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Like a Poet Who Finds it Hard to Speak
Date Created: Dec 13, 2007, 08:00 PM
With the racing season long over, there are days when it seems tough to muster the passion to write a meaningful blog. (Maybe not having a job contributes to that ennui as well.) Oh sure, I could wax angry of the pain of the endless political scandals and shameful revelations that further soil the worldwide reputation of our once-proud nation, but they're so frequent and so shameful, it hardly seems worthwhile.
When all else fails, there's always rock and roll. Or books about rock and roll. America's greatest unknown band is the Replacements (I wrote about them here and most of the ever-changing non-sensical headlines on the top subject line of this blog are from their songs lyrics) - and now they have a book worthy of their legacy.
Jim Walsh, a Minneapolis writer and musician, has compiled a book of memories from many of those who were closest to the band and whose lives were impacted by the misfits of mayhem. The Replacements: All Over but the Shouting, An Oral History is the book - and it should be on your must-read list this winter. Ask mom for a copy as a holiday gift. Force your little brother to buy you a copy. Buy several additional copies for people who care about great rock and roll. Now.
Excerpts from Walsh's prologue: "They were a mass of contradictions... kings of irony before irony was everywhere... an ongoing critique of everything, including themselves... they hated rock stars but loved rock... when they were ON, they were everything. They were anger, joy, possibility, fear, romance, goofiness, passion. They embodied every emotion, feeling, thought....but above all, the message of that time, that band was: Go Forth. Have fun. Question authority."
Who are the Replacements of this decade? Oh how we need them now.
"the ones who love us least / are the ones we'll die to please..."
The Replacements on Saturday Night Live - 1986
Already two or three years beyond their artistic peak, they have a shot at Saturday Night Live and infamously change into each other's clothing between songs (except Smokin' Bob, who had his own ummmm...'fashion sense') Perhaps enjoyable only to the die-hards, but here's the nationally televised blast of "Bastards of the Young" and "Kiss Me on the Bu(s)."
SPINNER.com: My fave rock-and-roll site of the moment is Spinner.com. A mix of free MP3s and some of the greatest lists I've seen: "Worst Christmas Song Ever," "Gay Rock Moments," "Best Brittney Meltdowns of 2007," and you cannot miss the brilliant "Worst Band Photos." Freakin' HILARIOUS!
Shhh... secret link: Dale Jr's version of the Staind video "Right Here" is linked in the lower right-hand corner of the blog. Enjoy. Never approved for release, but damn good stuff too good to let the stiff shirts block it entirely.
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is the book - and it should be on your must-read list this winter. Ask mom for a copy as a holiday gift. Force your little brother to buy you a copy. Buy several additional copies for people who care about great rock and roll. Now. 