Left of the Dial

[landshark]

The line that follows --

"growin' old in a bar, growin old in a bar ..."

and the way it's sung --

seems entirely sympathetic to the character, not misogynistic or sarcastic.

There may be more to the playing/wearing line as many have convincingly argued, but it could just be that "wearing makeup, playing guitar" sounded too straightforward to PW so he flipped it for a little fun. It improves the lyric, anyway.

Nice to see a fresh thread, happy new year all.

[grickle]

landshark said:

There may be more to the playing/wearing line as many have convincingly argued, but it could just be that "wearing makeup, playing guitar" sounded too straightforward to PW so he flipped it for a little fun. It improves the lyric, anyway.

Nice to see a fresh thread, happy new year all.

I agree with the idea that he probably just flipped it to make it sound better. It's classic Paul.

[smoothdoggy]

admin said:

Holy shit, it never even occured to me that youngsters wouldn't understand the phrase "Left Of The Dial" because radios don't have dials anymore....what a world, what a world....

I know what a dial on a radio is. I just always wondered what it meant because it is "left of the dial", not "on the left part of the dial" implying somewhere that is not part of the dial. But I guess that's what I get for trying to think again... ;D

[barry]

admin said:

mrblasty said:

Back in the "old days", a car radio looked like this:



The lower frequencies, which are used by college radio stations, are on the left side of the dial, and the higher frequency(more powerful) stations, are to the right.
So, if you wanted to listen to "college rock", you tuned to the left side of the dial, where a band like Let's Active was more likely to be played.

*This history lesson brought to you by an old geezer, who fondly remembers the punch button radio.

Now, get offa my lawn! Damn kids*.

Holy shit, it never even occured to me that youngsters wouldn't understand the phrase "Left Of The Dial" because radios don't have dials anymore....what a world, what a world....

Wow, um, feeling a bit older than my 31 years myself. Back in the day college radio stations were usually found at the low end - or left end - of the radio dial, where bands like the Replacements and the often wonderful Let's Active resided if anywhere.

I never picked up on any sexism in that line and in fact it's always been one of my favorite Paul lines simply because he inverted it. I just put LOTD on a mix for a friend yesterday - someone who didn't *like* PW and this morning he demanded more Replacements records based on that one song. Score.

ANYWAY, I think he wrote "pretty girl keep growing up, wearing make-up, playing guitar," thought it was a little straight forward and flipped it, innocuous, yes, but at the same time, just spinning your head when you're trying to figure out the lyrics.

Also, if Paul is misogynist (sp?), he's pretty bad at it. I seem to recall an interview years ago where he was coaxed to admit that "Merry Go Round" was about him, reimagined as a girl because there was no better way to explain it. Cheers to Paul.

BY THE WAY - As a bass player Tommy is a God and LOTD has his greatest bass playing ever in my book, next time, up the bass in your headphones and listen to him go off and on and on, just a genius performance.

[barry]

smoothdoggy said:

admin said:

Holy shit, it never even occured to me that youngsters wouldn't understand the phrase "Left Of The Dial" because radios don't have dials anymore....what a world, what a world....

I know what a dial on a radio is. I just always wondered what it meant because it is "left of the dial", not "on the left part of the dial" implying somewhere that is not part of the dial. But I guess that's what I get for trying to think again... ;D

Whoops, shoulda read page two of the post, it's funny, though, how that term keeps showing up on box sets, comps, etc. I doubt Paul coined it, but it's his now.

[Tarzan]

Oh Jesus, FreeRider, that's so cool: "pretty girls keep 'throwing up' . . . " Brilliant. My dog always looks at me quizically when I almost fall out of my chair laughing. Yeah, I agree with Landshark, PW was probably flipping the line around. That's one thing i love about PW. Always making the listener wonder, keeps us on our toes. There are a couple of lines in "Pine Box," in particular where he sings at the end "Toughest MF that I've ever known " to describe his dad that sorta shock, probably especially shocking to PW's mom. I hear the opening line to Pine Box as "Never hit my ma . . . let that teach you, uh huh." (maybe I'm wrong about that because I think someone else said he sings "Omaha," with the D-Day connection). Regardless, that his dad would never strike PW's mom is a noble thing (obviously!) that impressed him and PW respects women the same way. You can tell from most of his lyrics that he holds women in the highest regard. But if he can make you wonder about lyrical meaning, he seems to relish the opportunity.

[barry]

Doesn't he sing "never hit my ma but he hit that beach in Ah-mah-ha" (Omaha)? - just great

[Tarzan]

Yeah, Barry, you're probably right. That does make more sense. Better play on words.

After listening to Left of the Dial repeatedly, I think he does say "pretty girls keep throwing up."

[Tarzan]

A quick "Left of the Dial" favorite memory: One of the most dramatic moments I've ever witnessed at a show was at the Roxy in Atlanta on the Eventually tour, I believe it was. Tommy Keene (sp?) was his guitarist and Keene's amp blew as they began LOTD. The band proceeded through the song as a three-piece as roadies frantically tried to fix the amp, then gave up and rolled out another guitar amplifier. They got Keene plugged back in just as it came time for him to begin that wonderful guitar solo. It was chill bumps for me. PW grinned the most beautiful grin I've ever seen at Keene's (and the roadies') timing.

