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Post by dee on Jul 12, 2018 21:57:41 GMT -5
I think John Lennon,PW and Kurt Cobain.... Spokesmen of a generation types who didn't suffer fools lightly. what? PW is spokesman for a generation? he was a rather narrow influence with no where near just the basic the familarity the other two guys had in their times, regardless of whether you consider them spokespeople or not. I wasn't clear enough with what I wrote.I said spokesman of a generation types(that in itself is an abstract,not a literal analogy),not that Westerberg was that.I was referring to the nature of songs he was writing.Mainly on Let It be and Tim.The next album started off with I.O.U.(Nothing) and that was pretty much it for the out and out anthemic nature of his work.When asked about his first solo album when some people thought he might be the next Springsteen PW said it takes too much work to do that. I don't think an artist needs to be popular at all to be the spokesman of their generation.It's not a political position,the art itself is a document of the times they live in and what holds up down the line makes them a spokesman for their generation. In the Replacements PW was ahead of his time,not of his time,with the masses.Nirvana hit at the right time on the ground work paved by bands like Husker Du and The Replacements.Those two bands were the early crash test dummies for the major labels to figure out how to market that style of,not only music,but band.Once they coined the genre as "alternative" instead of college rock and played up the bands antics instead of trying to change them,it worked.The Beatles also hit at the right time and their image was very calculated and cultivated. Westerberg has mentioned being too late or too early for his music to break through. He wasn't going to connect during the 80's with Michael Jackson,Prince,Madonna,Bruce Springsteen and hair metal selling hundreds of millions of albums and The Replacements not embracing the MTV generation or willing to play the industry game or to be groomed for stratospheric success.The critics loved them and so did the fans in the underground scene. The Replacements influence was on the future of music,and their credibility and earnestness and humor has changed the approach of what many bands consider success. Not many musicians want to be dubbed the spokesman of their generation in their prime.Bob Dylan was the first,I believe,to get that tag and he didn't want it. Maybe Springsteen is that,Jimi Hendrix was trying to make people conscious of positive change.Bob Marley.John Lennon.Kurt Cobain used his spotlight to support women and gays. I wish more musicians these days would aspire to be considered spokesmen of their generation,because it's a bland industry pumping out bland artists.
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Post by dee on Jul 12, 2018 1:40:35 GMT -5
I think John Lennon,PW and Kurt Cobain have similar musical auras.They were amused by unconventional wordplay yet had a gift for melody and they conveyed deeply felt universal sentiments. They also drew witty and abstract art and had their own fashion sense.Spokesmen of a generation types who didn't suffer fools lightly.
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Post by dee on Jul 12, 2018 1:21:07 GMT -5
Maybe like Lou Reed,who claimed Lou Reed was a character different than himself,Westerberg will have a take or reaction that is more of a front or a pose or just a joke when it comes to his opinion on other artists or music.Like when he ripped Ryan Adams then later said he meant it in a pro wrestling interview way more than being serious.Westerberg has explained how it comes off more inflammatory in interviews even though it's just an off the cuff response.I'm sure he loves what he claims he does,but he may have a broader appreciation of artists than he lets on.
Both PW and Cobain wore their influences on their sleeve,but maybe they were championing some things that gave them credibility or needed to be unearthed and kept other likes or influences closer to the vest as taste makers will.I know if either one of them covered or name checked an artist it was often well worth taking the time to check that artist out.
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Post by dee on Jul 8, 2018 5:23:28 GMT -5
Kind of similar deliveries and top notch songwriting.
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Post by dee on Jul 8, 2018 4:37:16 GMT -5
Nirvana was the 90's version of The Replacements.Though I gravitated toward Pavement after the mats broke up. Though I love all 3.
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Post by dee on May 16, 2018 0:31:46 GMT -5
A Gym Come Hither Country Boy Feeling Good Hawk Rip Mrs Beethoven B Got It Made Oompa Sick Of September Someday you'll call my name Morons September definitely toward the end Nice list!I see a method to the madness. I'll make a playlist and give it a listen. I agree with September being toward the end.On my list September is kind of the last song and then I made a trilogy out of Gym,Feeling Good and Someday.Like Feeling Good and Someday are replies to the antagonist of Gym.
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Post by dee on May 15, 2018 12:09:44 GMT -5
Sounds like a whopper of a tale.
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Post by dee on Apr 23, 2018 0:03:13 GMT -5
Nice to hear that people are enjoying the book.Still waiting for my copy to arrive.
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Post by dee on Apr 22, 2018 23:53:22 GMT -5
Here Comes A Regular. If it's a weekly gathering maybe you could suggest a song for them to check out or burn a CD for them and they'll either dig it or not.If you're a regular there maybe they'll put in the effort to learn a song you want to hear.
