Tim - The Replacements (1985)

Minneapolis was home to a thriving punk rock scene in the 80s, including a band I might have mentioned before. The Mats (people called them the Mats for reasons I don’t know) were definitely punk in attitude. But musically, they held closer to the rockabilly side of The Clash and the bright power pop of their hero Alex Chilton.

This was their major label debut, produced by Tommy Ramone and full of raucous, sprawling rockabilly fun.

They were a messy band with a messy history, but they did make some great tunes.

Tracks I Liked

Waitress In The Sky - a blend of misogyny and disorderly conduct that seems a lot less fun than it did when I was a kid.

Bastards Of Young - all rise. an all-time favorite of mine

Left Of The Dial - a “dialing the phone” sort of anachronism. The college radio stations that drove the underground rock movement mostly existed in the public broadcasting band below 90 FM. So before you had a digital display on your radio, you had to turn the dial all the way to the left to find them, you see.

Here Comes A Regular - a sodden, wistful hit in the feels