I was surprised and delighted to find out the other day that 80s Indie stalwarts and coulda been contenders The Replacements had just played a sold out show out in Forest Hills, Queens apparently having lost none of their edge. It’s always somehow reassuring to see that the heroes of one’s youth are still kicking ass even if three members from their heyday have died, become too ill to perform or gone missing. But as long as the formidable Paul Westerberg still roams the earth I hope these guys will keep performing their hits with their characteristic ragged gusto and swagger.
And what hits they were. With a combination of pop sensibilities and punk ethos, The Replacements blew out of Minneapolis in the mid-80s like a bracing, whiskey-soaked wind of Rock on the rocks. Along with the harder-edged but excellent Hüsker Dü (who they aped unsuccessfully early on) and the almighty Prince, it seemed like 1985 was the year that put the Twin Cities on the map musically… if only for that fleeting moment that finds a city du jour that is not New York or LA ever so briefly anointed as the New Happening Place for Music™. It wasn’t to last, of course, and neither were The Replacements. But they made a hell of a heavenly racket while they did.
Starting out as drunk punk wannabes, Westerberg was joined by brothers Bob Stinson on guitar and Tommy Stinson on bass with drummer Chris Mars pounding the skins, and the group rapidly developed a winning brand of punk-infused pop that wasn’t afraid to take on the more sentimental side of adolescent angst. Continue reading
