Replacements "Unsatisfied" - classic or dud?

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I was thinking about the rumor that somebody used this on "American Idol" and started getting a bit sappy inside thinking about the song. Ultra-classic for me, but I'm curious to see if some people find it TOO sappy, too whatever.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 22 February 2004 01:53 (twenty-two years ago)

classique non-stop

― Donna Brown (Donna Brown), Sunday, 22 February 2004 02:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Easily one of the best Replacements "ballads" (just squeaking by "Johnny's Gonna Die", "Within Your Reach" and "Go").

― Nate in ST.P (natedetritus), Sunday, 22 February 2004 02:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Did the American Idol thing get on TV?

― David Allen (David Allen), Sunday, 22 February 2004 03:09 (twenty-two years ago)

it's ok, but i much prefer "answering machine" and "sixteen blue." and "androgynous" (or "anadrogynous" or however they spelled it haha) for that matter. there's something kind of forced and arena-rock-ish about the way he sings "look me in the EYE and tell me that i'm sat-is-FIED" that turns me off.

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 22 February 2004 03:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Back in college, I was blaring this song quite late at night in my dorm room. After it was over I heard a knock at the door and I opened it expecting to see some burly jock ready to tell me to shut it the fuck off. Instead it was this skater dude who asked "what was that song you just played?" I told him what it was and who it was by and then played it again for him. I gave him the lowdown as to who the Replacements and Paul Westerberg were. I felt like his father or something.

He must've really liked the song to get up during the middle of the night to ask someone about it. I would've never done that. Hopefully he went out and bought Let it Be because of me and then went on to find even better music as well. One would hope, anyway. He's most likely still listening to Gob though. Fucker.

― maypang (maypang), Sunday, 22 February 2004 03:31 (twenty-two years ago)

total classic, arena rock and all. fuck, the opening chords are as "More Than a Feeling" as alt-rock ever got.

― don weiner, Sunday, 22 February 2004 03:39 (twenty-two years ago)

classic when hearing it played by the songwriter guy the year above you in 8th-9th grade is your introduction to the band, power pop, fetishization of songform, etc.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 22 February 2004 03:41 (twenty-two years ago)

It's such a simple song. The guy's unsatisfied. We never get a single detail, we barely get a single hint. Jesus Christ I love this song.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Sunday, 22 February 2004 03:44 (twenty-two years ago)

(er, I was actually talking about "Answering Machine"; never mind)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 22 February 2004 03:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I love the 12 string guitar sound.

― David Allen (David Allen), Sunday, 22 February 2004 03:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Classic.

All "American Idol" auditions should be 'Mats tunes. I've never seen the show (whoa am I punk rawk) but it would really attract that "drunk" demographic. We could tune in at the CC and sing along.

― subgenius (subgenius), Sunday, 22 February 2004 04:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Westerberg at his peak. Complete Fucking Classic.

― Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Sunday, 22 February 2004 05:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Their punkest song: classic.

― Pete Scholtes, Sunday, 22 February 2004 05:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I love it.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 22 February 2004 06:32 (twenty-two years ago)

CCCCLLLLAAASSSIIIICCCC!!!!!!

― Speedy Gonzalas (Speedy Gonzalas), Sunday, 22 February 2004 09:59 (twenty-two years ago)

what's not to like?

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 22 February 2004 12:44 (twenty-two years ago)

For a start, the word is DISSATISFIED, and for a second, remembering all the lame loser indie band weepy jangly covers thereof I had to sit through in college, dud.

― The River Kate (kate), Sunday, 22 February 2004 13:00 (twenty-two years ago)

KATE= MAJOR DUD-ETTE
subgenius= seriously ON TEH $$$
"Unsatisfied"= probably one the top 3 rock and roll ballads ever penned

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Sunday, 22 February 2004 14:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Classic. Once heard Joan Jett perform it at a street fair in Hoboken. Classic. Classic. Classic.

And Kate, it's misspelled on purpose.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 22 February 2004 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

doesn't he say "dissatisfied" once towards the fadeout?

anyone else ever catch the song being used in the background of a scene in Airheads?

