Digital Audio Insider -- the economics of music and other digital content

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Digital Audio Insider is David Harrell's blog about the economics of music and other digital content. I write from the perspective of a musican who has self-released four albums with the indie rock band the Layaways.

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March 19, 2010

Alex Chilton
by David Harrell

"Each and every cut on this album has the inherent potential to become a blockbuster single. The ramifications are positively awesome."

-- Billboard magazine review of Big Star's "#1 Record," September 9, 1972.

There are, of course, hundreds -- if not thousands -- of songs and albums that "should have" been hits but never found a wide audience. Yet it's hard to imagine any another example of a greater disparity between the potential of a record and its subsequent success.

I started to write something yesterday about Alex Chilton, who found fame in the music industry, if not fortune, at the insanely young age of 16, when the Box Tops' "The Letter" hit #1 in 1967. But any attempt at an analysis of his commercial success (or lack thereof) with Big Star and his solo albums seems so inappropriate right now.

His talent as a singer, songwriter, and arranger (along with that of Big Star founder Chris Bell, who died in 1978), was staggering. The combination CD of the first two Big Star albums has been one of my favorites for the past 15 years and it easily ranks with the best output of the Beatles, the Kinks, or any other rock act. The songs, performances, and production are simply perfect.

I'm sad that this music didn't find a larger audience at the time (if there's such a thing as parallel universes, there must be one out there where Big Star actually had a #1 record), but I'm so incredibly grateful that it exists:

#1 Record/Radio City - Big Sta...

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THE LAYAWAYS

Out Now -- "Maybe Next Year" -- The New Holiday Album:

"This is a sweet treat, deliciously musical without being overbaked for mass media consumption." -- Hyperbolium

"Perfect listening to accompany whatever holiday preparations you may be making today." -- Bag of Songs

O Christmas Tree - free mp3 lyrics and song details
Away In A Manger - free mp3

Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or Bandcamp. Listen to free streams at Last.fm.

"...about as melodic and hooky as indie pop can get." -- Absolute Powerpop

"Their laid-back, '60s era sounds are absolutely delightening." -- 3hive

"...melodic, garage-influenced shoegaze." -- RCRD LBL

Where The Conversation Ends - free mp3
January - free mp3
Keep It To Yourself - free mp3

Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or CD Baby, stream it at Last.fm or Napster.

"The Layaways make fine indie pop. Hushed vocals interweave with understated buzzing guitars. The whole LP is a revelation from the start." -- Lost Music

"Catchy Guided by Voices-like rockers who lay it on sweetly and sincerely, just like Lionel Richie." -- WRUV Radio

Silence - free mp3 lyrics and song details
The Long Night - free mp3

Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.

"These are songs that you want to take home with you, curl up with, hold them close -- and pray that they are still with you when you wake up." -- The Big Takeover

Let Me In - free mp3
Ocean Blue - free mp3

Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.

More Layaways downloads:

the layaways website