big star Archive
21 Jun 2016
Album Mini-review: Those Pretty Wrongs
File next to: Starling Electric; Teenage Fanclub, The Posies Jody Stephens was the George Harrison of legendary Memphis power pop group Big Star: though these days Chris Bell and Alex […]
03 May 2016
Preview: Prix
In September 2015 I was in Nashville for the annual Americana Music Awards and Conference. I was there primarily to take part in a discussion panel entitled “Breaking Barriers Through […]
14 Mar 2016
Album Review: Big Star — South West
Though they were resolutely ignored during their time together in the 1970s, Memphis-based Big Star eventually got both their critical due and some exceedingly belated recognition and commercial success. The […]
04 Nov 2014
Big Star Lives! with “Live in Memphis” (Part 2)
Continued from Part One… As Jon Auer pointed out in metaphor form during our conversation, speaking of Big Star in a slightly different context, “You can write the greatest letter […]
03 Nov 2014
Big Star Lives! with “Live in Memphis” (Part 1)
The story of Big Star – a band once so obscure, only critics, musicians and a small handful of in-the-know fans even knew of their brief existence – has now […]
03 Mar 2014
Hundred-word Reviews: DVDs
Reviewing DVDs takes more time than albums, since when previewing them, I can’t do much else than sit there and watch. So it takes me awhile to get to DVDs. […]
24 Dec 2013
Best of 2013: DVDs
Yesterday I did a quick round-up of notable album reissues from 2013. Today it’s DVDs. Click on the titles for a full review (except as noted). Brian Wilson, Songwriter 1969-1982 […]
14 Jun 2013
Album Review: Big Star – Nothing Can Hurt Me
On paper, it reads like textbook case in how not to succeed, how not to make a mark in musical history: release your debut on a label rife with distribution […]