Background
"I Will Dare" was written by Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg shortly after the band completed their Hootenanny album. According to producer Peter Jesperson, Westerberg attempted to get the song onto Hootenanny: "I got a call from Paul saying, 'I've just finished the best song I've ever written. We need to record it now.' But the record was already done, so we couldn't do it." [2]
Westerberg has called the song as an answer to U2's "I Will Follow" and has also described the track as "a kind of love song." [2] He further noted that the song's title was an apt motto for the band, and said, "We'll dare to flop [. . .] We'll dare to do anything." [3]
The song is based on a shuffle rhythm and features Paul Westerberg playing a mandolin. Peter Buck of R.E.M. plays guitar on the song, including the solo after lead guitarist Bob Stinson couldn't come up with an adequate solo himself. [4] Buck recalled, "I was just sitting there, and Bob said something like, 'I can't play a solo on this fucking thing.' Those weren't his chords. And Paul goes, 'Hey, Peter, you do it.'" [2]
The Replacements were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979 after nineteen-year-old Bob Stinson gifted his eleven-year-old brother Tommy Stinson a bass guitar. The band was composed of the guitarist and vocalist Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bass guitarist Tommy Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars for most of its existence. After two albums in the style of punk rock, they became one of the main pioneers of alternative rock with their acclaimed albums Let It Be and Tim. Bob Stinson was kicked out of the band in 1986, and Slim Dunlap joined as lead guitarist. Steve Foley replaced Mars in 1990. Towards the end of the band's career, Westerberg exerted more control over its creative output. The group disbanded in 1991 and the members eventually found various projects. A reunion was announced on October 3, 2012. Fans affectionately refer to the band as the 'Mats, a nickname which originated as a truncation of "The Placemats".
Paul Harold Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for The Replacements. Following the breakup of The Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him release three albums on two major record labels.
Thomas Eugene Stinson is an American rock musician. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the bass guitarist for The Replacements, one of the definitive American alternative rock groups. After their breakup in 1991, Stinson formed Bash & Pop, acting as lead vocalist, guitarist and frontman. In the mid-1990s he was the singer and guitarist for the rock band Perfect, and eventually joined the hard rock band Guns N' Roses in 1998.
Don't Tell a Soul is the sixth studio album by the American rock band the Replacements, released on February 1, 1989, by Sire Records.
Robert Neil Stinson was an American musician best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the rock band The Replacements.
Pleased to Meet Me is the fifth studio album by the American rock band the Replacements, released in 1987 by Sire Records. The album was acclaimed by music critics.
Let It Be is the third studio album by American rock band the Replacements. It was released on October 2, 1984, by Twin/Tone Records. A post-punk album with coming-of-age themes, Let It Be was recorded by the band after they had grown tired of playing loud and fast exclusively as on their 1983 Hootenanny album; the group decided to write songs that were, according to vocalist Paul Westerberg, "a little more sincere."
Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash is the first studio album by the American band The Replacements. It was released on August 25, 1981 by Twin/Tone Records. Squarely inspired by punk rock, the album stands in contrast to the power pop and indie rock styles of later albums.
Hootenanny is the second studio album by the American rock band the Replacements, released on April 29, 1983, by Twin/Tone Records. The album received positive reviews from critics.
All Shook Down is the seventh and final studio album by the American rock band The Replacements, released on September 25, 1990, by Sire Records.
Bash & Pop are an American alternative rock band formed in 1992 by Tommy Stinson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the breakup of the Replacements. It released one album before disbanding in 1994. Tommy Stinson reformed the band in 2016 with a new lineup and album.
The Shit Hits the Fans is a Twin/Tone Records cassette-only live album by The Replacements which was released January 25, 1985. It was recorded live at The Bowery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on November 11, 1984. The cassette J-Card cover art is by Chris Mars. According to the Twin/Tone website, 10,000 copies were produced, of which 9,276 sold immediately. The rest were given away as promotional copies.
Bob "Slim" Dunlap is an American rock musician. He is a Minnesota-based guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known as a member of The Replacements from 1987 to 1991, replacing original lead guitarist Bob Stinson. Dunlap also recorded two solo albums in the mid-1990s.
"Unsatisfied" is a song written by Paul Westerberg and recorded by his band the Replacements for their third studio album Let It Be (1984). Revolving around the central lyric "I'm so unsatisfied," the song was largely fleshed out in the studio and featured improvised guitar lines from guitarist Bob Stinson.
Don't You Know Who I Think I Was? is a greatest hits album by the American rock band The Replacements, released in 2006 by Rhino Records. It includes eighteen tracks spanning the band's eight studio releases from 1981 to 1990, as well as two new tracks recorded specifically for this release. The new tracks—"Message to the Boys" and "Pool & Dive"—feature the three surviving original band members: singer and guitarist Paul Westerberg, bass guitarist Tommy Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars. However, Mars does not play drums on these tracks: they were played by session drummer Josh Freese while Mars sang backing vocals.
"Bastards of Young" is a song written by Paul Westerberg and recorded by his band The Replacements for their fourth studio album Tim (1985). Inspired by Westerberg's sister Mary and the band's feelings of alienation, the song has been described as an "anthem" and features a Who-inspired guitar intro.
Tim is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band The Replacements. It was released in September 1985 on Sire Records. It was their first major label release and also the last album made by the original line-up of the band: guitarist Bob Stinson was kicked out of the band towards the end of 1986.
"Can't Hardly Wait" is a song by American rock band the Replacements from their fifth studio album Pleased to Meet Me. Written shortly after the sessions for Let It Be, the song was attempted for the 1985 Tim album but ultimately went unreleased until Pleased to Meet Me. The song features Alex Chilton on guitar as well as an arrangement with horns and strings, additions that were controversial within the band.
For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986 is a 2017 live album by the American alternative rock band The Replacements. Recorded at the famous Maxwell's at the height of the band's commercial and creative arc, it is one of the few good recordings of their live performances. The band's only previous live album—1985's The Shit Hits the Fans—was a limited cassette tape release which features poor audio quality and several false starts and stops on songs. In 2007, bassist Tommy Stinson stated that "There are no good Replacements live recordings", in part due to a lack of high-quality recordings and in part due to the band's notoriously sloppy performances due to alcohol abuse. The album was produced by Bob Mehr, who wrote the 2016 biography of the band Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements.
Friday Night Is Killing Me is the first album by the American rock band Bash & Pop, released in 1993. It was Tommy Stinson's first project after the dissolution of the Replacements. The band supported the album with a North American tour that included dates opening for the Black Crowes.
