The Ledge - Music
The Ledge by The Replacements
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: The Ledge
The-Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me
"The Ledge" Is About Suicide Not An Uncommon Theme But The Song's Psychological Insight And Spirit Of Heroic Defiance Make It One Of The More Powerful Takes On The Subject. In The Song Replacements Frontman Paul Westerberg Sings As A Young Person He Refers To Himself As "a Boy" But Never Specifies His Age Who's Climbing A Ledge To Commit Suicide While Police A Priest And The Press Watch From Below. The Song Draws Us Into The Moment With Sensory Details. “Wind Blows Cold From The West
I Smell Coffee I Smell Doughnuts For The Press
A Girl That I Knew Once Years Ago
Is Tryin' To Be Reached On The Phone” The Final Line Of The Song "for The Last Time Will Not Reach The Ledge" Ends Sounding As If He Is Actually Falling Indicating He Went Through With It. Rather Than Coming Across As A Cry For Help The Song's Character Is Openly Defiant Of Everyone Who Wants To Help. That's The Thing That Fascinates Many People While Repelling Others. It's A Statement Of A Successful Suicide Unapologetic And Unredeemed. “I'm The Boy They Couldn't Ignore
For The First Time In My Life I'm Sure
I'm The Boy They Couldn't Ignore
For The First Time In My Life I'm Sure” Westerberg Wrote The Song In 45 Minutes On A Rainy Afternoon In Autumn 1986. He Incorporated Bits Of The Story About The Suicide Of A High School Friend Named John Zika And Bits From The Story Of His Own Teenage Drug Overdose. Westerberg Took His Inspiration For "The Ledge" From "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" 1950 By Hank Williams. The Song Had Him Thinking Of Making A Similarly Defiant Suicide Song Since At Least 1980 When He Penned One Titled "D-E-A-D" That Was Never Released.
According To Trouble Boys By Bob Mehr Westerberg Lifted The Song's Riff From "Highway Song" By Blackfoot Recorded In 1979. The Band Recorded The Song In One Take With Everything Done Live On The Spot. When It Was Over An Emotionally Drained Westerberg Lay Down On A Couch And Asked If He'd Have To Do It Again. He Didn't. As Recounted In Trouble Boys Much Debate Surrounded The Choice Of Lead Single For The Pleased To Meet Me Album. "Can't Hardly Wait" Was A Contender But Westerberg Thought It Would Be "like False Advertising" Because The Sound Wasn't Representative Of The Album As A Whole. "Alex Chilton" Was Another Possibility But Executives Questioned The Viability Of Of A Song About A Highly Obscure Musical Figure Alex Chilton Frontman For Big Star . In The End Warner's VP Of Rock Promotion George Gerrity Settled On "The Ledge" Because Of Its Backbeat And Guitar Solo. Creem Magazine Editor Bill Holdship Wrote Liner Notes For The 2008 Rerelease Of Pleased To Meet Me. They Ended Up On The Cutting-Room Floor But Were Released On Rock's Backpages. In Them Holdship Writes "Westerberg Is The Most Sensitive Of Any Artist I've Ever Worked With. And At That Point In His Career He Was Like A Raw Nerve End." The Description Gives Us A Look Into Westerberg's Mental State As He Recorded This Powerfully Emotional Song. MTV Banned The Video For "The Ledge " A Black-And-White Clip That Simply Shows The Band Looking Bored. The Problem Wasn't The Video Itself But The Subject Matter Of The Song Which They Feared Might Lead To Teenage Suicides.
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Biography - 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.
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16 Similar Artists To The Replacements - Frogtoon Music
Paul Westerberg Hüsker Dü Mission Of Burma Sugar Minutemen Superchunk The Hold Steady Wipers Pavement The Feelies R.E.M. Wire Bob Mould The Lemonheads Jawbreaker.
"The Ledge" is about suicide, not an uncommon theme, but the song's psychological insight and spirit of heroic defiance make it one of the more powerful takes on the subject.
In the song, Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg sings as a young person (he refers to himself as "a boy" but never specifies his age) who's climbing a ledge to commit suicide while police, a priest, and the press watch from below. The song draws us into the moment with sensory details.
“Wind blows cold from the west
I smell coffee, I smell doughnuts for the press
A girl that I knew once years ago
Is tryin' to be reached on the phone”
The final line of the song ("for the last time will not reach the ledge") ends sounding as if he is actually falling, indicating he went through with it.
Rather than coming across as a cry for help, the song's character is openly defiant of everyone who wants to help. That's the thing that fascinates many people while repelling others. It's a statement of a successful suicide, unapologetic and unredeemed.
“I'm the boy they couldn't ignore
For the first time in my life, I'm sure
I'm the boy they couldn't ignore
For the first time in my life, I'm sure”
Westerberg wrote the song in 45 minutes on a rainy afternoon in autumn 1986. He incorporated bits of the story about the suicide of a high school friend named John Zika, and bits from the story of his own teenage drug overdose.
Westerberg took his inspiration for "The Ledge" from "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" (1950) by Hank Williams. The song had him thinking of making a similarly defiant suicide song since at least 1980, when he penned one titled "D-E-A-D" that was never released.
According to Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr, Westerberg lifted the song's riff from "Highway Song" by Blackfoot, recorded in 1979.
The band recorded the song in one take with everything done live on the spot. When it was over, an emotionally drained Westerberg lay down on a couch and asked if he'd have to do it again. He didn't.
As recounted in Trouble Boys, much debate surrounded the choice of lead single for the Pleased To Meet Me album. "Can't Hardly Wait" was a contender, but Westerberg thought it would be "like false advertising" because the sound wasn't representative of the album as a whole. "Alex Chilton" was another possibility, but executives questioned the viability of of a song about a highly obscure musical figure (Alex Chilton, frontman for Big Star). In the end, Warner's VP of rock promotion, George Gerrity, settled on "The Ledge" because of its backbeat and guitar solo.
Creem magazine editor Bill Holdship wrote liner notes for the 2008 rerelease of Pleased To Meet Me. They ended up on the cutting-room floor but were released on Rock's Backpages. In them, Holdship writes, "Westerberg is the most sensitive of any artist I've ever worked with. And at that point in his career, he was like a raw nerve end." The description gives us a look into Westerberg's mental state as he recorded this powerfully emotional song.
MTV banned the video for "The Ledge," a black-and-white clip that simply shows the band looking bored. The problem wasn't the video itself but the subject matter of the song, which they feared might lead to teenage suicides. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.