My Top 1000 Songs #184: In The Street

This is the 5th Big Star song in the top 200--second only to the Beatles, and ahead of other personal favorites like the Clash, Velvets, Stones, etc. Maybe that's too many?

Dunno. 

Anyway, "In The Street" is another definitive power pop song that forms the blueprint for an entire genre. Chiming guitar riff. Perfect 70s lyrical motif about getting high and driving around in a stolen car. Crisp, efficient guitar solo. Chris Bell hitting the high notes, and some lovely harmonies. And lots of cowbell. What more do you really need?

Live at a reunited Big Star show (Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens, Posies) in '94:

Like the rest of the band's catalog, the tune might have permanently avoided mainstream attention, reserved for those in the Big Star community, if it hadn't been repurposes (with slightly altered lyrics) by Cheap Trick as the theme for That 70's Show (a sitcom I've never watched, but kudos to  musician/music director Ben Vaughn for helping make that happen).