Sun keeps risin' in the West

I keep on wakin' fully confused

My friends, it’s with the angst-ridden, heart-on-the-sleeve musings of one Mr. Paul Westerberg (as shown above!) of famed indie rock icons The Replacements that we’ll roll into Tuesday. Perhaps it’s the cold weather in Brooklyn these days or the approaching holidays, but I’ve been drawn back mentally to the Midwest (land of The Replacements!) and classic-yet-underappreciated tracks like today’s featured song, “Within Your Reach,” written and performed solely by the patron saint of Midwest heartbreak himself … Paul Westerberg. If you’re new to The Style Guide In Brief, settle in and stay for a while on this Tuesday, because we’ve got music, winter-ready menswear (to take on even the coldest Minneapolis night in Replacements-esqure fashion) and plenty more for the taking. My regular blog, The Style Guide, is also new today, so cruise through there if you’d like more menswear. Onward this week!

What To Listen To This Week: “Within Your Reach” By The Replacements

In a rare change of pace from the rest of 1983’s “Hootenany,” and in a way that would come to define his later solo work, Paul Westerbeg fully takes the reins with a guitar and a drum machine on “Within Your Reach,” a seriously terrific Replacements track. It’s a searching and yearning song that’s been on heavy rotation for me as of late (it’s also part of my “WFH” Spotify playlist, as it were!). Westerberg sings about “wakin’ fully confused” and over and over, intones that he could die “within your reach” — it’s a great song that takes all elements of Westerberg’s songwriting and wraps them into one. The sentiment “City got me drownin’, I guess it’s up to me” is a bit of inspiring destiny-making, as it were, and it’s a simple line that says so much (again, another great Westerberg trope!). This song is an ideal listen on a fall or winter night if you want to tone things down from the more punk-driven thrashings of early Replacements material — why not start spinning it right now?

What To Wear This Week: Levi’s Made & Crafted Type II Trucker Jacket via UNCRATE

In plenty of photos of The Replacements, Westerberg and co. are sporting something pretty close to a now-classic indie rock uniform, often involving cuffed denim, high-top sneakers and some sort of grab-and-go jacket … like the classic black denim jacket seen above. It’s from Levi’s Made & Crafted, a more premium and historically inspired take on the main Levi’s line, but it’s more than likely that Mr. Westerberg was probably just a Levi’s guy himself . For your own bit of indie rock-inspired style, it’s tough to go wrong with a slick black denim jacket that’s going to break in over time and look even cooler each and every single time you wear it. You’ll have plenty of stories to tell through the years — maybe some that even reach Replacements-esque territory, ehh?

What To Sip This Week: Schlitz Lager via Drizly

Because we’re talking about The Replacements and all that, it’s only fitting that we incorporate a classic Midwestern beer into today’s newsletter, right? Mr. Westerberg and co. (now, mostly sober) had a penchant for imbibing cheap beer on the regular (perhaps too much, if you ask any club manager), and it’s very likely that Schlitz was in the fridge at nearly all times. It’s been quite a while since I’ve gotten my hands on a cheap, cold beer like Schlitz, but with the holidays approaching, it might be as great a time as any to add some to your beer rotation via alcohol delivery service Drizly (certainly, not something you’d find back in ‘80s Minneapolis!).

The Final Pick: U.S. Navy Military Trainer Sneakers via UNCRATE

What does a classic black denim jacket need as part of your next #OOTD? Why, some black canvas low-top sneakers, based off an old military silhouette, to fully drive home those indie rock vibes. These U.S. Navy Military Trainer Sneakers are not all that dissimilar from the pairs that Westerberg and co. might have sported on warm days around Minneapolis, and that’s just a cool bit of style history to have in your mind this season, is it not? Given that things are as casual as ever these days, it’ll pay off to have some laidback, classic sneakers in your rotation — to say the very least.

It’s with The Replacements blasting on my Bluetooth speaker that I’ll leave you to head into Tuesday, hopefully feeling contemplative and yet refreshed by the lyrical stylings of The ‘Mats. Consider adding the U.S. Navy Military Trainer Sneakers to your holiday footwear rotation for casual days lounging at home, and team those kicks up with a classic black denim jacket for the ultimate in indie rock-inspired style. Add in some Schlitz beer to your fridge in time for Thanksgiving celebrations, and let’s call it good — shall we? Cheers to a new week, folks.