RIP Alex Chilton

I've never heard of this guy, but I'm convinced I should have.
Way too young, son.
RIP

 

Give me a ticket to an airplane, ain't got time for a fast train...

Loved that song.

 

Damn. :'(

RIP Alex.

 

Anyone who's seen That '70s Show has peripherally heard of Alex Chilton. His band Big Star's song In the Streets was used as the theme song.

 

So true. Great fucking song. When those first 3-4 drumbeats come on, you know what's going to follow. Great keyboards in that song, nice touch of brass.
Cry Like a Baby was awesome, also.

"When I think about the good love you gave me, I cry like a baby."

 

The Replacements, Alex Chilton

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1wwko_the-replacements-alex-chilton_music

 

A Big Star celebration and performance had been scheduled for Saturday at South by Southwest.

 

Aww, hell. Really bummed to hear this.

Z-Man already posted one of my all-time favorite songs, Big Star's "Ballad of El Goodo." I'll throw in another classic:

Still astounding to me that he was 16 when the Box Tops recorded "The Letter."

By the way, I highly recommend the Big Star boxed set "Keep an Eye on the Sky."

 

This thread's title just took my breath away.

I'm very very bummed.

Saw Alex several times in Columbia, but not, alas, during the famed Big Star reunion show.

RIP

 

Fuck. Just fuck.

Big Star is an amazing band, and even though they're brought up so often as one of the most underappreciated bands to the point where it's almost a cliche, it's the truth. They really are.

Brings to mind a story.

I paid a visit to my dad in Minnesota, circa 2000, and he wanted to go to Taste Of Minnesota, the big food festival in St. Paul with bands, etc. My brother (Z-Man) was living there at the time so he was going too.

There were a number of bands he was reeling off that were on stage that day and he came to the Box Tops ... or Alex Chilton and a bunch of guys pretending to be the rest of the Box Tops.

We didn't give a damn. My brother and I in unison, "The Box Tops! The Box Tops! We want to see the Box Tops!"

My dad couldn't understand it. He never heard the Box Tops' tunes coming from either of our rooms back in the day ... and they didn't. We had to explain to him that Alex Chilton later fronted Big Star, one of the great underground bands of all-time, extremely influential for so many bands, especially indie bands in the 80s.

We didn't care if it was the Box Tops, we just wanted to see Chilton.

So we did. There were a bunch of Big Star/Replacements (this was the Twin Cities after all) geeks around the stage with a bunch of puzzled Baby Boomers mixed in. Chilton didn't play any Big Star tunes, but the Box Tops tunes are pretty damn good in their own right and were very enjoyable.

I'm especially fond of Soul Deep.

Z-Man posted a great one by Big Star, here's more ... a pair of perfect power pop songs. (I can't find Daisy Glaze online, which is my favorite from Radio City)

Like TigerVols and my bro, this hit me like a ton of bricks.

RIP Alex. Thanks for being one of the greatest of all-time.