"All of This and Nothing" is a series of weekly posts, each about one song I really love, by an artist I haven't featured in the previous This Year, Portions For Foxes, or Better Things series. It alternates between Obscure and Famous songs; feel free to argue either way if you're so inclined. See the introduction for more.
Chris Mars is probably the third-most famous person in the Replacements. Paul Westerberg, the singer and frontman, is obviously first. Tommy Stinson would be placed at #2 by most people.
But Mars came quickly out of the gate from the wreck of the Replacements with a great record in 1992, called Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. It had three absolutely top-tier, all-time-great songs on it. (And he did some fine solo stuff later, too.) So, at least at that moment, it looked like he might be jumping up in the rankings.
I had a hard time picking one of those three songs, but I had to put aside Popular Creeps and I, Me, We, Us, Them for this exercise. Because the 'mats were always about bile and spleen, so I have to give extra points to Monkey Sees, which I'm pretty sure is about Westerberg himself.
Like a bent disciple, carbon clone
There's a lot of language in this song that adds up to "fake" in different ways. Mars is calling someone a poser, a follower, derivative. Given the timing, most people are pretty sure it's Westerberg. But Mars never says - you can take it as an attack on anyone you prefer.
Better follow fast
Better heed the keeper's call
But, best of all, it's all in a crunchy early-90s proto-grunge style, with punchy drums - Mars was the drummer for the Replacements - and a fun guitar line. Mars was never as popular as I thought he should have been, which means there's probably a big audience who is vaguely nostalgic for this kind of music but never heard this one. If that's you: check it out.
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