The best songs from The Replacements can be divided into two different streams: the slow confessional sort (Unsatisfied, Answering Machine, Here Comes a Regular) or the relentlessly enjoyable rock'n'roll tunes (Favourite Thing, Kiss Me On the Bus, I Will Dare). The preoccupations of both kinds of songs are interlinked, the upbeat tunes focus upon their party lifestyle, where they abandon all logic and reason, living in the present, whereas the slower songs focus upon the consequences of this lifestyle which creates in their work a certain dichotomy, a tension between wanting to live for the present and for the future, surely a concern for all young twenty-somethings.
Swingin' Party is a shining example of the former category, which uses Westerberg's deeply moving, grungey voice to create a really emotive song. I feel it's kind of about how he realizes he's addicted to the rock'n'roll party lifestyle:
Bring your own lampshade, somewhere there's a party
Here it's never endin', can't remember when it started
Pass around the lampshade, there'll be plenty enough room in jail
On top of this, it puts you into a position of being at a party, he seems attracted to a girl but can't do anythng because he's too 'afraid,' reflecting at how he's also afraid that this lifestyle will catch up to him. A 'swingin party' should never be met with such melancholy, except for when you've had enough. At the end of the song, there's a sharp lighting and inhale and I don't know why but it's one of my favourite little parts of any song. A highlight for me from their album Tim.
No comments:
Post a Comment