2. “Electric Lash” – The Church: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “Electric Lash” – The Church

(From the album Seance)

1983

The Church followed up Of Skins And Heart by hiring new drummer Richard Ploog and by recording their sophomore set The Blurred Crusade which took the sound of their debut and added in a much more pronounced hazy, psychedelic vibe. The Blurred Crusade sold well in their native Australia and did decent in the UK as well, but their American label was so unhappy with the more psychedelic direction of The Blurred Crusade that they dropped the band rather than release the record. Even without an American record deal The Church soldiered on and released their third album Seance in 1983. Seance continued The Church’s exploration of psychedelia that had begun on The Blurred Crusade (and would continue throughout their career) but the album also experiments lightly with synths and drum machines on some of the tracks in a way that The Church rarely did before or after (and likely was the work of engineer Nick Launay who may or may not have done it over the band’s protests). While this is a strange blend of the past and (for the time) future it doesn’t really alter the core of The Church’s sound as much as it gives Seance its own personality within The Church’s discography. This sound can be heard across much of the record but is definitely present on the album’s best track “Electric Lash”. “Electric Lash” melds the jangly, Byrdsian guitars the band was already becoming known for with a sweet melodic pop hook and a programmed, gated drum sound that provides a robotic, processed rhythm track that works surprisingly well underneath the organic flow of the music. “Electric Lash” was released as a single but outside of Australia both the song and album failed to make much of a commercial impact. Some of this was due to the lack of an American record label to support Seance but guitarist Marty Willson-Piper also felt that “Electric Lash” would have been a hit if not for singer Steve Kilbey’s surrealist lyrics. Whether or not that sentiment is true the comment does hint at the near-constant tension that would exist over the years between various members of The Church. 

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1. “The Unguarded Moment” – The Church: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “The Unguarded Moment” – The Church

(From the album Of Skins & Heart)

1981

Drawing on elements of both chiming, jangling psychedelic rock and textured, atmospheric post-punk, Australia’s The Church were southern hemisphere sonic cousins to R.E.M., and to a lesser degree, The Smiths and U2. Over the course of their career The Church’s music evolved in different ways than their more famous contemporaries did, but their music was no less interesting or excellent. The Church formed when singer/bassist Steve Kilbey and guitarist Peter Koppes, who had played together a few years earlier in a glam band known as Baby Grande, met back up and decided to work together again. Koppes brought with him Nick Ward, the drummer from his current band and The Church was born as a trio. A month later The Church were playing a show that was attended by a British ex-pat named Marty Willson-Piper. After the show Willson-Piper and Kilbey struck up a conversation and by the time the night was over Willson-Piper had joined the band. It would be this line-up of The Church who would record a four-song demo that would eventually earn the band a record contract with EMI Parlophone. The Church soon entered the studio to record their debut album Of Skins And Heart. While all of the classic elements of The Church’s sound are present from the start Of Skins And Heart is more rooted in power pop and new wave than most of their later albums would be. The first single, the excellent “She Never Said”, failed to chart but the band followed it up with “The Unguarded Moment”, which became the highest charting single The Church ever had, ultimately peaking at #22 in their native Australia and #19 in New Zealand. “The Unguarded Moment” is one of the great overlooked gems of 80’s alternative rock, perfectly marrying a sense of sweeping romantic drama to tense yet melodic music that balances pop, new wave, post-punk, and psychedelia. Of Skins And Heart was not originally released in North America or Europe and by the time a reworked version of the album, simply titled The Church, was released in 1982 the band had already released the Too Fast For You EP and was working on their second record The Blurred Crusade, which saw a further evolution of the band’s sound. Sadly, this meant that neither the label nor the band put much effort into promoting The Church and so a great song like “The Unguarded Moment” went almost completely unnoticed outside of Australia and New Zealand for many years. 

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See You Next Week! – This Week I Am Off

Sorry faithful readers, I had an unexpected event happen and have to take this week off. I should be back next week. See you then.

