Medialoper

Certain Songs #1891: The Replacements – “Cruella De Vil”

August 13, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films
Year: 1988

. . .

The 1980s was an interesting time for esoteric multi-artist tribute albums. And perhaps the most esoteric were put together by legendary producer Hal Wilner — who passed away earlier this earlier thanks to COVID-19 — who followed up on his tributes to Theolonious Monk and Kurt Weill with Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films, a double album full of reinterpretations of songs from Disney films which climaxed with Ringo Starr singing “When You Wish Upon a Star,” because of course it did.

Certain Songs #1890: The Replacements – “Can’t Hardly Wait”

August 12, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Pleased to Meet Me
Year: 1987

. . .

Ain’t you had enough of this stuff?

“Can’t Hardly Wait” just might be the greatest song Paul Westerberg has ever written.

I’ve already written about the version they cut for Tim, and how putting it and “Nowhere is My Home” on that record (instead of “Dose of Thunder” and “Lay It Down Clown” would made it absurdly great instead of just great.

Certain Songs #1889: The Replacements – “Skyway”

August 11, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Pleased to Meet Me
Year: 1987

. . .

There wasn’t a damn thing I could do or say

I’ve lived in California my whole life. And while there are places in California where it snows, none of the places I’ve lived — Fresno, The Bay Area and L.A. — are those places.

Certain Songs #1888: The Replacements – “Valentine”

August 10, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Pleased to Meet Me
Year: 1987

. . .

Well you wish upon a star that turns into a plane

The song that Skyway founder Matt Tomich still emails to us every year almost didn’t make it on Pleased to Meet Me. It seems insane now, but according to Bob Mehr’s Trouble Boys, “Valentine” was only added because the original version of the album was barely 28 minutes.

Certain Songs #1887: The Replacements – “Never Mind”

August 8, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Pleased to Meet Me
Year: 1987

. . .

The words I thought I brought I left behind

The second time I saw the Replacements was early in the summer of 1987, when the days were long and hot. It was also in Fresno, down the Ikeway at the Old Town.

Even cooler, I was able to secure yet another on-air interview for 90.7 KFSR. And so I wrote up a bunch of questions for Paul, hoping to get his thoughts on the two major-label albums, and Bob leaving, making videos, writing a song about Alex Chilton, etc. All the things you would have asked Paul Westerberg in 1987. I was sure he was going to be as awesome of an interview.

Certain Songs #1886: The Replacements – “The Ledge”

August 7, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Pleased to Meet Me
Year: 1987

. . .

I’m the boy they can’t ignore

I never realized this before, but Pleased to Meet Me opens up with four straight songs about being a musician — “I.O.U.“, “Alex Chilton“, “I Don’t Know” and “Nightclub Jitters” (sorry) — before finally turning to other subjects, in this case with an answer song to Big Fun’s massively popular “Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It),” written from the perspective of the prospective suicide.

Certain Songs #1885: The Replacements – “I Don’t Know”

August 6, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Pleased to Meet Me
Year: 1987

. . .

One foot in the door, the other foot in the gutter

After the uncharacteristic sincerity of “Alex Chilton,” things were almost instantly back to normal with the raucous, rollicking “I Don’t Know,” which starts out with a fucked-up drum loop inserted by meddling producer Jim Dickinson over which was heard crazy laughter dominated by Tommy Stinson’s cackling. When the song proper started, it was another speedy rocker fueled by a series of shouted questions from Paul, each one answered the same way from Tommy and Chris.

Certain Songs #1884: The Replacements – “Alex Chilton”

August 5, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Pleased to Meet Me
Year: 1987

. . .

I’m in love, what’s that song?

“Alex Chilton” just might be the greatest song Paul Westerberg ever wrote.

It might be possible that even Paul thinks so, as when The Replacements came back to TV and did a song on the Jimmy Fallon show — a video which is no longer available, because fuck nbc.com — the song they chose was “Alex Chilton.”

Certain Songs #1883: The Replacements – “I.O.U.”

August 4, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Pleased to Meet Me
Year: 1987

. . .

Never do what you’re told

If the two chords that opened up “Hold My Life” on the Repalcements’ major-label debut were a relief, then the modified Chuck Berry riff — a homage to Paul’s beloved Sex Pistols — that opened up their first post-Bob Stinson album was an an absolute thrill.

Obviously, at this point, we knew that Bob Stinson was gone, purportedly because he was too fucked up to be in ::checks notes:: The Replacements? Wait, is that even possible?

Certain Songs #1882: The Replacements – “Go (Maxwell’s, 1986)”

August 3, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Year: 1986

. . .

Go, while you can

Let’s pour one last one out for Bob Stinson, shall we?

His unique style of guitar was a key part of the sound of the Twin/Tone Replacements, and there are those who feel like the band was never the same after he left, which was technically true, though — as you will see — I’m not one of those who think Bob’s dismissal killed them. And while he was barely there for the recording of Tim, and tossed after the demoing for Please to Meet Me had already commenced — I’ll be interested in how those demos sound, though I recall hearing him on “Valentine” on a bootleg and enjoying it — one of the cool things about Live At Maxwell’s is just how present he is.