I hate ILoveMusic, it's got too many POLLS - Artist Poll #104 - THE REPLACEMENTS - RESULTS

Considered voting for For Sale but in the end saved my ballot bullets for proper, um, albums.

https://images2.imgbox.com/aa/56/XCsH5UDx_o.jpg.jpg

#9
THE REPLACEMENTS - The Shit Hits the Fans
January 1985
Score: 5
Votes: 2 (0)
Youtube excerpt: All of it!

Classic

Haven’t listened in a long time though and these days listen to For Sale a lot.

SHTF is a chillout album for me

Seems I mangled the image:

https://images2.imgbox.com/aa/56/XCsH5UDx_o.jpg

Which was done by Christopher Mars, I believe.

Had totally forgotten about Bob’s dress wearing until I saw that and some other photo a few days ago.

https://images2.imgbox.com/18/5c/p5KabRFD_o.jpg

#8
THE REPLACEMENTS - Dead Man's Pop
September 2019
Score: 10
Votes: 6 (0)
Youtube excerpt: Wake Up (Bearsville Version)

Like that one quite a bit but based on my simplistic criteria it didn't make the cut.

One could argue it should have been merged with DTAS for these purposes. It likely cost that record some points.

https://images2.imgbox.com/e2/6d/ls14NejZ_o.jpg

#7
THE REPLACEMENTS - Don't Tell a Soul
January 1989
Score: 14
Votes: 5 (1)
Youtube excerpt: I Won't

https://images2.imgbox.com/49/ae/VoHdPTNI_o.jpg

#6
THE REPLACEMENTS - Stink
June 1982
Score: 23
Votes: 7 (1)
Youtube excerpt: God Damn Job

#5.5

FWIW, a combined Don't Tell a Soul/Dead Man's Pop would have placed here, leap-frogging only Stink, with a 1 point margin.

just curious - did anyone vote for both DTAS and Dead Man's Pop?

*double checks* No!

i think it's great you split the votes - this way you can see the breakdown, but also know what it would have been combined.

I voted for Stink, cuz it's cool, but I'm such a CD era fool that I didn't previously realise the original cover was hand-stamped and highly variable. Which makes it still cooler.

https://images2.imgbox.com/d8/9c/NQ9J7qoI_o.jpg

#5
THE REPLACEMENTS - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
August 1981
Score: 37
Votes: 14 (2)
Youtube excerpt: Kick Your Door Down

wow, thought that would make #4!

it's a fantastic punk album, one that really surprised me upon listening for this poll. i had never given it a solid listen to it, and it convinces me that they could have been a really great punk band if they kept going in that direction

I think I've owned Sorry Ma the longest (a result of mainly buying used, etc) but it's the least well imprinted onto my brain. I tend to underrate it horribly when it's not actually playing!

https://images2.imgbox.com/a6/6b/WlRrAAR8_o.jpg

#4
THE REPLACEMENTS - Hootenanny
April 1983
Score: 50
Votes: 23 (1)
Youtube excerpt: You Lose

quite surprised hootenanny placed above sorry ma

me too! i like hootenanny a lot and i look forward to feeling dumb and thinking it's my favorite a few years down the road. but overall, in my listening i found myself a little bit let down by it, especially sandwiched by so much amazing stuff directly around it

some days i think hootenanny is their pinnacle, some days i think it's a bit of a mess, but there is no day in which i don't thank the good lord above for the existence of "lovelines."

it's just a weird transitionary record to me, a few moments of brilliance and a bunch of other directions that don't work too well

solid thread title, btw

I always remember Hootenanny as a bit too jokey. In reality that's only really a couple of brief tracks and the highs are high. Without giving much away, almost all of it was pretty well represented on tracks ballots.

Also, fun fact: There's a typo in the opening post, as it was written in advance and didn't account for a ballot arriving slightly later. There were in fact 31 album ballots, not 30.

https://images2.imgbox.com/e8/fd/XsiowHm0_o.jpg

#3
THE REPLACEMENTS - Pleased to Meet Me
April 1987
Score: 82
Votes: 28 (4)
Youtube excerpt: Red Red Wine

hootenanny is definitely transitional, partly still trying to be a punk band, partly shouting no way, partly laughing at the predicament, fully, um, stuck in the middle. but i think "run it" is as good as they ever punked, "color me impressed" is a clear arrow forward, and "mr. whirly" is pretty much a career declaration that they're not going to take this shit seriously, ever, no matter how badly someone wants them to. a weirdly quintessential mats album for me.

