Somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Kurt Cobain you'll find Paul Westerberg. One of the best singer-songwriters to come out of the US over the last two decades, Westerberg has never got the recognition I think he deserves. As front man of maverick alternative rockers The Replacements in the 80s, Westerberg was one of the key figures, alongside REM, Black Flag, Husker Du and Sonic Youth, who paved the way for the eventual global explosion of Alternative Rock in the 90s.
Back in the 80s, all these bands needed was a van, a series of dates in live venues that looked like public toilets and an army of college radio listening followers. Out of this, a scene developed a million miles away from the vacuous glamour and big-hair of MTV and mainstream radio. It was a scene more aligned with the USA of the 1980s, a USA of Reagan-omics, recession and discontent, a reality mainstream pop pretended didn't exist. Yet the alternative scene made a bang that spoke to a generation who failed to see themselves in the gloss of MTV and the radio.
Paul Westerberg said more about smalltown USA in the 1980s than perhaps anybody else with the line "well a person can work up a mean mean thirst after a hard day of nothin' much at all," from the song 'Here Comes A Regular' - a key song indeed. Henry Rollins, Michael Stipe and Thurston Moore may have eventually broken through in a global sense in the '90s. I'm sure they would all agree that Paul Westerberg should be there with them. I'd recommend you delve into his back catalogue.
Here's a classic track from his days with The Replacements. From 1985 and the album 'Let It Be' - (yes they had balls too!) - this is 'Unsatisfied'.
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