I’m in a b-sides and outtakes frame of mind this week. It’s October and tomorrow I turn 29. Seems inevitable to start surveying deadends and coulda-beens.

Today I’m wistfully obsessing over the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait.” Last year Aquarium Drunkard chronicled Westerberg’s multiple stabs at getting this one right so I won’t bore you with a rehash.

I just love that he knew he had a damn near perfect song, but he couldn’t decide how to play it. Jangley radio-ready epic with horns and strings? Quiet, longing shuffle? Or I guess his first impulse, breathless, Bob-fueled rager – the “Tim” version.

I love ‘em all, in part ‘cause they perfectly chart possible the greatest American band’s attempt to grow up and their ambivalence at every step. But God, the “Tim” version. Everything good in life should have a “Tim” version. It should be a lever you flip and your best memories are somehow distilled into even purer awesomeness.

(Source: youtube.com)