Alex Chilton's passing has been surprising in its intensity. I think it's fair to say that it hit fans much harder than anticipated. One perverse upside ... and it really has been positive ... has been the impressive number of high-quality remembrances. He clearly affected so many people so profoundly that it's been oddly comforting to read so much well-articulated fondness and respect. If nothing else, it's been welcome to revisit some of rock's most life-affirming moments, like Alex singing with The Replacements (above). Seriously, how can you not be in love with that song???
To supplement the eulogies I already posted, here's 3 podcasts that serve as wonderfully thorough overviews of Chilton's music career including and subsequent to Big Star. We get Tav Falco's Panther Burns, Bach's Bottom, Box Tops, Cramps, Feudalist Tarts, etc. Do yourself a favor and download the MonkeyBeat and Ledge podcasts. Years from now, when you've turned your kids onto Big Star and they're starting to get punk rock, they'll love you for these. ALEX CHILTON PODCASTS
I'm warning you now, Fox will kick your ass upside-down with folksoulfulness. He only has 2 albums ... Shelter From The Smoke and Transit Byzantium ... but both are deceptively brilliant and freighted with emotion. Lo-fi, occasionally shambolic, some songs with a band, some without, totally unassuming in its brilliance. Heartbreaking stuff.
"Without my friends I got chaos, I'm off in a bead of light, Without my friends I'd be swept up high by the wind." --"Thank You Friends"
It's been a rough several months for Memphis. In a span of 7 months, the city lost Jim Dickinson, Jay Reatard, and Alex Chilton. That would be a tough decade, let alone year. And yet, the city remains officially resolute. This video has to be one of the top 33 1/3 moments in congressional history. Alex Chilton, Big Star, and The Replacements name-dropped on the House floor. Well done, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN).
From an NPR profile recorded six weeks ago (2/2/10), Ed Ward calls Big Star "The Unluckiest Band In America." A must-listen and probably a true statement.
Priceless Big Star video from 1971, shot by Chris Bell and Andy Hummel, and included on Oxford-American's "Best of the South 2008" DVD. Visit the OA page for more info on this amazing footage.
"Get me out of here, I hate it here, Get me out of here."
A chilling quote to think about with regard to Elliot Smith, unfortunate to think about with regard to Chilton. For those of you who want to ignore Smith's annoying cadre of shouters, move ahead to 1:33. Sadly beautiful.
"Yeah, December boys got it bad, as 'September Gurls' notes. The great Alex Chilton is gone -- folk troubadour, blues shouter, master singer, songwriter and guitarist. Someone should write a tune about him. Then again, nah, that would be impossible. Or just plain stupid."
"Especially girls -- for hipster gals who couldn’t necessarily relate to the abrasive machismo of Lou Reed or Iggy Pop, Alex Chilton was a dude who let female fans hear themselves in his music. Nobody was ever better at making Southern girls feel cool."
The Adios Lounge can't participate in this year's SXSW Music Festival because of top-secret government work. Yep, it's true. While Austin staggers under the weight of freebeerpalooza, I'll be keeping the Western Hemisphere safe in a bunker 20 miles below the surface of the earth.
My disadvantageous location notwithstanding, don't think for a second my finger isn't on the pulse of excellence. Adios Lounge fans in ATX are wise to visit Sam's Town Point this Thursday, March 18. Prepare for your world to be adjusted by The Archibalds, Glossary, and Vulture Whale. If you willfully miss this show you should be hunted for sport for at least half a day.
Tuesday update: Arkadelphia (featuring Dexateens guitarist/vocalist, Lee Bains III) is not playing this gig because the amount of rock they bring to each gig can't be contained within the cargo hold of the common passenger aircraft. Maybe next year.
Lone Justice L-R: Ryan Hedgcock (guitar, vocals), Don Heffington (drums, soulpatch), Maria McKee (vocals, starchild), Marvin Etzioni (bass, jewfro)
"My girlhood among the outlaws was salty, bittersweet The things I did I could just kick myself now" --Maria McKee, 1993
If you're like me, you've often said to yourself, "Wouldn't it be nice if someone put together a 40-45 minute documentary on early Lone Justice? You know, before the band was engulfed by mediocrity and their souls cannibalized by music industry tiger sharks???" Of course you did. Well, you're in luck because I did just that. Granted, it's an audio documentary, but the upside is you can download it to your ipod, blackberry, or straight into your exoskeleton. Convenience, thy name is A. Lounge.
