Bastards of Young

"Bastards of Young"
Song by The Replacements
from the album Tim
Published1985
Genre
Length3:35
Songwriter(s)Paul Westerberg
Producer(s)Tommy Ramone

"Bastards of Young" is a song written by Paul Westerberg and recorded by his band The Replacements for their fourth studio album Tim (1985). Inspired by Westerberg's sister Mary and the band's feelings of alienation, the song has been described as an "anthem" and features a Who-inspired guitar intro.

Though not released as a single, the song's minimalist music video, which pointed a camera at a speaker throughout, gained notoriety. The song was infamously performed on Saturday Night Live, where Westerberg's use of profanity in an off-mike comment earned the ire of producer Lorne Michaels. Since its release, the song has received critical acclaim and has been named by many music writers as one of the band's greatest songs. In 2021, the song was ranked by magazine Consequence of Sound as one of the 50 best punk rock songs of all time.[2]

  1. ^ Ritland, Erik. "The 25 Best Punk Songs to Help You Stick it to the Man". Music in Minnesota. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b Staff (August 17, 2021). "The 50 Best Punk Songs of All Time". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  3. ^ Baltin, Steve. "What Do The Replacements, Amanda Peet, Warren Zevon, Pj Harvey And Jennifer Jason Leigh Have In Common?". Forbes. Retrieved 3 October 2022.