The Replacements - Answering Machine

How do say you're O.K. to
An answering machine?
How do you say good night to
An answering machine?

"Let It Be" is a classic album. Loaded from front to back with great songs, it stands as a testament to its era, a classic that has weathered the test of time.

No, not "Let It Be" by The Beatles. I'm talking about "Let It Be" by The Replacements.

The Replacements (known among their fans as the Placemats, or more commonly, just "The 'Mats") were a Minneapolis treasure, up there with such luminaries as Prince, Husker Du and Bob Dylan. Yeah, Dylan. They all were born of the frozen tundra who rocked out to keep their kind alive. A punk band with a 12-year-old bass player can't go wrong. Can it?

Their influences were obvious for the most part. The Rolling Stones and Faces were pretty sure picks, as was Slade and Badfinger, though they never really aspired to Badfinger's more polished approach. But they did share a flavor for the more challenging lot, such as The Ramones, The Dead Boys (go Cheetah Chrome) and The Clash. They brought it all drunkenly together into a volatile mix for their live shows, all of which could go horribly wrong at any point. Many of those shows did go horribly wrong.

Since those days, singer and songwriter Paul Westerberg has gone on to solo success. That 12-year-old bass player Tommy Stinson released a fantastic album "Friday Night (Is Killing Me)" with his short-lived band Bash and Pop before joining Guns N' Roses.

Drummer Chris Mars is an exceptionally talented graphic artist who also released some terrific music in his post 'Mats days ("75% Less Fat" is a great album, by the way). Bob Stinson, unfortunately, fell prey to his addictions, dying of overall organ failure due to heavy drug abuse at the age of 35.

You never knew what you were going to get going in to a Replacements show. But you know they meant every note they played. That counts for something.

"Answering Machine" is just one guy, one guitar and an anguished and lonely voice letting the world know what it feels like to be so disconnected in this world. I wish I didn't know that feeling so goddamn well.