------------------------------------------------------------------------------- / // The\kyway \\ / skyway@novia.net Issue #34 March 2nd, 1996 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (c) 1996 Bastards of Young (BOY/BetaOmegaYamma) Productions list manager: Matthew Tomich (matt@novia.net) technical consultant and thanks to: Bob Fulkerson of Novia Networking ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SKYWAY SUBSCRIPTION/LISTSERVER INFORMATION Send all listserver commands in the body of a letter to "majordomo@novia.net" To subscribe to the //Skyway\\: subscribe skyway To unsubscribe from the //Skyway\\: unsubscribe skyway THE //SKYWAY\\ WEB PAGE Check here for back issues, lyrics, discography, and other files. http://www.novia.net/~matt/sky/skyway.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send submissions to: skyway@novia.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The manager of this list, Matthew Tomich, and the associated facilities that this list is produced from, including Novia Networking, are not responsible for the contents of the following mailing except for that which they themselves have originally contributed and are credited for writing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I. Introductions: Erick Michel, Luciano, Dennis supanich, Dave Forbus, Chris McCormick, Patrik Dahlblom, Jeff Hart, Marinda Madson, Adam Yalowich, Sumant Ranji, Duncan Young, Laura Keller, Kent Graham, Greg Kowieski, Christopher Bongers, Kevin Kleinhans, Dave Armes, Lewisifer, Matthew Benz, Steve Garvis. II. Spin August '91 Westerberg Interview transcription (Thanks Steve!) III. Gin Blossoms on their under-sold heroes (Kevin Parker) IV. Lynne Blakey + Left of the Dial (Jeff Hart) V. Great Band Alert! (Steve Kirsch) VI. The Power of Westerberg (W. Wittman) VII. Stink original pressing authenticity? (Ralph Bryant) VIII. Bootleg Search (Kevin Parker) IX. Snail Mail from Sweden (Pierre Hellqvist) X. Lookin' for a dub of the new Paul album (Bilner) XI. "Shit Hits the Fans" wanted (Mr. Alpine Rentals) XII. Another Missing Persons (Bob) XIII. "Fans Hit Back II" update (Mark Timmins) XIV. Short _Eventually_ review (G. Peoples) XV. alt.music.replacements echo (thanks to Duncan DeGraffenreid) Paul + O'Henry comparisions (Marc) Paul's Bookshelf (Brian Lee) Does Paul need an editor? (Duck) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to everybody who wrote in after checking out the //Skyway\\ web site! We've gotten a flood of new subscribers thanks to the web site listing and the links from Dean and Kathy's web pages. If you haven't seen it yet, the web site is at: "http://www.novia.net/~matt/sky/skyway.html" (or if you want to type something shorter, try "http://www.novia.net/~matt". And if you've got a personal web page, drop me your URL and I'll add it to the //Skyway\\ Subscribers' Personal Web Pages section of the //Skyway\\ page.) The early reviews of the advance copies of the Westerberg album have been less than estatic. Word is that it's a little short of rockers than some would like...closer to "A Star is Bored" than "Stain Your Blood". We'll have to see if the new cover (shot during the insane cold spell that sunk the country into those below freezing records that will double the population of Texas and Arizona in the following year) was worth the three week delay in the release. And, but of course, there's hopefully a TOUR...! A friend of mine that runs a small record label got a message from a Mr. Nathan Brenner, who was and currently is the manager for what used to be those sporters of the whitest sneakers of any rock stars in the Western World, the "Men At Work". When I wrote in to see if the boys from down under would be interested in playing a kegger or something in the basement of my house in Durham, I got the following response... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 09:56:31 +1100 From: nathanb@ozonline.com.au (Nathan Brenner) Subject: Re: Status request Matthew wrote: >I am requesting the status and booking information on Men at Work. >I think I might have a lucrative gig for them. Please advise more details ....... Men At Work currently scattered to the four winds - all around the world. One in US, three in Australia and another roaming the globe ... But they are always interested in the "right" project. regards, nathan d. brenner n a t h a n d. b r e n n e r Phone 61-3-9509 7575 P.O. Box 1037, Fax 61-3-9509 2206 Caulfield North Mobile 015 552 482 VIC. 3161, Australia ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been a hell of winter! The morning that I sent out the last issue, I finally left Omaha for North Carolina...only to have my new car blow a rod 155 miles later on I-80, blowing parts, oil, and smoke all over the freakin' interstate! Now, weeks later, the engine is almost done being rebuilt so I can hop back on the road back home to the 'ol Pine State. Last week, while languishing in ennui and my extended vacation, I got the chance to go back and visit my old alma mater, Northeast Missouri State. And one afternoon, for fourty-five minutes, I hung out with my old roommate from last year, the eternally unsatisfied Dave Langkamp, while sitting on the sheet-decorated couch in Dobson 212 listening to my old stereo that I had in college, blasting the shit out of the walls and hall to the deafening roar of "Alex Chilton" (with the door open, of course). It was just pure nostalgia... nowhere to go, nothing to do on a warm Tuesday afternoon in a 10' x 15' dorm room in rural Missouri. Why'd I ever bother to graduate? (Then again, college is alot more fun without those classes-thingies.) - M@. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Erick Michel Subject: my mats history Date: Mon, 5 Feb 1996 14:41:04 -0600 (CST) Just thought I ought to make a contribution to the list - I've been lurking since some time in '93 and have only surfaced with a few worthless tidbits - not that this will be any better. I saw the mats a total of 3 times. I was first exposed to them sometime in '85 when my college roommate from Minneapolis played Tim for me. It was one of the first 3 cd's I ever bought when I got my first cd player back in late '85 - early '86. I then worked my way back to the earlier stuff and subsequently bought each new release as they came out. The first concert I went to was at the Aragon in Chicago for the Pleased To Meet Me tour - I thought it was in '86, but the faq says it was '87, and I was rather shit-faced. I don't really remeber how we got to Chicago the night before, but that's beside the point. It was one of the best shows I had ever been to. We spent all of our money on drinks and had to borrow some for the 'el fare back to my sister's and for the cheap bootleg t-shirts. We fought for the front row right in front of Tommy the whole show and were smashed into the stage so that our feet were off the ground. Yes. Fond memories of my younger days. We next saw them in Omaha for the Don't Tell A Soul tour - I couldn't find this show on the faq. We got there early and of course, had been boozing it on the way there. When we got there, Tommy and Paul were sitting around the tables having drinks - this place was a large ballroom and had booths and tables around a dance floor. Both of them were very approachable - actually Paul approached me and grabbed me by my shirt demanding to know where I had bought my t-shirt (it was the one I had bought in Chicago). He let me go when I told him that I didn't just buy it outside that show. I talked with him and Tommy for a while but Tommy was a little preoccupied with all the young women around. This was about the time that they were starting to get airplay on pop radio stations so there were a lot of teens there. Again, it was one of the best and most fun shows I had been to. [The FAQ lists only the shows that there are known recordings of. - M@] I was also at the final show at Grant park in Chicago. We were out in the picnic section so we couldn't see them unless we used binoculars. Everybody was boozing (do we see a trend here?) and had a hell of a good time even with the rain. Somebody stole my shoes so I had to ride the 'el barefoot. It was rather disgusting. Much of my musical taste has been shaped by the Replacements. I spent many nights in college cranking the mats and annoying my neighbors. Only in the last few years since moving to Chicago and moving more towards the faster, louder music like Husker Du, have I really gotten into the earliest mats stuff like Sorry Ma and Stink. I would have to say Let It Be is probably my favorite - Hootenany is close behind. Other favorite bands - current and older - include Husker Du/Bob Mould/Sugar, Pixies/Frank Black, My Bloody Valentine, REM, U2 - Joshua Tree and earlier,Clash, Elvis Costello, and have recently started listening to older blues greats such as John Lee Hooker and Robert Johnson. Sorry if this was too long and boring, but I just wanted to write this up. It seems that many people on this list have had similar experiences seeing and listening to the Replacements. I have nothing but fond memories when I listen to them. _____________________________________________________ Erick Michel Graduate Student/Research Assistant Center for Quantum Devices Lame Web Page: http://www.eecs.nwu.edu/~emichel Mail address: 2145 Sheridan Road EECS Department Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60208 Date: Mon, 5 Feb 1996 18:04:50 -0300 From: Luciano Subject: A newby! Hi all! Another new guy on the list. I'll introduce myself, but first I'd like to thank Matt for doing this. It's great to know there are people like you around, man! I'm a 23 year old student/worker, stuck down here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I'm a guitarist and music fan since I've been born, I guess. In 1985 I spent one year in the USA and heard about the Replacements, but didn't have the chance to buy anything from them. Finding their CDs down here is not an easy thing, and so the first one I actually got my bands on was... "All Shook Down" in 1990/91 (don't remember). It totally blew me away then. It was the breath of fresh air I was lookin' for. Then I went on this desperate search around one thousand CD stores and today I've got them all. I like all of their stuff and also Paul's solo album. But the first releases are a little innocent, looking at them right now. I still think that "Don't Tell..." and "All Shook..." are their best. Maybe a little mainstream, ok, but damn fine. One of my favorite things is playing their songs on the guitar. Any of 'em. I joined this list just to get the chance to talk to people that actually know what the word "Replacements" means, since no one down here does. Thanx everyone. Luciano "SHOCK" Euler From: DMSupanich@aol.com Date: Tue, 6 Feb 1996 01:59:32 -0500 Subject: Introduction All I was looking for on the Net was some information on Westerberg's upcoming album and tour, and possibly some lyrics to help me solve the meaning of some Replacements songs. Little did I know that I would find a site (Skyway) populated with people who are just as touched by Westerberg's songs as I am. I'm a 42 year old lawyer in L.A. with a wife, an 8 year old daughter and an 11 month old son, which I suspect does not fit the typical Skyway subscriber profile. I found the Replacements a little late for someone my age - when Tim came out. I'd like to take the credit for that find, but it was my wife who had heard Kiss Me On The Bus on the radio and decided to take the plunge. To tell you the truth, I didn't think much of that song from the radio play, but the album blew me away. I now do a pretty mean version of Waitress In The Sky in the shower. By the way, my two cents worth on the lyrics to that song I found on Skyway. I say "she's always on stride" rather than "on strike," and "a reunion, flight attendant my oh my" rather than "a