LAVELLA-BLOG!

I’ll be the first to admit that, when it comes to The Replacements, I was late to the party. We’re talkin’ like really late, in fact it wasn’t until about three years ago when my friend Aziz, who couldn’t believe that I didn’t own a copy of Sorry Ma, Forgot To That Out The Trash, went out and bought one for me. It’s funny how hard I missed out, especially considering how close I was in the early 80’s to their Minneapolis counterparts Hüsker Dü. In fact, sometimes they got too close, but that’s another story all together. Back then, me and my hardcore pals always thought there was something “faggy” about the ‘Mats, I remember lumping them in with bands like The Violent Femmes, but in hindsight, I have no idea why. Well, luckily for all of us, you’re never to old to pull your own head out of your ass, and after finally hearing that first LP, I went out and got the next four in rapid succession, and I couldn’t believe what I had been missing all of these years.

So along comes The Replacements: All Over But The Shouting: An Oral History by Twin Cities scenester Jim Walsh, published by Voyageur Press. This book is presented in the popular Please Kill Me style, so all the many folks that were interviewed for this project get to tell it in their own words, putting you right in the middle of the action. Well, that is as well as they can remember it anyway, and I say that because if there was ever a more booze-soaked “bar band” in the truest sense of the word, I’ve yet to read about them. Front man Paul Westerberg refused to take part, but is quoted constantly from fanzine interviews and whatnot from the era, so his opinions (on practically everything) are definitely heard loud and clear. For my part, this book arrived exactly at the right moment for me to learn everything I ever wanted to know (and much more) about this legendary band that I’ve only recently become fond of, and I suspect that for long time ‘Mats fans it would be even more of a treasure. Within these pages you’ll find Peter Jesperson heroic, Bob Mould competitive, Lori Barbero charming, Dennis Pernu funny, and Bob Stinson tragic, but mostly it’s just a great story about an American rock 'n' roll band in the 1980’s. Available for less than 15 bucks on Amazon, and for a 300-page hardcover, that ain’t bad. (MLV)

* Out now at www.gearheadmagazine.com