7. “Portland” – The Replacements: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “Portland” – The Replacements

(From the album Don’t Tell A Soul (Expanded))

1989

I debated over which song to include here longer than almost any other song choice in this project so far. The Replacements previous album Pleased To Meet Me was designed to be their breakthrough to the mainstream and it had failed to achieve that goal; although it is a very good album. The follow-up Don’t Tell A Soul, their second album on a major label, goes even farther down the mainstream path. Don’t Tell A Soul isn’t necessarily a bad album but it does rob The Replacements (now augmented by new guitarist Slim Dunlop who replaced Bob Stinson after the recording of Pleased To Meet Me) of much of the character and rough edges that made the band interesting in the first place. The production on Don’t Tell A Soul is overly slick and the album feels way too safe, stealing The Replacements of all their ragged edges that always made the band feel like a train about to derail. Without that sense of impending disaster, The Replacements are missing part of their magic. That said, this attempt to find crossover success did almost work. The lead single from the album (and the song I was originally going to spotlight here) was “I’ll Be You” which became The Replacements only Billboard Top 100 hit when it went to #51. “I’ll Be You” is one of the best tracks on Don’t Tell A Soul and does a good job of making frustration and world-weariness feel appealing (largely due to Westerberg’s vocals which give the song some needed grit) even if it does sound a little bit too much like a Bryan Adams song. Even as only a minor hit “I’ll Be You” helped to expand The Replacements fan base and soon the crowds at Replacements shows were double what they had been only a few months earlier. However, in typical self-destructive fashion, once the band realized why there were more people there they adjusted their setlist to play “I’ll Be You” near the start of the show and then watched much of the crowd leave. This self-defeating pattern also leads into the song I did choose to include which is “Portland”. The Replacements were notoriously unpredictable live. The band’s live show could be legendarily great or a complete, drunken disaster and you were just as likely to get the last as the first (actually, you were more likely to get the last). In a career filled with terrible shows though a particular show in Portland, Oregon that took place in 1987 is considered by many to be The Replacements absolute worst. The song “Portland” is a gorgeous, melancholy, country rock song that was written by Paul Westerberg as an apology to the city of Portland for the famously epic trainwreck of a show. “Portland” is also probably the best song the band recorded for Don’t Tell A Soul, and then they left it off the album. Typical Replacements’ decision making. Luckily when Don’t Tell A Soul was reissued in an expanded form with bonus tracks in 2008 “Portland” was included (it had previously been made available on the 1997 compilation All For Nothing/Nothing For All). “Portland” is warm, heartbreaking, and sad (with just a touch of The Replacements famous sense of humor as the song ends with Westerberg saying “Portland, we’re sorry…” over the fade) and is proof that The Replacements could have made more mainstream friendly music that still had the emotional impact and wry humor that the band was known for. As it is though Don’t Tell A Soul was something of a missed opportunity. It also would be the last opportunity The Replacements would really have. The band would release the album All Shook Down a year later in 1990 but the songs on it were written by Paul Westerberg for his solo debut. Westerberg was convinced by the label to record them as The Replacements and his bandmates did play on some of the album, but there were also many session players brought in to play on it and the album feels like a coda to their career. While All Shook Down was not a mainstream hit either it did earn a fair amount of critical acclaim and success on the alternative rock charts. However, drummer Chris Mars left the group prior to touring the album and The Replacements played their last show a few months later. In the years since there have been a few random shows, one brief tour, and a brief partial reunion to record a very limited edition EP titled Songs For Slim that was sold to raise money for former guitarist Slim Dunlop who had a stroke. Westerberg and Tommy Stinson did attempt to record a new album for a Replacements reunion but they sessions were aborted and the album never materialized. Since the early 90’s breakup Paul Westerberg has released several solo albums. Post-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson formed his own bands Pop & Bash and then Perfect. Stinson also was an official member of Guns ‘N Roses for many years and has recorded and toured with fellow Minnesota natives Soul Asylum. Drummer Chris Mars has made several solo albums and has worked as an artist. Original guitarist Bob Stinson played with several groups before dying of organ failure due to drug use in 1995.

