You can call yourself an “indie kid” or a “hipster” all you want. You can wear thin-legged jeans and torn Ramones t-shirts every day of the week, debate the merits of Let It Die versus The Reminder, sneer at the latest Pearl Jam or Oasis record, and read up on Isaac Brock’s latest temper tantrum with the intensity of a 16-year old girl reading Perez Hilton. But no matter how hip you may think you are, the chances are good you listened to AM Gold and 70’s radio in your day. And—here’s the kicker—you probably still like some of those songs. And not in an ironic way, either.

I’m certainly not ashamed to say that I love a lot of the stuff WABC and its like pumped out of VW Rabbit speakers way back when, and of all the songs I still remember from my youth (and, I suppose, my mom and aunts’ youths), “It’s Too Late To Turn Back Now” is Number One on my list with a bullet. The Cornelius Brothers and Soul Sister Rose are probably better known for “Treat Her Like a Lady” nowadays, especially due to its use in Anchorman, but “It’s Too Late” remains, to my ears, the superior song. Backed by luscious strings and Delfonics-style soul harmonies, Carter Cornelius smoothly sings about how love has captured a wary mind and set his heart all a-flutter. Certainly nothing new in terms of soul music, and yet the whole package thrillingly, blissfully works, sweeping you along with its undeniable sing-along chorus until even your own cold heart, frozen by years of Joy Division and Boards of Canada records, thaws from its Super Hits Of The Seventies heat.

Poking around iTunes one day, I was startled to find a live cover version of this song by none other than Big Star frontman Alex Chilton. His take on the song is ragged, a hastily assembled backup band of local musicians plodding along (and introduced for three solid minutes at the tail end of the performance), Chilton’s voice shaky and worn down. But Chilton’s devotion to the song, to its beautifully catchy simplicity, cannot be denied. And if he can find it in his heart to love a song like that, you certainly can, too.

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