and pttm is where end up deciding to take this shit seriously in spite of their own worst intentions, and is the beginning of their downfall, and is still a fantastic album.

where *they* end up...

shout-out to whoever had Hootenanny #1, I had it at #2. I feel like it's overlooked, the first classic.
No drama left now.

https://images2.imgbox.com/da/79/ZGuv578z_o.jpg

#2
THE REPLACEMENTS - Tim
October 1985
Score: 107
Votes: 31 (4)
Youtube excerpt: I'll Buy

No drama perhaps, but still interesting that this was the only long-player that everyone voted for.

https://images2.imgbox.com/08/c1/I4ScVomA_o.jpg

#1
Let It Be
September 1984
Score: 126
Votes: 29 (18)
Youtube excerpt: Gary's Got a Boner

I enjoyed selecting those Youtube tracks just now. Not even particularly representative perhaps, but you might be able to guess why I chose those...

In summary...
                                                                            points  votes   #1's 
 1   The Replacements - Let It Be (September 1984)                             126     29     18
 2   The Replacements - Tim (October 1985)                                     107     31      4
 3   The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me (April 1987)                         82     28      4
 4   The Replacements - Hootenanny (April 1983)                                 50     23      1
 5   The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (August 1981)    37     14      2
 6   The Replacements - Stink (June 1982)                                       23      7      1
 7   The Replacements - Don't Tell a Soul (January 1989)                        14      5      1
 8   The Replacements - Dead Man's Pop (September 2019)                         10      6      0
 9   The Replacements - The Shit Hits the Fans (January 1985)                    5      2      0
10=  The Replacements - All Shook Down (September 1990)                          4      2      0
10=  The Replacements - For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986 (October 2017)          4      2      0
12   Paul Westerberg - Stereo/Mono (April 2002)                                  3      2      0
13=  Paul Westerberg - Suicaine Gratification (February 1999)                    1      1      0
13=  Paul Westerberg - 49:00 (July 2008)                                         1      1      0

I was going to do a top thirty for the solo/other stuff, but I'll expand it slightly and fairly briskly today to 36, partly to get everyone's #1's in, and begin the top 30 proper tomorrow (Thursday morning AEDT, Wednesday for most of you.)

No drama perhaps, but still interesting that this was the only long-player that everyone voted for.

SOLO AND OTHER PROJECTS

85 distinct tracks received votes. Here's a seven-track taster before the Top 30 beginning tomorrow, such that everything with 40 points or greater (not least all tracks receiving first-place votes) are accounted for.

Three way tie for 35...

#35 (TIE)
TOMMY STINSON - Light of Day
from Village Gorilla Head (2004)
Score: 40
Votes: 1 (1)
Youtube: audio track

#35 (TIE)
PAUL WESTERBERG - A Star Is Bored
from Melrose Place soundtrack (1995)
Score: 40
Votes: 1 (1)
Youtube: audio track

#35 (TIE)
PAUL WESTERBERG - Runaway Wind
from 14 Songs (1993)
Score: 40
Votes: 1 (1)
Youtube: original promo video

I have sneaking suspicion "A Star Is Bored" existed before Melrose Place used it, but I can't seem to prove it. Anyone?

Interest levels seem low right now so I'll keep things even more skeletal than planned. LOL. Last batch before tomorrow:

#34
PAUL WESTERBERG - Daydream
from Come Feel Me Tremble (2003)
Score: 42
2 (0)
Youtube: audio track

#33
PAUL WESTERBERG - My Dad
from Folker (2004)
Score: 43
2 (0)
Youtube: audio track

#32
PAUL WESTERBERG - Dirty Diesel
from Come Feel Me Tremble (2003)
Score: 45
2 (0)
Youtube: audio track

#31
GRANDPABOY - 2 Days 'Til Tomorrow
from Mono (2002)
Score: 47
2 (0)
Youtube: audio track

Good to see another vote for My Dad. Folker has a couple of strong tracks.

Yay "Days 'Til Tomorrow", great tune

Nag at what point do you start getting consensus (5 votes?) on solo tracks?

It's mostly 3 votes before the top 10, IIRC. The proportion of voters submitting a solo/other list dropped away after a promising surge about half way through the voting period.

Started populating the Spotify list for this part now. Feel free to add stuff if I fall behind.

Gee, Mehr notes that they recorded "First Steps" (#11 in the 'other' poll) during the DTAS sessions! That song could only have improved that record. And "Trouble on the Way" should have been on PTMM. I don't get why Tommy songs never got the nod. (Not even as outtakes of interest on reissues until 2020! I mean, even Mars got "All He Wants to Do is Fish" on All for Nothing.)

