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Post by troublkepnyerhedup on Sept 11, 2004 10:14:47 GMT -5
The Dallas Morning News apparently published a Folker review today but it requires a subscription which I can't make work so to hell with it. Any Lone Star Westies out there?
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Post by jodi, queen of the underground on Sept 11, 2004 10:29:06 GMT -5
i can't say this magic will happen again, you can read it here, and if it doesn't happen again, here's what it said: Paul Westerberg kicks off Folker with his tongue firmly planted in cheek: "This is my single, this is my jingle," he sings in a tune sardonically titled "Jingle (Buy It)." As any true Paul Westerberg fan knows, he wouldn't willingly write a No. 1 single any more than he'd become the fourth member of Destiny's Child. During his days fronting the Minneapolis punk band the Replacements, he was the guy who loved to thumb his nose at the scent of fame: "The sweet smell you adore / I think I'd rather smother." The irony is that Mr. Westerberg writes great melodies – he just doesn't package them in slick songs that invite mass airplay. Folker, his latest solo album, is the antithesis of slick. Most of the album was recorded in his basement and it sounds like it. At times, Mr. Westerberg sings like a kid going through puberty as his woozy voice struggles to stay on key. Yet, as with the Replacements' best albums, Folker is a work of ragged glory. Noisy tunes like "Gun Shy" and "Any Way It's All Right" are full of shimmering guitar hooks, while "What About Mine?" is the best song Roger McGuinn never wrote. Part folk singer, part rocker (hence the CD title), Mr. Westerberg knows the best rock songs often sound like campfire sing-alongs – even if the lyrics don't. The album tackles heavy topics, like the recent death of Mr. Westerberg's father ("My Dad," "Looking Up in Heaven") and the lingering effects of a screwed-up childhood. In recent interviews, he's talked about his ongoing battle with depression, and on much of the CD, he comes off like an artist trying to purge old demons. Yet he rarely wallows in misery. For Mr. Westerberg, the best medicine for life's problems is a snarling guitar riff and the perfect melody. Paul Westerberg Grade: B+ Folker
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Post by deebee76 on Sept 11, 2004 16:45:39 GMT -5
Isn't that closing line just the best?
For Mr. Westerberg, the best medicine for life's problems is a snarling guitar riff and the perfect melody.
I have that as my name on MSN right now and I ain't about to change it.
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