plalaylisylist BACKLIGHT Irreplaceable Though Many Have Tried to Copy Them, There’s No Substitute for the Replacements

By Missy Roback and John Schacht

HOW DID THE REPLACEMENTS ever make it out of their Minneapolis garage? Four lovable losers, not a high-school diploma among them, they drank like there was no tomor- row and sabotaged every chance at success that came their way. Got a gig on Saturday Night Live? Hey, Takin’ a Ride Left to right: Chris Mars, Bob Stinson, Paul Westerberg, and Tommy Stinson. let’s drink—a lot! Sold-out show? Let’s play nothing but cheesy Where to Start covers—uh, at least the parts we How old am I?/Let’s count the rings around my eyes” but also wrench poignancy from There’s a reason why the Replacements heavily remember. More comfortable with almost any subject. And he could open a influenced so many bands, from the Goo Goo failure than with success, the ’Mats vein about teenage suicide, alcoholism, love, Dolls to Nirvana. If you’ve never heard the real excelled at putting on notoriously and suburban life—and sound like he was thing, start with these ten tracks. inconsistent gigs, swerving between talking about you. transcendent and terrible from show Because Bob Stinson could wear a dress—or “SHIFTLESS WHEN IDLE” (Sorry Ma, Forgot to show and sometimes from song nothing at all, if the spirits moved him—as no to Take Out the Trash, 1981): The high point of the to song. The band’s most widely other lumbering goofball guitarist could, ’Mats’ abrasive debut, and proof that the young known live recording? It’s called while laying down the big, sloppy riffs that band (bassist Tommy Stinson was a tender 12) anchored the early ’Mats shows. was just trying on the punk mantle, “Shiftless” “The Shit Hits the Fans.” Because the ’Mats didn’t just bite the hand actually includes a bridge and two separate guitar So why do the Replacements matter? that fed them: they tore off the whole arm, parts, and fades out instead of crashing to a stop. Because they were a gloriously sloppy rock gorged on it, then tossed it into the nearby It also offers a good example of the self-deprecat- band running on guts and inspiration. Mississippi—along with what they believed ing streak in Westerberg’s lyrics—“And I ain’t got Because they paid homage to the classic were the master tapes of their entire Twin/Tone no idols/I ain’t got much taste”—that would en- seventies rock of their youth—so not cool in catalog, so the legend goes. (Wisely, the label dear him to fans for decades afterward. the post-punk early eighties—while absorbing had made copies.) the best aspects of punk, college rock, coun- Because when it was all over, they’d left “IF ONLY YOU WERE LONELY” (B-side to “I’m in ONE RECORDS

try, and the blues. Wide open, anything goes: behind a trio of records—Let It Be, Tim, and Trouble,” 1981): This ode to heartache, alcohol, TWIN/T that defined their music and their shows. Pleased to Meet Me—that most bands would kill and, well, vomiting stood out from the band’s Because Paul Westerberg, one of the best for and many would try to copy. And they left material for its barroom twang and its more sen- TESY OF songwriters of any generation—with an emo- behind a catalog that spoke to a generation of sitive content. But the song’s most memorable

tive voice to match—could not only cleverly misfits, each one crying out for someone else couplet made sure things weren’t getting too sen- OGRAPH COUR T

turn a phrase like “How young are you? to “hold my life/’cause I just might lose it.” continues on page 99 PHO

