Sadly, Alex Chilton is the second Memphis music legend to die this year. The first, Jay Reatard, was a still-growing legend greatly inspired by him. And he had good reason to be inspired. Chilton was one of the principals behind Big Star, a band that ALWAYS comes up in conversations about underrated bands. Chilton died today at 59, reportedly of a heart attack. Here’s how you should remember him.
1. At the tender age of 16, Chilton peaked commercially. His band, The Box Tops, scored a No. 1 hit with “The Letter,” a tune known more for its prominence than who sang it. The band had more hits, but none as lasting as this soul-tinged classic.
2. You know this song in a different form. For nearly a decade, it was the theme song to “That 70s Show,” but before that, it was a Big Star tune. And well, it still is. Know what a popular TV show theme song gives you? Financial security.
3. “Remember what we said about ‘Paint it Black.'” “Thirteen” may be the best song ever written about adolescence, and it’s a tune that’s covered often, most notably by the also-deceased Elliott Smith.
4. You know you’ve made it when Paul Westerberg writes a song about you, and it’s really freaking good. “Alex Chilton” was immortalized as a Replacements single, and Chilton himself played on the band’s “Can’t Hardly Wait.”
Over the last week or two, a YouTube user named iamamiwhoami has been uploading these insane music videos, featuring a blonde singer who vaguely looks like Christina Aguilera (along with a bunch of Europop stars) The videos are simply insane. The music sounds awesome, all distorted and electronic. Who is it? Is it a hoax? Is it an alternate reality game that someone’s about to dish out? We want to know. source
According to nerdy scientific types, musical preference is based on human biological history. Although we can hear millions of tones, we focus on just a handful.
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We admit it. Oasis was pretty much our favorite band between about 1995 and 1998 (when we switched over to Radiohead). Noel Gallagher, who just left the band, is a huge reason for that, of course. His songwriting – with just as much T. Rex in the mix as there was Lennon/McCartney – killed on the first two albums. Here’s five of our favorite Noel vocal tracks. Two are B-sides (including “Acquiesce,” which he sang the chorus on), one is a Noel-sung Chemical Brothers single from the era, one is a lean-era tune we’ll actually defend, and of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without “Don’t Look Back in Anger.”source
In our continuing effort to try new things, here’s our latest: Band coverage! This time, SUNBEARS! completely ignores our rules on brevity, but because we like their pop-laden music so much, we learn not to be such sticklers. Want to see your band here? E-mail us or bug us on Twitter!
Listen to them
Q1: In 15 words or less, describe your sound:
Interesting music with a bit of pop-sensibility.
Q2: Name three influences that inspire you, with three words each on why they’re awesome: Scriptures/texts (any religious/philosophical scripture/text will do): To get inside the heads of thinkers/spiritualists long past no matter how bonkers or completely boring they may be. The outdoors: Because there’s always something more to look at. Real smiles: Because it’s always inspiring to witness someone being truly happy.
Q3: What’s a recent song you’ve been digging? Write ten words explaining why: Animal Collective – “My Girls”: I love the beginning with the triplet synth part, how swimmy it all is, until the beat drops on brings it all together.
Q4: In 140 characters or less, how do you use social networking to get the word out: Just using things like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to communicate with people in an everyday sort of way. “What’s up? What’s happening!? These are my thoughts…”
Q5: In 15 words or less, what’s next for you?
To keep pushing forward. Writing more tunes, Playing more shows. source
