Bash & Pop – Friday Night Is Killing Me …album review

This band is a natural for me. I’ve read about them a lot, and now I’m listening to them much more. They fit into why I love rock and roll. The band is fronted by Tommy Stinson of The Replacements. Stinson started playing bass at age 11 and at 13 years old, played with the Replacements. After they broke up, he played bass for Guns N’ Roses for 16 years. He also played with Soul Asylum off and on. Before he joined Guns N’ Roses, he formed this band, which he would reform a few times in the future. 

In 1993, Bash & Pop released their debut album: Friday Night Is Killing Me. It wasn’t another Replacements album. It was more Faces than Replacements. Paul Westerberg was the main writer of the Replacements, and here Stinson wasn’t trying to rewrite Let It Be or Tim. Instead, he played into a ragged, Keith Richards-type vibe that owed as much to the Stones and Faces as to his original band. The songs were loose and built around Stinson’s raspy vocals. I can’t get enough of this album. 

This was released at a time when grunge was dominating radio, so it got lost in the shuffle. But for those who found it, the record became a classic. It showed that Tommy Stinson could front a band and write quality songs with soul. They don’t have that slick commercial sound to it, and I applaud that. 

Tommy Stinson wrote most of the songs on the album, except one, Fast and Hard, which he co-wrote with Steve Foley. This album could be considered power pop, but a rough, as hell raw version of it, which I love! I’m super excited about this album as a whole. I really missed out in real time with this one. 

I’ve picked two songs off the album to highlight (Loose Ends and Never Aim To Please), and a link to Spotify to the source album. It is one of those records you hand to someone who thought rock was dead by the early ’90s. It’s alive here and full of heart. This album is for the fans of The Replacements, The Faces, or anyone who likes rock music and some great hooks. 

I usually don’t mention critics, but here are two. AllMusic wrote that “decades after its release, the album feels like a bit of the hangover from the ’80s, a celebration of irreverent roots rock performed with an audible grin.” Magnet considered it “the best batch of songs by any Replacement since 1987’s Pleased To Meet Me.”

Loose Ends

Miss come-and-go
Where you been now?
Put a red light on the rest
And wondered why and how
Your love it grows
But no one knows
Who’s on your mind, who’s on your lap
Don’t they look the same yet
It’s alright

Early morning, drinking tea, a slice of whole wheat
Another lesson you should’ve learned, you had to wait
You care too much, you care less
Headin’ for a better view, fail to impress
Well, I guess you’ve got too far to stray
No place particular is where you end your day
You know I got no, the pavement holds no one

It’s time to tie your loose ends up
Never mind which way
Time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
No one left to blame, oh yeah

Butterflies that turn to knots
In your guts around your neck
You get ’em too tight and they slip again
‘Cause you look too far, ’cause you fall too fast
It’s a raincheck for a date, but you’ve no interest
Guess you’ve got too far to stray
Your heart’s breakin’ all over the place
You know I got no, the pavement holds no one

It’s time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
How much you gonna take?
So time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
You’ve got too much to shake

When mom comes home at last
It’s a whisper through the glass
Can’t you hear the voices screamin’
Yeah, I’m screamin’, “Go ahead and tie ’em up!”

You fall apart before my eyes
I’ll sweep the mess
And the shortcut through the dirt is always best
You look too far, you look to the west
Heading time is all you needed
I know best
And I guess you got too far to stray (stray)
No place particular is where you end your day (your day), oh no
And the pavement holds no one

Time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
Never mind which way, yeah
Time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
No one left to blame (Tie ’em up)
Time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
How much you gonna take? (Tie ’em up)
Time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
You got a lot to shake (Tie ’em up)
Time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
Time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)
Time to tie your loose ends up (Tie ’em up)