I’ve always liked the quirkiness of the whole Memphis/Big Star/Alex Chilton/Chris Bell world of songs. I came to the party late, long after they all stopped making music together. But I discovered them in my early twenties, which was perfect timing. When we were making the ECHOES record the producer, Paul Mahern, suggested maybe doing a Big Star song.
So I went through some of my favorites like The Ballad of El Goodo and September Gurls. They had all been done before and I didn’t think I could add much. But Paul also mentioned this Chris Bell/Alex Chilton song called I Am The Cosmos. It had been covered before and recorded several times by the writers, but when I listened it occurred to me in a different light than it had previously been done. I like the escapism of the sad but hopeful refrain, “every night I tell myself I am the cosmos, I am the wind.” …I mean, doesn’t everyone?
For copyright reasons, I can’t reproduce the song lyrics on this page, but I think you can find them at the Big Star reference site.
Check out Jacob Krutulis’ cool animated song video for I Am The Cosmos here.
I Am The Cosmos appears on ECHOES.
