Man Without Ties - Paul Westerberg

Second Pressing!

2010-11-04T20:20:00.003-04:00

Good news! There will be a second pressing of the new single, so check back in 10 days or so and there should be an update!

Sold Out!

2010-11-01T16:18:00.004-04:00

Hope you were quick to order yours because the new PW/GB/Mr. F record is SOLD OUT.

New Paul Westerberg Music!

2010-10-29T21:11:00.004-04:00

Drum roll, please: I have news to share! We have NEW Paul Westerberg music today! The details:

This is a vinyl release - "This Machine" b/w "Foolish Hand Shake", by Mr. F (aka Grandpaboy aka PW)

• LIMITED EDITION multi-colored vinyl with picture sleeve
• BONUS: Comes with free download card which can be redeemed for the epic "Grandpaboy's Last Stand" (meaning in addition to the vinyl record, you get additional music to download!)
• $8 + shipping and handling
• Limit 1 per customer (orders for more than 1 single will not be shipped)

That's the cover below, click on it to see a larger version. Is it me or does the face look a tiny bit like a van Gogh self-portrait? Note the "Coming soon - Son of a Depression"...a hint of things to come? We can hope. This is being offered via nimbit music, just visit their site to place your order, then go sit by your mailbox! And to think, I was considering mothballing my turntable just last weekend. Silly me.

While I have your attention, if you're in the Mpls area, First Ave is hosting a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of "Tim" (so we can all feel ancient) on Nov. 26, click here for all the details.

Paul Plays Target Field

2010-06-01T16:01:00.002-04:00

Brain malfuntion on my end, I could have sworn I posted this item about Paul performing (privately) at Target Field last week, but it appears I didn't. So here it is - on Wednesday May 19, Paul played 2 songs at Target Field, for an upcoming documentary called "40 Nights of Rock & Roll." About the film, according to their website:

40 Nights of Rock & Roll is the latest undertaking of the rock-fanatic duo Steve LaBate and Scott Sloan. Over 40 continuous days in the summer of 2010 Steve and Scott will drive all over the United States to watch 40 concerts, interview 40 bands, and come up with the answer to one question:

What is the current state of Rock & Roll in America?

Paul played "Dangerous Boys" and "Time Flies Tomorrow" (by request) and was interviewed sitting cross-legged on top of the dugout. There's a very brief snippet of the interview in the video below (too brief):

On another film front, "Color Me Obsessed" is hitting in the road and pulling into Minneapolis next week. They will hosting a meet up for Mats fans at The CC Club on Sunday, June 6 @ 10am. For more info, visit the revamped CMO website, which has some great content. Check out Dave Minehan's story about Joe Strummer, very funny (click the volume knob to hear it).

Paul Westerberg and Glen Campbell

2010-03-28T18:18:00.001-04:00

Billboard reports that Paul is just one of the people Glen Campbell has collaberated with on his upcoming album entitled "Ghost on the Canvas." If that title sounds familar to you, it should. it was one of the tacks on the 6-song EP Paul released through Amazon.com last fall. In 2008, Campbell released "Meet Glen Campbell", a covers album that included "Sadly Beautiful". Other folks working with Campbell on the album include Jakob Dylan, Chris Isaak, Bob Pollard (interesting!) and Josh Freese.

Paul Westerberg on Alex Chilton: Times Op-Ed

2010-03-20T20:24:00.001-04:00

Paul published a wonderful op-ed piece about Alex Chilton in the NY Times today. "The great Alex Chilton is gone — folk troubadour, blues shouter, master singer, songwriter and guitarist. Someone should write a tune about him. Then again, nah, that would be impossible. Or just plain stupid."

Color Me Obsessed

2010-03-19T21:12:00.002-04:00

And one more thing today: Check out 2 teaser clips from the upcoming Mats fan documentary, "Color Me Obsessed": the first one features The Big Takeover's Jack Rabid, and the second video includes Ira Robbins of Trouser Press, Dave Minehan and Jesse Malin. To keep tabs on the progress of the film, check out the blog; if you're interested in being interviewed and sharing your story about the band, contact the filmakers here. You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.

Paul Westerberg in SPIN

2010-03-19T14:18:00.004-04:00

Be on the lookout for the April issue of SPIN, which features Billie Joe Armstrong interviewing Paul (the theme of the issue is "Stars grill their idols"). There are three different covers so make sure you get the good one! Click on the image below for a larger view of the cover.

A few more Alex Chilton links to follow-up on yesterday's post:

• Music world, friends, fans pay tribute to Memphis legend Alex Chilton - The Memphis Commercial Appeal

• Alex Chilton, R.I.P: Paul Westerberg, Craig Finn and Patterson Hood - EW

• Alex Chilton Tribute Set For Saturday At SXSW Festival - MTV.com

Alex Chilton Dies at 59

2010-03-18T20:33:00.002-04:00

I had been planning to update the site this upcoming weekend, even though there wasn't any real Paul news, just to kinda say "hey". But unfortunately I now have a real reason to post, a very sad one. Alex Chilton died yesterday in New Orleans. He was 59 years old. The cause of death is believed to be a heart attack. Big Star was scheduled to play SXSW on Saturday, and take part in a scheduled panel discussion about the band called (what else?) "I Never Travel Far Without a Little Big Star". The timing is surreal. From what I understand, both the panel discussion and the show will still take place, with the show becoming a tribute show. My source: Twitter, so take it with a grain of salt.

Paul made a statement to the Associated Press:
In my opinion, Alex was the most talented triple threat musician out of Memphis — and that's saying a ton," Paul Westerberg, the former Replacements frontman, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "His versatility at soulful singing, pop rock songwriting, master of the folk idiom, and his delving into the avant garde, goes without equal. He was also a hell of a guitar player and a great guy."

Honestly, what more is there to say? If you've made your way to this site, you already know what a huge loss this is, how amazing his music was and how much influence the music of Alex Chilton and Big Star had on the music we all love so much. There's not a lot I can add, so I've put together some links below.

• Memphis music loses ‘Big Star’ — singer, songwriter Alex Chilton dies at 59 - TheMemphis Commercial Appeal
• Underrated Iconoclast: Alex Chilton's Lasting Influence - The Atlantic Wire
• Alex Chilton dies on the eve of South by Southwest tribute - The Chicago Sun-Times
• Alex Chilton dies at 59; mercurial leader of the Box Tops, Big Star - • The LA Times
• A Couple Alex Chilton Songs - Amazing tribute from Alex Pareene at Gawker

Congressman Steve Cohen commemorates the life of Alex Chilton in the House of Representatives, watch this clip below, you can tell it's from the heart.

I found this picture of Paul and Alex Chilton on this blog , it was taken during a show at Maxwell's in Hoboken in 1987. I love it.

And finally, here's PW doing "Alex Chilton" at the Guthrie in 2002. Sing along, won't you?

Happy 50th Birthday, Paul Westerberg!

2009-12-31T12:09:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to Paul (born Dec. 31, 1959)!

The Mpls Star-Tribune has a very nice article on Paul to mark his 50th birthday.

PW's New Publishing Deal

2009-12-13T16:03:00.002-05:00

Interesting PW news: He has signed a new publishing deal with Bug Music Publishing. From the press release:

Bug Music Publishing, the largest independent contemporary music publisher in the world, has signed a new publishing deal with Paul Westerberg, solo artist, songwriter and front man of the seminal alt-rock group The Replacements, it was announced today by Bug Music CEO John Rudolph.

Under the terms of the deal, Bug Music and Westerberg have entered into a publishing agreement encompassing Westerberg’s recordings with The Replacements, solo works and future recordings.

“We look forward to working with Paul’s Replacements and solo catalogs,” said Eddie Gomez, Sr. VP of Creative Services, Bug Music. “Paul is a major link in a respected chain of modern songwriters and his songwriting continues to resonate and influence a whole new generation of listeners.”

“To be a musician, performer, and songwriter is a juggling act,” said Westerberg. “Throw in the bowling ball of publisher and it becomes downright work. The good people at Bug Music – I hear only of their imagination and proficiency – have stepped in to facilitate with Dry Wood, Elegant Mule, and Nah Music, leaving me free to augment my juggling feat with the flaming chain saw of snooker.”

I lost the metaphor there with the snooker reference, but sounds like good news overall. Hopefully it's in anticipation of a boatload of new PW tunes that need to be published, right?

The "Let It Be" tribute that took place on Nov. 27 at First ave. sournds like it was a resounding success, read all about it in the Star-Trib. Next up, a "Tim" tribute?

Let It Be 25th Anniversary

2009-11-07T15:09:00.004-05:00

Reminder: If you haven't had a chance to find out about the Mats fan documentary "Color Me Obsessed", now's the time to check it out. You can visit their web site, become a fan on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or help them kick start the project. Or you can just email them. This has the potential to be something great, if enough people get involved and share their stories.

Another reminder: Don't forget about "A Tribute To The Replacements: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Let It Be", taking place at First Avenue on Nov. 27. The event will also mark the paperback release of Jim Walsh's "The Replacements: All Over But The Shouting" and is a benefit for Twin Cities Music Community Trust. Sounds like a fun night, enjoy yourselves, Twin Cities folks.

9/22: New Paul Westerberg Music!

2009-09-20T16:28:00.004-04:00

Well what do you know, some honest-to-goodness news to post. And not just any news, but new PW music being released news. On Sept. 22, Paul is releasing a 6-song EP for download (get it here). The EP is called "PW & The Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys", costs $3.89 and includes the following tracks:

1. Ghost On The Canvas
2. Drop Them Gloves
3. Good As The Cat
4. Love On The Wing
5. Gimmie Little Joy
6. Dangerous Boys

click here for hi-res cover art

"Dead Man Fake": PW Tribute CD

2009-03-16T20:20:00.001-04:00

I'm happy to tell you that a second PW tribute CD has been put together by the folks on the message board. Dead Man Fake: Bring Your Own Lampshade Volume 2 is now available for download. With covers ranging from "I'm In Trouble" to "My Daydream", it covers the entire PW spectrum. Enjoy!

