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18 January 2006

I Know that labeling is stupid but as a music geek, I can't help myself. What genre (aside from the generic 'rock') would you call Born To Run period Springsteen, mid-70's Bob Seger, Southside Johnny (and to a lesser extent the Billy Joel and Meat Loaf of the same period)? I can't think of one that seems to fit right.
post by: jonmc at: 14:58 | 93 comments
NotJenna.
posted by danostuporstar 18 January | 14:59
Labels suck. Thats said, I think "Classic Rock' fits as well as anything. I gotta say, though, that I don't see what Billy Joel and Meatloaf have to do with the others, aside from being contemporaries.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 15:04
I hate the term 'classic rock' with a passion.

I wasn't comparing Billy Joel & Meatlof (both of whom I do enjoy) to Springsteen, Seger & Southside in terms of talent, but there are similarities: roots in late 50's/early 60's rock but not nostalgia oriented, acertain lyrical perspective and performing style.

And, yeah I agree labels suck generally, but this has been a bee in my bonnet for some reason.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 15:10
Yeah, see, Billy Joel and (to a lesser extent) Meatloaf fall into "Old White Man Music" along with Cat Stevens and James Taylor and The Eagles.

The rest is like. . . "Anthem Bop?" (Meatloaf could cross over into this category. . .which I kind of like. The OWMM, I don't.)
posted by rainbaby 18 January | 15:12
Yeah, "Classic Rock" covers such a multitude of sins that it's rendered meaningless.

I dunno. Springsteen, Seger & Southside Johnny (and the J. Geils band too, for that matter) all had that sorta white boy R&B thing going. That's about as far as I'd take it, myself.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 15:23
Yeah, see, Billy Joel and (to a lesser extent) Meatloaf fall into "Old White Man Music" along with Cat Stevens and James Taylor and The Eagles.

If you're only famililiar with Joel's work from the 80's which is admittedly drecky, I can see how you'd lump him in with Taylor & Stevens, but his 70's work(while not anywhere near the level of Springsteen & Seger or even Jackson Browne, has more to it than a lot of people give it credit for.

And Meatloaf's over-the-top teen drama on Bat Out Of Hell definite was spun off the same axis as the Boss's stuff, but in a more ludicrous fashion.

(I should add that Born To Run, along with the early Ramones & Dictators, and Little Richard, Elvis & Chuck Berry pretty much define 'rock and roll' for me, in shorthand anyway. YMMV)
posted by jonmc 18 January | 15:23
and the J. Geils band too, for that matter

Thanks for mentioning them. I emailed two tracks* to a R&B fanatic friend who only knew them from 'Centerfold.' When he listened to the old stuff, his fuckin' jaw dropped.

*these were the two tracks:

Musta Got Lost (Live with Intro)
Houseparty
posted by jonmc 18 January | 15:27
How 'bout "bombast rock?"
posted by me3dia 18 January | 15:32
I think I'm a year older than you jonmc, I grew up with the 70's BJ stuff. Yeah, it's better than the 80's stuff, but it had it's time and place for me. . .seems like the white dudes tend to hold onto it. Just an observation.
posted by rainbaby 18 January | 15:33
It's still rock and roll to me.
posted by keswick 18 January | 15:43
I see your point about "classic rock" and think that simply "rock" might be misleading in some ways. But failing a precise word that describes and illuminates the grouping, let's not overcomplicate the matter. Why not just "rock and roll" tagged with the era in which it was made? Anything much longer falls into excessive description....e.g. it's 70s radio-ready rock'n'roll with workman-like song construction, a tendency towards narrative lyrics and an idealization of (youthful) independence.....yada yada....not saying this describes all or any of the artists mentioned, but rather is an example of going too far.
posted by safetyfork 18 January | 15:46
I would classify all of those acts as aspirational blue-collar rock, incorporating subthemes of hometown escapism, hometown nostalgia, and the white R&B/soul the artists had heard as kids. All of them would further seem to be seasoned with the lower-middle-class experience of the bitter older brothers coming from 'Nam, economic malaise and stagflation of the Carter era, and then the first impacts of globalization-related job loss in the dawn of the Reagan era.

