Mats

The Replacements (also known as The Mats or The 'Mats by fans) were a seminal alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They began as a hardcore punk outfit, along with other hometown heroes Hüsker Dü,

The Replacements (also known as The Mats or The 'Mats by fans) were a seminal alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They began as a hardcore punk outfit, along with other hometown heroes Hüsker Dü, but they gradually shifted to a more mainstream, blues-influenced rock style. Loud and exuberant, the band featured guitarist and vocalist Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bassist Tommy Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars. Bassist Tommy Stinson was just 12 years old when the band first formed.

The band's first LP, 1981's Sorry Ma Forgot to Take Out the Trash, defined the band's sound and ethos. Too sloppy and unprofessional to be heavy metal, yet too bar-band sounding to be punk rock, the band never fit in from the beginning. Their fast three chord songs, with lyric subjects ranging from anything from drinking and driving to a love song about the cashier at a convenience store, dominated most of the band's setlists for a few years. However, singer/songwriter Paul Westerberg may have been showing a hint of something to come with the B-side to the "I'm in Trouble" single, titled "If Only You Were Lonely". It was just Westerberg on acoustic, pouring out a soulful ballad that sounded more like a Merle Haggard song than it did the Replacements.