Big Star: Radio City

If I had to give a one-word review of this album, it would be “elusive.” If allowed more than one word I’d say “Songs by Schrodinger.” If allowed even more…well, here we are.  I don’t know whether the elusiveness of this album is a flaw on my part, that I lack the vocabulary or the history to describe what I’m hearing, or if it is really a characteristic of the music itself. Either way, for now, I can only talk about the music in the negative sense.

The closest musician that sounds somewhat similar is Tom Petty. He has a combination of country western and rock that this album sounds like at times. But Tom Petty doesn’t have this much of an edge. Whatever I say from here on, let one thing be clear: I would be very surprised to hear this playing on the radio.

And yet, this album is pop, though classified in the subcategory of “power pop.” Power pop, like all genres, is fuzzy as to what it actually contains. As far as I can tell from my twenty second perusal of Wikipedia, power pop is rock music that calls back to the early days of the Beatles and The Who, though I’d probably lump the Beach Boys in there for good measure. Power pop is typically bright and peppy, with some vocal harmonies and dark lyrics. Think Jellyfish for an ideal example.

And while those descriptors do in part apply to Big Star, most of them do not. Most of the lyrics sound like they could have been written for Taylor Swift or Katie Perry. The melodies are fun though too ethereal to be catchy. Big Star is too Pop to be Power Pop, but too Power Pop to be Pop.

There is a form of theology called Apophatic, which approaches God from the negative, saying what It is not instead of what It is, since what It is is  beyond human conception. I’m not saying the same thing is going on here. Big Star is not It. But they are an entity that is beyond grasp by normal means, where the language of description turns in on itself. I can’t even say if it sounds good or not. It sounds like Big Star.

3/5 I would consider this a cult album. If you don’t know about this album and this review piques your interest, check it out. If it doesn’t, don’t worry about it. Big Star is indifferent to your attention.