Album of the Day

The Replacements' swan song for Twin Tone Records had made the Minneapolis quartet heroes of the American indie scene; graduating to major-label status with 1985's TIM, the band benefited from bigger budgets without surrendering any of their anarchic spirit. Having Tommy Ramone as producer surely helped in this regard, but even more important to the success of the album – named by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest of all time – was Paul Westerberg's continuing growth as a songwriter. “Kiss Me On The Bus,” “Bastards Of Young” and “Here Comes A Regular” evoke romantic abandon, generational anger and late-night loneliness with rare nuance, and the band rises to equal heights with powerful performances. To celebrate bassist Tommy Stinson's birthday, we'll turn the dial to the left and give TIM another listen.