‘Androgynous’: The Replacements song that predicted the future
When looking back on the history of alternative music, The Replacements deserve a place among the greatest bands ever to do it. Although the band were never the most proficient musicians in the world, their signature brand of boozy classic rock and rough-around-the-edges lyrical content would become one of the most prominent sounds of the next generation, with everyone from Green Day to Nirvana citing them as an influence. While some of their songs may have been more coherent than others, The Replacements were more than ahead of the curve when creating the song ‘Androgynous’.
Coming out of the 1970s, though, rock was already going through its fair share of transformations on the live stage. Compared to the bands walking around with flowers in their hair in the 1960s, the next phase of rock was more concerned with making artists more attractive, with everyone from Lou Reed to David Bowie donning makeup and crafting songs about the differences between gender roles.
While many fans flocked to the non-specific gender norms, there were just as many fans opposed to it. Since the world still wasn’t as receptive to same-sex marriage, embracing the styles of the opposite sex seemed almost taboo, with the more unsavoury fans suggesting that artists get out of the business for promoting such “filth”.
In the vein of the heroes that came before him, though, Paul Westerberg was looking to break down barriers when writing the song ‘Androgynous’. While there aren’t many lyrics throughout the song, the ideas are about tolerance between different opinions on gender norms. Although the couple in this song may have an androgynous approach to what they do, Westerberg reminds his audience that they are just ordinary people and should be treated with the same respect as anyone else.
While Westerberg may not have been on a level to express those feelings on a grand stage, it would leave a mark on how the next generation would present themselves to the public. In contrast to the pretty boys clogging up MTV during the hair metal movement, artists like Kurt Cobain would play up the intolerant tendencies of the typical rock fan, even wearing a dress the first time he appeared on the metal show Headbanger’s Ball.
Since bands were letting their opinions known about the world of androgyny, Billie Joe Armstrong also threw his hat into the ring in Green Day’s prime. Having already talked about his bisexuality in the song ‘Coming Clean’, a song like ‘King for a Day’ was a celebration of crossdressing, taking the basis of what Westerberg was talking about and turning it on its head, down to reusing the chord progression from the rock staple, ‘Shout’.
Even in the modern age of music, Laura Jane Grace from Against Me! has cited the song as one a main inspiration, going on to make a concise concept album centred around being a transgender woman in a world that openly resents her on Transgender Dysphoria Blues. Although The Replacements isn’t a band meant to be taken seriously on every song, now and again, they have those songs that can cut to the chase better than any other seasoned songwriter.
