SINGLES GOING STEADY: "NIGHTCLUB JITTERS" BY THE REPLACEMENTS

The Replacements (on probably the only non-snowy day in Minnesota)

"Nightclub Jitters" is a song like no other in The Replacements normally loud-ish catalogue.  It's an underrated cut and  one of the most effective tracks bandleader Paul Westerberg ever wrote.  With its saxophones, high-hat sparklings and inclusion of hilariously inoffensive audience applause, some call it a satire on lounge music.  In the context of the groups overall sound, I suppose that interpretation has some merit.  Me? I'd like to think of it as confessional songwriting.  

Though the lyrics tell a story which lacks details and is, for the most part, ambiguous, I personally believe "Nightclub Jitters" shows a very self-conscious side to Paul Westerberg.  The song doesn't convey the life of a homebody, but it doesn't make you believe he wants to go out that much either.  As he notices the "nightlife critters," you can't help but sense that he feels alienated from the people he's watching.  He doesn't feel contempt for the "critters."  It's just that he doesn't feel a connection to any of them—"It don't matter much, if we keep in touch".   When Westerberg poses questions such as, "What's the cover?  Where should we park?" he sounds so nervous that it's as if this his whole night is about passing checkpoints with ease.  In other words, going through the motions of the routine matters more than enjoying the time he spends.  

Another possibility is that I am totally wrong....and wouldn't that be a bitch?

"Nightclub Jitters" by The Replacements