In other PW-related news, Warners released a CD called "Covered: A Revolution in Sound", featuring some of their newer bands covering some of their older bands and Against Me! covers "Here Comes a Regular". You can listen the entire CD on MySpace, including Adam Sandler seriously covering "Like a Hurricane". Scary. And Tommy commented on the (un)likliehood of a Mats reunion a few weeks ago, the probability of which seems to fluctuate every few years. Tommy said: "I just don't know if we have it in us...Why would we do it? Well, they'll pay us really great. Is that the reason to go do it or not? I don't know."

If you like the Justin Townes Earle cover of "Can't Hardly Wait" a few inches down on the page, you'll be pleased to know that it's included on his new album "Midnight at the Movies".

Magnet Magazine: Paul Westerberg 2002 interview and more

2009-02-17T20:45:00.002-05:00

It's been pretty slow around here as of late, so thanks to MAGNET magazine for giving us some Mats content today. First up is a post about the five most over- and under- rated Mats songs. I would beg to differ on their picks for over but I agree with 3 out of 5 of their unders. Next, their excellent 2002 cover story on Paul is now up online. This is one of the best interviews with Paul from that tour and I highly recommend it. Also online is the sidebar to that interview, with Paul's comments on his discography - those of you who have always wondered "WTF?" about the cover of "Tim" will appreciate Paul's comment on that: "The cover is the worst piece of shit. [The label] hired Robert Longo: World Famous Artist. Nobody liked it—I can’t believe that Robert liked it." Hah! Oh and one more thing, and this one made my day. It's a short piece from George Pelecanos, who in addition to being a novelist, was also a writer/producer on "The Wire", which as you know is the greatest show in the history of television. So thanks to MAGNET for all the links and sorry we were kind of tough on your under/overs on the message board, we're just a wee bit opinionated!

Paul Westerberg Covered (again)

2009-01-14T17:14:00.001-05:00

Thanks to forum poster Schecky for sharing this video of Justin Townes Earle (son of Steve "Walon" Earle) covering "Can't Hardly Wait".

Paul Westerberg Covered

2009-01-11T17:01:00.003-05:00

Happy belated New Year. Here's hoping we see even more new Paul music this year...and maybe that we even see Paul. I have a few links to share with you on this snowy Sunday:

• This is a lovely cover of "Meet Me Down The Alley" by Alison Scott, a Minneapolis artist who included it on her recent covers CD, "Hiding Under The Covers" (which was produced by Kevin Bowe of Paul's Westerberg's Only Friends). Enjoy!

• Speaking of covers, I'm posting a link to yet another of Bill Janovitz's Cover of The Week songs. This one isn't a Mats cover (it's Blondie's "Dreaming" mixed with "Till The Next Goodbye", which is enough of a reason to get it right there) but the accompanying post includes a Westerberg story. So it's got that going for it.

• If you have any cash burning a hole in your pocket and you don't have a Paul Westerberg First Act Guitar yet, well, now might be the time to get one. They are marked down to $89.99 on the First Act site, such a bargain!

• The latest issue of MAGNET (Nick Cave on the cover) has a look back at some of their most memorable stories, including their PW cover story from 2002. They also posted a nice item on the "D.G.T." release.

• Profilc video maven Blasty posted another great clip on YouTube, this one is PW solo from...I'm gonna guess on this...2005? It's Paul doing "here Comes A Regular" ("here goes a career").

Happy Holidays: New MP3 Download From Paul!

2008-12-24T10:09:00.005-05:00

Ho Ho Ho!

Download 3 songs from Paul Westerberg for $0.74!

You'll get 3 tracks in MP3 format (320kbps), plus very cool,
very plaid, cover art for only $0.74:

1: Always In A Manger (listed as "Always", should be "Away")
2: Streets of Laredo
3: D.G.T.

Misc. Westerberg Links

2008-12-07T11:01:00.002-05:00

• Ground Control magazine posted a review of all of the Mats reissues, from "Sorry Ma" to "All Shook Down", "All For Nothing/Nothing For All" and "Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was?". It's a comprehensive look at the Mats catalog and I recommend it even though they don't give PTMM the proper respect, tsk tsk.

• On Wednesday Dec. 10, WNCI's Dead Air Radio Show will devote their entire program to the Mats and PW. You can join host Paul Sweeney at 90.9FM if you're in the New London, CT area or listen online at www.wcniradio.org. The show runs from 6pm-9pm EST. Enjoy.

• Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom) posted a lovely acoustic cover of "Little Mascara" on his blog.

Paul Westerberg Interview on "Rock Band"

2008-11-24T10:53:00.003-05:00

"Alex Chilton" is in "Rock Band 2" and in conjunction with that, Paul did a phone interview with Brett Milano that is now posted on the Rock Band site. The interview is about 18 minutes long, and Paul talks about the smell of rock and roll, "Rock Band" (he doesn't played it, but his son does and Paul proclaims it "good technological fun"), "Alex Chilton" (the song and the man), the Mats and hostile audiences ("if you can't beat 'em, kill 'em"), the recent sessions with Tommy, Jim Boquist and Michael Bland, the inevitable reunion question (current status: Playing together was a blast but just him and Tommy only didn't feel just right, he feels they need a third element in the mix to make it work), all the money he lost of "49:00" because of the snippets of cover songs, how much fun he had doing it anyway and how much he enjoyed getting the songs out there.

The Guardian - PW Interview

2008-10-24T20:49:00.002-04:00

Graeme Thomson's interview with Paul (and Tommy and Peter Jesperson) that I mentioned a few weeks back is up now on The Guardian's web site and it's very interesting. Most unexpected bit of news: Instead, after Glen Campbell covered the Replacements' Sadly Beautiful on his new album, Westerberg is busy writing songs for the next Campbell record - "I called my manager and said, 'Tell Glen I'll be his next Jimmy Webb' and he took the bait". One word: Duet, please! (Ok, two words). Now that is a collaboration I can't wait to hear.

If you have your heart set on another collaboration, namely Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson, well, reply is hazy at the moment: "Certainly Tommy and I could go around as the Replacements and draw 10 times more and make some money," says Westerberg. "But I'm not there yet, I gotta say."

Westerberg Link Round-up

2008-10-18T11:11:00.006-04:00

A couple of links of interest to post today:

• Crawdaddy has an excellent interview with Peter Jesperson about the reisssues. Some type of live release is in the works as well, which is very good news:

"There’s talk about a live anthology or series of some kind, but we don’t have that nailed down yet. We’re trying to give ourselves manageable goals here, so we thought, 'Let’s do these eight records and just see how we feel afterwards.' There will be some kind of live thing, but I don’t know what it will be yet, whether a boxed set or going the archives and issuing some kind of Rhino Handmade set."

• Reviews of the both the first and second sets of Mats reissues from iF Magazine.com.

• Juliana Hatfield's new book, "When I Grow Up: A Memoir" includes a chapter on Paul called "My Idol". An excerpt:
"He was tough and street-smart and smart-alecky and rock and roll, but he was also sincere, compassionate, fragile, fractured and tuneful. His sad eyes betrayed an empathy for the suffering of others, and his fans knew that when he sang, he was singing for them as well as himself. He sympathized with all the so-called-losers and outcasts and social misfits - the downtrodden - of the world, but he hung out with movie stars too, because he was so fuckin' cool that movie stars wanted to hang out with him. He was beautifully, perfectly imperfect, and he was our hero.

A Country Rendition of "Alex Chilton"

2008-10-07T21:07:00.002-04:00

In addition to the photos from Michael Bland, he kindly posted a message on the board about playing with Paul and Tommy a few weeks back (in Soul Asylum's rehearsal space, which some of you picked up on from the equipment). You can read his post here. Some of the songs they played: Folk song covers including "If I Had A Hammer" (covered on Paul & HOF tour in 2005); Mats songs including "a country rendition of 'Alex Chilton'"; some of Paul's new material and one of Tommy's songs. They played for 2 days and Jim Boquist joined them for the second day.

It's hard not to get too anticipatory about whether this will lead to anything but according to Paul's manager, Darren Hill, as quoted in Billboard's item about the sessions: There are "no plans beyond that right now." I think we need a maverick up in here to get this show on the road (literally).

Photos!

2008-10-06T20:39:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Michael Bland for sharing this and other photos he took when he was playing with Paul and Tommy last week. You can see all of the photos on the message board.

The Star-Tribune published Chris Riemenschneider's interview with Tommy this weekend, he talked about the reissues, including his comments on some specific bonus tracks. Here's the answer to why the distinctly apolitical Mats did a song called "Election Day": "That was the first song we did when we got to Memphis to make that record. It was election day, which meant there was no booze being sold anywhere. And we were thirsty."

It all makes sense now!

Westerberg and Stinson Messin' Around in Minneapolis

2008-10-01T22:25:00.003-04:00

Here's a lovely bit of news to start October with: Chris Riemenschneider reports in the Star-Tribune that he interviewed Tommy Stinson by phone this week for a feature that will run this weekend about the reissues and Tommeny mentioned that he had been in Minneapolis last week, doing what, you ask? Well, being in the studio with Paul Westerberg and Michael Bland:

He sounded enthusiastic about the sessions and said, “It was a lot of fun.” When I asked if they did any recording, though, he answered, “Nah, that’s getting to first base. We’re sort of still in the dugout chewing gum.” As for the general state of the two former ‘Mats mates relationship, he said, “We’re good friends, and I’m sure we’re going to work together again.”

It feels like they are moving ever so slowly closer to some kind of reunion, doesn't it? Guess we'll just have to wait and see, but that's some damn interesting news.

