A Country Rendition of "Alex Chilton"

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!

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

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.

Replacements Sire Reissues Out Today!

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

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

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"

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

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!

Sire Mats Reissues Track List

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.

Mats Spin Article Online Now

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).

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."

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."

Reissues: Interviews, Reviews and More

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!

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

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

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.