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Post by gowhileucan on Mar 15, 2016 11:45:09 GMT -5
"Lose the medley, just to make it more digestible for sales, would destroy the craft that makes this record great."
I meant the medley of covers - the reason supposedly that the release was pulled. If you just exclude the covers near the end there'd be no legal issue. I'm not a huge fan of 49:00. I like it but it goes beyond challenging to me to the point of just being willfully difficult. For me, I'd choose Mono and CFMT as the solo Paul I go to and Wild Stab actually too. 14 Songs even over 49:00, but again that's just me. I do like it...........I just don't love it the way some do and he seems to.
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Post by landshark on Mar 15, 2016 13:32:43 GMT -5
The Replacements had to say a polite "no", and pour a beer over somebody's head, and call him a "fuckface", and tear up his living room... So well said! I think I always enjoyed the 'Mats because I felt congenitally unable to say anything but "yes" even when I felt like calling someone a fuck face ... I lived through them vicariously. But realizing how willful and strategic their self-destruction was puts it all in a different light. It doesn't make me love the music any less, and I haven't lost any respect, but to the extent I had sympathy that's kind of diminished.
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Post by sleepingliv on Mar 16, 2016 19:50:30 GMT -5
I don't think the fans knew the extent of the self destruction and the full stories behind these incidents. I dunno if it's so much disapproval as it is puzzlement, at least for me, as to what drove the self destruction. I don't buy it was just full rebellion against the corporate music industry, it couldn't have been solely that. I did too, but you still listened to mainstream AOR radio? Ha, I stopped listening about 1982 or '83! But your assumption is that the Mats songs would've sucked too had they gotten more radio play. I dunno if we can really say that had they played it straight for a bit that the band would suck like everything else. Maybe they could've influenced the prevailing culture then had they gotten more exposure. Who knows? Agreed, thankfully they didn't turn into a play-it-like-on-the-record band like Petty. But if they knew they didn't fit, why did they stick around? I kind of think they just didn't know what the hell they wanted but they knew they hated that corporate stuff. But they were too scared to walk away from it Paul was right when he says they were too early for their time. If they had come around when the internet was around, they certainly would not have to worry about labels and distribution. I can't be bothered to analyze it and pick it apart with the why and what for. For me, reading this book brought me back to a time in my life when I drank beer, was broke, and didn't give a shit. Probably the best time I spent in my youth and the music was there with me. Sweet nostalgia.
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Post by anarkissed on Mar 17, 2016 21:52:10 GMT -5
"I can't be bothered to analyze it and pick it apart with the why and what for." I appreciate that, but this might be the wrong forum for you...This is what we do...OCD reigns...There are still people here who are arguing over whether Tommy's haircut was better in 1982, or 1986...
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Post by sleepingliv on Mar 17, 2016 22:06:15 GMT -5
I totally respect that and enjoy reading the posts. I guess I'm just coming from a different perspective. Definitely didn't mean to come off gruff. ...and for the record, I'd have to go with Tommy circa 1986.
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Post by Placemat on Mar 18, 2016 10:49:20 GMT -5
"Lose the medley, just to make it more digestible for sales, would destroy the craft that makes this record great." I meant the medley of covers - the reason supposedly that the release was pulled. Gotcha. I forgot all the cover songs at the end.
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Chris
First Class Scout
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Post by Chris on Apr 20, 2016 19:15:36 GMT -5
Had no idea that "Left of the Dial" was from the Alex Chilton sessions (his production was not credited in Tim). It does have the same sonic vibe as "Nowhere Is My Home" - raw, desperate, and rockin.