So, uh, I guess that'd be "Hometown Rock", or maybe "Proto Arena-Rock, sincere sub-type"

Also, I was digging for Springsteen in the dollar vinyl crates at Amoeba the other day, and found lots of Southside Johnny. Should I give it a spin?
posted by Triode 18 January | 15:47
On post view: keswick, + , for the reference. And, despite my bit, I kind of like the "hometown rock" suggestion.
posted by safetyfork 18 January | 15:48
How 'bout "bombast rock?"

Yes, but what glorious bombast, or perhaps I have a bombastic soul. Actually, the main reason I don't cotton to a lot of newer stuff today is that it lacks all the dynamics and bombast of stuff like the Giels tracks I posted.

I see what you mean, rainbaby, but oddly the Boss is one of the few white rock singers who has much cred with black music geeks I know. Also, I think Billy Joel might be a tri-state thing.

found lots of Southside Johnny. Should I give it a spin?

Most definitely. He has a magnificent voice. Here's a track to give you a taste.

I'm not taking this all that seriously. I've just been geeking out on music like this lately. I've also been reading Ronnie Spector's autobiography.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 15:52
Oh, I didn't mean bombast in a negative sense. It's a unifying theme among those musicians, though.
posted by me3dia 18 January | 16:00
I'm actually kind of surprised that the greying of gen-ecch hasn't produced a crop of performers like this. (Ryan Adams dosen't count)
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:02
All I know is that somehow iTunes has filed my copy of A-Ha's "Take On Me" under "Blues". That's just not right.
posted by ooga_booga 18 January | 16:03
Heartland Rock
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 18 January | 16:03
Wrinklies' rock. 'cause it's what the kids' parents listened to before they got, you know, wrinkly.

jonmc, why do you hate Morrisey so much?
posted by bonehead 18 January | 16:05
Uh oh.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 16:06
IRHF: Heartland Rock conjures up Mellencamp and Tom Petty to me, who are very similar to the artists I mentioned, but very different in others.

I'd also include Pittsburgh's Iron City Houserockers under my original rubric. The sound (Seger is an exception, I guess) seems more Eastern Seaboard than Heartland.

jonmc, why do you hate Morrisey so much?

it's half a joke at this point, but because he's pretnetious and whiny and no fun and his voice gives me hives and he's spawned a generation of people who think that self-pity=depth.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:07
Hey jonmc - Do you want the Springsteen 05/02/75 show? I just remembered I had it buried in a pile of stuff I got from an eTree buddy awhile back. I can shn & ysi it if you haven't got it.
posted by Triode 18 January | 16:08
I like hometown rock too.
posted by rainbaby 18 January | 16:08
postmodern post-mall faux americana
posted by y2karl 18 January | 16:10
triode: I don't know what 'shn' means, but please, and I'll shower you with goodies from my collection.

karl: easy does it, ok.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:11
I hate to be the one to point it out, but "pretentious and whiny and no fun and his voice gives me hives" is pretty much Billey Joel in a nutshell.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 16:13
Old White Man Music

Yes, nothing is more relevant to a musical genre than the age and skin color of the performers. I think I'll go listen to some "young angry black men with gold teeth" music now.

I think of Springsteen in the "Born to Run" era as being extremely Dylan-influenced, and his live shows were (and are) very "tent revival."

Billy Joel was more "singer-songwriter" - and "the Entertainer" and "Captain jack" are great songs, I dont care what anybody says. he is one of those artists who has become such a dirty word based on his more recent work/image that people forget how truly good he once was- I call that "Rod Stewart syndrome."
posted by drjimmy11 18 January | 16:14
Like I said, his newer stuff (anything post An Innocent Man) fits that description, but in his early days he did some good songs, but I'm not head of his fan club or anything, I just don't hate him.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:16
"I call that "Rod Stewart syndrome.""