Westerbergian Links of the Day

2008-09-28T13:51:00.002-04:00

Sunday is Link Round-up Day:

• Pitchfork has an extensive review of the Sire reissues

• Gibson Guitars posted a list of "10 Artists Who Should Be In The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame", including the Mats, T. Rex and...Yes.

• Some interesting comments from Paul at "I Shot a Man in Reno",which is the blog for the book "I Shot a Man in Reno: A History of Death by Murder, Suicide, Fire, Flood, Drugs, Disease, and General Misadventure, As Related in Popular Song" (aka "Book with the longest sub-title EVER").

The author, Graeme Thomson, tried to interview Paul for the book but wasn't able to. He did recently interview Paul for The Guardian in conjunction with the UK release of the Sire reissues (look for the interview in early October) and got some comments from Paul related to the book's subject, including this one: "Hank Williams, half of his songs were about going down three times and coming up twice. I've always loved that. It’s good to know that I’m not alone. But I feel like I'm damned to live! That's the problem. Only the good die young, which means I'll live forever."

Replacements Sire Reissues Out Today!

2008-09-23T22:06:00.004-04:00

The reissues are out today, yay! Also, if you're buying them at an indie store (offline, that is), check and see if they have a promo poster available. Some indie retailers do have posters to give out as a bonus with purchase. The Sire reissues are available on iTunes and you can buy only the bonus tracks if you want. I haven't listened to the iTunes versions, but there is some discussion about them on the message board you may want to check out. And finally today, here's a review from the Louisville Courier-Journal: Rediscover The Replacements.

Westerberg Interview

2008-09-21T16:13:00.005-04:00

The Sire reissues are coming out on Tuesday, for a refresher on the bonus tracks included on each, here's the original post on the track lists.

Today's Newsday ran a brief interview with Paul and a review of the reissues. Paul, showing infinite patience for answering the same question in every interview (not faulting the interviewer, because it's what we want to know but it must get tedious to be on the recieving end of it), answered the inevitable "Mats reunion?" question with:

"I think we still exist in some sort of fragmented form," Westerberg says. "It's just a question of whether he and I can ever get together again ... that's how close we are, I can't even mention his -- name."

Typical Westerberg. He's talking about his longtime bassist and foil, Tommy Stinson. "One day Tommy wants to sue me, the next he wants to jam. I think he's in the jamming mood this week, but by the time he gets here we might just meet and fight."

Tunecore link and Mats news

2008-09-18T21:14:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting this - here's the link to download "Bored of Edukation" from Tunecore.

A couple of other items of interest:

• The Sire reissues are coming out on Tuesday, yay! Which makes this a very timely piece by Bill Holdship on PTMM. He was originally to write the liner notes for both the PTMM and DTAS reissues, but it was then decided that each reissues should have the liner notes written by a different person and they went with Bill's liner notes for DTAS and former Sire A&R rep Michael Hill took on the PTMM liner notes. Bill interviewed both PW and Jim Dickinson for his liner notes and though they aren't being used for the reissue, he's posted them online at Detroit Metro Times. Includes a great quote from Jim Dickinson: "When you're making a punk record, you can't do it without punks. So I pretty much let 'em do what they wanted."

• An update on the Mats fan documentary, "Color Me Obsessed": Hansi Oppenheimer, who started this project a few years ago, has hooked up with Gorman Bechard to finish the film. If his name is familiar to you, you may have read one of his books, namely "The Second Greatest Story Ever Told", a novel about the daughter of God and featuring guest appearances by Paul and Tommy. Gorman is also a longtime filmmaker and plans are for the movie to be out in 2010. You can check out a sample of his work here (a little NSFW language about 45 seconds in).

New Westerberg Download: "Bored of Edukation"

2008-09-13T13:34:00.005-04:00

A new download is available, one song called "Bored of Edukation". At the moment, it's only available on Amazon.com but a link on Tunecore is coming, so if you either a) just prefer Tunecore and can be patient or b) are outside the U.S. and can't use Amazon MP3 and therefore have to be patient, I will be posting that Tunecore link as soon as I get it. As you can see below, the new download features more of Paul's handmade cover art.

In Mats news, Rhino has posted a Listening Party for a handful of tracks for the Sire reissues:
Bastards Of Young
• Alex Chilton
• I’ll Be You
• Merry Go Round
• Route 66
• Date To Church
• Ought To Get Love

Mats Sire Reissues: Preview Tracks

2008-09-07T10:10:00.003-04:00

Just a little over 2 weeks until the Mats Sire reissues come ou on Sept. 23 from Rhino. Pitchfork has a couple of tracks up: "Kiss Me On The Bus" (demo version - speedy!), "Photo" (a bonus track, which some of you may know as "P.O. Box (Put An Ad In The Paper)" because of the chorus "Put an ad in the paper, there's a P.O. box that's waiting, empty as your life and your heart/There's a P.O. box that's waiting for an envelope, a photo and reply"), and a demo version of "Talent Show". You can listen to the tracks below or visit Pitchfork for their full story on the releases. Enjoy!

New Westerberg MP3 Download: "3oclockreep"

2008-09-01T13:30:00.007-04:00

Meant to post this here when I posted it on the main site on Wedensday and just plumb spaced and then it was the 3 day weekend, and here we are. If you haven't read it on the main site or via email yet, Paul posted a new MP3 download called "3oclockreep". See artwork below. GtrPlyr has kindly posted some CD-sized artwork on the message board.

You can download the album "3oclockreep" for $3.99, and that includes a 20 minute track called "3oclockreep" and a 3 minute track called "Finally Here Once". They are also available as individual downloads ("3oclockreep" for $3.00 and "Finally Here Once" for $0.99).

Thanks to Hide n'Lurkin on the message board for breaking down the content of the "3oclockreep" track, which includes about 10 minutes of outtakes from Tom Waits in the studio with the Mats, circa 1989. This session produced "Date To Church", which appeared on a Sire CD sampler called "Just Say Mao" in 1989, part of their
"Just Say Yes" series. And it will be included on the upcoming Sire reissue of "Don't Tell A Soul" (out in just a few short weeks!)

"3oclockreep" (Approx. song title/length):

01 Tell 'Em All, Go to Hell 2:49
02 Mash of Outtakes 0:44
03 It's Ridiculous, Everybody Wants to Be Famous 2:53
04 Only Excuse Is 2:15
05 You're Still Mine 1:05
06 If Only You Were Lonely [Mats in Studio with Tom Waits] 1:00
07 Studio Ramblings [Mats in Studio with Tom Waits] 1:15
08 We Know the Night [Mats in Studio with Tom Waits] 3:06
09 Lowdown Monkey Blues [Mats in Studio with Tom Waits] 5:08

A couple of mentions of the new releases, on Stereogum ("Paul Westerberg Offers More Oddly Priced Downloadable Music") and PopCandy.

I mentioned awhile back that Glen Campbell was covering "Sadly Beautiful" on his new covers album and that album is out. If you want to take a listen to a snippet of the sing, you can do that on Amazon. He also covers "These Days" by Jackson Browne, which Paul also covered on CFMT. In Mats news, Filter magazine ran a godo feature on them, with interviews, back in May when the first batch of reissues came out. The article and the interview they did with Paul is up on their web site now, definitely worth reading.

KCRW story on Westerberg's "49:00"

2008-08-10T11:32:00.003-04:00

A few new links to share with you today:

» Crawdaddy review of "49:00"
» Rocky Mountain News review of "49:00"
» "49:00" review from The Modern Conservative (if, like me, you're a bleeding heart liberal and the name of the site is giving you the willies, check out the review anyway, it's very good)

KCRW's News Collage of the Week covers the "49:00" story:

Litigation is becoming the modus operandi for rock and rollers. In the old days, problems were discreetly solved with quiet negotiations. But when the internet came along, a band suddenly had direct access to their own fanbase. Now bands have democratic distribution. Anyone can release a record. And in the rough and tumble world of independence, artists are often guided by the "do it now and apologize for it later" rule. This means the threat oflawsuits looms ever present.

The latest victim caught in the crosshairs is cult favorite Paul Westerberg. Westerberg, singer and songwriter and the previous frontman of The Replacements, came up with a novel way to launch his new album. The album, titled "49 Minutes" was sold as a single download on Amazon and Tunecore. It was 49 minutes long and sold at the ridiculously low price of .49 cents.

The story generated headlines from all the major press, first for marketing, then for its unusual sound. Critics loved the album, which sounded more like a sound collage. Included in the music, were a few seconds worth of mash ups from other artist songs. Two weeks after it was originally released, Amazon and Tunecore pulled the "49 Minutes" download off their sites. And in its place, Tunecore began offering a different, exclusive Westerberg track titled, "5:05." The new song sells for .99 cents.

Why did the original album get pulled? The most plausible answer is that digital retailers probably received cease and desist notices for "49 Minutes" due to the mash ups. Once they receive a notice, they simply pull the release until they are convinced they have the rights to sell it. Game over, or prepare to suffer lawsuits. It will be interesting to see what Westerberg does next.

Hello "5:05", Goodbye "49:00"

2008-08-06T20:52:00.002-04:00

What a short, strange trip it's been for "49:00". I'm going to do my best to explain what's going on with "49:00" and the new release, "5:05". To put it simply, "49:00" is no longer available for download on either Amazon.com or Tunecore, it was removed from Tunecore last Thursday and from Amazon two days later. Gone, daddy, gone.

No official explanation was given for its disappearance. As one might expect, there's been quite a bit of discussion about possible reasons and you can find some of those discussions on the message board. Since we're not getting an official explanation, speculation is the next best thing!

But wait, there's more. Late last night, a new PW song appeared on Tunecore, "5:05" (yes, it's five minutes and five seconds long). To repeat, this new download is not "49:00", it's an entirely different thing. The cover art is below, to get the hi-res, downloadable version of the art, click on the image.

