Rocktober '80s Song #10: "Alex Chilton" by The Replacements (1987)

The Replacements recently released a deluxe edition of their 1987 Pleased to Meet Me album.  I preordered it, and it should be arriving any day now.  In honor of my impending LP/CD/merch bundle, today's Rocktober selection will be my favorite song from Pleased to Meet Me, "Alex Chilton."

I discovered The Replacements way too late, like well over a decade after they broke up.  Comprised of singer/guitarist Paul Westerberg, the Stinson brothers (Bob on guitar and Tommy on bass), and drummer Chris Mars, The Replacements were one of the main players in Minneapolis's punk scene in the early '80s.  Westerberg was the main songwriter, and his lyrics were often self-deprecating and relatable.  Tommy Stinson wasn't even 14 when the group released its first album, and basically had to drop out of high school to become a rock star.  Older brother Bob was kind of a wildcard, and his musical interests trended towards the harder stuff.  His issues with drugs eventually go him kicked out of the group, which is saying a lot, given the very low sobriety bar that was set by the others in the band.  Mars was the artist of the group, but just as crazy as the others.

They started off as punk, often bordering on hardcore.  But even with their second full-length album, Hootenanny, the band was experimenting with various genres, and experimenting well.  By their third album, Let It Be, they were hitting on all cylinders, making great alternative rock, with some punk mixed in.  Their latter four albums were what would probably be considered "college rock" back in the '80s -- songs that were really good, but didn't fit the mold of what Top 40 stations were looking to play in the late '80s. Billboard eventually caught the drift, and the growing emergence of alternative rock spurred Billboard to create the Modern Rock Tracks chart (now known as the Alternative Airplay chart) in late 1988, and bands like The Replacements, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, and Pixies now had a chart that recognized them.

The Replacements were essentially on the same career trajectory as R.E.M., but where R.E.M. was savvy and made wise career decisions, The Replacements were reckless and self-sabotaged to a ridiculous degree before breaking up in 1991.  Had the band not broken up, I think they would have flourished in the '90s.

The band was a major influence on alternative bands and indie rock bands from the late '80s until today, including Goo Goo Dolls, fellow Minnesotans Soul Asylum, Nirvana, The Hold Steady, and The Gaslight Anthem, among many others.

Pleased to Meet Me was their fifth studio album, and the band made this album as a trio, after kicking Bob Stinson out of the band.  It has my second-favorite Replacements album.  "Alex Chilton" is a catchy rock song that's an ode to former Box Tops and Big Star lead singer Alex Chilton (who played guitar on another track from the album, "Can't Hardly Wait," which served as the inspiration for the '90s movie of the same name).  Like The Replacements, Big Star was one of those bands who influenced a ton of other bands, but never quite made it as big as they should have.