This is a perfect song to remember alternative radio with today. This is Paul Westerberg’s tribute to college radio in the 1980s. Of all the bands I’ve covered on Mondays…this band is my favorite of them all. They were more straight rock and roll with some quirks thrown in for good measure.
Left of the Dial celebrates the spirit of the eighties American indie rock scene and was a tribute to the tiny watt college stations populating the far end of the FM radio band—many let the Replacements crash after shows at campuses. Westerberg had said that is where they got most of their airtime…“We ended up going to college in an odd kind of way.”
The song is also about Westerberg’s infatuation with Lynn Blakey, singer-guitarist for North Carolina’s Let’s Active. They’d met when the bands shared a bill at San Francisco’s I-Beam in the fall of 1983. “He followed me around and bummed cigarettes off me,” recalled Blakey. The following night, after a show in Berkeley, the two spent hours walking together. They would exchange calls and letters as Blakey moved to Athens, Georgia, where she joined Michael Stipe’s sister Lynda in the band Oh-OK.
“I figured the only way I’d hear her voice was with her band on the radio . . . on a college station,” said Westerberg. “And one night we were passing through a town somewhere, and she was doing an interview on the radio. I heard her voice for the first time in six months for about a minute. Then the station faded out.” The moment provided the song’s lyric “If I don’t see ya, in a long, long while / I’ll try to find you / Left of the dial.”
The song was on the album Tim and it was released in 1985.
Left of the Dial
Read about your band in some local page
Didn’t mention your name, didn’t mention your name
The sweet Georgia breezes, safe, cool and warm
I headed up north, you headed north
On and on and on and on
What side are you on?
On and on and on and on
What side are you on?
Weary voice that’s laughin’, on the radio once
We sounded drunk, never made it on
Passin’ through and it’s late, the station started to fade
Picked another one up in the very next state
On and on and on and on
What side are you on?
On and on and on and on and
Pretty girl keep growin’ up, playin’ make-up, wearin’ guitar
Growin’ old in a bar, ya grow old in a bar
Headed out to San Francisco, definitely not L.A.
Didn’t mention your name, didn’t mention your name
And if I don’t see ya, in a long, long while
I’ll try to find you
Left of the dial
Left of the dial
Left of the dial
Left of the dial
Left of the dial
Left of the dial
Left of the dial
Left of the dial
…
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Different, a lot like a story. Nice drums and bass.
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Great band. Great song. I haven’t heard it in forever.
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Hey Pam! Good to see you again…well see, hear, read…whichever you like! lol.
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Yeah. Nice to drop back in. Hope you are well–and busy. We’ve been very busy, thank God. Hope things continue to normalize.
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Yes everything is slowly going back to normal. It shocked me to see around a month ago some countries in lockdown again. Great to have you back Pam!
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Quite good…this would be high on my list of favorites of theirs you’ve posted. Don’t remember hearing it before but I do seem to recall having seen the video.
It wasn’t til quite recently it occurred to me most college or underground stations were on the “left of the dial”… 88, 89 FM etc. Guess they had poorer range and were less coveted, although makes you wonder why cities weren’t crowded with tons of stations at the 106, 107 end?
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It is a good song and clever. His songwriting in that stretch rivaled any one.
Yea I remember Vanderbilt’s radio station was on the left side of the dial.
I guess out of all the alt bands at that time…they probably register higher for me because of their sound and Westerberg’s songwriting.
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Sounds like Westerberg was a creeper and a tune came out of it lol
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LOL hey it worked! His songwriting during that time was on another level.
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I didn’t know the back-story – I just interpreted it as a celebration of independent music. It rocks much harder than how I remember it.
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one of many great songs by The Replacements- one of my favorite 80’s bands.
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Nice. And, that video took me back to stereo systems, albums and big speakers. Miss those days.
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That was their answer to making a video lol… yea I do miss those systems
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Hey. I like simple.
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first time hearing it.
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Great song, Max. As for the video, the loudspeaker box seems to be upside down. Isn’t the bass supposed to be at the bottom? 🙂
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Yes you are right…a bout everything about them is upside down lol.
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You keep doing takes like this and Ill keep coming back.
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That is the plan CB…I’m writing some up this long weekend. I wanna keep this eighties stuff going.
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I forgot to mention X and Big head Todd when we last talked.
You did a 4th of July thing last year if I recalled and I mention ‘4th Of July’ by Dave Alvin. X does a good version also. Blasters and X were buddies.
Good digging Max.
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Unless you wanna do it….I was looking for something this year…. dude the 4th is my 22nd wedding anniversary. Geez that’s a long time dude.
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All yours fella.
Good work on the union. It just gets better.
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Thanks CB…
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