One more thing: When you go to download "5:05", you can choose how much you want to pay for it. You can pay either $5.05 or you can pay $0.99 - whatever amount you decide to pay, you get the exact same song. The only difference (obviously) is how much money comes out on the other end. For more info on "5:05", check out the initial reactions to it on the message board.

49:00 Download Update and Reviews

2008-08-02T18:25:00.005-04:00

Some news on downloading "49:00". Up until Thursday, you could download it from Tunecore or from Amazon. Tunecore was set up to accommodate non-US users because Amazon does not allow people outside the US to download from the MP3 store. As of Thursday though, the download was no longer available from Tunecore and Amazon.com was the only source. And now today, while "49:00" is still listed on Amazon, the "Buy" function is disabled for it. So you can't get it there either.

When I have news on what's going on with all this, I'll post an update. At this point, I don't have any info to post on what's the heck is going on.

I do have a bunch of links to "49:00" reviews, most are very favorable (and why not?):

• Pitchfork - Review
• Live Daily - Review "Contained in the recording's 43 minutes are the singer/songwriter's loosest, most exhilarating musical moments since the '80s"
• Aversion - Review
• Stereo Subversion - Reviews
• Aquarium Drunkard - Review

Extremely Unofficial Track Listing for "49:00"

2008-07-26T11:57:00.005-04:00

I'm posting a completely and utterly unofficial track listing for "49:00", generated by discussions on the message board. There is no official list from Paul. The list below was put together by GtrPlyr, and I tweaked it a tad (he says "Kentucky Horizon", I say "Kentucky Risin'"). I like his list because it calls the songs exactly what you think they would be called after listening to them. I can't think of a PW-penned song that you couldn't correctly guess the name of by listening to it once. Ok, I thought of one, "Alex Chilton", but you get the point, which is, Paul is not an "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town"-kind of song titler.

Obviously, there's a whole lot going on after the first 3-4 songs, with overlapping tracks and quick snippets you can barely hear, so while this is a solid guideline to where to find stuff, it's not an exhaustive chronicling of every stray note. And I do think "49:00" is most powerful when it's experienced in one full listen, but practically speaking, a) people want to know where to locate their favorite bits when spinning their iPod wheel and b) there are distinct songs on here and for the purposes of discussing the music, it helps to be able to refer to them by a name. So with all those caveats, here's the list, which is song title and start time:

Who You Gonna Marry? - 00:00

Kentucky Risin' - 03:57

Something in My Life is Missing - 06:57

Visitor's Day - 10:38

Thoroughbred - 14:14

Devil Raised a Good Boy - 14:28

You're My Girl - 17:38

Everyone's Stupid - 18:04

You're My Girl (Reprise) - 20:42

What Do You Want? - 20:48

Never Coming Back - 21:07

Goodnight, Sweet Prince - 21:52

Guess I'll Be Going Then - 25.47

Outta My System - 25:54

C'mon, Be My Darling - 29:16

Down on the Farm - 33:01

100,00 Pieces - 33:12

I'm Clean - 34:24

Your Sister - 35:35

It'll Never Die - 35:43

Short Cover Medley* - 39:46

I Think I Love You - 40:41

Oh Yeah! - 41:46

More "49:00" Art Work

2008-07-23T21:44:00.005-04:00

How much do I love "49:00"? Well, I'm sitting here updating the site instead of watching "Project Runway" - believe me, that means I love it A LOT. I got the official back cover art work today and you can find it on the "49:00" page. Here's a picture of it, but you want to click through to the "49:00" page to get the hi-res version for printing and also find out about some alternate cover art options.

As of now (9:45PM EDT), Paul is still #1 on the Amazon MP3 Album chart. Take that, "Mamma Mia" movie soundtrack! The release is still getting plenty of mentions in the press, including an excellent piece on PopMatters,which you can find here.

ABCNews.com (who knew?) has what I think is the best article on "49:00" to date because it's actually a review of the album (by Allan Raible), and it's a very thoughtful and (positive) review at that. I've been wondering when/if we would see some full-fledged reviews, since it's a unique and challenging offering to try and review. And now we have one.

More on "49:00"

2008-07-22T21:18:00.003-04:00

Wow, what a lot of press "49:00" is getting, it's amazing (and it's still #1 on Amazon MP3 Album chart). I had no idea what to expect when I first heard about this last week - either in terms of how successful it would be or what the music would sound like. And it's been such an awesome surprise on both counts. I can't imagine how I could love this record any more than I do - oh wait, yes I can, if it came with a companion download of the complete versions of all the cover songs at the end of "49:00". Oh, well, next time, right? Here are today's PW-related links:

» Pitchfork
» Listening Post - Part news story, part review, definitely worth checking out
» The Guardian UK
» There's no track listing but if you're looking for some help in getting handle on everything that's on there, a kind soul on the message board (thanks, Hide N Lurkin') has named the tracks and listed the length of each track. Your Titles May Vary but I found this very helpful.
» Another enterprising person on the message board (thanks, GtrPlyr) has posted some revised (unofficial) art, with the cover Paul made slightly re-sized to fit a jewel case and Paul's liner notes/warning as tray art. Download it here.

Alternate download of Westerberg's 49:00

2008-07-21T18:24:00.002-04:00

Many apologies for the delay in getting a link up for the fans outside the US. Here it is:

http://studio.tunecore.com/store/product/47

Paul Westerberg 49:00 Update

2008-07-21T08:45:00.003-04:00

Note: In order to get the album for $0.49 (rather than the whopping price of $0.89), you need to use the link I posted below and:
- Click on the "Buy MP3 album with 1-Click" button
- Download Amazon's MP3 Downloader (takes 1 minute)
- Proceed with purchase

Because of the way it's entered in the system ($0.89 for the 'song' and $0.49 for the 'album'), if you don't do it this way, you will be charged $0.89.

I checked in on the status of downloads for those outside the US and the problem is being worked on and hopefully, I'll have information later today on an alternate means for international downloads.

Paul Westerberg "49:00": Download!

2008-07-21T00:42:00.003-04:00

And we have lift-off: Download 49:00 from Amazon MP3

It's one MP3 file, with a whole mess of songs, so even though it's only one download, you're getting plenty of songs. An unfortunate note for non-US fans: Amazon MP3 does not accept international orders (details here). I know how many fans Paul has outside the U.S. and I know that's very frustrating news. I'll keep you posted on any plans to make it available through alternative means accessible to everyone. I'm sure this wasn't from lack of concern about folks outside the U.S.- I know it sucks, but this is the first time PW & Co. have done a download like this and there were obviously some glitches. So stay tuned.

Westerberg 49-49-49 Update

2008-07-19T15:41:00.004-04:00

Looks like there will be a slight delay in getting the link live (technical difficulties and such) and we're probably looking at a June 49 + 2 availability date (that's Monday) for the download. I'll be sending out an email when the link is up, if you want to be notified that way, you can sign up for the email newsletter.

In the meantime, you can enjoy the cover art and PW-supplied accompanying text. To download the cover art in PDF format, click on the image:

WARNING: DO NOT LISTEN WHILE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE

THIS PRODUCT IS NOT FAULTY - ALL SOUNDS ARE INTENTIONAL AND VALID AS A WORK OF ART

Seeing Through Paul (Westerberg)

2008-07-18T22:16:00.001-04:00

Kudos to Dfactor on Waved Rumor for unearthing a great find on YouTube - a 1999 mini-documentary directed by Ondi Timoner (I think it's about 30 minutes long, but that's a guess) called "Seeing Through Paul". It was made to promote Suicaine Gratifaction. Lots of interview footage and lots of music, this is a must-see. It's broken up into 4 clips, and I've posted them here.

Sire Mats Reissues Track List

2008-07-18T22:12:00.002-04:00

As if new music from Paul wasn't enough news for the day/week/month, Pitchfork has the track listings for the Sire reissues (due out on Sept. 23), including the bonus tracks. And the bonus tracks are...:

Tim:
- Can't Hardly Wait (acoustic, Alex Chilton sessions outtake) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Nowhere Is My Home (Alex Chilton sessions outtake) [bonus track]
- Can't Hardly Wait (electric, Alex Chilton sessions outtake) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Kiss Me on the Bus (Tom Erdelyi demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Waitress in the Sky (outtake, alternate version) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Here Comes a Regular (outtake, alternate version) [previously unreleased bonus track]

Pleased to Meet Me:
- Birthday Gal (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Valentine (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Bundle Up (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Photo (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Election Day [bonus track]
- Alex Chilton (alternate version) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Kick It In (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Route 66 [bonus track]
- Tossin' 'N' Turnin' [bonus track]
- Can't Hardly Wait (alternate version) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Cool Water [bonus track]

Don't Tell a Soul:
- Talent Show (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- We'll Inherit the Earth (mix 1) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Date to Church [ft. Tom Waits] [bonus track]
- We Know the Night (outtake) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Gudbuy T' Jane (Slade cover) (outtake) [previously unreleased bonus track]

All Shook Down:
- When It Began (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Nobody (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- One Wink at a Time (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Torture (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Attitude (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Happy Town (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Tiny Paper Plane (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Sadly Beautiful (demo) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- Kissin' in Action [bonus track]
- Ought to Get Love [bonus track]
- Satellite [bonus track]

While in no way diminishing the wonderful job that has been done on these releases by the Mats, Peter Jesperson, Darren Hill and everyone else involved in selecting the tracks, I am disappointed/surprised to see "Trouble On The Way", "Make This Your Home" and Run For The Country" missing from PTMM and (most especially) "Learn How To Fail" missing from "Tim". Pure speculation on my part, but maybe they didn't have recordings of these songs that were of sufficient quality for a release? "Bundle Up" is a great, fun song, but "Learn How To Fail" is a gorgeous, quintessential PW song. OK, enough bitching, it's still a plethora of Mats material and that's all kinds of great.

June 49, 2008

2008-07-17T10:15:00.003-04:00

Available June 49, 2008:
00:49 of Paul Westerberg for 49 cents

stay tuned...

Mats Spin Article Online Now

2008-07-14T19:15:00.001-04:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted an update but it's been awhile since there's been anything to update you on. And now there is. Nothing major (not just yet anyway...) but I wanted to post a link to Spin's Mats article from the May 2008 issue, which is now available online. If you didn't get the chance to read it in print, definitely check it out now. It was written by Bob Mehr, and he interviewed Paul, Tommy, Chris and Peter Jesperson so it's very comprehensive and as much as you think you may know about the Mats, you'll still learn a few things from it. The digital format of it (sort of a souped up PDF) makes it a bit tough to read, but the flip side is, the pictures included in the article look amazing.

At Geekapalooza (aka E3) today, the complete track list for Rock Band 2 was announced and you'll pleased/horrified/indifferent to learn that "Alex Chilton" made the list (The song, not the man).

Seen and Heard

2008-05-20T10:27:00.002-04:00

I'm not a regular view of "How I Met Your Mother" (when it first came on, I was watching "Prison Break" at 8pm on Mondays) but someone behind the scenes there has excellent taste in music. "Here Comes A Regular" was played at the end of last night's season finale.

Westerberg Interviews

2008-05-20T10:22:00.002-04:00

There's a new interview with Paul posted on Pitchfork. It's a long interview, and while it touches on a lot of the same points that his other recent interviews have, there's some very interesting stuff here. A couple of bits:

» On the last tour and the breakup of the Mats: "Not all bands know it when it's happening, but that last tour was our traveling farewell. It was not very fun, and by the end we knew it. By then, it was Steve [Foley] on drums and Slim [Dunlap], who apparently cared less about the band than he pretended to back then. He and I were already going our own ways. Tommy wanted to go solo. Everyone thinks it was me, but that's not true, really. That's essentially how the band sort of broke up."

» Pitchfork: Do the Replacements make you any money?
PW: A little bit. They asked me if they could use "Can't Hardly Wait" for a Toyota commercial. I sort of hemmed and hawed, because basically they don't have to ask my permission. They own the mechanicals, and they own half of the publishing, so if I say no they can do it anyway. That kind of stuff will generate a little income for me, the writer. The records have actually picked up in the last ten years, as far as sales go, so for as much as we put into them we're certainly getting it back. We never made any money on tour. None of us came out of the school of economics. We took it for granted that a rock and roll band gets ripped off.

Ok, moving on from the horror of CHW possibly being used to sell cars, Filter Magazine has a Mats feature in their most recent issue (Spring 08, with Flight of the Concords on the cover). Paul, Tommy and Peter Jesperson are interviewed. The article is not posted on their web site so I excerpted a few quotes below:

» Filter: You've had numerous solo albums. Anything currently in the works?
PW: I did give at least 60 songs to my manager, Darren. I was at the point where I had to give them to someone or I was going to start erasing them. If I drop dead, he's got, like, five albums in the can. Since doing that, I started writing more...I was talking to Darren about Guitar Hero and Rock Band; we turned it down before because I thought it was stupid. I was watching my son do it - him and his buddies all play it - and I figured, "Why not? What the hell? So, they want 'Kids Don't Follow'...let'em have it".

» Filter: Has time mellowed you out at all since the "roller coaster" ride of the old days?
PW: I don't know. Last night I pulled out my son's trumpet and I had a riff from this song, I was saying "Show me this in an A-flat and a B-flat.". I'm still the crotchety bastard I was when I was 19, but in a loving way. I'm manic-depressive, and I seem to be more manic than depressive, which is good, I guess.

Trouble Boys

2008-05-10T11:46:00.001-04:00

Oops. Thank you to those who corrected me on "Trouble Boys", which I said was a Thin Lizzy song. It was covered by Thin Lizzy, but it was originally done by Dave Edmunds (lyrics here) in 1978 and was written by Rockpile guitarist Billy Bremmer (credited as "Billy Murray").

Replacements Article in SPIN; Mats on iTunes

2008-05-08T18:15:00.005-04:00

In answer to several questions I've gotten from people about the availability of the Mats reissues on iTunes, they will be available, but not for several months. All of the reissues will go on iTunes at the same time, which will be after the Sire reissues are released in September.

The May issue of Spin includes an article on the reissues by Bob Mehr, for which he interviewed Paul, Tommy, Chris and Peter Jesperson. It's not available online, if you want to track down an issue, look for the one with My Morning Jacket on the cover. As noted in the Contributors section of the issue, Bob is working on a Mats biography, titled "Trouble Boys" (the title of a ~~Thin Lizzy~~ Dave Edmunds song that the Mats use to cover), so there's something to look forward to! A very few items of interest from an article chockful of them:

» "At 48, Westerberg has taken up hockey. He spends a couple hours each day at an outdoor rink nearby, skating himself ragged."

» "Westerberg says now that the chase for commercial success that dominated the band's latter years was ultimately what doomed them. 'The goal became simplistic and unrealistic, which was to have a hit', he says. 'And that's where we died. We weren't made of the stuff that makes popular music.'"

» Paul on his reaction to first hearing The Sex Pistols: "The song was barely over before I'd gone home and cut my hair off and smashed all my records...hearing Lydon's voice made me think 'Forget all these solos I've been trying to play - I'm gonna sing. I'm gonna lead a fucking band."

Mats Contest: Must Be A Winner

2008-05-04T13:02:00.000-04:00

This was the most popular contest I've ever run on the site, with nearly 900 entries. And the lucky winner is:

John Lee, CA

Thanks to everyone for entering and I hope to be able to do this again when the Sire releases come out in September.

Glen Campbell is Sadly Beautiful

2008-04-30T19:08:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder: The contest ends on Saturday, May 3 (I goofed and said "Friday, May 3" in the original posting), so if you haven't already entered, you still have a few days left but you better get on it!.

If the current Twin/Tone reissues and the upcoming Sire reissues aren't enough to whet your appetite for Mats stuff, you'll be especially pleased to hear that it looks like we have some live Mats coming our way too. In an interview on Boston.com, Peter Jesperson said "There will be a live box or series eventually but I don’t think there’s much more non-live stuff of releasable quality." Live box set or multiple CD set? That sounds awesome! You can also read more of his thoughts on the reissues in an interview with Goldmine (and check out Goldmine's reviews of the discs).

If you're looking for the limited edition 7" single, I posted a list of the retailers who have (or had) the singles.

I love this bit of news - No Depression reports that Glen Campbell will be covering the Mats' "Sadly Beautiful" on an upcoming album, "Meet Glen Campbell". Other songs he'll be covering include " All I Want Is You" (U2), "Times Like These" (Foo Fighters) and "These Days" (written by Jackson Browne and first recorded by Nico). "These Days" was also covered by Paul, both on his 2002 solo tour and on CFMT. Campbell is scheduled to perform some of this new material at the Stagecoach Festival on May 2. Paul, in turn, will be covering "Wichita Lineman" on his next solo release (I would actually love that).

And finally today, one more review of the reissues, this one from All Music Guide's review, which does an excellent job explaining why I love "Hootenanny" so much.

Crummy Water Tower (!)

2008-04-26T14:50:00.005-04:00

Just a couple of items on the reissues today:

» The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has an excellent interview with Peter Jesperson about some of the bonus tracks.
» TwinCities.com reviews the reissues: "First four records arrive on CDs with pleasant surprises"

Here's an interesting link (well, I think so anyway). From the blog of Tony Pierce, it's a transcript of an interview he did with Paul back in 2005 when Paul was promoting the HOF tour, and his LA shows in particular. You should read the whole thing, some fun stuff - my favorite bit is below, for some reason, "I'm not a go-seer of stuff" really made me laugh:

Q: Are you using an iPod to listen to your music nowadays?
paul westerberg: No. No. I still like to pull out 45s and put them on the mono record player in the basement. I love the past and I love what it is. I feel I can learn more from what has come before than what is happening right now and what's happening tomorrow. I'll leave that to someone else who's young and energetic. Somebody gave me a blues compilation, a DVD from England, '62-'69. It's got Little Walker and Skip James and stuff and it's I really enjoy watching that kind of stuff. I enjoy watching the Rolling Stones from that era too. I'm not a modern guy.

Q: And you're definitely a Minnesotan. Are there any spots you're gonna wanna hang out at? Do you have any favorite LA spots?
paul westerberg: No. I go from the bathroom to the living room to the headphones to the telephone. I never go anywhere. There was a time I walked over to the Pink Dot to buy something, a candy bar. No. I'm not a go-seer of stuff.

Teenage Kicks has an extensive three-part interview with Peter Jesperson, it's fascinating not only for the Mats stuff in there (and there is TONS), but for his insight into the music business. Must read, people, must read. Here's a little teaser regarding the Sire reissues:

TK: What surprises are in store for Replacements’ fans with the Sire reissues?
PJ: For the Sire stuff, the Holy Grail part II is where we get to release the acoustic version of “Can’t Hardly Wait.” We were just listening to that yesterday and to me, that’s one of the most stunning performances I’ve ever heard in my life .Of course it’s been bootlegged too, but we’re going off the master tape and it sounds beautiful. After “You’re Getting Married” from the first set, the Holy Grail part II is “Can’t Hardly Wait” acoustic which will be the first bonus track on Tim.

"Climb to the top of this crummy water tower, screaming 'I can't hardly wait'"

Even More on the Reissues/Reunion (?)

2008-04-24T10:32:00.005-04:00

Lots of press about the reissues, most of it centering on the "will they/won't they?" reunion tour question - so I have a plethora of links for you to enjoy:

» Austin360.com review of the reissues, very interesting and I completely agree that a reissue of "The Shit Hits The Fans" would have been an excellent addition.

