Stephen Malkmus, "Hamburger Serenade" -- the anticipation thread

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"we did indeed finninsh the danish record before xmas. its the best yet they say and its going by the title "Hamburger Serenade" right now. it could change. there are very little plans for touring. i plan to play at sxsw in march with some sort of weird unit-john moen has other commitments.

we are looking at an early may release but i need cover ideas. jessica hutchins is working on it and i was think of asking another artist i met at a party who lives in trinidad. maybe i should just do it myself"

No, four months is NOT too earlier to start anticipating this. But I sure as hell hope he comes up with a better title.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 10 January 2005 17:45 (twenty years ago)

ugh. make it stop.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, 10 January 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

You could always just pretend this thread doesn't exist.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 10 January 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

But I sure as hell hope he comes up with a better title.
-- Raymond Cummings (gracefulas...), January 10th, 2005.

not as good as sweedish reggae but kinda like it. just hope the cover doesnt contain something as chessy as waitress being seranaded by a hamburger or something

― jb, Monday, 10 January 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)

I guess the title is okay, but I'm sure he can come up with something better. One of the song titles that was going around was "Kindling For The Master" - that would be a good album title.

Either way, I'm very psyched for this. I like the new songs a lot, especially "Malediction."

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 10 January 2005 18:07 (twenty years ago)

The songs he played at All Tomorrow's Parties a couple months ago were great - tight and poppy. I remember "Maker of Modern Masterpieces" standing out as fun.

― Chuckling at the Tomkat's Marquee (Ben Boyer), Monday, 10 January 2005 18:08 (twenty years ago)

I really hope that he does the artwork himself. He's a very gifted visual artist, people don't usually talk about that.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 10 January 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

Woo! I'm quite fond of the title, in an odd way. Like... as an ode to mass consumer culture. It'll only work if there is a love song about a hamburger, though.

Somebody tell him to do the cover himself.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Monday, 10 January 2005 18:17 (twenty years ago)

It makes me think of sweet romance at a McDonalds. Someone proposing marriage to someone who is eating a quarter pounder with cheese.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Monday, 10 January 2005 18:22 (twenty years ago)

I strongly think it should be about the burger itself, and how it doesn't taste real, but how that's actually kinda good.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Monday, 10 January 2005 18:23 (twenty years ago)

But I guess there could be marriage, too. Fake marriage, that tastes so sweeet! Ok, I'll stop.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Monday, 10 January 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

That is awesome. Great news. Pig Lib is my favorite thing he's done since Crooked Rain. Maybe this will be his After the Gold Rush.

― Nanker Phelge, Monday, 10 January 2005 18:32 (twenty years ago)

Am I alone in wanting him to go (relatively) lo-fi? Aren't we about due for a lo-fi revival?

― Derek Krissoff (Derek), Monday, 10 January 2005 18:43 (twenty years ago)

You're not alone.

But: am I alone in wanting this to be a long, long record, possibly a two-disc extravaganza?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 12:56 (twenty years ago)

am I alone in wanting this to be a long, long record, possibly a two-disc extravaganza?

I'm rooting for a two-track single. Or maybe just a one-track radio copy.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 13:20 (twenty years ago)

Like two twenty-minute tracks? Hmmm.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)

No, a 2:30 little jingle would be plenty, thanks.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

Paul, you know I'm teasing.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:37 (twenty years ago)

I hate the title. "Hamburglar Serenade" would have been genius.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

and Pig Lib is my fave since Wowee Zowee, so I am curious - despite wanting to run screaming from the title.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:39 (twenty years ago)

I mean seriously, loan that shit to TMBG.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:40 (twenty years ago)

I'm still kinda pissed that "Swedish Reggae" was scrapped as a title. What was so wrong with it that the Matador brass talked him out of using it?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:41 (twenty years ago)

I dunno. I can see Hamburger Serenade being the title if the cover art is retro in a Herb Alpert style. Lots of browns and oranges.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:42 (twenty years ago)

I'd be willing to bet that when this thing is released, the title will not be "Hamburger Serenade".

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:43 (twenty years ago)

Did he ever explain what "Pig Lib" means?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:44 (twenty years ago)

This will fit quite nicely in my collection next to "Cheesburger in Paradise."

"Hamburglar Serenade
feat. da Grimace.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:44 (twenty years ago)

Hamburger Serenade = "New Slang" by The Shins.

PIG + LIB was a scrabble play.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

I'm sort of rooting for III. Worked for Zep.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

"I dunno. I can see Hamburger Serenade being the title if the cover art is retro in a Herb Alpert style. Lots of browns and oranges."

For no reason I can see, I am now imagining an album cover where SM is stretched out on a hot frying pan, surrounded by chunks of ground beef.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:46 (twenty years ago)

I'm happy with Malkmus albums being pretty short and tight, Ray. 11-14 songs is fine.

I don't think Pig Lib really has a meaning. It just sounds good.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:47 (twenty years ago)

Wowee Zowee, Matthew, Wowee Zowee. I miss that long, winding, genius song-cycle effect.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:48 (twenty years ago)

Don't you want to save that for when Pavement gets back together in 4 years?

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:49 (twenty years ago)

Do you really think that's gonna happen? And that if ir does, it'll be anywhere near as good as it was in the mid-90s?

I ask these questions in part because I'm unsure of the answers, myself.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:51 (twenty years ago)

Well, if they pick up where Terror Twilight left off, it'll hold very little interest for me. Still not a fan of that record after six years.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:54 (twenty years ago)

Gary Young was Pavement's Syd Barrett. Wowee Zowee was their Wish You Were Here.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

Most fans, if they're being honest with themselves, will agree with you. Even Brighten The Corners was more consistent, in its own way.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

http://www.derekeller.com/jessicahutchins.html

Okay, time to get back to work. I'm posting way too much here.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:57 (twenty years ago)

Pumpkin, I saw that exhibit in March... wtf!

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

Gary Young was Pavement's Syd Barrett.

Strangely enough, this seems to be true. I think the only way I'd be interested in a Pavement reunion is if they brought back Gary.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:03 (twenty years ago)

Am I the only one baffled by the Gary-love?

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

It's very simple really: they did their best work when he was in the band.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

xpost:
Nope.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

Most fans, if they're being honest with themselves, will agree with you. Even Brighten The Corners was more consistent, in its own way.
-- Raymond Cummings (gracefulas...), January 11th, 2005 11:55 AM. (Raymond Cummings) (link)

Well, BtC is actually my favorite Pavement record. Can't explain why, though. Wish I could.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)

Re: Gary - I'm afraid that makes absolutely no sense to me. I mean, I like that stuff a lot, but I could never say it was their best.