real union." My logic on the second one is that Paul is putting the garbage man, the janitor and the waitress in the sky together (and you my dear), kind of a reunion of blue collar workers. I suppose my guess is more or less as bad as yours. Anyway, I bought every album after Tim as they came out and played them all to death. Fortunately they were on CD so they still sound great. Westerberg lyrics seem to reach right inside me. I especially like how he finds a way to add a twist to the lyrics at the end of some of his songs. At some point I started reading up on the band, and picked up some older stuff, notably Let It Be. I haven't read anything about how they picked that title. I assume it had nothing to do with Yoko sitting in on the sessions. Unfortunately, despite my many opportunities I never saw the band live. I did catch them the other night on a Saturday Night Live rerun which was a kick. I guess that's the kind of thing we'll have to sustain us (along with the occasional MTV video) until Westerberg's next tour. I got screwed out of a Westerberg concert a couple years ago when he threw out his hip or something. Well, if Bill Berry can come back from brain surgery, I'm sure Paul can get over his joint pain. I can't match some of the interview material I read in Skyway Issue #33, but I can tell you about an interesting comment Westerberg had on Rock 'N' Roll Ghost during an interview on the local NPR station. Many of you diehard fans may have heard it before, but I learned that he wrote the song about a childhood friend who had committed suicide, and it chokes him up so much to sing it that he now refuses to perform it on stage. Too bad, because it's such a great song. Those of you who saw the band do that song before Westerberg nixed it were lucky. I look forward to hearing more about all your experiences with and thoughts on the band. Dennis Supanich DMSUPANICH@AOL.COM Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1996 21:30:52 -0600 From: davpril@hilconet.com (Dave Forbus) Subject: Paul/Mats, etc. Pleeaaasseee help. I need info on unreleased 'Mats albums. I had never heard of them when I went to see them a few years ago in Austin, TX. I was floored! I need tour info for Paul's next, as well as album release date. I'd like to connect with some other fans. (there aren't many of us here in Cental Texas) I'm also not familiar with the Skyway, is this a newsgroup or FTP site? I'd like to tell you that I have one favorite tune or album, but they are all too great: from Let It Be to All Shook Down, and 14 Songs. I really didn't like the earlier albums, sorry. Please help, "take the wheel, cause I don't know where I'm goin' ". Thanks so much. Dave Forbus -- Registered ICC User check out http://www.usefulware.com/~jfoltz Date: Wed, 07 Feb 96 14:38:33 EST From: Chris McCormick Here comes a regular. I've been getting the newzletter for about five months now, and so I guess I should introduce myself. I am Chris McCormick, and I live in Columbia, South Carolina, where I am an English/theatre double major at the University of South Carolina. I am 21, and my ambitions are to write, suck the marrow out of life, and possibly be famous after I'm dead. My intro to the 'Mats came in tenth grade, when a friend of mine made a mix tape which contained "Androgynous". The lyrics were obviously clever, I loved Paul's voice, and the piano was great. Next I bought ASD for 4 bucks. I was unable to listen to anything else for three weeks. I was hooked. I still find that what I really like is the warm sort of "kid waiting for a school bus" feel of the songs, and in general I like the less punky stuff, although "God Damn Job" is one of my faves. I proceeded to comb record stores for stuff, but the search here is pretty futile. In the past four years I have only been able to get hold of All Shook Down, Tim, Don't Tell A Soul, Pleased To Meet Me, Let it Be, and Stink. Nope, I don't have Hootenanny. Have never heard it. And no, I am too young and too far away to have ever seen a show. These things are sad, but hey, better late than never. I want to get my grubby hands on whatever Replacements material I can find, so I am _always_ in the market for singles, live shows, etc, tho at this point I have nothing to trade yet. Some of my other fave bands are the Indigo Girls, Tori Amos, REM, and They Might Be Giants. I love to talk about music, so send me a note. The discussions on here are wonderful; there's a real sense of community. I saw where someone else said that they thought they had found a "great obscure band," I guess I had too. I only know a few people who are even marginally interested in them, and I felt sort of alone, "the _only_ Replacements fan in the southeast." I'm very happy to be proven wrong. Yours in a manner not unlike sincerity, Chris "I wrapped my fear around me like a blanket; I sailed my ship of safety till I sank it, I'm crawling on your shore..." Indigo Girls Date: Sun, 11 Feb 1996 23:26:42 -0500 From: patrikd@aalnet.aland.fi (Patrik Dahlblom) Subject: Subscriber says hi Hi - You guys are directly responsible for my rapidly escalating phone bills. I got a modem a while ago, and decided to try out the Net just for fun. But it wasn't until I found Dean's home page and the link to Skyway that I was truly hooked. My name's Patrik Dahlblom, I'm a 36 year old Finn, and I live on the Aland islands (population 25.000 - right between Sweden and Finland). I'm a journalist at a local paper, and I still haven't gotten my degree in social sciences (I went to university in 1980. My exam paper on Jehovah's witnesses should be ready any year now.....) I've been a Mats fan since 1985, when I had a horrible summer job at a hospital laundry in Sweden. The band I had been playing with for was breaking up - we'd been doing our own Joy Division/Bauhaus-inspired stuff for a few years, and we weren't getting anywhere. Anyways, any money left over after the rent was paid went straight to the record shops. I had never heard the Replacements when I found "Let it be" in a second hand shop, but I bought it cause I remembered reading nice things about them in the British rock weekly "New Musical Express". Plus I thought it was cool to name your album "Let It Be" and have song titles like "Gary's Got a Boner". I was hooked right away, and spent the rest of the summer at the hospital with my Walkman playing "Let It Be". The job still stunk, but "Let It Be" sort of killed the pain. You know the story. When I went back to university that fall me and a few of the other guys in my old band decided to give it one more shot. Our new band eventually went on to make three albums for EMI and CBS (that's Sony nowadays, isn't it?), and I was so obsessed with the Replacements that I even namechecked them on one song off our first album. "Let it Be" is still my favorite, (the best record of the '80s) followed by "Tim" and "Pleased to meet me". The UK compl=EDlation "Boink" is great too. My top eleven Mats song list would include everything off "Let it be". (BTW: I heard Crash Test Dummies do a pretty good version of "Androgynous" at a festival in Finland in '94 - does anybody know if they have recorded it?) Other than that, I'd pick "Within your reach", "Color me impressed", "Little Mascara", "Left of the dial" "Skyway", "Swinging party" and "Aching to be". My favorite post-Mats song is "Never aim to please" off the Bash & Pop album. Why did they split up? Other music faves include the first Velvet Underground LP, Television's "Marquee Moon", "London calling", C&W great George Jones, UK glam acts like Sweet, T.Rex & Slade, the first Costello albums, Tamla Motown, Byrds, James Brown, Creedence Clearwater Revival -the list goes on. I was gonna tell you about a great Mats show I saw in Sweden in '91, but I'll get back to that another time. Just one more thing. I bought one other great record in the summer of '85, one I still listen to almost as much as "Let It Be" - and that's Georgia Satellites first mini-LP "Keep The Faith", a bunch of demo recordings released on UK indie label Making waves. "Tell My Fortune" and the original version of "Six Years Gone" (later re- recorded for a "proper" album) sound like a cross between prime Creedence and Replacements. Check it out! And Satellites main man Dan Baird had the good taste to wear a Mats t-shirt when I saw the band in -89. OK, that's enough for know - I feel like one of the new guys at an AA meeting. And I used to think I was the only one suffering from Mats dependency.... Patrik Dahlblom patrikd@mailbox.aalnet.aland.fi Date: Mon, 12 Feb 96 21:45:33 EST From: Jeff Hart Hey Matt, in a nutshell, a friend (the same guy who turned me on to nrbq, big star, and jonathan richman all in the same year, '85) I first saw them at Skatetown in Raleigh, near a circuit city store in jan or feb of '86. They were in peak form as far as they could be when Bob was in the band. They covered Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes, Nowhere Man, and maybe Another Girl Another Planet. I formed my first band 3 months later. Have since seen them in Raleigh in '87 (the Raleigh Pier, best I've seen), and '90. Saw Paul's tour in '93 at the Brewery (incredible in a small club) and at the Ritz in Dec of the same year. Got him to sign my guitar in the freezing cold outside of his bus. He scares me to death, he's so good at what he does and he's pretty menacing onstage, thus another case of nerves on my part. My band, Jeff Hart and the Ruins, of Raleigh have been covering 'mats and Paul for years. Last year alone, we did at one time or another, Bastards, Seeing Her, Can't Hardly Wait. Got some good video and audio footage of us doing these. Did Seeing Her at our cd release party in December at the Grove. Are you aware of a Chris Stamey song called 'That's why I hate the Replacements'? It's not what it seems. It's about a guy getting ready to crack and he's blaming it on the 'mats. It was on a cd called 'Alaska' that was on the 'Hello' record club for subscribers. I think the They Might Be Giants guys put this out every month. Anyway, glad you started the list and hope to see more of your posts on alt.music.chapel-hill. Good luck with your travels, or should I say better luck . poet-troubadour-cult hero for troubled times ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://nether.net/~jhart/html/ruins.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The reviews are in and we're quitting our day jobs ; ) If 'Glances From a Nervous Groom' isn't in your record shop, mail order yours from our webpage. