Blogs
  • Go! 3/7-3/9
    06:00PM 03/07/08
  • R.E.M. Accelerate: An Advance Review and Song-by-Song Analysis of the Band's New Album
    04:06AM 03/08/08
  • Your Weekly St. Louis Food Blog Digest
    03:45PM 03/07/08
  • This Is Hawkwind -- Do Not Panic
    06:08PM 11/09/07
Recent Articles

Recent Articles By Annie Zaleski

  • Sleep State
    8 p.m. Saturday, February 9. Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center, 3301 Lemp Avenue.
  • Soft
    9 p.m. Tuesday, February 12. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.
  • Lloyd Dobler Effect
    9 p.m. Monday, January 14. Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street.
  • Career (Remix)
    The trials and tribulations of R. Kelly.
  • The Aviation Club
    9 p.m. Friday, January 4. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

National Features

  • Houston Press
    "It Was Like an Armageddon Movie"

    For days after Hurricane Rita, a Texas prison was hell on earth.

    By Chris Vogel
  • SF Weekly
    The Candidate

    Our columnist knows Ralph Nader's running mate all too well.

    By Matt Smith
  • The Pitch
    How Not To Be a Rap Star

    First of all, lay off the Ecstasy.

    By Nadia Pflaum
  • Village Voice
    Project Runaway

    What becomes a gossip columnist most?

    By Michael Musto

While Paul Westerberg has always been fond of breaking out Replacements chestnuts live, he seems to be softening the anti-'Mats stance he often takes on studio-based projects. Witness the two better-than-they-had-any-right-to-be songs recorded for this year's Replacements best-of collection and the eight tunes he contributed to the soundtrack to the animated film Open Season. Sonically, the latter compositions are shockingly close to songs found on 'Mats discs such as Pleased to Meet Me and Don't Tell a Soul — i.e. ragtag pop gems stripped of grit by glossy production, yet still recognizably Westerbergian because of his craggy voice. But instead of placing his characters in smoky bars filled with lonely regulars and love-torn sad-sacks, Westerberg now sings about meeting his beloved in a meadow, "where the cottonwood is rustling in the trees," or focuses on defending the unalienable "Right to Arm Bears." This whimsy suits him well, however — perhaps because it's still laced with the faint hints of self-deprecation and loneliness for which he's known (especially on the piano ballad "I Belong," where his trembling delivery has never sounded more vulnerable), or perhaps because Season is the catchiest collection he's released in years. Unfortunately, the Talking Heads' ubiquitous "Wild Wild Life" ruins the album's flow considerably, though zippy synth-heads Deathray do contribute the fantastic "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)."

About Us | Work for Riverfront Times | Esubscribe | Free St. Louis Classifieds | National Advertising | Privacy Policy
Problem With the Site? | RSS | Site Map
©2008 Village Voice Media All rights reserved.

Riverfront Times Insiders

  • Local food, music and news blasts
  • Free Stuff

buy, sell, trade (3,283)
musician (445)
rentals (3,962)
jobs (2,697)
adult entertainment (1,107)
Personal of the Day


More Personals >>
NOW CLICK THIS
  • - SXSW Showdown!
  • - Ultra Music Festival
  • - Cocktails for a Cause!
  • - Virtual Career Fair
  • - St. Louis Home Search
  • - Restaurants 2007
  • - Digital Jukebox
  • - St. Louis Spaces
  • - 2008 RFT Restaurant Guide Poll, Vote Now!
  • - RENTstlouis