― Al (sitcom), Sunday, 22 February 2004 18:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I kinda like the more shambolic Rod Stewart & Faces/Beggar's Banquety country stuff like "If Only You Were Lonely" & "Treatment Bound" than the real power ballady agnostic U2 stuff.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Sunday, 22 February 2004 19:32 (twenty-two years ago)

the first time i heard this song, i hit repeat and listened to it 5 more times.

classic.

― sean marvin (williamtell), Sunday, 22 February 2004 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

The bit at the start after the guitar introduction when Westerberg shouts something indecipherable and the band kicks in. I love that bit, so I do.
Classic.

― David Nolan (David N.), Monday, 23 February 2004 01:42 (twenty-two years ago)

classic. 80s teen angst at its finest.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 23 February 2004 01:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I just remembered this isn't even my favorite song on the album. Might not even make the top 3. Goddamn do I love Let It Be.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:02 (twenty-two years ago)

it's no Gary's Got a Boner, that's for sure.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:07 (twenty-two years ago)

argh. just cuz you said that I have to note that mine are probably "My Favorite Thing," "I Will Dare" and "Answering Machine."

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:47 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe "Androgynous" too. my god this album is SO GOOD.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Black Diamond cover is good too (Gary's Got a Boner and Seen Your Video are kinda throwaways - alright total throwaways - but they seem so perfect in the flow of the album to me)

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah I love all those songs ("Black Diamond" kicks the ass of any actual Kiss-performed track I've ever heard - BRING ON THE HATE, KISS ARMY!). Though Gary's Got A Boner might be my least favorite track.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:56 (twenty-two years ago)

CLASSIC!
in the soppy ballad dept., i like "here comes a regular" as well.

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 23 February 2004 03:02 (twenty-two years ago)

We're Coming Out! Great album, good song.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 23 February 2004 03:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Classic^10. love love

― Hunter (Hunter), Monday, 23 February 2004 03:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I think I read about how amazing this song was before I ever heard it, and it kind of ruined it for me once I actually heard it. Definitely a classic rather than a dud, but it's overrated. There's better Replacements songs.

― Sym (shmuel), Monday, 23 February 2004 06:46 (twenty-two years ago)

'here comes a regular' is like the epitome of the replacements' 'let's hire the most ineffectual producer and engineer in the world and watch as our good songs come out sounding like tinny crap, oh let's have them terribly mastered for cd as well' period

it sounds like it's being performed inside a soda can

( i do like the song, though it's a bit too lachrymose for me overall)

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 23 February 2004 10:14 (twenty-two years ago)

i always skip "Unsatisfied", along with "Black Diamond". i can't listen to the former without my thoughts going to this annoying book. i'll try and listen to it all the way through next time.

― tod (tod), Monday, 23 February 2004 10:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, that's the book that ruined it for me too. Fucking Gina Arnold.

― Sym (shmuel), Monday, 23 February 2004 10:48 (twenty-two years ago)

My fav-o-rite Mats song, would have to be "Within Your Reach". I've got a Westerberg interview disk, where he talks about the early days on the road and the Stinsons don't even understand the concept of timezones at that point. So when he sings "Never seen no mountains, never swam in no sea..." It is just so fucking real.

― Speedy Gonzalas (Speedy Gonzalas), Monday, 23 February 2004 11:12 (twenty-two years ago)

memory of song marred by inclusion of good film which nevertheless i wish to forget

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 23 February 2004 11:17 (twenty-two years ago)

referring to w.y.r.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 23 February 2004 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

it's a good song, sensitive singer-songwriter style. I'm old enough to have witnessed the "Mats" back in the day and I have to say their drunk-on-stage shtick was profoundly unsatisfying, however. Couldn't understand why people worshipped at the Westerberg altar then. Now they're the legend they worked so hard to create. Somewhere in between c/d-- how about clud?

― lovebug starski, Monday, 23 February 2004 11:43 (twenty-two years ago)

nuh-uh. Replacements have yet to be equalled.

Unsatisfied - predates the Simpsons by two years, I think. Yet it took a cartoon to make "D'OH!" a catchphrase.

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 23 February 2004 12:49 (twenty-two years ago)

i dunno

to me the replacements are the epitome of a very good band who just don't justify in my experience a lot of the unswerving devotion and superlatives, but then again it's cool if people are really into them, this is just my opinion

i like their last album best though, because it has good songs and is well produced

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 23 February 2004 13:02 (twenty-two years ago)

You just don't get the Replacements, then.

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Monday, 23 February 2004 16:47 (twenty-two years ago)

i can live with that

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 23 February 2004 16:59 (twenty-two years ago)

CLASSIC.

― ddb, Monday, 23 February 2004 17:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Unsatisfied. *sigh*
bad grammar and the ultimate self-pity song for when things aren't actually that bad, but why not stay overdramatic about it. wistful too, like skyway or here comes a regular. Depending on the time period, a replacements song can run the gambit from meh to brilliant.

With that new Westerberg dvd it was nice to see the solo work AND the stuff with the band.

What was the advice again?

(p.s. guilty pleasure replacements favorite--gary's got a boner)

― Jennie, Monday, 23 February 2004 17:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I have to say their drunk-on-stage shtick was profoundly unsatisfying,

For you, maybe. I much prefer the Replacements raucously inebriated punky side to the Westerberg's yawnsome sensitive side's co-opting of the band. I saw them live twice on the Don't Tell a Soul tour, and they were brilliant albeit intensely sloppy.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I like games that are both meh and brilliant.

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 23 February 2004 17:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I had been playing in a band for what seemed like most of my life. I was burned out and didn't think music mattered any more. People were listening to Prince, Jane's Addiction,etc...which was good but just wasn't me. Then I saw those drunken fuckers and I loved music again. Even though, probably due to bad CD remastering, they now sound dated, and Wetterpants lost his excuses for being an asshole, I still love music because of this band.

― Speedy Gonzalas (Speedy Gonzalas), Monday, 23 February 2004 19:49 (twenty-two years ago)

one of my TAs taught me the intro on guitar my freshman year of college! it's harder than it sounds.

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 23 February 2004 19:55 (twenty-two years ago)

it's not too hard if you've been playing geetar awhile, though without a 12 string it's not quite as awesome:

http://www.theskyway.com/chords/unsatisfied.txt

― don weiner, Monday, 23 February 2004 19:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Saw him do this on the 2002 tour and it was, uh, awesome. But my fave Let It Be moment has to be that piano dropout on "We're Coming Out", which kicks.

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Monday, 23 February 2004 20:28 (twenty-two years ago)

it's not too hard if you've been playing geetar awhile

i was 17!

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 23 February 2004 20:30 (twenty-two years ago)

seven years pass...

classic, clearly. learned of the replacements backtracking Tweedy and R Adams, imagine my 17 year old surprise that this is better than pretty much anything either of them have ever done

― answering_machine, Friday, 14 October 2011 10:57 (fourteen years ago)

I think this song is a bit overrated. there are better ones on the album. but of course it's much closer to a "classic" than a "dud".

― V79, Friday, 14 October 2011 11:03 (fourteen years ago)

Classic. But I don't like it nearly as much as I did when I was 20.

― kornrulez6969, Friday, 14 October 2011 13:32 (fourteen years ago)

I am still unsatisfied. But not as much as when I was 20, and in different areas.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 14 October 2011 15:36 (fourteen years ago)

i don't listen to it nearly as much as i used to, but when i do, it still has the same power.

classic beyond classic.

― Daniel, Esq., Friday, 14 October 2011 15:42 (fourteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

At 21, still rings just as true as it did a few years ago. One of the best ballads of all time.

― answering_machine, Sunday, 6 November 2011 10:26 (fourteen years ago)

anyone else ever catch the song being used in the background of a scene in Airheads?

― Al (sitcom), Sunday, February 22, 2004 1:15 PM (7 years ago) Bookmark

lol i was about to mention this again

― some dude, Sunday, 6 November 2011 13:19 (fourteen years ago)

Untapped potential for a Dido-ish chill cover.

― your way better (Eazy), Sunday, 6 November 2011 18:36 (fourteen years ago)

please no. NO.

i listened to this song the other day and it made me so sad

― Yasmine Teeth (La Lechera), Sunday, 6 November 2011 18:38 (fourteen years ago)

This song's full realization being so insanely at odds with its sentiment -- which only comes across through such a confident performance -- is pretty much what defines the Replacements for me.

― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Sunday, 6 November 2011 23:15 (fourteen years ago)

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