hen there was that clean, shimmering guitar and emphasis on pop songwriting craft that had gotten lost in all the glitz and prog-rock messsiness. It spoke to those of us who could find it; #1 Record was an obscure gem, and that made us want it more. Radio City even more so.
Chilton's death washes over me as a warm breath of nostalgia for a certain time and a certain place—not necessarily a time or a place I'd want to go back to, but nevertheless a time and a place that I had to pass through to become who I am today. I would not want to be that Big Star-loving kid again, but I do have a certain fondness for who he was and the struggles he faced and, eventually, conquered ("at my side is God!"). And every time I listen to those first two Big Star records, in particular, I think of that kid.
And yet it's not all about the nostalgia, many of those songs endure. There's never been a time in my life—since '73, I think—that I haven't I had one or more Big Star records in my collection. And there's never been a time that I've shined one of their songs on when it's cycled through my iPod.
Awful news. He truly was one of the greats. Time to break out Keep an Eye on the Sky.
ReplyDeleteYup, I've listened to discs 1 and 2 already.
ReplyDeletehen there was that clean, shimmering guitar and emphasis on pop songwriting craft that had gotten lost in all the glitz and prog-rock messsiness. It spoke to those of us who could find it; #1 Record was an obscure gem, and that made us want it more. Radio City even more so.
ReplyDeleteChilton's death washes over me as a warm breath of nostalgia for a certain time and a certain place—not necessarily a time or a place I'd want to go back to, but nevertheless a time and a place that I had to pass through to become who I am today. I would not want to be that Big Star-loving kid again, but I do have a certain fondness for who he was and the struggles he faced and, eventually, conquered ("at my side is God!"). And every time I listen to those first two Big Star records, in particular, I think of that kid.
And yet it's not all about the nostalgia, many of those songs endure. There's never been a time in my life—since '73, I think—that I haven't I had one or more Big Star records in my collection. And there's never been a time that I've shined one of their songs on when it's cycled through my iPod.
RIP, man.
Best,
Jim H.