434 - Big Star - #1 Record - Ronnie Barnett

 

LISTEN + SUBSCRIBE ON SPOTIFY HERE

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Is an icon defined more so by their achievements or how many people their lives had an impact on? If the former is true, few can deny the unique beauty and diverse range of power pop rockers Big Star's 1972 debut album #1 Record. If the latter, the absence of their mainstream commercial success belies just how much they influenced countless artists like REM, The Replacements, and Elliott Smith. The same is true of Ronnie Barnett's power punk band The Muffs, whose cover of "Kids In America" left an indelible of mark on the youth of the 1990s by being featured in the film Clueless. Ronnie's love of seeking out one-of-a-kind songwriters like Big Star is what lead him to become a music journalist and eventually join his then-girlfriend Kim Shattuck's LA-based band, which would go on to produce seven albums and a platinum record.

SHOW NOTES:

00:15 – Intro
09:45 – The band other bands want to be
13:15 – A blatant, yet highly enjoyable rip-off
13:45 – Where were you the day Kurt died?
18:30 – To honor a friend
31:00 – When you deserve to sell out
40:15 – A great band needs a great leader
45:30 – Gigs every night
48:15 – All’s fair in love & rock ‘n roll
50:15 – Giving it up for the man upstairs
58:45 – Buy a ticket and don’t come
1:00:00 – Facts!
1:03:00 – Lucky to be here
1:04:15 – Outro

Music used in episode

ALBUM STREAM - #1 RECORD:

NEW ARTIST INFLUENCED BY BIG STAR: