So... Soul Asylum. What's good by them? So far I have And the Horse They Rode In On, Grave Dancer's Union and Hang Time. What (of their pre-Grave Dancer's Union albums) should I get next?

I don't know if anybody needs even that much Soul Asylum, Tom.

Replacements > Soul Asylum > Goo Goo Dolls. All pretty much the same band in that order of quality, but with increasingly pretty lead singers (and commercial success) as you descend the Quality Spectrum.

Signed
Still Pissy About Dave Pirner's Stupid WhiteBoy Dreadlocks and the Dating Winona Thing (Mildly Mitigated By Soul Asylum's Live Penchant To Play Punk Rock Jukebox For the Audience)

Still Pissy About Dave Pirner's Stupid WhiteBoy Dreadlocks and the Dating Winona Thing

What's wrong with him going out with Winona? (Besides him dumping his girlfriend of 10+ years.)

Also, white-person dreads is a Minneapolis thing you just wouldn't understand. See also: Kat from Babes in Toyland. (At least I think it was Kat.) OK, I generally dislike white-person dreads - Kat is the only exception to that.

But seriously, Soul Asylum has some kick-ass songs I totally love. Some of my faves:

• Gullible's Travels
• Without a Trace
• 99%
• Cartoon
• Summer of Drugs (cover of the Victoria Williams song from Sweet Relief)

Plus the video for "Gullible's Travels" is awesome, as it incorporates video from a 1950's anti-Communism propaganda cartoon. Or maybe that's "Cartoon."

Also, white-person dreads is a Minneapolis thing you just wouldn't understand.

::Puts Minneapols on The List.::

What's wrong with him going out with Winona?

Okay, maybe I should blame Winona for going out with him. That's inexcusable.

Poor Babes In Toyland. Stinky ol' Courtney stole Kat's look and became rich.

Oh well. That's why we have like two dozen songs about what's wrong with Courtney, and in fact, "Bruised Violet" is one of the best of that genre.

It's amazing how when you try to google stuff from before the internet became popular and you can't find anything.

Anyway, Kat was the lead singer, right? So she's not the one who had dreads: [link]

And "Cartoon" had the video with the cartoon. Funny, huh? And I could only find that on a Russian site where it wouldn't play due to poor bandwidth.

eta: Lori Barbero was the dreaded one. She did a famous ad for Rolling Rock, which my google-fu is inadequate to find.

Also, white-person dreads is a Minneapolis thing you just wouldn't understand.

Sadly, not just a Minneapolis thing. More of a widespread hippie/rasta thing, to my knowledge. Which reminds me of the black English teacher in 10 Things I Hate About You going on a rant and the white rastas chiming in "That's right, mon!" only to get a glare and "Don't get me *started* on you two."

Ah, I love that movie.

/natter

Soul Asylum, up through Hang Time, were Fucking Great! I still have fond memories (and my ears are still ringing) from seeing them open for Husker Du at the Paradise. This was around 1985. There were two shows and I went to both of them. Another show at the Rat, shortly after their (Massachusetts-born) manager committed suicide was cathartic (for band *and* audience).

Of the pre-Hang Time (aka Twin Tone) albums, Made to be Broken is probably the best. It's chock full o' 80's MN punk goodness! "Ain't that Tough" is an especially amazing tune.

I thought Jon B. would come to Soul Asylum's defense....

I saw them a few times in Madison in the late '80s, and once in Milwaukee at Marquette university. That was fun - lots of conservatively dressed students hanging pretty far back from the stage. Which was probably a good idea, as they were loud. I lost all hearing in one ear and partial hearing in the other until the next morning. Fun, though.

I kind of quasi-advertently tortured a former roommate with Grave Dancer's Union. She hated Soul Asylum, and I knew it. I was in my early 20s and she'd decided to stop speaking to me for six months. One day it's "Let's rent a movie," and the next it's a note saying, "I'm not talking to you anymore." No reason, no warning, no, "You're annoying me by doing X, so stop." No time out for when I had mono and really needed a hand. And no, I hadn't been playing any Soul Asylum.

So one night, about 4 months in, I got thoroughly drunk on a box of white zinfandel, put in my tape of GDU, and cranked it as loud as my crappy sound system would go, figuring if she didn't like it she could damn well tell me to turn it off.

About five and a half times through the album I passed out. She never did ask me to turn it off. At least not while I was conscious.

Two months later I found a new roommate and moved out. As far as I know she's still not speaking to me, but it matters a lot less, 16 years on. And my new roommate later introduced me to Amy Winehouse's music, so I'm calling it an all-around win.