Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Alex Chilton

Alex Chilton 1950 - 2010

What can I say. We have lost one of the true giants of American music. Alex Chilton is one of the last of a dying breed, he embodied elements of just about everything that came out of the 20th century. His influence is undeniable as his presence is felt in so much of the music of today. It's true that bad luck dogged him through most of his career but he still managed to find a devoted audience, and one that will continue to grow for years to come.

I'm embarrassed to say that I was a late convert. My introduction to Alex Chilton was the inclusion of the Big Star song "Thirteen" on a mix tape a girlfriend had made me. At the time I remember being confused if it was an old song or new song, as it sounded so fresh but too classic to be from the '90s. I guess the line "tell 'em what we said about 'paint it black' gave it away. Shortly thereafter I witnessed the late great Elliott Smith perform the song in the short film 'Lucky Three' by Jem Cohen.

Here's a snippet from the film.

By this point my curiosity was peaked. A friend of mine lent me the Rykodisc CD version of the first two Big Star albums, which seemed to be the only Big Star music available at the time. Ah... the 90's with their genius efforts in consolidating albums worth of material on one infernal CD! I admit it was too much for me to digest at the time. Plus I had to burn the CD and give the original back to my friend. My copy wound up on the mountain of CD-R's I'd accumulated and was swiftly forgotten. A little while later, the sitcom 'That 70's show' began airing. With that intolerable version of 'In the Street' bubbling out of the TV every week it put a real damper on things.

Here's a re-formed Big Star performing 'In the Street' on Jay Leno in early 90's.

I sort of gave up trying to get into Big Star at that point, and turned my attention to other 70's rock luminaries like The Stooges and the MC5. Though I did come across The Box Tops 'Solid Hits' LP at a yard sale and was pleasantly surprised by the raspy lead vocals of a 16 year old Chilton on songs like 'The Letter' and 'Neon Rainbow'.

Here's The Box Tops trying their best to lip sync their way through 'The Letter'.

Down the road a piece, another girlfriend turned me on to the first This Mortal Coil LP 'It'll in End in Tears'. Unbeknownst to me at the time my two favorite songs from the record were in fact Chilton covers, 'Kangaroo' and 'Holocaust'.

Here's This Mortal Coil's rendition of 'Kangaroo'.

On a trip to Portland, Oregon years later, a good friend of mine shows up with Big Star's 'Sisters Lovers' CD. He goes off on it, praising it to the skies. I didn't even know there was a third Big Star record! Before he plays it he says it's better to skip over the first song and go straight to 'Thank You Friends'. As it makes more sense as an opening song than 'Kizza Me'. Even now I don't understand the song sequence on that album. It seems to have changed a couple times over. But it doesn't matter because it's still one of the greatest records ever made! That weekend we sang and played 'Holocaust' endlessly on one of the many shitty thrift store guitars lying around the house. On returning home I dove head long into the album and come out with a whole new perspective on Big Star and more importantly, Alex Chilton. For me, it took falling in love with the downer vibe of 'Sisters Lovers' to really appreciate the slicker production of '#1 Record' and 'Radio City'. I guess sometimes you have to work a bit to find your real heroes.

Home video shot by members of Big Star while recording their first record in Memphis.

Looking back through his canon of songs I feel that almost every one of them is an instant classic. That's a hard mark to hit through a career spanning over 30 years. Though he did it effortlessly. Even the covers he chose stand as memorable renditions, as well as a testament to his genuine love of music.

Interview with Alex Chilton on 120 minutes in '85.

I'm still kicking myself for not going to see the re-formed Big Star last November at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. It turned out to be one of Chilton's last performances. Even so, the music will be engrained in me forever.

Thanks Alex!