L.A. Songs: Left of the Dial

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That’s right, it’s more rock and roll! Unlike CCR, the people mentioning L.A. today are from….Minneapolis? Hey, Minneapolis had a great music scene, and it was a lot more than Prince. Turn it up for some great 80s college rock. Left of the Dial - the Replacements I saw these guys twice. They were sober both times. That’s pretty amazing, considering their reputation. They fired the original guitarist, Bob Stinson, for his drinking and drug problem. Now, to be fair, Stinson had a reason for his drug and alcohol use: he was brutally abused in every way imaginable (and some ways you don’t want to imagine ) by his father when he was young. Stinson died in 1995 of total body failure from all the drugs he’d ingested at the ripe old age of 35. I think about what could have been when I hear this song. The ‘Mats were always destined to be “left of the dial” in their music. Rock on, Bob. Left of the Dial Written by Paul Westerberg Recorded by the Replacements From Tim, 1985 L.A. LYRICS: Headed out to San Francisco, definitely not L.A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGz2DTEpj1o