Written by stoplovingeverything

Your Heroes Are Not Heroic: Career Edits, part II

Heard the new Replacements song. It only makes me do this again:

The Black Keys:
Didn’t the Allman Brothers do this already?

Gang of Four:
Or, The One Album Wonder.

Mission of Burma:
See Gang of Four.

The Stone Roses:
Three songs: “I Wanna Be Adored,” “One Love,” and “I Am The Resurrection.”

Lou Reed:
A few VU records (take your pick) and then … I can’t even talk about it.

Bob Mould:
Workbook, and maybe some of the Husker stuff. But not all. You just know Grant was better.



19 thoughts on “Your Heroes Are Not Heroic: Career Edits, part II”

  1. The first stone roses alubm ranks up there in the top ten alubms of all time, in any musical flavor. Yes, you are correct about Miss. of Burma. A few VU albums? You mean like the first four and the live 69 set? Husker Du: Zen Arcade and Flip Your Wig are reaons enough to pray to the Bob Mould mantel. Grant Heart is to Husker Du what Pete Best was to the Beatles. Bubkis.

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  3. VU – take your pick. And then I get PTSD from whatever happens afterward.The SR record is a good rock record, but it isn’t better than Beethoven’s 9th. That took a tad more skill.I’m with you on Burma and GoF being overrated. But you’re worse than wrong on Grant Hart. His songs are just better. He was their George Harrison – he wrote less, but what he wrote was always tthe best thing on the album.

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  4. So, if Grnat Hart was the George Harrison, than Bob Mould was JOhn Lennon and Paul M. combined. Yeah ok, I agree with that. Except, George Harrison could REALLY play his instrument, and Grant Hart, could barely play his.

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  6. Who was talking about the Beatles? i meant the traveling wilburys, & Grant was Harrison & Dylan too, Bob was Jeff Lynne, and Moulding was Tom Petty. No one was Orbison. Hart couldn’t play the drums? Shit, he was really the only reason I listened in the first place. The Beatles made one record, Revolver, and the rest is blackface carpetbagging & kids music. Lennon was pretentious and McCartney is a muppet.

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  7. Help is one of the finest rock albums ever. That album alone makes the Beatles legends. When a band considers “Rain” a throwaway song, you know you have a great band.

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  8. Help sports some throwaways (It’s Only Love) and a few lousy cover songs; it doesn’t begin to approach Revolver or even Rubber Soul. I can think of 50 better rock albums made before 1970.

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  11. Their worst album isn’t help, it’s Sergeant Pepper. 50 better than Help before 1970 (not 1950)? Child’s play. Sad we can’t include soul, because I could probably pick 75 soul records better than Help. As you can tell from today’s post, you’ll have to wait for all 50, but some examples, all 1970 or prior:RevolverOdyssey and OracleAxis: Bold as LoveHighway 61 RevisitedThe first 4 VU albumsSilver ApplesSomething Else by the KinksVillage Green Preservation SocietyMusic from Big PinkFairport Convention’s ‘Liege and Lief’Black SabbathFive Leaves Left Bryter LayterSun Sessions, any

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  12. I agree on most. Grant Hart is woefully underrated while every one worships at the altar of Bob. Sugar. Parts of Workbook. A couple of other songs. Poof. Intolerance, The Last Days of Pompeii and Good News for Modern Man generally outshine Bob’s output, but he has a better press agent and looks less sloppy. Grant Hart is just more talented. And he was a damn good drummer.Lou Reed had a few good records, but he is waaay overrated. New York. Transformer (a lot of which is rehashed VU outtakes and such, but it’s good, just listen to “Vicious”). After those two, he has his moments (“I Wanna Be Black” — “I wanna be black so I can die in the spring like Martin Luther King” from Street Hassle; “I Love You Suzanne” is fun. I don’t get the jizz over The Blue Mask et. al. And all four VU albums (plus Another View) are great … but The Raven? Jesus …Mission of Burma really only had one record, plus various collections of its singles and two EPs, one of which consisted of leftovers, so yeah, they only had one great record (although the live album is mighty fine). OnOffOn is a surprisingly good comeback, though … the live shows were great … continued

