I’m a substitute for another guy
I look pretty tall but my heels are high
The simple things you see are all complicated
I look pretty young, but I’m just backdated, yeah
—The Who, “Substitute” (1966)
Words by Jason Lee
Photo by Kristin Sollecito
The Who’s “Substitute” (1965) was their fourth single and fourth UK top-ten hit in a row coming right on the heels of “My Generation” and whilst the latter is arguably their most iconic song not to mention a timeless avatar of youthful rebellion and authenticity to boot (to wit “I hope I die before I get old”) but I’d submit that it’s “Substitute” that better represents the true spirit of rock’n’roll cuz while “My Generation” is all about setting yourself and your generation apart (spoiler alert: The Who did in fact get old except regrettably for their madcap rhythmatist)…
…”Substitute” is about precisely the opposite, i.e., faking it ‘so real you’re beyond faking it ’til you make it or, put another way, self–invention pure ’n’ simple and even if theft and/or deception may come into it it’s gotta be acknowledged that rock’n’roll has always been about creating a new identity and a new existence via nothing more than a few chords combined with your own agency and really what more authentic than that, that is, not accepting your given station in life and not following a set script so no wonder the Who classic has been covered by bands ranging from the Sex Pistols to the Ramones cuz that’s freaking PUNK ROCK AF…
…which is where NYC’s very own Substitute comes into play cuz while we can’t pretend to know these three lads personally or to know how they may or may not be subverting expectations of who they’re expected to be, what we do know is that they look pretty good together (which let’s face it is crucial) and more importantly they sound even better than “pretty good” together and while Substitute may wear some of their musical influences on their collective denim sleeve we say that that’s a good thing cuz for one thing it’s just honest, and for another they pull off the trick of alchemizing those influences into something distinctly their own on their totally massive sounding, galvanic sophomore LP called Manic for good reason…
…cuz seriously this LP is like a shot of adrenaline delivered straight into Uma Thurman’s sternum which as the record’s press release explains “was engineered by Jerome Westerkamp [at Cincinnati‘s Checkered Flag Studio] whose analog recording expertly captures the band’s guitar tones ranging from aggressively in the red to completely unchecked,” a description we’re totally happy to co-sign, or in other words this record is HEAVY AF…
…beginning from its very opening moments (Track One: “Jealousy”) with a moshpit–ready martial beat and the first of the record’s many walloping–nay–bludgeoning but still earwormy riffs and an opening lyric observing how “it’s taken all your life to know / of all the things you cannot own” (the vocals on Manic range from being redolent of long simmering tension to eagerly and excitedly chomping–at–the–bit to flat-out vocal–cord shredding so beware all those with heart conditions or hypertension) a lyric that’s perfectly aligned with the notion that we’re all out here scrapping, making do as renters and not owners, but still insinuating our countless differences into the dominant text to paraphrase Michel de Certeau, so let’s all give a cheer for the proletariat jealous or not…
…with the aforementioned press release going on to namecheck a rogue’s gallery of rag-tag raging rock’n’rollers from the Wipers to Twin/Tone era Replacements (“Manic” and “Someone New” in particular) to The Damned’s Machine Gun Etiquette (“Crossroad Game” and “Jealousy”) to classic-era Black Sabbath (“Indecision” and “Don’t Sell Me Lies”) among other sources of inspiration that you may or may not be able to discern or to project upon the band which hey unless you’re some AVANT GARDE AF proggy math-rockers this is always gonna be how it works and here’s a band that clearly still believes in the magpie DIY spirit of rock’n’roll and ain’t afraid to own it as depicted in the music video for lead-off single and title cut “Manic” as directed and edited by William Bottini which we’re gonna drop here once again just in case…
…a video that opens on Substitute’s bassist diligently laboring in a low-tech setting in an undisclosed location using an oscilloscope to locate the exact frequency where the most perfectly razor-sharp head-banging riff can be located floating in the electronic ether which is soon wedded to the band’s urgently propulsive rhythm section charging ahead like a thoroughbred escaped from its stable and we can see why Substitute chose this as the lead-off single cuz besides the high rawk quotient it’s HOOKY AF…
…and then we get some imagery of laying in bed blasting out a tune on the stereo (wut’s a stereo?) whilst playing air guitar which then evolves into an entire air–instrument–based rehearsal at none other than Brooklyn’s own Our Wicked Lady ending with a post-credit sequence of the drummer drumming his little heart out in a parked car whilst listening to “Manic” on the car stereo in front of some totally insane street art (we’ve seen this mural once before but don’t remember where!) depicting Smurfette in flagrante making eyes at an excited Bart Simpson who is scissor kicking a Dali-esque melting soccer ball for some reason and all taken together it’s the perfect absurdist adolescent tableau—whatever one’s actual age or inclination happens to be—of having the audacity to turn one’s fantasies into reality or to trying anyway in true DIY form ‘n’ rashion cuz for real there’s no substitute for the real Substitute…
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MANIC LP CREDITS:
Recorded by Jerome Westerkamp at The Checkered Flag in Cincinnati, Ohio
Mixed by Jerome Westerkamp
Mastered by Mike Bridavsky at Russian Recording in Bloomington, Indiana
All songs by Paul T. Ridenour
Vocals and Guitar by PTR
Drums by Ray Redmon
Bass Guitar by Andrew Jody and PTR
Background vocals by Jerome Westerkamp and PTR
The live band iteration of Substitute a.k.a. the “permanent lineup” that took shape at the same time that the record was being made consists of PTR, Tarik Merzouk on drums, and Ben Fischer on bass…