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Post by wecantgetanybetter on Nov 26, 2012 1:20:47 GMT -5
By "proper" I mean like, 14 Songs, Eventually, Stereo/Mono, Dead Man Shake, CMFT, Folker ... a record album with maybe 10-14 new songs or covers.
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Post by anarkissed on Nov 26, 2012 10:07:56 GMT -5
My fantasy project is that Paul and Tommy would do an album and tour together...Just bill it under their own names so that there isn't this big onus of a Replacements "reunion"...Previously, I suppose Tommy was always trying to get out from under Paul's shadow, and Paul was trying to get out from under the Mats' shadow, but I think they've proven their point by now. This would just be a one-time, short-term deal; I guess they'd have to commit something like a year to it. Looking at the work they've done post-breakup, it's just hard to imagine two people whose sensibilities are more in tune. The album could be about 1/3 Tommy, 1/3 Paul, and a 1/3 honest collaboration. On tour, you could have a lot of solo Paul, Tommy could break out all those B&P and Perfect highlights, and they could do the most obscure Mats-era choices they could think of...And I think it'd be really funny if they did a really sloppy, over-the-top deconstruction of "Welcome To The Jungle"...
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Post by FreeRider on Nov 26, 2012 10:24:18 GMT -5
I'd like to see what kind of energy and drive playing with other people would give to Paul's songs. The DIY ethos is find and well for the basement stuff, but I'd love to hear Michael Bland on the drums and see what he could concoct rather than hear Paul's same old drum fills and over reliance on the high hat cymbal.
Neil Young always has Crazy Horse to turn to, why doesn't Paul use His Only Friends more? They seem like they know Paul's stuff well enough to be on the same page as Paul.
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Post by anarkissed on Nov 26, 2012 10:46:22 GMT -5
I think a more or less self-sufficient songwriter just has to have the ability to turn loose of their expectations for their work sometimes, and see where other people take it...One of the things I really enjoyed about being in a band was having a basic idea, and hearing others take it in directions I never would have thought of...Most of the time, it was a lot better...
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ih8music
Star Scout
couldn't be happier.
Posts: 943
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Post by ih8music on Nov 26, 2012 17:14:03 GMT -5
+1
(edit: in re: to FreeRider's & anarkissed's comments about the constructive influence of a band on a songwriter's final product... not re: Folker, which I still find utterly disappointing.)
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Post by bigbak on Nov 26, 2012 20:37:21 GMT -5
49:00, IMHO, is not only a proper album, it's the best work PW's ever done.
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Post by TomT on Nov 26, 2012 21:35:40 GMT -5
49:00, IMHO, is not only a proper album, it's the best work PW's ever done. I might well agree with this. It would be nice if he released it on vinyl with cool cover art and liner notes. The best album nobody heard. One big track with no track names or nothin'. I think it would be a first. |
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Post by ClamsCasino on Nov 26, 2012 22:43:19 GMT -5
I think that the fact there are only a few finished songs on it would be the main reason that people wouldn't consider it a "proper album." And it wouldn't quite be a first, even if he were to release it in physical form. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds did it a while back with an almost album-length release called B-Side. Just like 49:00, it was an uninterrupted edit of unreleased tracks, demos, improvised nonsense, and a few fully fleshed out songs.
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Post by anarkissed on Nov 26, 2012 23:18:33 GMT -5
It doesn't count because I've never heard it...
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Post by ClamsCasino on Nov 27, 2012 0:11:40 GMT -5
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Post by grandpaboysfriend on Nov 29, 2012 6:50:02 GMT -5
for as much as I love Folker, I think 49.00 is his last "proper" album ... it's a work of the highest level, dare I say genius, and the one we keep listening to over, and over, and over again, and it hasn't let us down yet!!
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Post by scoOter on Nov 30, 2012 11:42:50 GMT -5
wow, no. i cannot agree that 49:00 is a "proper" album at all. that's not to diminish it, but i don't see how it can be considered such at all. it is (roughly) 49 minute gift to fans that gives a cracked mirror view into the creative process of one mr. paul westerberg. it is great. it is terrible. it is revolutionary. it is an inside joke. it is almost the craziest commercial ever created. if you weren't a paul fan already (but had good taste in rock & roll), and you got through the whole thing you would be positively salivating for more from this guy.
the problem is that the only folks who have heard it are existing paul fans.
anyway, this is is all subjective, but i call a "proper" album one that contains completed songs; about 10 or so. it has nothing to do with the way it is delivered. 49:00 doesn't fit the bill. folker does. my dream would be to have paul & tommy & his only friends or whoever go into a studio, and record complete versions of the 49:00 songs. release them digital only, an ep's worth at a time or whatever. i just want to hear full versions of the best of 49:00.
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Post by brianlux on Nov 30, 2012 23:42:51 GMT -5
I had to go with "disagree with the premiss". Proper and PW record just don't seem to jive for me. I'm looking for synonyms- conventional? Yes, "Folker" could be considered the last conventional album in terms of format, distribution, etc.
I agree that 49:00 is a great work as well as an interesting break form the mold and I'm glad he did it... but I hope just the one time- let it stand on its own. I also pretty much believe that, at this point in music history, "breaking from the mold" has been tried in so many that trying to do so most often seems like an act of futility. 49:00 was an unusual success that way. But at this point, if Paul puts anything out again I'd be most pleased to see a good old 40 to 45 minute album with good to great songs that play well in the order presented. You know- a "proper" album. :-;
But then maybe I'm just getting old hahaha!