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ cyberphone id: jhart ~ Jeff Hart & the Ruins ~ Bombay Records ~ 919-829-9268 From: Marinda Madson Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 12:50:17 -0600 (CST) Subject: you asked let's see...i just joined or subscribed, however you wish....you asked (Matt) for our personal Replacements history so here goes mine: When I was 15, or on my 15th birthday, I was given "Tim" as a gift. Ten years later, "Here Comes a Regular" is still my favorite song. When I was listening to them, rather when I started (being as though I still listen to them) it was not the cool thing..or it could have been that i went to an all girls school in the Bible belt?! Anyway, I made the grades but none of the social events..instead going to hang out the kids who went to the local public high schools. There were battle of the bands. My older brother was in a band called Rowdy Yates.....an aquiantance of mine, and friend of a friend competed in another band called The Way Outs. His name is Jeff Cease (later, one of the Black Crowes) and was nice enough to introduce me to more Replacements. My brother and Jeff sort of had this friendly rivalry where Jeff would tease my brother and say he was just another Michael Stipe and my brother would rag on Jeff saying that he was just another Paul Westerberg wanna be (Jeff fronted the Way Outs) Anyway, ninth grade slumber parties we would listen to Stink and sneak into the liquor cabinet. We would also call my brother, who DJ'd at 91 rock, the college station, and request "Fuck School" and other angst songs, or at least angst for then. Here I am ten years later, having finally worn completely through my copy of "Tim"...my brother now works teaching children educational computer programs, Jeff has been in the Crows... and left, been married....and not (I have not talked with him except for probably once in the past five years.) I am applying to grad. schools and am as in love with The Replacements as ever. (Almost married..but escaped, somewhat scathed) My favorite Mats songs are: Here Comes a Regular, My Little Problem, Swingin Party, Unsatisfied, ...favorite albums: "Tim" and probably "All Shook Down"... About myself? Well, I am twenty -five, Scorpio (Yes, I truly am) I graduated from Eckerd College with a BA in Human Development ..and now I am hanging out in Portland, Oregon trying to avoid becoming the queen of slack...my other favorite band would have to be Soul Asylum ..big surprise?! and I didnt move to Minniapolis because..? Anyway, I'm very excited about thi's..finding real Mat's fans to talk with and share my obsession...one odd quetion: the line "Tonight I'll be doing pull-ups on the toilet bowl.." what is it from? I could probably find it but if you know..thanks for doing all this...greatly appreciated!!! Marinda =) From: AYalowich@aol.com Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 18:04:28 -0500 Subject: color me impressed Matt, Thanks for all the e-mails. To date, 1996 hasn't been so hot for me. First, I tore my achilles tendon in January (playing hoops) and can't walk until April, and now I have come down with the flu. Learning how to get around the net has been a lifesaver, and finding that Replacements fans like yourself are out there makes going online more interesting. You asked for my story, and told me that I could be verbose. Feel free to edit this down anyway you see fit. As you surmised, I am a bit older, late 30's to be exact. I worked at my college radio station at St. Bonaventure University from 77-79. Back in the old days, we tended to use 'progressive' instead of alternative as the cue for all the top 40 geeks to turn us off. I had two late night shifts per week, and self-labeled my show, "A rock and roll alternative'. I wanted the station (WSBU) to use this as well, but it didn't get anybody excited, so I kept it for myself. Despite fending off endless requests for the Doors, Joe Cocker, Eagles, etc.. I managed at least (with some help from others) to introduce the original punk era to the airwaves. Particularily big were the Tom Robinson Band, Television, Talking Heads, Graham Parker, Elvis Costello, the Clash, etc.. It was a pretty exciting time to be into music, because things were so new and exciting. After graduation, despite moving into the 'corporate world', I was fortunate to have my brother follow in my footsteps. He was the music director at WSBU until 1983. Back then Rolling Stone was still a good source for music information, and of course, Trouser Press was the ultimate magazine for what was now called either new wave, no wave or DIY music. REM started happening in 1982, and as they were gods back in those days, Peter Buck took it upon himelf to turn us onto new bands, the best of which were Jason and the Scorchers, Minutemen, Husker Du and of course, the Replacements. Surprisingly, even though I heard 'I Will Dare', I went and bought 'Trash' first. Like many others, it didn't knock me out right at first, but it did get me to buy 'Let it Be'. Shortly after, we saw the 'Mats' play at Buffalo State University in December 1984. By now, both my brother and I were CPA's in big accounting firms, laughing about how we work with people who thought our musical tastes were from outer space. As we were waiting for the show to start, we noticed Tommy sitting next to us at the bar (he couldn't have been 18 at the time) giving us this 'will you shut up' look. The band got up on this makeshft stage in the back and started into 'I Will Dare'. The crowd, about 150 strong, moved up to what was thought to be the start of the show. In true Mats fashion, they actually were doing a sound check, and after about three false starts, walked off the stage, only to start playing again an hour later. I still remember the look on everyone's face when they just abruptly left. No one was sure that they were coming back. The show itself was rather sloppy, and of course featured guests from the audience taking over on lead vocals for 'Smokin In The Boys Room' and 'I'm Eighteen'. I was never one of those fans who fell in love with their drunken buffounary. The worst was a show in Houston where they were so drunk the show started three different times, and ended after about thirty minutes or so. My memory is vague, but I seem to remember that the band was almost arrested, someone (Tommy) vomited in front of the stage, and it got pretty ugly when some of the good old boys wanted there money back. I have read other reports of this show embellished even worse than I may have, but it truly was an embarrassment. We were working in Texas on a six month project, and I had to convince some of my co-workers that this would be a great show, and would be worth driving about 40 miles to the club. I can only remember as we drove back one of my friends say "Adam, got any other bands you can recommend?" To this day, I get a call once every other year from one of those people who remind me. I can only tell them that they don't know what they missed. One of the best shows I remember is from the "Don't Tell A Soul' tour. I moved from Buffalo to the Fort Lauderdale area with my girlfriend (now my wife, Beth), and on 4/17/89 (thanks to the FAQ list of shows) we say them rip the roof off of the Cameo Theatre in Miami Beach. They had a great crowd and I remember they opened with 'Color Me Impressed'. This was one of the great rock shows of all time. The crowd and the band had incredible energy, and fed off of each other. Although many people felt that album was a bit lame, the songs played off it were much harder live, and fit in well with all of their material. Shortly thereafter, they went on tour with Tom Petty. While everyone knows the story, we actually saw them on the first night of the tour at Miami Arena. I remember it only took the band about four songs before they realized that the crowd was completely indifferent. I'm sure it would have been better if they had been booed, but to see absolutely no reaction (but for about 50 of us amonst 11,000) was really sad. After 40 minutes, it was mercifully over, but I remember thinking that this was going to be a long three months. The last time I saw the group was in the Sunrise Theater in 1991. The Sunrise is a great 4,000 seat place, and it was actually about half full as I remember. The band came on and it was hysterical as they all wore the exact same silk shirt (albeit different colors). Paul kept goofing on Tommy and Slim about it repeatedly. They really looked silly. The show itself was fantastic, but after all the bitterness about 'All Shook Down' and the negative articles in the press, it was clear that nothing the band did could please Paul. They started 'Here Comes a Regular' two times, and Paul kept grimacing at Slim about his playing. Personally, I thought it sounded great, especially in the middle of all the uptempo songs, but all Paul would say afterwards was, "we really messed that up didn't we." I felt it was inevitable that they would call it a day, and I'm glad that the last time I saw them was a great performance. Many of their former fans boycotted the show as they told me the group were a bunch of sellouts. Sellouts to what I never understood, but it was their loss. As far as there music goes, my clear favorite LP was 'Tim'. I never get tired of it, and the last three songs on side two have always blown me away. I couldn't even come close to picking a favorite song, although 'Left of the Dial' has special meaning since I worked at a station @ 88.5 FM. Nevermind, Ledge, Nobody, Hospital, Androgynous, Little Mascara, Waitress, Unsatisfied, etc... I can't even come up with a top ten. There are very few clunkers on any of their albums. As far as solo goes, 14 Songs is good, but not great. I thought every song would be a killer, but being good is still better than most. Bash and Pop was a big surprise, and I look forward to hearing Tommy solo and with Perfect. I think all of Chris's records are good, and to be honest, maybe he should have been allowed to contribute more to the band. Same with Tommy. My last story was inspired by reading your FAQ item about the movie Heathers. Back in 1989, I was part of a group of 55 people who were selected to join in a leadership program. Most of the people in the group were in their 30's or 40's. We had a day devoted to 'arts and culture' and this windbag from the local paper was giving us a lecture about how Fort Lauderdale was bereft of cultured people and to demonstrate this he pointed out that at a recent performance of the local philharmonic, the crowd 'walked out on Mahler.' I didn't know who Mahler was, and all of the group (except me) was apparently ashamed enough to nod agreeably. In the question and answer period that followed, I asked the windbag to comment on the latest work from 'Westerberg' and after looking confused, he admitted that he had never heard of him. Acting stunned myself, I proceded to tell him and the group that Paul Westerberg is considered by many to be a genius, and I couldn't believe that an esteemed music critic could condemn others when he was so ignorant himself. You could have heard a pin drop as I kept a straight face, because nobody in the room could tell if I was bluffing. The best part of the story is that months later, the same critic wrote me and told me that while I clearly tricked him, he had taken it upon himself to find about who Paul Westerberg was. While he felt that I overrated him, he was impressed with 'his clever wordplay and song structure'. To convert an opera critic, that was big. Finally, you left out in the Cameron Crowe movie 'Singles' (which included Dyslexic Heart and Waiting for Somebody), there was a scene with Campbell Scott and his co-star who's name escapes me, something Sedgwick, are sitting listening to music, and one is holding a copy of 'London Calling' and the other is holding up 'Tim.' One of the best parts of the movie, other than the Pearl Jam scenes. Adam (AYalowich@aol.com) Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 12:35:03 -0600 (CST) From: Sumant Ranji Subject: greetings Hi all, I've gotten the last few issues of Skyway, so I decided it was finally time to send in the obligatory blurb--here goes. . . I got into the Replacements around '87 or so. At the time, I was a huge R.E.M. fan, but apart from that I didn't have much musical knowledge. I remember reading an interview with Peter Buck where he raved about the Replacements, so on a whim I picked up _Pleased To Meet Me_ on cassette. What I loved about that album, and the 'Mats in general, is the irreverence and sense of humor--something that was sadly lacking in most music around then (and something Paul seems to have lost as well.) I quickly went out and bought _Tim_ and _Let It Be_ (and wore out the tapes pretty rapidly); thus began my Replacements obsession. Sad to say, I even tried to dress like Paul for awhile--a lot of those striped long sleeve shirts are at the back of my closet now. Although _Don't Tell A Soul_ took awhile for me to get into, I still think there are a few excellent songs on it. Honestly, though, I don't listen to either that or _All Shook Down_ much anymore. I got to see the 'Mats live twice--first on the infamous