Frogtoon Music

I'll Be You by The Replacements

Artist Biography For The Replacements

The Replacements Were An Alternative Rock Group That Formed In Minneapolis Minnesota In 1979. The Band Originally Started Off As A Hardcore Punk Outfit But Began To Incorporate Folk And Power Pop Influences In Their Sound. They Become One Of The Leaders Of The Early Alt-Folk Set And One Of The Flagship Bands Of The American Post-Punk Scene In The 80s Being A Major Influence On 90s Indie Rock As Well. The Band's Best Known Lineup Consisted Of Paul Westerberg Vocals Guitar Bob Stinson Guitar Tommy Stinson Bass And Chris Mars Drums . They Were Infamous For Their Abrasive Hard Drinking Lifestyles And Their Ragged Stage Performances Notorious For Coming To Some Shows Too Drunk To Play Very Well At All. Sometimes They Just Performed Entire Sets Of Covers Their Picks Showing Their Debt To 70s Hard Rock Outfits. The Sound Of This Band Showed Off What Their Many Fans Saw As The Very Best Of Independent Rock N' Roll. More Than Possibly Any Other Band Since The Rolling Stones And The The Ramones The Replacements Embodied The Spirit Of Rock From Their Raucous Performances Drug Addictions Charismatic And Romantic Frontman And Wild Sometimes Basic And Sometimes Powerfully Confessional Songs. At Any Given Time Almost Any List Of 'The Best Rock Albums Of All Time' Will Include Either The Album 'Let It Be' Or 'Tim' Sometimes Both. Their Sound Started Off As A Classic Rock Influenced Shade Of Punk Mutating To A Melodic Hardcore Sound Reminiscent Of Local Buddies Hüsker Dü. They Also Progressed Into A Relatively Straightforward But Heartfelt Rock Style With A Number Of Highly Soulful Ballads From The Heart Of Westerberg To Round Out The Mix. The Band Broke Up In 1991. Bob Stinson Who Was Fired From The Band In 1986 And Was Subsequently Replaced By Slim Dunlap Died In 1995. Westerberg And Mars Both Have Solo Careers And Tommy Stinson Formed Several Bands Like Perfect And Bash And Pop And Now Plays Bass For Guns And Roses And Soul Asylum. In 2012 Paul Westerberg And Tommy Stinson Reformed The Replacements And Recorded An EP "Songs For Slim" As A Benefit For Former Member Slim Dunlap Who Had Suffered A Stroke. The Band Played Their First Show Since 1991 On August 24 2013 At RiotFest In Toronto And Has Since Played At Several Festivals Since. The Band Also Currently Includes Josh Freese On Drums And Dave Minehan On Guitar. The Band Played Its Final Show In June 2015.

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: I'll Be You

In "I'll Be You " Replacements Frontman Paul Westerberg Sings About Fatigue And Disillusionment. The Lyrics Are Opaque But Knowing About Westerberg's Life At That Point Gives Insight Into The Meaning Of The Song. Westerberg Made Five Studio Albums With The Replacements By The Time They Recorded This Song. They'd Built A Hardcore Fanbase But Failed To Cultivate A Large General Audience Or Write A Hit Song. This Was Largely The Result Of Westerberg's Own Reluctance Or Perhaps Innate Inability To Go All-In On Selling Records. There Was A Combativeness In Him That Refused To Give Up On Music Just As Much As He Refused To Tailor That Music To The Radio. The Band Was Notorious For Putting On Terrible Inebriated Performances And For Insulting Their Audiences. Behind The Scenes They Were Even More Unruly With Record Company And Marketing Executives. Every Time They Made Some Progress They'd Do Something To Tear It All Down. Westerberg Knew It Was Now Or Never. He Had To Produce A Hit Song Or Else The Band's Run Was Probably Coming To An End. At The Same Time He Was Conflicted As To Whether Or Not He Really Wanted To Push For True Rock-Star Status. The Emotional Conflict Of His Journey Is At The Heart Of "I'll Be You." He Sings About Leaving His Life Behind To Live Someone Else's For A Time. Westerberg Proved To Be Correct In His Feeling That He Needed To Deliver. The Song Was Their Biggest Hit But Failed To Crack The Top 40. The Replacements Made One More Studio Album All Shook Down 1990 Before Breaking Up For Good.
“A Dream Too Tired To Come True
Left A Rebel Without A Clue
And I'm Searching For Something To Do” The Phrase "rebel Without A Clue" References The 1955 Film Rebel Without A Cause Which Starred Hollywood Icon James Dean And Elevated The Antihero Archetype Onto Center Stage In American Culture. Tom Petty Borrowed The Phrase On "Into The Great Wide Open" In 1991 “Into The Great Wide Open
Under Them Skies Of Blue
Out In The Great Wide Open
A Rebel Without A Clue” Petty Toured With The Replacements In 1989. He Took A Liking To Westerberg And Even Gave The Younger Musician The Hat He Wore In The Video For "I Won't Back Down." Westerberg Showed His Appreciation By Selling The Hat For Drugs Answering Petty's Good Intentions With Disdain. He And The Rest Of The Replacements Perceived The Heartbreakers' Professionalism As Repetitive Formulaic And Boring. They Insulted The Audience And Sometimes Petty And The Heartbreakers Themselves While Performing Trying To Get Kicked Off The Tour Completely.
Petty Never Took The Bait. He Kept The Band On Until The End And Afterwards Joked About The Whole Thing Being An Interesting Experience. This Was The Replacements' Highest-Charting Single. It Hit #51 On The Hot 100 And #1 On The Modern Rock And Album Rock Tracks Charts. It Received A Lot Of Play On MTV Back When That Was A Big Deal. Still The Song Didn't Climb As High As They'd Been Hoping And Was Considered A Miss. Westerberg Later Said He Was Thankful For This Because It Meant He Didn't Have To Play It For The Rest Of His Life.
According To Westerberg Lenny Waronker An Executive At The Replacements' Record Label Reprise Insisted The Song Needed Some Revision. The Band Pretended To Work On It But Played Back The Exact Same Thing. Waronker Thought Whatever They Did Was Brilliant And Gave It The Green Light. He Knew The Song Had Hit Potential And Promoted It Heavily.
This Song Was The Lead Single From Don't Tell A Soul The Replacements' Sixth Studio Album. During Replacements' 1989 Tour Heartbreakers Keyboardist Benmont Tench Often Joined The Band To Play "I'll Be You."

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