Alex Chilton RIP

really sad shocking news--big star wrote some of the greatest twisted pop songs in the annals of musicdom. big star didn't sell many records, but everyone who bought one started a band.

really excellent post, zaikesman--i'd forgotten about the cramps. truthfully, i never thought much of his post bs work, most of which sounded half-baked or acid-fried, and the boxtops weren't much more than a studio concoction with three or so great songs. but those three big star albums effectively invented a whole genre--without them, it's inconceivable that some of the greatest song bands of our generations (posiesteenagefanclubgametheoryrem) would exist.

so while we're eulogizing, let me extol the virtues of chilton's late great bs partner, chris bell, whose "i am the cosmos" is every bit as noteworthy as the big star records. this would be a good occassion for the unitiated to rush out and buy it.

game theory/loud family are great, criminally underrecognized bands who in a parallel universe would be big stars. too bad that scott miller is forever condemned by his reedy little voice to mere cult figure. i believe aimee mann (no slouch herself) called him the best songwriter out there, which isn't too far wrong--his lyrics/tunes/concept albums are extremely ambitious and interesting. "like a girl jesus" is as purty a song as has ever been penned.
speaking of big-star influenced cult figures, it's strange noone's mentioned my fave, elliott smith, who channelled chilton as closely as anyone and who also died too soon.

gotta disagree, jimjoyce--i've met the guy (really nice and unassuming, btw) and i don't think his ego's an issue--it's more like he needs to sing his own songs in order to deliver 'em properly. game theory songs sung by, say eddie vedder or robert plant just wouldn't have the same appeal. personally, i like his voice and think he's a good singer--expressive and on key. it's just not a big, resonant voice, and most record buyers want big, resonant voices.

zaikesman, you dare dis the posies? to me, the epitome of power popdom; unlike 98% of their peers, they weren't merely slavishly imitating their big star/beatles/hollies influences, but taking it somewhere different, with weird poetic lyrics, complex (for the genre) melodies and great harmony vox. i submit that "frosting on the beater" is one of the 3 or 4 best pop albums of the 80s; i actually listen to it more than "radio city". so there...

i'm (obviously) with martykl on this one--at the end of the day, it's all about the songs; the fact that zman's discarded bands took their inspiration from the prophet shouldn't ipso facto damn them to oblivion. virtually everyone is influenced by someone else--lots of unquestionably great acts (e.g. radiohead, nirvana, badfinger, the jam, etc.) borrowed heavily, sometimes slavishly, from their predecessors, yet still left behind classic work. i honestly consider that the dbs, posies, tommy keene and and a very few others working the same genre to be worth mentioning in the same revered company. of course, one's musical taste is inherently subjective; vive le difference.