I call it "Pissing on your own grave syndrome," the queen of which is Elton John.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 18 January | 16:17
I meant Old White Men listen to it NOW. The performers weren't old when they made the music. Jeez.
posted by rainbaby 18 January | 16:18
IRFH: I'd agree with you on Elton. Damned shame.

I meant Old White Men listen to it NOW.

*waddles off to glue factory*
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:19
Shn = Shorten = Lossless compression = half of full size. I'll pull the disc outta the player after Born to Run. I've got tracks 1-11, I think.
posted by Triode 18 January | 16:21
do i need a special player or will it play in iTunes, or what do I gotta do?
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:24
What year did "born to run" come out? '75? That's the year I was born, and I listen to it all the time, and so quite a few people my age or younger.

I would agree about the concerts being "old white man" fests, though. That's what happens when you price the tickets absurdly high, to wit:

I went to see Simon and Garfunkel at the Staples Center in LA about two years ago. Myself and two friends in their early 20s scraped up the $100+ to buy bad seats. We seemed to be the only people under 40 or over 14 in the building. It comes to an uptempo song where you'd think people might dance, clap hands, etc...

Video board shows a pan down the front row. Eveyrone is sitting ABSOLUTELY COMPLETELY DEAD still, hands in laps. It looked like the front row at a funeral. My friends and I are in hysterics. No one around us understands why we're laughing.
posted by drjimmy11 18 January | 16:25
I'd call it "rock'n'roll" straight up, because that's what it is. See '70's rock is inaccurate, and so is white soul, though there's something to that. Especially if you trend a little earlier with the boss.

Back in the early 70's, when guys could get up on stage and deplore race and class inequities, back when they could talk about it honestly. And also cruise for pussy and a turn on. Glory days indeed.

Rock & B? Rhythm & Roll?

Yeah, I likes the sounds of that:

Rhythm & Roll, baby, Rhythm & Roll.
posted by Hugh Janus 18 January | 16:28
Because the trick is, early Springsteen and Southside Johnny ain't white people music at all. Nosiree.
posted by Hugh Janus 18 January | 16:31
I guess AOR is too broad a term.

I like Rhythm & Roll.
posted by goatdog 18 January | 16:35
Why does "old white men" come off as such a pejorative? Thie old white man wants to know.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 16:37
This old white man can't type.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 16:38
I'll rip it to high-rate VBR mp3s.
posted by Triode 18 January | 16:39
Especially if you trend a little earlier with the boss.

Well, on the first three albums, they were trying to make him into some kind of folkie and he didn't really find a sound that worked for him until Born To Run, which reaffirmed that he was a rock-and-roller.

I think of Springsteen in the "Born to Run" era as being extremely Dylan-influenced,

Well, bot Dylan and Springsteen were all about synthesizing obssesively studied source materials into something new and different, but they were studying very different source material (aside from Elvis Presley and the rest of the 50's rock founding fathers). Dylan was into early blues and country which Sprinsteen didn't discover until much later in his career. His initial inspirations seemed to be motown, British Invasion, Nuggets-era garage rock, and Spectoriana.

Why does "old white men" come off as such a pejorative?

We live in a racially sensitive world, understanably.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:40
I'll rip it to high-rate VBR mp3s.

thank you, profusely.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:41
people use it when referring to music to imply "boring," "square," that kind of thing. The old "white folks ain't got no rhythm" thing is in there somewhere too...

I hate to sound really really cliched and afterschool special but music is either good or bad, and I truly dont get what the color of the performer or listener has to do with it.
posted by drjimmy11 18 January | 16:41
Dylan was into early blues and country

Not to mention the traditional/Folkways stuff- i was just thinking of "banks of the royal canal" from the Basement Tapes this morning.

