Hüsker Dü, Replacements make Rolling Stone's greatest punk rock albums list
Published in Entertainment News
Rolling Stone has officially declared that punk rock began in the United States in 1976 with the Ramones. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of punk, these arbiters of culture, aka obsessive list makers, have compiled the 100 greatest punk rock albums.
Of course, “Ramones” is No. 1. The Twin Cities’ most heralded punks, Hüsker Dü and the Replacements, chart at No. 13 (1984’s “Zen Arcade”) and No. 29 (1981’s “Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash”), respectively.
“The Minnesota power trio Hüsker Dü broke all the rules of hardcore with this 1984 opus, blowing Mohawked minds all over America,” writes Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield. “At a time when it was still controversial to learn a fourth chord, they dropped a double-vinyl concept album, telling the story of a young guy escaping a broken home and making his way in the city.”
He noted that the “Hüskers went on to poppier heights like ‘New Day Rising’ and ‘Flip Your Wig,’ yet this is their punk triumph.”
Sheffield also wrote the Replacements’ entry, saying, in part, “right from the start, the Replacements had their own snotty sound, with resident poet Paul Westerberg croaking about booze and despair over the band’s self-proclaimed ‘power trash.’” He added: “The boys went on to greater glories, with ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Tim,’ but ‘Sorry Ma’ is where their legend begins.”
In other words, no more shoutouts for either the ‘Mats or the Hüskers, though some groups like the Ramones and the Clash got more than one nod. And no love for Curtiss A, Suicide Commandos, the Suburbs, Babes in Toyland or Dillinger Four, local punk-related artists of note.
Of the 17 Rolling Stone voters/contributors to the list, three have Minnesota connections. Jon Dolan and Will Hermes wrote for City Pages alt-weekly in the 1990s, and Michaelangelo Matos lives in St. Paul.
As always, these lists lead to debates, including, this time, over the definition of what’s punk and its various adjacent sounds.
Here are Rolling Stone’s Top 10 punk albums
1. Ramones, “Ramones” 1976
2. X-Ray Spex, “Germfree Adolescents,” 1978
3. The Minutemen, “Double Nickels on the Dime,” 1984
4. The Clash, “The Clash,” 1977
5. Sleater-Kinney, “Dig Me Out,” 1997
6. Wire, “Pink Flag,” 1977
7. The Sex Pistols, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols,” 1977
8. The Stooges, “Fun House,” 1970
9. Nirvana, “Nevermind,” 1991
10. The Clash, “London Calling,” 1980
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