Blast from the Past: The Replacement's Let It Be

Like most of the truly great albums from the 80's, my exposure to The Replacement's Let It Be came way too late for my liking. If I would have heard this record when I was ten or eleven, it still would have been too late but it really would have sped up the process of finding my musical path in life. But I didn't, I didn't really hear anything by The Replacements until some point in the 90's when one of the bands I like at the time probably name checked them in Spin or something like that. It's a shame I know, but the bigger shame was that I didn't really, really get into the band until I read Colin Meloy's 33 1/3 memoir about the album. Now that's just sad.

It's may be sad, but that's the way it was. Reading that book I got a picture of how Meloy got set on his musical path and I wished I had had someone like that in my life to guide me. Instead I had to do it mostly for myself, and I obviously didn't do a very good job for years and I'm still never fully sure if I'm listening to the best bands I can (as I'm sure my readers ponder why I'm listening to certain bands every day). One thing I can tell you is that I now listen to The Replacements with great regularity and none of their albums get more play then Let It Be, their first forray into an expanding sound that focused more on songwriting then about being fast and abbrassive as the punks were wont to do in those days.

Let It Be could almost be described as a big middle finger to the punk crowds of the early 80's. Those kids demanded their music fast and their musicians faster. They wanted their bands to be drunk on stage and to be just as bad-ass as they were, and for years The Replacements followed suit and upped the ante with every chord they played and every drunken show they played. Then came Let It Be with some slowed down tunes that included instruments like piano, mandolin, and the gaudy 12-string guitar. It was an affront to the punk of the day, even though it was actually twice as punk as the shit that all sounded the same. Songs like "Androgyonous" and "Answering Machine" were the paving stones for alternative bands that were about to explode through the ranks.

Sure, Let It Be still maintains a lot of the old punk aesthetics that we still hold dear, but it is so much more then just a punk record. While it still has songs that are machine gun fast and doesn't hesitate to take on the establishment with the ideals they hold to be true, it breaks from the mold and evolves. Like The Clash evolving from Television and Hüsker Dü evolving from The Clash, The Replacements were setting the table for the next slew of punk bands.

I'm pretty sure that if you gave me the choice between this album and, say, the original Let It Be I'd pick this one almost every time. Not that The Beatles one isn't great, it's just that this album adhered itself to my brain and my heart almost twenty years after it was released. That's saying something and it's a goddamn shame that I didn't really know about it prior to that. I hope you guys aren't getting your first taste of it from this, but if you are make sure you get out and buy the damn thing now so you can fall in love too. Oh, and I'd really suggest picking up Colin Meloy's book as well, it's a great read.
The Replacements - "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out"
The Replacements - "Androgynous"
The Replacements - "Gary's Got A Boner"
The Replacements - "Answering Machine"
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Hump Day's Hump-tastic Links:
- Last year Rachael fell in love with Port O'Brien and named their album the best of the year. Today Daytrotter posted a session with the band making Rachael's day. I like it when my girlfriend is happy.
- My Old Kentucky Blog had a little sit down from some Q+A with What Made Milwaukee Famous.
- Fader Magazine has a hi-quality download of the Re-Up Gang's We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 3 mixtape. It's sick. Download it. For real.
- The Music Slut gets all sassy with Peasant.
- Cole Alexander of the Black Lips and Bradford Cox of Deerhunter/Atlas Sound have decided to tighten up the already dangerously inbred Atlanta music scene by creating a joint project called Ghetto Crosses. No word on what the band will sound like or anything but I'm sure million Pitchfork loyalists just creamed their 501's. (via CMJ)
- In case you guys forgot I am giving away Basia Bulat tickets to her show at Bowery on February 29th! I think it may just be the best way to use the extra day the calendar gods give us this year.