In the Blogs: I can’t believe I am up at 6:30 a.m. edition
Posted by Jodi | Filed under In the Blogs, Uncategorized
- • Feed the Ogre has a disappointing run-in involving ‘Unsatisfied’ and his kids.
- • WOXY counts down the top 500 modern rock songs (Alex Chilton is the highest ranking ‘Mats song, weird)
- • I really liked Linnet’s piece about All for Nothing, mostly because she talks about how when you break up you lose half your record collection
- • Here’s a great piece about Joan Jett, whom we all love, right?
P.S. Stop by the NEW Forum and tell us about the first time you saw the ‘mats or Paul Westerberg or see why PW.net is better than rightsaidfred.com.
Tags: Joan Jett, the replacements, Unsatisfied
Paul Westerberg, the Pitchfork Interview
Posted by Jodi | Filed under PW News, Uncategorized
Veritable indie-tastemakers Pitchfork interviews our man Paul (which still cracks me up)
Pitchfork: Did you feel at all left behind by your friends who left town?
PW: No, because I didn’t have that many friends at the time, and the ones that I had were all quasi-musicians. Sort of cats, layabouts, whatever. There was the occasional guy we played drums with whose dad wanted him to be an accountant. The line was sort of drawn in the sand, the guys who were going to put their picks and sticks behind them and move on to something else. I knew in my gut that this was what I had to do and what I was going to do.
Tags: paul westerberg, Pitchfork
In the Blogs: Look I remembered edition
Posted by Jodi | Filed under In the Blogs, Uncategorized
City Pages unearths the now-famous ‘Lovelines’ issue.
Paul Westerberg as best friend, a short and sweet piece I think y’all can relate to.
The Washington Post has a nice interview with Laurie Lindeen about Petal Pusher
10 Quotes from SPIN’s Story on the Replacements
A Crash Course in The Replacements, in case you need a refresher.
Crawdaddy republishes a 1987 article about Husker Du and The ‘Mats
Okay, so this is a review of the new Tobias Wolff short story collection, and I link to it for two reasons:
1.) Tobias Wolff is brilliant and you should read him
2.) The review likens remembering the first time you read Tobias Wolff (Vodo’s Beginning Fiction class 2003) to the first time you heard the ‘Mats (The Camaraderie’s jukebox 1994 or 1995)
Tags: Husker Du, Laurie Lindeen, the replacements, Tobias Wolff
Mats Madness Championship
Posted by Some Guy | Filed under 'Mats Madness, Uncategorized
And then there were two…
Well not literally those two obviously, but their namesakes. It’s Let It Be vs Tim for the the championship. And you thought deciding between All Shook Down and Hootenanny was tough! Voting open till end of day Wednesday. Thursday we crown a champion.
Tags: 'Mats Madness, Let it Be, the replacements, Tim
Got yer books? Go read ‘em.
Posted by pzp | Filed under Uncategorized
The publishing industry is positively awash in Paul-Westerberg-influenced projects, much as I predicted would happen in my blog on this very site three years ago. A few examples:
And next month’s Oprah Bookclub Pick is riding the bandwagon too.
Go figure.
(Now, who wants a free car!?!)
Kickin tha stall
Posted by pzp | Filed under Uncategorized
I find Paul’s baseball fandom quite endearing.
On a related note, I could really use a hug.
Win an autographed copy of Petal Pusher and support a great cause
Posted by zook | Filed under Uncategorized
Though this is not PW specific, I figured it was relevant enough for this place.
The second annual Carlapalooza will be a two day event on October 6th and 7th. Carlapalooza is a yearly punk rock benefit for Multiple Sclerosis with all proceeds going to The National MS Society (Carla is a fixture in the pop punk scene and like Laurie is a spunky and fun chick who happens to have MS.) There is also a raffle, or rather series of raffles, with several pretty cool prizes and the proceeds also going to MS. One of these prizes is an autographed copy of Petal Pusher that Laurie Lindeen herself donated. The only catch is that you have to be present for this raffle so if you are going to be near Secaucus, NJ on October 6th head on over and give til it hurts.
For information go to http://www.myspace.com/carlapalooza
On and on and on and on
Posted by zook | Filed under Uncategorized
Like many others I had a hard time choosing a favorite Westerberg tune but the one that I ultimately come back to is Left of the Dial. It is one of those songs that does it on multiple layers for me - musically, lyrically and emotionally (for lack of a better term.) Right from the beginning it let’s you know that you’re in for something special - the way the opening riff grabs you by the hand and pulls you right up into space. Then Paul begins to tell a little story and in 3 verses and a chorus you are right there with him/them living the unglamorous life of a musician in love with music. That has always been one of the things I love about his songs - the imagery he projects, the perfect word choice that says a lot in just a little, the way his voice interweaves with the words so perfectly. At just about half way into the song things change. The music becomes more urgent. You feel yourself soaring high above the ground along with the song. You are weary yet you get your second wind and let the music pull you the rest of the way through. It is uplifting and inspiration and I get lost in the music during the last minute and a half or so. Played live the tune is even more amazing. Perhaps the reason that put it on top as my favorite was hearing it in Memphis during his last tour. He played it after almost everyone had left (there is a story there for another day) and several of us were able to get in just in time for the last half of this song. Seeing the sheer joy on PW’s face as he played and experiencing the power of the song in a near empty theater is easily one of the best musically memories I have and just adds to the power of this tune.
As with many PW tunes, Left of the Dial holds multiple meanings and spawns even more emotional attachments. It seems no two people see any of this songs the same way and I love that. I listen to this song and I imagine life on the road as a band. But I also think of it as Paul’s love letter - to all his fans certainly but also to all the misfits who love the music that 99% of the world knows little about. If we were a radio station we wouldn’t be the popular one, we wouldn’t have the strongest frequency. We would be way over there at the end of the dial. And when we travel we’d find others like us at that same spot on the radio - people who get it. I have met a lot of wonderful people through the Mats music and though I don’t have the opportunity to get together with them much I know where I’d find them. Paul himself says it best at the end of the song and it always reminds me of you Westernerds - “And if I don’t see ya, in a long, long while. I’ll try to find you left of the dial.”
Comments on the poll
Posted by ElegantMule | Filed under Uncategorized
Has it ever occurred to anyone that Westerberg was talking about his abilities to pick up chicks in “If Only You Were Lonely”? After all, he ALWAYS writes about video games, and he ALWAYS writes about masturbating (God knows), and he ALWAYS refers to his guitar playing in songs, so I realize its a tough call. Especially because he NEVER talks about CHICKS in songs.
16 down
Posted by pzp | Filed under Uncategorized
16 down - The best thing that never happened.
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