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Trouble Boys
Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements | Bob Mehr
Based on all-new interviews and including 72 rare photos, "Trouble Boys: The True Story of The Replacements" is the definitive biography of one of the last great rock 'n' roll bands of the twentieth century. Written with the participation of the group's key members, including reclusive singer-songwriter Paul Westerberg, bassist Tommy Stinson, and the family of late guitarist Bob Stinson, "Trouble Boys" is a deeply intimate and nuanced portrait, exposing the primal factors and forces addiction, abuse, fear that would shape one of the most brilliant and notoriously self-destructive groups of all time. Based on a decade of research and reporting, hundreds of interviews (with family, friends, managers, producers, and musical colleagues), as well as full access to the Replacements' archives at Twin/Tone and Warner Bros. Records, author Bob Mehr has fashioned something far more compelling than a conventional band bio. Beginning with riveting revelations about the band members' troubled early years which were scarred by alcoholism and mental health issues "Trouble Boys" tracks the group as they rise within the early '80s American underground and chronicles the making of classic LPs like "Sorry Ma," "Forgot to Take Out the Trash," and "Let It Be." Signing to Warner's Sire Records, the Replacements became one of the first indie bands to make the transition to the major label world, winning converts thanks to Westerberg's rapidly maturing songwriting on records like "Tim" and "Pleased to Meet Me." Mehr uncovers the darker truths behind the band's legendary drinking, showing how their addictions first came to define them and then nearly destroyed them. He offers an in-depth exploration of the life and tragic death of founding member Bob Stinson, who was fired from the group and later passed away at the age of thirty-five. By the end of their twelve-year run in 1991, the band's tightly held bonds had frayed as drummer Chris Mars was fired and Westerberg's depression, drinking, and desire to go solo became all-consuming. The band's break-up came in front of 20,000 people onstage at Chicago's Grant Park as they ceremoniously handed off their instruments to their road crew and disappeared, seemingly for good. "Trouble Boys" then traces Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson's subsequent efforts to find careers of their own, and it reveals the Replacements' impact and influence on successive generations of artists from the Flaming Lips to the Pixies, Nirvana to Green Day, the Wallflowers to Wilco. The book also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Replacements' triumphant 2013-2015 reunion, which saw them selling out stadiums, reclaiming their legacy, and re-establishing the complicated brotherhood between Westerberg and Stinson. A roaring rock 'n' roll adventure, a heartrending family drama, and a cautionary showbiz tale, "Trouble Boys" is a penetrating work of biography and a major addition to the rock book canon."
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Creadnorthey
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Pickpick

You know how it‘s going to play out but the heartbreak is real and their rock and roll legacy is there somewhere between the lines. I guess. Definitely a fun read if you‘re a fan of the band.

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CallMeIshmael
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When I was around 13 I was at the mall and just hanging in the music store when the dude who worked there recommended the Album: Don‘t tell a soul by the replacements and I remember falling in love. They are truly the greatest band that never was, Paul Westerbergs lyrics and voice have been with me through high school, college, marriage, divorce, married again, kids. The replacements are my life and they are releasing a new box set!!

AmyG Oooooo a box set. 5y
quietjenn Hooray for fellow ‘Mats fans! I just read Bob Mehr‘s Facebook post on the box set and it‘s gotten me super excited about this! I mean, I was anyway, but even more. 5y
CallMeIshmael @quietjenn I know I cannot wait!!! 5y
19 likes3 comments
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Sweettartlaura
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Pickpick

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can‘t say enough about this book. But I said a bit more in my GR review, linked below 👇🏻

Billboard names this one of the top music books ever, & it‘s true. If you‘re a fan of music, you definitely need to read this, even if you‘re not familiar with the band. And if you‘re a fan of lives lived as legend, you need to read this, too.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1566999813

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Sweettartlaura
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It‘s been a very long time since I read a good rock bio. Looking forward to this one.

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Sweettartlaura
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I love a good rock bio❤️🎶. Can‘t wait to dig into this. And dig I will... it‘s over 500 pages. Looks like it just might live up to its hype.
#bookishmail

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MrBook
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#TBRtemptation post 2! Any fans of The Replacements? Well, get ahold of this book which, as you can see from the snippet, is considered one of 100 greatest music books of all time, & there's a lot of music books out there! It's thick too at over 500 pages, so you're sure to get an in-depth account of one of the 20th Century's last great bands, from studio notes to interviews with the bandmates' families & collaborators. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

wendim Yes, please! 7y
AmyG That has been on my pile for a while. 7y
ApoptyGina69 I thought I was a pretty big fan, but my guy is all ABOUT them. This book is in a place of prominence in our living room. 7y
Tav 💕❤️💕 The Replacements. Will check this one out. 7y
LitsyGoesPostal 😊👍🏻 7y
68 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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sarielizbeth
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This is my weekend here! 😍 4, 2, and brand new! I love my boys 💙💙💙

saresmoore Oh my goodness! ♥️♥️♥️ 7y
mcipher Congrats!! ❤️❤️ 7y
Read4life Congratulations 7y
LauraBrook Congrats! 💖 7y
Louise What a beautiful scene! 💕 7y
10 likes5 comments
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CallMeIshmael
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This is perfect.....#bastardsofyoung

32 likes1 stack add2 comments
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CoachTsClass
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Pickpick

Trouble Boys is up there with Hammer of the Gods as one of the most all encompassing rock n roll biographies.

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ThirstyGang
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Great and heartbreaking bio of a great band

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Cholub
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In honor of his passing, here's the great little story of Prince meeting Replacements frontman and fellow Minneapolis musician Paul Westerberg, from Bob Mehr's recent biography of the band

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alaska620
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I have a feeling that this bio will stay with me for quite some time.

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quietjenn
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Also getting back into this, but only doing a little bit at a time, so it's slow going.

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jodiwilldare
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"The excitement and fun of the Faces . . . It was almost sexual. Virgins that we were, it was the closest thing to sex we'd experienced." Paul Westerberg