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Post by GtrPlyr on Jul 21, 2008 10:38:10 GMT -5
After hearing this I realized the missing 5:05 is in there, it just happens to be playing simultaneously with other tracks . I like that Paul took a chance and went for something a bit different as far as the flow of the record goes. All the crazy edits and sensory overload sound collages make me think of some 60s and 70s records I have. It's definitely more fractured and ADD like than anything he's ever done. Also more loose, fun and wild than just about any other record of his. At times it left me feeling like I was hanging upside down in a kaleidoscope being pummeled like a pinata... kudos Paul, kudos!
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Post by pz on Jul 21, 2008 10:40:25 GMT -5
also, it does suck when our european friends get hosed. damn hippie...
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Post by lifeandlifeonly on Jul 21, 2008 10:42:11 GMT -5
This album is what Stereo/Mono and CFMT wish they were. I think the vibe of this album is what Paul has been wanting to achieve for the past few years.
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Post by wiser's deluxe on Jul 21, 2008 10:48:14 GMT -5
I think this album is what Stereo/Mono and CFMT wish they were. I think the vibe of this album is what Paul has been wanting to achieve for the past few years. i think you nailed it on the head, CFMT especially, which had the want to but not the legs it seemed to go the distance. and Stereo/Mono was just a little too repetitive and in some cases too schizophrenic to comprehend. oh, don't get me wrong, 49:00 is as schizoid as it gets but, for some reason, in a good way, square pegs and round holes, a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle with several pieces lost under the couch, or cemented to the unremovable mystery liquor stain on the coffee table. it's dirty and crude, and loose and enjoyable.
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ih8music
Star Scout
couldn't be happier.
Posts: 943
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Post by ih8music on Jul 21, 2008 11:10:30 GMT -5
After hearing this I realized the missing 5:05 is in there, it just happens to be playing simultaneously with other tracks . lol. you're probably right!
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evin
First Class Scout
Posts: 147
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Post by evin on Jul 21, 2008 11:24:36 GMT -5
i'd like to see him in a band again. not paul with backing musicians but a band. not the replacements either.
he's certainly the most interesting writer/performer out there and probably will be til he's gone. the best jerry! the best!
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Post by Placemat on Jul 21, 2008 11:30:27 GMT -5
I'm fascinated.
It's great, awful, upbeat, sad, satisfying, frustrating, honest & full of lies. I think I might love it. If not, then I hate it.
I need to listen to it about a 100 more times to be sure.
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Post by Kathy on Jul 21, 2008 11:33:51 GMT -5
This album is what Stereo/Mono and CFMT wish they were. I think the vibe of this album is what Paul has been wanting to achieve for the past few years. I was thinking that it's what "Folker" wanted to be - "Folker" has a few bits and pieces of disjointed elements, but not this full on sensory overload. I can see the format as being polarizing, and I'm on the "LOVE IT" side, I think it's so exactly what Paul hears in his head and it's overwhelming, but in a good way. I'm definitely tempted to carve out a few bits as standalones but I think ultimately, this works as a 43:55 set piece best. There are recurring themes (fathers and sons and yet another song about someone getting married.....the more things change...) and recurring songs and melodies and while it's all very strange and disjointed, it doesn't feel deconstructed in a forced way, it feels like this was exactly what it was supposed to be. I love the covers bit at the end, I would pay $49.00 for an album of Paul covers.
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Post by BronxTeacher on Jul 21, 2008 11:47:58 GMT -5
A few more observations:
It's a great listen while running--the right length and so interesting that I got completely involved in it to the point where the run seemed effortless. As others mentioned, there are parts where songs play simultaneously, so I pulled out one earbud to listen to one, then pulled that one out and put in the other to listen to the second song.
Like Kathy said, there are recurring themes of fathers, sons, and family. One track seems to be a detailed description of his dad's death and its aftermath. A couple of songs seem to be specifically addressed to his (or a) son--the one about visiting day and the other about how "the devil raised a good boy." That line made me laugh. The devil, indeed.
There are some ace melodies, too. If this is any indication of how the other 40 or so songs from the batch of 60 he gave to his manager sound, I have high hopes for a future release.
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Post by lifeandlifeonly on Jul 21, 2008 11:56:04 GMT -5
An individual on PaulWesterberg.net suggested the title of the one where it sounds like Johnny is singing be titled "Johnny Said So". I think thats pretty awesome and funny.
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Post by wiser's deluxe on Jul 21, 2008 12:17:26 GMT -5
considering what The 'Mats thought about the whole video revolution, do you think this might be Paul's response to the ipod revolution, making a near-44-minute single that forces you to summon up the courage to put it on the ipod in the event it comes up on shuffle? if that's the case, even if it's a smidgen of the case, then color me impressed. it's perfect.
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who?
