This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I've had the opportunity to talk to some of my favorite artists over the years, and there has been one person I've always wanted to come to Utah to perform so that I would have a chance to talk to him: Paul Westerberg, former leader of The Replacements and now a solo artist.
I was turned off to them long after they had disbanded, and the first time I heard a Westerberg song was "Dyslexic Heart" on the "Singles" soundtrack, carefully assembled by Cameron Crowe. (It was also the first time I had heard a Smashing Pumpkins song, the transcendent "Drown," and Mother Love Bone's truly great "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns." (Pick up the soundtrack if you ever get a chance — it was an early introduction for me into the Seattle "grunge" scene, although many of the best songs on the soundtrack were from people not from Seattle.)
Last time I checked, Wetserberg's website was pretty much dormant. But I am hoping that one of these days, I will get a concert announcement saying that he is on tour and that he is available for interviews.
For the time being, here are some of my favorites from his catalog:
From "Hootenany," "Treatment Bound": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyQXWz7k2Es
From "Let It Be," "Answering Machine": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BHGzCoWKps&feature=related and live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BqwwL5RtRo
From the "Singles" soundtrack, "Dyslexic Heart": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcMIWKu0ZYE
Well, you shoot me glancesAnd they're so hard to readI misconstrue what you meanSlip me a napkin and now that you startIs this your name or a doctor's eye chart?