O My Soul

Alex Chilton died.

My first job was at a Hardee's. I was 17. I was listening to Husker Du and the Replacements and R.E.M. One of the managers had similar tastes in music and we traded tapes. I asked him if he had any Big Star, because their name kept popping up in all the books and magazines I was reading at the time, but I could never find any of their records (turns out I wasn't looking hard enough, but that's a different story).

(Big Star's other singer/guitarist, Chris Bell, was just as talented as Alex. Bell is also dead, but that's another story.)

Anyway, Hardee's Manager loaned me a cassette with #1 Record on one side and Radio City on the other. And they lived up to their reputation. Exceeded it, even.

You can get both those albums on one CD. Worth every penny.