Monday’s Hors D’Oeuvres: Return of the ‘Mats?

There has been lots of buzz about The Replacements lately thanks to Rhino’s new reissues of the band’s first four discs. Wes Orshoski recently interviewed both singer Paul Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson for a revealing Billboard magazine profile. Among other things, Westerberg and Stinson discuss how close they came to reuniting for festival season.

Both former members of the ‘Mats seem open to the idea of a reunion, if the timing and circumstances are right. That’s a big switch from the past when the guys were 100% opposed to any possible reunion. So I’m saying there’s a chance.

There’s also a chance we’ll dump a shit load of links on you:

• The Allman Brothers have postponed the Beacon run until next Spring
• David Byrne’s Brian Eno-produced return to the studio is nearly complete
• Times are bleak for music magazines thanks to a major decline in ad sales
• The WSJ examines the finances behind this summer’s festival season
• Quincy Jones lays out a proposal for saving the long-form album
• Blogcritic’s Rockologist offers some thoughts on the late Danny Federici
• Seattle’s Fleet Foxes have quickly become the royalty of a sub-sub genre
• Van Halen returned to the stage at golfer Tiger Woods’ Tiger Jam XI
• As always Uncle Neddy keeps you up to date on the shows of the week

Finally, most people thought Tom Petty was crazy for reforming Mudcrutch after nearly 35 years. But after reading the excellent Mudcrutch profile in the New York Times, Petty’s decision makes more sense. Sometimes artists need to be challenged, and you can’t find a bigger challenge than reforming your original band.