Replacements Article in SPIN; Mats on iTunes

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

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

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 (!)

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 (?)

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"

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

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."