Dose Of Thunder
JB Doubtless, in his usual formtries to ding on Paul Westerberg - former leader of The Replacements, one of the Twin Cities' great musical exports - and their fans, one of whom I most certainly was:
I'm sure that some of Westerberg's hardcore fans, still desperately clinging to the long past glory days of teen angst and rebellion, will denounce this effort and brand Westerberg with the dreaded scarlet "S" as in sellout. Personally, I applaud his decision to dip his toe into the pond of mainstream entertainment and introduce his skilled songwriting to a whole new generation. Rather than continuing the Quixote pursuit of "breaking through" and bringing "my music" to the masses, as so many would-be rock stars do well past the age when they should know better, Westerberg is taking a realistic approach and recognizing that while this may not be exactly the future he dreamed of back in the heyday of the Minneapolis music scene, it ain't a bad way to make a living.
I was never one of those who ragged on the 'mats for "selling out" after their got their major label deal;
Tim, their big-label debut, was their best album, and anyone who rags on someone who figures out how to do something they love for a
living is someone who one doesn't need as a fan .
I was going to try to figure out a response to Elder, but one of Elder's own readers did it better:
the Replacements were unique. Husker Du was adound. Didn't move me like them. Fear, The Exploited, Black Flag, Soul Asylum, Dead Kennedys, name any loud fast band you want...I went to the shows, and the only thing that moved me was the Replacements. I wasn't into it because Rolling Stone had given their record 4 or 5 stars. I was into it because they were the Rock n Roll equivalent of James Dean.
Why did (does) James Dean speak to youth? Because, in his own words, "In this fist I have Marlon Brando saying 'F*** You,' and in this fist I have Montgomery Clift saying 'Love me.'"
The Replacements played loud and fast and hard, but they had a vulnerability, one they rarely showed on stage. But since you knew it was there, you understood it in the noise.
It's been 21 years since I've heard
Tim. It still connects with me, not because it's "angry" - I have piles of "angry" records and tapes around the house that I rarely listen to - but because Paul Westerberg is an amazing songwriter, and at their best the 'mats were the greatest garage band in history. And that's a great thing.
UPDATE: I got an email and checked again; it was Chad the Elder, not JB Doubtless. I regret the curmudgeon-watching error.
Posted by Mitch at
September 26, 2006 06:09 AM
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Mitch-
Far from "dinging on" Westerberg I was praising him for taking an adult approach to his career.
As I've already explained a number of times, I like the Replacements. I just don't happen to be one of those diehard fans who worship at the altar of Saint Paul (Westerberg not Wellstone although there are some similarities between both groups of followers).
Posted by: the elder at September 26, 2006 09:56 AMI like the Mats, but I can see why people nowadays would wonder what all the fuss was about. Their records were pretty uneven, really. And I've got a CD of a bunch of Australian bands covering Replacements songs - and in a few cases doing them much better.
Posted by: PaulC at September 26, 2006 02:23 PMI think the cool thing about them, at their best, was a certain lilting, swinging, natural groove quality, far from the noise and BS of most of their cohort.
Songs like Nightclub Jitters and Androgynous and even Bastards of Young have nice melodies and momentum-generating grooves. They don't just lay there, and they don't beat you over the head.
I think they're more famous for being drunk punks, but they weren't as dumb as they might have tried to come across. "Nightclub Jitters" could be played on any jazz gig, and anyone who's ever tried to figure out their songs realizes pretty fast that Westerberg was no dumb cookie when putting his songs together.
The band itself was really pretty good (not the bad band they wanted to act like), with the exception of Bob Stinson - who I think was pretty unnecessary - but I suppose his presence brought something out in the other guys that might not have been there otherwise.
Anyway. I bet it was cool to be Paul Westerberg for a few years there.
Well put Paul.
Like most urban hipster culture, the band's primary attraction is that they are Cool.
You automatically get cachet from name-dropping them and this has been around since the early 80's. Ditto with the Velvet Underground, the Pixies, the Clash, etc. etc.
It's all about how you want to be perceived by others in my never-to-be-humble opinion.
Mitch of course has a bad case of this disease, which I attribute to his upbringing in North Dakota and his longing for urban cool-kids acceptance.
"The Cities" are loaded with people from outstate MN, ND, SD, WI and IA who are ashamed they didn't grow up cooler and want to make sure everyone knows they are NOT hicks.
What better way to declare this than adopting all the critic's darlings bands.
Wilco anyone?
Posted by: jb doubtless at September 27, 2006 09:12 AMBest band ever. Glad to see some things still hold this town together.
Posted by: RickDFL at September 27, 2006 01:35 PM"Like most urban hipster culture, the band's primary attraction is that they are Cool."
As usual, JB, when talking of such things, you are wrong - and by "wrong", I mean in the classical sense, in that your position is devoid of truth, isolated from reason.
The Replacements' attraction was - and, 25 years later, is - that Paul Westerberg was a great songwriter, and the band at its best was amazing.
Oh, sure - you can write off the motivations of everyone you disagree with as being obsessed with "Cool" if you'd like; indeed, JB, if it weren't for Archie Bunker-like knee-jerk reactions based on curious biases (what, did some "cool" kids steal your milk money in high school?), you would not *BE* the JB we all know!
" Ditto with the Velvet Underground, the Pixies, the Clash, etc. etc."
Well, the Velvets and the Pixies objectively sucked, so they're not really fair comparisons.
"It's all about how you want to be perceived by others...Mitch of course has a bad case of this disease, which I attribute to his upbringing in North Dakota and his longing for urban cool-kids acceptance."
Interesting theory. Wrong, of course - again, in the "irredeemably separated from truth" sense - but we'll chalk it up to the usual suspects. In fact, I was so anti-cool it *was* cool. And I remain thus. I don't need to drop a band name to make it so.
"The Cities" are loaded with people from outstate MN, ND, SD, WI and IA..."
...any one of which would probably get closer to the truth on this issue than you. Again.
"Wilco, anyone?"
Oh, dear Lord, why? Never liked 'em. And Son Volt had maybe five great songs.
How cool am I? I can say "the three coolest bands in Twin Cities' rock history were The Law, A Single Love and Tenant's Union. Never heard of 'em? THAT's how much cooler than y'all I am.
That should settle things.
Posted by: mitch at September 28, 2006 12:00 AM