Artist: The Replacements
Album: Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash
Label: Twin/Tone
Year: 1981
The Replacements are the definitive every-man band. It might've been the Minutemen who always stuck to working-man's ideals, and other bands might've tried to give off the atmosphere that you can do it, too! but no band did it like the 'Mats. Throughout their career, the songs remained universal, and no album speaks to disenfranchised youth like their first one.
This album is just so goddam snotty. Lyrics include: "Irresponsibility's my closest friend." "I hate music, it's got too many notes." "I ain't got no idols, I ain't got much taste." Paul Westerberg's lyrics have this magical ability to touch on the disenfranchised of every age group.
A lot is made about the "filler" in Replacements records, and while I won't argue about how necessary and actually great those songs often are, they are hard to define here. Is the ridiculous rant "I Hate Music" filler? But it's often credited as one of the best songs on the record. How about the slightly slower "I'm In Trouble"? "I Bought A Headache?" Every song on the album belongs, and that helps it stand out as a 'Mats record.
But why am I talking about what people bitch about? "Shiftless When Idle" might be their best song ever. The first 4 songs on the record are bursts of lightning and some of the best. "Raised In The City" is sensational. Every song just rules, and with 18 songs in 36 minutes, it's somehow one of their longest LPs. But the first Replacements record is still a treat to listen to at any age, and never gets boring.
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