bedsitter23

In rock music, the coolest dude is usually the lead singer aka the front man. But throughout rock's history, there has been the cool sideman. The guy who isn't the main voaclist, but exudes cool rock image.

It's Keith Richards, of course as the godfather, but you know the lineage. Johnny Thunders, Jimmy Page, Mick Ronson, Ronnie Lane, Joe Perry, Ace Frehley, Steve Stevens, Randy Rhodes, Brian May, Nancy Wilson, Peter Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott, Paul Simonon and many more that I surely forget. In more recent years, that list would surely include people like Izzy Stradlin, Johnny Marr, John Fruiscante, Dave Navarro and Kim Gordon.

I am talking less of the virtuosos- Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, Flea, Buckethead- though they certainly qualify, but more of the image, so Sid Vicious.

In which case, Tommy Stinson is on the short list of rock n roll cool.

By weird ironic turns and arithmetic, Stinson was in Guns N Rose longer than he was in the Replacements, and was longer in Guns N Roses than everybody in that band save Axl and Use Your Illusion alumn keyboardist Dizzy Reed.

The Replacements legacy was firm in the 90s, and if anything is more cemented now. Like the Pixies, it's possible that younger generations will know their songs more than mine. I Will Dare, Left of the Dial, B*stards of Young, Kiss me on the Bus, Alex Chilton

Trouble Boys was one of the most highly acclaimed music biographies of last year. By accounts I have seen, the reunion tour was a success. Even Paul Westerberg's 2016 project with Juliana Hatfield called the I Don't Cares (while not widely reviewed, where it was reviewed) it got high marks.

The 90's aren't a fond time for the Replacements. 1989's Dont Tell a Soul and 1990's All Shook Down were well received by all aspects of the rock press. (DTaS is a very good album, even if it is "polished") . Like many "new Dylan's" Westerberg was dubbed the next can't miss star, and at the time, everyone predicted many years of commercial and critical acclaim for him. That of course, didn't happen. 93's 14 Songs was generally well-liked if not universally loved, but the years that followed were marred by subpar material, then label issue, then Westerberg finally going off and doing what he damned well pleased. Westerberg did get a hit single with "Dyslexic Heart" which still gets played on Adult Alternative stations and is part of 90s Nostalgia. Stinson formed a band called Perfect, but that band had limited success, before he got a better paying gig in Axl's Army. He also had obvious and not so obvious gigs with Soul Asylum, Frank Black, and playing on Puff daddy's "All About the Benjamins" remix.

But for a brief moment, it did look like the Mats would be successful in the post-Nevermind world. Chris Mars and even Slim Dunlap had albums on the larger indie albums.

Stinson went away and made his own noise on the wonderfully titled "Friday Night is Killing Me". It wasn't quite a success, given the fact I eventually picked it up from the cutout bin. Still, in the 90s, everyone got a major label chance.

FNiKm is a pretty good, if not great album. It is very much what you would expect. Yes, it probably would be a better record with Westerberg, but it's worthwhile. Allmusic gives it a terrible two and half star review, though I suspect it would fare better these days. Removed from any expectation as being the next Mats album, it's a great Mats-style, Faces-type bar band record. It would fit well on the shelf with Keef's "Talk is Cheap" and Izzy Stradlin's first Juju Hounds record.



And now Bash & Pop is back for the second record after almost 25 years. The band is different (the two Foley Brothers he collaborated with have passed away) and that record had contributions from members of Wire Train and Tom Pettys' Heartbreakers. The new band retains the sound and come from bands as diverse as The Mighty Might Bosstones, Screeching Weasel, North Mississippi All Stars and Stinson-era GnR.

Initial reviews are very positive, and the fact that the band was signed by Fat Possum Records another good harbinger.

English rock band Space were one of the many Britpop bands to hit it big in the 90s.

Twenty years later, while everyone remembers Oasis and Blur (and Suede and Pulp), you may not think much of Space these days any more than you do of Gene, Supergrass, Ash, Sleeper, Ocean Colour Scene or Shed 7.

Space's moment in the sun was better than some. They showed up in the Austin Powers end credits with "Female of the Species". "Species" is an instant classic, and the band put out two other songs that rival that - "Ballad of Tom Jones (with Cerys Matthews) and "Neighborhood".

Space had much the same touchpoints as everyone else, but had a bit of an electronic, hip hop/synthpop vibe which made them stand out. Clever lyrics put them on the map with their singles. That said, as one hit wonders tend to go, Space's album Spiders is a surprisingly good listen. Much more of an achievement than you will find from many of their rivals.

Which isn't to say Space has aged well. I still love their songs, but they are as close to the 90s and far away from today as say the Spice Girls are to One Direction.

If you didn't know, Space's drummer (Andy Parle)died in 2009. They had put the band to bed by then, but a couple of years after Parle's used that as incentive to get the band back together.

They have released a new album Attack of the 50 Ft Kebab. I have to admit it isn't something I would normally seek out, but as far as expectations go, what I have heard is quite fun.

Always a party band, they seem to be intent on playing up the ska edge of the band along with the usual pop and punk influences they already had, with a bit of garage rock, spy and surf thrown in (in the American sense of garage, not the British). It's not a bad move, as it seems like the obvious next step. It actually reminds me a bit of the Dickies in the juvenile, playful aspect. It is also a lot better than probably has the right to be.

Some classics and some new stuff

Awhile back I did a list of great lost 90s albums. I haven't visited that for awhile, but it was certain at some point I would add the band Spain.

1995's Blue Moods of Spain has become a bit of a lost classic.

It wasn't quite like anything else (a mix of dramatic brood a la Tindersticks and slowcore). The band didn't appear on the album cover nor in their video for "Untitled #1" giving them an extra enhancement.

They weren't complete unknowns though. Their label -Restless Records- was as ambitious as any indie label in the mid 90s.

The band's leader, Josh Haden was son of Jazz Legend Charlie Haden and brother of indie icon / thatdog.'s singer Petra Haden.

Spain made three records, and for a blip on the indie scene, their songs were covered not only by Soulsavers, but on Unchained, the Man In Black himself, Johnny Cash ("Spiritual").

Blue... has a near-five star score on Amazon, though I tended at the time to gravitate to the 3 star review given by allmusic. Individually, there were some excellent songs. "Untitled #1" was easily one of the best songs of that year.

Still, when taken at once, the album was less impressive- a collection that could not deliver on the promise of the single. Josh lacked the voice to really transcend the soundtrack-style music like a Nick Cave, Stuart Staples or John Cale.

Spain are back with a new album planned for 2012- The Soul of Spain. Once again, they have a lead single that is right up there on the list of best songs you'll hear all year.

Check out first the classic single and then the new single.