And especially not for the reason of Gary. I mean, I don't understand why he's like this mystical figure for Pavement fans who just want another Slanted (not saying that's you, but it's a general indie thing that always seems to prevail). Every single scene I've ever known has somebody exactly like him, and they're all just as frustrating - albeit interestingly flawed - people.

If they ever did reform with him, though, I guarentee he would look and behave in exactly the same way.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:26 (twenty years ago)

Gary Young is interesting and cool, but I'm a lot more sentimental about the post-CRCR line-up with Westy and Nastanovich. I'm sure that they'll do a reunion tour sometime in the next five or six years, and it will be as the classic five piece rather than the original S+E era line-up.

Brighten The Corners is so underrated! It's just as classic as the first three albums, but in a more subtle sort of way.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:45 (twenty years ago)

Too subtle for me (though I love about half of it).

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

Following the REM-Pavement trajectory this album should be his Automatic For The People.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

"Old To Begin" = the most underrated song in the Pavement catalog.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

though that trajectory got fucked when Terror failed to be their Document.

(x-post I'll help keep it that way)

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

I listen to Brighten the Corners the most out of all the albums, even if I could never say it's my favourite. But I certainly appreciate it's subtleties, and it always evokes a wonderful mood for me.

To be honest, they're all my favourites, depending on the time of year. I just know I've listened to that one most. In the Autumn.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 17:56 (twenty years ago)

Yes, I'm not sure about the Gary-love either. Class-clown at best, I honestly don't understand those who say it was downhill after S&E. And I especially don't understand the hate for the last two albums either - is there really THAT much of a change in quality? I have to say that both of these are marvellous albums yet the avid hatred from fellow fans seems to put me off playing them - Embassy Row, Infinite Spark, You Are A Light, Major Leagues, Type Slowly, Shady Lane, Blue Hawaiian - all incredible songs. If anything Brighten the Corners is Malkmus at his most lyrically inventive while Terror is the most sonically adventurous.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

maybe it'll be prog-metal-with-yodelling record?

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/8267/focus5.htm

― jesus qrist allin, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 18:25 (twenty years ago)

It's important to remember that a lot of old school Pavement fans come out of that kneejerk 90s indie tradition of cherishing the first couple releases and then badmouthing everything that came after the most successful album. I'm sure that there a bunch of people out there who very earnestly believe that it was all downhill for Malkmus after "Box Elder." Whatever!

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:08 (twenty years ago)

I'd love to read your post, stranger, but I gotta move along- Big John's a-comin' to town!

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:28 (twenty years ago)

Well it's not just indie types who prefer the early Pavement. Chuck Eddy is about as non-indie as you can get, and I've seen him say many times that he prefers the early Pavement EPs to everything that came after. Personally, I don't believe they ever topped S&E, but I'm willing to accept that reasonable people can disagree.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:31 (twenty years ago)

Nobody means it when they say they like any of the albums after Crooked Rain better than Crooked Rain, Slanted, or Westing.

― psychic disorder ref, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:37 (twenty years ago)

No! Admit you are wrong and silly!

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:38 (twenty years ago)

All of you! Argharghargh!

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:38 (twenty years ago)

Chuck Eddy is about as non-indie as you can get, and I've seen him say many times that he prefers the early Pavement EPs to everything that came after.

his logic is that you can't hear how bad the rhythm section is.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:39 (twenty years ago)

They should do a Pavement reunion, and it should just be Malkmus and Spiral Stairs, and they shouldn't play live, they should just record guitar noise songs in their parents basement. Seriously.

― David Allen (David Allen), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:44 (twenty years ago)

I'm pretty sympathetic to people who love the Westing EPs up through Watery, Domestic but don't like what came after that. That's pretty fair, I think that Pavement changed pretty radicaly between S+E and CRCR. But people who love CRCR but dislike WZ, BTC and TT make less sense to me. Well, actually, I do get why some people are not into Terror Twilight (the performances on the album are kinda flat and a couple of the songs are a bit lackluster for Malkmus), but I like that album.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

psychic disorder ref

Bullshit. Wowee Zowee is my favorite album by anyone.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

I love CRCR because it's a perfect mix of SM and SS at their Fall-obsessed, sound collage cut-up lyrics zenith, while having an actual "band" and learning what it's like to jam like one of those bands from the 70s did.

― David Allen (David Allen), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

Um, I meant to italicize this:

Nobody means it when they say they like any of the albums after Crooked Rain better than Crooked Rain, Slanted, or Westing.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:52 (twenty years ago)

Basically I think that Wowee Zowee was the last burst of spazz and that BTC was the beginning of pure singer-songwriter mode, only Malkmus didn't like his band (Westie can't drum) and frankly they weren't that hot. So its been a period of transition (with some great hits, admittedly) until Pig Lib, where he's finally got a tested group that gives him confidence and he doesn't have somebody (deservedly but probably annoyingly) trying to hog in on the songwriting.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:53 (twenty years ago)

I respect that you think you like Wowee Zowee so much. But what songs on it measure up to the highlights on either of the first two albums?

― psychic disorder ref, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:54 (twenty years ago)

oh man, yr opening up a can of worms... I'm sure Matthew could write books about his appreciation for WZ (and I'm inclined to agree with him that its their best)

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:56 (twenty years ago)

I almost want to say I think Kennel D is better than anything on the first two albums, but I'm not sure I actually think that.

I love that song, though.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:57 (twenty years ago)

Wowee Zowee is definitely underrated ("AT&T," "Father To A Sister Of A Thought" and "Grounded" might beat all) but I'll always prefer CR, CR.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:59 (twenty years ago)

I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm genuinely curious. I've tried to get into that album and have never been able to. If there's something as good on it as "Fame Throwa" or "Loretta's Scars" or "Stop Breathin" or "Unfair" I wouldn't mind knowing.

― psychic disorder ref, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

"We Dance" is one of the best album openers ever.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

Well, for starters, "Grounded," "Rattled By The Rush," "Black Out," "Pueblo," "Grave Architecture," "AT&T," "We Dance," "Half A Canyon." I'm not kidding around or trying to impress anyone, it is my favorite album by anybody. The only albums that I would rank as highly are Slanted & Enchanted and Enter The Wu-Tang. I've heard WZ hundreds of times in the past ten years and I never get sick of it.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

my reasons for loving CR, CR most may be sentimental in nature (my first indie album ever)

(never dug "Grave Architecture")

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

x-post

To that end, Starlings in the Slipstream and Fin are great finishing tracks...

― Jimmy Mod always makes friends with women before bedding them down (ModJ), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

Agreed. I think that "Fin." is the best final song on a Pavement/Malkmus record, if you don't count EPs (then it would be "Shoot The Singer.")

