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We're The Replacements

From This Might Be A Wiki
song nameWe're the Replacements
artistThey Might Be Giants
releasesDon't Let's Start (EP), Don't Let's Start (LP), Miscellaneous T, Then: The Earlier Years, Best Of The Early Years, Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants, A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants: Melody, Fidelity, Quantity
year1987
first playedMar. 1, 1990 (89 known performances)
run time1:50
sung byJohn Linnell; John Flansburgh sings backup

Trivia/Info

  • "We're the Replacements, a carefree tribute to the now legendary rockers, immediately grabbed the rock media's attention, all the way to MTV, where a VJ made an aside that introduced TMBG as former roadies for The Replacements, creating a groundless urban legend that continues to this day." -- Then: The Earlier Years liner notes
  • Aside from that, TMBG have actually made many statements indicating that this song has little to do with The Replacements (the band), but rather just life on the road. John Flansburgh from a Barrymore Theatre interview:
[The song] basically plays on the name, The Replacements. And it's about being in a band, and it uses The Replacements as an example, but it's also about the replaceable nature of being on the road. Like, everywhere where we're playing this week, another band is gonna play next week, so there are all these bands that are kind of marching around in a parallel universe and they never really meet each other. But... I mean, for months we were on the road behind 10,000 Maniacs. We were playing the same cities, and in a lot of cases, the same venues -- but just, like, a day before, or a day after. And so... you just come to realize that you have more in common with the death metal band than you ever thought, in terms of where you go. Every hotel you've stayed at, they were there the day before. Every highway you drive down, every truckstop you go in, every... venue you play, every PA guy you meet -- they've JUST MET these other people, who you thought you had nothing in common with, and then you realize you're living the same LIFE as [that other band]. So... the denotation of The Replacements is kind of a pun.

Song Themes

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We're The Replacements is currently ranked #113 out of 845. (96 wikians have given it an average rating of 8.94)
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