Tom Petty tour, at Poplar Creek Theater outside Chicago (8/10/89.) I dragged my friend (I had to--I was only 16 at the time, and he had a car) and the two of us, way back on the lawn, were just blown away. I've heard alot about how awful they were at times on that tour, but this night was amazing. They opened with "Nightclub Jitters", Paul wandering through the empty pavilion dressed in a way-too-large suit and goofy hat, then stormed through "Alex Chilton". Paul changed to lyric to "Would they stamp us R.E.M.", which got a few raised eyebrows in the crowd. Raised eyebrows was just about the only reaction, actually--most people didn't seem to care at all. Tommy seemed to get pissed off about that, jumping into the seats at one point, then returning to the stage and playing sitting down for awhile. During the closing "Bastards" he slammed his bass to the ground, then used it like a club to smash his amp, after throwing a couple pitchers of beer (I think) at the people in the first row. After all these years, it's still one of the best shows I've seen. The second time was a letdown--opening again, this time for Elvis Costello at Great Woods in Massachusetts, June '91. Although they seemed totally unenthusiastic on stage, the crowd was lively and appreciative. There was a weird moment at the end. As Paul started to do "Answering Machine", Tommy stalked off the stage, and Steve and Slim sat on the amps and had a smoke. Steve gestured toward Paul as if to say "You going back out there?" Slim shook his head no and walked off, as Steve got behind his kit to finish the song a la the Inconcerated version. Paul didn't seem to notice. . . I didn't much care for _14 Songs_ when it came out (and I still don't now) but when I heard Paul was still doing some 'Mats songs, I thought I'd go see him. The first chance I got was when he did a "secret" gig in Boston (under the name "Thaddeus Moonbeam and the Brothers Grief"). Unfortunately by the time I found out the gig was sold out, so I heard it all through the door of the club--sounded pretty good anyway. So in august '93 I went down to Providence for the Club Baby Head gig. Paul and the band were *great* that night, doing several Replacements songs (including "If Only You Were Lonely", which I'd never heard before), and for one night at least restored my faith in the man. I'm hoping the new album will not be a disappointment. By the way, I'd love to get ahold of a tape of any of those gigs: 8/10/89 at Poplar Creek, 6/91 at Great Woods, or 8/11/93 at Club Babyhead, Providence RI. I know the Poplar Creek gig is out there--who's got it? I do have some other 'Mats tapes to trade if anyone's interested, as well as a lot of Husker Du/Bob Mould related stuff. Contact me privately at sranji1@icarus.uic.edu Well, I've blathered on quite long enough. Just wanted to add that the home pages are excellent also. Thanks for putting this together, Matt. Sumant Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 22:15:28 -1000 (HST) From: Ensign Duncan Young Subject: New subscriber How's it going everyone? I'm glad I finally was able to track down some fellow Mats fans. It's good to find out that there's other people out there who love this band as much as I do, going to such lengths as judging the quality of a music store by the number of Mats albums they have, putting in Mats requests at radio stations just to remind them that once upon a time a good rock and roll band existed, and pestering friends and family to no end trying to get them to listen to the Replacements. Anyway, I'm a naval officer and have been at my first duty station here in Hawaii for about four months now. Graduated from University of North Carolina last year, etc, etc. Anyhow, it seems like everyone here has their own personal story of how they first discovered the Replacements, so here's mine: It all started way back in 1989 when, as an eleventh grader, I saw "Say Anything" for the first time. Everyone, I'm sure, knows that great scene at the end where Lloyd Dobbler is leaving his house for the last time and "Within Your Reach" is playing in the background. Only, at that point, I didn't know that it was "WYR" so I went out, bought the CD soundtrack and listened till I found it (track #9, I think.) Anyhow, next came Don't Tell a Soul, which was the only Mats album the local Philadelphia suburb used record store had. After that provided the soundtrack to a raucous first year of college, I bought Tim on cassete and listened to it repeatedly as I worked as a food delivery guy and put about 20,000 miles on my car during my freshman/sophomore summer. Then, All Shook Down, dubbed from a fraternity brother, listened to hundreds of times while jogging. Then the Singles soundtrack- I can't tell you how much time I've spent arguing with people who say the two Westerberg songs are the worst on the album. It was the grunge era though- we didn't know what we were doing. I bought 14 Songs and Let it Be next, and still need to buy copies of Sorry Ma, Stink, Hootenanny, and any bootlegs I can find. I've thought a lot about it, and I still can't figure out exactly what it is I like so much about the Replacements. First, PW is a lyrical genius, even sometimes in a non-sensical way ("playing makeup, wearing guitar.") But it's not just the words. If you just read Mats lyrics, they're good and all, but you just don't get the full experience. The beauty of the Replacements, I think, was that they knew how to transcribe emotion and feeling from the the mind and the heart to the fretboard and the mouth. Afte writing that sentence, I still don't know if that sums it up. I think the thing I like the most is evertime I listen to the Replaements, I'll hear something brand new that just blows my mind- a lyric, a riff, a random PW "HEY!" in the middle of a song. Ah, why bothertrying to analyze though? Just listen to the music. In any case, I'm looking forward to talking with everyone about the Replacements, and especially can't wait for the new PW album, although I'm a little wary after reading some of the unconvincing early reports. Other bands I've been listening to lately are Buffalo Tom, Big Star, Jayhawks, Wilco, Jack Logan, etc. And last but not least, if my navy career someday transforms into one in the world of music, I have serious plans of writing a song called "Paul Westerberg" a la "Alex Chilton." Anyhow, thanks for reading, and apologies for the rambling. -Duncan Young Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 13:01:01 +0000 (GMT) From: Laura Keller hello everybody, seeing as how it's customary for new members to the skyway to write in and spill their guts, here's my story. my name's laura and right now i'm doing my masters degree (an MA in research in english... ooooh!) at goldsmiths college, university of london. i'm not british -- i'm just living here for the year and then who knows where i'm going to go. i'm from new york, actually. anyway, i love the replacements and that's the important thing. i think the first mats song i remember hearing was alex chilton. i know that sorta after a lot of good stuff had already come out, but i was young and naive way back then. i had to learn the error of my ways (no comment as to what i actually did listen to before the mats -- it's far too painful). but i knew that i liked 'alex chilton' and it went on from there. i was desparate to see the mats live because i had heard they were a tad on the wild side, but in the end, my parents wouldn't let me out (they thought i was too young to enjoy such entertainments) and i didn't end up seeing the mats until the very last minutes. in fact, i caught their last ever perfomance in nyc. no, not the one at the beacon theater -- my plans for that got all screwed up, unfortuantely. but i saw them open for elvis costello at madison square garden. talk about depressing. i shelled out all that money for a ticket to see 45 minutes of the mats when i didn't even like elvis costello. but it was worth it because those were the best 45 minutes of music i had ever heard. and seeing them in a place as big as madison square garden was kinda weird, but i could spot little pockets of mats fans here and there going absolutely nuts. i felt horrible, though, when i went off to college and found out that they had split up and i had only seen this one segment-of-a-show. i had my own radio show at the college radio station (91.1 WSPN skidmore college, your listening alternative!) and you can bet i played as much mats as possible (i even did a tribute show, but i'm convinced that nobody listened). and seeing paul westerberg when he came around for his 14 songs tour was just incredible. it's safe to say that i'm 'eagerly anticipating' paul's latest album, though i'm sure it won't come out in the uk for quite a while and who knows when he's going to tour over here. that's one of the worst things about england -- everyone is so obsessed with 'brit pop' at the moment (blur, oasis, supergrass, pulp, etc) that i haven't been able to find one single person that has even heard of the mats. nevermind, though, because i've gotten my boyfriend to promise he'll see paul westerberg with me, which is an achievement in itself considering he doesn't like pw or the mats. blasphemous! so that's about it, i guess. i'm looking to all you guys in america to keep me informed. oh, i guess i should say that my fave mats song is 'achin' to be' (sometimes it's 'i will dare' -- it changes because there are so many that are just so damn good). so, see ya around! laura keller (enp01lk@gold.ac.uk) From: KENT_GRAHAM@yr.com Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 10:34:55 -0500 Subject: My Days in the Lives of the Replacements Matt... Just subscribed to Skyway. Cool deal. Looking forward to receiving it. Here's some of the highlights of my Replacements recollections. 1984. East Lansing, MI. My first encounter with the Mats was in 1984 at Michigan State University. I went with my roommate to see X and we arrived in the middle of some unknown (to us) warm-up band. My friend turns to me and says the now-classic line,"These guys are fucking playing Kiss!" It was the Mats -- in the midst of drunken mayhem. During the final song, Bob tried to do a flip or something and ended up finishing the song on his back. I went out the next day, bought Let It Be, and the rest is history. I go on to see them in concert ten times over the next ten years. 1986. Ann Arbor, MI. The Tim tour. The band stalls coming on because they can't find Bob. Finally, they take the stage and have a couple roadies play lead on the first two songs. During the third song, Bob walks in from the back of the theater through the crowd. Everybody cheers. Westerberg says, "Don't cheer Bob. He's an asshole." Everybody shouts, "Boooo, Bob. Boooo, Bob." Bob jumps on stage, highly intoxicated, and launches into "Left of the Dial" -- not missing a note Bob and Paul fight the rest of the show (Bob once kicks Paul's amp into the orchestra pit). Paul says, "This is the last time you'll ever see the Replacements together." True statement. Bob was booted from the band shortly thereafter. 1987. Detroit, MI. Pleased to Meet Me tour. The Mats come on drunker than I've ever seen them. They play no more than 20 or 30 seconds of each song. During "Unsatisfied", we throw my buddy on stage and Tommy sits on his stomach as he plays. Other highlights: Paul and Tommy throw down their instruments and arm wrestle. Someone throws a full-size photo of Bob's face on stage and Paul holds it in front of Slim's face as he plays. The only song they get through is during the encore when Westerberg comes out by himself with an acoustic guitar and plays a touching rendition of "If Only You Were Lonely." 