» PopMatters has an extensive review of the reissues, which is definitely worth reading, though their 7 out of 10 rating for "Hootenanny" is...curious.

» iF Magazine review of the reissues.

» New York magazine interprets the Billboard interviews to mean that the Mats are "close to reuniting". That's an awfully optimistic read of the situation.

» Idolator interprets the Billboard interviews to mean that "it doesn't sound like the Replacements (or rather, Tommy Stinson and Paul Westerberg) are likely to reunite any time soon" and Idolator is happy about that.

» Paste interprets the Billboard interview to mean "maybe" there will be a Mats reunion and also reviews the reissues.

» Kid In The Hall Dave Foley talks about getting a chance to be in the studio with Paul during the recording of SG. Lucky!

Replacements "I Will Dare" 7"

2008-04-24T10:31:00.000-04:00

A clarification about the limited edition 7" single ("I Will Dare" b/w "Color Me Impressed"): You can't buy it as a standalone. It's available only at selected indie retailers and most of them are offering it as a bonus when you buy all of the reissues. A couple of people have reported getting when they only bought one of the reissues, so it seems to vary from store to store. Your best bet is to call around to your local stores to track one down. Also, the artwork of the sleeve that I posted a few days ago shows orange coloring, but the actual sleeve has blue coloring. Of course some are already for sale on eBay, you can check out the listings to see the blue sleeve.

Billboard Interviews Paul and Tommy

2008-04-22T13:50:00.001-04:00

There's nothing better than listening to music in the car on a gorgeous sunny day (especially when it's one of the very first gorgeous sunny days of the season) and it was pretty damn awesome to be driving around this morning with the windows down and the remastered "Hootenanny" blasting.

Billboard posted interviews with both Paul and Tommy today. Paul's interview is quite long and touches on a lot of things - his feelings on the reissues and the Mats in general, the idea of touring again as the Mats, what he's working on now, a typical day in the Westerberg house and most interestingly, the fact that he is contemplating releasing some of his new songs online in some fashion: "Darren [Hill] and I are kicking around the idea of selling the songs online, having like a song of the month club. That might be the best way."

Reissues: Interviews, Reviews and More

2008-04-20T14:31:00.009-04:00

A few reissues-related links today:

» Billboard interview with Tommy and Paul. Despite the discouraging title of the article - "The Replacements opt for reissues over reunion", the interview itself doesn't completely rule out the possibility:

YOU'VE REUNITED TWICE IN THE STUDIO IN RECENT YEARS. YOU'VE SURELY RECEIVED A SIZABLE OFFER OR TWO FROM THE PRODUCERS OF COACHELLA, SO...

Stinson: We actually talked about it again this year, and I think there was a consensus that, you know, maybe it wasn't the right time (to reunite), or maybe it is the right time. Paul and I were kind of in cahoots talking to them, talking to (his manager) Darren (Hill). There were some things thrown out, and there were other festivals that wanted it too, if we were going to do it. At the last minute, it just didn't seem like the right thing to do, so we didn't do it. But I think Paul and I have something to offer each other still. I think that's pretty obvious when we get together.

Westerberg: I'm very hesitant about dragging the name out there and what damage we could do to the legend. Whatever we did, someone would want something else. If I went up there straight, they'd want us wasted. If we were f--ked up, they'd want us to be this or that. But, I don't know. The records hold the key to the whole thing. So if I was ever going to play, I'd like to play once the whole shooting match is out, because I don't think I could physically get up there and bellow these 18 songs (from) that first record. That's just sheer youth there. I can't find that in a bottle or a pill. I'm just too creaky for that.

» Before VH1 became Celeb-Reality TV, (not complaining here, I will be glued to my TV for the "Rock of Love II" reunion/steel cage match tonight), they were actually a music channel. I know! And thusly, they've posted a "10 Great Songs by The Replacements" feature on their web site. Their picks are from the first 4 discs being reissued and are accompanied by some vintage Mats photos.

» Rolling Stone posted a review of the "Let It Be" reissue, giving it 4 stars. Oddly, in an earlier review, the original issue was awarded 5 stars. So according to Rolling Stone, the addition of the new tracks caused a 20% drop in quality. Uhm....ok.

» Nj.com glowingly reviewed the reissues, focusing on "Let It Be". "Rhino's remastered, expanded reissues of the Replacements' catalog should help carry their legacy further, while also being a godsend to fans pining for lost songs and better sound. Rhino has revamped the first four indie Replacements albums, with their four major-label releases to follow this fall."

» Meant to post this link awhile back. Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney) posted her favorite Westerberg lyrics on her NPR blog. Some great choices (including one of my all-time favorites, "If bein' afraid is a crime, we hang side by side".

"Sixteen Blue" Outtake - Listen up!

2008-04-15T21:31:00.001-04:00

In other reissue-related news, VH1 has a preview of the reissued "Let It Be" streaming on their site, including 2 of the bonus tracks: A cover of "20th Century Boy" and an outtake of "Sixteen Blue" with alt. vocals. Both are pretty durn sweet.

And Jim Walsh has posted his thoughts on the reissues on MinnPost.com, which are sure to get you pumped up for next Tuesday. To a person, everyone I've heard from who has the actual reissues (not just promo CDs), has raved about the great packaging and Jim is no exception: "Painstakingly and lovingly assembled and produced by the band's original producer and manager (and Twin/Tone co-founder) Peter Jesperson, the original recordings are augmented by 27 previously unreleased tracks and tons of photos and memorabilia that flesh out yet again what many have called the best band of the '80s." He also includes some excerpts from the liner notes, I love the stuff he posted from Gina Arnold's "Let It Be" notes.

At the risk of being repetitive...WANT.

Win The Replacements Reissues

2008-04-15T19:42:00.004-04:00

Contest Time! Thanks to Rhino, one lucky winner will receive a full set of the deluxe and remastered Replacements reissues: 'Sorry Ma', 'Stink', 'Hootenanny' and 'Let It Be'. To enter the contest, email your name and mailing address (so we can get them to you) to: matscontest@gmail.com

All entries must be in by Friday, May 3, 2008. Please, limit yourself to one entry. And hey, guy who enters every contest using 4 different email addresses to submit the same name and mailing address (you know who you are)? Don't do that this time. I can see through your fiendishly clever ruse.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Not only will the winner get all 4 CDs, he or she will also get this killer limited edition 7" vinyl single - "I Will Dare" b/w "Color Me Impressed":

WANT. For those of us who aren't the lucky winner, the single will be available through select indie retailers, when/if I get more details on that, I'll post them.

Good luck!

April 22 is Getting Closer: Replacement Reissues

2008-04-11T16:43:00.004-04:00

Less than 2 weeks until the Mats issues (April 22), woo hoo. New episodes of BSG and 'new' Mats music, so I beg to differ with Mr, Eliot- April is not the cruelest month after all. Also coming in April is the May issue of SPIN, which will have a big story on the Mats and the reissues. Tommy, Paul, Chris and Peter Jesperson were all interviewed for the feature, so it should be very interesting. The issue should be hitting newsstands in the next week or so. As for the reissues themselves, I haven't seen the final versions yet but everyone who has mentions how fantastic the packaging is, so even more reason to look forward to them (in case the music wasn't enough).

Pitchfork has a nice preview of what's to come, with clips of three of the bonus tracks from the reissues: "If Only You Were Lonely", "Perfectly Lethal", and a cover of "Temptation Eyes" (originally done by The Grass Roots). There are little widgets that (ostensibly) would let you listen to the songs here, but Blogger doesn't seem to enjoy the coding of the embedded player and won't display it. So you can listen to the songs on the News page.

Rhino also has a Listneing Party available, where you can listen to a bunch of tracks from the reissues. All of the songs included here are remastered versions of previously released stuff, none of the bonus tracks are available, which may leave you...unsatisfied....but if you;re eager to hear what the remastered tracks sound like, here's your chance:

Listening Party Tracklist:
- I Will Dare - Let It Be
- Take Me Down to the Hospital - Hootenanny
- Kick Your Door Down - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
- Dope Smokin' Moron - Stink
- Hootenanny - Hootenanny
- Johnny's Gonna Die - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
- Sixteen Blue - Let It Be
- Kids Don't Follow - Stink
- Within Your Reach - Hootenanny
- Unsatisfied - Let It Be
- Shiftless When Idle - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
- Stuck in the Middle - Stink

To get your listening party started in here, click on your desired party format:
QuickTime
WindowsMedia
RealPlayer

Punknews.org is giving away a full set of reissues, you can enter here. I'll be doing a contest too, just getting it sorted at the moment.

They're Coming Out - Replacements Reissues!

2008-02-12T12:32:00.000-05:00

So much for my snarky comment about waiting since the Mesozoic era for the Mats reissues to actually come out - today comes the news that they are really and truly scheduled for release in April and October - of this year! No, seriously! Billboard says so: Long-Awaited Replacements Reissues Due In April. The highlights:

"The Replacements' first three albums and an EP will be reissued in remastered, expanded form this spring, completing a long awaited upgrade of the seminal band's early work. "Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out the Trash," "Stink," "Hootenanny" and "Let It Be" will arrive April 22 via Rhino, Billboard.com can reveal.

Originally released on the band's hometown label, Twin/Tone, the albums were prepped for reissue by Replacements manager Peter Jesperson, with involvement from the surviving band members."

