Nice article: Alex Chilton 1975–1981

That's really a fascinating period and I've got a fair amount of ephemera covering that era. I've been pitching a piece on Tav Falco to Oxford American for years, but they won't bite.

Judith Beeman (Big Star zinester) made me a video tape compilation with three sections: New York Dolls, Power Pop Rarities, and Memphis Stuff.

The Memphis stuff includes several early Panther Burns clips, including one with Chilton on guitar. (There's another one with a guy that only had two fingers playing lead guitar.)

There's also a long interview with Jim Dickinson sitting around smoking cigars and drinking Scotch with his Memphis buddies talking about his music career, including lots of stuff about Sister/Lovers. Also, there's a solo video of Chilton doing a song in New Orleans graveyards.

Best is a local Memphis station doing a piece on the Cramps recording there - it's got Chilton interviewed and the Cramps displayed like a freak show (this was late 70s), and the happy talk news people rolling their eyes at the weirdos.

I've got some old copies of New York Rocker from the early eighties and was shocked when I saw them to find pictures of Chilton hanging out at CBGBs. That's about when members of the Sneakers (later the dBs) first bumped into Alex and did stuff with him. The singles on the Rhino comp American Power Pop in the DIY series include some things where I think Chilton is backing Chris Stamey. I think there was also a brief tour in Europe where Richard Lloyd (of Television) backed Chilton. Lloyd was always hooking up with the power pop guys.

There was also a fantastic photo spread in an old issue of Arthur which had vintage photos of Panther Burns from the early to mid 80s, taken by some German guy who was traveling through Memphis.

Tav shot a lot of film and video which shows up in odd documentaries. He's got some great bits that show up in William Eggleston in the Real World and he's got film from 70s houseparties featuring Junior Kimbrough which was used in a doc about Fat Possum records.

There are amazing accounts of the fucked up, fertile and fabulous Memphis scene in the 70s in the books Rhythm Oil by Stanley Booth, It Came From Memphis by Robert Palmer (not the singer), and Peter Guralnick's various music books.

It Came From Memphis by Robert Palmer

Robert Gordon, my friend. Shame that the Oxford Am won't do a story on Tav Falco. That was one hell of show.

Robert Gordon, my friend.

Oops, though also "not the singer."

Do you have the companion CD? It's great! Lela Aldridge! "Batarang!" Dewey Phillips!

It Came From Memphis had one of my favorite Big Star stories, which I'm sure I've repeated here more than once. But here goes again: Chilton invited Steve Cropper over to lay down some guitar tracks during the sessions for Sister Lovers. Cropper gets to Ardent Studios, opens the door, and stops cold. "Bad vibes in there," says the man. So Dickinson and John Fry ran cables and headphones out to the parking lot, and Cropper recorded his parts (on "Femme Fatale," I believe) while standing in the parking lot on a hot Memphis summer day.

Now playing: "Blue Moon," one of my favorite lullabies to sing to the kids (although I slur the part about "if demons come while you're under/I'll be a blue moon in the sky"). I've more or less had the three proper Big Star albums on repeat since last night.

Oh, and this is interesting: [link]

Jump forward to 26:40. Got the link from Dave "Knut" Schwartz.

Do you have the companion CD? It's great! Lela Aldridge! "Batarang!" Dewey Phillips!

I don't! The other guitarist in my band had it back in the day. We used to crank it while touring.

[link]

Moments later a man entered the dressing room and asked if he could borrow a guitar. “BORROW A GUITAR??!!! WELL, WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU???!!! [Butthole Surfers Gibby] Haynes screamed, eyes flashing in delerious anticpation of forthcoming violence. But the man was totally unfazed.

“I’m Alex Chilton,” the man answered calmly.

Haynes was flabbergasted. After a long pause, he methodically opened the remaining guitar cases one by one and guestured at them as if to say, “Take anything you want.”

That's a great story.

Chilton on C-Span!!!1! [link]

t edit whoops -- Corwood beat me to it.

The singles on the Rhino comp American Power Pop in the DIY series include some things where I think Chilton is backing Chris Stamey.

Probably the Summer Sun 7". That's a great one.

What a brilliantly random rant:

“DUTCH FAGGOTS!!! GODDAMN FUCKING DUTCH FAGGOTS!!!! A WHOLE FUCKING COUNTRY FILLED WITH NOTHING BUT FUCKING TURD BURGLING FAGGOTS!!!! I FUCK YOUR ASS IN HEAVEN AND HELL!!!! FUUUUUUUUCK YOOOOOOOOU!!”

I also liked the "please don't hit me I have a brain tumor" gambit.