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

I always think of "Half A Canyon" as being the last song on WZ, and that "Western Homes" is like an encore. (Not a bonus track, mind you. An encore.)

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

And I like the notion of Pavement as an example of that happens when you leave a bunch of idiots in a room with guitars -- eventually they'll figure out how they work...

― Jimmy Mod always makes friends with women before bedding them down (ModJ), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:09 (twenty years ago)

FILLMORE JIVE

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:12 (twenty years ago)

OUR SINGER!

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:14 (twenty years ago)

hamburger serenade is a great title. i also think that a couple of the cover ideas that people proposed would be great. (waitress being serenaded by a hamburger or malkmus in a frying pan w/ beef)

out of all the pavement albums, 'wowee zowee' is the one that still seems the most magical to me. 'we dance' is one of the best songs ever.

― 6335, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:14 (twenty years ago)

Wowee Zowee isn't so much about individual songs - it's a big fat listening experience (best appreciated on random play). I'm still not sure I "get" pre-Crooked Pavement. I like the odd thing ("Here", "Trigger Cut") but the rest of S&E hurts my ears a lot. Same goes for Westing.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

I love the sequencing on WZ - it has an unlikely but very steady flow. It's especially great from "Motion Suggests" through "Fight This Generation."

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:42 (twenty years ago)

lemme settle this pavement debate

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:43 (twenty years ago)

WZ has some great songs on it, but the stinkers start to pile up in the second half. E.g., "Fight this Generation" - one of the lamest things they ever did - sounds like a bad Stereolab rip. "We Are Underused" is an infinitely superior stab at the generational anthem thing.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:47 (twenty years ago)

yeah but "we are underused" is fucking connect the dots songwriting! i hate that shit.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:51 (twenty years ago)

But lord, I couldn't listen to a best of mix without Stereo and/or Shady Lane. At least.

I fully agree with you about frontwards.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

I don't think that a true "Rough Guide" to Pavement would leave out "The Hexx" and "Stereo," which are both essential Pavement songs, major staples of their live show. The original live version of "The Hexx" is fucking amazing.

I think that you're fixating too much on the title of "Fight This Generation," O Nate. That song is a ballad, not an anthem.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

Actually, "Half a Canyon" was the bad Sterolab rip I was thinking of, but "Fight this Generation" still sucks (and the first half of it is a ballad - the second half the anthem). And Brighten the Corners is the second best Pavement album after S&E.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

"stereo" is an awful song! repent!

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

"pueblo" and "give it a day" baffle me a bit but otherwise that looks pretty enjoyable mix (despite understandable semantic argument over use of phrase "rough guide" yadda yadda)

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

It is kind of bad, but it's funny! It name-checks Geddy Lee for chrissake.

xpost

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

I don't quite get the pacing though

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

anthony do you not like sustain pedals (re: "pueblo")? i think that "pueblo" and bush's "swallowed" are essentially the same song, and i love em both.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

waitress being serenaded by a hamburger

Except now I am imagining the hamburger as a paper bag adorned with felt dressed up like a hamburger, like in those Fandango ads.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

Stereo is amazing! And another one that was always incedibly great - and sums up Pavement in a lot of ways for me - live.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

No fucking way. "Stereo" is one of my favorite songs by anybody. I love the bassline, I love the guitar, I love the playfulness.

"Stereo" (like most everything on BTC) was much better live. The album version is fine, but missing a certain bounce and spazziness.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)

Or more accurately: The album recording is missing Bob Nastanovich.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)

Stereo = the only Pave song lots of my Pavement hating friends like.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

also, yancey, if you have a problem with narcissism you really should just straight to the Swell Maps and abandon Malkmus entirely. What separated him from Maps from the get-go was the "pussy" singer-songwriter aspect, which only entirely broke through the fuzz on BTC.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

starting with btc malkmus started writing songs not with chords but with note progressions, hence the insanely unfunky connect-the-dot melodies where each syllable is a note on a scale and his voice completely loses the sly drawl that made the early stuff so fun. listen to real early steely dan or late zappa and you hear the same thing; it's not music as groove it's fucking sheet music with words! i really cannot connect with that sorta thing at all.

xpost -- i love the swell maps, anthony. and i love the malkman, too. he just gets way too full of himself.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

Rough Guide To Pavement / an ideal Pavement hits comp

Box Elder
Debris Slide
Summer Babe
Trigger Cut
In The Mouth A Desert
Here
Frontwards
Shoot The Singer
Cut Your Hair
Gold Soundz
Range Life
Unfair
Rattled By The Rush
Father To A Sister Of Thought
Kennel District
Grounded
Give It A Day
Stereo
Shady Lane
Date With IKEA
Spit On A Stranger
Carrot Rope
Major Leagues
The Hexx (preferably a new recording of the original big rock version)

Not to be confused with "A list of my favorite Pavement songs."

Yeah, but I love that.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:03 (twenty years ago)

I think I made someone that compilation.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:03 (twenty years ago)

Well, actually, I wouldn't agree that his voice lost anything. I think that he's a much better singer post-WZ.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:04 (twenty years ago)

I find it more than a little weird that anyone would listen to a Pavement record expecting to hear "funk."

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

There's a few early EP tracks I'd put on a mix before "Box Elder," but I guess its the hit (Fave is "Forklift").

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

And there's more "funk" on Terror Twilight than any of their records.

― danh (danh), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

Totally Subjective and Ornery Rough-Guide to Pavement:

1. Grounded
2. Trigger Cut
3. Shady Lane
4. Summer Babe
5. Price Yeah!
6. In the Mouth a Desert
7. Angel Carver Blues/Mellow Jazz Docent
8. Fin
9. Unfair
10. Heaven is a Truck
11. Transport is Arranged
12. Zurich is Stained
13. Embassy Row
14. You are a Light
15. Best Friend's Arm
16. Box Elder
17. Here

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, "Box Elder" is an undeniable hit. I've put "Forklift" on some versions of my Pavement's Greatest Hits, but I think that "Shoot The Singer" is more essential/popular. I used to put "Conduit For Sale" on those kinds of cds too, and skip "Give It A Day."

Danh - I kinda agree, I would say that there is more funk in Pavement after the break point that Yancey makes. "Blue Hawaiian" and "Stereo" are somewhat groovey.

Am I crazy and weird for thinking that Rough Guides/greatest hits albums should have all the major singles and live staples? That just seems like common sense to me.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

No, it's not, "am I crazy," it's "am I relentlessly pedantic?"

