Many people remember the 80's as the decade when pop culture seemed to be ruled by Madonna's latest fashion statement, Duran Duran's early boy band appeal, and the apparently endless list of hair metal bands that, even at the time, seemed impossible to tell apart.

However, there was something else going on in the 80's that was a quiet continuation of the alternative scene that broke in England in 1977 with the Sex Pistols and the Clash. There were plenty of kids who felt the same frustration and outright boredom that Johnny Rotten and Joe Strummer spoke about so well. America had it's own underground scene going, most noticeably in Southern California and New York City. However, there were also bands in the rest of America that spoke even more effectively to kids trying to ignore what the mass of pop culture was throwing at them. Many of these bands, fueled on cheap beer and a general disdain for "The American Dream", looked to Paul Westerberg and The Replacements for their inspiration.