The Replacements - "I'll Be You"

(Debuted April 8, 1989, Peaked #51, 10 Weeks on the Chart)

The Replacements were a very influential band during the 1980s, among the college circuit and among the rising alternative sound that was preparing to push the dance-pop and hair bands away once the decade was a mere memory. However, those who focus on the pop charts might miss the group, since their only listing, "I'll Be You," reached #51, but was a #1 hit on both the Modern Rock Tracks and Album Rock Tracks charts.

A cut from Don't Tell a Soul, which was for all intents and purposes the last album recorded by the group, "I'll Be You" was a departure from the band's mid-80s heyday. Instead of having roots in postpunk or alternative, the music was more a straightforward rock sound. While it was a minor pop hit (and the album was their highest charter), it was enough to turn off some of the band's fans who fondly remebered 1985's Tim and 1987's Pleased To Meet Me.

The video was even a more straightforward affair. Renowned for "Bastards of Young," which had a single-shot image of a kid listening to the song on a stereo and then kicking in the speaker, the video for "I'll Be You" (shown below) was a standard recording of the band playing the song in a studio. That said, the video picked below begins with Paul Westerburg -- who wrote the song -- saying he wishes he could go back and change some of the stuff done in his band's music. That was interesting to see.