I agree with your top song selections, though I'd expand them (and argue that while Tim may not be second best, it's probably still top 5 for '85). Left of the Dial offers a pained power pop anthem to all independent/college stations as well as the bands that briefly make their home there before vanishing. They say Paul wrote it about the bassist for Lets Active, which makes a lot of sense lyrically, but to the listener untainted by this knowledge I think it plays as ode to garage bands that never make it. This genre of song has been around a long time and is probably more popular now than ever, but The Replacements' give it a distinct stamp; this one goes out to the 70s/80s burnouts.
I think Swingin' Party also belongs in this conversation, but I have a feeling plenty of other people have analyzed this tune, so I'll move on to my last Top Songs of Tim proposal: Here Comes a Regular. My favorite sides of The Replacements are 1) their powerful poppy-ness, whether it leans to the punkish (Bastards of Young) or to the slick (Can't Hardly Wait), and 2) their Springsteen style heartland rock: the tempo can be up (see Bastards of Young again for this one (this must be why it's such a good song; it's both sides of my favorite coin)) or down (Unsatisfied, as well as the present song), but to my ears the Springsteen comes through. Lamentations of a dispossessed generation, depictions of a laid back and wasted working class, the dissatisfied howls of disaffected youth. Here Comes a Regular would be right at home on Side 4 of The River or anywhere on Darkness on the Edge of Town.
For me, only VU and Hounds of Love top Tim for '85. The only other contenders I can think of are Chin Chin's "Sounds of the Westway" and Jacobites' "Robespierre's Velvet Basement. I'd highly recommend adding those to your "not on the list" list.
Caleb - thanks for your thoughtful comments. This is the kind of thing I'm hoping to see from readers. Actually, "I'll Buy" is probably the song I came closest to putting on my list, but I didn't mean to demean the others. You raise great points about the songs you mention - I think you notice lyrics more than I do but I don't really have anything against the songs you cite. They're all good.
Boy, I hated Jacobites back in '85, and don't know Chin Chin at all. But I'll look into them if I can - the idea here is to get a well rounded sense of the year over the next couple years.
I agree with your top song selections, though I'd expand them (and argue that while Tim may not be second best, it's probably still top 5 for '85). Left of the Dial offers a pained power pop anthem to all independent/college stations as well as the bands that briefly make their home there before vanishing. They say Paul wrote it about the bassist for Lets Active, which makes a lot of sense lyrically, but to the listener untainted by this knowledge I think it plays as ode to garage bands that never make it. This genre of song has been around a long time and is probably more popular now than ever, but The Replacements' give it a distinct stamp; this one goes out to the 70s/80s burnouts.
I think Swingin' Party also belongs in this conversation, but I have a feeling plenty of other people have analyzed this tune, so I'll move on to my last Top Songs of Tim proposal: Here Comes a Regular. My favorite sides of The Replacements are 1) their powerful poppy-ness, whether it leans to the punkish (Bastards of Young) or to the slick (Can't Hardly Wait), and 2) their Springsteen style heartland rock: the tempo can be up (see Bastards of Young again for this one (this must be why it's such a good song; it's both sides of my favorite coin)) or down (Unsatisfied, as well as the present song), but to my ears the Springsteen comes through. Lamentations of a dispossessed generation, depictions of a laid back and wasted working class, the dissatisfied howls of disaffected youth. Here Comes a Regular would be right at home on Side 4 of The River or anywhere on Darkness on the Edge of Town.
For me, only VU and Hounds of Love top Tim for '85. The only other contenders I can think of are Chin Chin's "Sounds of the Westway" and Jacobites' "Robespierre's Velvet Basement. I'd highly recommend adding those to your "not on the list" list.
Caleb - thanks for your thoughtful comments. This is the kind of thing I'm hoping to see from readers. Actually, "I'll Buy" is probably the song I came closest to putting on my list, but I didn't mean to demean the others. You raise great points about the songs you mention - I think you notice lyrics more than I do but I don't really have anything against the songs you cite. They're all good.
Boy, I hated Jacobites back in '85, and don't know Chin Chin at all. But I'll look into them if I can - the idea here is to get a well rounded sense of the year over the next couple years.