I meant they were similar in the sense of how they created images with wordy and at times surreal lyrics. but I suppose thats more true of earlier Springsteen than "born to run."
posted by drjimmy11 18 January | 16:45
drjimmy11: to a certain extent I'm with you, especially when other whites use "white," as a pejorative. It always seems like a pathetic stab at hipness, like they're claiming themselves as some kind of exception.

But when it comes to popular music in this country, it'd bee foolish to ignore all the racial complications bound up in the music we love. Just saying.

Not to mention the traditional/Folkways stuff-

that's kind of what I meant by 'early blues & country.' I hate the term 'folk music,' with a passion, too. I also think that one of Dylan's greatest acheivements was telling purists of all kinds to take a flying douche when he went electric.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 16:48
Dylan isn't really country or blues as much as he is western, as in high plains music. Wide open spaces. Same with Guthrie.

The influence of the shore on Springsteen and Johnny is important -- it's jive music, for swell times and gas motherfuckers stepping down the boardwalk; hey, there's a band playing -- that cat can prance! HOT!

Like Bruce wrote half the songs in the summer (the good ones) and then hunkered down over the winter and ground out "Mary Queen of Arkansas" at hog butchering time.

You know?
posted by Hugh Janus 18 January | 16:54
Bombastic in style, maybe, but the storytelling (and it's all about the storytelling) is really very modest in scope. The music is more sprawling than epic, reveling in its roots almost as much as the tales wrapped within.

It's really anti-heroic rock.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 18 January | 16:56
How about Rhythm and Blue Collar? Or Blues Collar for short.

And listen to mr. mc on the J Geils thing. Their early stuff is a completely different band. Really good.
posted by jrossi4r 18 January | 17:14
Same goes for very early ZZ Top.

And J Geils Band had a guy named "Magic Dick" in it- that has to count for something.
posted by drjimmy11 18 January | 17:42
I always thought it was called MOR.

And Morrisey is not whining.
I dreamt about you last night
And I fell out of bed twice
You can pin and mount me like a butterfly
But take me to the haven of your bed
Was something that you never said
Two lumps, please
You’re the bee’s knees
But so am i
posted by seanyboy 18 January | 17:51
Well, RollingStone.com calls his music "among the most compelling in AOR" and also uses the term "denim rocker". AllMusic.com uses "Heartland Rock" among other more generic terms.

I think there's stuff he did in the BtR era that doesn't fit that precisely (and don't forget that the "wall of sound" production on that album wasn't his idea, and he backed off from it considerably later on), but it certainly describes all of his countryfied, Guthrie-Waits-influenced stuff like Nebraska, and while BitUSA certainly goes for and found mainstream success, it's very much about the Americana that Springsteen celebrates.

I think it's a good retrospective term.
One of my Dictators tracks just began playing, jonmc. heh>
posted by stilicho 18 January | 18:25
"Nebraska" is "bleak." Can we all agree on that?

I don't think anyone in the history of the world has ever described it without using that word.

I think I read a Matt Groening cartoon once about how to be a rock critic where "Springsteenian" was actually one of the list of adjectives to choose from when writing your review (listening to the album was optional)

And on a tangent, anyone who thinks the only thing Warren Zevon ever did is "Werewolves of London," BOY are you missing out.
posted by drjimmy11 18 January | 18:39
don't forget that the "wall of sound" production on that album wasn't his idea, and he backed off from it considerably later on

"In 1975, when I went in to the studio to make Born To Run, I wanted to make a record with words like Bob Dylan that sounded like Phil Spector. But, most of all, I wanted to sing like Roy Orbison." - Bruce Springsteen

He did go to less spectacular productions later, it's true, but he seemed to dig it then. And I wish he'd do another one, just for me.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 18:41
Going back to the original question, I think the artists you named and their similarities in style are the very definition of "70s Rock", not Punk, Metal or Progressive, but unique to the decade (you did note that Billy Joel started going badly wrong around '80).

