‘Live in Memphis’ makes the case for Big Star’s inclusion of two Seattle interlopers, showing how they grew as a band into the ’90s.

As brilliant as Alex Chilton no doubt was, there’s more to Big Star.

Big Star is a band that you know, at least by sound and structure, even if you never knew them, you know? Roundly ignored across two early-1970s releases, their’s was the sound of the college-rock scene of a decade later. You May Also Like: Those Pretty Wrongs (feat. Big Star’sRead More

In a way, this kind of chaos — a darkened stage at the Knitting Factory — was the perfect setting for Alex Chilton, a performer who had made his legend drawing outside the lines. You May Also Like: Ethan Chilton, “Caldera” from ‘The Planets’ (2021): One Track Mind

For fans of a certain age, Big Star was our Velvet Underground — the band that everybody sounded like, but nobody (well, nobody but us) actually knew anything about. R.E.M., the Replacements, Matthew Sweet, they all owed something You May Also Like: Those Pretty Wrongs (feat. Big Star’s Jody Stephens),Read More

Part 2, Mainstream and Modern Jazz >>> For the sixth straight year, it’s time to look back on the year in music to recollect which albums I really, really liked this year and make a list. You May Also Like: S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2015 (Part 4 of 4,Read More