Album: Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash
Year: 1981
. . .
The radio’s blastin, turn that shit off!
OK, here we go!!!
If The Replacements hadn’t existed, then I would have had to invent them.
Luckily, they did. An ever-changing confluence of balls and brains; cockiness and insecurity; stellar musicianship and drunken incompetence, The Replacements didn’t so much change my life but affirm it. Affirm that I could stupidly rock the fuck out while also crying my eyes out, affirm that I could alternate the most profound thoughts with silly dick jokes, and most importantly, affirm that rock ‘n’ roll could save me right this second even as it was killing me slowly.
And so, the ‘mats debut album, Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash opened in the middle of a car chase, building like “Highway Star” for a couple of seconds before Bob Stinson screeches out a lead on his guitar and Paul Westerberg, at the wheel, but looking behind him more than ahead, screams:
Stay right there, go no further
Don’t get a doctor, don’t get my mother
It’s too far to walk, gotta decide
Turn around, we’re takin’ a ride
This was all done at 90 miles an hour, of course, Chris Mars somehow able to work in drum rolls in the middle of the melee — but it wasn’t hardcore. It was too loose, too sloppy, too melodic for the power train precision steamroller that hardcore had already become. This was something else, even if it was flirting with some pretty edgy subjects:
So, take another pill from your purse
Take a little ride in a hearse
We’re takin’ a ride
We’re takin’ a ride
We’re takin’ a ride, take me
All heat, flash and noise, “Takin A Ride” peaks at the end of its second verse where a poorly-dubbed Westerberg screams not sings “the radio blastin / turn that shit off” and I always wonder, who in the song is even saying that? Paul? Whomever’s with him? The cops chasing them? A bystander? Of course, it doesn’t even matter, because they’re already gone. Until they get caught, that is.
Stay right there, go no further
Don’t get a doctor, don’t get your mother
Out of the car, your hands on the hood
Takin a ride but it’s doin’ no good
It’s all there, though, kids. Westerberg’s wit, the weird two-guitar intermingling he and Bob had (check out the magic of the second build), Chris Mars simultaneously struggling to keep up while still way ahead, and Tommy’s wiser-than-his-years bass parts. The Replacements didn’t quite arrive fully formed: it took a couple of albums for them to stop giving enough fucks in order to reach their peak, but “Takin’ A Ride” is a helluva way to forever introduce yourself to the world.
“Takin’ A Ride”
“Takin’ A Ride” live at 7th Street Entry, 1981 (Partial)
“Takin a Ride” live in St. Paul, 09-13-2014
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