"Blue Collar Rock" would also apply well except for the usurpation of the term by redneck comedians.

How about "Solid Rock"?
posted by wendell 18 January | 19:11
I one called it 'post-Greaser Rock' on MeFi, since my theory is that these artists represented what the original audience for rock and roll had been up to while all the other trends came and went. And a lot of early New York punk falls under this as well. and stuff like Joan Fucking Jett. and stuff like J. Geils, since in the middle of the ELP/Styx seventies their Mitch Ryder showmanship must've been a breath of fresh air.

Bit 'post-Greaser' sounds too academic, I think.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 19:18
One guy I forgot to mention as part of this genre is Garland Jeffreys. I found a copy of his old Escape Artist album (which includes the gem "R.O.C.K.") with a bonus 45 included for $8 at Bleecker Bob's the other night. Definitely worth checking out.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 19:33
It’s entirely possible that I’m making more out of this than was intended, but I am very curious to know what rainbaby was getting at with the “Old White Men” thing. It strikes me as a pointless playing of the race, age, and gender cards. You want to discuss music on its merits, I’m right there with you. But why drag a stereotyped perception of the audience into it? Try it with just about any other demographic and you’ll have your ass handed to you in fifteen seconds flat.

If I’m off-base, I apologize. This has been stuck in my craw all afternoon, though, and I’d like to clear the air.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 19:39
but I am very curious to know what rainbaby was getting at with the “Old White Men” thing.

I'd chalk it up as minor verbal faux pas, dude. rainbaby's always struck me as a reasonable person who dosen't take cheap shots, so I'm inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 19:44
Those J. Geils Band songs are good. I'd always thought they were a throwaway based on Centerfold. So thanks for posting them.

I'd probably call Bob and Bruce rock. I think the more pressing issue is where to categorize Johnny Cash.
posted by 6550 18 January | 20:18
Johnny Cash: "hipster approved country"

I made that up b/c he seems to be the one country artist who's OK with the "I like everything but country" crowd, who, incidentally, need to be slapped repeatedly until they stop thinking it makes them sound smart to say that.
posted by drjimmy11 18 January | 20:28
Johnny's a country guy who's also done some rockabilly. And yeah, it's irritating seeing him used as a hipster talisman by the same type of people who would've ignored him in his heyday, but you could replace 'country' with just about any genre and there'd be people who would fit the description, sad to say.

Those J. Geils Band songs are good. I'd always thought they were a throwaway based on Centerfold. So thanks for posting them.

Wait'll you hear 'Give It To Me." I'll upload it later.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 20:34
but you could replace 'country' with just about any genre and there'd be people who would fit the description, sad to say.

I have no issue with people not liking whatever they want to not like. I myself don't much care for jazz. Just never have- maybe I haven't been exposed to the right stuff, who knows?

The point is, I don't brag about it. A lot of people are really truly proud of themselves to tell you how much they despise country music- they're cashing in on a lot of "hick/redneck/white trash" sterotypes to prove their own coolness. The same person might hate hip-hop, but he'd never brag about because he knows he'd just sound racist and ignorant.

Full disclosure: I had no knowledge of or interest in country music until I was in college. But now when I hear people say reflexively how much they hate it I want to beat them about the head and neck with a Tammy Wynette CD.
posted by drjimmy11 18 January | 20:41
Mkay. I thought it was a fun question from jonmc. I broke the original group of artists into two, and one of those groups seemed to me indicative of a phenomenom I've observed, being a 36 year old white woman. There seems to be to be this demographic of guys (obviously NOT including people who care enough to participate in this thread) who just. . .stopped being curious about music after: Billy Joel, The Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor. Maybe they branch out a little bit, into The Who or Cat Stevens or something. I'm not saying these artists weren't relevant or musical or what have you. I'm also not saying the artists are Old White Men, but they are men, and they are white. I'm not saying everyone who appreciates their musicality is an old white man. Truth be told, it's a loving insult I make towards my husband's music, which falls squarely into this category.

