The Replacements

The Replacements were one of the most beloved bands of the American underground in the '80s, due to their raucous live performances and Paul Westerberg's heartbreaking songs. They came out of Minneapolis, at the forefront of the indie rock scene that was exploding there in the early-to-mid-'80s. After dropping their initial hardcore leanings, they caught fire with a skewed take on classic rock, mixing Stonesy chord changes with the nihilistic attitude of punk. Though they tried to break into the mainstream, they never succeeded, spending their career as a cult act. Like many great cult acts, however, the Replacements inspired many fans to start bands of their own, and their mid-'80s albums remain highlights of the alternative era. Late in their career, Westerberg's songwriting became increasingly sophisticated, and the group essentially became a vehicle for him. After the final Replacements release in 1990, he continued to chart his own course in a solo career.

The band initially formed in 1979, when Paul Westerberg joined a garage punk band formed by brothers Bob (guitar) and Tommy Stinson (bass) and drummer Chris Mars. Originally called the Impediments, the Minnesota residents changed their name to the Replacements after being banned from a local club for disorderly behavior. In their early days, they sounded quite similar to Hüsker Dü, the leaders of the Minneapolis punk scene. However, the Replacements were wilder and looser than the Hüskers and quickly became notorious for their drunken, chaotic gigs. After they built up a sizable local following, the Minneapolis label Twin/Tone signed them.

Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, a sloppy hardcore collection, was released in 1981 but failed to make much of an impact on the national scene. It was followed the next year by the Stink EP, which patterned itself after their debut. It was the band's second album, 1983's Hootenanny, that first garnered attention and helped build their fan base. On Hootenanny, the group started playing around with other genres, adding elements of pop, straightforward rock & roll, country, and folk, although sometimes the eclecticism was ironic.

Hootenanny set the stage for Let It Be, the band's critical and artistic breakthrough. Released in 1984, Let It Be showed that the band had successfully expanded their musical reach and that Westerberg had grown considerably as a songwriter; he was now capable of pop like "I Will Dare," full-throttle rock & roll, and introspective ballads like "Answering Machine." Critics and fellow musicians were quick to praise the band, and they developed a large underground following. The buzz was large enough to convince Sire to sign the band in 1985.

Rest here: www.allmusic.com/artist/the-replacements-mn0000422405/biography

The "Let It Be" album is indeed great, but the follow-ups "Tim", and "Pleased to Meet Me" are wonderful as well. They signed up to major label for the latter, and, under pressure to sell more records, declined in quality with the next 2 follow-up albums before breaking up in the early 90's. Always known as a hard-drinking band, their guitarist Bob Stinson was fired prior to the switch to a major due to alcoholism and drug abuse which made him unreliable. He unfortunately died a couple of years later.
The Replacements got the plaudits and credits as being influential, while copy-cat bands came after and got all the record sales and fame. Being honest, the band didn't appear to give a shit about fame and fortune and mostly spunked every opportunity to make names for themselves, including drunken shambolic performances on "Saturday Night Live", and totally refusing to play the MTV video game, as demonstrated by this 'video'. Great song, less than stellar vid:

A cracking compilation. The quality is consistency high with plenty of variety and tonal shifts. After my first listen through, I had a few more listens on shuffle and was amazed at how exhilarating it was: one minute the sweet romantic pop of Kiss Me On The Bus, the next the punk thrills of Kids Don’t Follow. Splendid, really splendid.

Totally smitten