Wednesday, November 18, 2009

i'm in love


... inneresting WFMU radio interview here with big star drummer (and xmastime BFF) jody stephens. some great stories b/w sometimes baffling lapses of thought-- bits of stephens anecdotal info seems to come purely from what he's read. he does finally provide a clue as to thought process behind the naming of the third record. anyhow, he's there supporting the exhaustive (and i'm not using that term lightly) big star box set collection "keep an eye on the sky", that GIHYB, the biggest big star fan ever, won't even buy (he's spent years and too much $$ accumulating it hisself already). no word whether it includes material from the truly dreadful reunion cd "in space" from a couple years back (well, the posies tracks were good). also on tap is a brooklyn performance by the band tonight at the masonic temple, which bizarrely, MS GIHYB will be attending sans life partner. if it's anywhere near as good as their '06 SXSW show, she won't be disappointed-- and ultimately, that's all that matters to me ... husband of the fucking year ...

1 comment:

Whirling House said...

The box set is awesome - maybe because I bought it at the same time as the 33 1/3rd book on Radio City. Maybe because I never really could tell the difference between #1 Record and Radio City because of that stupid "2 records on 1 CD" reissue that has been floating around for that past 25 years.

I had downloaded a bunch of Big Star outtakes but never got through them. The box set puts it all in context and its chronological layout works wonderfully. Oddly, it starts off with what might be one of the lamest drum parts and failed "psychedelic" songs I've heard - some early Chris Bell band...they set the bar low with that one. It's unlistenable.

As a Big Star fan, I can see where you wouldn't need it, but it is the greatest box set of all time. I mean - they only have 3 records so you can actually fit everything they did into the box! It was completely overshadowed by the hoopla surrounding the Nein-Nein-oh Nein Beatles re-re-releases - do we really need to hear those songs again in stereo and again in mono? No, no we don't.