The Replacements: Classic or Dud?

i saw chris r. the music writer for the strib say it was not real?

Weird if that's true, it's being reported all over the place.

Oh I see it's on his Twitter.

Along with Surly closing their beer hall? WTF, no!

There was some Replacements discussion on a Jason Isbell twitter thread (sorry, I love his twitter, more than his music, tbh), where, inevitably, someone brings up that they could have been huge, like the Stones. And Isbell, as a great songwriter, I think nails why that was never in the cards: "Those songs were just so damn deep." That is, as silly and insecure as he could be, Paul's best songs were the product of serious introspection, whether he'd admit it or not, and that kind of stuff rarely fills arenas. It's a good point, imo. "Unsatisfied" might be one of the greatest anthems ever written, but it's not the kind of anthem that sells records or tickets.

Also saw another related take on the thread that the Replacements were "all Keith Richards with no Mick Jaggers," which was sadly otm.

Yeah, more or less *sigh*

Or even anyone who wanted to be a Mick Jagger. If you look at their contemporaries who broke bigger — U2, R.E.M., 10,000 Maniacs — they all had lead singers who filled that lead performer role in ways Westerberg wasn't comfortable with. The Replacements could never decide how much they wanted people to like them.

And did their best to offend anyone who did. Oppositional attitudes like that rarely lead to career success in any field?

yep

after reading Trouble Boys and their almost pathological career self sabotage, my takeaway was less "why weren't these guys huge?" and More "It's a miracle and a testament to his songwriting that they ever got as big as they did"

Pretty much

after reading Trouble Boys and their almost pathological career self sabotage, my takeaway was less "why weren't these guys huge?" and More "It's a miracle and a testament to his songwriting that they ever got as big as they did"

Same here. Their lives could have easily gone in another direction in a very, very bad way. Obviously they still had problems and Bob died from his, but if they had no musical or artistic talent whatsoever, I'm not sure what they could have made of their lives tbh.

Just found this Dallas Observer article on Chris Mars from 1995. It was written soon after Bob's funeral. I can understand why he doesn't like to talk about the 'Mats anymore given what he says here.

Sometimes, Mars half jokes, he wakes up in a cold sweat, still finding it hard to believe all the shit he pulled when he was a 17-year-old--riding half-drunk down the freeway on a motorcycle, sitting down every night behind his drum kit as the room spun around him, sharing the stage with a grown man who wore women's clothing. "It's kind of scary to think of some of the stuff I did and made it through, ya know?" he says now, 14 years after the Replacements formed.

Also had no idea there were reunion rumors right after Bob's death (or that AOL had a Replacements message board).

https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/no-mere-replacement-6404405

Can’t say I expected that Sorry Ma would get the boxed set treatment, but this looks pretty cool:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/replacements-sorry-ma-forgot-to-take-out-the-trash-box-set-1210479/

It does! My favorite album by them by a long shot, but this may be more than even I need.

Rhino's Jason Jones (obviously an enormous fan) has been on other music forums discussing these box sets and answering questions. He kind of hinted Sorry Ma would be next when Pleased to Meet Me came out. He says he hoped to do a box set for every album (no answer whether Stink would get its own box set, but I'm guessing it'll be lumped in with Hootenanny), and he did indicate that he wouldn't go in strict reverse chronological order either, he would jump around and do a few anniversaries. Sorry Ma seemed like a very good bet since an anniversary would mean a whole lot more for a debut album.

Also, he said sales for Pleased to Meet Me actually exceeded expectations despite COVID slowing everything down, so that was a very good sign that more would be coming.

Also, he said one box set per year seemed like a reasonable pace, but obviously that's not set in stone.

Stink should have it's own boxset, podcast, and Netflix series

And glow-in-the-dark stickers. I want stickers goddammit.

I'll settle for scratch n' sniff.

i am only a mid-level replacements fan but they're doing such a good job with these sets, glad that they keep on coming.

Absolutely, though they seem to be at the mercy of whatever Twin/Tone or Sire recorded. (Even with at least one soundboard tape circulating, no relevant live shows were included on the Pleased to Meet Me set.) I'm especially looking forward to Tim (new mixes? "Nowhere Is My Home" finally from a first-generation master?) and there's definitely gems leftover from Hootenanny (the great, full band "You're Getting Married" that Bob vetoed). Let It Be's my favorite 'Mats album, but given the underwhelming bonuses on the 2008 CD, I'm not expecting the box set to be one of their best ones.

