What Would Chuck Klosterman Do?

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“Alex Chilton” – The Replacements
(Words/music: Chris Mars/Tommy Stinson/Paul Westerberg, available on Pleased to Meet Me, Sire 1987)

It doesn’t matter that Paul Westerberg’s line about millions of children screaming for Big Star’s Alex Chilton never quite came true. The “what if”s and alternate universe theories don’t really matter either. What matters is that Alex Chilton’s music gave Paul Westerberg the kind of joy he could only quantify with a statement like that. Art, and music specifically, often has the power to transform tiny moments into the size their significance warrants. For Paul Westerberg (and many others), that meant giving Alex Chilton his own anthem, complete with adoring fans.

In recent years, music has become a portable artifact; it is literally possible to carry all of Paul Westerberg and Alex Chilton’s songs on a cell phone, ready to play at any minute. So today, as news of Chilton’s passing starts to spread, I’m left thinking of all of the places his music is yet to go. Even if Chilton’s life ended too young and before he could bring his songs everywhere, his music will continue to travel. In one way, it will find new fans and reward the curiosity of those looking for beautifully crafted pop songs. However, in many more, Chilton’s songs travel with those who made these tiny songs a large part of their lives. We all have those lyrics or fragments of melody, or perfectly anticipated moments that we can recall without even hearing. On a good day, these are the songs that end up in our heads during otherwise mundane activities, becoming a surprisingly pleasant companion for the rest of the day.

When Westerberg said that he “never travels far without a little Big Star,” he didn’t mean that he kept an LP in his suitcase. If he’s anything like me, he kept the music somewhere far closer and more intimate, ready at any moment to transform into something bigger and something more beautiful, even if it’s just for a couple minutes and even if it’s just for one person.

More on The Replacements: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm