They Dared
Interesting article by Stephen Metcalf on The Replacements' 1984 masterpiece Let It Be. It may very well be the greatest album of the 80s. (Though I was a little insulted by Metcalf's first line: "This past October was the 25th anniversary of the best rock album you don't own.")
Metcalf also writes about the fractured existence of the 'Mats, natural screw-ups who got to be professional screw-ups. The band was led, like The Who, by one guy who wrote all the music. That probably made it even easier for them to fly apart.
But with Paul Westerberg responsible for their sound, lead guitarist Bob Stinson was maybe more responsible for their image. Fans knew he was trouble. And in trouble. Even in a band of screw-ups, he was the unstable one. Metcalf traces the sad arc of Stinson's life. But he goes a bit far:
Metcalf also writes about the fractured existence of the 'Mats, natural screw-ups who got to be professional screw-ups. The band was led, like The Who, by one guy who wrote all the music. That probably made it even easier for them to fly apart.
But with Paul Westerberg responsible for their sound, lead guitarist Bob Stinson was maybe more responsible for their image. Fans knew he was trouble. And in trouble. Even in a band of screw-ups, he was the unstable one. Metcalf traces the sad arc of Stinson's life. But he goes a bit far:
Unlike Morrissey, who requires the services of a paid collaborator, Westerberg wrote the melodies, the words, and all of the band's guitar parts, as Bob Stinson once admitted. And yet he's never made a great record without Bob Stinson.
That's too much. Bob contributed, but the band was still an extention of Paul more than anything else.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:26 AM
4 Comments:
Loved the placemats. Knew Bob as well as any groupie does. He was not a wild guy. He was certainly somewhat impulsive but was quite friendly and calm most of the time. Sadly his problems (drugs and drink) had great cost to him. His son was born with CP and he died of drug overdose. Bobby was definitely a wake up call for me.
As for the music, bobby gets credit for the I dont give a shit attitude but they all had it at first. Paul lost it when he saw that they could really make a living at this. Love the replacements music, always will.
AAGuy
Something was lost between Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash and Let It Be, but a lot more was gained. But even at their earliest, they knew what was ahead--"Johnny's Gonna Die" was about Bob as much as anyone.
By the way, are you saying Bob's addictions led to his son's sickness?
And speaking of medicine, I would guess the song of theirs that affected you the most was "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out."
Bob and his wife were both addicts if memory serves. The child was born premature, possibly as a result. He felt it was a factor.
A large factor that is concerned in turning into superb is that of persistence. To preserve making an attempt to accomplish an objective and to keep practising the necessary procustomwriting expertise are of training course keys to getting excellence and achievement.
Post a Comment
<< Home