Radio City, Big Star, 1974, :36
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
This album has been spoken of in hushed whispers for decades as a perfect pop album, a forgotten gem, a massive cult icon, revered and imitated by pop practitioners in the know. To me it's just some nice, buzzy power pop. It's… fine. Very skillfully done. But is it something for a million hipsters to flip their fedoras over? I just don't hear it. I'm really not trying to put it down; "Mod Lang" rocks in garage throwback way; "What's Going Ahn" has languid, beautiful vocals; "Life is White" as a sort of hangdog Rolling Stones-as-sung-by-Beatles vibe; "She's a Mover" is neo-Byrds. It's pretty, but I'm missing the soul and the muscle. Maybe this is the type of album that I need to hear a few times before it sinks in. Favorite tracks: "O, My Soul," "She's a Mover," "September Gurls."