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6. “Alex Chilton” – The Replacements: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

6. “Alex Chilton” – The Replacements

(From the album Pleased To Meet Me)

1987

Both Let It Be and Tim had been successes of a sort; earning the band the adoration of the underground and building enough buzz to earn some mainstream attention. In tried and true Replacements fashion though the band then worked hard to throw it all away, most notably by pissing away a shot at the big time by imploding on Saturday Night Live. The Replacements toured in support of Tim but that too had its share of mishaps and misfortune. The tour was plagued by poor performances and half-hearted effort, largely due to the heavy drinking and drug use among the members of the band. There was also growing tension within the band due to both creative differences and substance abuse. The tour finally came to an early end when Paul Westerberg injured himself and the remaining shows were canceled. Not long after the tour’s end guitarist and founding member Bob Stinson was either fired or quit (Stinson claimed he left the group over creative differences, the rest of the band claimed he was fired due to his alcoholism). The remaining trio, now firmly under the direction of Westerberg, decamped to Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee to worship at the altar of 70’s cult favorites Big Star. Big Star cut three excellent but mostly ignored albums at Ardent Studios with producer Jim Dickinson and The Replacements hired Dickinson to produce their new album Pleased To Meet Me. That said, Dickinson doesn’t make The Replacements sound like Big Star. He also doesn’t allow The Replacements to fall into old habits and create a sloppy, punky album. The Replacements bratty, punk roots can still be felt here at times, but Dickinson produces Pleased To Meet Me to be The Replacements mainstream breakthrough. The songs still sound and feel like The Replacements but the production is glossy, the hooks are big, the sound is muscular, and the songs are more musically diverse with augmentation by horns, upright bass, and other studio touches. Pleased To Meet Me, to a large degree, is The Replacements’ version of what R.E.M. attempted with Lifes Rich Pageant; an attempt to create a college rock record with a sound both true to the band’s roots and crisply produced to find a larger, mainstream audience. And like Lifes Rich Pageant doing so resulted in a great album that failed to find mainstream success (although ironically, R.E.M. was just finding that elusive mainstream success at this very moment with “The One I Love” off their much less commercial album Document). Pleased To Meet Me didn’t find mainstream commercial success (possibly due in part to the release of “The Ledge” – a song about suicide – as the lead single) but that doesn’t mean the album isn’t good. On the contrary, Pleased To Meet Me is one of The Replacements most interesting and most diverse albums. While Dickinson doesn’t make The Replacements sound much like Big Star, the love of Big Star still rubs off a little as one of the best songs on the record is “Alex Chilton”, named for Big Star’s primary singer and songwriter. The song “Alex Chilton” imagines an alternate world where great music like Big Star that has been relegated to the fringes is instead popular and loved by millions; where musicians like Alex Chilton are rock heroes. Of course, the subtext is that bands like The Replacements could be loved by millions too. “Alex Chilton” is a hook-filled alt rock song that itself might be a big hit in an alternative universe, even if in ours it is just a little too lyrically obscure and musically ragged to crossover. “Alex Chilton” wasn’t a hit, but Paul Westerberg and company did get to spend some time with their hero when he showed up at Ardent Studios and contributed some guitar to the Pleased To Mee Me track “Can’t Hardly Wait”, which was the follow-up single to “Alex Chilton”.

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5. “Left Of The Dial” – The Replacements: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

5. “Left Of The Dial” – The Replacements

(From the album Tim)

