It's Supposed to Drive You Crazy!

Another thing that's really fascinating about the Alex Chilton story, even though he started his career with big success in the Box Tops, most of the rest of his career, he pin-balled from one "failure" to another. I mean some artistic successes, but very little commercial success.

And there really didn't seem to be a plan.  And this added to a messy, unplanned, chaotic, compelling life, and one that lots of people can relate to.  And Alex actually seemed to be compelled to do the most uncommercial things he could think of to do.

He was attracted to the wild, and uncontained, and if he created something of beauty, he wanted to blow it up, rip it up, make it less beautiful.  And he pretty much did.  He was on the hunt for the wild, the crazy, the out of control.

"Good rock & roll started from the rockabilly singers of the fifties. It has always been wild and out of control, and you had a real chaotic sense,  and the punk thing has brought that back pretty strongly. To me, it's just good rock & roll. Rock & roll is supposed to be out of control, and it's crazy and it's supposed to drive you crazy." - Alex Chilton

Here's Alex from "Live in London," doing "Bangkok." Ragged. Gloriously ragged. But really to my ears, even if he's trying his best to break it down, he can't help sounding good, he always sounds so musical, such a great voice, yes, good r&r...