Whiskeytown and the Replacements..

So I'd always heard that Whiskeytown was influenced by the Replacements (see Popmatters Review of "Strangers Almanac" re-issue: "Whiskeytown was the Replacements of the so-called alt-country pack of the mid-‘90s—when it wasn’t on fire, it burned fiery and bright.").

But I never really got it until tonight when I put on the Replacement's "Let It Be". And it's not just the sound - the loose, jangly guitars (like Bright Star dragged through a little mud) - it's the phrasing, the delivery, the guts of the songwriting.

So, for fun, here's a live version of "I Will Dare" by the Replacements:



Compared against Whiskeytown's "Drink Like a River:



Ryan's in fine form for this show (1997, St. Louis)- the intro alone is priceless.