Wayback Machine: Paul Westerberg 1996 Interview

Check out this interview with Paul from 1996. He was interviewed by Russell Hall for "Performing Songwriter" magazine, where much of this interview appeared. But at the time, Russell was kind enough to supply us with the full transcript of the interview. Here's an excerpt:

Which come easier for you, ballads or rockers? Actually, I think I know the answer to that.
PW: Do you? Which do you think?

Well, I would assume that the rockers come easier.
PW: No. If the question is, "Which comes easier, great rock 'n' roll or a great ballad?", I think . . . (pauses) I think I can write a ballad pretty easily, but great rock 'n' roll, to me, is almost impossible to write, alone. With a band, it's a different story. And that's the whole gist of my career right now. I used to be able to write great rock 'n' roll easily, because I had a great rock 'n' roll band. Now I don't have one, so I would have to answer your question by saying that, yes, the ballads are easier because there's no one to bounce things off of. There's no one to throw a drumstick at me.