Stephen Malkmus - 'Face the Truth' (2005) (83 new answers)

This leaked. Should be all over Soulseek soon.

I like it. More raw than his last two albums, and some of the songs even sound like Pavement (the single, "Post-Paint Boy" in particular). But overall, it's his most 'out-there' album with lots of electronics. I guess it was made mostly solo, though a Jick does drums on most/all of the tracks, and I think other Jicks help out. The album definitely sounds like a band though.

Early standouts are "Pencil Rot," "Loud Cloud Crowd" (really love this one), "No More Shoes" (8 minute jammy track with sitar, but it actually goes places), and "Kindling for the Master."

Should please fans of his last two albums. Not sure it will impress non-fans though.

-- Patrick South (psouth@uiuc.edu) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 10:42 AM. (Patrick South) (link)

How can Malkmus not sound like Pavement? The dude was Pavement. The solo stuff isn't that radical of a departure.

Anyway, this is my plea for someone, anyone to hook me up with this.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 10:48 AM. (inca) (link)

And of course this is when the slsk server goes down. Motherfucker.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 10:49 AM. (inca) (link)

"The dude was Pavement."

really?
i wonder if scott, mark, westie, and bob (sometimes gary) know this...

granted he wrote 70-80% of the gtr parts, but this doesn't exactly make him a 'band' now does it?

didn't think so either.

-- edde (ed@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 11:11 AM. (link)

they know it now

-- j blount (jamesblount@gmail.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 11:12 AM. (papa la bas) (link)

Yeah, didn't you know ed? All those guys were hired hands who served no other purpose than to do what Malkmus said! Hail da Malk!

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 11:13 AM. (johnny fever) (link)

Truthfully, the thing I liked most about Pavement was that it seemed like it was a bunch of friends who'd stumbled into a studio drunk and had a blast recording some songs they'd written in ten minutes. Once Terror Twilight came around, and it was obvious Malkmus was asserting more than his fair share of creative control, Pavement became incredibly boring and broke up none too soon. As far as I'm concerned, his solo work is just as unfun as TT if not even more.

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 11:16 AM. (johnny fever) (link)

That first track ("Pencil Rot") is wicked, not too sure about the rest yet.

-- Simon H. (samslick@lycos.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 11:52 AM. (Simon H.) (link)

Baby C'mon rocks. I'm really diggin' this so far. Some of the keyboards and heavily processed vocals are bit of a shock at first.

-- LL (ll@aol.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 12:40 PM. (link)

granted he wrote 70-80% of the gtr parts

And 96% of the songs! Believe you me, I am not trying to downplay the contributions of the four/five other Pavemen, but it's totally naive to believe that Malkmus was not the auteur of that band. I think that Pavement had a group dynamic that is somewhat lacking in The Jicks, but in terms of songs, there's a continuity in Malkmus' work starting from Slay Tracks up through Face The Truth. It's one body of work.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 1:15 PM. (inca) (link)

r!chardg!n@ G/Y\4IL.cc0/Y\

-- Jimmy Mod Has Returned With Spices And Silks (ModJ@nomail.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 1:30 PM. (ModJ) (link)

d00dmang,
not to say SM doesn't have talent, but to put all the credit/blame squarely upon him seems a bit skewed. even nutty, in fact. SS had way more to do with things than you think. to not give the man some of the credit is just silly.

as far as 'group dynamic', the jicks totally lack in that dept.
pavement, at least thru till '97, had MAD stage presence! everyone did their part and it came thru very well, there was even ENERGY to the performance! the jicks seem more like the hired guns than pavement. even though at the end, pavement were almost boring to look at. now, THAT i'll credit to SM. he sure managed to sap the life outta the band by being endlessly blasse about it.

TT stands out to be the worst because of his dominance, it doesn't even sound like the band of friends anymore. might as well have been the first SM solo cause it's about as bland.

i'll await for this new one before writing it off. hell, i never even bothered to buy pig lib, gotta copy and have listened to it all of 5 times before giving it to someone else. the only song that had somewhat redeeming qualities was 'do not feed the oysters', otherwise, it was worse than the first by a landslide.

meh.

-- edde (ed@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 1:41 PM. (link)

his solo albums are great, you're bizarre. can't wait to hear this. thanks for the preview, nick.

-- leroy (martha@jacki.net) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 1:56 PM. (link)

This is exciting me a lot.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Suedey (mincingspoon@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 1:58 PM. (John Cei Douglas) (link)

gah, pavement purists are so boring!!!

-- sexy waitress connie stevens (theundergroundhome@gmail.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 2:58 PM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (link)

I'm not a Pavement purist, for the record. I'm a Malkmus hater.