^ Oh wait, I forgot "Satellite". Never mind!

Xgau in Color Me Obsessed: “Yes, I would go along with every grade except that casual listening to Hootenanny suggests that maybe it could be better than a B+.”

Think the guy talking about the fight in New Haven is mixing up two different shows.

Trying to remember, did "Heartbeat, It's a Lovebeat" originally come out as part of an "I Will Dare" EP or something?

Thought “20th Century Boy” was on that EP as well, now they are listed as Outtakes.

That was my understanding re: "Heartbeat, It's a Lovebeat." I think you're right about "20th Century Boy" though.

eg. https://www.discogs.com/The-Replacements-I-Will-Dare/release/1164440

It's kinda impressive how few actual b-sides etc they had, really, over a decade.

Yeah about the B-sides.

Wonder if I saw them do “Heartbeat is a Lovebeat” back then or if somebody had a bootleg of the outtake.

I remember seeing them do “Hitchin’ a Ride” and was worried as the years wore on that I mixed it up with “Takin’ a Ride” until it appeared on For Sale.

Something so melancholy about “Talent Show.” It’s like an Elliott Smith song.

"It's too late to take pills, here we gooooooooooo..."

I had no idea about the International Rock Awards performance before Trouble Boys. (ie. a couple of weeks ago, for me.) Melancholy was certainly the prevailing vibe by that point in the book.

i've been reading and really enjoying the Trouble Boys bio. also, i'm a fool for not realizing "Johnny's Gonna Die" is about Thunders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYmVfF3WX_Q

I loved the behind the scenes stuff about that awards show: Clapton showing them how iron a suit, Dave Edmunds' death stare etc.

"How to iron"

Haha, yes. Edmunds' death stare went unexplained IIRC. I'd like to think he somehow heard and disapproved of the basement rendition of "Trouble Boys" mentioned early in the book.

I totally saw that telecast when it was on. I remember living colour doing a really crazy version of Johnny B Goode.

Are there other tunes besides “Johnny’s Gonna Die” where Bob and Paul both solo? Weird how Bob takes the Sterling solo and Paul takes the Lou solo.

There's lots of good Bob-tastic stuff apart from his solo though, kind of like on the "Can't Hardy Wait" from For Sale where he doesn't even solo.

So hey, guess who turned up as my number 2 artist in the Annual Algorithmic Lookback the other day.

Yeah this poll boosted them to #4 for me.

#1 for me. (The top 5 were all poll-related, I think: Cramps, Prefab Sprout, etc. I'm not much of a binge listener otherwise.)

#2 for me, only beaten out by cocteau twins fever

came across this interesting internet exchange. possibly writing over the distance of many years? the review sounds like a contemporary one, while wallace's response is from 2017).

Paul Westerburg - 14 Songs
AllMusic Review by Jack Rabid

Paul Westerberg's second solo LP (we all know the Replacements' final All Shook Down was really not a band LP) is a damn sight better than his first, with a batch of really nice tunes and some renewed enthusiasm (it's not as much of a downer); still, it's hard to resist the belief that he's capable of more than this. The fault is two-fold: One, fire co-producer Matt Wallace, who is more and more looming as the villain on Paul's last three LPs. The most convincing recordings here are the two crude demos Westerberg set down alone in the kitchen of his house. His voice and tune devastate or kindle one's inner emotions by themselves. Compare these naked pathos with the somewhat rote "Knockin' on Mine" (a rip-off of Don't Tell a Soul's "Talent Show") or the just-tossed-off "Things," and it appears the lack of warmth in Wallace's familiar sound is pulling Paul's otherwise tremendous fervor down. Secondly, the first six Replacements' LPs all had more convincing material than this, culminating in the terrific Pleased to Meet Me. When inspired, he can still recall some of those heights: "Dice Behind Your Shades" remembers that former intimacy and sharp hooks, as do bits of "First Glimmer," "Runaway Wind," and the attempts at old raucous pounders, "Silver Naked Ladies" and "World Class Fad." But they all still fall short of his former one-in-a-zillion singer/songwriter greatness. In fact, what really saves him on this record is his singing -- since the melodies and riffs are just good, not great, it takes a vocalist of his throaty gifts to deliver the pleasure. At times tender, sometimes who-gives-a-crap, other times amused or mildly sad and pensive, Westerberg makes us shower singers jealous over how much he can convey with just his pipes. All the more reason to record future albums by himself in his kitchen? Or how about Westerberg "unplugged" from his living room? Talent like this is always best raw, whether "Kids Won't Follow" or "Never Mind" or "Kiss Me on the Bus." He'll never get that from Wallace, but he'll still shine through anyway.

