Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American power pop band", and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". In its first era, the band's musical style drew influence from 1960s pop acts such as the Beatles and the Byrds, producing a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" according to Rolling Stone. Three of Big Star's studio albums are included in the Rolling Stone list of the Top 500 Albums of All-Time.
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s guitar pop, '70s hard rock, and the emerging punk rock sound, and would help set the template for subsequent power pop artists.
The Aeroplane Flies High is a five-disc box set released by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins in 1996. It contains expanded versions of the five singles from their album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and also included a 44-page booklet with pictures and writings by the band's lead singer Billy Corgan, as well as lyrics. A limited edition release, the box reached number 42 on the Billboard charts. Originally intended to be limited to 200,000 copies, Virgin Records produced more after the original run sold out due to overwhelming and unexpected demand. The album was remastered in 2013 under the supervision of frontman Billy Corgan and reissued on vinyl and as a CD/DVD box set.
Christopher Branford Bell was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star through its first album #1 Record (1972). He also pursued a solo career throughout the mid-1970s, resulting in the posthumous I Am the Cosmos LP.
What Will the Neighbours Say? is the second studio album by English-Irish all-female pop group Girls Aloud. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2004 by Polydor Records. Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania were enlisted to produce the entire album, allowing for more inventive ideas. What Will the Neighbours Say? explores various subgenres of pop music.
Adam Lyons Schlesinger was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was also a member of the band Fever High. He also wrote songs for television and film, for which he won three Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and the ASCAP Pop Music Award, and was nominated for Academy, Tony, and Golden Globe Awards. He died from complications of COVID-19 at the age of 52.
"A Little Bit" is a song recorded by American recording artist Jessica Simpson. It was written by Kara DioGuardi, Steve Morales and David Siegel, and was produced by Morales along with Ric Wake. The song was released as the second and final single from Simpson's second studio album Irresistible (2001), on August 28, 2001, through Columbia Records. Musically, the song is a mid-tempo dance-pop song and the lyrics speak about the protagonist wanting changes in a relationship she is in.
"Little Baby Nothing" is a song recorded by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers for their debut studio album, Generation Terrorists (1992). It was released on 9 November 1992 by Columbia Records as the sixth and final single from the album. The song features guest vocals by American actress and singer Traci Lords.
Cheap Trick is the debut studio album by the American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1977. It was released under Epic Records and produced by Jack Douglas, a frequent collaborator of the band. The album did not reach the Billboard 200 chart but did "bubble under" at number 207 for one week in April 1977.
"I Want You to Want Me" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick. It is originally from their second album In Color, released in September 1977. It was the first single released from that album, but it did not chart in the United States in its original studio version, which was influenced by music hall styles.
"Run to the Sun" is a song by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released in July 1994 by Mute and Elektra as the second single from the duo's sixth studio album, I Say I Say I Say (1994). The song is written by Vince Clarke with fellow Erasure member Andy Bell and is an uptempo dance music track that displays signature synthesizer programming by Clarke. The UK 7-inch single of "Run to the Sun" was issued on yellow-coloured vinyl and featured a fold-out poster of the single's cover artwork. The single's B-side, a ballad entitled "Tenderest Moments", was later re-recorded by Erasure in an acoustic version for their 2006 album Union Street.
"Father Christmas" is a song by English rock band the Kinks, released in 1977.
"Son of Three" is a song by the American group the Breeders. Composed and sung by Kim Deal, its original version was recorded at Grandmaster Recording Ltd. in Hollywood, and was released in May 2002 on the album Title TK. The Breeders—then consisting of Deal, Kelley Deal, Jose Medeles, Richard Presley, and Mando Lopez—later re-recorded "Son of Three" at a different Hollywood studio as Title TK's third European single. This subsequent recording is shorter and faster than the album track, and matches how they were playing the song in concert in 2002.
"Thirteen" is a song by the American rock band Big Star. Rolling Stone describes it "one of rock's most beautiful celebrations of adolescence", and rated it #396 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It was written by Alex Chilton and Chris Bell.
Tinted Windows is the album by American supergroup Tinted Windows. Tinted Windows was formed in New York City and consists of guitarist James Iha, previously of The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle, singer Taylor Hanson of Hanson, bassist Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, and Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos. The album was recorded at Stratosphere Sound Studios in New York, which Schlesinger and Iha co-own with Ivy's Andy Chase.
Columbia: Live at Missouri University 4/25/93 is a reunion live album by the American power pop group Big Star, recorded and released in 1993 by the original Big Star members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens together with The Posies' members Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow. It was recorded at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.
Keep an Eye on the Sky is a 4-CD, 98-song career retrospective box set from American rock group Big Star, released in 2009. It features 52 unreleased tracks: demos, alternate takes, and live performances. As well as material from founder member Chris Bell's earlier bands Rock City and Icewater, it includes all titles from Big Star's first three studio albums, #1 Record, Radio City, and Third/Sister Lovers, and a recording of a 1973 Big Star concert. Staged in January at Lafayette's Music Room, the Memphis venue used again in May for the Rock Writers' Convention, the concert took place after Bell's departure and before the remainder of the group began work on Radio City. The box set's liner notes won a 2011 Grammy Award for author Robert Gordon.
Alex Chilton was an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was never repeated in later years with Big Star and in his subsequent indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew an intense following among indie and alternative rock musicians. He is frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands, some of whose testimonials appeared in the 2012 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.
"Auf Wiedersehen" is a song co-written by Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson and first released on the band's 1978 album Heaven Tonight. It was also released as a single as the B-side of "Surrender". Since its original release, it has also been released by Cheap Trick on several live and compilation albums, including Budokan II; Sex, America, Cheap Trick; The Essential Cheap Trick, and the 30th Anniversary Edition of Cheap Trick at Budokan, which also includes a DVD with a video performance of the song. Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as one of the peaks of Heaven Tonight and as one of Cheap Trick's "stone-cold classics." It has often been used by the band to close their concerts. Since its original release, it has been covered by Anthrax, Cell, John Easdale, and Steel Pole Bath Tub.
"It's Only Love" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, which was released in 1986 as the lead single from their ninth studio album The Doctor. It was written by guitarist Rick Nielsen and lead vocalist Robin Zander, and produced by Tony Platt. The song failed to chart in the US. Despite the commercial failure of the song, the music video is notable for the use of American Sign Language.
