brianjeremy Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 http://members.aol.com/paulspage/4949.htmhttp://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/articl...t_id=1003828939 On June 49, (that's July 19 to you and me), Paul Westerberg will be releasing 49 minutes of music for just 49 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 This could be really awesome! Anybody know anything about this new music? I've been wondering when he'd come back with some new music after his hand injury. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PigSooie Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Yeah! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tangara Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Interesting... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Wow... I thought it was $.49 per song which I would gladly pay... 49 minutes for $.49! I am very eagerly anticipating this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KevinG Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I checked today and, so far nothing. anyone have an update* * Update, it looks like PW is having issues, so it will be Monday! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 It's now available (at least for all you U.S. residents): http://www.amazon.com/49-00/dp/B001CZCBEA/ref=dm_ap_alb1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 So my download is only 43:55. Am I taking 49 minutes of music too literally? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ih8music Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 So my download is only 43:55. Am I taking 49 minutes of music too literally?As was mentioned on the Westerberg board, the "missing" 5:05 is probably actually there - but in the form of songs being played simultaneously with others! Definitely Westerberg's most experimental album to date. A couple of wonderful gems in those 43:55. Sounds much more like Folker than Mono to me, but then again, I think Mono was almost perfect. This isn't even close to perfect (nor does it try to be), but it's really fun to listen to. and all for less than a cup of coffee? Well worth it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lukestar Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 And he has his son gettin' in on the act, shoutin' into the mic on the last one, which rocks and is a great finish. I recommend downloading as soon as possible and then turning it up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 well it's worth .49 at least... glad he didn't charge $10 for this there's some great pieces here and there, but all in all it's a bit too ADD for me to truly enjoy a ton. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Paul Westerberg Offers New Album For 49 Cents July 21, 2008 , 3:10 PM ETJonathan 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ih8music Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Paul Westerberg releases 49:00 MP3 for 49 centsBy Rachel Webster on July 21, 2008 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) Check your pockets, champ. If you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ih8music Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 now available to folks outside the US... http://studio.tunecore.com/store/product/47 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 This is great stuff...now, if he could just follow this up with a quick tour Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brianjeremy Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 I think the album is pretty decent for what you have to pay. Wish it would've been broken up into separate tracks though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Knepps Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Interesting anti-single format. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I think the album is pretty decent for what you have to pay. Wish it would've been broken up into separate tracks though. yeah... had he released this as a full on record, i'd definitely have been a bit disappointed, but for what it is, it's certainly enjoyable in spots. just really hard to listen to over and over for me with the piecemeal nature of it plus the best part of the whole thing, the covers medley, just has me drooling for the full covers more than anything Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Who You Gonna Marry is great. Classic Westerberg. The 2nd song is cool, too. The rest is so-so.......but no complaining at the price. I like that Westerberg let us hear some things he's been working on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Who You Gonna Marry is great. Classic Westerberg. The 2nd song is cool, too. The rest is so-so.......but no complaining at the price. I like that Westerberg let us hear some things he's been working on.yep, exactly... for what it is, and how much it cost, it's a nice lil treat and hopefully a pre-cursor to bigger and better things to come this fall Devil Raised a Good Boy is awesome Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I keep reading how people regard this as stop-gap until a "proper" release is issued. The idea that this isn't a proper release eludes me. Are only records with conventional song cycles considered a proper release? That seems like a very narrow definition to me. This is an unconventional, sprawling, messy, raucous, and wildly entertaining ride, sounds like a proper record to me. I'd rather listen to an artist like this, who follows their muse, and puts out challenging music, than some safe and boring song by numbers artist. I think it's a pretty cool artistic statement that Paul has made here. I wish more artists would disregard commercial considerations and outside pressures and do this sort of thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I keep reading how people regard this as stop-gap until a "proper" release is issued. The idea that this isn't a proper release eludes me. Are only records with conventional song cycles considered a proper release? That seems like a very narrow definition to me. This is an unconventional, sprawling, messy, raucous, and wildly entertaining ride, sounds like a proper record to me. I'd rather listen to an artist like this, who follows their muse, and puts out challenging music, than some safe and boring song by numbers artist. I think it's a pretty cool artistic statement that Paul has made here. I wish more artists would disregard commercial considerations and outside pressures and do this sort of thing. oh sure it sounds like a proper record in many aspects, nor was i saying it wasn't (just looked back, i didn't say it was a stop gap release at all), but i think the fact that he released it the way he did, and for .49, and the comments from his manager regarding how much more material he has yet to release, he even seemed to indicate that this is just a "test the waters" type release and a precursor, so if you wanna blame someone, blame his manager Darren for that Billboard interview . the thing is, it's not like this is truly a "warts and all" type release in many aspects. much of the mixing of other songs over the top, having 2 diff songs in the left and right channel, etc. are all conscious decisions on Paul's part, regardless of how much thought went into it. it's "art for the sake of art". i'm just saying for me personally, i'm not going to listen to this all that often due to the ADD-ish nature of the release, which is unfortunately considering there's some truly great melodies and lyrics throughout (quite a bit better than Folker imo), but it's hard for me to listen to and enjoy the songs to their fullest as a result of how it's put together. that's awesome if you're able to enjoy or ignore that aspect of it, i just can't, i've tried but my brain doesn't really work that way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I wasn't directing that at you Solace. It wasn't a reaction to any one comment in particular, but rather a bunch I've read. Stop-gap was my word for the vibe I got reading some comments on various sites. i'm just saying for me personally, i'm not going to listen to this all that often due to the ADD-ish nature of the release, which is unfortunately considering there's some truly great melodies and lyrics throughout (quite a bit better than Folker imo), but it's hard for me to listen to and enjoy the songs to their fullest as a result of how it's put together. that's awesome if you're able to enjoy or ignore that aspect of it, i just can't, i've tried but my brain doesn't really work that way.Oh yeah, it's definitely an ADD record. I've said the same thing myself. I think a lot of people will have a hard time with this just because it breaks from what their ears are used to hearing. We've become accustom to hearing songs presented in a certain manner, and this freely breaks from that convention many times throughout the record. I think people that like more conventional rock/pop will find this spotty, and ones that tend toward the more experimental side of things will appreciate it a bit more. I love pop stuff, but also non-conventional rock, so this is right up my alley. I think the trick to enjoying this is to view this as a whole piece and not individual songs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ih8music Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 i'm just saying for me personally, i'm not going to listen to this all that often due to the ADD-ish nature of the release, which is unfortunately considering there's some truly great melodies and lyrics throughout (quite a bit better than Folker imo), but it's hard for me to listen to and enjoy the songs to their fullest as a result of how it's put together. that's awesome if you're able to enjoy or ignore that aspect of it, i just can't, i've tried but my brain doesn't really work that way.Funny, I find myself enjoying this album much more than his other recent albums precisely because of the "ADD-ish nature" of it. It's a fresh and new approach, and it's very soothing for me in a weird way to just click on play and go along for the ride. I guess I've given up on the notion that Westerberg will soon return to a proper recording with backing musicians, producers and engineers. His music these days is what comes out of his basement - and 49:00 feels like the most honest and true representation of this creative phase of his career/life. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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