Matt Wallace
January 8, 2017

I just found Jack Rabid's review of Paul Westerberg’s 14 Songs here on AllMusic and I’m sorry that the music Paul made during specific points of his artistic development didn't jibe with what Jack's brain demanded it should have been. It’s possible that he believes that his opinion is more ‘right’ or ‘correct’ than what Paul’s personal experience, intention and inspiration dictated and, unfortunately, he comes off as being mired in the past, overly critical and a bit arrogant.

As much as it appears that Jack wants artists to stay within the confines of his own perception (generally lauding their younger days) and not allowing them to grow older gracefully, life does move forward. Artists can start off with bluster, anger, speed, and a yearning for the world to change but, in time, they learn to express themselves in subtler and, one could argue, more mature ways that take into account years of genuine experience that changes their minds, hearts and perspective. Paul Westerberg knows how disingenuous it is for an older artist to attempt to recapture the piss and vinegar and agitated momentum of his former glory. He was acutely aware of his quieter and more introspective approach as he was making records over the years and he attempted to age gracefully while working and living within a noticeably younger man’s field. Yes, even artists grow up, they have children, they buy houses, they become responsible (often reluctantly, just like us producers) as is normal and natural but they can still write and sing with power and ferocity without his music always having to be loud and fast.

Along with Jack Rabid's unfortunately misguided review he is also incorrect in stating that I was “the villain on Paul’s last three LPs” because I only worked on two albums with him (Don’t Tell A Soul and 14 Songs). Jack also erroneously stated that “the first six Replacements’ LPs all had more convincing material than this, culminating in the terrific Pleased to Meet Me” when, in fact, Pleased to Meet Me is the fifth Replacement’s LP after Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), Hootenanny (1983), Let It Be (1984), and Tim (1985). Album #6 would actually be Don’t Tell A Soul (1989). Stink, released in 1982, was an EP.

I genuinely hope that Jack finds a sense of peace and contentment as well as some empathy and understanding within his own life so that he might be able to see the world in general and, specifically the world of musicians struggling to create, from a different, possibly more humanist, perspective.

Matt Wallace
Record Producer/Mixer/Engineer/Remedial Musician
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i'm just getting to the all shook down years in Trouble Boys (which has been excellent and just gets more bonkers as it goes on)

I just looked up Jack Rabid. It's amusing in light of Wallace's remarks, because Rabid has indeed gotten married, bought a house and settled down in the stroller haven known as Park Slope, Brooklyn. (For example, he specifically mentions Southpaw which would be replaced by a daycare center the same year this interview was published.) https://www.brooklynpaper.com/meet-jack-rabid-the-godfather-of-punk-rock-journalism/

I like The ‘Mats and I like R.E.M. but I still don’t really rate “I Will Dare,” sorry.

IWD is a fine song, but nowhere near the 'Mats best

I like the riff, the rest of the song's fine but the riff is the thing. I like it as a curtain-opener on Let It Be, it's a jaunty way to start. You don't yet know that you're going to hit "Unsatisfied" at the top of side two.

I love it, it's a great little pop tune. No beating "Unsatisfied" (or "Androgynous" and "Sixteen Blue" for that matter), but it's still a great track.

Backstage with Tommy Stinso from The Replacements…
They called us Tom Petty and Excess Baggage… And we called them The Placements. pic.twitter.com/8LXKh6RHNp

— Mike Campbell // The Dirty Knobs (@MikeCampbellHQ) March 16, 2021

https://www.insidehook.com/article/music/the-replacements-got-me-through-pandemic

I believe it

They're one of those magical acts that at the right place and time, whatever and whenever that may be, are the Best Band Ever. Could be with friends, could be while driving, could be while sitting on the can. It's totally plausible that it could have been for the duration of the pandemic, too. Per that author, they're just in some ways so much more comforting in their chaos than something like Husker Du (too much rage) or the Minutemen (too agitated).

Timely--got in my car after morning coffee and "I Will Dare" was playing. I'm sure there are still college stations that play the Replacements, but I think that might be the first time I've ever heard them off the car radio (CBC in Canada).

(I would have pulled over to the side of the road Greil Marcus-style, but I was already in park.)