Everything Feels Like a Copy of a Copy of a Copy

Yesterday all the cool kids were blogging about Alex Chilton, who died the previous evening. I’m not good at writing about music, but like Carrie Brownstein I think it’s worth observing that the only reason I ever heard Big Star was because of The Replacements’ song “Alex Chilton”. And while the current generation will probably be exposed to The Replacements thanks to Rock Band 2, I was first introduced to the band thanks to the They Might Be Giants song “We’re The Replacements.”

Which is my way of saying that bands ought to write more songs about bands they like from an earlier era! Most people’s music listening, especially when they’re young, tends to be somewhat narrowly focused on contemporary acts and songs that explicitly reference older ones.