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

It is nice to see some love for "U R A Light." That's my favorite song on Terror Twilight.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

FUCK IT I SUBMIT TO THE LISTING OF THE SONGS ON THE THREAD ARGGH

1. Texas Never Whispers
2. Cut Your Hair
3. Trigger Cut
4. From Now On
5. Shady Lane
6. Forklift
7. Summer Babe
8. Elevate Me Later
9. Father To A Sister Of A Thought
10. Grounded
11. AT&T
12. Stereo
13. Date W/ Ikea
14. Spit On A Stranger
15. Kennel District
16. Gold Soundz
17. Cream Of Gold
18. Shoot The Singer

(and I have heard the b-sides, I just don't find them as crucial - though they are enjoyable)

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

slap "Loretta's Scars" in between "Spit" and "Kennel"

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

It is nice to see some love for "U R A Light." That's my favorite song on Terror Twilight.

Mine too.

Here's my rough-guide listing broken down by album:

Westing: 3
S&E: 5 (if you count "Summer Babe" here)
CR,CR: 2
WZ: 2
BTC: 4
TT: 1

which pretty much tallies with how I rate them.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:49 (twenty years ago)

Three b-sides of note: "Sue Me Jack", "So Stark (You're A Skyscraper)", and their cover of REM's "Camera".

― Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:54 (twenty years ago)

"we did indeed finninsh the danish record before xmas. its the best yet they say and its going by the title "Hamburger Serenade" right now. it could change."

Finnish The Danish... there's your record title right there.

― Nancy Boy (Nancy Boy), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 21:58 (twenty years ago)

Indeed it is.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 22:00 (twenty years ago)

Oh man, "So Stark" is one of the best Pave songs, hands down.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 22:23 (twenty years ago)

Here's My Rough Guide/Faves (in no order)

Strings Of Nashville
Major Leagues
Motion Suggests
Westie Can Drum
Give It A Day
Fight This Generation
We Dance
Range Life
Newark Wilder
Trigger Cut
Cut Your Hair
Zurich Is Stained
The Hexx
Forklift
You Are A Light
No Tan Lines
Fillmore Jive
Shady Lane
Embassy Row
Infinite Spark
Greenlander
Here
Starlings Of The Slipstream
Father To A Sister Of Thought
Type Slowly

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 22:59 (twenty years ago)

I'm starting to feel a bit guilty for leaving off "Billie" - I always forget about that one. So make it two from TT.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:05 (twenty years ago)

btw my list isn't a faves but what i'd put in order on a cd-r as a rough guide intro

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:05 (twenty years ago)

it's rather unfortunate that people don't talk about Pig Lib as much as Brighten The Corners (a truly horrible, horrible album).

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:06 (twenty years ago)

Mine weren't listed in order of preference though they are roughly my faves.

xpost

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:06 (twenty years ago)

You haven't budged even a little bit about BTC, have you Gygax? I can't remember you ever saying anything remotely nice about that record. What about it bugs you so much? It seems like a strange album to loathe, it seems more like a "love it or ignore it" kind of thing to me.

And besides, "Transport Is Arranged" is on it!

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:23 (twenty years ago)

i down with btc, i've come around hard on pig lib too

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 00:49 (twenty years ago)

I've never fully understood Gygax's hate for BtC either...

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 12 January 2005 00:51 (twenty years ago)

Just received this email from my ex-roommate:

"Hey, Stephen Malkamus (is that right) from Pavement was at the house next door to my sis' place tonight. Seems he is recording a new album there. She met him this weekend. Heard some tracks too. I'm gonna crash it this weekend! :)"

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 04:06 (twenty years ago)

I would buy this for the title

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 04:28 (twenty years ago)

of course, I'm a Brighten the Corners kinda guy

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 04:30 (twenty years ago)

Brighten the Corners is Malkmus at his most lyrically inventive

exactly. which is why "Hamburger Serenade" promises so much.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 04:32 (twenty years ago)

I think I would have to include "Easily Fooled" on my cd.

My favorite of their b-sides, no question, and it might sneak into my top 10 pavement songs.

― Magic City (ano ano), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 05:13 (twenty years ago)

my money sez the next Malkmus album'll have "chicken" in the title and complete the meat trifecta (non-seafood div.)

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 05:37 (twenty years ago)

I'm betting it'll be called "Hamburger Seance."

― Dr. Pibb, Wednesday, 12 January 2005 06:01 (twenty years ago)

that should've been what the Liars called that last album.

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 07:20 (twenty years ago)

Why do discussions of current Malk always wind up in long, drawn-out breakdowns of which Pavement songs/records are the best ones??

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 13:00 (twenty years ago)

Because someone always shows up and says "I don't like anything he's done since ______" or "bring back Gary!"

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 13:07 (twenty years ago)

I'm betting it'll be called "Hamburger Seance."

he once pitched consexual sense as a song/album title, to which joanna responded, "it sounds great...for a beck album."

― blackmail.is.my.life (blackmail.is.my.life), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

eh?

― chëshy f cät (chëshy f cat), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

From Matador:

On May 24, Matador will be releasing the 3rd post-Pavement album from Stephen Malkmus, 'Face The Truth', on the every popular compact disc and phonograph long player configurations. 'Face The Truth', Stephen's first bona fide solo recording, captures our favorite singer-songwriter at the height of his creative powers. We can say with total confidence that some of SM's wittiest moments to date are found on this album, along with many of his most heartfelt. An album of staggering lyrical and musical range, 'Face The Truth' is unlikey to be supported by heavy touring (what with Stephen's pending dad-to-be status), but selected US dates are planned, along with a headlining appearance at Matador's SXSW event (March 18, The Parish, Austin).

the track listing is as follows:

1. Invisible Bodies
2. Baby C'mon
3. Horslip
4. Mmmmm...
5. Loud Cloud Crowd
6. No More Shoes
7. Mama
8. Malediction
9. Pencil Rot
10. It Kills
11. I've Hardly Been

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 22:19 (twenty years ago)

Face the Truth?
That's terrible.

― Magic City (ano ano), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 22:41 (twenty years ago)

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 22:41 (twenty years ago)

Also: please don't give your child a silly name. I have faith in you, Steve.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 22:42 (twenty years ago)

Stephen's first bona fide solo recording

What's up with this?

― Magic City (ano ano), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 22:57 (twenty years ago)

Without the Jicks, I'm assuming.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 22:57 (twenty years ago)

i guess they consider his other recordings a collaboration with The Jicks.

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 22:58 (twenty years ago)

whoops.

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 22:59 (twenty years ago)

"hamburger serenade" >>>>>>>>>> "face the truth."

