AUSTIN, Wednesday night —With stinging regret, my first "virtual" SXSW dispatch begins with a eulogy, as sometime this afternoon after the sounding of SXSW's raucous starting gun and the initial slosh of St. Patrick's Day brews, the music world lost one of its most talented exponents, the inimitable Alex Chilton, at the age of 59 in New Orleans (see Rumor Mill). Set to play with Big Star in Austin this very weekend, Chilton and his bandmates were enjoying a critical mini-renaissance spurred by the release of last year's excellent and exhaustive Rhino box set. Like his vocal and reverent disciples Elliott Smith or Paul Westerberg, Chilton grabbed the heartstrings of his audiences with the disarming candor of his lyrics, the raw fluidity and command of his guitar work, and the depth and earnestness of his commitment and devotion to rock & roll. Songs like "Thirteen," "September Gurls" and "Thank You Friends" ring as gorgeous and true as they did when they first slid from Chilton's teen heart onto the airwaves over 30 years earlier, and the subtle breadth of his impact on American music is undeniable.
Chilton’s surprising departure is a numbing thing to even write about, honestly, and will no doubt reverberate through
Still, the music must and can and has gone on in
By the way, readers looking for a Texas-level view of SXSW may also want to check out
http://www.culturemap.com/author/susan_darrow. Meanwhile, as my correspondents and I continue to play time-zone-and-tweet-hide-and-seek, my updates will continue…
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/29a)
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THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
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