Star Scout
Posts: 346
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Post by who? on Jul 21, 2008 12:17:36 GMT -5
I'm on my first listen and I f_cking love it. Another great lick, hook, riff or whatever you want to call it, in the one at about 29 minutes that repeats "Be my darlin". That metallic/not metal and distant/not distorted guitar line. Followed by that "Hey Hey" tune, just great. This will not help me in my effort to stomp out my own ADD, however. Born to be Wild? Stupid Girl! Rocket Man. I Think I Love You! That's gotta be his kid in this one rockin' one. "C'mon Johnny, just say what you want. Sing it, kid!" I'll listen to PW until I die.
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pat
First Class Scout
Posts: 209
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Post by pat on Jul 21, 2008 12:18:25 GMT -5
OK - done with the first listen. It was jarring to hear the cuts and glitchy dissolves/abrupt starts and stops. I thought at first something was wrong with the file. See 14:22 for what I'm talking about. As someone else has posted, often times there are 2 songs overlapping each other and it can be hard to focus on what it is exactly you're listening to.
The sounds and songs run the gamut from A to Z, but mostly I hear alot of FOLKER mixed with GRANDPABOY.
Thrilled to have new music finally, but I definitely would love Paul to play with a real band again. The drumming over the last few records is starting to grate. Michael Bland, where are you?!?
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Post by theinfamouspaw on Jul 21, 2008 12:26:19 GMT -5
I work very early A.M., and I must say--this is perfect driving at 3 in the morning just after a thunderstorm music. Though I suppose that goes without saying.
The format is equally endearing and infuriating; but, again, I suppose that goes without saying.
I hope we do get to hear some of these snippets in their entirety, as I really like what can be heard of some of them (particularly the one that starts at 14:24..."fast as a thoroughbred")
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Post by Kathy on Jul 21, 2008 12:30:24 GMT -5
That's gotta be his kid in this one rockin' one. I think so, yeah. That pretty much gets Paul the coolest dad in town award for the year.
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Post by deebee76 on Jul 21, 2008 12:39:00 GMT -5
A beautiful mess. Some real, real gems in there. Still sorting through it all. My first impression, for whatever reason, is this is Westy's "Like Flies on Sherbert".
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Post by lifeandlifeonly on Jul 21, 2008 12:39:37 GMT -5
Wasn't "Thoroughbred" a song Paul was talking about for the Folker album that never was released? I'm thinking thats in there.
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Miss E.
Dances With Posts
Posts: 49
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Post by Miss E. on Jul 21, 2008 13:24:15 GMT -5
something in my life is missing.
sweet jesus.
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Post by BronxTeacher on Jul 21, 2008 14:15:11 GMT -5
I listened to it for a third time, had itunes on shuffle, and the song that immediately played afterwards was "Let's Not Belong." That song never sounded so slickly produced! I imagine everything sounds slick after a listen to 49:00, even the Basement Tapes.
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Post by deebee76 on Jul 21, 2008 14:51:31 GMT -5
New article from Billboard today:
Paul Westerberg Offers New Album For 49 Cents
July 21, 2008 , 3:10 PM ET Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Despite the fact that he doesn't have a computer and may never have been online in his life, Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg is the latest artist to embrace the Internet for rapid dissemination of new music.
Yesterday, Westerberg made available a 44-minute single MP3 file of a dozen-plus songs, dubbed "49," for 49 cents. Amazon.com is handling the commerce via a link from the Westerberg Web site Men Without Ties. Tunecore will begin carrying the release later today.
"He finished it on Monday, sent it to me on Tuesday and it was out this weekend," Westerberg manager Darren Hill tells Billboard.com. "It's just wonderful that you can actually do this. The freedom an artist can enjoy these days is fantastic. Can you imagine me pitching this idea to a label?"
The 49-cent price was a joking suggestion from Westerberg to charge "a penny a minute," but Amazon.com was the only digital retailer that "would play ball with me on the price point," Hill says.
"49" has no track list or lyrics, keeping with a long-standing Westerberg tradition. But a handful of the songs will be familiar to hardcore fans, including an alternate version of "Out of My System," which previously appeared on the compilation "Hot Stove, Cool Music," and "Everyone's Stupid," which is written from the perspective of a pre-teen who discovers he's the last to know about his parents' impending divorce.
Westerberg played all the instruments on the decidedly lo-fi recordings, which often feature two songs playing at once for a few seconds and short snippets that abruptly cut off. "It's almost like you're scanning a radio dial," Hill says. "You're getting a glimpse inside of Paul's head here."
"49" concludes with a strange mash-up of partial covers such as the Partidge Family's "I Think I Love You," the Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye," Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild," Simon & Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock" and Elton John's "Rocket Man," and a rave-up apparently sung by Westerberg's pre-teen son Johnny.
Without revealing specifics, Hill says "49" is "just the tip of a really large creative iceberg. Paul has been writing and recording at a furious pace." However, he adds that "there are no plans or talk of doing any performances at the moment."
Westerberg has only performed once since severely injuring his fretting hand in 2006 while trying to remove candle wax with a screwdriver: he was the subject of a September 2007 episode of "The Craft," a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame chat-and-sing series a la VH1's "Songwriters," at Minneapolis' First Avenue, during which "Everyone's Stupid" was premiered.
As previously reported, the Replacements' major-label catalog will be reissued in expanded form Sept. 23 via Rhino.
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