― Nimrod Kovacs (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 03:03 (twenty years ago)

"pueblo" and "give it a day" baffle me a bit but otherwise that looks pretty enjoyable mix

i've really come to love "pueblo" (esp. after hearing those two alternate versions on the deluxe CRCR). i'd never given the song much thought before, but it's got everything: yummy dronerock guitar, hooky hooks, a bunch of different sections, malkmus singing with feeling instead of being all blahhhhzay.

― Nimrod Kovacs (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 03:14 (twenty years ago)

yeah i luv "pueblo" alot, but weirdly confuse it in my head with "ode to begin" all the time

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 03:25 (twenty years ago)

ode to begin

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 03:30 (twenty years ago)

Also: please don't give your child a silly name. I have faith in you, Steve.

Will we, as a people, accept annything less than Stephen Malkmus Jr.?

― Jimmy Mod always makes friends with women before bedding them down (ModJ), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 03:38 (twenty years ago)

...or Stephen Malkmus II, as he will come to prefer to be called.

― Jimmy Mod always makes friends with women before bedding them down (ModJ), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 03:38 (twenty years ago)

Wow, I had no idea that he was going to be a dad. That's cool.

I like the title Face The Truth, but that's maybe cos it's been floating around for a long time - it was a tentative title for the song "It Kills." I'm pretty thrilled that "It Kills" made the album, by the way. I love that song.

I like the title "Mmmmmm..." but I'm not so sure about "I've Hardly Been" and "Mama." Those are not very SM titles. Very sad that he's not using the title "Kindling For The Master."

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 05:22 (twenty years ago)

One of my favorite mishead Pavement lyrics: "Ode To Bacon."

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 05:23 (twenty years ago)

I kinda hope that SM names his kid something like Jasper or Nigel. He'll probably go with something sensible.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 05:25 (twenty years ago)

Zalkmus

― donut christ (donut), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 05:43 (twenty years ago)

And I'm happy he's finally naming his album something that's not, well, Pavement-y.

― donut christ (donut), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 05:44 (twenty years ago)

And that it's not EMOH.

― donut christ (donut), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 05:45 (twenty years ago)

Zalkmus Malkmus will be president one day.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 07:28 (twenty years ago)

haha

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 08:49 (twenty years ago)

So who's the babymama?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 12:58 (twenty years ago)

more importantly, who cares at this point?

i'm finding myself more and more wishin he'd just fade away for a while and let me miss him.
PSOI seem to be making at least consistent albums(i know, insert 'consistently BAD' aside here), where as steve seems content making each release worse than the one before.
not only are the lyrics getting worse, but his whole approach seems to be less than inspired anymore...
just phone in another one, steve. someone's gonna eat it right up.

― eedd, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 13:19 (twenty years ago)

Awwww, the people who side with Spiral are always so cute, like cynical baby pandas.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 13:25 (twenty years ago)

Face the Truth may not be Pavementy but it is a boring title.
And I don't think Pavement would have ever been comfortable enough to name an album something so silly and 70s sounding as Hamburger Serenade. But according to his website he was never considering that.

And matthew, I have to say I'm glad he is moving away from titles like kindling for the master, which is very pavementy. I can just hear him singing a chorus of "baby c'mon" or "mama" and it sounds so good in my head.

― Magic City (ano ano), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

Actually, I think "Kindling For The Master" is way more Jicks/Pig Lib-y than Pavement-y. It's hand in hand with "Witch Mountain Bridge" and the prog-folk music he's been covering. He never really played with that kind of iconography with Pavement, but he's been all about it since the beginning of the Jicks period.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

I was really hoping that this would be his fake Satanism album.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

Also, I'm not sure if I buy into this strict division of Pavement and Jicks - it's all a single body of work to me, there's an obvious continuity from Brighten The Corners --> Terror Twilight --> Stephen Malkmus --> Pig Lib --> the new songs.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

"face the truth" is quite a straightforward title, especially when stephen malkmus is known for being the high [hip]priest of the obtuse tribe. looks like impending fatherhood is already changing our boy!

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 14:42 (twenty years ago)

I've never understood those Malkmus theories...

He's always seemed to me the antithesis of the pretty boy hipster indie guys who roll their eyes and start looking delicately wasted whenever a camera comes near them. Although it's probably ok for them because they sing straight foward and are ARTISTS and POETS.

Maybe it's just me, and where I am, and I've missed something. But it seems that way to me.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

I'd be willing to bet that when this thing is released, the title will not be "Hamburger Serenade".
-- o. nate (syne_wa...), January 11th, 2005 11:43 AM. (onate)

All right, pay up suckaz!

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 15:09 (twenty years ago)

"Awwww, the people who side with Spiral are always so cute, like cynical baby pandas.
-- Matthew "Flux" Perpetua (mperpetu...), February 2nd, 2005."

hahahaaaaa!!!hahaha....oh....oh, my....stop...'yr killing me'!
GET IT?! pffahahahahaaaaaa!

seriously though, the only reason i side w/ SS is mainly because his output's actually better to me, than the smug, proginess and almost complete lack of feeling that SM puts out these days. how you eat it up so utterly and completely, with seemingly no regard to quality, is beyond me. SS is at least trying. may not be what you want it to be, but, there's at least an effort given.
mathew, yr the last of the breed. everyone else who was at the altar you seem to live at has moved on. but you.

i can ALMOST see yr reasoning behind the "Brighten The Corners --> Terror Twilight --> Stephen Malkmus --> Pig Lib --> the new songs." comment in so much as BtC marks the downward pitch into muscial irrelavancy. TT is handsdown the WORST thing pavement has it's moniker on. ask some fans and you'll find that there is a marked point where pavement ends, and the SM Ego Era begins.

need proof? watch the Coachella video.it's all right there. the reason.

― eedd, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 15:43 (twenty years ago)

I can't say that I quite grasp the greatness of SS's solo material, but I'm afraid Eedd has some good points about the downward spiral (*nudge, nudge*) of SM's output starting from TT. I'd like to say it's not out of control ego, but it does appear that way. There is something vaguely insufferable about SM that makes it hard for me to listen to his solo albums all the way through, even though they contain many good ideas.

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 15:49 (twenty years ago)

BtC marks the downward pitch into muscial irrelavancy

This is completely wrong though.

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

There is something vaguely insufferable about SM that makes it hard for me to listen to his solo albums all the way through, even though they contain many good ideas.

This is OTM. The first solo album was way too cheeky (pirates? c'mon) and the 2nd, frankly I enjoyed the proggier numbers, but it all makes you wonder if the dude is ever going to graduate college and start combing his hair and shit. It's like watching that movie Old School. I can't stop listening to the Crooked Rain reish, though, that is KING, and everything since album-wise has declined in quality. I still muster hope. I really liked Pig Lib for about 3 months.

