Paul Westerberg - Open Season

I've always found it interesting that fans of the Rolling Stones continue to buy their new albums no matter if the material is good or not. It is a hard habit to break not buying the albums of your childhood heroes. I stopped buying R.E.M. albums in 1995 with Monster and I pick and choose the Bob Mould releases I buy (yes for the rock stuff, no for the dance stuff). Paul Westerberg is one artist that I have yet to abandon. No matter what he has done in his post-Replacements career I tend to find something with each release that I just love. So it was with some eagerness that I purchased the Open Season soundtrack over the holidays.

With a toddler at home, I was praying that the soundtrack would have all the aspects of Paul's work that a 35-year-old would need wrapped in a package fit for a kid. The songs run from Don't Tell a Soul -era Replacements like "Love You in the Fall" (see mp3 below) to piano driven numbers like "I Belong" (a second version by Pete Yorn also appears on the soundtrack). Paul's penchant for cleaver lyrics abound - "I'm a knight in shining armchair", "The right to arm bears" - are a couple of examples.

The DVD was released in late January and we had a little family movie night yesterday. Like movies of recent years, Open Season follows the same formula of Madagascar - get some comedians to play animals that are out of place in the wild and adventure will ensue. All ages will enjoy the film. Be sure to check out "Love You in the Fall.

Love You In The Fall (mp3)