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  13. I might be able to rethink the Mission of Burma entry, because the EPs are important; Acad Fight Song appears on Signals .. etc, if I remember right. onOffOn didn’t register to well with me; a great EP hiding isnisde it, though. Hopefully the new one, out this month (?) is an improvement. Can’t get with the few and far in between Lou Reed solo moments. It’s like waiting to get laid while standing naked inside a beehive. If I had a choice, I’d see Grant sing old Husker songs (which he does live now) than see Bob warble his new stuff about trying to sleep with pro wrestlers.

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  14. As for the Beatles? Great, but overrated. James Brown is more important, but he doesn’t get similar props, in large part because he was black. Not only was he a great R&B singer, but he and his band invented funk and kept reinventing it for another seven to 10 years.The worst Beatles record is probably Let It Be, but if not that, then Sgt. Pepper.50 records better than Help? Here’s a quick 39 (I removed Trout Mask Replica … nah) … Help was really good (I’m a fan of the early Beatles too), but here goes (Black Sabbath came out in ’70, and I can easily think of 20 or 30 soul/funk records):Velvet UndergroundWhite Light/White HeatMusic From Big PinkBlonde on BlondeHighway 61 RevisitedBringing It All Back HomeRevolverRubber SoulWhite AlbumStoogesLet It BleedLed ZeppelinWho Sell OutBeggars BanquetForever ChangesThe BandAxis: Bold As LoveAre You Experienced?Odyssey and OracleEverybody Knows This Is NowhereVillage Green Preservation SocietyBo Diddley Is A Gunslinger (1961, bitches)Green RiverBayou CountryWilly and the Poor Boys!!Here Are The Sonics!!Face to FaceSomething Else by the KinksVelvet Underground & NicoForever ChangesWith the BeatlesAbbey RoadLive at Folsom Prison (yes, it’s rock)Black Monk TimeSafe as Milk (Capt. Beefheart)Stand!Midnight Ride (Revere & Raiders – rocks!)Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

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  15. Oh, James Brown being a great R&B/soul singer before inventing funk is like Babe Ruth being a great pitcher before hitting all those home runs on hot dogs and beer …

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  16. Mr. Parnel:You have put together an interesting list of alubms. But how can you diss the rolling stones one day and then praise them the next. And Hendrix? Come one, I mean really, the guy opened for the Monkees.

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  17. How can I diss and then praise? Not everything, my simple anonymous, is simple. I quote myself again, for the nuance-challenged: “How about this — I don’t even like ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ by the Stones. It’s silly D&D mumbo jumbo poser shit. But the solo at the end is awesome.”Now that I think of it, that solo is really all they’re good for.Davy Jones was in the Monkees for the same reason Ringo was in the Beatles. Sometimes I prefer Monkees stuff over Beatles stuff – Jack Nicholson never appeared in no Beatles flick, and MIke Nesmith produced Repo Man, so the Monkees are Forgiven.PS:The Beatles played for and recorded with ex-Nazis.

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  19. Hey guys.. I stumbled accorsed this blog while searching for Grant Heart. I’m wondering what he is doing now? Last I remember was his band NOVA MOB. What has he been doing since then? They played a lot in the minneapolis, MN area, but I have not seen much of them. I’m wondering about the bassist that NOVA MOB had at the time his name was Tommy Merkel. The only Bassest I can find with the name of tom merkel is out of the UK and it’s not the same guy. I”m going to book mark this blog, but please if anyone has any info on this coule you please cut and paist your answer and also send it to my mail box?? Tommy is an old friend, and I’ve wanted to give him a shout out for a very long time now. My E-mail is: Jaz_men@hotmail.com–and Thanks for any help you can offer!!!!-James

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