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 16:01 (twenty years ago)

If you're going to say that you genuinely prefer those Preston School albums, I can't possibly argue with you because there's just no way I'll ever see eye-to-eye with you on this topic. It's got to go into the agree-to-violently-disagree file. Like, I can't believe that an argument about quality is being made to support that last Preston School record. There are NO good songs on that record! The first PSOI album was at least solid and listenable and stayed away from half-assed alt-country.

I think that some of the best songs Malkmus has ever written have been in the post-Pavement period. "Vague Space," "Oyster," "It Kills," "Malediction," "Jo Jo's Jacket," "Church On White," "Water And A Seat," "Witch Mountain Bridge," "Us." I reckon that Terror Twilight is indeed the weakest album Malkmus has ever made, but I still like that one a lot too.

The Coachella thing was more about the band being at the point where the break-up was an inevitable thing that HAD to happen, not so much a comment on the quality of Terror Twilight.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 16:28 (twenty years ago)

Pardon my ingnorance, but what happened at Coachella?

― Mike Dixn (Mike Dixon), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 17:20 (twenty years ago)

while I see Kindling for the Master as being proggy and fitting in with some of the stuff from pig lib, it also has this kind of faux grandeur that later era pavement started to rely on too heavily, imo. It reminds me of trasport is arranged, and i really don't like much on brighten the corners. I think it is a sign of great maturity (like graduating and combing one's hair) to write silly songs and not take oneself too seriously. I think the Hook is one of the best songs on SM. Overall it just feels like he is becoming more comfortable with himself and having fun and that is infectious for me.

― Magic City (ano ano), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 18:35 (twenty years ago)

Pardon my ingnorance, but what happened at Coachella?
-- Mike Dixn (sbsweat...), February 2nd, 2005.

pavement died. terribly.

i'm not even sayin SS's output has been 'great' or 'tremendous', but, i can take definitely stomach his attitude and music quite a bit more than SM's. 'church on white' is the best post-pavement thing he's done,hands down! and it sounds almost exactly like pavement! except with bells.

and the production's better.

maybe it's me. i see BtC as when pavement started to seem a bit 'off'. like they were really trying to look like they were not try sorta thing. it's also where SM's smuggery seemed to jolt to a new level. less fun, overall.
by the TT tour, they seemed like they were merely tolerating eachother (SM+SS) and that steve was definitely looking for more limelight presence. maybe he thought he 'deserved' it...maybe he did.
regardless, i find it hard to listen to either one, SS or SM, without going back to pavement and thinking 'damn, when/where/how did these guys stop having fun and enjoying being around each other?'

but, on the otherhand, gimme alt.country crap over proggy crap, just about anyday. except friday.
then, it sorta works...
sorta.

― eedd, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 18:57 (twenty years ago)

try=trying

― eedd, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 18:58 (twenty years ago)

like they were really trying to look like they were not trying sorta thing

I see it basically the opposite way - ie., BTC was when they became less afraid of showing that they were trying. Or maybe they had just matured as musicians to the point where they were more comfortable with their abilities.

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 19:00 (twenty years ago)

x-post

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 19:04 (twenty years ago)

How many Maritime shows were there? I was at one and it was pretty moody.

― Site Admistrator (deangulberry), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 19:14 (twenty years ago)

I don't remember, might've been two...? The night I was there I think they ended with "Unfair"... I remember that one specifically because the wooden floor was shaking so hard.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 19:17 (twenty years ago)

xpost

Actually I'm not sure "trying vs not trying" is the right lens to use to trace the band's trajectory anyway. It was pretty obvious from their earliest EPs that they were trying. But I think the idea that they stopped trying on BTC does not align with the facts on the ground - which are that BTC was their most polished and seamless album to date - without any of the ostentatiously ragged fuck-you type throw-away numbers that had always cropped up on previous albums.

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 19:20 (twenty years ago)

With the obligatory apology for extending a Pavement discussion:

Pavement / Malkmus sound best when the parts are indistinct. The fuzzier stuff comes off as organic and immediate. Once the tracks are separated out, the vocals come up in the mix, etc., there's a sense of contrivance that may very well have lurked in Malkmus all along, but is suddenly wince-inducing. I'm not always in favor of lo-fi, either.

My favorite post-Pavement song was the live, solo version of "Discretion Grove" that was floating around napster in 2000.

― Derek Krissoff (Derek), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

I never ever get the impression that Pavement weren't trying at any point in their career, except for some halfassed live shows throughout their career, which is a different thing that isn't directly related to the songwriting and the album performances. BTC is the band at their tightest - on record, and on the tour for that album. I appreciate the confidence, and if anything, that confidence has only grown up through the newest SM material.

I wish that I still had a recording of the Coachella show, though it is quite awful. Bob Nastanovich sounds really pissed off at Stephen, and there's a really awkward moment when SM announces that the next song is going to be "Stop Breathin'" and Spiral starts in on the beginning of "Kennel District" and you hear SM say something like "oh shit." It's a really good version of "Kennel District," if I recall.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 21:48 (twenty years ago)

I think if anything the S+E and CRCR reish program is testament to just how hard they were trying. Very calculated and well thought out stuff with the songs. The joy of them is how easy Malkmus made it all sound.

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:00 (twenty years ago)

ahh Coachella. That performance is terrible. Tellingly, the band's show the night before in San Francisco at the Maritime (their last show in the Bay Area) was amazing, the band was super high energy, obviously enjoying themselves and getting quite wasted. Malkmus made some jokes about how they weren't looking forward to playing with Rage Against the Toaster the next day - in light of this, and SM's defense at Coachella that he'd "smoked too much pot the night before" - their totally pissy showing at Coachella makes perfect sense. I think it's kinda funny, actually.
x-post
-- Shakey Mo Collier (audiobo...), February 2nd, 2005 11:04 AM.
How many Maritime shows were there? I was at one and it was pretty moody.
-- Site Admistrator (power.strik...), February 2nd, 2005 11:14 AM. (deangulberry)
I don't remember, might've been two...? The night I was there I think they ended with "Unfair"... I remember that one specifically because the wooden floor was shaking so hard.

-- Shakey Mo Collier (audiobo...), February 2nd, 2005 11:17 AM.

there were 3 maritime hall shows (thursday-friday-saturday)... shakey mo i saw your bandmate at one of them.

after the show, SM and friends went to bruno's in the mission afterhours and stayed until 6am partying, the day of the coachella festival.

PAVEMENT DIED AT COACHELLA!

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

I loved the first Malkmus solo album and thought Pig Lib was extremely disappointing. So I don't know how to take this news.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

I think if anything the S+E and CRCR reish program is testament to just how hard they were trying.

