SONG OF THE DAY (#225)

'kanga-roo,' by big star

the big star story literally the stuff of myth, the kind of story music goons like myself live for. a story so wonderfully strange and odd that you wonder if it actually happened. could it really happen? by all accounts it did and that makes it all the more compelling.

alex chilton, chris bell, andy hummel, and and jody stephens got together in memphis back in 1971. chilton and bell, the two principal songwriters, took the lennon/mccartney approach to songwriting, each singing his respective songs. the results are some of the greatest power pop songs to come out of the u.s.a. during the 1970s. never short of ambition or chutzpah, they amusingly titled their debut album, '#1 record.' the only problem is that it was nowhere near a number one record. big star, despite glowing reviews and critical accolades[rolling stone names all three big star albums among the top 500 albums of all-time], was a total commercial flop. as a result, chris bell, who suffered from severe bouts of depression, quit the band to start his solo career; later he lent a hand to big star's sophomore effort, 'radio city.' his song, 'you and your sister' is among the most lauded songs of the decade. chris bell was killed in automobile accident in 1978 at the age of 26. alex chilton carried on and released 'third/sister lovers,' easily one of the seminal albums of 1970s-a song so full of top songs that it plays more like a greatest hits. but outside a small circle of die-hards, big still labored in near obscurity.

fortunately, big star experienced a renaissance during the late 80s as a lot of up and coming musicians, among them r.e.m., teenage fanlcub, the replacements, matthew sweet, primal scream and the posies, all cited big star as a massive influence. 'thirteen' as been covered by elliot smith and garbage; the bangles covered 'september gurls;' this mortal coil covered 'holocaust' and 'kangaroo;' and jeff buckley covered 'kangaroo.' those are definitely some of big star's high points, but the sheer number of quality tunes in the space of three studio albums is astonishing.

it's hard for me to pick a favorite, but if i absolutely had to, i'd go with 'kanga-roo.' not only is an incredible song, it's got one of the single best production jobs i've ever heard. it straddles the line between beauty and madness, though you could argue they're one in the same. it's worth listening to simply for the background: the feedback, the electric bursts ofpercussion, the mellotron, the cowbell that appears out of nowhere. it should, by right, be a total disaster, but chilton miraculously keeps it together with that aching, yearning voice of his. and according to legend, it took all of 45 minutes to record. amazing. bill janovitz wrote an amazing review of the song here. i highly recommend reading it. he does far more justice to it than i ever could.

it wasn't until 2001 that i heard a big star album and i wonder how i ever lived without them. check it out. you'll be glad you did.

→ big star: kanga-roo
→ big star: stroke it noel
→ big star: thirteen
→ big star: my life is right
→ big star: september gurls