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patty
Second Class Scout
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Post by patty on Apr 21, 2016 3:22:30 GMT -5
Having digested the book whole, There should be a thread called 'Westerberg's Women' and the songs they inspired..think Kim Chapman must have been the muse behind '23 Years Ago'
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Post by holeinthedrapes on Jun 9, 2016 12:49:49 GMT -5
Just finished reading the book. Read it over the course of three days, which is not easy in the course of running my four kids around. One of them even yelled at me when I was reading at a red light. I found the book to be captivating. Most of the book was new for me, so that may have been what made it as good of a read as it was for me. I should probably explain that I became a fan backwards. I was a Westerberg fan first. I read a Rolling Stone review for 14 Songs and thought it might be something I'd like. I bought it, loved it, then worked my way back through the Replacements. So, my basis for the Replacements was solo Westerberg. I love All Shook Down, even though it seems generally looked down upon by Replacements diehards. For me, it's about the music. If I only listened to music of people I respected I would spend my days listening to the Vienna Boys Choir, and that's not going to happen. What I tak out of the book is that they were simply not very likable as a group. Pretty disrespectful, seemingly acting without a conscience. They lived a gang mentality. Pretty tough and unruly together as a way to mask their insecurities but scared shitless of themselves individually. It was inevitable that as they burned themselves out (Bob) or matured out (Mars) they would be out of the band. Invitably the band was not destined to last beyond the guys reaching 30. Once there were marriages and children, the game had to be over.
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Post by shayla on Jun 10, 2016 19:22:29 GMT -5
What I tak out of the book is that they were simply not very likable as a group. Pretty disrespectful, seemingly acting without a conscience. They lived a gang mentality. I also finished it recently and was pretty surprised by how unlikable they often were. I had the great pleasure of meeting Tommy and Paul when I was a young teen and they were so nice. Warm, friendly, funny, and utterly charming. It's hard to reconcile that memory with the guys who did stuff like spit drinks in fans' faces. Really an excellent book, though. I couldn't stop reading it either, and now that I'm finished, I can't stop thinking about it.
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Post by teddinard on Jun 10, 2016 19:49:13 GMT -5
What I tak out of the book is that they were simply not very likable as a group. Pretty disrespectful, seemingly acting without a conscience. They lived a gang mentality. I also finished it recently and was pretty surprised by how unlikable they often were. I had the great pleasure of meeting Tommy and Paul when I was a young teen and they were so nice. Warm, friendly, funny, and utterly charming. It's hard to reconcile that memory with the guys who did stuff like spit drinks in fans' faces. Really an excellent book, though. I couldn't stop reading it either, and now that I'm finished, I can't stop thinking about it. I've known so many people like that, though. Really really fun and charming. And then boom! Total asshole--get me away from this person. And then: "Sorry I was such a dick last night--let's go have fun." And then you have a really fun time. And then...well, you get the message. It all seems terribly familiar to me.
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Post by FreeRider on Jun 14, 2016 9:52:34 GMT -5
Well, I give all of them much praise for being candid and allowing Mehr to go thru these events. It can't be easy having to be confronted with your immature past deeds.
It makes me wonder about the self reflection Paul and Tommy had when Mehr brought up these incidents. But the past is the past, you can't go back and change any of it. I suppose one just has to move forward, learn and grow from all of that, and it seems like they did.
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Post by con on Jul 1, 2016 1:17:40 GMT -5
About halfway through this thing. Have to say it's bringing it all back for me. The first times I heard 'I Will Dare' and 'Hold My Life,' discovering each song and record after that, the whole love affair with The Replacements and their music... they're still my favorite band after all these years, even if I go months without listening to them.
And this book - what a thrill learning all these details. I laughed at the story of Chris' Pappy the Clown, how it really disturbed the band at first. And the guy (forget his name now) who did the Tim cover art, his interpretation of the band's ethos at the time, Paul crying in his arms or whatever, and Bob's big presence - or absence rather - that influenced the artwork. Also didn't realize the art on the back of Let It Be was from inside their touring van; always thought that was some club toilet stall or something. And of course Bob's sad tale... the "Bob things" he would do with Carleen like sneaking a 6-pack into the movies or roaming the train tracks...
Random aside: Bob always reminded me of a Peanuts character; the whole band did in fact. Shulz was a MPLS native too, coincidentally.
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