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Post by jimmyrock on Dec 5, 2012 21:05:27 GMT -5
Mono was the last good one and it paled in comparison to 14 songs. I was so disappointed with the horrible drumming on Folker and 49 is practically unlistenable...I dont see him making th effort again
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Jer
Beagle Scout
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Post by Jer on Dec 5, 2012 21:42:35 GMT -5
Yeah, 49:00 is anything but a proper album. No matter what you think of it, it's unorganized, sloppy and thrown together. There is a certain beauty to it, and I can appreciate that some people get something out of it, but to me none of the basement downloads qualify as anything marketable, cohesive or sustaining. I know, that's a huge part of the point, but when you have the talent that he has, I think it just falls way short of what many of us would like to hear. He's at his best when there's a beginning, middle and end to the songs. A decent rhythm section, and some real mastering - just some effort. Sloppy and thrown together is ok when you haven't heard from the guy in years, it's great to know that he's still at least doing something, but I can't listen to that stuff any more than a couple times, and sometimes not even that, before I'm just bored.
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Post by scoOter on Dec 6, 2012 11:25:02 GMT -5
Mono was the last good one and it paled in comparison to 14 songs. I was so disappointed with the horrible drumming on Folker and 49 is practically unlistenable...I dont see him making th effort again some 14 songs love! i agree with most everything you said, but for me it isn't just the drumming that i dislike with the most recent stuff. in fact, drumming is the least of my worries. it is the lack of focus/effort. there are super high points on folker through the internetrock, but there overall it is a mush of samey sounding boombox recordings. sometimes i imagine a studio recorded version of "folk star" or "gun shy" with michael bland or josh freese on drums & tommy on bass, and i get a little sad. i hope you are wrong on your last point, but secretly i feel that you are probably correct. |
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Post by adamapple on Dec 6, 2012 12:36:43 GMT -5
well given Paul and Tommy's comments with regard to the "Mats EP I would imagine it be enough to put this to bed as an issue. If Paul was charging us some RETAIL rate i would be upset,but the fact is, the guy is giving this stuff away for pennies. If you don't like, well, you don't like it. The only person that truly knows what will take place, is Paul, and sometimes he probably doesn't even know...time will tell. Personally, I would Put Stereo/Mono up against anything he's done solo. I count that as 1 record as it was sold that way, and still is...
Also, if he throws out gems like "My Road Now" every now and again, that's some pretty stellar give away's! In the last longer-ish interview in RS where he talks about all of his personal issues, it's easy for me to imagine how hard things can be, for him to complete, focus, etc. battling severe ADD, OCD, and his innate insecurities would cripple the best of us. His honesty in discussing his early reliance on Liquor and his lack of confidence without it, were, to me, heartbreakingly honest...like only he can be.... Now let's get that EP released!!!
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Post by anarkissed on Dec 6, 2012 19:41:46 GMT -5
I was disappointed with "Folker"...CFMT is very nearly my favorite thing he's ever done; I like it almost as much as "Stereo/Mono"...
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Post by wiser's deluxe on Dec 7, 2012 0:35:39 GMT -5
ok, i don't think there's any such thing as a "proper" album any more in this new world, because i don't know if anyone here would ever suggest anything put out by bieber should ever be referred to as "proper," eh?  that said, 49:00 was Paul's last so-called "proper" album. it fits all the bills except for the fact it was not released on vinyl, cd or cassette. otherwise, it's all there in one cantankerous unfocused gem from start to finish. it has flow. it's well-paced and in some strange way it all comes tied together in the end. it's concept without conception. it's unglued without unraveling. and it's not "Grandpa Boy's Last Stand." and to say 49:00 was easily put together, i beg to differ. there appears to be clear intent here in the scattered lack of intention. and yet, to me in my humble opinion, this was made to look easy but hard to make, if that makes any sense. as for Folker, it has it's duds, but i'll submit that "Gunshy" stands to me as a classic, and a song that cannot in the very least be overlooked or under-appreciated. my 2 cents, or 49 since that's what i paid for said "gem." oops, forgot one more thing: as to whether Paul's done making "proper" albums, i truly believe he's got one or five left in him. and they'll come out in time and on his time. |
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Jer
Beagle Scout
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Post by Jer on Dec 7, 2012 10:58:34 GMT -5
ok, i don't think there's any such thing as a "proper" album any more in this new world, because i don't know if anyone here would ever suggest anything put out by bieber should ever be referred to as "proper," eh? If you are basing your argument on the current status/definition/existence of the proper album by the career of Justin Beiber than you are clearly missing the point (and sadly missing out on a hell of a lot of amazing music). Although technology and the resulting elimination of the younger generation's attention span has changed the way a lot of popular music is delivered, there is still a very healthy (improving even) culture of making and releasing albums. So many great bands at every level of popularity and success are putting incredible effort into making albums. Well recorded and produced, cohesive collections of songs written, recorded, sequenced and released as a single package. Despite what some uninformed people say, the concept and art form are alive and well and aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Your thoughts about 49:00 are good, valid opinions. I'm glad people get something out of it. Whatever he puts out I will buy, and Paul doing anything creative is better than him doing nothing creative. To me, however, it fits almost none of the criteria for a proper album. I'm sure he knew it wouldn't be embraced by everyone. |
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