of "The Letter" and i'm thinking "oh,nonononono..." Was fortunate enough to see him twice in the late 80's after High Priest came out. The first show (opening for Scruffy the Cat..) I remember he played a bunch of covers, including "Goldfinger".

[PopTodd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcQyEYYGho0

[jff]

Damn, how sad. Over the past few months I've been rediscovering how wonderful the Big Star catalog is. I'm glad I got to see him a couple times. I saw him with his solo band in 1993, and saw Big Star a few years ago opening for Flaming Lips. This is terrible, completely unexpected news.

[bobfrombob]

So sad. RIP.

[LouieB]

Wow, this is really sad. Not only that, Alex and I are exactly the same age. Life is way too short.

 

I put the Big Star Box set on my iPod and listen to it quite alot. It is kind of amazing that this material just came out and now he is gone.

 

LouieB

[PopTodd]

Somebody posted this excerpt from the Butthole Surfers chapter of Our Band Could Be Your Life over at another message board. I thought it was pretty cool.:

Haynes then made a successful run for the dressing room and slammed the door behind him. Kramer could hear Leary and Haynes screaming at each other inside, and when he finally worked up the courage to open the door, he found the two of them smashing guitars, bottles, and chairs in what Kramer calls "the most potent example of bad behavior I have ever seen [...]"

 

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???!!!" Haynes screamed, eyes flashing in delirious anticipation 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."

 

- Our Band Could Be Your Life, p 297

[Artifice]

Oh what a gutpunch... just fucking awful.

 

I am glad I got to see him in Atlanta 3 years ago.

 

RIP Alex, you will be missed.

[Hoodoo Man]

Damn! I just found out this morning on the drive in to work. One of my uncles worked for Stax and the Box Tops were one of his acts so as a kid I grew up with the Box Tops records in our house. I listened to those things hundreds of times without really knowing who I was listening to and how my uncle was connected. Fast forward about 15 years and my uncle is out of the music biz and we're visiting him in Springfield, IL and he pulls out some old records of his and I'm introduced to Big Star and become a fan. I realize later that when I was a kid, my uncle brought a new record by one of his new acts that he claimed sounded like the Beatles to our family Thanksgiving dinner. He started to spin it and was forced to turn it off during the the second song. I'm now 90% sure that was #1 Record.

 

Anyway, was going to see Chilton and Big Star for my first time ever in May as they were scheduled to play at an historic amphitheater in Memphis that was the site of many late 60's and early 70's rock shows. So while I'm bummed about that, I'm sadder that Big Star still hasn't received the recognition that I believe they deserve and Chilton, like Bell, can never enjoy what success or recognition that could lie in the future (whether Chilton wanted it or not).

 

RIP.

[Guest Runaway Jim]

I was listening to a Jeff solo cover of Thirteen on the bus this morning and thought, "I've got to check out this Big Star band." I'm not familiar with them really.

 

RIP

 

Condolences to you guys that were huge fans.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

I woke up this morning at 2am with the unavoidable feeling something was wrong.

I came online and I found out.

Bad news.

[Moss]

Horrible news, just heard on the way to work myself. That line "I never travel far without a little Big Star" is so true for many of us. Those Big Star albums have always been constant companions. Wish I could have seen him live.

[deepseacatfish]

RIP Alex, today is gonna be a Big Star day for me. It's a shame he's gone but his music is one hell of a legacy.

[Sunken mountain]

Un poco más solos.Un poco más tristes.

Good night,Alex Chilton.

[jff]

The Pop Candy blog has a small tribute with several video clips of Big Star/Chilton, plus a few covers.

 

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/index

[Ghost of Electricity]

Lots of talented people have been passing recently. Sad news, which comes on the heels of sad news. No more please.

[Sir Stewart]

Thanks for all the great tunes Alex.