hell yeah...love the Mats! Paul's songs are what made them stand out from all the other post punk bands at the time. They could go from thrashing to something plaintive and heart wrenching like this song.
One of my favorite lyrics in this song. "used to live at home, now i stay at the house." Tells a story in a few words. How relationships change. Or we grow up. Whatever you feel. A song that changes meaning as I age.
I've always heard that as "their" house. Meaning, he used to live at a home, as a family. And now, as a young adult, he's just staying at his parent's house. It's not his home anymore, he should have a home of his own, but he's still staying with his parents. Their house.
This one, or Skyway from Pleased to Meet Me... songs that will completely gut you emotionally. I've always compared this one to Walt Whitman... "a picture on the fridge" is intentionally trite, but it also cuts really deep, and then the whole passage of "first the lights, then the collar goes up, and the wind begins to blow... first the glass, then the leaves that pass, then comes the snow" is just straight up poetry. Also, if you listen to many of the songs on Tim, Westerberg intentionally mumbles lyrics so you're never quite sure if it's "glass" or "grass"... because it's both.
I enjoy watching someone discover music I heard 35 years ago. Its like flipping through an old photo album with someone new. These songs meant (and still mean) so much to me that it's hard to overstate. I know you have to react to a variety of stuff, and can't just listen to the Replacements all the time, but if you ever try another one sometime in a few years, consider 'Within Your Reach', which to me is the best unrequited love song of all time.
Thanks Nick! So cool to see that the music of my youth is being appreciated by a younger generation. The Replacements, for me, are the cream of the crop for 80s Rock and Roll in the USA. So real, and honest to a fault. Uncompromising, also to a fault, but hauntingly beautiful even when it wasn’t. Great take on a great song! I’d love to see you address some of Westerberg’s solo stuff. I’m a big fan of Stereo/Mono & Folker is dynamite IMHO.
Really love your reactions to the Replacements, Nick! Yes, this song is bleak but also true to life. In the future, it would be good to balance this one with something upbeat/anthemic from the same album like "Left of the Dial" or "Little Mascara" or one of their early punk throwaways like "Customer" , "Hayday" or "Shiftless When Idle" .
This album is so good, Left of the Dial or Waitress in the Sky are probably more representative of their normal sound, but this is a great song. To me this song is about an irresponsible alcoholic. The drinking buddy. The excuses. The line about the leaves is just another lie he tells himself in order to drink more. Great reaction
They're the sort of band where you can hit play on a track and think "they made so many better albums, so many songs of theirs I love more than this" and by the end "this might be one of the best songs of all time".
There was a time in my life where I spent way too much time in bars. Hangout bars. There is comfort in them. The bartenders, the wait staff, the regulars, the barflies. Like in Cheers, where everybody knows your name. It's a family substitute. Tip well, treat staff well, say "please" and "thank you", buy a round or two for folks you're chatting with. Repeat that a few times and you are a valued regular. At the time, quelling anxiety and taking the edge off the day with a few Fuller's double chocolate stouts and hanging out and just bs'ing with staff and regulars filled a hole, a need. Camaraderie. Westerberg's version is much bleaker.
hell yeah...love the Mats! Paul's songs are what made them stand out from all the other post punk bands at the time. They could go from thrashing to something plaintive and heart wrenching like this song.
One of my favorite lyrics in this song. "used to live at home, now i stay at the house." Tells a story in a few words. How relationships change. Or we grow up. Whatever you feel. A song that changes meaning as I age.
I've always heard that as "their" house. Meaning, he used to live at a home, as a family. And now, as a young adult, he's just staying at his parent's house. It's not his home anymore, he should have a home of his own, but he's still staying with his parents. Their house.
That an alternative/punk like band could put out a song this deep....Amazing. Hits even harder when you get a little older.
This one, or Skyway from Pleased to Meet Me... songs that will completely gut you emotionally. I've always compared this one to Walt Whitman... "a picture on the fridge" is intentionally trite, but it also cuts really deep, and then the whole passage of "first the lights, then the collar goes up, and the wind begins to blow... first the glass, then the leaves that pass, then comes the snow" is just straight up poetry. Also, if you listen to many of the songs on Tim, Westerberg intentionally mumbles lyrics so you're never quite sure if it's "glass" or "grass"... because it's both.
Nice comments, Nick. One of my favorite tracks.
I enjoy watching someone discover music I heard 35 years ago. Its like flipping through an old photo album with someone new. These songs meant (and still mean) so much to me that it's hard to overstate. I know you have to react to a variety of stuff, and can't just listen to the Replacements all the time, but if you ever try another one sometime in a few years, consider 'Within Your Reach', which to me is the best unrequited love song of all time.
Classics
Thanks Nick! So cool to see that the music of my youth is being appreciated by a younger generation. The Replacements, for me, are the cream of the crop for 80s Rock and Roll in the USA. So real, and honest to a fault. Uncompromising, also to a fault, but hauntingly beautiful even when it wasn’t. Great take on a great song!
I’d love to see you address some of Westerberg’s solo stuff. I’m a big fan of Stereo/Mono & Folker is dynamite IMHO.
Really love your reactions to the Replacements, Nick! Yes, this song is bleak but also true to life. In the future, it would be good to balance this one with something upbeat/anthemic from the same album like "Left of the Dial" or "Little Mascara" or one of their early punk throwaways like "Customer" , "Hayday" or "Shiftless When Idle" .
You should react to Clinically dead by Chad VanGaalen! Would make my day 🤗
This album is so good, Left of the Dial or Waitress in the Sky are probably more representative of their normal sound, but this is a great song. To me this song is about an irresponsible alcoholic. The drinking buddy. The excuses. The line about the leaves is just another lie he tells himself in order to drink more. Great reaction
They're the sort of band where you can hit play on a track and think "they made so many better albums, so many songs of theirs I love more than this" and by the end "this might be one of the best songs of all time".
There was a time in my life where I spent way too much time in bars. Hangout bars.
There is comfort in them. The bartenders, the wait staff, the regulars, the barflies. Like in Cheers, where everybody knows your name. It's a family substitute.
Tip well, treat staff well, say "please" and "thank you", buy a round or two for folks you're chatting with. Repeat that a few times and you are a valued regular.
At the time, quelling anxiety and taking the edge off the day with a few Fuller's double chocolate stouts and hanging out and just bs'ing with staff and regulars filled a hole, a need. Camaraderie.
Westerberg's version is much bleaker.