Here is the bonus material for the Replacements reissues (previously unissued tracks marked with *):

"Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out the Trash":

"Raised in the City," live, 1980 - demo*

"Shutup," live, 1980 - demo*

"Don't Turn Me Down," live, 1980 - demo*

"Shape Up," live, 1980 - demo*

"You Ain't Gotta Dance," studio demo*

"Get on the Stick," studio demo*

"Oh Baby," studio demo*

"Like You," outtake*

"Get Lost," outtake*

"A Toe Needs a Shoe," outtake*

"Customer," alternate take*

"Basement Jam," rehearsal*

"If Only You Were Lonely"

"Stink":

"Staples in Her Stomach," outtake*

"Hey, Good Lookin'," outtake*

"(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock," outtake*

"You're Getting Married," solo home demo*

"Hootenanny":

"Lookin' for Ya"

"Junior's Got a Gun," outtake - rough mix*

"Ain't No Crime," outtake*

"Johnny Fast," outtake - rough mix*

"Treatment Bound," alternate version*

"Lovelines," alternate vocal*

"Bad Worker," solo home demo*

"Let It Be":

"20th Century Boy"

"Perfectly Lethal," outtake*

"Temptation Eyes," outtake*

"Answering Machine," solo home demo*

"Heartbeat -- It's a Lovebeat," outtake - rough mix*

"Sixteen Blue," outtake - alternate vocal*

The Sire reissues are coming out in October, no details on the bonus material yet, but based on this list, I'd say the Sire bonus material will be Kick. Ass. Can you ask for more than an 'official' Mats recording of "Heartbeat -- It's a Lovebeat"? No, you cannot.

Mats 3D?

2008-02-10T18:46:00.002-05:00

Not much news happening lately. Seems like the best we can hope for in 2008 is the Mats reissues (with bonus material!) that are meant to be coming out later this year (of course, I have been hearing that they are coming out "this year" since the Mesozoic era, so I advise against the holding of one's breath). Til we have some real news, here are some links/items of interest for a dreary winter Sunday.

» An interview with Jim Walsh author of "The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting") from OregonLive.com.

» If you've never been able to get your hands on a copy of the bonus track "Wonderful Copenhagen", (from the EU version of SG), you can now but it on iTunes (not to pimp out iTunes, but it is a good place to find off-the-beaten path singles).

» Check out this clip from "At The Movies With Ebert And Roeper", with guest critic Michael Phillips sitting in for Ebert. They review "U2 3D" and Roeper refers tot hem as the best band of the past 25 years. Phillips says "I don't know about them being the best band of the past 25 years, what about the Replacements...there's a band I'd like to see in 3D".

Random PW Video from YouTube: PW being interviewed on the set of the "World Class Fad" video for MTV and then grabbing the mike to interview some random people on the set, including the director of the video, Zach Snyder (who later found fame and fortune as the director of "300").

The Story of "Pleased To Meet Me"

2008-01-10T12:53:00.000-05:00

Attention PTMM lovers: There's a fantastic new article about the making of the Mats best album (ok, ok, I mean, "what is arguably the Mats best album") up on Gibson's web site, "Torn and Frayed: The Story of the Replacements’ 1987 Classic Pleased to Meet Me". It features extensive recollections from Jim Dickinson and Tjohn Hampton, a longtime engineer at Ardent Studios in Memphis. There's a lot of great stories in the article and you'll also learn the truth about the apocryphal "vomit on the ceiling" story.

More on the Mats: City Pages published the Twin Cities Rock Atlas, a cool map of the rock and roll landmarks around the cities. A couple of Mats mention, as you probably guessed, including the 'Let It Be' house and the C.C. Club.

Happy Birthday Mr. Westerberg

2007-12-31T16:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Paul (born Dec. 31, 1959), who shares his birthday with an eclectic group including Henri Matisse, Anthony Hopkins, Simon Wiensenthal, John Denver, Val Kilmer and Donna Summer. Which reminds me that Donna Summer was nominated (though not voted in) for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. But that still makes her one step closer than the Mats, who were not even nominated. I firmly believe that John Denver will be voted into the HOF before the Mats will. It's a mean old world.

Boston Drafts Westerberg

2007-12-07T15:23:00.000-05:00

Seems like a good time for another round up of links, lots of press for "All Over But The Shouting". Hope everyone is having a delightful holiday season and has remembered to ask Santy Claus for a new PW CD in 2008.

Read "Why The Replacements Saved My Life" by Jim Connelly on his blog, Medialoper.

Mr. Paul Westerberg tops the list of Minnesotans whom The Boston Globe thinks should relocate to Boston. Extra credit to the Globe for a "Nowhere Is My Home" reference.

Crawdaddy interview with Jim Walsh and book review. Includes a link to the infamous Shaved Eyebrows interview on YouTube.

Review of the Nov. 28 Mats Tribute show/Book launch party at First Ave in Mpls.

Dallas Observer "All Over But The Shouting" book review.

Austin Statesmen book review: "The Clash liked to call themselves the only band that mattered, and Johnny Rotten might have snarled "We don't care," but these four mess-ups from Minneapolis were truly the only band that mattered, and they truly didn't care."

Minnesota Public Radio feature on "All Over But The Shouting". Includes a slide show with some classic Mats images, including their star at First Ave and the band rehearsing in the Stinson basement.

Link Round-Up Day

2007-11-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

Things have been pretty quiet, Westerberg-wise, since the show in September, but here are a few items of interest:

Blender lists The 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever and "Let It Be" comes in at #3.

Bob Dylan included a Mats song in a recent Theme Time Radio Hour on XM (Theme: Smoking. Mats Song: "More Cigarettes"). Click here for an MP3 of Dylan intro-ing the song.

Star-Tribune review of "All Over But The Shouting" and excerpt from the book.

City Pages review of "All Over But The Shouting".

Idolator's review of "All Over But The Shouting".

"The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting" Out Now

2007-10-23T17:27:00.000-04:00

"All Over But the Shouting: An Oral History" was scheduled to be out on Nov.15, but it looks like it hit stores early, so check your favorite bookstore for a copy.

Harp Magazine has both a review of the book and an interview with author Jim Walsh.

Jimmy Reed Tribute on "Austin City Limits"

2007-10-18T12:28:00.000-04:00

Check your local listings for ACL's upcoming episode (week of 10/27) featuring a tribute to Jimmy Reed. This is Westerberg-related because of Paul's oft-demonstrated regard for Reed. In fact, here's a trivia question for you:

Answer: This Jimmy Reed song title appears in the lyrics of "Can't Hardly Wait".
Question: What is __________________________?

Austin City Limits: October 27: Tribute to Bluesman Jimmy Reed
Joined by blues luminaries James Cotton, Delbert McClinton and others, guitarist Jimmie Vaughan pays tribute to blues legend Jimmy Reed, composer of the classics "Ain't That Loving You Baby," "Big Boss Man" and "Baby What You Want Me to Do."

Interview Videos From "The Craft"

2007-10-16T12:25:00.001-04:00

Frustrating! Nearly a month after the Paul Westerberg/The Craft show, the video of the performances from the show have still not been posted. However, the some of the interview portions have been posted on the RRHOF site. You can continue to check The Craft site, where some performance videos will be posted......eventually.

Wayback Machine: Paul Westerberg 1996 Interview

2007-10-13T13:37:00.000-04:00

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.

More Paul Westerberg on Jools Holland

2007-10-13T13:03:00.000-04:00

The second of Paul's two appearances on "Later With Jools Holland" is playing on Concert.tv, which is available through On Demand (I have Comcast On Demand and can find it by going to the On Demand menu and picking: Music > Concert.tv > Later With Jools). It's the episode entitled "Tom Petty & Others". This performance of "It's A Wonderful Lie" is from 1999 and is the only TV performance Paul did to promote "Suicaine Gratifaction".

Westerberg Interview - The Craft

2007-10-06T18:55:00.002-04:00

You can listen to just the interview portion of The Craft show here, many thanks to Small Town Vice from the board for providing this.

"Let It Be" on "Sound Opinions"

2007-10-06T17:59:00.000-04:00

Listen to the podcast of "Sound Opinions" doing a "Classic Album Dissection" of "Let It Be", with guest Jim Walsh. Grab the file here, the Mats discussion begins at about 18 minutes in. It's funny to hear them talking about this record as a "lost" classic since pretty much none of "us" (those who care enough about PW and the Mats to be reading this) think of it as an obscure album, but rather, as music that's practically encoded in our DNA at this point.

The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting

2007-10-03T17:23:00.000-04:00

Jim Walsh, author of the upcoming oral history of the Mats, "The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting" will be a guest on "Sound Opinions", a syndicated public radio show featuring Chicago writers Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot talking music. The Oct. 5 show will be a "Sound Opinions Classic Album Dissection", this time focusing on "Let It Be". You can get more information, like what stations the show can be heard on and how to listen to it online at the show's web site.

Speaking of web sites, the Mats book has its own MySpace page. There's lots of stuff to check out there, including a list of Jim's upcoming appearances, a bunch of glowing blurbs from the back cover ("The Replacements were superheroes: They rescued a whole planet from ’80s music. Jim Walsh’s loving, engrossing oral history is the book they deserve."— Nick Hornby), and a few choice excerpts from the book.

Those of you in MPLS should keep Nov. 28th open for the book release party at First Avenue, with Twin Cities bands doing Mats covers. Bands include: We’ll Be You (featuring Jon Eller, Kevin Bowe, Steve Price and Jerry Anderson), The Alarmists, The Honeydogs, Birthday Suits, One For The Team, and many, many more.

Paul Westerberg/The Craft BitTorrent

2007-10-01T23:04:00.001-04:00

For those of you who have an account on DimeADozen (aka EZTorrent), the audio for Paul Westerberg -slash- The Craft show has been uploaded as a torrent. If you don't have an active account, it can be tough to get in because they cap the site at 100,000 members, but do keep trying. I got my account a few months ago after a day or two of trying. (If all of this is sounding like a lot of mumbo jumbo to you, check out the DimeWiki for more info on BitTorrent in general and Dime in particular).

If you aren't able to get the show via BitTorrent, visit the Message Board, where some of us will be weeding out copies of the show the old-fashioned way: on CD.

