Alex Chilton R.I.P.

I was also lucky enough to be at SXSW and see the show. I'm still thinking/feeling it. I've got a brief wrote a brief account in a blog post over at http://17dots.com/

I was so focussed on the stage i didn't notice much of what was going on around me, except for one really vocal Big Star fan who also had very definite opinions on which of the guests were worthy of sharing the stage and which weren't. I was also too gripped by the moment to think of taking photos which I regret now somewhat.

What was really weird, for me, is that Heather West (she read the note from Chilton's widow Laura) came up to me after the show finished (I was standing right next to the stage exit) and asked me my name. I told her and she said, I've been watching you all during the show. You have Alex's exact fashion sensibility."

I didn't quite know what to make of it, especially as I didn't realize who she was- I'd watched her read the letter but didn't make the connection, the friend i was with pointed it out. And, if you're wondering, what I was wearing was utterly unexceptional- dark trousers, grey coat and several shirts- it was incredibly cold on Saturday.

What a night

 

He used to play Rock With You quite a bit...

 

Laura is the sister of a friend of mine and I believe she'd known Alex for at least ten years, though I don't know when they started dating. They did marry sometime last year, that much is true. I discovered this quite by accident in January when I went to meet Laura and her sister for dinner (hadn't seen either of them in years) and Alex was sitting at the table. After being within a degree of each other for a decade, I was finally formally introduced to the man. Talk about a surprise!

 

My Dinner with Alex.

What a cool story!

 

Wow ... would love to hear more.

 

Ben Vaughn on Alex. Great read, and the story of how In The Street got on the TV show. The text is all the way to the right for some reason:


http://nextbigthing.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-do-believe-this-is-scoop.html

 

Enjoyed the story of In The Street getting on that TV show! A nice read.

 

Great text by Ben Vaughn, thanks for that link!
BTW Cubist Blues, the album Ben Vaughn made with Chilton and Alan Vega is very good.

 

I think many people were disappointed that Alex only sporadically returned to the power pop genre, and the chiming glories of Big Star. Personally I find his work work from the 80's onward to be only sporadically interesting, seldom enthralling. But the rather extended interview with him in Bruce Eaton's excellent "Radio City" 33 1/3 book helped me better appreciate where he was coming from, plumbing less commercial genres.

I'd say R.I.P. Alex but I suspect you and Chris and all your Baroque and Soul and New Orleans heroes and mentors are jamming up there. As you once sang "Take Care"

 

Here's a repeat of what I posted last night in a Ray Davies thread:

I just drove back from Orange County after seeing a great Ray show at The Grove of Anaheim. The 1,400 seat venue looked sold out and the crowd really knew the lyrics. The set list was similar to what was mentioned in previous posts, but Ray told a nice story about befriending Alex Chilton in New Orleans and how Alex lent him a guitar in the hospital after being shot. He then played (but said it wasn't a dedication) "The Tourist".

 

A 1994 show broadcast from the Howlin' Wolf on WTUL (and hence booted) captured Chilton in all his ragged glory, running through a typical set of oddball covers and wacky originals. For the encore, the drummer had made himself scarce and Chilton called an audience member up to the stage to sit in on sticks. The result was awful, but they kept going, and the drummer eventually returned. The whole thing runs about two hours, and Chilton is clearly having a good time. I listened to it again yesterday and there's a palpable sense of fun in this performance, which is what I think Chilton was getting at with his post-Big Star recordings. The arrangements are often very clever as well.

 

The Ben Vaughn tribute was wonderful and captured some additional insight to the man. Alex's passing certainly hit an emotional nerve for a lot of us. I was lucky enough to score a used copy of Cubist Blues in my favorite indy record store yesterday. My period of mourning for Alex Chilton continues.

 

You know where one can find this boot? Since his death i´m constantly spinning Alex music.

 

Thanks for sharing--makes this forum great!

 

I haven't posted on this thread because I haven't really known what to say. I adored this man's work. I was the sort of Chilton partisan people complain about. His songs meant the world to me. I became a huge Big Star fan about seven years ago, when I was 19, which I think was the perfect age to discover them. Box Tops and solo Chilton came later. But the three Big Star albums felt and still feel like a world unfolding, like pure rock & roll dedicated very pointedly to anyone who heard and understood the music. It all seemed like such personal communication. I can't believe he's gone.

My copy of the Eaton 33 1/3 book came yesterday from Amazon and I love it so far. Thank you sir.

 

You mean he refused to Jam up there, prefering to sit alone playing old country records and singing along to that. Ignoring Chris Bell.

 

I found my cassette tape of me singing Way Out West with Alex and his trio circa 1986 yesterday. It's pretty distorted, missing the first 15 seconds of the song etc... but it brings back a really great memory of a friendship I treasure.

Bobby Sutliff

 

The full text of Laura Chilton's letter, read at SXSW

http://www.offbeat.com/2010/03/24/laura-chilton-on-alexs-passing/

 

Public memorial here in Memphis, on Tuesday

http://www.memphisflyer.com/SingAll...n-memorial-set-for-tuesday-at-minglewood-hall

 

I know that just about everything that could be said in this thread has been. But I've been wanting for some time now to post something that I think says a lot about why so many of us here had such an emotional reaction to Alex's death.

Problem was, I had to really plumb the depths of my many hard drives to locate it. But I finally have.

This is from a post on AOL in 1994, at a time when the Big Star reunion shows had just started to happen. Keep in mind there are some references to previous posts in that thread.

I find the paragraph about "The Ballad of El Goodo" to be so moving that it brings tears to my eyes every time I read it.

 

Yep, a great post.
I can never listen to El Goodo again without that extra layer of wistfulness. Always incredibly touching, it's a killer now.

Thanks, MIke.

 

Thanks for finding and posting that. I saw Alex once but I never got to see Big Star so it's great reading the personal recollections. I agree about the "El Goodo" part. very touching. It's the song I've been strumming the most on my acoustic guitar over the last 2 weeks. Such a beautiful tune.

 

Thank you, Mike. That posting brought tears to my eyes as well. Nothing touches my heart the way Big Star does--and even though Alex was often prickly (or worse), there's such purity in the music that I know it touched his heart, too.

 

There's a neighborhood cafe near my house that I frequent. I'm meeting some friends there tomorrow, as a matter of fact. My wife passed by this afternoon and noticed their marque said: ALEX CHILTON: I LOVE THAT SONG. The first time I went there, "Thirteen" was playing, so I shouldn't be surprised. Of course I knew how important Alex was, but I've been amazed where tributes to him have turned up.

 

Gardo, what was your reaction to seeing all those photos in the box set? You're such a fan that I can't imagine it being less than emotional. I'm still stunned by the number of excellent photos of the band.

Thanks for the note by the way. Andrew played a really wild mix of Jesus Christ but I didn't get all of it. I'll try to post a clip soon.