"How does one react to the death of one's own mentor?"
* That's how Paul Westerberg began his eulogy of Big Star mainman, producer, and influential alt-rock figure Alex Chilton in his New York Times op-ed piece. Chilton suffered a heart attack on St. Patrick's Day and passed away at the age of 59. While I never really 'got' Big Star, I certainly get R.E.M., The Replacements, and the numerous other great bands his music influenced. I'll spare you the cliched copy/pasting of "Alex Chilton" lyrics, but I will include some fairly decent-sounding live video of Westerberg and the 'Mats in Germany performing.
The Replacements, "Left of the Dial" and "Alex Chilton" (live, 1991)
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This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2010.