Paul Westerberg has become one of the most interesting artists of the past decade, and his latest release solidifies that position.

After watching his band, the Replacements, flameout and his solo career fizzle, Westerberg stepped away, or rather down, into the basement, where he recorded two albums of fairly lo-fi rock that married his early knock-it-out aesthetic to his latter-day lyrical and musical fascinations. The result was 2002’s Stereo/Mono, his best work in years. In the six years since, he has released more material than in the previous 15. It has been hit or miss – the Grandpaboy stuff largely accounting for the misses – but the hits outnumber those found on his first three solo records. His prolific output means the fan becomes the editor, a job that isn’t always terribly rewarding. But, as with standard bearer Robert Pollard, Westerberg’s practice means that a lot of music that would not have otherwise been released will indeed leak out, and so much the better.

Which brings us to 49:00, Westerberg’s new album. Yes, it’s an album, despite the fact that it was released on Monday as one 44 minute downloadable mp3 for 49 cents from Amazon.com and Tunecore. With 20-some-odd songs and snippets mashed together to create one long track, it really plays like a good 12-track album with a lot of little snippets bridging the longer songs. Again, Pollard and Guided by Voices are an apt comparison.

Westerberg is getting a ton of press for this sneak attack on the marketplace, and it’s to his credit. He’s probably making as much from this as he would from a traditionally released album, and he’s receiving much more notice than he would otherwise for this batch of songs. If this was a new album on Vagrant, the follow-up to Folker, he’d get a couple of magazine write ups, some online coverage and then nothing. Releasing it this way ensures that he’ll be called a visionary and earn him the kind of notice usually reserved for acts like Radiohead.

And yet, I’d guess that was not his intent; not fully. He certainly didn't put a lot of thought into the presentation, calling it 49:00 despite it's 43:55 runtime. According to his manager, Darren Hill, "He finished it on Monday, sent it to me on Tuesday and it was out this weekend." So reports Billboard.com. “It's almost like you're scanning a radio dial. You're getting a glimpse inside of Paul's head here." That was more likely his goal: a brain dump with no strings attached and, thanks to the unpretentious presentation, no expectations. If you like it, it’s a bargain. If you don’t, who’s to complain about wasting 49 cents?

And this is no waste. There are a good half dozen songs here that are as good as any Westerberg has released in the past few years, and a few others that are at least pleasantly disposable. Hill told Billboard.com that this is "just the tip of a really large creative iceberg. Paul has been writing and recording at a furious pace." Here's hoping the response to 49:00 convinces him to continue putting it out.

Labels: commerce, music, Paul Westerberg