Although I've never met you, Jonmc, and I don't remember ever having read either here or on that other site that you like the Replacements - but you have always struck me as a Replacements kind of guy.

Fuck me, I didn't even know this existed! Thanks jon. I'm an unabashed fan, and I like to read! Woohoo!

Anyone read Slash's auto-biography yet? I had it in my hands, but a) I have a hard time laying out the dough on hardcover, and b) even though the CDN dollar is worth more than the USD, the publishers are still boning us, so...

Anyway...I can't wait to read this!

Anyone read Slash's auto-biography yet?

Not yet, but I saw him on Letterman a week or so ago and he was amazingly coherent and affable compared to the drunk I remember from old interview footage. i was a G&R fan back in the day, too, so it'll be worth a look.

I think someone might have posted an excerpt here actually. I was pretty impressed. I wasn't a G'n'R fan at all back then - I was too into The Jam and The Clash etc to be able to stomach hair metal. But, man, I kinda always liked Slash's playing, and he seemed to have a knack for showing up on cool people's records.

I just noticed the price on Amazon.COM instead of Amazon.CA...I think I might be buying some books!

I was pretty impressed. I wasn't a G'n'R fan at all back then - I was too into The Jam and The Clash etc to be able to stomach hair metal.

They may have looked 'hair metal' but they really weren't, they were a different species entirely, Slash's bloozy playing and Duff's punk roots (he was bassist for the Fastbacks for a while) took care of that.

I bought Slash's autobiography for mr. g for Christmas.

hope he doesn't read this

Yeah, I remember reading about Duff's punk background, now that you mention it. I always kinda thought that Izzy might have been a decent sort too.

I'm watching "Straight to Hell" right now...Weird flick

I always kinda thought that Izzy might have been a decent sort too.

He was Axl's best friend in high school in Indiana, apparently, and invited Axl to visit him in LA. Axl hitched out and had some adventures along the way which inspired both 'Welcome To The Jungle' and 'One in A Million.' Slash was from Beverly Hills (his mom was an album cover artist) and they met, found Steven Adler and Duff and the rest is history. Like a lot of great bands (and as your Spritual Advisor I advise a re-evaluation, I was right about Springsteen) it was all about the clash of divergent backgrounds and personalities.

To bring it back to the 'Mats, they were one of the best intro's to punk/post-punk/whatever for Metal guys. I played Let It be for some of my my Metalhead buddies and they loved 'We're Coming Out' and 'Tommy gets His Tonsils Out'. Plus the 'Mats were pretty much the only 'indie' band who could do a non-camp cover of 'Black Diamond.'

I'm watching "Straight to Hell" right now...Weird flick

I remember nothing about that film but the cars. Every time I see one on the road (which is very rarely), I reflexively yell "Straight to Hell!" No one ever knows what I'm talking about.

Thanks for the heads-up on this book, jonmc. I have a friend who will love it.

Well, I re-listen one of these days. I know what you mean about the metal to 'Mats move. I knew a bunch of guys in high school who loved both the Replacements AND lots of metal. The Mats were the only thing we all seemed to be able to agree on!

Hmm. I'd seen a couple of meh to negative reviews of this so far. I may have to look into it. I'm still hoping Santa will bring me this.

bmarkey: I already got my copy (half-price). It's worth it. If y'all lived in NYC, I'd be yer secret discount santa shopper.

(also, modern reviews are not to be trusted and at any rate, I'm glad that a book about the 'mats exists for historical purposes if nothing else.)

The Mats were the only thing we all seemed to be able to agree on!

In college, I was hanging around with a few older goth-y type kids and I mentioned my replacements fandom. This one girl said 'you look like a Replacements fan.' I'm not sure what she meant to this day.

Hey, while we're on the subject, I've got a couple of Placemats bootlegs I can post (sometime next week) if anybody's interested.

Sweet!

Like you have to ask.

Jonmc, one can get the discount through their website.

"Kiss Me On The Bus" brings back such happy memories of being young and stupid and in love. While sporting an ugly asymmetrical haircut.

*fires up iPod, rocks out*

If I were the guy on "Pushing Daisies", I would bring Bob Stinson back from the dead. After D. Boon, of course.

I remember the day Bob Stinson died. Somebody said 'that guy in that band you like died.' I thought they meant Paul. Wasn't till I got home that I realized it was Bob. Sucked anyway.

From the Amazon page:

"Still, he makes no apologies for the often cruddy way they treated their fans, their friends, and each other. I came away from this book feeling the same way I came in: the Replacements definitely were a great band, but they sure seem like a bunch of d**ks."

That could be said for a lot of bands/stars. I was a fan of theirs way back to their more punk days, and I even liked their pop CD "Don't Tell a Soul".

A lot of bands lose their edge once they gain some popularity, and get some money to polish their act, and maybe get a high dollar producer. It's like they're thinking that now they're successful, they need to be sophisticated. Somehow, the Replacements managed to avoid this to my mind. "Don't Tell a Soul" was still different from most everything else at the time even if it wasn't as raw as their earlier music.

Well, the biggest lesson of the 'Mats story is that the best thing to do with 'potential' is to piss all over it.