I'm just going to decide that any offense I caused was due to the fact that y'all are music hipsters: I appreciate the fact that any one of these artists can be defended.

But I stand by my choice of phrase. To me it defines a niche. And what was music guy jonmc trying to do but LABEL something in the first place? Obviously, labels do have power, hu.
posted by rainbaby 18 January | 21:00
rainbaby: I read your use of the term as a back-handed swipe. Now that you've expanded on your original comment, I can see that that's not what you intended. Thanks for clearing that up. My bad.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 21:12
I'd call it pop-rock (no relation to the candy :^).
posted by deborah 18 January | 21:16
I'd call it pop-rock

That'd be more stuff like the Raspberries or Big Star. This stuff has a far more pronounced R&B influence.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 21:29
Never heard of either of those groups, jon.
posted by deborah 18 January | 21:40
Never heard of either of those groups, jon.

Raspberries - Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)

Big Star - Thirteen (rough mix)

See how those songs are more primarily influenced by the beatles & the Beach Boys and stuff like that, whereas the Springsteen stuff definetely has more influence from Stax/Volt R&B, Motown, Creedence & garage rock.

I'm here to educate & entertain. ;>
posted by jonmc 18 January | 21:53
(and both those groups were rough chronological contemporaries of the Boss & co. The Raspberries had a few hit singles and their lead singer Eric Carmen sold out and gave us that 'Hungry Eyes' peice of shit. Big Star neverhad much commercial success but were hugely influential on bands like the Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, Wilco and others.)
posted by jonmc 18 January | 21:55
They aren't pop-rock. I can't actually think of much pop rock off the top of my head. I can think of pop-punk (Blink) and pop-metal (Def Lepperd and Motley Crue). And pop-country (Shania Twain et al.). But this site might suggest that Springsteen, the Beatles, the Darkness, the Strokes, and the Amboy Dukes are pop rock. Deborah might be right if anyone can read it.

I grew listening to my parents country. Then I discovered Appetite and Razor's Edge and was a "country sucks" kind of guy or maybe an "I only like rock" guy. Then in college I saw a country video: Dwight Yoakam's "These Arms." To be honest, the only reason I stopped in my channel surfing was because Joey Lauren Adams was in the video and I had a BIG crush. But I realized the song was pretty good and I picked up that album and rediscovered the country I'd neglected so long. Today, the cds I have the most of are AC/DC, Dwight Yoakam, the Who, the Stones, and Johnny Cash.
posted by 6550 18 January | 21:56
The La's! Now that's just about perfect pop-rock.

I dig the Big Star song.
posted by 6550 18 January | 22:04
The La's and that whole axis owe a lot to Big Star.

(although Alex Chilton-Big Star's lead vocalist- started out in the bubblegum/blue-eyed soul outfit The Box Tops who gave us "The Letter." So he had his appreciation of R&B, too.)
posted by jonmc 18 January | 22:07
He sounds nothing like he did on "The Letter."
posted by 6550 18 January | 22:10
Keep digging for more Big Star, 6550. You're in for a treat.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 22:12
Okay, so what's pub-rock, or barroom-rock, or something like that?
posted by box 18 January | 22:13
Okay, so what's pub-rock

Pub Rock is stuff like Dave Edmunds, Graham Parker & Nick Lowe, mainly since they started out in pubs, but the shared a roots-concious sound and in a way they could be seen as a far more understated Brit version of Springsteen and Co.

Brroom-rock would be stuff like George Thorogood, which while certainly enjoyable is missing some x-factor neccessary to take it further than that.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 22:16
I'll have to hit a cd store or two tomorrow. Any specific albums to get or avoid?
posted by 6550 18 January | 22:20
This one is the perfect introduction. Lemme know what you think. It's proof that pop/rock need not be shallow or lake punch and emotional impact.

