There are many reasons to love the Replacement that I must admit I am not the fan so many of my peers are. In the 1980s they might well have been the only band that mattered, and, let’s face it, their failure to break pop was nothing if not an added plus. Yeah, some of it was very keen, who doesn’t love “Bastard Of Young” and lest we forget Paul could absolutely write a song and did all the time. The hottest young popstar in the world today namecheck em. Juliana Hatfield, who hates just about everybody, loves em. That doesn’t really excuse em.
They belong to the world.
But as their currently position on the reunion tour proves, New York has nothing to do with them. I’m not saying the Replacements owe New York favored nation status, not at all, what I am saying is that New York is the media center of the world and performing to the toughest, most knowledgeable audience in the world should come with the territory if you consider yourself all that.
Perhaps the Replacements sense of alt outsiderness is built upon a mountain of indifference for New York and perhaps we deserve it for not giving into or respecting the drunken lout performances we were saddled with. I saw em twice and thought they were terrible.
Well, if their point was they didn’t need to impress us in New York the point is well taken but even if that is the point so what? It didn’t leave em bigger and better, they didn’t replace New York with LA. Instead they muddied the waters by leaving their legacy a question mark. Alcohol is fun, alcoholism less so, dying from alcoholism I wouldn’t recommend. The Replacements placed themselves as edgy post punks who could write a melody. And that’s fine except then what? Paul and the boys got caught on the then whats and now, on the same Festival Circuit Outkasts are using they still are caught on the then whats.