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Post by dee on Apr 14, 2018 5:57:28 GMT -5
Just a heads up. There is a new Replacements book out written by their former roadie Bill Sullivan. Here is a link to order the book and get the 30% off promo code. www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/collections/cultural_studies_2018#c5=all&b_start=0From Chris Mars... Bill Sullivan captures the spirit and chaos of the earliest and best years of the band accurately due to the fact that he lived it right alongside us. A true kindred spirit, a fifth member if you will, who from the git-go, got what we were about to the point where it would not have been the same journey without him. Billy had our backs and represented much-needed comic relief on many occasions. Lemon Jail should come with a warning: ‘Don't Try This At Home.’ It's a quick read and, in my opinion, the most successful book to capture the essence of our destructive, drunken outcast brigade in all its successes and foibles. Bill’s ever-present comic sense, woven throughout the book, paints authentically the circus world that it was. I laughed aloud many times!
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Post by dee on Apr 12, 2018 3:24:58 GMT -5
Thanks. I front loaded the tracks with the most Westerbergian sounding songs and let the experimental tracks serve as interludes and changes of pace.Pretty much the opposite of how the songs were originally presented.I think the avant-garde songs were just put out first to make people wonder what he's up to. If there were a Side 1 it would end with Hawk,which is the most dissonant song,and then transition into Side 2 with Mrs.Beethoven being the most lush sounding song.It works! Side 1 would be like Mono & Side 2 would be like Stereo,but not really. As the songs were being released,and not knowing how many songs were coming out,it was tough to get a read on what I was hearing.Going back now and arranging a logical track order really improved my enjoyment of these songs.It's been my CD of choice in the car this week!
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Post by dee on Apr 4, 2018 23:34:13 GMT -5
My track order for Dry Wood Garage.
Country Boy Dead Sick Of Come Hither Oompa Surrounded By Morons Hawk Mrs. Beethoven Got It Made September Gym Feelin' Good Someday You'll Call My Name
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Post by dee on Apr 4, 2018 4:17:44 GMT -5
Dylan/Westerberg voice change comparison...
Everything up to and including Dylan's Desire album the voice was there,but after the Rolling Thunder tour his voice became more high pitched & nasal.From 'Street Legal' through 'Down In The Groove'('78 - '88) Dylan sings in that register. Then around Oh Mercy he seemed to find the right rasp or growl and has made it really work well for him in the studio.His phrasing has always been amazing.
Westerberg's voice seemed to get higher after PTMM and now seems lower with less range.Though not as drastic a change as Dylan's voice.There are some bum notes that make it onto songs now,like 'Finally Here Once' and 'Hands Together'. It doesn't sink the song,and maybe it can't be fixed if he plays and does vocals at the same time,but it does grate a bit.The fact that he has the means to put out songs sung in tune does make it a disservice to the songs when he doesn't.The voice cracking is a PW trademark,singing off key is not.
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Post by dee on Mar 24, 2018 7:24:52 GMT -5
Listening to the Robbie Robertson interview on WTF he describes how those concerts were met with major opposition from the audience.
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Post by dee on Mar 23, 2018 18:41:35 GMT -5
Strange to think of someone being a Westerberg fan,but not care for Bobby D. I see all the songwriters of a certain caliber as drawing their creativity from the same well,or tapping into the same thing within themselves.That's what I'm drawn to,that wellspring,it's what makes the music timeless.
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Post by dee on Mar 21, 2018 19:59:18 GMT -5
Love Dylan,even Wiggle Wiggle.
By live,you mean live in the studio for Rolling Pin,right?
More Dylan as performed by PW...
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Post by dee on Jan 27, 2018 1:01:44 GMT -5
It was kind of the ugly stepchild of Suicaine Gratifaction. Has time changed anyone's opinion? It's a bit of an abstract mood piece where the listener is an observer and makes their own mental picture of what's going on as opposed to a universal sentiment.
Paul's gift is conveying universal (or at least communal) sentiments that are obvious once they're heard,but may have only been a personal feeling that wasn't registered consciously or socially before.Then you're like..."yay!" when you hear it. So anyway,maybe Actor In The Street only speaks to PW or it's meant for the listener to find their own meaning or no meaning if it be the case.
Of course maybe it's as simple as you don't care for the singing,production,etc.
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Post by dee on Jan 17, 2018 23:44:23 GMT -5
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Post by dee on Dec 13, 2017 23:59:42 GMT -5
Some Nina Simone.
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Post by dee on Nov 18, 2017 23:19:05 GMT -5
Probably Cheetah Chrome.I think he and Bob played with Sonny Vincent in SHOTGUN RATIONALE.
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