left of the dial redux

[Nick Harris]

so i caught some of the (annual, i think) discussion several months ago as
to whom paul was referencing in "left of the dial" . i eventually emailed
lynn blakey, formerly of let's active, but never got around to posting her
response. i'm just now checking back in here, so apologies if you guys
reached a definitive conclusion in october or something.

from lynn:

Paul was referring to me. I hope it wasn't Mitch.
I hope that helps, thank goodness it wasn't "gary's got a whatever"
Lynn

[bria...@my-deja.com]

I had always heard that Paul was referring to Sara Romweber, the
drummer for Let's Active. It could have been Lynn, though, who was the
"weary voice laughing on the radio".

Did you ever see the profile of Sara's brother, Dexter, on MTV's "IRS
Cutting Edge"? He was and I assume still is in Flat Duo Jets and the
profile was great. Dexter is a true rock and roll believer who, in the
segment, was living in a room covered with photos of old rockers like
Gene Vincent.

Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/

[nick harris]

afraid i didn't catch dexter on cutting edge. flat duo jets broke up after
Lucky Eye, which was a great one to go out on. dexter plays out and about
some in chapel hill or raleigh, but i haven't seen any of the shows.

nick

<bria...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:92g7ja$slj$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...

[Mr. Whirly]

So how in the hell did the whole REM rumor get started about Left of the
Dial ?? I know they were buddies in the 'Mats heydeys, but a lot of people
have claimed paul was singing about them in the song..What gives??

Mr. Whirly

[Shaun Richman]

Athens confusion.

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[bria...@my-deja.com]

The song could very well be about REM in addition to their Let's Active
pal. It seems to me that the song is a tribute to all of Paul's
musician friends that shared his "left-of-mainstream" status. The
references to "sweet Georgia breezes", etc. make it very plausible
that REM was another inspiration for the song. Maybe they're the band
in the song that Paul "read about". Or maybe The Mats are the band
that REM read about. Who knows for sure except Paul?

In article <92id6d$gfo$1...@laurel.tc.umn.edu>,

[Shaun Richman]

Let's Active were from Athens, Ga. The song is not about REM.

bria...@my-deja.com wrote:
> The
> references to "sweet Georgia breezes", etc. make it very plausible
> that REM was another inspiration for the song.

[nick harris]

let's active were from north carolina.

"Shaun Richman" <sh...@votesocialist.org> wrote in message
news:3A4D4E90...@votesocialist.org...

[Shawn Barnhart]

<bria...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:92ir2h$sr7$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...

> The song could very well be about REM in addition to their Let's Active
> pal. It seems to me that the song is a tribute to all of Paul's
> musician friends that shared his "left-of-mainstream" status. The
> references to "sweet Georgia breezes", etc. make it very plausible
> that REM was another inspiration for the song. Maybe they're the band
> in the song that Paul "read about". Or maybe The Mats are the band
> that REM read about. Who knows for sure except Paul?

"Left of the mainstream" status, or the left side of the (analog) music
dial?

I'm inclined to believe it was a Minneapolis thing, kind of. In the
early-mid 80s, the *only* place to hear the Replacements or any other
alternative act was by listening to public radio station KFAI 90.3 FM at the
"left of the dial". Of course this was probably true in any area, since
the public radio is usually clustered at that portion of the spectrum, but I
doubt that Westerberg knew that.

[bria...@my-deja.com]

> "Left of the mainstream" status, or the left side of the (analog)
music
> dial?

Probably both. The term "left of the dial" undoubtedly has something
to do with the fact that "alternative" bands like The Mats, Let's
Active, etc., were only played on college radio and other stations on
the far-left side of the radio dial. But, I think of a lot of those
bands as "left of center", too, or left of the mainstream.

I think Paul must have felt a real kinship with those other bands in
the same way that people in a lifeboat bond together, trying to survive
and hopefully making each other laugh once in a while. That's a pretty
far-out analogy, I know, but I think there's some truth to it.

[Greg Gentry]

That's what I love about Pauls lyrics...you can read so much into them and
mold the meaning for yourself. LOTD is for sure one of my all time faves.

Greg

Nick Harris <un...@REMOVEyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2D42359B558574DA.9F1C2936...@lp.airnews.net...

[Kevin LaFrance]

as far as i know, he was interviewed in guitar magazine and i think he said it
was about the radio and bands like them only getting airplay from the college
stations. i always felt weird when i did hear them on the mainstream stations
anyway

[Lynnster]

Been away from here for a couple of years but I peek in and now and
again, have been following this thread a little recently so hope nobody
minds me throwing my $0.01 in and pardon me for any echoing of others...

swb+u...@mobocracy.org speaketh like this...

> I'm inclined to believe it was a Minneapolis thing, kind of. In the
> early-mid 80s, the *only* place to hear the Replacements or any other
> alternative act was by listening to public radio station KFAI 90.3 FM at the
> "left of the dial". Of course this was probably true in any area, since
> the public radio is usually clustered at that portion of the spectrum, but I
> doubt that Westerberg knew that.

I would imagine he did know that it was true of almost any area, simply
because the majority of the "college radio" stations (which at the time
"Tim" came out were about the only stations playing the 'Mats outside of
the Midwest) in the nation are located at the left end of the dial, at
least that's nearly 100% here in the Southeastern US... and the reason
Paul was probably well aware of it was most of those stations would have
had some hand in either sponsorship of the shows when the 'Mats came to
town and/or having the band in the studio for interviews when they were
in town. In Tennessee alone in the Eighties virtually every major
metropolitan city in the state's influential "alternative" stations were
all college stations and were located at the "left of the dial" - WUTK at
UT-Knoxville at 90.3, Vanderbilt's 91 Rock, and Rhodes College in
Memphis' station somewhere on the same end, and with a few exceptions it
was the same all over this part of the country, I would assume most of
the rest of the country too. If not for WUTK and 91 Rock there likely
would have never been ANY Replacements shows in Tennessee from the early
to late '80s, those folks worked tirelessly to bring the music to the
masses!!

Most of those stations here in the Southeast had a hand in bringing bands
like the 'Mats in for shows down here and usually were about, if not the
only, the sole source of publicity, and I would assume that too was
probably true for the rest of the country, so I feel pretty certain that
Paul was well aware of the "left of the dial" syndrome all over the
country.

That said, I've also heard the Lynn Blakey story as well since about 1986
and from sources that would likely know, so I imagine all in all the song
is more or less a combination of both the nod to college radio in the
Eighties and the Lynn story (and Lynn Blakey is a super nice person
indeed and well worthy of tribute!) :>

Now if someone can just tell me the meaning of "Gary's Got A Boner"....
oh, I'm kidding :>

(another) Lynn in Memphis

--
******************************************************
"I knew by now that Gene Simmons
wasn't the answer,
but maybe Paul Westerberg was."

(Tommy Womack, "Cheese Chronicles")
******************************************************

[philp...@gmail.com]

Westerberg himself told Rolling Stone that it was for Lynn...
The Gospel According to Paul Westerberg, Rolling Stone, 1986
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-gospel-according-to-paul-19860522