Big Star, Small World
From what I gather, this Big Star tribute was recorded years ago, but never released until this year? Looks killer.
Big Star - Tribute: Big Star, Small WorldThe best part? NotLame is offering up five MP3 samples (linked above) for download.
1. Afghan Whigs - "Nighttime"
2. The Posies - "What's Goin Ahnr" (MP3)
3. The Gin Blossoms - "Back of a Car" (MP3)
4. Kelly Willis - "When My Baby's Beside Me"
5. Whiskeytown - "Give Me Another Chance"
6. Teenage Fanclub - "Jesus Christ"
7. Juliana Hatfield - "Don`t Lie To Me"
8. Matthew Sweet w/ Mike Mills - "Ballad of El Goodo" (MP3)
9. The Idle Wilds - "You Get What You Deserve" (MP3)
10. Wilco - "Thirteen" (MP3)
11. Sister Hazel - "September Girls"
12. Big Star - "Hot Thing"
"Thirteen" -- such a beautiful song -- has been covered by Garbage, Elliott Smith, Kathryn Williams, Kind Of Like Spitting, and a ton of others. But you know Tweedy makes creepy sound romantic in a way no one else can.
Not only is "Alex Chilton" the first 'Mats tune I punch up on Hi-Fi's jukebox, the press-shy Box Top is currently wowing crowds with his pre-Star band. During Katrina, the NoLA native weathered the storm in the French Quarter and is doing fine.
I'll take this opportunity to share two related tunes.
Jon Auer - "You Used To Drive Me Around" (MP3 Link Expired)
Chris Bell - "I Am The Cosmos" (MP3 Link Expired)
Posted at 5:09 PM in MP3
Tags: Juliana Hatfield
more Big Star and Jon Auer here:
http://scenestars.net/2006/05/jon-auer-six-feet-under.php
Score = 0
I adore that Jon Auer album, and I'm pretty damn excited about this Big Star tribute. Thanks for the link.
Score = 0
They didn't include the Bangles' cover of "September Gurls"--wtf?
Score = 0
hey, it's actually roddy woomble-etc. idlewild on the tribute, not the idle wilds. the idle wilds were a separate band years ago.
Score = 0
oh my! whiskeytown, wilco, afghan whigs officially covering big star! conversely... wtf? sister hazel and gin blossoms?
Score = 0
other than maybe elliott smith's, mary lou lord's cover of "thirteen" is probably my favourite
Score = 0
Hey Jealousy!
Score = 0
yea!!
Score = 0
is that Mike Mills the director on there??
Score = 0
the Auer link gives me an error.....
Score = 0
Love Wilco's take on 13, but the rest of em don't flesh anything out or provde any extra dimension to the songs. It ain't Big Star, but track down Al Green's cover of "The Letter" (I know Alex didn't write it!), for something that makes you reconsider the original.
Score = 0
next big thing:
Scissors for Lefty
Score = 0
i always liked Elliott's 'Nightime" alot more than Thirteen. So heartbreaking.
I'm guessing that's Mike Mills from REM?
Score = 0
Years ago? 1995? All these groups seem ancient. In the modern-day sense, that is...
Score = 0
If this was recorded years ago, how come that hott-sh*t new band The Gin Blossoms are on it? Weren't they on the cover of NME like last week or something?
Score = 0
Good grief, "September Girls" has been covered by just about everybody. I hear Nelly Furtado and Greg Dulli are next in line.
You could put together a good comp of Big Star covers without the help of a long delayed release. Two stand out in my mind. Posies covered "Feel" for an old b-side. Great cover. Lemonheads had "Ballad of El Goodo" as a b-side.
Score = 0
Isn't that Wilco track an old, old , OLD b-side?
So done with Tweedy, by the way.
Score = 0
Your father was a pervert. Face down in the dirt.
