Big Star- “September Gurls”
From the album Radio City

Alex Chilton, lead singer and mastermind behind Big Star, died today at the age of 59. It’s impossible to list all of the bands that Big Star influenced with their sugary but substantial brand of power-pop, and Chilton himself was a legendary enough figure for The Replacements to write a song about him. In an era when what was popular was usually acknowledged as what was best, Big Star, critical darlings who always underachieved in sales, presaged some of the big brother flag-bearing that indie rock hangs its hat on today.

When you listen to a song as perfect as “September Gurls” though, all that information becomes less important. The dude could write a perfect song, and that’s what we should focus on. On one hand, if you try to analyze what a September “gurl” is versus what a December boy is, you won’t really get anywhere. It’s lust disguised as love, riding in cars with boys, and other half-remembered snapshots. It’s sweet, but it also bites with lines like, “I loved you, well, nevermind.” And it’s packaged in something that demands you tap your foot and ends just as quickly as it started, a sort of jangly Beatles, only more nostalgic, jaded, and rough. Each movement of the song—and it goes a lot of places in less than three minutes—is wound as tightly as possible, and the harmonies bake everything with a gorgeous glaze.

Finally, one moment in the song that is unforgettable to me is when Chilton coos, “And when she makes love to me—oooooohhhhh…” and trails off, replacing the ineffable with a chimey, sun-soaked solo. Perhaps Chilton’s biggest strength was knowing when he didn’t have to say anything at all. It’s just hard to imagine a world of music in which his voice has been silenced permanently.