I had no idea there was a "Pleased" boxed set.

Just a 7th St. Entry poster from April '81 on FB, and would you believe the 'Mats opened for Humble Pie (Marriott/Bobby Tench lineup)?

Sounds like a great show.

Saw a track off that new Sorry, Ma box, didn’t see more than that or Pleased Box. Had no idea about that Humble Pie show or that lineup.

Sorry Ma Deluxe available 10/22/21

Maybe I knew about Pleased box but forgot about it.

The Pleased box set did really well, but IMHO if you have All for Nothing/Nothing for All and the 2008 Rhino reissue of the album (and while I'm at it the Trouble Boys book), you probably don't need the box set, not unless you really need to listen to rough mixes and alternates.

Intrigued at “Johnny’s Gonna Die/All by Myself”

Dud

pic.twitter.com/SEBD4Gj09n

— SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest (@snlhostsintro) October 1, 2021

I am listening to Hootenanny for the first time in many years (15?) and I remembered something funny about being a kid Replacements fan. I would read these articles about them and their drunken antics and never really get it. My first album of theirs was DTAS and then I bought ASD when it came out. They seemed very adult, civilized. Exploring their back catalogue was my #1 priority at the time, and this is the album where I started to finally understand what those booze stories meant in terms of their music. There are some really stupid songs on this album, and the good ones are REALLY good.

OTM

The stupid throwaway stuff doesn't drag it down or stop its momentum either. There is no "Baby Song" equivalent. The title song is pretty much the worst one, putting first gets it out of the way and serves as a warm-up- kind of a stroke of genius of sequencing- and then we're off to the races.

lol yes to Baby Song, yes to title song being easily the worst one and if you can make it past the door of this place, you will have a good time.

Probably said this upthread at least one time, but a friend of mine once claimed that they peaked early with the first album and slowly got worse with every recording after that. He has since changed his mind or most likely forgot saying this but I remain convinced, mostly. The argument can be made that any one of the records with Bob could be considered the best. Hootenanny still has the band room sound and plently of Bob-tastic gonzo magic along with Paul's more varied songwriting so I am quite happy to think of it as the best on plenty of days.

Haha I will never understand the hate for "The Baby Song." It's goofy! It's funny! Maybe I listened to A Quick One and The Who Sell Out too much or something, because "The Baby Song" just sounded like another "Cobwebs and Strange" or "Heinz Baked Beans" to me.

"Flexible Flyer" would be a 10/10 no matter what, but the fact that it comes after "Baby Song" makes it an 11/10, which makes "Baby Song" good.

And come on, "Baby Song" is 47 seconds long. "How to Skin a Cat" is almost two minutes, and it's followed by "Whatcha Drinkin'".

All true and I thought that same thing about the sequencing that leads from Mr Whirly to Within Your Reach. The bounce from low quality to high quality song is part of the fun I guess.

"Treatment Bound" probably the second worst song on this. But then there is stuff like "You Lose" which I forget even exists but totally enjoy listening to.

I think the key to "Mr Whirly" is all the nods to the Beatles, which is the band acknowledging more than just the usual FM butt-rock (in self-destructive slapdash fashion). And then to follow such a piss-take with "Within Your Reach" ...

"color me impressed" <3

the sequencing that leads from Mr Whirly to Within Your Reach

you had to flip the album over to get one to the other, for whatever that's worth. also i love "mr. whirly."

"treatment bound" is fantastic ("too bored to thrash" one of their many manifestos). "you lose" is hella good (and a kind of rosetta stone for westerberg's melodic sensibilities).

if someone says something negative about "run it" or "lovelines," i'm going to cry.

"willpower" is the one misstep hootenanny for my money.

on misstep *on* hootenanny

i came back here to praise "willpower" -- i really liked that song more than i thought i did. i think it's genuinely bleak-sounding and i love the part where he says "my life". the vocal treatment sounds pretty genuinely haunted and it's about lacking willpower, a relatable and relevant to the band concept. i think it's pretty good!

Seconded.

Also, "How to Skin a Cat" is really not that bad. Sort of a bit like "Lovelines" which I, um, love.

It's not bad, just kind of annoying.

I guess Lovelines is annoying too, but it's kind of catchy and silly and it doesn't seem designed to clear the room.