Jim Connelly

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.

Certain Songs #1881: The Replacements – “Hitchin’ A Ride (Maxwell’s 1986)”

August 1, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Year: 1986

. . .

From their earliest days, covers were a key of the Replacements aesthetic. Hell, as everybody knows, they stuck a KISS cover right in the middle of Let It Be. And while that was the only cover they ever put on an album (until Songs For Slim, which was all covers), any Replacements show worth its salt had more than one cover, and the show documented in For Sale: Live At Maxwell’s 1986 had five: an aborted take on Sweet’s immortal “Fox on the Run;” the aforementioned “Black Diamond;” plus T. Rex’s “Baby Strange,” The Beatles “Nowhere Man” and the cheesy pop goodness of Vanity Fare’s 1970 top 5 single, “Hitchin’ A Ride.”

Certain Songs #1880: The Replacements – “Take Me Down To The Hospital (Maxwell’s 1986)”

July 31, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Year: 1986

. . .

I already used eight of my lives

Paul Westerberg is one hell of a rock ‘n’ roll singer. I might have mentioned that once or twice in these posts.

And while I was and am thrilled that For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986 gave me fantastic performances of such major songs as “Hold My Life,” “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “Unsatisfied” and “Answering Machine” (at least after the full band kicks in), the song that utterly killed me was the scorching, blistering take of “Take Me Down To The Hospital.”

Certain Songs #1879: The Replacements – “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out (Maxwell’s, 1986)”

July 30, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Year: 1986

. . .

Nothing to fear, it’s only murder

I was lucky enough to see The Replacements five times during their original run. And never once did I see one of their infamous disintegration shows. I’m sure they were sloppy and fucked up, but they always seemed like the greatest band ever.

But, of course, during the 1980s, they only put out a pair of live recordings: The Shit Hits The Fans cassette, and the Inconcerated promo-only CD release. And while I admired the story behind the former and the performances of the latter, neither had what I was looking for in a Replacements live album.

Certain Songs #1878: The Replacements – “Nowhere is My Home”

July 29, 2020 by Jim Connelly Leave a Comment

Album: Boink!
Year: 1986

. . .

Nowhere is where I’m from

The next thing we saw from The Replacements, however, wasn’t a brand-new album, but rather an U.K.-only compilation from Glass Records — which as also The Jazz Butcher’s label at the time — that was just flat-out weird.

Purportedly an overview of the band’s Twin/Tone years, it consisted of just eight songs, none of which were from either Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash or Let It Be, instead, going with three from Stink and three from Hootenanny, plus “If Only You Were Lonely” and an outtake from the early Tim sessions, produced by Alex Chilton.