paul westerberg

How Minneapolis’ punk scene foreshadowed alt-rock, grunge and pop punk

Minneapolis: The state of Minnesota’s most densely populated city. It sits back to back with the state capital, St. Paul, forming what’s known as the Twin Cities. It also gets really freakin’ cold up there. So it naturally produced a huge crop of punk bands at one time, all seemingly falling out of clapped-out Ford […]

10 alternative duets from the '90s that deserved more recognition

Duets are all the rage these days, and largely without the intention of releasing said duet as a single. Case in point: YUNGBLUD’s recent sitdown with Avril Lavigne to blaze through her hit “I’m With You.” That’s just all about making it go viral. But there was a time when duets were truly something special—two […]

7 artists who were banned from ‘SNL’ for their badass performances

Getting booked as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live is the perfect way for any artist to become a household name. But with the national spotlight comes the show’s strict standards for guests, leaving some outspoken artists to feel restrained. As punk and alternative became more mainstream in the ’80s, the show began to […]

These 15 punk albums of 1987 brought more noise and power than ever

Welcome to the best punk albums of 1987. But first, some context. Feb. 20, 1987: An attack by a domestic terrorist called “the Unabomber” plants a bomb in a Salt Lake City computer store. The owner is injured. March 4: President Ronald Reagan owns up to what was swiftly called the Iran-Contra Affair in a […]