Thirteen (song)
Encyclopedia
"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 in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It was written by Alex Chilton
and Chris Bell
.
Bill Janovitz
of Buffalo Tom
writes in his Allmusic review of the song, "There are few songs that capture the aching innocence of adolescence as well" and calls it a "perfect melancholy ballad".
The song was originally featured on the 1972 album #1 Record
. It was never released as a single by Big Star.
When asked if there was a Big Star cover he was especially fond of, lead singer Alex Chilton mentioned Garbage's version of this song.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
describes it "one of rock's most beautiful celebrations of adolescence", and rated it #396 in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It was written by Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
and Chris Bell
Chris Bell (musician)
Christopher Branford "Chris" Bell was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist born in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star, which recorded albums during the early 1970s...
.
Bill Janovitz
Bill Janovitz
Bill Janovitz is best known as the singer and guitarist of the alternative rock band Buffalo Tom.-History:After enrolling at the University of Massachusetts, Janovitz formed Buffalo Tom with fellow students Chris Colbourn and Tom Maginnis. A friendship with J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr...
of Buffalo Tom
Buffalo Tom
Buffalo Tom is an alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986. Its principal members are guitarist Bill Janovitz, bassist Chris Colbourn, and drummer Tom Maginnis. The band's name is derived from the band Buffalo Springfield and the first name of the drummer.-Career:Dinosaur Jr...
writes in his Allmusic review of the song, "There are few songs that capture the aching innocence of adolescence as well" and calls it a "perfect melancholy ballad".
The song was originally featured on the 1972 album #1 Record
Number 1 Record
#1 Record is the debut album by the American power pop group Big Star. It was released in 1972 by Memphis-based Ardent Records. Though many critics praised the album's elegant vocal harmonies and refined songcraft , #1 Record fared quite dismally in terms of...
. It was never released as a single by Big Star.
Covers
"Thirteen" has been covered by several notable musicians. They include:| Artist | Album |
|---|---|
| Evan Dando Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando is an American musician, most famous for fronting the alternative rock band The Lemonheads. He is the only original member left in the current Lemonheads line-up, having served as lead singer since the band's original formation in 1986... |
Live at the Brattle Theatre |
| Deus | Sister Dew |
| Garbage Garbage (band) Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production... |
Version 2.0 Version 2.0 Version 2.0 is the second album by alternative rock group Garbage. It was released worldwide in May 1998 by Mushroom Records UK and in North America by Almo Sounds. Version 2.0 was the follow-up to the band's multi-platinum debut album Garbage. Despite a slow start, Version 2.0 went on to equal its... (Japanese edition), "Push It Push It (Garbage song) "Push It" is a 1998 song written, produced and performed by alternative rock group Garbage. "Push It" was the lead single released from their second album Version 2.0, in part to bridge the style evolution between the second album and their debut, and to start the campaign with a credible,... " single |
| Håkan Hellström Håkan Hellström Håkan Hellström is a Swedish musician. He got his Swedish breakthrough in the year 2000 with the song "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg"... |
Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått is an album by Håkan Hellström, released in 2006. In English the title corresponds to "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." The title describes the nature of the album - some songs are leftovers from earlier recordings, some are newly-written ones and a few others are... |
| Kind of Like Spitting Kind of Like Spitting Kind of Like Spitting was an American indie rock band. They formed in 1996 in Portland, Oregon. The band was led by prolific singer-songwriter Ben Barnett, who work has drawn comparisons to Elliott Smith, Mark Eitzel, Billy Bragg, and Robert Pollard.... |
The Thrill of the Hunt The Thrill of the Hunt The Thrill of the Hunt is an album by the band Kind of Like Spitting. It was released on February 14, 2006 on Redder Records. The title track was written and sung by David J., as opposed to Ben Barnett, who is the primary singer/writer.-Track listing:... |
| Mary Lou Lord Mary Lou Lord Mary Lou Lord is an indie folk musician, busker and recording artist.-Biography:Mary Lou Lord first gained notice playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston's subway stations Lord became friends with... |
Live City Sounds |
