The Replacements could've been the Rolling Stones

[cellarfullofnoise]

Someone said that once, don't know who, when or where: The Replacements could have been/were on their way to becoming/if they'd only accepted mass acceptance, etc. would have become the American Rolling Stones.

True?

[angela]

I disagree. I do think they might have been at least a bit more popular had they not f*cked about so much and had they played the game earlier than they did but I just don't think they were what the world wanted at the time. The Stones, however, fit perfectly within their time, they were very lucky that way.

[jramats]

The Replacements were the Faces, not the Stones.

And just like Woody went on to join the Stones, Tommy went on to join GnR....

(....or something. What an inane...)

[Randy]

Ahhh The Rolling Stones are playing in Philadelphia to-night but 'F' em we're better. I said the
joint was Rock'n......

[cford]

newspaperchris said:

Someone said that once, don't know who, when or where: The Replacements could have been/were on their way to becoming/if they'd only accepted mass acceptance, etc. would have become the American Rolling Stones.

True?

Thats an old Bill Holdship quote...He made that statement back around 1986...but, I don't think he was being completely serious.

CF

[cellarfullofnoise]

Thanks CF.

[MikeR]

The Replacements were good enough to be the Rolling Stones, but rock & roll was already too far on its way to being marginalized within the music industry by the time they came along.

The Ramones were good enough as well, but with results similar to The Replacements...

[FirstAveFiend]

I've been reading a book on the New York Dolls and it talks about how they were being referred to as the American Rolling Stones but because of their shocking appearance and outlandish behavior it never happend. Pretty similar to the Mats, in the behavior dept.

[scoOter]

this might sound stupid, but i have heard the argument made that aerosmith are the american stones.

and it makes sense to a degree.

the mats were the stones, but without all the shit albums after tattoo you. the mats were the stones from about the exile/sticky fingers time frame.

[Nickel]

scooterboy said:

this might sound stupid, but i have heard the argument made that aerosmith are the american stones.

I've heard the same thing, but honestly I view Aerosmith a glam rock ever since the early 90's. They might be the american stones based on heart and spirit, but I think the Stones up to Tatoo You kills anything Aerosmith ever did.

[snickers]

this is like an mwt zen koan:
if they had done x,y,z, would they still have been the replacements...(if you know what i mean)
ie, the legendary rugged iconoclasts that we adore yet throw our hands up at, to this day?

[badworker]

Same thing was said about J. Geils Band when they first came out in the early 70's - their first couple of albums are some of the most ass-kicking r&b ever recorded...

...little steve van zandt said stones 4 albums 68-72 era - Beggars, Bleed, Exile, Sticky - were the four greatest rock albums ever made in one short stretch and that any kids who want to know about rock 'n roll he tells them to start right there before we even talk....

...it's tough to compare eras/bands/creative stretches...Let it Be/Tim/Pleased is as good as it gets, i'd just leave it at that

[Randy]

Sounds like the Stones have really missed Mick Taylor for to me that is the best era of the
Stones.

[A Regular]

So is Aftermath and Between the Buttons the Hootenanny of the Stones?

Just want to say that I like the Brian Jones Stones just fine, and would argue they were more interesting then, though not so raw. Just more variety of sound and song.

[toml]

Yours is up
Mine is out
You're lookin' great
There ain't no doubt
Just like Brian Jones did

[kgp]

This is kind of off-topic, but with all the coulda', shoulda', woulda' talk that inevitably comes up, why does success have to be defined by how many units moved, or how much commercial acceptance is gained? I've never thought of the Replacements, or Paul as a solo artist, as unsuccessful. Sure, a few extra bones in the bank would be nice, and everyone wants their favorites to be heard, but Paul has a career doing what he loves, supports his family, and doesn't have to sweep someone else's floor anymore. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

[BCWF]

If they had stayed together, I think the end result would have been the same..I mean could you see the 'Mats playing together in their 60's? Some things were just meant to be...

[Cotton]

kgp said:

This is kind of off-topic, but with all the coulda', shoulda', woulda' talk that inevitably comes up, why does success have to be defined by how many units moved, or how much commercial acceptance is gained? I've never thought of the Replacements, or Paul as a solo artist, as unsuccessful. Sure, a few extra bones in the bank would be nice, and everyone wants their favorites to be heard, but Paul has a career doing what he loves, supports his family, and doesn't have to sweep someone else's floor anymore. That's sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Reading this, I can't help but thinking of All That I Had

Gave a life
Got a livin'
hey that's alright, all is forgiven


... for some reason, the "all is forgiven" & the inferred blame on things, other then his own doings, makes me feel uneasy. I think of the squandered opportunities.


... and then I think, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

caveat: perhaps I'm misunderstanding the line.

[cellarfullofnoise]

I'm thinking it's kind of tongue in cheek, partly aimed at himself

(when you say "inferred blame on things, other than his own doings" do you mean like when a kid bumps his head on a table and the parent says, "Bad table!"?)

[deebee76]

I think the 'all is forgiven' line is a "hell, things haven't been the best, but I'm still here and things could be worse" self-reassuring kinda thing...