The Replacements

Most homages to the Replacements claim that the Replacements changed alt-music by bringing heartfelt songwriting into the post-punk music scene. While it's true no other frontman of the 80s could really cover the distance between songs like "Gary's Got a Boner" and "Unsatisfied" the way Paul Westerburg does - just think of Michael Stipe or Morissey trying it - I don't think this should be the band's epitaph. Some critics claim the Replacements melded what we would now call the grunge-ness of punk with catchy pop hooks. This might also be true, but I don't think it's that important. I mean, some bands were doing it before and somebody probably would have done it anyway.

I'm not going to claim that the Replacements developed some stunning innovation or changed what rock music could be. They were just a great rock band. Is there anything wrong with that?

They could do big, loud songs, say "Kids Don't Follow". They could do heartbreaking, poignant songs. Like most 'Mats fans, I have to cite "Here Comes A Regular", but I have a soft spot for "All Shook Down" and "Johhny's Gonna Die". They could do tossed-off joke songs ("Slightly overweight girls need sex also" - "Lovelines") and they could do three minute pop miracles (any, but how 'bout "Alex Chilton"?). The lyrics could be clever, poetic, or dirty. They could be the ousiders or they could be the life of the party. Sometimes, they did all this in the same song ("I Will Dare"). They didn't cover different territories like some goddamned Aerosmith thing, where you can hear the gears shifting between power ballad, ballad and normal Aerosmith bullshit. They did it because they rocked, and rock contains multitudes.

Rock also has a self-destructive element and the Mats covered that too. I mean, despite a long list of great songs, they would go on tour, get really drunk, put on dresses and play incoherent and incomplete covers of "Green Acres" and "Gilligan's Island". The Mats were never poseurs, and the drunk, self-destructive thing was never an act. In the end, they were too good, too self-destructive, just too rock-n-roll for big time success.

If you like rock-n-roll, you'll like the Replacements. It's that simple. Maybe you won't be blown away. Maybe you'll only think, "Hey, there's a good song here and there," but you'll like them. Or maybe you'll be blown away. Maybe you'll hear "I.O.U." in your head as you drive around listening to some other band on the radio. Maybe you'll be able to quote songs for years.

"If you were a pill,
I'd take a handful at my will,
And I'd knock you back
With something sweet and strong".
- "Valentine"

The best Replacements' songs sound effortless. They could do a song like "Kiss Me On The Bus" or "Can't Hardly Wait" that contain more hooks and catches and cool lyrics than lesser bands put on entire albums and it still doesn't sound like a labored art project or a thesis for a Music Theory degree. They can make it sound like rock never died.

Even though they specialized in great songs that could have been dropped on any album, I'd caution anyone against buying the "greatest hits" collection All For Nothing as a starting point. Sire/Reprise only had the rights - or only wanted to publicize - the Sire/Reprise albums, so they picked from only four of eight albums. And then for some strange reason, Sire made sure each album was equally represented with four tracks. And even within this limiting rule, they made some iffy choices. The second disc is B-sides, some of which are decent, but they were B-sides for a reason. The Replacements would have been better served with a live disc capturing some of their sloppy brilliance. Maybe they couldn't get the rights from the "Green Acres" people.

I'd recommend my personal favorite Tim, or maybe the other albums from their mid-career heyday, Pleased To Meet Me or the one that usually bears the "best album" stamp, Let It Be. But you really can't go wrong. That is, if you like rock-n-roll.

Replacements page by bonedaddy 11.8.2001