Category: Alternative

I never travel far, without a little Big Star

The Replacements are up there to me with the Beatles, Who, Kinks, Badfinger, Big Star, and The Stones. I wrote this for Dave’s site last year when he wrote a post about Hüsker Dü for my site. It’s catchy, great lyrics, and one of my favorite songs of the 1980s. 

The Replacement’s tribute song about Big Star and Box Tops lead singer, Alex Chilton. The song was off the album Please To Meet Me.

It was 1985 and the Replacements had a gig at CBGB’s. This was not an ordinary gig though. Their reputation as a great live band had grown and in the audience were a lot of record company representatives. They knew this and refused to play the game. They spotted Gene Simmons coming in the door and The Mats played a terrible version of the KISS song Black Diamond…Simmons got out very quickly. The band followed up with an X-rated version of the “Ballad of Jed Clampett,” then whistled their way through the theme from The Andy Griffith Show before finally leaving the stage.

The Replacements and Alex Chilton shared a booking agent named Frank Riley. He watched the Replacements at CBGBs doing an absolutely self-sabotaging drunk set. Chilton had a grin plastered on his face. After the show, both Jesperson (manager) and Chilton were waiting to get paid by CBGB owner Hilly Kristal. Jesperson offered to buy breakfast the next morning. Chilton accepted.

The next morning Jesperson stopped by Westerberg’s room to remind him of the day’s interview schedule. Still sleepy and hungover, Westerberg asked where Peter was going. When he found out, Paul shot out of bed, threw on his clothes, and tagged along.

Paul did not impress easily, but he was very impressed with Alex Chilton. They took a taxi to the Gem Spa newsstand on Second Avenue and St. Mark’s Place. “He was standing by a trash can with a bag full of matches,” said Westerberg. “He was playing a game . . . pretending, ‘I’m Alex the Weirdo.’ I sucked up to it, and played the role.”

While eating breakfast…Chilton leaned over to Jesperson. “Man, I gotta tell you I thought they were great last night,” he said. “I’d love to work in the studio with them someday.” He did get to work with the band later on and played on “Can’t Hardly Wait.” The band avoided the awkwardness of playing “Alex Chilton” whenever Chilton was around.

This was around 1985 and Seymour Stein signed them up to Sire Records. They released their 4th album, Tim. For the first time, they were on a major label. Chilton was going to produce Tim but the negotiations fell through. He did help out on their next album recorded in his hometown.

The Replacements recorded their fifth album Pleased To Meet Me in Memphis at Ardent Studios in 1986, the same studio as Big Star. The man behind the board was Jim Dickinson, who produced the storied third    Big Star album. It was probably their most radio-accessible album.

The record company loved the song but wanted the band to change the title and theme to a more famous person. The song was credited to Paul Westerberg, drummer Chris Mars, and bass player Tommy Stinson.

Per Wiki: Kory Grow of Rolling Stone called the song one of the two “all-time classics” from Pleased to Meet Me, the other being “Can’t Hardly Wait.” Kristine McKenna of Los Angeles Times was similarly glowing in her praise of the song, writing, “It’s hard to think of a more deserving pop hero [than Chilton], and if Pleased achieved nothing more than to revive interest in the criminally underrated Chilton it would justify its existence.”

Paul Westerberg: “It’s one of those where melody and chord changes were there and the lyrics changed over the course of six months or so. By the time we were down in Memphis we had already met Alex and I steered it toward him. Of course it was as the legend goes ‘George from Outer Space’ was the first working title, but that just didn’t grab it quite as well. I just thought it would be fun to write a song about a living person and we’ve been through this, Al and I, and I sort of regret the albatross that it’s came with… I was certainly trying to like, I guess, hip the outside world on who this guy might be publicly, but he didn’t need that. It would kind of hurt if he was always known as Alex Chilton of that song.”

Alex Chilton

If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
If he was from Mars, wouldn’t that be cool?
Standing right on campus, would he stamp us in a file?
Hangin’ down in Memphis all the while.

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.

Cerebral rape and pillage in a village of his choice.
Invisible man who can sing in a visible voice.
Feeling like a hundred bucks, exchanging good lucks face to face.
Checkin’ his stash by the trash at St. Mark’s place.

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

Runnin’ ’round the house, Mickey Mouse and the Tarot cards.
Falling asleep with a flop pop video on.
If he was from Venus, would he meet us on the moon?
If he died in Memphis, then that’d be cool, babe.

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’m in love. What’s that song? I’m in love with that song.