Big Star "You Can't Have Me"

Did you go back and listen to "Thriller" for the first time in years, when Michael Jackson died?

Losing an artist often spurs you on, to go back and remember why you liked them, long ago. And sometimes there's a nice little surprise in that reminder.

When Alex Chilton died last week, I wrote about it here, and mentioned "You Can't Have Me" in the post, then realized it had been a while since I last listened to the album "Third/Sister Lovers." If I were going to listen to Big Star, I'd more likely put on one (or both) of the first 2 records, which are loaded with Power Pop classics.

"Third/Sister Lovers" is a more challenging record. I read this great book called "It Came From Memphis" which had a whole chapter devoted to Chilton. And I remember that the making of this album was difficult---the label was going bankrupt, Chilton was becoming increasingly challenging toward his producer Jim Dickenson, and many of the songs live on the dark side. And when I'd want a little Big Star happiness, I didn't necessarily want to be challenged, so I'd skip the final record.

But the day after Chilton died, I was on the Steamship, and thought I'd listen to the record on my ride. So rewarding.

Of course, there are plenty of bright spots that I remembered, like the shimmering Christmas song "Jesus Christ" and the affirming "Thank You Friends." And there were wonderful, complex moments that I hadn't thought about in a while, like the beautiful "Take Care" and the buoyant "O Dana."

But the real treat was hearing "You Can't Have Me" for the first time in years, and really being swept up in the defiance of Chilton's vocals, the swirling, chaotic Dickenson production with horns and backing vocals and piano and harmonica, and especially, especially, Jody Stephens wild, passionate drum fills.

A joyful noise that made me want to go listen to ALL my albums, to rediscover all those gems that I've let slip away.

(skip forward to about 2:40 for "You Can't Have Me")


Hear clips from all the songs mentioned in this post:

Alex Chilton “Il Ribelle (The Rebel)"

When an artist dies, it’s pretty easy for music writers/critics/fanboys to slip into hyperbole about that person’s influence.

And maybe you’ve heard that Alex Chilton died this week, and have balked at some of the reverential coverage.

You may have never heard of Alex Chilton, though, at the very least, you recognized his biggest hit, “The Letter” from when he was the 16 year old lead singer of The Box Tops.

But it’s a testament to his enormous influence, to check out the music sampler below, to hear who counted Chilton as an inspiration.

And his obscurity, is probably a testament to his attitude and obstinance. After feeling that he and his music, were poorly handled at the end of the Box Tops and with his next group Big Star, Chilton was willfully rebellious against being boxed in by styles, trends, and simple marketability. “You can’t have me, not for free,” he once sang.

Big Star was set to perform this weekend at South By Southwest, with the 3 original surviving members playing together for the first time in 35 years. No doubt, it would have introduce Chilton to a whole new world of music lovers.

For today, we just have to celebrate is influence.

Check out just a few of Alex Chilton's fans, singing songs he wrote or co-wrote:

(when you get to the "Various Artists" cuts, click through to the album to see the various bands involved)

"You want me to do some audience-pleasing old style rock n roll? Sure, let me sing in Italian."


For better or worse, this is Chilton's most famous songwriting credit:

Big Star “Motel Blues”

All Time Top Five Songs About Motel Rooms . . .

From time to time on Every Day I Write The Blog, I do a week’s worth of my five favorite songs on theme. For the All Time Top Five rules, see this previous post.

This track is from a live, Big Star CD. Which means I am compelled to say two things:

First, I’ll point out that I think this is the first time where I am repeating an album. I wrote about the song “In The Street” a while back, when a listener told me that it was the worst song he’d ever heard.

Secondly, any mention of Big Star comes with a requisite background explanation.

Big Star was a band formed in Memphis in the early 70s. Despite critical acclaim, their records were poorly promoted, and subsequently sold few copies. They broke up, but became an influential cult favorite to artists like R.E.M., Matthew Sweet, The Gin Blossoms, Wilco and more. This Cult Cred culminated this past year, with a huge boxed set, issued by Rhino Records.

Part of the first Big Star renaissance, when Rykodisc records reissued their 3 proper albums in the early nineties, included the album simply titled “Live,” a long lost live-on-the-radio appearance by the band.

Big Star was led by Alex Chilton, who, at the time of the recording, was already an industry vet. As a 16-year-old, he became the lead singer of The Box Tops, and recorded the vocals for one of the all-time great Rock N Roll songs, “The Letter.” Unfortunately, the exploitation of his talent, at the hands of The Biz, left the now 22-year-old Chilton pretty jaded. When asked by the WLIR radio host on this live recording, what the music business was like back when he recorded “The Letter,” Chilton responded, “Kinda scummy. Like now.”

So it seems only fitting that the band would take on another famously blunt, occasionally cranky songwriter’s tune. Loudon Wainwright The Third’s song “Motel Blues” had only been released a year earlier at this point, but the attitude was right for Chilton.

It’s only a few lines, but, like so many good songwriters, clean strokes paint the images clearly and quickly. World weary, deglamorized and just a little desperate, Big Star makes this song fit nicely alongside similar tracks penned by themselves like “Thirteen” and “I’m In Love With A Girl.”

Hear clips of all the songs mentioned in this post:


Hear the song, set to some rare, random Big Star footage, and hear Loudon Wainwright sing it 30-plus years after he wrote it.

And read a recent interview, where Loudon suggests how he might update the lyrics (at the bottom of the article).

Buy Big Star “Live” or buy ”Keep An Eye On The Sky” boxed set.