RIP Alex Chilton

On a non-political note... I named this blog Mod Lang after the Big Star song, thinking that it would be a place to talk about culture more than politics. Well, it hasn't turned out that way, but just the same, I feel I should note the passing of Alex Chilton, who along with Chris Bell founded Big Star.

I was introduced to the music of Alex Chilton and Big Star by Bob Richert, a record store owner and small-label enterpreneur in Bloomington, IN, in the spring of 1981. It was only fitting, then, that I met Alex Chilton in that same small college town a few years later.

I was in town, almost on a whim, to visit a girl. (Of course) I found out that Chilton was playing that weekend and decided to go see him. Since I had been doing some writing for a small music publication in Milwaukee, I decided to push my luck and see if I could get an interview.

Chilton said sure. A couple hours before his show, I met him in the dressing room and we talked about his career and music. I have the article, buried somewhere in my files, but I was a young an clumsy interviewer then, and I'm sure it doesn't say anything that Chilton fans haven't already heard.

He was cynical about the music business. He was proud of his recent work, which at that time consisted of minimalist solo albums (Feudalist Tarts was probably his latest or about to come out at that time.) --almost to the point of being dismissive of his Big Star work. Probably at that time he was sick of being asked about Big Star, which for all its critical acclaim, had left him nearly penniless.

For all his sour feelings for the music business, he was generous with his time and even asked if I wanted a joint. I'm not sure it helped my standing with him that I declined, but I'm sure it was a good idea I stayed clear-headed for the interview.

After the interview, Chilton played to maybe two dozen people in a no-frills club called Second Story. He played solo and included many choices that I found curious at the time, including old R and B standards and the Italian pop classic Volare (which was a staple for him for many years). Big Star songs were few and far between. But Chilton was following his muse, which he had doggedly done since leaving the Box Tops, and he clearly wasn't interested in reliving his pop-rock legacy.

At the end of the interview, I asked something along the lines of, since he was a hero to many budding songwriters, did he have any advice for them? He looked me in the eye. "Yeah, " he said. "Go to law school."

He was funny, he was cynical, he was dark, and he was light. He was, as he once wrote, "a true heart." He stayed true to his music and himself, even when that wasn't the smartest or easiest call. But he didn't let go of that vision. He held on, and so many times, his music has helped me to do the same.

Thanks for the interview, Alex. And everything.