God, I miss old Replacements stuff almost as much as I miss old Dylan (though I’ve embraced the new, to be sure). Maybe because they both have this nostalgia and sentimentality for me, which is likely, but both are attached, like most music for people, to memories and events.
I was listening to specific songs - “Kiss Me On The Bus” and “You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Waitress in the Sky” etc. etc. - and though some of their songs are truly offensive to some, they remain to this day truly funny to me and more, they hold up, much in the way I think "Dyslexic Heart" and "Within Your Reach" (a true favorite) hold up. Who else than Paul Westerberg could create that propeller sound in that song and end on such a strong note?
Well, maybe anyone could, but they didn’t or they did but didn’t pair it with the lyrics that hit home for me and that’s just it. Maybe The Replacements weren’t the first, but they were the best when they wanted to be. Other times, they showed up for shows too drunk to remember even the lyrics and chords to their own songs (Madison, Wisconsin comes to mind). Even the covers they did were nonsensical and lacking in lyrics, but we forgave them because they were lovable in this Muppet-Jim Henson kind of way and who could resist that charm? They had talent when they wanted to, which we all knew before this time, but became all too apparent when Pleased To Meet Me came out with the cover with two hands shaking with the gold watch and the suit and cuffed shirt; all so very non-Replacements and that was the point.
It was a “What the f… has happened or is happening to us? Who are we now?,” moment and while some truly great songs came out of that time, "Alex Chilton" for one, "Skyway" another, and "Can’t Hardly Wait", it still had that The Replacements sound, only it was smoothed out and their mistakes and home garage or living room sound was gone. The production was clear, not muddy; it was the end of an era. It was still good, but it wasn’t quite them. Don’t get me wrong: lots of bands grapple with their success. As he writes in Almost Famous, “It’s a think piece about mid-level band coming to grips with their success.”
Article comments
1 - Randy P/Tube
Ahhhhhhh....don't categorize this in "Classic Rock...Oldies".....never mind,it came out 18 years ago. One of my all time favorite albums by one of my all time favorite bands - Pleased to Meet me is one of those classic albums that never got its due except by die hard fans. Nice post.
2 - sade
it's painful to see how long ago it came out, i agree and i hate the categorization and am never quite sure what to put, so i try to put the max that will fit for the blog, but it's hard.
You sound like a die=hard fan like me... pleased to meet you ;-)...
i never hear much about The Replacements or Westerberg anymore, which makes me sad, because he is truly gifted and The Replacements were a great band. Did you ever see them tour? What a show...!
3 - Randy P/Tube Pinoy
I never saw them but my cousin did. (I was away at college and he stayed home for college) The few times they came, I was out of town. My cousin said they were drunk, sloppy and awesome - which was total 'Mats legacy. I played this as one of my first CD's until my CD player broke.
4 - sade
lol, exactly, an astute observation. always drunk and stupid and awesome, which is a great summary... sort of what i was getting at only said more succincly here. good job... :)
rock on.
s.
5 - Mark Saleski
i got to see the Replacements just once, opening for Elvis Costello at a baseball stadium in nashua, nh.
i happened to have been listening to "Tim" a lot at the time.
really great show. when they ended with a particularly sloppy "Hootenanny", it struck me that they were one of the few bands i could think of that seemed to pull off a simultaneous parody/tribute to the Stones.
6 - sade
how was the rest of the show? i heard one reason why Westerberg pulled back was the drinking and the drugs etc and i believe it... there was an awful lot of drinking and drugs going on, hence the rowdy, uh, music... but i still love them. Hootenany is a great song ~ if it's the one i'm thinking of and i think ihave a live version somewhere.
anywaay... enjoy listening to Tim.
7 - Mark Saleski
the show was tighter than what i was expecting, given all of the press about what a mess they were supposed to be.
of course, when they played Hootenany they all switched instruments...increasing the slop factor somewhat.
8 - sade
always a great band no matter what anyone says... i like Westerberg on his own as well...
9 - Randy P/Tube Pinoy
I did see Paul solo....great show and a good time. He mixed in some 'Mats tunes with his first solo LP.
10 - sade
never seen him solo, but love his stuff so much... sadly beautiful is one of my favorite songs... that whole album is amazing, i think; isn't it Don't Tell A Soul or am i thinking of someting else? i think that's it...
luck you to see him solo. i'm envious.
cheers,
s.
11 - DJRadiohead
I just finished listening to Elliott Smith's "From a Basement on the Hill." It is odd. I do not think I ever sensed bitterness in his lyrics. Well... it just is not the word I would have chosen although not that you have said it I think I understand what you mean. I always detected more of a sense of resignation than bitterness. I am not really arguing with you. I guess most of his work strikes a different chord. Besides, I am making a distinction without a difference.
I will say that I think the aforementioned "Basement" has a more menacing feel on certain songs than I am used to from him. It seems to obvious to hear the knife in his hand throughout that final album but I do. I think "King's Crossing" is the only Elliott Smith biography any of us will ever need.
And "Not Dark Yet"... well, we have already covered that on one of your other posts. Crushing.
12 - sade
i know what you mean about Elliott as well; yes, resignation would have been a far superior word, really. I do hear bitterness but overall, it is the resignation that hits you and packs the wallop.... and yes, this is the only biography we will ever hear unless someone like you or i writes one, which perhaps we will or should. someone ought, maybe me. maybe you. who knows.
not dark yet... yes, crushing. a hard song. but then, so many of them are hard lately; i seem to feel them deeply - or the echo of them anyway.
cheers,
sade