This doc is the result of an intense three-week archaeological dig. I unearthed a Lone Justice radio appearance, TV spots, demos, outtakes, and several live shows. I combined those with a few officially released cuts to give longtime fans and LJ newbies a chance to hear the band at their best: A kickass country combo that put a little punk in their rock and absolutely brimmed with potential.
"This business tears right at your soul; Music used to mean so much to me, It don't meant that much to me no more."
Bob Forrest, 1987
Listening to these radio excerpts, it seems like the qualities that made the band such an engaging interview ... charming, hopeful, endlessly positive ... are the same qualities that made them industry shark bait. Fact is, once the high rollers got their hooks in 19-year-old (!) Maria McKee, it was game over. She was too talented, too beautiful, too naive, too everything to not fuck up. Maybe if she grew up in Seattle, Minneapolis, or southeast Georgia (i.e. not LA) she and the band could've spent a few years paying their dues and possibly emerging as R.E.M. type figures. Alas, it was not to be.
BAND:
Maria McKee: vocals, guitar
Ryan Hedgecock: guitars, vocals
Marvin Etzioni: bass, vocals
Don Heffington: drums
David Harrington: bass ("Drugstore Cowboy")
Don Willems: drums ("Drugstore Cowboy")
FEATURES:
Lone Justice on KXLU, Los Angeles, January 20, 1984
Lone Justice profile on IRS Records' video program, "The Cutting Edge," 1984
SONGS: 1. Maria McKee, John Doe & Dave Alvin - Someone Told My Story [Merle Haggard] - 1984
2. Lone Justice - Rattlesnake Mama [traditional?] - Geffen Demos - 1983-84
3. Lone Justice - Workin' Man Blues [Merle Haggard] - Geffen Demos - 1983-84
4. Maria McKee & Ryan Hedgecock (acoustic) - Nothin' Can Stop My Lovin' You [George Jones] - 1984
5. Maria McKee & Ryan Hedgecock (acoustic) - If Teardrops Were Pennies [Dolly Parton] - 1984
6. Lone Justice - Drugstore Cowboy - First demos - May 1983
7. Lone Justice - Cottonbelt - Lone Justice outtake - 1984
8. Lone Justice - Sweet Jane [Velvet Underground] - Geffen Demos - 1983-84
9. Lone Justice - Working Late - The Stone, San Francisco - January 25, 1985
10. Maria McKee, John Doe & Dave Alvin - Moanin' The Blues [Hank Wiliams] - 1984
11. Lone Justice - East Of Eden - The Stone, San Francisco - January 25, 1985
12. Lone Justice - Shine A Light [Rolling Stones] - The Stone, San Francisco - January 25, 1985
13. Lone Justice - Ways To Be Wicked [Tom Petty] - S/T - 1985
14. Lone Justice - Soap, Soup And Salvation - S/T - 1985
BUY:
Lone Justice - 1985 [CD] [MP3]
Shelter - 1986 [CD] [MP3]
This World Is Not My Home (retrospective) - 1999 [CD] [MP3]
LONE JUSTICE @ THE PALOMINO, HOLLYWOOD, 1984
To fully appreciate the phenomenon that was Lone Justice, you have to see them hold an audience in their twangy grasp, Maria bringing down the house with full-throated gospel fervor. If you were a male between the ages of 0 and Methuselah, how could you not love Maria McKee??? A young, hot, spitfire, like Wanda Jackson by way of Exene Cervenka. Yeah, who could possibly enjoy that?
Pay particular attention to Maria's dedication before "Nothin' Can Stop My Lovin' You." It pretty much sums up this era, when one could reconcile the seemingly disparate worlds of George Jones and X and have it make complete sense.
Click on image to download the "Hype Radio" iPhone app
About The Adios Lounge
The Adios Lounge began in April 2008 when an old-school record collector came to terms with these new-school webs and tubes. The blog name comes from a Thelonious Monster song. If you don't know who that is, stick around and you'll find out. Some other faves include Sam Cooke, Clarence White, Grand Champeen, Superchunk, Doug Sahm, Uncle Tupelo, Funkadelic, Minutemen, Roger Miller, and Richard Pryor. But hey, enough of my yakkin'. Whaddaya say? Let's boogie.
Contact Me
Please direct any questions, complaints, offers of valuable cash prizes, and critical plaudits to Lance Davis at: pantsfucious@gmail.com.
With your Chilton jones addressed by multiple sources, I'm going in a different, but related direction. I have recently become an unabashed Bill Fox fan (pictured left), in part because he reminds me of the perfect combination of Alex Chilton's acoustic Big Star songs with GBV's Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout circa Bee Thousand.