Score = 0
Great post! "I am the Cosmos" is one of my favorite songs of all time. Obviously, that Big Star covers album has been sitting in the vault for a while (how many of those bands have broken up already?). Even so, I'm glad they finally released it.
Score = 0
Please update your bookmarks and links to www.youaintnopicasso.com
Score = 0
I liked Evan Dando's cover of Thirteen (Live at the Brattle Theatre CD) much more than Wilco's, and they seemed to be going for the same effect.
Score = 0
I was pretty sceptical about Not Lame when they announced that they were doing a Gene Clark tribute. I looked at the bands that were on the list for it and thought that a Gene Clark tribute ought to have REM, Velvet Crush, Teenage Fanclub and those sorts of bands on it, rather than a bunch of unknowns. And being a big Gene fan, I was kind of pissed off about it. But I have really come to enjoy the Not Lame label (and distribution). They have a lot of really great pop stuff and are aces with me now! Hmmm, seems a Buffalo Springfield tribute is coming as well.
People tell me that I am a dork because I like tribute albums (and point taken). But it's COVERS that I really like and if this is a way to get people to do em, then by golly keep em comin!
Thanks for posting these!! And way to go, Not Lame!! :-)
Score = 0
They could've had at least 5 more tracks on here. Both Beck and Jeff Buckley have done covers of "Kangaroo," R.E.M. did "Jesus Christ" and Jay Farrar has done two versions of "Holocaust." Plus, I wouldn't have minded two or three versions of "Thirteen," I can't get enough of that song. I saw the band American Princess open for Lucero and they played "Don't Lie To Me," which was by far the best and most rocking song they played in their set.
Score = 0
Evan Dando did "El Goodo" on the Empire Records soundtrack. It's great.
Score = 0
What happened to the Sister Hazel track?It's not on my CD.Can someone help me find it?
Score = 0
It's actually Idlewild, not the Idle Wilds.
Score = 0
The songs on "Big Star, Small World" were recorded in 1996. That's why there are tracks by several defunct bands on the album. There were articles from '96 about the project and Jody Stephens's involvement with it on http://bubblegum.uark.edu/bigstar, but I'm not sure if that address works anymore. You won't find the Bangles' "September Gurls" or Evan Dando's "The Ballad of El Goodo" or Epic Soundtracks's "Nightime/Thirteen" on this album simply because they weren't recorded for it. All of the tracks on "Big Star, Small World" were new recordings ... in 1996.
After the initial 1998 release date was scrapped because of Ignition Records' bankruptcy, I figured this album would never see the light of day, even though several of the songs on it were eventually released as B-sides (you can find "Thirteen" on the 2002 "Gilmore Girls" soundtrack as well). My jaw literally dropped when I saw that "Big Star, Small World" was being released. It'd been a decade since the songs were recorded, after all. So thank you, Koch Records.
I agree that Dando's version of "Thirteen" is better than Wilco's, but I'm a bigger Dando fan than I am a Wilco fan. To each his own. Dando's cover of "The Ballad of El Goodo" from the "Empire Records" soundtrack is also fine, as is a very old Lemonheads cover of "Mod Lang" from '86 that I heard once.
Score = 0
If you like Whiskeytown check out The Roseline!
Score = 0
On June 13th I listed an incorrect Web address for articles about "Big Star, Small World" that were written in 1996. Here's the correct address:
http://zenandjuice.com/music/bigstar/text/
Scroll down to "Tribute Info." I'm glad to see this page still exists, even if it hasn't been updated since probably 1997. I contributed to the lyrics section a decade ago. Sigh ... I feel old now.
Score = 0
CORRECTING Annie Z and Matt: It was Idle Wilds, not Idlewild doing "You Get What You Deserve". I should know, I recorded that track.
Score = 0
Does anyone have a copy of "Thirteen" by Evan Dando on their computer? I lost mine and I'm searching like mad to get it. If you do please e-mail me at MTRichissin@quinnipiac.edu
Score = 0