Paul Westerberg - Interviews and Articles
 
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Folker Press:

2003 Press:

  • The Chicago Reader - Thanks to Bob Mehr for letting me "reprint" this article on Pual and Dylan
  • Uncut - Interview Jan 03 Issue (they also name review both CDs, awarding each 5 stars and name CFMT the #9 album of the year. The print edition had Keith Richards on the cover if you want to pick it up).
  • Mean Street - Interview
  • Magnet Magazine - Interview/Review
  • Rocky Moutain News- Interview
  • MetroMix - Chicago - Interview 10/21
  • Mpls Star-Tribune - Interview
  • The Onion A/V Club - Interview
  • City Pages - an interview done by Paul's longtime friend, Jim Walsh.
  • Playboy.com - Excellent interview with Paul (and I can truly say, I do only read it for the articles). Warning - not work-friendly reading, since nekkid girls show up in ads on the screen.
CFMT and DMS Reviews: 2002 Interviews and Articles:
    Replacements Re-issues
  • Launch
  • Rolling Stone - "Replacements Get Re-issued"
  • San Francisco Chronicle - "Honoring the 'Mats"
  • Swizzle-Stick.com, which seems to be a nest of Mats/PW fans, ran a great account of how Let It Be changed one man's life for the better. Whether or not you plan to buy the re-releases, it's worth a read.

    Stereo/Mono Press
  • Phoenix NewTimes
    • - Interview by Bill Holdship
  • writegrrrl - includes the interview that appeared in Pop Culture Press and (even better), you can also read the full Q&A, with lots of stuff that didn't make it into the final article. Plus photos and an MP3 of an impromptu song Paul sang at the Philly in-store about the interview - wow. And if you, like me, were ever curious as to why out of all the possible songs in the world to cover, Paul chose to put a cover of Flesh For Lulu's "Postcards From Paradise"on S/M, Rachel asked and here's the answer:
    Q: On the new record, your choice to use the Flesh for Lulu cover, was there any sort of "out on the ledge again / ready to jump again", was there any sort of connection with "The Ledge"?
    A: It certainly fit!
    Q: It's a great song …I love Flesh for Lulu
    A: I didn't know who it was, it was on a road tape trip that we used to listen to in the van and it had a bunch of different things. And that song came on and it was like 'oh yeah!' But I didn't know who it was. I just recorded it, we had to hunt it down - I thought it was like Gene Loves Jezebel…
    Q: Yeah, they were kind of clumped in with that …
    A: Oh they wanted me to take that off (the album) so bad. And I told them it's going on
    Q: Who did? The band?
    A: No, Vagrant, because they're too young to understand that it's cool. It's hard to explain.

  • Chicago Daily Herald- Interview (thanks to Mark Guarino for allowing me to re-post this on my site)
  • StarPolish- Interview
  • The Eye - Interview
  • The ArtVoice - Interview
  • Cleveland Free Times - Interview
  • CityBeat - Interview
  • The Independent Online - A funny and insightful interview with Mr. Westerberg from a local weekly in North Carolina
  • Punchline Magazine - Interview
  • Pioneer Press - June 28 Interview (The print version included the self-portrait at right)
  • The Independent - Interview
  • GQ - Interview
  • Real Detroit - Interview
  • Austin Chronicle - Interview
  • San Francisco Examiner - Interview
  • San Francisco Chronicle - Interview
  • Launch - Interview
  • The Stranger (Seattle) - Interview
  • Pioneer Press - Interview
  • Virgin MegaSite - Interview
  • Virgin MegaSite - Article on in-store tour
  • RollingStone.com - Interview
  • Vagrant Records - Interview on label site
  • MAGNET Magazine - Paul was featured on the cover of the Aug/Sept 2002 issue. The interview is one of the best he did for S/M and you can order a copy from their site.
  • The Big Takeover - The Dec 2002 issue has Paul on the cover and an inteview which includes a funny story about Paul's disasterous CNN appearance (he did a spot for Headline News in LA and ended up getting thrown out of the building. You can order a copy of the issue from their web site for $5.

MWT-ONLY STUFF :

Thanks to some generous readers of this site, I have some great stuff that you can't find anywhere else on the Web:

  • John Davidson, Interview Aug 02
    John Davidson, who interviewed Paul for Atlanta Creative Loafing, has posted the entire transcript of his interview with Paul online for us hardcore fans, so read and enjoy.
  • Mark Brown Interview Feb 99
    A full transcript of an interview with Paul done in Feb 1999, thanks to Mark Brown for allowing me to post it here.
  • Mark Brown Interview 7/96
    Once again, a full transcript from Mark.
  • Love Untold: St. Paul's Letters To The Philistines
    This feature, written by Jeremy Gluck, also appeared in the British magazine Bucketful of Brains. A joyous celebration of our Paul, with a fresh spin on Eventually that really increased my appreciation on the album. Mega thanks to Jeremy for sending this to me. I can't urge you strongly enough to read this. FYI: for those of you who have The Trouser Press Record Guide, check out Jeremy's discography with the UK band, the Barracudas.
  • We now have part 2 of the epic, circa July 2004: "A Star Is Reborn: St. Paul and The Road From Damascus".
  • Paul on World Cafe 1996
    Paul was the guest on World Cafe when he played in Philly in July 96, thanks to Richard for sending in a transcription of the interview.
  • Russell Hall's Interview with Paul
    Thanks very much to Russell Hall for providing us with the full text of his interview with Paul, done in May 1996. Portions of the interview also appeared in Bone and Performing Songwriter.

REVIEWS:

Stereo/Mono

Suicaine Gratifaction
All for Nothing
A story on Paul and a few other musicians ran in the Wall Street Journal on April 23, 2002. This was great publicity for Paul, though I have to imagine the headline isn't a real thrill for him: Aging Rockers Courted by 'Indies' Eager to Cash In on Loyal Fanbase. Some excerpts (the article was written by Jennifer Ordonez):

In 1991, a Spin magazine cover proclaimed Paul Westerberg, former lead singer of revered rock band The Replacements, the "soul of rock and roll." But by 2001, after a few years of puttering around alone in his basement recording studio, Mr. Westerberg found himself with more songs than money, no record contract, and a prerequisite that most major labels would find difficult to swallow: "I wasn't about to change one note," he says.

So the 42-year-old, who had made eight albums with the Replacements and three modest-selling major label solo albums, signed a deal with Vagrant Records, a smaller Santa Monica, Calif.-based independent label. In return he got an advance of more than $150,000 and the promise that "Stereo," his new album hitting stores Tuesday, would be released as is. "I'm in the best possible position I've ever been in my life," says Mr. Westerberg.

Mr. Westerberg, of Replacements fame, is relieved to be free of major label tinkering. This time, he says, no expensive producers messed with his album. The photograph on the cover is a grainy Polaroid Mr. Westerberg shot of himself. And he's urged Vagrant, his new label, to spend as little as possible on marketing and promoting until he sees how initial sales fare. "Whether they do this again or not is the question," says Mr. Westerberg wryly. "I'm a difficult creep, and I won't change my stripes."

Eventually


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