Alex Chilton

"Bangkok" (Alex Chilton)

Here’s a little thing that’s gonna please ya
Just a little town down in Indonesia
Bangkok
Yeah Bangkok

Two slanty eyed men lyin’ in bed
One got his Mauser, the other said
Bangkok
Ooh Bangkok

Makin’ love the Japanese way
Learned aggressively in Hong Kong
Bangkok
Ooh Bangkok

Margaret Trudeau, Jackie O.
Madame Nhu and Brigitte Bardot
Bangkok
Yeah Bangkok
Ooh baby Bangkok
Baby Bangkok
Baby Bangkok

Yeah
Huh huh hah

Hmm hmm ha ha ha

I’m not livin’ on Chinese rocks
I never …
Oh Bangkok
Yeah Bangkok baby
Whoo

It’s a revisionist kinda mind
It’s just a little town down in Indochina
Bangkok
Yeah Bangkok
Whoo Bangkok
Baby Bangkok

Nella discografia (solista) piuttosto erratica del compianto Maestro di Memphis, "Bangkok" occupa un posto di assoluto rilievo storico-artistico; pubblicato nel 1978 dalla Lust/Unlust di New York, e' il secondo 45 giri di Alex successivo allo scioglimento dei Big Star.
Un autentico tributo allo spirito piu' sincero e libertario del rock'n'roll (la label interna - FUN - ricalca graficamente quella degli storici singoli SUN di Elvis Presley), "Bangkok" rivela con anticipo la visione musicale di Alex dell'epoca, poi portata a compimento e maturazione con la produzione del capolavoro d'esordio dei Cramps, "Songs The Lord Taught Us".

Assolutamente iconica la foto di Godlis scelta per la copertina, scattata una sera del 1977 sulla Bowery a New York : "I don't remember whose idea it was to go out to the median strip on the Bowery to do that shot - mine or Alex's. Most certainly it was on a whim or a dare while talking over beers at the CBGB's bar. Definitely not planned too far in advance. Just run out in the rain, and try an idea out, then go back for another beer. We'd tried other shots indoors and out, but neither of us was satisfied. So when I developed the film and saw that strange drop of rain that had landed on the lens in what couldn't have been a more perfect spot, I was ecstatic. That was it - and we both knew it. Soon it got used as the cover for his independent single "Bangkok" (with a great version of the Seeds' "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" on the flip side)".
Da ascoltare a volume alto.