Tracks will appear on new best-of CD, slated for June

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) — It’s a ‘Mats fan’s dream come true — new songs from The Replacements.

The surviving original members of the Minneapolis ’80s group have reunited to record two new songs for a best-of CD, according to news reports.

Singer-guitarist Paul Westerberg, bassist Tommy Stinson and drummer Chris Mars were recently in the studio to record some tracks, the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Westerberg wrote both songs: “Message to the Boys” and “Pool & Dive.” Mars sang backup while a session drummer handled the drumming.

It’s the first The Replacements — known as the ‘Mats to fans (for “Place Mats,” an old name for the band) — have recorded together since disbanding in 1991.

Original guitarist Bob Stinson, Tommy’s older brother, died in 1995. His replacement, Slim Dunlap, wasn’t asked to play on the sessions, but said he never expected a call.

“It’s really neat they put aside their little squabbles and did it,” Dunlap told the Star Tribune.

Rhino Records is releasing the 20-cut best-of CD, “Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was? The Best of The Replacements,” due in stores June 13

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iPod Fund UPDATE: 16 excellent souls have flowed $20 to the busblog, only four more needed – details here or donate here

two songs by the replacements in 1981 + my interview with mr westerberg last year + paul sings achin to be

yes im alive. yes im in love with you all and yes i really need to lay back down because im dying.

not dying because of the illness. although thats still giving me much irritation. dying because of all of the sweet outpouring of support youve given me in regards to this ipod deal.

how is it going for the fund drive?

well lets just say that we’re four $20 donations away from getting that bad boy, and yes i will be purchasing Apple Care on it so we wont have to do this again for a long time. lesson learned.

im hoping that soon i will get emails back from everyone that has donated so i will know where to link their names to and how to address them as some people wish to remain anonymous like miss kournikova and some dont want their blogs linked to like mr hefner, as it’s a secret.

so yes, i am shocked by the generosity of my readers. and i thank you all. like i said, a few years back it took four days to make this happen, this year it might not even take 24 hours. that blows my mind. and of course i know im unworthy.

i also want to thank the academy. remember how i used to get academy screener of oscar nominated films? and pretty girls would show up with microwaveable popcorn and sometimes theyd watch the films with me? well this morning around 10:30am (morning for me) i heard a tap at the front door. i was all wtf because noone taps the front door.

and there were two academy girls with two films for me. apparently even when its not awards season they get dvds and they had read my blog and figured i was lonely and sad because of the ipod so they brought over “Zodiac” which i had never heard of, but it was terrific. and they brought over Spike Lee’s new joint “The Inside Man” which we just finished watching which was also kickass.

expect reviews this weekend. but if either of those films are showing near you, go see them. nothing better than a good movie.

even though im dying i have to write something up over at the Buzznet Coachella blog before i take a nap. if you ever get bored you should check out that blog as i write on it every day and i will be doing that for the next month as we gear up for the big festival in the desert.

also blogging there is americas sweetheart bunny mcintosh and creem magazine’s luke hackney. i dont think any festival has ever had a daily prewrite written about it let alone 2-3 a day for a month. its fun.

before i go, there were some good questions in the comments of the ipod post.

#1 q. why not get an iRiver?
a. im sure iRiver makes a great product and i trust bicycle mark fully. however i have bought a multitude of iPod accessories, the dearest of all being my iHome alarmclock radio. the iPod rests atop it and charges up and wakes me when the alarm goes off with tunes from my iPod. its beautiful. also, the iPod that im about to get has video and stores photos and i want to see what thats all about. but also, i really like Apple and theyve taken care of me in the past. yes im disappointed that this iPod didnt even last two full years, but i used that bad boy every day so i definately got my your money’s worth.

#2 q. why not trade it in for a free refurbished ipod at the Genius Bar.
a. that was not an option for me as my ipod was out of warantee. i will get Apple Care on this new one so perhaps thats what they will hook me up with if the next one craps out prematurely.

#3 q. wait, wasnt that last post just a straight up asking for shit post? and why did you delete my comment where i lead people to some other guy’s blog where he was asking for shit?

a. this entire blog, the whole busblog, is me asking for pussy. period. i cannot be more clear about that. sometimes im too sick for pussy. sometimes i need something else. rarely is that the case, but yesterday we crossed that bridge. so either im asking people to love me, or im asking them to show me their boobs. it is awkward to ask for money, but i know that when i click around the blogosphere and if i read someone who i love reading asking for something i try to give it to them. sometimes i have the means and its no biggie, sometimes i dont have the means and i move on.

as for deleting your comment where you lead my readers to some other persons blog who wanted something. my comments are for you to tell me that im the man, or to ask followup questions in regards to the post at hand. if you want to link to other people, may i politely invite you to get your own blog.

#4. q. will you do some music reviews in exchange for some flowage?

a. definately. and i do take requests.

#5 q. if i donate twice does that mean i get two gifts?

a. sure, but what works best is if you just double the donation so that paypal doesnt ding me twice. but you better hurry, as like i said, there are only 4 slots left, and i would hate for you to have to spend your money on something silly like food or rent.

so thank you. thank you again. and thank you a third time. i dont deserve your readership nor your money but i will accept it all and i will hope to repay you with tons more pics of my vida loca and more blog posts over the years. and yes, more tall tales of various exploits which may or may not be true. but are probably false. go cubs.

save ferris

it started off being hungover. but then it turned out it wasnt a hangover, it was my illness getting a second wind.

the only thing that gave me joy in my dark little world were the nudes from the ladies of the interweb, and my sweet ipod which played me the comedy stylings of howard stern and the musical tones of dozens of bands that will be playing coachella in exactly thirty days.

two days ago my ipod was giving me the frowny face. it would play it just wouldnt upload new tunes. that gave me the frowny face. so even though i didnt want to leave my warm bed or my cozy apartment to go to the dreaded Grove, i did this afternoon because they have a Mac Store there.

i waited and coughed and sneezed at the Genius Bar and the dude told me the bad news, my ipod was fuct. i could get it fixed, he said, or i could just get a new one. how much to fix it, i asked? as much as a new one he said. his tshirt said genius so i believed him.

i have no money for a new ipod. im about to fly back to austin for a wedding – that costs money… i need new tires for the hooptie, and then theres the electric bill, etc.

so heres what im thinking. two years ago you the reader chipped in to get me my ipod. it took about four days but about 30 people chipped in between $10-$30 and i got it engraved and everyone was happy. in fact i think the word Beautiful was the most appropriate.

last year i dont think i asked for anything from you. yes i sold Stiff but that had to be done. and you got a book out of the deal.

so heres what we will do. i would love 20 people to flow $20. two years ago i put people’s names on the left hand side in a prominent place. this year i will do that Plus i will mail you something from my home.

i have a few copies of How To Blog sitting around. that could be something you could ask for. i just had to replace my old keyboard, if someone was interested in that peice of history i could mail that off. ive got tons of baseball and basketball cards. i could make you a cd. ive got some jeans i dont wear. PS2 games. i could make a nice mix cd oh i said that. see, im delirious.

so heres what you should do. PayPal me and in the Note area tell me what you’d like and i’ll see what i can do to satisfy you.

and if you dont want to flow, it doesnt mean that you dont love me and i wont take it personally. i’ll love you either way. ok back to my sickbed.