"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 #406 a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[1] 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".[2]
The song was originally featured on the 1972 album #1 Record. It was never released as a single by Big Star.
Contents[]
Covers[edit][]
"Thirteen" has been covered by several notable musicians. They include:
| Artist | Album |
|---|---|
| Evan Dando | Live at the Brattle Theatre |
| Deus | Sister Dew |
| Garbage | Version 2.0 (Japanese edition), "Push It" single |
| Albert Hammond Jr. | Cool For School: For the Benefit of The Lunchbox Fund |
| Happy Flowers | Lasterday I Was Been Bad |
| Håkan Hellström | Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått |
| Kind of Like Spitting | The Thrill of the Hunt |
| Mary Lou Lord | Live City Sounds |
| Magnapop | Magnapop |
| Rose Melberg | September |
| Elliott Smith | New Moon |
| Wilco | Big Star, Small World |
| Kathryn Williams | Relations |
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.[3]
Use in popular media[edit][]
- The Elliott Smith cover of the song was used in the film Thumbsucker, and appears on its soundtrack.
- Big Star's original was used in How I Met Your Mother episode "Ten Sessions," during a "two-minute date" with Josh Radnor's character and a time-strapped dermatologist, played by Sarah Chalke.
- 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 Forman and Donna Pinciotti who spend most of the series romantically involved.
- The song appeared on the Gilmore Girls episode "Rory's Dance" (Season 1, Episode 9).
- The fourth album of the Scottish band Teenage Fanclub, highly influenced by Big Star, is also named Thirteen.[4]
- Davis Rogan, a friend of Alex Chilton, covers the song on his album "The Real Davis"