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Post by scoOter on Sept 12, 2007 7:56:57 GMT -5
simple. yes or no. anonymous - no comments necessary. is the quality of paul's recent songwriting on par with his older songs? again, taken as a whole body, are the songs from 1992 - 2005 as good as 1980 - 1990?
i would like as many people as humanly possible to answer it. if you have all the 'mats stuff, and none or very little of his solo material, i think the appropriate answer should be "no"; unless you are someone who has not purchased any new music since 1991. in which case, don't take the poll. and go pick up some damn music!
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Post by ElegantMule on Sept 12, 2007 11:16:31 GMT -5
He's traded it for old-buzzardness, which is fine by me. He can still rock a cravat like nobody's business.
This is sort of a sidenote, but we have very few good examples of the aging rocker. It's just not a pop culture role we've seen before. But now that rocka rolla is 50+ years old, its going to become more than a young man's game. I think Paul has weathered the storm pretty well, all in all.
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ih8music
Star Scout
couldn't be happier.
Posts: 943
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Post by ih8music on Sept 12, 2007 14:56:59 GMT -5
This is a tough one for me.
I think the high points are pretty much equivalent between his solo career and his 'mats days. Put up your 10 favorite PW songs against your 10 favorite Replacements songs and I'm sure they'll be on par.
But for me, the low points of his solo career are far worse than the worst of his 'mats days. As kgp noted, he's taken more risks as a solo artist - and these sub-par (IMO) songs may very well just be the result of taking these risks. So is it fair to penalize him for that?
I guess since the question is worded with "taken as a whole" we're supposed to equally account for the songs we dislike, too - so because of that I'm going to have to answer no.
(which is weird, because I very much consider myself a bigger PW fan than a Replacements fan.)
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Post by scoOter on Sept 12, 2007 15:05:48 GMT -5
my poll... it is deceptively complex. no more comments, though  i am only looking for data; not justification. |
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Post by A Regular on Sept 12, 2007 16:31:51 GMT -5
I won't vote, but comment, just to piss scooter off.
I have my own PW best of, and MAts best of, and like them the same. Mats for a drunken Friday or Saturday but PW for the rest of the week.
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Post by scoOter on Sept 12, 2007 16:45:32 GMT -5
I won't vote, but comment, just to piss scooter off. I have my own PW best of, and MAts best of, and like them the same. Mats for a drunken Friday or Saturday but PW for the rest of the week. you dirty son of a bitch! and to think, you have been in my home! |
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Post by Stegman on Sept 13, 2007 11:12:39 GMT -5
This is a tough one for me. I think the high points are pretty much equivalent between his solo career and his 'mats days. Put up your 10 favorite PW songs against your 10 favorite Replacements songs and I'm sure they'll be on par. But for me, the low points of his solo career are far worse than the worst of his 'mats days. What he said. And there are a lot of low points in the solo career - nearly whole albums, in fact [Dead Man Shake, Suicaine]. |
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Post by scoOter on Sept 13, 2007 12:13:19 GMT -5
And there are a lot of low points in the solo career - nearly whole albums, in fact [Dead Man Shake, Suicaine]. take cover. that last one might get you in trouble. |
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Post by Kathy on Sept 13, 2007 13:24:00 GMT -5
I love love "Do No Right", "Cleaning House" and "Bad Boy Blues" from DMS. I realize I'm pretty much alone in this.
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ih8music
Star Scout
couldn't be happier.
Posts: 943
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Post by ih8music on Sept 13, 2007 13:55:06 GMT -5
I love love "Do No Right", "Cleaning House" and "Bad Boy Blues" from DMS. I realize I'm pretty much alone in this. not at all! I love DMS and listen to it MUCH more often than certain other beloved PW albums. |
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Post by kgp on Sept 13, 2007 15:49:46 GMT -5
I love love "Do No Right", "Cleaning House" and "Bad Boy Blues" from DMS. I realize I'm pretty much alone in this. I was so pleasantly surprised by DMS. Honestly, I expected it to be terrible (I bought it anyway, of course. On Halloween. There was a song about vampires; it had to be a sign), but it's one of my favs. |
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Post by A Regular on Sept 13, 2007 17:02:48 GMT -5
This is a tough one for me. I think the high points are pretty much equivalent between his solo career and his 'mats days. Put up your 10 favorite PW songs against your 10 favorite Replacements songs and I'm sure they'll be on par. But for me, the low points of his solo career are far worse than the worst of his 'mats days. What he said. And there are a lot of low points in the solo career - nearly whole albums, in fact [Dead Man Shake, Suicaine]. Kevin Bowe talking about playing with PW. KB - They ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. Within shows we were the greatest band in the world and the next hour we weren't the best band in the world. Spontaneity is the most important thing to Paul. I learned a lot from him on that tour. Over the years I had let go of my understanding and commitment to spontaneity. I was too focused on getting it right. He doesn't care about getting it right. He just cares that it's real, it has guts and everyone means it. He can't stand if you fake it. You sacrifice for that. If you're going for those high highs you have to be able to put up with those low lows. Most bands don't want to put up with the low lows so they rehearse their asses off and it's the same every night. It's a 7 every night and even supposed punk bands these days are like that. Every record is perfect. There are no mistakes on those records. They may as well be produced by fuckin' Mutt Lange. Paul doesn't want that. He's willing to live with 3 and 4 moments to reach those 10's. His records mean a lot to a lot of people including me. Mono/Stereo is about as good as it gets. What Kevin said. |
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Post by Nevermind(2) on Sept 13, 2007 17:15:28 GMT -5
There is some brilliance in every song Paul has written, some more brilliant than others, but I'd take Westerberg's worst song over any other artist out there trying to prentend to be him.
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grickle
First Class Scout
Posts: 158
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Post by grickle on Sept 14, 2007 9:45:27 GMT -5
And there are a lot of low points in the solo career - nearly whole albums, in fact [Dead Man Shake, Suicaine]. take cover. that last one might get you in trouble. I'll stand for Suicane. It's my favorite album of Paul's with or without the 'mats. I don't get why everyone thinks it's so sad. To me it's an album filled with a lot of hope that things will get better. |
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Post by scoOter on Sept 14, 2007 10:28:11 GMT -5
take cover. that last one might get you in trouble. I'll stand for Suicane. It's my favorite album of Paul's with or without the 'mats. I don't get why everyone thinks it's so sad. To me it's an album filled with a lot of hope that things will get better. there are a few tracks i don't like on suicaine, but there are a few tracks on every westerberg album (incl. the 'mats) that i don't like. overall, i like suicaine quite a bit. |
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randolph500
Star Scout
round the corner give it some gas
Posts: 758
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Post by randolph500 on Sept 14, 2007 11:21:24 GMT -5
And there are a lot of low points in the solo career - nearly whole albums, in fact [Dead Man Shake, Suicaine]. take cover. that last one might get you in trouble. "I never had aural relations with that album" I love Suicaine - a sucker for it. The melancholy despair drags me in every time I listen to it. Nick Hornby included Born for Me in his "31 Songs" book which is as good an accolade as Paul's gonna get this side of the Atlantic. |
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Post by pz on Sept 14, 2007 11:22:43 GMT -5
Scooter -
we don't need another hero.
Two Pauls enter
ONLY ONE LEAVES
[/size][/center] |
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Post by pz on Sept 14, 2007 13:47:44 GMT -5
They may as well be produced by fuckin' Mutt Lange. |
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Post by pz on Sept 21, 2007 8:43:58 GMT -5
Kevin Bowe talking about playing with PW.
If you're going for those high highs you have to be able to put up with those low lows. 
"This concert will be like a massive heart attack." |
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