Song · The Replacements
“Answering Machine” by The Replacements
From the album Let It Be (1984)
“Answering Machine” by The Replacements appears on 17 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1999 and 2014. It was first released in 1984 on the album Let It Be. Its best result is #28 on the CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,110 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (The Replacements - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
The credits on "Answering Machine", from the Replacements' 1984 album Let It Be, belong almost entirely to Paul Westerberg: he wrote the words and music, sings lead, and handles the electric guitar and percussion himself. It's a raw, lonely-sounding thing, the guitar buzzing like a bad phone line and the voice straining to be heard over it.
Steve Fjelstad engineered it and co-produced with Peter Jesperson and Westerberg, and the homemade feel suits the song down to the ground: no polish, no safety net, just nerve.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Answering Machine" by The Replacements.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.