Hell, they even sing about it.. "I'M TRYIN'.. I'm TRYIN'.. I'm TRYIN'... etc"

ok, seriously though, the whole "trying" thing is a big red herring argument topic for any Pavement discussion involving studio stuff, specifically. There's no obligation to "try" nor "work so hard til your nipples bleed" when it comes to making records. Bands do what works... whether it's one take, or a googol overdubs. (That said, I'm less enchanted with the CRCR reissue than the S+E one... CRCR disc 2 is just.. there to me)

but anyway, back to TRACING THE FUTH!

― donut christ (donut), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:06 (twenty years ago)

TAKE IT TO THE KENNA BOARD d00dz!!!!!!!11

― Will(iam), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:16 (twenty years ago)

In all fairness to the CRCR reissue, most of the music on that second disc is demo/process stuff, and there's almost none of that sort of thing on the S+E reissue. I think that just about everything on the S+E reissue is essential - Watery Domestic and the b-sides/comp tracks from those sessions, the Peel Sessions, that amazing Brixton Academy show. It's all killer, no filler, whereas the CRCR thing is more about gaining insight into how Malkmus was working at the time and mostly of interest to the hardcore fans and music critics.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:16 (twenty years ago)

S+E Luxe & Redux disc two : Past Masters :: CRCR LA's Desert Origins : Beatles Anthology

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:18 (twenty years ago)

I cannot wait to TRACE TEH FUTH!!

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:23 (twenty years ago)

I wish the album name was To Tell The Truth

http://www.dougheir.com/PhotoGallery1/images/to%20tell%20the%20truth.jpg

― donut christ (donut), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

In fact, there's Malkmus right there in the wheelchair. WE HAVE ALBUM COVER!

― donut christ (donut), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

I knew gygax!'s memory would be better than mine - I think that was the first time we met...?

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:36 (twenty years ago)

YOU AND GYGAX KILLED PAVEMENT! *runs after you a la Courtney Love to spank you with a knife*

― donut christ (donut), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:39 (twenty years ago)

SMC:

wasn't that at the Tip Top Inn in (I believe?) 1998-9...?

btw: come by the BOTH tonight for a special surprise.

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:39 (twenty years ago)

alas, no can do - tonight's our last rehearsal before we go into the studio to start on our new record.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 22:54 (twenty years ago)

I hate these anticipation threads, now I just want to hear this record NOW

― Magic City (ano ano), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 23:39 (twenty years ago)

An early live version of "It Kills" is on the recent Matador 15th Anniversay compilation. That's good for a taste if you haven't already.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 23:48 (twenty years ago)

There were only two Maritime shows, the friday and the saturday (they ended the saturday set with Unfair, but came back for an encore and ended with the Hexx). You must be thinking of the Fillmore run in july, which was friday-saturday-sunday

The Coachella is a wonderful, cringe-inducing performance you wouldn't wish on anyone. I have it on DVD, it's even more fun with the visual.

― D.J. Anderson, Thursday, 3 February 2005 00:52 (twenty years ago)

when I first heard the Coachella performance my reaction was just to laugh. Cuz clearly they didn't have any interest in being there and were just playing the worst imaginable set possible. In a way its a very punk, "electric Dylan" sorta move (except that, y'know, the music suxxx)

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 3 February 2005 00:57 (twenty years ago)

oh someone questions gygax re: pavement

*cower*

― Site Admistrator (deangulberry), Thursday, 3 February 2005 01:19 (twenty years ago)

those Fillmore shows sucked. at least the one I went to did. If US Maple hadn't been such an entertaining opening act the night would've been a total bust.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 3 February 2005 01:21 (twenty years ago)

ROFL-HAHA @ deangulb!

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 3 February 2005 01:56 (twenty years ago)

Rolling Stone article:

Malkmus Brings "Truth"

Former Pavement frontman's third album due in May

Stephen Malkmus will release Face the Truth, his third album since splitting with Pavement, on May 24th. The album was recorded in Malkmus' Portland, Oregon, basement and mixed in a studio by Phil Ek (Built to Spill, the Shins).
Face the Truth finds the singer going at it solo . . . sort of. "I'm not really sure how to title it yet," he confesses when asked if this is a Stephen Malkmus album (like his self-titled 2001 debut) or a Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks album (like 2003's Pig Lib). "I wanted to go back to more of a bossy style: in my house and at my leisure. That being said, the drummer, John Moen, played on almost everything, and four of the songs are band efforts, so I don't really care if it says the Jicks. I want to be a team player."

Despite Face the Truth's semi-solo status, Malkmus promises a full-band sound. "The whole album's not very fussy, and some of the ends are loose," he says. "My voice is submerged into the music a bit, and it sounds more like an instrument."

And like Pig Lib, there are a few jam-based tunes, including the eight-minute epic "No More Shoes," complete with a sitar and flinty rock chords. Malkmus describes the track as "more rocking than a late-period Sonic Youth song."

The frontrunner for the first single is "Baby C'mon." "It's kind of dumb to have a title like that, but it doesn't sound like a football chant," Malkmus promises.

Unlike much of the past year's album titles, Face the Truth is not political, but quite accidental. "When we were on tour, I just had working titles for all the songs, and I wrote 'Face the Truth' for every one," Malkmus explains. "We thought that was really funny, and we were like, 'We gotta face the truth. We gotta play these songs.'"

As for the rumored title that popped up in Internet reports, Malkmus says it was just that. "It was never going to be Hamburger Serenade," he says with a laugh. "If we were going from pig to hamburger, with ground-up animals, we would probably get into some PETA [problems]."

"In the end it's happier," Malkmus says, summing up his new record, "and people are going to like it more . . . I can already tell."

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 14:05 (twenty years ago)

the eight-minute epic "No More Shoes,"

tee hee. a sequel to "no more kings," ya think?

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

i think he's setting himself up for critics to say "FACE THE TRUTH MALKMUS SUCKS DO YOU SEE"

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

The solo live version that I have of "No More Shoes" is kind of a somber folky number that reminds me a bit of "Witch Mountain Bridge," "1% of One" and "Stop Breathin'"

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

This sounds exactly like what I want to hear - I really got into the spaced-out proggier moments on Pig Lib, it's a real smoking album.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:54 (twenty years ago)

http://www.matadorrecords.com/images/stephen_malkmus/stephen_malkmus_11.jpg

― Broken Hipster (Broken Hipster), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 10:41 (twenty years ago)

I would so kiss him.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

i'm convinced he and kyle maclachlan are becoming the same person:

http://dolshouse.com/queensmen/image/kyleMacLachlan_Vespa_321778_400.jpg

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

Isn't that pic of Malky a couple of years old (looking smug as usual)?

