"I never travel far without a little Big Star"

'Sup? In case you don't know where that title is from, it's from The Replacements song 'Alex Chilton.' If you don't know who Alex Chilton is, he was/is the singer of a great band from Memphis called Big Star. A lot of people have never heard of Big Star.... and that's unfortunate. They only put out 1 album with the original line-up and then 2 more after that. (Over the last few years they've recorded a new album and have toured some.)

Anyways, the reason I'm bringing them up is because I just ordered their box set today. It came out a few months ago on Rhino Records. Remastered and filled out with demos... I'm looking forward to opening the mailbox and seeing this sitting in there saying "sup?" to me. OK. Ridiculous.

Another reason is that I'm reading a biography on Big Star, so they're on my mind. Check out some of their stuff. I'd recommend starting at the beginning: #1 Record.... Then let me know what you think.

Currently spinning in the house is a band called The Big Pink. While we were in California this past week, we went into a record store in San Diego called M-Theory. They were playing this band over the speakers. My brother picked it up on CD right on the spot, and today I found a new vinyl copy at Zia Records in Chandler. The album is called 'A Brief History Of Love.' Check them out too. Very cool stuff. It's on 4AD - home to the original Bauhaus album, Dead Can Dance, The Pixies, etc.

OK. So what else? Yeah, one of my favorite things in the world is to go to record stores. They are a dying breed, so there aren't many around anymore, especially in the Phoenix area. However.... Revolver Records in Phoenix is GREAT. Just returned from there a few minutes ago (and a nice meal with Songbyrd at the Old Spaghetti Factory). Yeah, 2 record stores in one day... not even in the same trip either. Didn't get anything at Revolver, but found some cool stuff for next time.

Well, that's it for tonight. Gonna go listen to this new record some more.Have a good night