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 3:10 PM. (johnny fever) (link)

enjoy your preston school of industry records then!

-- sexy waitress connie stevens (theundergroundhome@gmail.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 3:17 PM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (link)

Nah, those suck too.

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 3:20 PM. (johnny fever) (link)

In the case of Pavement, I could easily overlook my contempt for Malk's smug sense of self-importance because the records were good. Starting with Terror Twilight, I couldn't do that anymore.

I will say that on first listen to the new album, though, I'm liking it much more than I would have imagined.

(yousendit link coming up soon for those who're having trouble finding it.)

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 3:22 PM. (johnny fever) (link)

pavement purist?? izat a joke or what?

pavement were kind of a composite of other bands smooshed together that worked. mostly. there are times when it didn't, but, hey.

SM solo, on the otherhand, is like a rudderless boat. it goes, but not where you'd like it to.
PSOI at least lend themselves (himself?) to tryin to do something worthwhile. not always succeeding, but gotta say, SS's output's been more consistent than SM. might not be yr cup o' tea, but more engaging than say stuff like '1% of 1'. does he even do 'alien boy' anymore? man, THAT ruled. everybody love a Wipers cover!

i don't get the 'SM ist gawd'-ists. seems the lyrics are less than inspired, for the most part, gtr parts are just wanky, and the overall feel i get from him is that he could care less. methinks his time of musical worth may be over...hence-
'FACE THE TRUTH'

maybe he knows it........
lol.

-- eedd (ed@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 19th, 2005 3:32 PM. (link)

LOL ROFFLE WTF

-- Suedey (mincingspoon@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 4:25 PM. (John Cei Douglas) (link)

Or, as my friend puts it, "Is this Pavement?"
"No, this is Stephen Malkmus solo"
"It sounds like Pavement. Didn't you say lots of people who liked Pavement don't like this stuff?"
"Yeah"
"How does that work?"
"Eh, I dunno."

-- Suedey (mincingspoon@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 4:28 PM. (John Cei Douglas) (link)

http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=33VR4K6NK7JD51JTODK74O9875

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 5:30 PM. (johnny fever) (link)

Nice Johnny

-- Jimmy Mod Has Returned With Spices And Silks (ModJ@nomail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 5:44 PM. (ModJ) (link)

"it goes, but not where you'd like it to"

dude, no offense, but do you have any idea what you're talking about? have you listened to either of his solo albums more than once?

-- leroy (martha@jacki.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 8:00 PM. (link)

This record is really fun so far. Thanks Johnny!

-- mitch dub (w!mbish@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 8:02 PM. (ano ano) (link)

Gracias, Johnny.

-- Bent Over at the Arclight (fiestasandsiestas(nospam)@yahoo.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 9:07 PM. (Bent Over at the Arclight) (link)

gracias amigo!

-- firstworldman (3d@jginvesting.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 9:46 PM. (firstworldman) (link)

i don't get the 'SM ist gawd'-ists. seems the lyrics are less than inspired, for the most part, gtr parts are just wanky, and the overall feel i get from him is that he could care less. methinks his time of musical worth may be over...hence-
'FACE THE TRUTH'

Nevermind listening to SM Solo, ever listen to PAVEMENT?

-- Jimmy Mod Has Returned With Spices And Silks (ModJ@nomail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 10:04 PM. (ModJ) (link)

anyone else having a problem d/l'ing this? it stops in the middle of the download for me.

-- firstworldman (3d@jginvesting.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 10:11 PM. (firstworldman) (link)

It worked fine for me.

-- o. nate (syne_wave@yahoo.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 12:26 AM. (onate) (link)

Spiral Stairs is a pretty cool guy who has written a lot of songs that I enjoy and was a crucial member of my favorite band of all time, but I can't for the life of me understand the brains of the tiny handful of people who side with him and against Malkmus post-Pavement. I can't help but read some reallllllly unflattering things into that mentality. It's one thing to have some love for underdogs, but the outright disdain for confidence in the indie rock world seems more pathological than aesthetic.

It seems to me that a lot of indie orthodox types lack confidence and self esteem and want to listen to music by artists who reflect this, because like a lot of people, they want to see a bit of themselves in the art they enjoy. Whenever these artists show confidence in their art and craft and/or emotional maturity, this part of the audience will invariably turn on them because they will interpret this growth as "smugness" and it will make them feel insecure. Indie orthodox types celebrate mediocrity because it will never hurt their feewings.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 12:45 AM. (inca) (link)

My early verdict on Face The Truth is that it is very good, but maybe not as much as the last two Malkmus records. I like it more than Terror Twilight, but not nearly as much as any of the Pavement records before that. I'm very impressed by "Kindling For The Master" and "Pencil Rot" - they touch on some newish territory for him (actually, they both kinda sound like the Fiery Furnaces), and feature some nice sounds and twists. "Freeze The Saints" is my least favorite - it's nice, but it screams "this is a song from my solo album" in way other post-Pavement Malkmus songs have not. Most of the songs aren't very new to me, so I'm just adjusting to the revised studio versions. "Malediction" is clearly my favorite on this record, even though I think I might prefer the live acoustic version that I have from the Buenos Aires show from last year.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 12:52 AM. (inca) (link)

relax. some people prefer tanya donnelly, too. it's OK.

