One of the more intriguing rumors circulating around this year's Coachella is the possibility of a reunion of The Replacements, one of finest indie rock bands of the 1980s. If they were to reunite, they would be without original lead guitarist Bob Stinson, who died in 1995, and drummer Chris Mars, who has retired from music altogether. Guitarist/vocalist Paul Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson, however, would still be on board.

Stinson tells Billboard the group has received lucrative offers to perform at Coachella and other major festivals, and that he and Westerberg were close to accepting this year. The group would have been rounded out by session drummer Josh Freese (replacing original drummer Chris Mars, who has retired from music to focus on painting), and an unnamed lead guitarist (replacing Stinson's late half-brother Bob, who died in 1995)...

"I'm very hesitant about dragging the name out there and what damage we could do to the legend," Westerberg offers. "Whatever we did, someone would want something else. If I went up there straight, they'd want us wasted. If we were f--ked up, they'd want us to be this or that.

Would this reunion be as successful as the Pixies, or the sum of all Westerberg's fears? Only the gods of rock know. [Billboard]