Westerberg Video Two-fer

2007-09-28T18:30:00.000-04:00

More big thanks to JimP for uploading two more videos from The Craft show to YouTube: "Everyone's Stupid", a new song, written from the point of view of a kid whose parents are divorcing; and "Make The Best of Me", an unreleased Mats song that Paul said the band rejected for being "too spiritual". Enjoy!

Everyone's Stupid

Make The Best Of Me

Paul Westberg: The Craft 9.24

2007-09-25T15:30:00.000-04:00

The Paul Westerberg -slash- The Craft show at First Avenue: Amazing. Here's everything I have on it at the moment, more to come and the video will be online soon so you can see it for yourselves! For now, a big thank you to JimP for uploading this video of "Let The Bad Times Roll" from the show:

The night was a mix of songs and interview, with a total of 10 songs played, including one new song and one unreleased Mats song. The set list:

Let the Bad Times Roll
It’s a Wonderful Lie
Everyone’s Stupid (This is the new song, written from about a friend of his son's whose parents were divorcing, written from the kid's point of view)
Lush & Green
Make the Best of Me (An unreleased Mats-era song that he noted the band rejected as "too spiritual")
What a Day (For a Night)
World Class Fad (never a favorite of mine, but this was maybe the best-performed song of the night)
Dyslexic Heart
Can’t Hardly Wait
Skyway (encore)

My favorite quote of the night was "I would sort of divide what we did between the songs that ache and the songs that rock. Sometimes they did both. But the ones that ached mattered a little more to me than say, 'One Good Dose of Thunder'". Check out more quotes from the show courtesy of Rob van Alstyne at Reveille. (Paul responding to host Warren Zanes comparing him to legendary recluse J.D. Salinger in terms of taking himself out of the spotlight post-Suicaine: "It was more 'Catcher in the Slump' than 'Catcher in the Rye'"). My favorite moment of the night? Paul, cig firmly in mouth, playing a bit of "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5.

What the reviewers had to say:

Spin - Review + great pictures, plus man/woman on the street interviews asking "Fill in the blank: Paul Westerberg makes me want to _____." The best answer is from Paul's cousin: "Paul Westerberg makes me want to call my pharmaceutical rep."
The Star-Tribune - "Westerberg 'Craft' gets at some details but quiets his music" by Chris Riemenschneider. More here in the S-T blog.
Reveille Magazine - Review + tons of pictures from Steve Cohen, who always does such an amazing job shooting PW shows.
Billboard - "Zanes had Westerberg pick four favorite songs -- the Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye," the Rolling Stones' "Tumblin' Dice," the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" and Jimmy Reed's "You Got Me Running" -- and talk about them. One of the night's highlights was when Westerberg, after saying "I wish I could play it," spontaneously played the J5 smash as an instrumental on acoustic guitar."

Most importantly, here's what the fans had to say: Check out the message boards for show reviews (the good, the bad and everything in between) and pictures. Thanks to everyone who posted about the show, if you went to the show and want to add your thoughts, please do!

More Westerberg from 1993

2007-09-20T14:29:00.000-04:00

For those of you with On Demand service on your cable provider, you should check out whether you have access to the concert.tv channel. (I have Comcast On Demand and can find it by going to the On Demand menu and picking: Music > Concert.tv > Later With Jools).

And the reason you would be checking this out is because Paul's 1993 appearance on "Later With Jools Holland" is currently playing on this channel (through Oct. 15). Paul and the 1993 touring band (Dave Minehan, Darren Hill and Josh Freese) do 2 songs, "World Class Fad" and "Things". Paul says that this is only their second show together so that explains the lyrical misfires on "Things". Very rocking WCF!

Moshing With Paul

2007-09-19T19:32:00.001-04:00

I found this video via JukeboxGraduate, it's from Westerberg's 1993 tour and until I watched it, I had forgotten that there was crowd-surfing and stage-diving during those shows, and a wee bit of moshing. It's pretty funny to watch and a great performance of "Left Of The Dial" to boot.

Pleased To Meet Paul Westerberg

2007-09-17T12:32:00.000-04:00

Some good news for people who haven't won tickets for the PW "The Craft" show on Sunday: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a package of 4 front row tickets up for auction, the package includes the opportunity to meet Paul (lucky!) and (to quote the eBay posting), "a host of other surprises…". Ooooooo! Bidding as of this post is incredibly low at $242, which works out to $60.50 per person, which is like... the bargain of the century! So get 3 friends together, pool your money and bid!

9/19/07 7:30pm ETA:
The top bid is now $630, but for front row seats and a meet and greet, I still think it's a bargain!

"His favorite color is plaid"

2007-09-16T13:37:00.000-04:00

Fun thread on the message board detailing Paul's sartorial adventures in plaid. Check out the links below for some truly silly pictures of the plaided-up Mats and the Young Fresh Fellows goofing around on tour, from (I think) 1987. (Thanks to Cold Fingaz for the links).

http://www.bluedisguise.com/yff/picturebook2/picturebook2-Images/29.jpg
http://www.bluedisguise.com/yff/picturebook2/picturebook2-Images/30.jpg
http://www.bluedisguise.com/yff/picturebook2/picturebook2-Images/31.jpg

Paul Westerberg: The Artist As An Old Man

2007-09-15T22:02:00.000-04:00

I know it's hard to believe since none of us has aged a day (right?)...but it has actually been 10 years since GrandpaBoy first emerged from his holler. In honor of this momentous anniversay, I searched high and low (ok, I searched my hard drive) and I found a bunch of GB art from the original Monolyth web site. That site has long since gone to the Internet graveyard so I'm re-posting the images here. Enjoy!

And The Winners Are...

2007-09-14T11:53:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to the winners of the tickets to "The Craft" concert:

Mary Mitchel
Paul Vecchio
Monica Schultz
Michelle Maynard
Kim Splaine
Charles Ford
Jim Portesan
Geoffrey McDonald
Kevin Gohl
Stacy Lillyman

Thanks to everyone who entered, I wish I had 400 pairs of tickets to give away.

Paul Westerberg vs. Ryan Adams

2007-09-12T11:45:00.000-04:00

No, not another PW/RA slap fight in the press. Crawdaddy has a great article by Greg Gaston posted today entitled "Shaggy Dogs: Paul Westerberg vs. Ryan Adams". It shows an all-too-rare appreciation of Paul's last few albums:

Westerberg’s voice, still scuffed, still broken, still can take your breath away with a life’s worth of stunning self-knowledge: "Every time I didn't follow my dreams, I lost the map / I live my fantasy instead / Till I found it was a trap / Gave a life, got a living / Hey, that’s all right / All is forgiven” (“All That I Had”).

Hide 'n Seeking for PW Tickets

2007-09-07T10:25:00.000-04:00

Thanks very much to Paul's management for offering up 10 pairs of tickets for The Craft show, to be given away through the site.

The winners will be selected at random from all the correct contest entries. The contest is pretty simple (if you know your bacon from your fingernails). Click here for all the contest details and good luck!

I'm In Love (With That Song)

2007-09-04T19:05:00.000-04:00

Keeping in mind the nature of the upcoming show in Mpls (Paul will play songs and also be interviewed, probably talking about some/all of the songs he plays), what songs would you like to hear him play?

You can vote on this in poll form here: Paul Westerberg - The Craft Poll

Basically, you rate songs you would LOVE to hear in this format highly (i.e. 10) and songs you would not like to hear as much, lowly (i.e. 0) and anywhere in between. Note that yes, there are songs missing from the poll. I didn't want the poll to be any longer than it already is (it's LONG) so I went off polls that I did in the past in winnowing the list and also common sense (by which I mean, "Dope Smokin' Moron" isn't included....). Your feedback is much appreciated!

"Paul Westerberg to the rescue"

2007-09-04T17:40:00.000-04:00

I posted this clip on the Message Board last week and thought I'd share it here too. It's from "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (aka MST3K), if you don't know about the show, here are the basics: The show featured several puppets and one human making fun of bad movies and the show was made in Mpls. For more info, check out Satellite News.

Anyhow, this clip is from the movie "Aliens in L.A.", featuring the egregiously-voiced Kathy Ireland. The PW reference is at around 6:25 (counting down). There were several other Mats-related references throughout the series. It was a great show (I still have my fan club t-shirt) and many episodes are available from Rhino.

Paul Westerberg Live in MPLS!

2007-09-03T17:45:00.000-04:00

Awesome news - Paul is playing live in Mpls on Sunday, September, 23! This is part of "The Craft" concert series, produced by Miller Genuine Draft and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One catch, you have to win tickets through a Mpls radio station, Cities 97. The show will be hosted by Warren Zanes, so there will be Paul performing and Paul talking, a Storytellers kinda thing. Get your butt on over to the Cities 97 site and fill out the entry form/quiz. Good luck to all!

Some consolation for those of us not in attendance: Videos from the show will be streamed online at a later date as well (though obviously being there is much, much, much, much better).

What Is This?

2007-09-03T17:21:00.000-04:00

This is a blog companion to the Man Without Ties/Paul Westerberg site (which I started almost 12 years ago, my god, it can't possibly be that long, but yes, it was Nov. 1995 when I put the first page up). Why does the site need a blog, when there is already an entire web site and message board? Well, it's really for technical reasons. By putting up the latest news and info on a blog, as well as on the regular News page, it allows for this site to be tracked by blog search sites like Technorati, which helps new people find the site and it also allows readers to subscribe to updates via RSS, which is a major plus.

Is it going to be a pain to update two sites? I think (hope) it will be a very minor pain and that the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages. If you're interested in the full MWT surround sound experience, please visit the main site (Man Without Ties) and if you're interested in connecting with other fans, visit the MWT Message Board and sign up to join in the conversation (or just lurk). You can very easily get all the PW news you can use via those two sites, this blog is just intended to put it into a more Web 2.0-y format.