1985

The Replacements were among a new generation of bands that fell outside of the American rock mainstream and that served as the basis for American “alternative” rock. Due to the very strict radio formatting in much of the United States at the time, these bands received most of their radio support from small, college run radio stations and so alternative rock in the 1980’s in the USA was often called “college rock”. The Replacements wrote the song “Left Of The Dial” as their love letter to college radio and the support that the format had given them over the years. Of course, the song also is a tribute to the fans who had supported The Replacements career specifically and college radio (and its left-of-center attitudes) in a broader sense. While none of the songs from Tim had crossed over to the mainstream songs like “Bastards Of Young”, “Kiss Me On The Bus” and “Left Of The Dial” indicated that The Replacements were still on the rise and that mainstream success was still a possibility. This fact was reinforced when The Replacements were invited on short notice to be the musical guests on Saturday Night Live when the scheduled act had to cancel. The rehearsals for the live performance went well and the SNL appearance was meant to be a major showcase for the band to a wider audience. However, prior to the show going live the band members drank heavily, behaved poorly, cranked their amps too high, and gave a sloppy, out of tune, profanity-laced performance on live TV that angered SNL producer Lorne Michaels so much that he banned The Replacements from ever appearing on the show again. While rebellious and bad behavior on SNL could earn an artist credibility and potentially boost a career (Elvis Costello had benefitted from such a ban) The Replacements performance had been lackluster and unimpressive. Indeed, the whole SNL experience was a negative experience as it soured the band further against “playing the game”, further cemented their reputation within the industry for blatant self-destruction, while also leaving a negative impression of the band on many people who had never heard them before.

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4. “Bastards Of Young” – The Replacements: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

4. “Bastards Of Young” – The Replacements

(From the album Tim)

1985

Let It Be wasn’t a mainstream hit but the album earned enough buzz on college rock radio and showed enough musical growth that The Replacements began getting the attention of major labels. The band were fairly wary of the music business and often sabotaged themselves by playing poorly at live shows when they knew major label record executives were in the audience. However, even with the success The Replacements had already had they were still not making any money (guitarist Bob Stinson still held a job as a pizza chef) and their current label Twin/Tone was too small to properly distribute their music or promote the band. Ultimately, in spite of their reservations about the industry The Replacements signed with Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. because they respected Sire Records boss Seymour Stein as he had been the manager of The Ramones. Stein was able to then get Tommy Ramone to work as producer on The Replacements next album, their major label debut Tim. Moving to a major label does not make Tim a radical departure from The Replacements earlier work, but the album does have the better production that a bigger budget allows. The album sounds bigger and fuller than anything The Replacements had done before, but it manages to achieve this without sounding glossy or overly slick. The other key change is that Paul Westerberg continues to grow as a songwriter. One of the album’s stand-out tracks is “Bastards Of Young” which serves as both a calling card for the band and a rallying cry for misfits everywhere. On “Bastards Of Young” The Replacements sound loose, angry, world-weary, and carefree all at once as the production keeps all the rough edges and rawness while also emphasizing the melodicism enough to give the song a wider appeal. “Bastards Of Young” doesn’t necessarily aim for a wider mainstream audience, but it does look to appeal to a nationwide collection of misfits, outcasts, loners, weirdos, hipsters, and anyone else who found themselves on the fringes. In other words, with “Bastards Of Young” Westerberg had written an anthem for the band, their fans, and the listeners of 80’s college rock in general, and somewhat ironically, n the process made the band more popular than ever. As usual though, The Replacements would find a way to sabotage themselves and their own growing popularity. 

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3. “I Will Dare” – The Replacements: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

3. “I Will Dare” – The Replacements

(From the album Let It Be)

1984

The Replacements emerged from the world of hardcore punk to help establish the broader sound of alternative rock/college rock with their third record Let It Be. It takes some real courage (or a lot of alcohol) to give your record the same title as an all-time classic album by The Beatles. However, there is a sense of bravery to Let It Be as The Replacements choose to leave behind the punk sound and scene, knowing that many fans and critics likely wouldn’t come along with them. Of course, The Replacements had already begun to move away from punk on their previous record and Let It Be still has a brattish, loose and amateur tone to it that is rooted in punk, but it is clear from the opening track “I Will Dare” that The Replacements are no longer interested in being a punk band. “I Will Dare” has a loose swagger and pop-oriented shuffle that is reminiscent of The Faces and The Kinks, but then filtered through the American underground. It would be a sound, that along with bands like R.E.M. and The Pretenders, helped to define the sound of American alternative rock in the 1980’s. And speaking of R.E.M., their guitarist Peter Buck plays on “I Will Dare” and even contributed the guitar solo to the song when Replacements’ guitarist Bob Stinson couldn’t come up with one. “I Will Dare” ends up being a great song that finds that sweet spot between post-punk textures, punk sloppiness, and pop melody, and in the process points the way forward for The Replacements, who would increasingly weave pop elements into their music. “I Will Dare” is also a great choice to open the album and serve as the single because all of the elements found in the song are explored further on the album. Songs like “We’re Coming Out” and “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out” at least reference the band’s punk past, while “Androgynous” and “Sixteen Blue” help to establish the post-punk meets pop format that sat at the heart of college rock. All of this helped to both establish The Replacements as a key band of the time and Let It Be as one of the foundational records of college rock.

