I don't like Jim Rome. The legions of moronic callers and the affected baritone voice aside, his "takes" - as he calls them - veer between the sycophantic "I love that guy" attitude reserved for athletes and coaches who agree to appear on his show to easy potshots at the others who get busted for drunk driving and blowing games. Obviously, I don't listen to him most days. This is also because I don't listen to local radio in general, but occasionally I find myself without CDs and desperate, so I tune in. This happened today.
My respect for the guy rose a notch, because he was talking about his love for the Replacements.
The Replacements are one of my top 5 all-time favorite bands. I started listening to them in high school (Pleased to Meet Me era), and never really stopped. I even got to see one of their shows in Austin when attending UT. Their (relative) sobriety was tempered by my own extreme state of inebriation, but it was still an outstanding show. Paul Westerberg's solo stuff never struck the same chord with me, but the guy is still an excellent songwriter.
Rome's experiences with the band echoed a lot of my own, right up to his drunkenly attending a 'Mats gig. He didn't have nice things to say about Westerberg, who apparently blew off his fanboy attentions after the show, but it's understandable. The guy probably had to deal with hundreds of intoxicated dipshits professing their love for him every tour.
Anyway, I still won't be tuning in Jim Rome with any regularity. Just thought it was amusing.
If I hadn't had four beers after giving blood, I probably wouldn't even have brought it up.