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The Hidden Supernova of Music (Did christian references kill Big Star's chance 40 years ago?)
tea party tribune ^ | 7/31/12 | jim funkhouser

Posted on 07/31/2012 12:22:50 PM PDT by HMS Surprise

I have an alter ego in the blogosphere. Here, it’s politics, but on Facebook I blog about popular music, usually leaning heavily towards rock and roll. And until a few days ago I never imagined that there would be any ideological cross-pollination to worry about. But then I had an epiphany…

I’ll start my little tale here- I blog about music to promote a fiction book that I wrote 3 years ago. The book is about a garage band from the early 70′s that was on the cusp of making it big, but then fell just short. I plot an improbable future success for the fictional band decades after they break up and go their seperate ways, and then have some fun as our heros revitalize and reenergize the sad state of contemporary music. Why is this relevant to the dicussion of culture and politics today? Wait for it…

(Excerpt) Read more at teapartytribune.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alexchilton; bigstar; music; septembergurls
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Big Star is the best band you have never heard of.
1 posted on 07/31/2012 12:23:06 PM PDT by HMS Surprise
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To: HMS Surprise

I knew of them (but never heard their stuff) because I was a fan of The Boxtops’s Alex Chilton.


2 posted on 07/31/2012 12:27:59 PM PDT by eddie willers
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To: eddie willers

Alex Chilton is another story. Do you know he was 16 when he sang The Letter? He is without question in the pantheon of great songwriters of rock and roll history.


3 posted on 07/31/2012 12:32:44 PM PDT by HMS Surprise (Chris Christie can still go to hell.)
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To: HMS Surprise

Their “September Gurls” track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAIuim4GXK0

Money quote: “In the drugs, sex, and rock and roll universe of that era even the occasional acknowledgement of Jesus were unacceptable. So Alex Chilton and Big Star never had a chance. When other lesser bands were lavishly promoted, their record company failed to perform even perfunctory obligations. The only difference between them and the few bands of similar talent that I have detected is their unwillingness to avoid the standard American religious narrative.”

Any rock band mentioning Jesus was anathema to Columbia Records.


4 posted on 07/31/2012 12:33:28 PM PDT by PapaBear3625 (If I can't be persuasive, I at least hope to be fun.)
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To: HMS Surprise

There was a group called The Little Angels from UK that did very well but the record company prevented them from going into the American market.


5 posted on 07/31/2012 12:33:28 PM PDT by dragonblustar (Allah Ain't So Akbar!)
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To: eddie willers

Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes ‘round
They sing “I’m in love. What’s that song?
I’m in love with that song.”

I never travel far, without a little Big Star

Hat tip to The Replacements...


6 posted on 07/31/2012 12:34:19 PM PDT by null and void (Day 1288 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Heroes aren't made Frank, they're cornered...)
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To: HMS Surprise
Do you know he was 16 when he sang The Letter?

Blew my mind when I learned that factoid.

He sounds so world weary and so knowing that you really feel he had missed many a fast train and really needed an aeroplane.

Kind of like when little Stevie Winwood declared he was A Man. (Yes he am, but he can't help but love you so)

7 posted on 07/31/2012 12:42:32 PM PDT by eddie willers
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To: PapaBear3625

Best version of “September Gurls”, IMHO, was by the SEARCHERS, on the second SIRE LP.


8 posted on 07/31/2012 12:43:12 PM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: HMS Surprise

Who says I never heard of 'em?.............

9 posted on 07/31/2012 12:43:31 PM PDT by Red Badger (Think logically. Act normally.................)
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To: dragonblustar

I’ll definitely check Little Angels on Youtube. Always looking for buried treasure.


10 posted on 07/31/2012 12:45:44 PM PDT by HMS Surprise (Chris Christie can still go to hell.)
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To: Red Badger

Wrong Big Star.


11 posted on 07/31/2012 12:46:39 PM PDT by HMS Surprise (Chris Christie can still go to hell.)
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To: HMS Surprise

Maybe they just didn’t have good publicity. There was plenty of Christian themed stuff doing OK in that era, You Light Up My Life hit in 1977. Lord Have Mercy on my Soul was around then. Spirit in the Sky had been a hit in 1969 and would be again in ‘83. Plenty of others I’m too lazy to look up. But the short answer is that to assume this band failed because of Christian themes is kind of silly given who was having success in the same time.


12 posted on 07/31/2012 12:48:05 PM PDT by discostu (Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.)
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To: HMS Surprise

In the early 1970s there was a lot of Jesus music coming out of the Jesus movement of the hippie era.


13 posted on 07/31/2012 12:49:03 PM PDT by ansel12 (Massachusetts Governors,,, where the GOP goes for it's "conservative" Presidential candidates.)
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To: PzLdr

I’ve heard ‘em all, I must choose the original. Big Star’s albums are very well structured though, so just listening to individual songs doesn’t quite have the same impact.


14 posted on 07/31/2012 12:49:20 PM PDT by HMS Surprise (Chris Christie can still go to hell.)
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To: ansel12

I checked that, and for instance “One Toke Over the Line” and others were seldom earnest.


15 posted on 07/31/2012 12:50:43 PM PDT by HMS Surprise (Chris Christie can still go to hell.)
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To: discostu

I made the point that there were spiritual songs allowed, just not overtly in-your-face christian material.


16 posted on 07/31/2012 12:52:15 PM PDT by HMS Surprise (Chris Christie can still go to hell.)
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To: HMS Surprise

Bump for Later


17 posted on 07/31/2012 12:57:38 PM PDT by Wilum (Never loaded a nuke I didn't like)
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To: HMS Surprise
I made the point that there were spiritual songs allowed, just not overtly in-your-face christian material.

Really? Explain Elvis.

18 posted on 07/31/2012 1:00:07 PM PDT by pgyanke (Republicans get in trouble when not living up to their principles. Democrats... when they do.)
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To: pgyanke

Easy. Elvis was force of nature AFTER he seduced millions of women. It’s impossible to keep him off the airwaves at that point. Columbia wanted to make money, Big Star wasn’t money, they were only potential. Elvis was money in the bank.


19 posted on 07/31/2012 1:04:37 PM PDT by HMS Surprise (Chris Christie can still go to hell.)
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To: HMS Surprise

After reading this article I went to youtube and listened to a couple of songs while reading about them in Wiki. I’m a big fan of old Genesis and this reminded me a bit of that music.

That said, I was finding that I was not that impressed with what I was hearing from these guys. I did listen to a new mix of Holocaust that was not bad.

It’s not that I think they are bad, but I can understand why the record companies looked at them like they were crazy when they tried to demo Sister Lover. This was a time of a much bigger sound and even Genesis had moved in that direction by then.


20 posted on 07/31/2012 1:15:17 PM PDT by cuban leaf (Were doomed! Details at eleven.)
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