[barry]

ereynolds said:

A quick "Left of the Dial" favorite memory: One of the most dramatic moments I've ever witnessed at a show was at the Roxy in Atlanta on the Eventually tour, I believe it was. Tommy Keene (sp?) was his guitarist and Keene's amp blew as they began LOTD. The band proceeded through the song as a three-piece as roadies frantically tried to fix the amp, then gave up and rolled out another guitar amplifier. They got Keene plugged back in just as it came time for him to begin that wonderful guitar solo. It was chill bumps for me. PW grinned the most beautiful grin I've ever seen at Keene's (and the roadies') timing.

With all due respect to Mr. Westerberg, I saw several shows on that tour and I think he'd agree when I say Mr. Keene stole the show.

[daddybrave]

i wouldn't be surprised if pw just accidentally switched it up but it was the best singing tape and he said, ah, who cares? leave it...

[daddybrave]

er, best TAKE, not tape...see how easy it happens?

[FreeRider]

ereynolds said:

.....After listening to Left of the Dial repeatedly, I think he does say "pretty girls keep throwing up."

Yeah, I always thought he was singing "throwing up" but I guess it makes more sense lyrically that he's realling singing "growing up". Ah, who knows but Paul?

I think Paul gets a chuckle out of seeing the fans parse every sentence and try and figure out what he's really singing. And that's why I think he shies away from printing lyrics with his CD's. He likes the wordplay and the ambiguity and having us scratch our heads wondering how the line goes!

[scoOter]

freerider said:

ereynolds said:

.....After listening to Left of the Dial repeatedly, I think he does say "pretty girls keep throwing up."

Yeah, I always thought he was singing "throwing up" but I guess it makes more sense lyrically that he's realling singing "growing up". Ah, who knows but Paul?

I think Paul gets a chuckle out of seeing the fans parse every sentence and try and figure out what he's really singing. And that's why I think he shies away from printing lyrics with his CD's. He likes the wordplay and the ambiguity and having us scratch our heads wondering how the line goes!

didn't paul once say that he didn't want lyrics printed because it implies that they are poetry & can stand on their own; which is his way of ripping on himself, obviously. it does raise the question of his feelings about "suicaine", then, as the lyrics were included in some of the versions.

anyway, paul is certainly NOT misogynistic. throwing up/growing up... it's all good. but i am so glad that landshark brought up the subsequent lines. i meant to bring those up, too, and i think they are important to the discussion.

[GoddamnJob290]

On the Shit, Shower, Shave bootleg, Paul DOES say "throwing up" instead of "growing up". He says it in the typical Paul way when he puts emphasis on a disgusting phrase so the audience can pick it out (ex: former whore PEEING on ajax). In the studio version, it's "growing up".

I might add that the studio version of "Left of the Dial" is probably the best recorded Replacements song ever, tied with "Unsatisfied" and "Answering Machine". Since the Replacements weren't know for getting the best recordings of their songs done (the basement production values of the Twin Tone records, the erratic and perhaps ill-fitting productions of the Sire records), I think that "Left of the Dial" might just be their greatest shining moment.

[grickle]

admin said:

BY THE WAY - As a bass player Tommy is a God and LOTD has his greatest bass playing ever in my book, next time, up the bass in your headphones and listen to him go off and on and on, just a genius performance.

I agree totally with you on this. LOTD is a song with many great things, but Tommy's bass playing is IMHO the best of those things. I ecspecially enjoy the bass in the last 20 seconds of the song.

[gage]

Wasn't LOTD one of the few Alex Chilton productions that made it to Tim?No wonder it's so good.

[Tarzan]

scooteR wrote: "didn't paul once say that he didn't want lyrics printed because it implies that they are poetry & can stand on their own;"
That quote is superb. That's what always bothered me about lyric sheets on albums or CDs or whatever. Made the lyrics too precious, to much like poetry--- though for me song lyrics are definitely precious but usually only in the context of a melody. At the risk of pissing off a few poets on the site, I never liked poetry. That has always been the sore spot with me regarding Patti Smith. When she plays and sings, she's great. When she recites her poetry, she stinks and that's my cue to go to the bathroom or buy a beer.

I always thought it was cool that the Stones never included lyric sheets, until 10 or 15 year ago. And of course, by then, the Stones mostly sucked, to me, so it didn't matter (But they're not sucking on my TV right now. Watching "C**cksucker Blues" Stones tour documentary as I type. Stevie Wonder and MJ singing "Satisfaction' is knockout good. And when Keith interrupts a hotel room poker game to order the stereo turned off (playing Merle Haggard) and the TV turned up as he stands up respectfully while George Wallace gives a speech at the 1972 Democratic Convention, that scene never ceases to crack me up).

[TomT]

zophael979 said:

I think that "Left of the Dial" might just be their greatest shining moment.

I agree. If I could only take one Mats tune to a desert island this would be it.

the live version that gives me chills is from 2002 at the Cat's Cradle in South Carolina. Pw just rips up his SG. Awesome.

[Veets]

Not to discount anything that's been said above, and I totally agree with it, but I always thought that "playin' makeup, wear a guitar" had a sort of semi-autobiographical tinge to it. I seem to remember an interview with PW where he talked about having to wear makeup on stage (as most bands do).