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

Hindrik Suicka (b. - c.1724) - Genealogy - Geniwww.geni.com › people › Henrik· Translate this page
Father of Matts Henriksson Suickain; Petrus Suickain; Paulus Suicain and Thomas Suickain Brother of Johan Henriksson Suicka.

Americaine Graffiti

Someone should sue Paul for nuisance
god i hate that album title, misspelled

misspelled or correctly spelled, thst should have said

B-b-but, VG, have you ever thought that maybe Paul likes being a nuisance god?

Also, to be clear, I didn't actively seek out Mehr's spelling of that title. LOL. Got the book and inexplicably found myself reading the epilogue first.

http://www.furious.com/perfect/westerberg.html

^Good piece, some thoughts of which Matt Wallace agrees on, going by this (grumpy) user review/response (!) to allmusic's review of Westerberg's 14 Songs.

I didn’t even have a chance to read that article yet. Found it whilst looking up Guralnick, didn’t realize he was comparing Westerberg to Elvis.

Is that a false/erroneous parallelism, last name to first name?

Out on the street for a living

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdsnpIbBB8o

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.)