| Magnapop Magnapop Magnapop is an alternative rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1989, the band has consistently included songwriting duo Linda Hopper as vocalist and Ruthie Morris on guitar. Magnapop first achieved recognition in the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg through... |
Magnapop Magnapop (album) Magnapop is the debut album by Magnapop, released in 1992 and re-released with bonus tracks on July 29, 1997.-Recording and release:Four of the tracks—"Favorite Writer", "Chemical", "Complicated", and "Merry"—were recorded in John Keane Studio, Athens, Georgia in December 1990 with Linda Hopper's... |
| Elliott Smith Elliott Smith Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity... |
New Moon New Moon (Elliott Smith album) New Moon is a 2-CD/2-LP posthumous compilation album by Elliott Smith, released on May 8, 2007 by Kill Rock Stars.It contains 24 previously unreleased songs recorded between 1994 and 1997, when Smith recorded his albums Elliott Smith and Either/Or, both also released by Kill Rock Stars. It peaked... |
| Wilco Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John... |
Big Star, Small World Big Star, Small World Big Star Small World is a 2006 tribute album to the American power pop band, Big Star.It was originally due for release in 1998 on Ignition Records. However, after the company went under, the project was shelved. It was eventually released in 2006 on Koch Records.It features tracks by a range of... |
| Kathryn Williams Kathryn Williams Kathryn Williams is an English singer-songwriter.-Background:Williams was born in Liverpool, and now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne after earning an art degree in the city. Williams released her first album, Dog Leap Stairs on her own Caw Records label in 1999 with a budget of £80... |
Relations Relations (album) -Track listing:#"In a Broken Dream" – 3:37#"Birds" – 2:26#"Thirteen" – 2:56#"Hallelujah" – 5:08... |
When asked if there was a Big Star cover he was especially fond of, lead singer Alex Chilton mentioned Garbage's version of this song.
Use in popular media
- The Elliott Smith cover of the song was used in the film ThumbsuckerThumbsucker (film)Thumbsucker is a 2005 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Mills adapted from the Walter Kirn novel of the same name. The movie focuses on teenager Justin Cobb and how he copes with his thumb sucking problem, and his experiments with hypnosis, sex and drugs.-Plot:Justin Cobb is a shy...
, and appears on its soundtrackThumbsucker (soundtrack)Thumbsucker is the soundtrack to the film of the same name, which is based on the novel of the same name by Walter Kirn. It was released on September 13, 2005 under the Hollywood Records label...
. - Big Star's original was used in How I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
episode "Ten SessionsTen Sessions"Ten Sessions" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of How I Met Your Mother, and the 57th episode overall of the series. It originally aired on March 24, 2008 on CBS...
," during a "two-minute date" with Josh RadnorJosh RadnorJoshua Michael "Josh" Radnor is an American actor, director, and writer, best known for portraying the main character Ted Mosby on the popular, Emmy Award-winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, for which he has received worldwide fame and recognitions.He made his writing and directorial debut...
's character and a time-strapped dermatologist, played by Sarah ChalkeSarah ChalkeSarah Chalke is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother...
. - The song appeared several times on That 70's Show, in such episodes as "The Seeker" and "That '70s Finale", serving as a theme for the two main characters, Eric FormanEric FormanEric Albert Forman is a fictional character and the male lead on the Fox Network's That '70s Show between seasons one through seven. Portrayed by Topher Grace, Eric is based on the adolescence of show creator Mark Brazill. Most of the show takes place at the Formans' home, particularly in the...
and Donna PinciottiDonna PinciottiDonna Marie Pinciotti is a fictional character and one of the two female leads in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, appearing in all eight seasons...
who spend most of the series romantically involved. - The song appeared on the Gilmore GirlsGilmore GirlsGilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
episode "Rory's Dance" (Season 1, Episode 9). - The fourth album of the Scottish band Teenage FanclubTeenage FanclubTeenage Fanclub are an alternative rock band from Bellshill, Scotland. The band is composed of Norman Blake , Raymond McGinley , Gerard Love and Francis MacDonald , with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love...
, highly influenced by Big Star, is also named ThirteenThirteen (Teenage Fanclub album)-Personnel:*Norman Blake - Vocals, guitar*Gerard Love - Vocals, bass*Raymond McGinley - Vocals, guitar*Brendan O'Hare - Drums...
. - Davis Rogan, a friend of Alex Chilton, covers the song on his album "The Real Davis"