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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | CCDatsMe@aol.com |
| Subject | Big Star |
| Date | Fri, 22 Aug 2003 22:36:20 EDT |
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While the argument against Big Star as a major power pop influence seems
well-reasoned, I can't support it at all. By 1978, when the phrase "power pop"
was entering the general lexicon, Big Star was already being hailed as an
influence. Bomp! magazine's essential power pop issue in '78 gave a great deal of
ink to the Big Star story for that very reason. The Flashcubes were doing
"September Gurls" in their live set, and I doubt they were the only avowed power
pop act mining the Big Star canon at the time.
Mike Bennett (I think--Mike wrote the original post, if I remember
correctly) lists The Scruffs as an act not overtly influenced by Big Star, and
that's demonstrably NOT true. Not only do I hear Big Star in most of the Wanna'
Meet The Scruffs? album, the group had earelier cut a (then-) unreleased
track called "Big Star," and if you hear it, you can tell the title was not chosen
lightly.
(And yeah, I've seized upon the one overtly-Big Star-smitten band in
Mike's list of '70s power pop acts he claims have no huge Big Star influence.
Can't really argue with the rest of the list. As I said, the argument seems
reasonable, but it doesn't jibe with my memories of the era, when I knew Big
Star was of enormous importance even before I ever heard any of the group's
recordings. When I first heard the recording of "September Gurls," I was
disappointeed because I thought The Flashcubes did it better; it ultimately became one
of my ever-changing nominees for The Greatest Record Ever Made.)
I'll further concede that the importance of Big Star as an influence
pales beside that of, say, The Beatles or the early Who--especially when Big
Star's influence is measured by its effect on music geeks like me who were
reading Bomp! magazine in '78--but I insist they were of an importance equal to The
Raspberries, even though The Raspberries sold more records. I loved (and
still love) The Raspberries, but they were actively DESPISED by many in their
day; the level of respect the rock audience had for The Raspberries in the
mid-'70s is roughly akin to the respect that audience now has for Smash Mouth, or
even Justin Timberlake. Sure, The Raspberries deserved a better fate...but they
didn't achieve it.
Big Star, by contrast, was unknown to most folks, but also had none of
the perceived baggage of The Raspberries. Big Star could be discovered. Big
Star could be a cult band. Big Star could be COOL! It then gets back to The
Velvet Underground template: Big Star sold few records, but the few who
bought 'em all formed bands.
(And The Flashcubes also covered The Raspberries, of course.)
CC!
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