“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