-- fortunate hazel (fhazel@houston.rr.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:06 AM. (f. hazel) (link)

I could live with someone preferring PSOI to Malkmus solo back when they both had only one album released. PSOI's first album was really good, I thought. But PSOI's second album was totally watered down and devoid of any interesting musical ideas. Pretty straightforward. And Malkmus' second album kept the high quality of the first. So I don't understand people who have stuck with Spiral instead of Malkmus. Judging the two solely on the music, it makes no sense, and I agree there's probably other factors that are playing into it.

-- Patrick South (psouth@uiuc.edu) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 7:00 AM. (Patrick South) (link)

OTM Matthew. I never once got a sense of smugness from Malkmus. I think mainstream critics around the time of "Brighten the Corners" were 10 times more smug, along the lines of, "Who does this intelligent rock guy think he is, quoting John Ashbery for the New Yorker"? He played it up for sure but it didn't make him a terrible human being or make his art smug (at least not until Terror Twilight, which I liked and still like a lot).

-- Alfred Soto (sotoalf@aol.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 7:02 AM. (Alfred Soto) (link)

I kind of feel like this is the most exciting and varied of his solo records, but I don't know if I like it best yet.

I'm excited because he's doing some things that seem really new for him, inna Fiery Furnaces stylee. I am also in love with all the titles and some of the snippets of words and phrases here. It all fits together amazingly well. I can't wait to see how it's all packaged. It just feels like it all makes sense, like it's really coherent.

-- Suedey (mincingspoon@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 8:12 AM. (John Cei Douglas) (link)

After 3 or 4 listens, I think this is my favorite SM record. There are no flat out bad songs like "Sheets" or "Black Book" and all the bells and whistles of effects and synths are fun.
But there are more of those pavement-style songs that I feel like he can write in his sleep. Pig Lib only had "Ramp of Death" but here there is "It Kills" "Freeze the Saints" and "Post-
Paint Boy". I actually like these songs, but I like it more when he stretches a little more.

"Mama's in the kitchen with onions" is my favorite line.

-- mitch dub (w!mbish@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 8:54 AM. (ano ano) (link)

Patrick OTM w/r/t PSOI, that's how I felt, too.

I still haven't heard Face The Truth, but this thread is fueling my anticipation.

-- Raymond Cummings (gracefulasp@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 9:35 AM. (Raymond Cummings) (link)

Is it more long, windy melodies like Water and a Seat? Or more short, concise tunes? I really hope it's the latter.

-- kornrulez6969 (TCBeing@aol.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 9:37 AM. (TCBeing) (link)

long windy melodies please! (also "sheets" and "black book" are awesome; you people are mental)

-- sexy waitress connie stevens (theundergroundhome@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 9:39 AM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (link)

I really feel like the lyrics in Malediction emphasise Matthew's point about SM/indie in general.

They're great lyrics.

-- Suedey (mincingspoon@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 9:53 AM. (John Cei Douglas) (link)

I'm a bit baffled by the thought that "It Kills" is one of the more simple post-Pave style songs. No, I am boggled. That's totally a continuation from "Water and a Seat" and the Oyster one, to my ears!

BOGGLED.

-- Suedey (mincingspoon@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 9:57 AM. (John Cei Douglas) (link)

listening to it kills again, and you're right. It's a good one, too.

-- mitch dub (w!mbish@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 10:01 AM. (ano ano) (link)

The boggling was successful! This album feels incredibly creative, to me. A good positive bit of inspirin'!

-- Suedey (mincingspoon@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 10:07 AM. (John Cei Douglas) (link)

However, on "Loud Cloud Crowd", I keep thinking 1. That he says the word "insania", and is secretly a fan of Peter Andre, and 2. That the drums are just like those from "Atmosphere".

-- Suedey (mincingspoon@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 10:10 AM. (John Cei Douglas) (link)

Apparently I haven't been listening very closely becaue I haven't noticed a sitar on No More Shoes.

-- mitch dub (w!mbish@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 10:11 AM. (ano ano) (link)

one more OTM for Patrick and the first PSOI v SM.

