Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Well, it's been awhile...I was driving in my car last night, headed towards a sunset with the latest Teenage Fanclub disc playing, thinking that it was just a year ago that the Big Star box set was just hours from being released and everything that's transpired since. I remembered that last year it even crossed my mind that someday perhaps Alex, Andy, and Jody would perform Radio City from start to finish in the recent tradition of artists performing classic albums in their entirety. Now, just a year later, Big Star is in the heavens for good.

The Teenage Fanclub record (Shadows) is a fine record and reminded me that Alex thought highly of the band. During the interviews for the book I asked Alex what he thought of the many artists who worshipped at the altar of Big Star. He was complimentary of several (Chris Stamey, I recall) but then said with a twinkle in his eye "You know who's really good? The Fannies...they're really good." Most of you have probably heard the radio broadcast of Alex with TFC – certainly one of the highlights of Alex's post Big Star career. Hopefully one day a clean copy of the broadcast will find its way into circulation. Every version I've encountered has some serious issues (drop outs, speed ups). An official release would certainly be well-received and a fitting tribute to the trans-Atlantic musical friendship.

More soon...