Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash

The first album was squarely inspired by punk rock, a contrast with the power pop and indie rock of the records that followed. Rattlesnake opens with the start of Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, Something to Dü nods to Hüsker Dü, and Johnny's Gonna Die refers to the heroin addiction of the New York Dolls and Heartbreakers guitarist Johnny Thunders. Before settling on the title, Westerberg considered Unsuitable for Airplay and Power Trash. I'm in Trouble came out as a single on 7 August 1981, with If Only You Were Lonely on the B-side.

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine looked back on it as "one of the best LPs the entire scene produced in the early '80s." Rhino remastered it in 2008 with 13 extra tracks and notes by Peter Jesperson. A 40th anniversary edition followed on 22 October 2021: 100 tracks across four CDs and an LP, including demos, alternate takes and a 27-track concert recorded on 23 January 1981 at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.