1987. Detroit, MI. Pleased to Meet Me tour. The band returns to Detroit for a second stint during the Pleased to Meet Me tour. They're sober and they rip. The best I've ever seen them. They're all dressed in auto mechanics uniforms. During "Unsatisfied," Paul sings "I'm so ... I'm so ... uncircumcised." They were a great band in those days. Nobody better. Later, Kent Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 13:46:51 -0600 (CST) From: Greg Kowieski Subject: A new person. 5 February 1996 Hi! -- Now I am a 22 year old graduate student at UW-Madison, but I grew up in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. That is way up north. After seventh grade at the Catholic school, my parents let me switch to the normal junior high. This was significant not only because I actually found a girlfriend, but also because my new school had a Rolling Stone subscription. In Rhinelander the only way to find out about new music is through magazines and stuff and RS was a total revelation to me. Well, when eighth grade ended I started buying issues; the first one had Paul Simon on the cover and the lead review was PLEASED TO MEET ME. I honestly can still remember reading David Fricke's words and wondering what sort of group could inspire him to write what he did. Mr. Fricke's words aside, I did not purchase the album. I was just starting to listen to music and I think that THE BEATLES TWENTY GREATEST HITS and ROLLING STONES HOT ROCKS were the current interests. Anyways, that is the first time I read about the 'Mats. My sophomore year in high school. DON'T TELL A SOUL comes out. I thought "I'll Be You" was just awesome and DON'T TELL became my first official purchase. I liked it, but was not inspired to buy the older stuff because I didn't think it was THAT great. My junior year in high school. My older brother is a freshman at college. On one of his first times back home he brought a tape with THE JUDDS GREATEST HITS on side A and TIM(!) on side B. Well, I listened to it and was totally knocked out. I don't know how I expected them to sound, but I couldn't believe how RIGHT they sounded. It was like perfect rock and roll. And TIM was good too! That was lame. Sorry. I persuaded him to leave me the tape and felt like I now understood what the fuss was about. My senior year in high school. I'm on the bus going to a debate meet in Appleton. By this time I am a BIG MUSIC FAN. Amazingly, on one bus trip I heard radio ads for (a) Neil Young's RAGGED GLORY tour (stopping in Milwaukee) and (b) the 'Mats ALL SHOOK DOWN tour (stopping in Green Bay). It was a stroke of luck to hear the ads, but then came the decision: my parents said I could only go to one of them cause of the three plus hour drives involved. Well, I picked the 'Mats. So I actually got to see them, though it sounds like I sort of missed out on the real fun. In any event, it was amazing! This was only my second concert, and the first one had been STEEL WHEELS, so the intimacy of the theater floored me. As did the volume. And the body passing. And how cool the songs sounded in 3/4 time. And how that guitar player played most of the show with his back to the crowd. And how sincere Paul seemed, especially when picking away at "Within' Your Reach". I was (and continue to be) knocked out. Soon after, I formulated a plan: I would convert my friends. I created the "'Mats Mix" with the idea in mind that, when me and my buddies were out cruising, I could throw it in and turn them on. Well, despite my efforts to pick the most obviously catchy songs for the tape, it just didn't catch on. One of my younger brothers picked up on it, but that was probably my only conversion. I went to college at Madison and assumed I'd meet all kinds of 'Mats fans. Probably because of "Treatment Bound". Well, I didn't; my hypothesis is that 'Mats fans are mostly pretty low key. Or something. Anyways, I listened to all sorts of new music and kind of put the 'Mats on the back burner. Then 14 SONGS came out (I was back home for the summer and had to have my older brother bring it to me cause he was working in Madison) and I was hooked again. I got to see Paul's show in Madison and it ruled. I was so inspired that I wrote a big (20 page) term paper called "Hindsight Is 20/20: The Weird Failure of the Replacements". It talked about why they "failed" and how that makes them even cooler now. It was fun because I found about 25 different old concert reviews from NYT, Chicago Tribune, etc. Anyways, now I am just waiting for Paul's new one. That's all I have to say about that; man, this thing is pathetically long, but it felt good to write. Why do I remember everything about them but can't remember other stuff? Oh well. I'm glad to have found Skyway and thanks a lot to Matt for putting it all together. Greg gkowiesk@students.wisc.edu P.S. If anyone has a copy of that Green Bay show (02/08/91), I'd be very interested in getting a copy. Also, I don't have any of the b-sides and would be interested in those as well. Especially "If Only You Were Lonely". Thanks. From: bongers@minerva.athenet.net Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 16:22:44 -0600 Subject: ...a stamp that I can borrow. Okay, I'm really new to Skyway, and I'm following up on the suggestion on heart-gushing Replacements stories. Here goes. Right now I am 18 years old and a senior in high school in Wisconsin. The earliest I remember hearing the Replacements would be mid-6th grade, from my dad. My dad is 49 right now. He's pretty hip for a dad. He got a new CD player and after hooking it all up with his current tape deck and receiver and whatever else, had the Replacements "Let It Be" cassette playing. "Answering Machine" was the first song I ever heard. He kept saying to me, "Listen to that guitar. God this is great." As a 12 year old who liked Motley Crue and the Cure at the time, I shrugged it off as "Dad, you're weird, and I don't really like the Replacements." During the summer after 6th grade, I took golfing lessons and I guess I was sort of into golf. I'm not now, I hate it. Anyway, I had just finished my first 9 holes of golf ever with my dad. As we were coming home from Winagamie Golf Course (I think I shot an 82.), we took the Northland Av. exit of of Hwy. 41 northbound. We were listening to 10,000 Maniacs (it was my dad's) "In My Tribe" as we were cruising around the corner of the off-ramp, when I decided I wanted to tape it (10K Maniacs, I mean). As soon as we got home, I filled up my one side of the Memorex 90 minute tape with "In My Tribe" and was then looking around for something else to put on the other side. My dad came down the stairs and said, "Here put the Replacements 'Let It Be' on the other side. You'll like that." I didn't like it then, I didn't want it on my tape, but I let him put it on there anyway. I only listened to one side of that tape ever. It wasn't 10,000 Maniacs either. From there I took off, taping my dad's "Don't Tell A Soul," "Pleased to Meet Me," "Tim," CDs. I became inseperable with my Don't Tell A Soul/Pleased to Meet Me tape, to the point where I wouldn't brush my teeth or comb my hair without it on. I became loosely familiar, not to the point where I knew all the songs really well though, with "Tim" before I got to see them live in Green Bay on February 8, 1991 at City Centre Theatre. It was the first time I ever had heroes and the first time I ever saw them moving and in person. They rocked. I should say at that point I was in 7th grade. I remember getting onto one bus and she getting on the other saying "I hate you for going to see the Replacements tonight. I can't go so I guess I'm going to the dance tonight." She gave me $20 to get her a T shirt though. She was Nicole. I met her in my geography class. She was the first person I ever met that liked them besides my dad. We had to make "ME" posters, telling all about yourself to the rest of your new junior high classmates, and one part was to include a personal top 10 list. I had the Replacements down as like #2, I think, and she saw that and freaked out. We're excellent friends. I remember making my friends give me blank tapes so I could tape Replacements albums for them. I remember getting the great idea of putting a little star next to every song that I liked on their tapes only to discover I put stars by every one. I then added more stars to show the magnitude of greatness. I think "Talent Show" was the only song to receive only one star on their tapes. Yikes. I remember singing Replacements songs during track practice with Jeremy and Jon. I remember my friends making fun of my and turning up the C+C Music Factory video on MTV when they found out I had just blown $9.44 on 15 minutes of "Stink." "Ten bucks for ten minutes of songs?! Man, you're stupid. Here, check out 'Gonna Make You Sweat.'" I remember making up fake birth certificates for a child I'll have in ten years named after Paul. I remember listening to "Within Your Reach" fifty times over in a row to figure out the words. I remember freaking out after hearing the Replacements in "Say Anything." I remember watching that movie again last week. I remember cutting the lawn with extra extra carefullness so I could stay out longer listening to "Here Comes a Regular." I remember my neighbor's saying to me: "What were you doing when you were cutting the grass yesterday. You were jumping around yelling 'I WON'T!'" I remember barging into our neighbors house to tape the Saturday Night Live performance (it was on Comedy Central 38 and our VCR only taped up to 14 for some reason). I remember sneaking into the sound studio at school yesterday on my off hour to listen to "Let It Be" while I do my Functions homework. God I love this band. Am I the only one who's like this? [No. -- Matt.] Christopher Bongers bongers@athenet.net Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996 12:44:33 -0600 (GMT-0600) From: KLEINHANS Subject: fan hard up for "the shit... Is there a kind, loving soul out there who can make a copy of "when the shit hits the fans" for me? Pretty please with sugar on top? If anyone is interested, i have some Afghan Whigs stuff (2nd gen. dubs of Big Top Halloween & time for a bavarian death march) and some R.E.M. boots. This is the first time I've written to skyway ever. I know I should have dribbled out all of my mats experiences when I first signed up, but I didn't. I don't want to date myself (or others) here, but the first time I heard of the Mats I was in high school and remembered reading or hearing that eMpTyV wouldn't play the video for "the ledge" because all they did was just sit around and look hungover when it was really this tragic song about teen suicide. (speaking of Mats videos, did anyone see the beavis & butthead episode when they played "bastards of young"? it was pretty decent. "YEAH! YEAH! KICK IT! KICK IT!!!) Anyways, I really didn't actually listen to one of their records until 1992. Guess I kinda missed the party, eh? Oh, well. I guess that's why I like reading the first-hand accounts of debauchery and derision here on skyway. The first album i got was pleased to meet me (which, IMHO, is their best). All it took was the lyric "what are ya gonna do with your lives? NOTHING!" for the mats to have a soft spot in my heart. Speaking of which, I am doing nothing. I recently moved to Bloomington, IN to be with my girlfriend who goes to IU. The town pretty much sucks in comparison to Madison or Minneapolis. Every once in a while, some good shows come to town, though. Wilco & Son Volt have and will play here, but that's about it. If anyone on this list is in or visiting Bloomington, look me up and maybe we can go out and tie a couple on. Kevin Kleinhans (a.k.a. "me" and "Fritz") From: "D.S. Armes" Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 16:07:51 +0100 (BST) Subject: right... Dearest Mats fans Right, I fuckin hate computers so I dunno if I sent a message to get put on the Skyway mailing list. I hope so but computers fuck me around so much I haven't got a clue anymore. I'm doing this now cos I'm fucked off with the editor of my University newspaper cos he keeps messing with my writing and making it look stupid. 