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2. “Color Me Impressed” – The Replacements: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “Color Me Impressed” – The Replacements

(From the album Hootenanny)

1983

Music critic Jon Young said in his 1983 review of The Replacements’ second album Hootenanny that the band played “with all the delicacy of a garbage compactor” and meant it as a compliment. While there were subtle signs on The Replacements’ debut album that there may be more to their music than punk noise it’s on Hootenanny that The Replacements begin to really show that they were more than just a punk band. Hootenanny finds The Replacements rooted in punk but adding in liberal amounts of more rootsy Americana influences like the blues, country, rockabilly, and power pop. The entire album has a devil-may-care attitude to it that makes it feel like the band were trying to have a good time more than they cared about making a hit record. Indeed, the opening title track finds all the band members swapping instruments, while the lyrics for “Lovelines” are borrowed almost word for word from a local newspaper ad, and “Mr. Whirly” is so plagiarized from The Beatles that the writing credit on the album simply reads “mostly stolen” for the track. Hootenanny could have been a mess (well, it is kind of a mess, but in a good way) but it works. The album shows The Replacements musical growth without abandoning the spirit of their early music. The song that may best encapsulate all of the good things about The Replacements during the Hootenanny period is the song “Color Me Impressed”. An angst-filled rocker that walks right up to the edge of being respectable and mature without ever quite crossing the line. Both “Color Me Impressed” and Hootenanny serve as the bridge between The Replacements punk roots and their later, more crafted alt-rock. The Replacements likely made better albums but they never made another album that seemed as loose and fun.

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1. “I’m In Trouble” – The Replacements: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “I’m In Trouble” – The Replacements

(From the album Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash)

1981

The Replacements emerged from the same Minneapolis hardcore punk scene that would birth Husker Du and Soul Asylum around the same time. However, while The Replacements definitely were rooted in punk as they were loud, chaotic, and full of attitude, they never really were truly a punk band. Paul Westerberg’s songs, even from the start, had a melodic streak and an array of influences that pulled far afield from punk, and the rest of the group’s own interests were as rooted in classic rock and prog as much as punk. The Replacements actually grew out of a band guitarist Bob Stinson had formed called Dogbreath. Stinson was from a broken and dysfunctional home and after giving his eleven year old brother Tommy a bass in order to give him something to do and help keep him out of trouble, the two brothers formed Dogbreath with Bob’s friend Nick Mars on drums and the three teens began playing music together without a singer. Ultimately, Westerberg was brought in as the singer and primary songwriter, the band changed their name, and The Replacements were born. After playing shows on the local scene The Replacements were signed to Twin/Tone Records and in 1981 released their debut album Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash. More than anything else The Replacements would ever release Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash works within the punk rock sound. However, the album was still somewhat unique and out of place as the American punk rock scene of 1981 was dominated by more hardcore punk bands like Black Flag and local Minneapolis peers Husker Du, and The Replacements Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash drew more heavily on the loose, rambling punk of Johnny Thunders and The Clash, or the more pop-oriented punk of British groups like Buzzcocks. This looser tone, as well as Westerburg’s own emerging writing style can perhaps best be heard on the album’s single “I’m In Trouble”. With a lyric that has both a sense of dark humor and an ironic streak, the song is a punky, yet melodic stab at power pop that is probably the most accessible song on the album. “I’m In Trouble” wasn’t a hit but it did show The Replacements’ potential and hint at the more pop-oriented path they would eventually take.

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