My beloved Replacements did a tribute song entitled simply 'Alex Chilton' where they sing 'I never travel far/without a little Big Star.'
posted by jonmc 18 January | 22:27
Thanks for that. I'll try and find a copy local tomorrow as I like having an actual cd vs. buying the mp3s. I may be old fashioned.
posted by 6550 18 January | 22:30
More pub rock:

Ian Dury & The Blockheads
Dr. Feelgood
Ducks Deluxe

6550, you're in luck. Big Star's first two albums, Number One Record and Radio City, are available as a two-fer. (On preview, yeah, the one jon pointed out.)Their other album, Sister Lovers, is also still in print. (Don't bother with the album they released this year, In Space. It's a big disappointmant.)
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 22:30
Ducks Deluxe!

OK, one more upload. Here's Ducks Deluxe with 'Love's Melody,' an absolute gem.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 22:37
There's a few good cd stores around Denver and I'll be downtown anyway tomorrow. Does Big Star have a total of four albums, two of which are on the one disc?
posted by 6550 18 January | 22:37
more or less. start with the one I linked and go from there.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 22:39
next, we'll teach you about the Dictators. If you wanted a musical education, you came to the right place.
posted by jonmc 18 January | 22:44
Actually, Teenage Fanclub might be a good place to go from Big Star. Look for Bandwagonesque.
posted by bmarkey 18 January | 22:49
Well I need some new music. The last great cd I bought was the Star Spangles Bazooka!!! and that was some time ago.
posted by 6550 18 January | 22:58
If you dig the Big Star, another possible direction to take from there would be Chris Bell. He left the band after their first album (although he at least co-wrote a couple of tunes on Radio City). He recorded most of an album in 1974, wrestled with his sexuality (and drink and drugs), and ultimately drove his car into a telephone pole in 1978. I Am The Cosmos was released posthumously, and is worth seeking out if you enjoy Number One Record. I'll post a track when I get home from work.
posted by bmarkey 19 January | 01:11
OK, here’s one of Alex Chilton’s songs from Radio City:
Big Star - September Gurls

Here’s a cut from Chris Bell’s album:
Chris Bell – I Am The Cosmos

And here’s something by Teenage Fanclub:
Teenage Fanclub – Star Sign

Hope this is helpful.
posted by bmarkey 19 January | 03:50
Eric Carmen sold out

What the fuck are you talking about, jonmc, you old cracker!

*Walks away, hands in pockets,
whistling "All By Myself" and
Rachmaninov at the same time*
posted by Hugh Janus 19 January | 08:58
I don't know how you all feel about Jon and Ken doing the 'new' Big Star thing, but Failure, Dear 23, and Frosting on the Beater are all great pop-rock releases from the Posies (though I will not vouch for other releases of theirs) that obviously owe a big debt to Big Star.
posted by safetyfork 19 January | 09:18
This Chris Bell one doesn't work but I like the other two. I'd never realised that September Gurls wasn't a Bangles song.
posted by 6550 19 January | 12:51
Here's another shot at Chris Bell.

I like The Posies a lot. I was really excited when I heard that Jon and Ken were working with Alex and Jody, doubly so when I saw that Big Star Mk. II was playing a show here on my 40th birthday. They do a great job with those songs. The only drawback was that Alex seemed like he was phoning it in. The only time he really seemed like he was at all engaged was during the encores, when they did a few R&B covers.

The problem with In Space, the album they released last year, is that it seems thrown together. Alex insisted that they write the album in the studio, and it shows. I'm not saying that you can't make a great album that way, 'cause it's been done many a time. A lot of the material (and some of the performances) are just really half-assed. It's as if they accidentally released their rehearsal tapes instead of the finished work.
posted by bmarkey 19 January | 13:15
Chris Bell is still not working. If you want to email it to me my email's in the profile.

I stopped at a few places but the only Big Star album I found was the new one. I may just have to order the cds. I was also unable to fine Bandwagonesque.
posted by 6550 19 January | 16:06
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