often one of the first three (maybe two) questions i ask a person when I first meet them is, "what kind of music do you like?" and it's usually followed up by "do you like the replacements?". i don't know why, but if a person likes them also, then I have this strange respect for them even if they are a horrible person.
the first time I ever listened to the replacements, i was listening to the radio (back when there was a radio station that offered good music. those days are basically over) and the song Alex Chilton came on. I was 15 years old, had no idea who they were so I did my research by typing in the lyrics on Yahoo search and fell completely in love.
I can listen to certain albums of theirs and it's like taking a time travel machine to a certain day in high school driving around in the car with tara or abby, or even to just falling asleep at night with the song I'll Be You blasting in my ear on repeat. the part in the song, "we're bleeding but we aint cut", always comes into my brain when I'm complaining about something small/some tiny blip in my life and i need to check myself. I don't know if that is what it's supposed to be about, but to me it just makes sense. paul westerberg's voice is nostalgic and perfect. infact, the name of this blog is after a song of his.
listening to them has changed my life in many ways, mainly because it not only became another file of sounds that could transport me to a safe place if I was feeling bad or even if I was feeling good, but it also lead me to many other bands I had no idea existed. to me, no one will ever come around and be like the replacements. their sound, in my ears, is one of a kind.
this is cheesy but every beat and every breath holds a place in my heart.
Alex Chilton - The Replacements