100 PLAYLIST SUMMER 2005

plalaylisylist BACKLIGHT

A SECOND LOOK AT Irreplaceable continued from page 100 BESTERBERG sitive: “Twenty push-ups this morning, that was whole first rung.” Tim suffered from crappy half my goal/Tonight I’ll be doin’ pull-ups on production (by a going-deaf Tommy Ramone), The title is clever, but Bester- the toilet bowl.” but Westerberg saved the record by tossing off berg: The Best of Paul Wester- berg (Sire/Reprise/Rhino) classic lines the way other folks jot down gro- “WITHIN YOUR REACH” doesn’t necessarily reflect the (Hootenanny, cery lists. And the video for Bastards—a single highest points of his solo career, 1983): In a ’Mats first, Westerberg recorded this shot of a cheap speaker, a ratty sneaker on a which began in 1992 with two song alone—not surprising, given the vulnerabil- couch, and nothing else for three and a half songs on the “Singles” sound- ity of the lyrics: “I could live without so much/ minutes—is still the best commentary on track. The 20-track Besterberg is heavy on cuts from I can die without a clue/Sun keeps risin’ in the MTV ever made. 14 Songs and Eventually—no surprise, since Rhino et al. west/I keep on wakin’ fully confused.” Featur- owns them—and woefully light on selections from the ing un–’Mats-like instruments such as a drum “HERE COMES A REGULAR” (Tim, 1985): four “basement” CDs Vagrant has released since 2002. machine and synths, it was one of several cuts The Bukowski-like characters that dot this bit- And that’s a shame, because 2002’s Stereo, which on Hootenanny that strayed far and wide from tersweet narrative may be losers, but Wester- shows up just once on the compilation, is Westerberg’s the band’s post-punk beginnings. berg’s identification with them—empathy greatest achievement as a solo artist. It’s hard to com- plain when nine of Besterberg’s cuts are unreleased or being one of his strong suits—imbues them “I WILL DARE” rare tracks, or songs from soundtracks. But in a perfect (Let It Be, 1984): A remark- with a sense of nobility. It’s a goal writers world, those would go on a second disc (Second able opener on what many consider the band’s everywhere shoot for and almost always miss. Besterberg?), leaving room for a more accurate best- best disc, this song defines catchy through its It’s easy to see Westerberg taking his stool at of list, including stuff from the ’Mats’ All Shook Down bizarre yet effective mix of country shuffle and the bar and singing about himself: “Well, a per- and more from Westerberg’s Grandpaboy alter-ego. rock riffage. Its damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed- son can work up a mean, mean thirst/After a Let’s pretend for a moment that the world is perfect— ahead optimism perfectly balances the hard day of nothing much at all.” and I’m in charge. Here’s my disc 1.—MISSY ROBACK record’s more somber cuts. “I Will Dare” was also the last chance for Twin/Tone to cull a hit “CAN’T HARDLY WAIT” (Pleased to Meet Me, “SADLY BEAUTIFUL” by the Replacements (All Shook Down) out of the band. Criminally, it didn’t catch on 1987): The first ’Mats record without guitarist beyond college radio. Bob Stinson (who would die of drug-related “KNOCKIN’ ON MINE” (14 Songs) causes in 1995) gave Westerberg even greater “FIRST GLIMMER” (14 Songs) “UNSATISFIED” (Let It Be, 1984): Like control of the band, and he used it. Though Raymond Carver dialogue put to music, the many fans prefer the sax-less, rock-more Tim “THINGS” (14 Songs) crushing sadness of this cut should rip open version of “Can’t Hardly Wait” on the All for “THESE ARE THE DAYS” (Eventually) any old relationship wounds you harbor Nothing/Nothing for All compilation, the use of “LOVE UNTOLD” (Eventually) pretty damn fast. If Westerberg’s raw lyrics horns in a sort of Stax and Philly-soul homage and broken voice don’t send a chill down your suggests one of the directions Westerberg would “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIE” (Suicaine Gratifaction) spine, check your pulse. explore in his solo career, and it works well with “LOOKIN’ OUT FOREVER” (Suicaine Gratifaction) the song’s infectious riff and sing-along chorus. “ANSWERING MACHINE” “LET’S NOT BELONG TOGETHER” (Let It Be, 1984): by Grandpaboy (Mono) Leading off with a gorgeously distorted guitar “ACHIN’ TO BE” (Don’t Tell a Soul, 1989): intro, this song ascends into blood and guts and One of the few redeeming cuts from the “AAA” by Grandpaboy (Mono) loneliness, Westerberg’s pained rasp framed by group’s penultimate recording (1990’s All “DIRT TO MUD” (Stereo) Bob Stinson’s desperate guitar playing. “How do Shook Down was essentially a Westerberg solo “ONLY LIE WORTH TELLING” (Stereo) you say ‘I miss you’/to an answering machine?” record), this tender country-rock ballad returns Westerberg bawls. Clearly, life on the road wasn’t to a common Westerberg theme: the inability “LET THE BAD TIMES ROLL” (Stereo) all fun and games (and sex and drugs). to connect. Though most of the record is “MY DAYDREAM” (Come Feel Me Tremble) buried under too many layers of gloss, the pro- “BASTARDS OF YOUNG” “WHAT A DAY (FOR A NIGHT)” (Tim, 1985): duction on “Achin’ to Be” is subtle and right. (Come Feel Me Tremble) One of several anthemic rock classics on the ’Mats’ first major-label release, this rant Aw, we know, where’s “Skyway” and “Left of the “CRACKLE & DRAG (ALT. VERSION)” (Come Feel Me Tremble) against the band’s own aimless, alienated gen- Dial”? Post your own damn Top 10 ’Mats songs for eration and the lowest-common-denominator a newbie at playlistmag.com/0497. “GET A MOVE ON” culture that spawned it could double as a com- by Grandpaboy (Dead Man Shake) mentary on the music industry it had reluc- JOHN SCHACHT is the music editor of the alterna- “NOW I WONDER” (Folker) tantly become a part of. Bastards is full of so tive weekly Creative Loafing in Charlotte, North Car- “ANYWAY’S ALL RIGHT” (Folker) many irony-rich aphorisms it’s hard to cite just olina. He regrets trying to drink as much as the band at one, but if we must choose, the opening line his one and only Replacements show. Paul Westerberg “GUN SHY” (Folker) says it all: “God, what a mess/On the ladder of accidentally kicked Playlist music editor MISSY success/Where you take a step and miss the ROBACK in the head once. She has never been the same.

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