Let it Be was released 40 years ago today. Besides being one of the most influential albums of my lifetime, it also serves as a bit of harbinger for what Paul Westerberg would become. It showcased that if he wanted to he could write music that changed people's lives, but it also cemented what would be his career-long obsession: making sure that you knew he could write those songs if he wanted to, while also making sure you knew he just didn't want to, for no real reason. He never really bothered lifting a finger of musical ambition once that became his de riguer and he knew he just needed to drop enough of a line or too here & there to remind you of how he made you felt when you were 16 & thought nobody else cared; this is all how Paul Westerberg insisted on being the Holden Caulfield* of rock & roll, forever a god to 16 year olds but a big shrug to adults.
I love Paul Westerberg with all my heart, I love Let it Be (only my 3rd-fave tho which always get me in hot water with Replacements fans) and wish after 40 years everybody in the world could have a chance to love it too, but I'll never get over what could have been. And yes, you're goddam right I'm gonna end this whole fucking thing by saying yes, I believe I really AM unsatisfied!
*if you really wanna piss him off call him the Ferris Bueller of rock & roll
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