'Editing' most people call it; I call it 'deliberately fucking people's valued work'. Sorry if I've said fucking too many times. Right, you said you wanted a bit of a letter when people subscribe to the Skyway, an introduction thing. Here goes... I'm Dave Armes, 19, at University (elitist term that makes me feel guilty; I'd rather call it college) in Leicester, in the English Midlands for all you clueless Yanks (don't worry, feel free to slag the pathetic English). I originally come from near Manchester in the North, which might explain my occasional bitterness and frequent cynicism. I'm doing Geography and I'm a second year. I got into the Mats through a tape of bruised ballads (includes Answering Machine, Skyway, Here Comes a Regular) that a friend of mine who has been right through THE shit gave me. Left of the Dial was on it too and will probably remain THE Mats moment for me because it's the one that first hit me. Gary's Got A Boner always makes me laugh because I've got a friend Gary who's always talking about waking up with the horn (a boner if you Yanks don't use that word). I only started drinking red wine with a vengeance because of a certain Mr Westerberg, but port is now becoming a regular item too. I'm not an alcoholic but love to drink for all kinds of reasons. I also dig (ooh, what an American word) people who don't drink cos they have an extra strength and possibly realisation. Fuck this drink thing. What else? Pleased to Meet Me sounds great roaring through London at night in a car driven by a maniac, while blasted on port and eating French bread. I can't get into Hootenanny but Stink's great. Well, they all are, but who cares. All Shook Down won't make any sense until I'm at least 24 so I'll leave that. Other incredible bands : Buffalo Tom have always been a huge necessity to me. I cannot explain them in words. Obviously Husker Du but I've been listening to a lot of other freaky stuff recently like Thin White Rope and Tom Waits. BUT, Sparklehorse are incredible. I know Americans have problems with info on new bands but S/horse are amazing. I only have seven songs as the album's not out over here but again I can't describe them. They reduce me to tears in only a way that the Mats and Buffalo Tom can also do. Right, my fingers hurt now so I'm, stopping. Put this on some board or whatever, Idon't care. But don't fucking edit it cos I've had enough of that lately. I write music reviews for our college newspaper and the editor hates me cos I'm too keen. Either put it up or don't. As how everything should be; all or nothing. No liberalism, no middle ground. Yeah, also, for all you capitalist Yanks (I know I can't refer to you like that, I have a northern English sense of humour which you may or may not know of), I'm an Idealistic Communist. You know it makes sense kiddies. See ya Dave Armes PS. What do you want from everyone, eh eh eh eh ??? Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 16:53:44 +0100 (BST) Subject: him again Dear Matt, I wrote to you about half an hour ago as a new Skyway writer and I was really pissed off about stuff. So I just thought I'd add on a reasoned bit after reading a load of other people's introductions on back issues of Skyway. I have no Mats stories of my own, bar experiences with their music on full blast and drinking etc but no first hand experiences. My friend who introduced me to them has ALL the stories and I'll ask him if he wants to tell you them, but I don't know whether he has a comouter etc. This leads me onto some typically ignorant English kid questions about things I've read -: Does everyone in America have a computer? I can't imagine being able to afford one, maybe you get them real cheap. Does everyone in America have a car? Again, I could never afford one and don't really want one either. Do all the people who've subscribed have more money or is it a de rigeur thing to have a car in America? We have good public transport which maybe you don't have. Lastly, if anyone ever does come to England (now why would you wanna do that?!) feel free to write to me, call in, whatever, there's always fun to be had where the Mats are concerned. I hope. I go to college here in Leicester, but I live in Manchester so I'm home there in the holidays (sorry, vacations). Whatever, e-mail me. Matt, you're a fuckin genius for getting this going. One little personal Mats story; I played a tape of Stink and Let it Be to a friend who's into punk and NIN (yuk!) and he said he loved Stink but thought Let it Be sounded like Bon Jovi. I then sat him down and explained the Mats to him and he likes them now. Other than that, everyone in England is obsessed by Blur, Oasis etc so I'm pretty alone in listening to Mats, Du, BTom, Yo La Tengo, Whigs all the time. I need correspondence to feel like there's more people out there who won't just accept whatever shit is thrown at them. I've rambled like I always do but I don't care. Lots of blood red kisses to everyone Dave Edit me all you like; I'm past caring. I'm going to France tomorrow to buy cheap alcohol and get completely ward (I've only used that word cos I don't understand some of your American expressions!) [Didn't change a goddamn thing. -- M@.] From: Lewisifer9@aol.com Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 23:38:51 -0500 I never saw the Mats play, but have seen Paul and Tommy both at the Whiskey in Hollywood, and was force both times to elbow some Music industry weasels out of the front. I get all of my fashion tips from Paul and Tommy--have you seen the Levis add with the guys driving--across country? One is definitely a Tommy clone. At any rate, I live in Las Vegas and need some mail from civilization--thanks. Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 13:41:25 -0500 (EST) From: Matthew Benz-OHS Subject: welcoming myself aboard Well, this is my first time on here, so let's see.....I'm a 31 yr old resigned to a real job but with a band on the side, The Sovines, which is kind of a country-fied Mats-like thing (those who are in the know may have heard of my bass player's real band Bush League All Stars.) Anyway, I don't when I first heard of the Mats, I guess it was in 83 (84?) or so; I heard something about them (prob Peter Buck playing on their album), so I took a look at Let It Be in the store; wasn't too sure bout a band that had a song called Gary's Got A Boner and that covered a Kiss song. Loved the album cover and title though. One day my friend who saw me hesitate over the album, and who loved Kiss "in his youth" figured why the hell not? and bought Let It Be. I heard it, flipped, ran out and bought all the others as soon as I could. When Tim came out, well...you know, what can you say about a perfect album? When we went to see REM in Detroit for the Fables tour, much to our amazement, the Mats had been added to the bill. So we got to see them finally, complete with Bob and typical Mats antics. Later that night, we were in a Denny's somewhere in Michigan, when someone I was with said "that guy looks like that dude in the Replacements." Yep. It was a dishevelled Bob leading the rest on in. They sat in the two booths next to us, and I said something to one of their roadies, and he asked if we knew where a hotel was. I said they could always just sleep in Denny's. (if I lived anywhere near there, I would, of course, had them stay at my house, but I've since heard stories, so it's probably for the best.) We then got into a brief foodfight with Tommy, but it was cut off by a mean ol waitress. Oh well, there's my small Mats story, as unimpressive as hell, I guess. Saw them a couple more times over the years, with Slim, and again ran into them in a restuarant before a show, but I was too "cool" to talk to them. Someone I was with got Paul's autograph, which amounted to "paul" written on a napkin. Their last tour I missed em as they sold out, never saw Paul's tour, missed a Bash & Pop show, but did see Slim a few months back, and he restored my faith in rock and roll. Well, I'm outta here, M. Date: Fri, 1 Mar 1996 20:39:39 -0800 (PST) From: Steve Garvis so i just subscribed and well i'd hate to go against tradition so if folks here try to detail their first encounter i guess i'll say growin up in small town south dakota kinda keeps one from hearin lots of "alternative" sounds but i was close enough to minneapolis so when i got into college, again in south dakota if we wanted to see some music it was only 4 to 5 hours away. anyway, so i got to college and had folks from the cities tryin to tell me how great the mats were, always seemed that everyone wanted to play tommy gets his tonsils out for me and while i thought it was fun and loud ... it really said nothin. them i got tim, and bastards of young changed everything i listened for, a truer "youth anthem" i really don't feel could ever be written; hell even at thirty i can turn that song on and feel a hundred different ways pissed about sompin. so i caught the mats a coupla times in the cities, once in sioux falls south dakota and twice in denver colorado, then i also saw paul's show there on his solo tour, and managed to meet chris mars at albums on the hill in boulder, ran into the late great bob stinson at an rem show way back. when i say ran into him, i mean saw him wanderin in the entry and just smiled, i try on a regular basis to bring people to the fun that is the replacements its now a fight for me to decide if i like tim or pleased to meet me the most. i can never go to or hardly even think of the twin cities without hearin skyway in my head. ashtray floors dirty clothes and filthy jokes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 18:40:00 -0800 From: smholt@ix.netcom.com (Steve Holtebeck) Subject: One from the archives This is from the SPIN with Paul on the cover. The story is over four years old, but some of the sentiments still ring true. Please forgive me if this is hiding in the Skyway archives someplace. [This interview hasn't ever shown up in the //Skyway\\ before, but it's the most cynical interview that I've ever seen from Paul. Then again, who knows if some of that is the guys at SPIN just picking out the juicy bits from the interview that portrays Paul as burned-out of the whole deal. - M@] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ KEEPING THE FAITH by MARK BLACKWELL from SPIN, August 1991 SPIN: Do you feel you adequately represent the soul of rock'n'roll? PW: It's a flattering idea. My first feeling is no, but then my next one is who really does? I'm not really casting a vote for myself, but I can't think of anyone who really carries the torch. Maybe Keith Richards or someone like that, but that's been written about forever. I sure won't sell on the cover of SPIN. You'll have to have a girl with big tits on the next one. I don't need to see myself on the cover of a magazine. If it helps attendance or sells records, I do it. Being on the cover is in the category of a cheap thrill. I can smile about it and go, "That's awfully nice." I know a lot of people will see it and get excited about it, but basically it means that someone who hasn't heard my music's gonna recognize me at the 7-Eleven. SPIN: What is the soul of rock'n'roll? PW: To me the soul of rock'n'roll is mistakes. Mistakes and making mistakes work for you. In general,music that's flawless is usually uninspired The people who go with thc flow and go with the mistakes and turn that into something special are the ones that show guts-that's what we've always tried to do. The people who shy away from change and mistakes and play it safe have no business playing rock'n'n'roll. I never trust someone who thinks they know exactly what they want, and goes in the studio and gets it. That might be their art, but it's usually shitty rock'n'roll. SPIN: Is rock