Alex Chilton Lyrics
I've listened to this song a couple times, so I think I've got a pretty good handle on what the meaning is:
This band obviously has an affinity for Chilton automotive repair manuals, hence the title of the song. It's a song about working on a car that keeps breaking down, an AMC Venus. (crappy car from the 70's) The odd thing is that it keeps breaking down in front of a particular grocery store, Big Star. The kids that loiter in front of the store love it hear the engine purr when he finally gets it working, though; that's the "I'm in love with that sound," line.
The "I'm in love with that song" is sung in the same style as "In the street" by Big Star, written by Alex.
Instead of the lyrics:
"I'm in love. (pause) What's that song? (pause) I'm in love (pause) with that song."
Try singing instead:
"Hanging out, (pause) down the street (pause) The same old thing (pause) we did last week"
Is that a joke? cause that is the funniest thing I've ever read if so. fucked up if not haha
Actually it is "I'm in love with that song".
Alex Chilton as it was already said fronted the 70s Power-Pop band Big Star and the Box Tops who had the 1960s hit "The Letter". I have heard Westerberg say on occasion that he just threw Chilton into the song but Peter Jesperson the manager/twin tone guy said that he took Westerberg along once to meet with Alex Chilton and Westerberg wrote it after that experience.
I think this song is pretty universal. It really gets at how it feels to really just have a band hit a chord with you.
Big Star are pretty wicked. I am a big fan of "I'm in Love With a Girl" and "Thirteen" in particular.
RIP Alex...
indeed..rip Alex & thanks for the tunes... also of note- Big Star's influence on the Replacements, especially their later work as they matured (or more so their later work I guess?), has always seemed evident to me. Both great bands, and both seemed very underappreciated- while having a cult following obv., they both seem like they held the commercial appeal most alt. rock bands that have made it pretty big have & hold (i.e. R.E.M., Radiohead, etc... not comparing music, but just talent & songwriting and in just too much talent to ignore*). One of my favorite Replacement tunes that...
indeed..rip Alex & thanks for the tunes... also of note- Big Star's influence on the Replacements, especially their later work as they matured (or more so their later work I guess?), has always seemed evident to me. Both great bands, and both seemed very underappreciated- while having a cult following obv., they both seem like they held the commercial appeal most alt. rock bands that have made it pretty big have & hold (i.e. R.E.M., Radiohead, etc... not comparing music, but just talent & songwriting and in just too much talent to ignore*). One of my favorite Replacement tunes that I've been listening to more often lately (by no coincidence, to be perfectly honest).
*maybe Big Star is more appreciated- esp. now that Chilton has passed and they've regained some mass appeal, but it seems like a lot of people just know the Replacements as that band the fill-in GnR guitarst played for in the 80s... perhaps my perception is misconceived, but I don't know.
meant to write, "and in general just having too much talent..." .. not that the paragraph was structured properly anyway, but that part makes little to no sense as is so yeah.
meant to write, "and in general just having too much talent..." .. not that the paragraph was structured properly anyway, but that part makes little to no sense as is so yeah.
Big Star was the name of a short-lived, but highly influential and much celebrated power pop band in the early 70's. Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were the two main songwriters in the group. They hailed from Memphis, Tennessee and took their name from a chain of grocery stores that were scattered around the South at the time.
Paul Westerberg (lead singer for The Replacements) was a massive fan of the band, and Alex Chilton's work in particular, so this song serves as an homage to his musical hero. In the mid-80's The Replacements had the pleasure of meeting Chilton, and many of the lyrics reflect these interactions and conversations.
"Checkin' his stash by the trash at St. Mark's Place," refers to the first time Paul met Alex. They were in New York City on St. Mark's Place which is a street near East Village known for its prevalence of alternative cultures, and Chilton was strangely sifting through barrels of trash looking for something.
The chorus, "I'm in love. What's that song? I'm in love with that song," was exactly what Paul said to Chilton when they first met. He was thinking of the song "Watch the Sunrise" off Big Star's debut album, #1 Record, but he couldn't remember the name of the song he was thinking of, so he came off as a bumbling fan.
The Replacements would often have guest musicians whom they admired play on their albums, such as Peter Buck playing on "I Will Dare" and Tommy Ramone playing on "Kiss Me on the Bus." Alex Chilton helped with some of the production of the album Pleased to Meet Me, and he played guitar on the song "Can't Hardly Wait."
Source: I recently read the incredible bio about The Replacements, Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr. They discuss Paul Westerberg's love of Alex Chilton at length.
Alex Chilton was the lead singer of a group called Big Star, one of the first pop-rock bands. They did not have much comercial success, but freatly influenced the alternative/power pop music we hear today
Ah, Power Pop. I believe Chilton had originally been slated to produce "Pleased to Meet Me", or possibly "Tim". Big Star was pretty big to the 'Matts, and also to R.E.M. and the dB's. "September Gurls" is a decent sample of their stuff.
It's "I'm in love with that sound". not "I'm in love with that song".
I'm in love. With that song.
This is my favourite Replacements song. The chorus at the end just gets me.