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 17:49 (twenty years ago)

Smug, or staring at a ceiling fan?

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 18:14 (twenty years ago)

Is "and" an option?

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

It's an ironic ceiling fan.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 18:28 (twenty years ago)

"Ceiling" fan

― Broken Hipster (Broken Hipster), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)

P-Fork had the titles all wrong. This is the list of songs (not sure if they are in order) according to the official Malkmus site:

pencil rot
it kills
murder at the yoga olympics
freeze the saints
loud cloud crowd
no more shoes
mama
kindling 4 the master
post paint boy
baby c'mon
malediction

Much better titles in this version. And "Kindling For The Master" remains!

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 February 2005 03:56 (twenty years ago)

Brighten the Corners.

― dog latin (dog latin), Monday, 21 February 2005 14:54 (twenty years ago)

From the songs that I've heard (about half of them at this point), it kinda IS like BTC II.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 21 February 2005 15:11 (twenty years ago)

Do you really want to hurt me?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 21 February 2005 15:37 (twenty years ago)

If I end up liking this album, I'll eat Raymond's shoe.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 21 February 2005 15:50 (twenty years ago)

Dude, I wear size 15s!

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 21 February 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

NO MORE SIZE 15s

― talkymalky, Monday, 21 February 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

From the songs that I've heard (about half of them at this point), it kinda IS like BTC II.

Ah that'll be great.

― Ludo (Ludo), Monday, 21 February 2005 20:47 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...

The first single is up on iTunes: "Post-Paint Boy." Anybody heard it yet? The 30 seconds sound promising... I'm going to go buy some Pepsis until I get a free iTune.

― Bent Over at the Arclight (Bent Over at the Arclight), Thursday, 17 March 2005 00:31 (twenty years ago)

who the hell is steven malkmus and the maroons?

― mitch dub (ano ano), Thursday, 17 March 2005 00:42 (twenty years ago)

???

― Jimmy Mod Has Returned With Spices And Silks (ModJ), Thursday, 17 March 2005 00:59 (twenty years ago)

Sounds very nice and easygoing. "Post-Paint Boy" = "Makers Of Modern" for those familiar with the live version.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:08 (twenty years ago)

mike clark of the jicks (gtr/synth) is also in the maroons.

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:08 (twenty years ago)

I kinda wish that they had picked "Malediction" for this instead. I'm very excited to hear how that one turned out in the studio. I can't imagine this song getting people all that psyched for the new album. It's a good album track, but not much of a single compared to other songs that will be on the record.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:11 (twenty years ago)

actually i think the other guy (john?) is too... i've never heard their music, mike kept a pretty good tour diary on the maroons site though if that's your sort of thing..?

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:11 (twenty years ago)

beebs you are so creepy about song orders and setlists and single choices!!! why do you care, just enjoy the record (sorry, mp3s).

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:12 (twenty years ago)

Well, I'd like for the record to do well! Having a good single helps a lot, especially for an artist like Malkmus who has to deal with an audience that's a little blase about his new material. I can't blame anyone for not being wowed by this song, though it is pretty good.

The setlist thing is a whole other thing. I'm just really interested in how different bands put on a show. I definitely think some people are better at it than others - it often gives you some insight in how an artist thinks of their own work, and what their perceived stengths and weaknesses are. Sometimes they are right on, and sometimes I think they are totally oblivious to what their best work is.

Yeah, John Moen plays with the Maroons too. He's been in a lot of bands.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:19 (twenty years ago)

http://heat.iwarp.com/Sounds/greatass.wav

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:23 (twenty years ago)

their name brings up bad associations with maroon 5 and barenaked ladies album titles.

― sexy waitress connie stevens (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:25 (twenty years ago)

In fairness, the Maroons have been around a little while longer than Maroon 5 has been famous. I wouldn't be surprised if they've encountered some amusing confusion as a result of that band's success.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:29 (twenty years ago)

but why are they steven (sic) malkmus and the maroons on (in?) the itunes store?

― mitch dub (ano ano), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:31 (twenty years ago)

I have no idea. The record isn't credited to him, so it might just be working as a sort of "file under" thing, to direct Jicks fans to a record including members of the Jicks.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:34 (twenty years ago)

why does gygax call perpetua "beebs" upthread?

― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 17 March 2005 01:59 (twenty years ago)

http://members.fortunecity.com/filmcity/heat/greatass.wav

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 17 March 2005 02:10 (twenty years ago)

that doesn't answer my question.

― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 17 March 2005 02:14 (twenty years ago)

Listen to the words he's NOT saying.

― Jimmy Mod Has Returned With Spices And Silks (ModJ), Thursday, 17 March 2005 02:19 (twenty years ago)

Beebs = nickname for "the bbc" which was my handle on a message board Gygax and I were on about six or seven years ago.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 17 March 2005 02:42 (twenty years ago)

That doesn't sound like Malkmus singing on that "Maroons" track at all.

I just made the connection that the painter that Malkmus is singing about is the same guy whose art was heavily featured in "Closer."

― Bent Over at the Arclight (Bent Over at the Arclight), Thursday, 17 March 2005 08:04 (twenty years ago)

Arrrrrgh. Need to hear this song.

If it was in a shop, I'd buy it. Damn you, itunes!

Or rather, damn you, maxed out debit card!

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 15:12 (twenty years ago)

Swangy, relax, I got you covered.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 17 March 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

*breathes*

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Thursday, 17 March 2005 16:22 (twenty years ago)

Malkmus is playing NYC soon, unfortunately at Irving Plaza.

― S!monB!rch (Carey), Thursday, 17 March 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

That's a shame - that place has terrible sound. It's been a while since I've seen Malkmus though. Last time I saw him was at Bowery Ballroom, which demolishes Irving Plaza soundwise.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 17 March 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

The tickets for the Irving Plaza are on sale now.

I'm not crazy about that venue, but it's very convenient for me in terms of location and curfew time, so I can't complain.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 17 March 2005 21:39 (twenty years ago)

Too bad the show's on June 7 - I think I'm going to be out of town then. Otherwise I'd probably go.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 17 March 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

i really wish he had kept this title. it always made me think of this little guy.
http://www.sptimesphotos.com/blogs/popmusic/uploaded_images/better_off_dead-762094.jpg

― mizzell, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 16:46 (seventeen years ago)

I prefer Savage Steve Holland to Savage Steve Malkmus and the Maroons

― Savannah Smiles, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 17:22 (seventeen years ago)

Title made me think this was an April Fools thread.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 1 April 2008 19:29 (seventeen years ago)

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