dead? PW: Well, is jazz dead? That's the way I look at it. Rock'n'roll is underground once again but it won't die, just like jazz won't. It's not the popular music of the day but it's not dead. R.E.M. went to No. 1, but I'm sorry they don't play rock'n'roll. They have their own niche which is great, but it's not rock'n'roll. They don't do it for me. The Black Crowes are rock 'n'roll and are great at what they do, but it's very pedestrian. SPIN: Is Elvis King? PW: Elvis didn't even write songs. Elvis was a performer. He rocked, but what did he really change, other than people's hair styles? Bob Dylan is probably much closer to the spirit of rock'n'roll. Or Gene Vincent maybe. SPIN: What about somebody like Alex Chilton? You made him a rock hero in your song. PW: No. I don't know what Alex represents. Now I listen to his new Rhino compilation, and it's like, I can't make up my mind whether Alex was some brilliant chameleon or just some guy who fucking lost it real quick. I almost regret writing that song. It's sad, because kids will come and ask me about Alex and you'll see this look in their eyes, and they think he's some guy in leather pants who jumps from amplifiers or something. It's like, if they only knew. SPIN: You did a song about Johnny Thunders too. PW: Johnny had everything except talent. He was frightening and beautiful and mean at the same time. Like a child. He comes pretty close to my idea of the soul of rock'n'roll. It's unfortunate that that always goes hand in hand with drug abuse and all that, which isn't rock'n'roll. SPIN: You certainly had your share of that. PW: Our teachers were Thunders, Chilton, the Faces, the Stones, the Pistols, the Ramones, and all the other people who were basically fuck-ups. Had our favorite music been Up With People it would have been different. It was a nice excuse to have someone to look up to and sort of make sense of what we were doing to ourselves. Had there been no bad examples I don't think we would have taken it to that terrible level. SPIN: Is it less spontaneous now that you're not falling drunk off the stage? PW: Not at all. I dove headfirst into the crowd the other night after I got hit in the face with a beer. Before the cup hit the floor I was flying off the stage in the direction where it came from. It was an instinct. It's good not to think when you play rock'n'roll. SPIN: Did you expect to be as successful as you've been? PW: When we started, what we were doing was underground, but there was the promise that what we were doing was the Next Big Thing. We were about to burst with all the bands alongside of us into the mainstream. We were a punk band. I was surprised that dance music took such a strong hold, but everything comes in phases. SPIN: You guys rose up from Minneapolis about the same time Prince did. PW: Yeah. Prince is pretty rock'n'roll himself. What he does is daring as hell. He takes chances, and I get the feeling that he doesn't know exactly what he's doing. I think he throws shit against the wall and sees what sticks. He's full of ideas. Coming out of Minneapolis, he has as big an influence on us as somebody like Husker Du did. SPIN: What's Minneapolis like now? PW: The town holds less and less for me. I don't know what's really happening on the scene. I was never really a big part of it. The scene the young people, and it keeps changing over. The clique. When it was our "time", I always hated the old fuckers who used to hang around. I remember how that felt, so I'm not going to hang around and try to be an part of the scene. SPIN: As far as new bands in general, you're into the Goo Goo Dolls, aren't you? PW: Yeah, they're really good, never got sick of them when they played with us. I think they come across dumber than they are, but it's cool. They've got a future. They can write and play and sing. I'd like them to have a producer and shit. Get some suits and chicks and horns and they're on their way. That was the best band we had open for us. SPIN: I heard that opening up on Tom Petty's recent tour was a big disaster for you. PW: We thought it was going to make us very successful, popular, and famous for very cheap reasons. But we didn't go out with a very positive attitude of "Let's win these people over." It was like, "On your knees you bastards! The mighty 'Mats have arrived." We were met with indifference. A few nights it was really unfair. Rock'n'roll is unfair, l guess. We played brilliantly at least twice and got no reaction. Middle America Petty fans don't want it, unless they've seen it on TV first, or heard it on the radio. But to give them the real deal live and in person is a little too much for them. But even our own fans don't respond some nights. SPIN: You guys definitely have a strong cult following, but it's not as high- profile as some band like the Cure or the Grateful Dead's. PW: We really do. It's funny because there's no uniform. It's neat because then they're all regular, and in that way, they're exactly like me. I can fit in crowds easily. I can get lost in the crowd. I don't stand out like Robert Smith from the Cure would. I'm invisible. Can you see soul? We're getting at something here. People follow us every night. I can always spot them. I get a lot of letters slipped to me that say things like, "I've always listened to your stuff and I'd like to meet you and everything but I really don't want to." It's what makes me keep doing this. SPIN: There are all these rumors about Winona Ryder being a die-hard fan and following you around. PW: I don't want to say anything about it. SPIN: People will still talk. PW: Uh huh. Wait till they hear about me and Phyllis Diller. SPIN: Are you still having fun? PW: I've had more fun onstage this time out than I did last time. But I'm uninspired. I don't consider myself a born performer. I try to keep it fun and when it's not I want to throw it all away. I find myself onstage wanting to create something new. I get mad at the other guys for not being able to read my mind. SPIN: Do you still feel like one fourth of a band? PW: It's up to everyone whether you're an individual or just a guy in a band. I straddle the line. I've done enough things by myself and let the band do enough things where it's not like l've worked with a group my whole career. I was planning on the last record being my record when I started writing the songs. And they [the record company] said no, they wanted the Replacements. SPIN: Will your next record be with the Replacements? PW: No. The way I'm thinking right now, no. I don't know when it will happen either. Anything is possible. Things go through my mind like maybe even joining another band. I'd like to go work with some unknown people, but what seems attractive now is to work with another established artist and drag them through the mud a little bit. Fuck somebody's career up. There are a few things that in the works that I can't talk about right now, but you'd be surprised. Some people are interested and it's very flattering. If it brought my sort of punk spirit out, I couldn't resist. SPIN: Now that we've proclaimed you the embodiment of the soul of rock'n'roll, I guess anything's possible. PW: Yeah, thanks a lot. I owe you one. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ REPRINTED WITHOUT PERMISSION All typos can be blamed on my scanner -- Steve Holtebeck ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 08 Feb 96 11:41:59 EST From: FA09000 Hello, Here is the quote from the Gin Blossoms singer that I wrote in about: Courtesy of Request Magazine March 1996 "Out of the Blue" by Burl Gilyard. "It's weird outselling your heroes. The Replacements were making records better than New Miserable Experience back in '87, and it didn't happen for them, you know... Can you imagine if the Replacements' Pleased To Meet Me came out right now in today's market? It'd be monstrous." Singer Robin Wilson I don't like the band but at least they give credit where it's due. Kevin Parker ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 17 Feb 96 00:50:09 -0500 From: Jeff Hart . . . you've know GF, right? It's Lynne Blakey's band (formerly known as Sundowners in an acoustic incarnation). I met her when they opened for the Chris Stamey trio I was in when we played Athens in '93 (another ice storm story, Stipe was one of 10 people in attendance). I'm sure you knew she's the inspiration for 'Left of the Dial'. Saw her at the Brewery show Paul did and it was emotionally charged. I kind of choked up when he sang that song. I think he sang the line as 'and if I don't see Lynn', though I've always heard it slurred as 'see her again' on most boots and on the Tim CD. She's great. Makes you wanna hug her and tell her that "everything's gonna be alright, you just need a boyfriend who doesn't live in Minneapolis" Any exposure I can give her band is the least I can do for the pleasure she's given me over the last three years. Jeff ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: stevmeli@cpcn.com (Steve Kirsch) Subject: try this new band Hey Matt, Thought I'd write to tip off you and the other people on Skyway to a new Mats-like band I just heard. They're called Supple (horrible name, I know) and they're from NYC, with an album on the Futurist label called "Puppets' Night Out." And, no, I don't work for the label, or know the band. I don't even know anything about them other than the NYC connection. The album reminds me more of 1984 Mats than almost anything except maybe Small. There are Westerberg-like vocals, garage-y leads ala Bob, and just a great "sure it sounds rough, but that's how we like it" attitude. It's not perfect, by any means, but of the 11 songs, I'd say 5 are amazing, 4 very good and two are a little weak. Not a bad batting average all in all... Plus a killer "I'm In Trouble" is the B-side of the first 7" from the album ("Guilty"). Hell, even the lyrics remind me of Paul--a great mix of beer, depression, failed relationships, and barstool philosophy. I hope this is their first album, 'cause it shows a lot of promise.... Seeya Steve K. stevmeli@cpcn.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 20:55:12 -0500 From: wwittman@westnet.com (w wittman) Subject: Re: replacements and powerful-ness [This is culled from the Too Much Joy list where there was a debate on who was more powerful...The 'Mats or Too Much Joy...] i've stood next to Paul Westerberg and i can tell you that, as far as odor goes, the replacements were MUCH more powerful than TMJ! w2 [bass player from Too Much Joy] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bryantr9115@uni.edu Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 15:21:46 -0600 (CST) Subject: mats questions I have a question I need answered! I'm still a little new to using all this technology and wanted to place this on the newsgroup, but I haven't got that far yet. So I will ask you. I am considering buying a copy of Stink that the dealer claims is one of the first 500 made. He claims that the first 500 were hand stamped copies and then they went on to red and green ink, or the other way around. Is this true, and if you don't know, where can I find out. Also, I am interested in acquiring some taped boots, where can I find these? Any help is appreciated at this address, Bryantr9115@uni.edu. Thanks, Ralph. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 06 Feb 96 11:57:03 EST From: FA09000 Hello, I wanted to write in to thank everybody for another great issue of the Skyway. The intro letters were great this month. It's good to see that other people were and are touched by the Mats in the same way I have always been. Also, I'm looking for a couple of bootlegs: Paul 12/3/93 Roseland Ballroom NYC and 7/28/93 Liberty Lunch Austin, Tx w/ Bob Mould. I have Mats and Paul audio and video that I'm willing to trade. I'm looking for good sounding copies of those two shows if anyone has them. Also, I'm going to be getting a video copy of a 1993 Paul show from Maryland. I have no idea as to how good the quality is going to be. I know that it's hand held camera but, when I get it, I'll post and tell everyone how it is. I don't know if it is in wide circulation because the guy who's giving it to me told me that his brother taped the show. Also, in the new issue of Request magazine, The Gin Blossoms (who I think are god awful) praise the Mats. If I get a chance, I'll send it in to the Skyway in the next couple of days. It's always good to see other bands giving the band credit for the huge influence that they've had on the current music scene. Kevin Parker P.S. My address for contacting me about the boots is FA09@IONA.BITNET. Also, if it's not too much trouble, send a list of Mats/Paul boots and maybe we can trade other tapes. One last thing: Someone mailed me right after the last issue of the Skyway came out looking for a copy of Shit Shower Shave. If you still want a copy send me a 90X tape and postage. Mail me to get my address and work out any other details if you are still interested. P.P.S. Does anyone have a good quality copy of the 12/6/93 Paul show in Norwalk, Conn. I'm willing to trade or send a tape and postage if someone does. P.P.P.S. I have a non-Mats related request. However, it's about another great Minneapolis band, the Jayhawks. I'm looking for a copy of their first record which is the one that came out on the Bunkhouse label. If anyone has it, I'm willing to send a tape and postage or trade. I have a couple of great quality bootlegs. So if anyone has it please E-mail me at FA09@Iona.bitnet. Thanks Kevin Parker ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [This is a letter that I got in snail mail...you'd probably make this guy the happiest guy in Sweden if you respond and trade tapes.] Gothenburg, Sweden 2nd January - 1996 Matthew! Hi, you don't know me, but my name is Pierre Hellqvist, a 24-year old Swedish guy who's very much into those fabulous Replacements. A while ago, in a classroom at the University ofGothenburg, a friend of mine had access to the Internet where I surfed for the first time in my life and found a whole lot of information about the 'Mats and I learned about the Skyway. Since I don't have access to the Internet myself I write this letter to you in hope of getting information 'bout where to turn to get tapes/bootlegs/ videos and stuff by the 'Mats. I wonder if you can help me. It would be great if you could. I've got a few bootlegs and tape myself: CD's ---- The Replacements Shit Shower & Shave (1989) It Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Roadies Play (July 4, 1991) Paul Westerberg Lucky's Revenge (Summer 1993) (at the Whiskey A-Go Go) Gravel Pit (Fall 1993) Tapes ----- The Replacements Paul Can't Play, He Wants to Drink (from a double vinyl album recorded at CBGB's in 1984, plus demos and two songs from SNL '85) In Heaven There's No Beer (from a double vinyl album, recorded at G.S. Vigs, Wisconsin, November 8, 1994) Live and Drunk (from a double vinyl album, recorded in 1984) Live At Lingerie (from a CD, October 1984) Paul Westerberg Live At The Whiskey A-Go Go (Summer 1993, other night from "Lucky's Revenge") best rockin' & rollin' wishes & a happy new year Pierre Hellqvist Cederbourgsgatan 7,bv 415 55 Gothenburg SWEDEN ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bilner@aol.com Date: Thu, 8 Feb 1996 00:31:16 -0500 Subject: Skyway I'm mainly trying to locate a dub of the new Paul album. I can't hardly wait 3 more months! Help! Here's what I have to trade: Mats: LA 10-20-84 MPLS 1-19-85 LA 4-11-85 LA 4-23-85 LongBeach 12-13-85 LA 12-16-85 LA 12-17-85 MPLS 5-27-87 MPLS 2-7-91 CH 7-4-91 Shit Hits the Fans misc. outtakes Paul: LA 7-20-93 LA 7-21-93 Austin 7-28-93 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 96 13:30:17 -0800 From: Alpine Rentals I used to have a copy of "The Shit Hits the Fans" when I was in college. Is there any way to still find this from somebody? I've still got the case, but no tape! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bob Subject: Skyway And who is the guy in Pittsburg who mailed me the Tape that came out last month? He sent me a tape and I lost his address. Thanks Matt. [Are you perhaps referring to the compliation tape that a bunch of folks from alt.music.replacements put out?] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: MRTimmins@aol.com Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 23:15:46 -0500 Subject: Re: _The Fans Hit Back II_ Friends, Romans, //Skyway\\ers: Well, the response to my solicitation for tapes has been tremendous. At least a dozen people have expressed an interest. I am posting this note to serve as a last reminder to anyone who wants to participate in this to let me know by March 15 if you're the least bit interested. I understand it might take a while for people to get their songs recorded, but I'd like to have all submissions into me by April 15, if possible. Please contact me directly by email if that's going to be a problem. Below I've enclosed a brief description of what this project is about if any of you missed it. _The Fans Hit Back II_: I had in mind that this tape, like the first one, would be a chance for //Skyway\\ folks to showcase their own songs. I'm not saying I won't use any Mats covers if you send them, but another recent project by Ted James had that mission. If you have originals, or covers of songs by other bands, by all means send them along. This is a very casual sort of outing -- do not worry if your recordings are not "professional" sounding, or even as well recorded as "Black-Eyed Susan"!! :-) Also, please send any biographical or other info you'd like included in the tape's liner notes. Everyone who submits will get a copy of the compilation when it's done. For the first tape, only nine acts contributed, so every band got 2 or 3 songs on the tape. Initial response this time seems stronger, but send as many songs as you'd like, anyway. I enjoy listening to them, even if it can't all make the tape. Besides, God hates blank tape.... Contact me by email for the address of where to send stuff. Later, Mark P.S. If someone has a better idea for a tape name, let me know. Names I've come up with so far include: The Fans Hit Back...With a Vengeance, ...Even Harder More Hitting Back The Fans Do Their Shit (someone suggested that the first around) Temporary Replacements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Grpeoples@aol.com Date: Fri, 1 Mar 1996 01:11:15 -0500 Subject: New Westerberg album I listened to the new Westerberg album a few days ago. How was it? Not what I was expecting. It's not as strong as 14 Songs and not nearly as good as his songs on Singles, Tank Girl, or Melrose Place, not to mention the many B-sides from his recent singles. There are good moments, but there are more mediocre moments. I'm comforted in knowing that these new songs will take on a new shape when he plays live. Maybe I need to listen to it ten more times to find the beauty of it. G. Peoples Grpeoples@aol.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [messages echoed from alt.music.replacements, thanks to Duncan DeGraffenreid] From: marck@aol.com Newsgroups: alt.music.replacements Subject: Re: Paul's Bookshelf Date: 23 Feb 1996 20:43:23 GMT Paul even mentioned in an interview that some of songs are like O. Henry stories--the ironic ending. O. Henry also had his trouble with booze and life in general (died penniless and unappreciated). What an uplifting post this turned out to be. Marc From: ZDZJ64A@prodigy.com (Brian Lee) Newsgroups: alt.music.replacements Subject: Re: Paul's Bookshelf Date: 26 Feb 1996 00:57:01 GMT >Could it be that Paul needs a foil for his work? A Keith Moon for his Pete >Townshend? A Richard Lloyd for his Tom Verlaine? A Toklas for his Stein? >A....you get the idea. It certainly did extend his range as a songwriter. The following categories are not definitive by any means (save the the last one), but there's the hard-core blistering stuff for Bob, the solid rockin' stuff for Tommy, the more thoughtful, quieter stuff for Paul, and, uh, the 4/4 time for Chris (apparantly the only beat he has mastered). And when you have three guys breathing down your neck, you know you better do a good job or you'll catch shit. My own theory is that Paul has become too much of a recluse and simply may be running out of things to say. Maybe he needs some more social interaction, and some tensions in his life caused by this, as in the 'Mats years. Dylan once described his later days in Woodstock as a "daily excursion into nothing," and his music from the time certainly reflects this. Who can forget the bucolic drivel of "Nashville Skyline" or "Self Portrait?" So maybe Paul should leave his hermit's hovel (or cloistered monastery or whatever it may be) in the suburbs and get around some more, get some new ideas for songs. Don't forget, he said he sat around for 2 years and did nothing . . . --Brian ZDZJ64A@prodigy.com(B Lee) From: duck5@ix.netcom.com (Duck) Newsgroups: alt.music.replacements Subject: Re: Paul's Bookshelf Date: 25 Feb 1996 23:13:39 GMT In <4gq2h8$sr4@newsbf02.news.aol.com> jimmiek@aol.com (JIMMIEK) writes: >[snip] while the other 'Mats did not actually write anything (though >they did get song songwriting credit on PTMM), they were (this is >according to several PHW interviews) arbiters of his work. It was >apparent that they served as editors for Paul. At the time he may have >seen this as a limitation. But consider another debate - is the best >art made in the environment of total freedom? Or does the tension of >pushing against the boundaries bring out the genius? What is it that >makes Paul's 'Mats work so incredible and his recent work maybe less >so (though still formidable - we're talking relative here)? Could it >be the fact that he needed to kick out rockers for the rest of the >band while trying to satisfy his own standards? My vote's definitely in favor of constraints. Art defines itself by having something to push against. No constraints, no feedback, stifles rather than heightens creativity. (Ever notice how terrifically sexy some of those old 40s movies made in the era of the Hayes office are? The writers and directors worked around the censors and came up with some pretty evocative stuff.) I also vote in favor of editors. Art REQUIRES an audience, if only the other guys in the band who listen and say, ''That hook's good, but this part's flat, maybe you could....'' As I've said before, I don't think it's an accident that their are so many successful songwriting TEAMS out there. As an aside, one of the reason the publishing industry is in such a sad state is the demise of the professional editor. Maxwell Perkins, the man who hacked and hewed a 1000+ page MS mess into the book LOOK HOMEWARD ANGEL, is dead. So, for the most part, is the entire tradition of careful revision and editing. When I ventured into the field of creative writing only a few years ago, after many years as an academic writer/editor, I recruited a hypercritical protege as my editor. My ''Max'' proved to be irritating, exasperating, intransigent, invaluable and inspiring. I wonder if Westerberg's lucky enough to be getting feedback from those who share and understand his basic tastes and style. Perhaps my major disappointment with ''Eventually'' is the feeling/fear that it reveals Paul's now without that sort of liberating constraint. Duck fin. --==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==-- Matthew Tomich The //Skyway\\: The Replacements Mailing List 2407 Chapel Hill Road ---------------------------------------------- Durham, NC 27707 To subscribe, send "subscribe skyway" in the (919)-419-0808 body of a letter to "majordomo@novia.net" --==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==-- "When will our fucking hearts cease to riot?" -- Superchunk