Baby C'mon fuckiing rulexz. here's hoping the rest grows on me. (this wasn't an issue w/ SM and PL)

-- Will(iam) (rozelle@hillbillies) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 10:22 AM. (link)

"It Kills" is definitely like "Oyster" part II, which is part of why I love that song. He's changed the arrangement a bit to mask this, but make no mistake that it's a holdover from Pig Lib and totally sounds like it. They played it all the time on the Pig Lib tour. Ditto "Mama."

Going back to the smugness, I really can't understand why a lot of people say that about the solo stuff when a) the solo stuff is mostly fairly humble stuff about relationship and getting older or fun little story songs and b) the apex of his smugness was on Crooked Rain, and that's the one no one ever complains about. He's never been more smug than on "Range Life" and "Fillmore Jive" and "Cut Your Hair"!

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:19 PM. (inca) (link)

i'm thinking some of the smugness charges might be directed at the cover of the first solo!

-- j blount (jamesblount@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:22 PM. (papa la bas) (link)

I wonder if I would think that "No More Shoes" was like his version of Murray Street if he hadn't pointed it out himself in some recent interview. If you liked "Witch Mountain Bridge" and "1% Of One," you'll dig that song a lot, I'm sure.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:25 PM. (inca) (link)

Is that cover really that smug? It's just a picture of him on a beach. Are people really THAT insecure and humorless?

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:25 PM. (inca) (link)

Yeah, I think he sounds more 'satisfied' than smug, and I don't mind at all (Pig Lib was super). Face The Truth makes me wish this was a humorless These Things I Believe-type album. 'Libertarian Reggae.'

-- miccio (anthonyisright@GEEmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:27 PM. (miccio) (link)

c'mon matt i laffed my ass off the first time i saw the fullpage pinup ad in spin for it as did everyone else i knew, i think i saw parodies of it on bandflyers within the week. it was very j.lo and combined with how paul mccartney he came off during the breakup alot of people didn't need excuses to laff at the guy's ego, that cover was a fungo. i like malkmus solo, more and more to be honest (we get a lil bit older, we get a lil bit slower), but part of me was hoping that somehow spiral stairs would, initially at least, better him. despite claims to the contrary that didn't (and i'll go way out on a limb here and say won't) happen.

-- j blount (jamesblount@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:36 PM. (papa la bas) (link)

yeah the solo malks definitely seem satisfied, relaxed, FREE, whatever, i can't say i really hear much smugness at all ESP when compared to pavement (where i loved it even if it was hardly as prevelant as some claim) - i was relieved as hell when i first heard the first solo cuz it seemed soooo much more loose than terror twilight. there isn't a solo malk yet i like anywhere near as much as the first four pavement lps but i like them all more than tt.

-- j blount (jamesblount@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:42 PM. (papa la bas) (link)

The cover of the self-titled album just looks like a joke to me. The label pressured him into making it a self-titled album and not crediting to The Jicks, so he ran with it and made the most ridiculous "solo album" cover that he could. It's definitely funny, but I think some people are reading it all the wrong way.

I never had any expectations for Spiral outside of Pavement. I think he writes good songs, but he's not even close to being in the same league as Malkmus as a songwriter or musician. The first Preston School record is a nice indie rock record. The second one is horrible. He's no Kim Deal, okay? He's not going to have that narrative of outdoing the star of his old band.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:50 PM. (inca) (link)

my thought was it would be more a george harrison thing where he'd have tons of songs as good as 'kennel district' (or other ss songs i love but others hate hence i won't mention cuz it'll just prompt 'ugh that one suxx')(eg. 'hit the plane down', a killer rendition of which edged my killer rendition of 'half a canyon' to win the pavement poseur contest at indie rock karaoke awhile back :( ), and shoot his wad on the first solo. instead it turned into total 'see? here's why he only gets one song an album'.

-- j blount (jamesblount@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 1:55 PM. (papa la bas) (link)

I think Kanneberg would shine if he had Rick Rubin-style producer to egg him on. Don Gehman doing some Life's Rich Pageant 'what the fuck are these lyrics about' thing.

-- miccio (anthonyisright@GEEmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 2:24 PM. (miccio) (link)

Sometimes I forget why I got sick of a lot of indie stuff, and then an argument about whether a staight forward picture of an artist on the cover of his album is either smug or a joke or both. I mean, wtf?

-- mitch dub (w!mbish@gmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 2:31 PM. (ano ano) (link)

(eg. 'hit the plane down', a killer rendition of which edged my killer rendition of 'half a canyon' to win the pavement poseur contest at indie rock karaoke awhile back :( ),

!!!

-- Jimmy Mod Has Returned With Spices And Silks (ModJ@nomail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 2:37 PM. (ModJ) (link)

My perception of Malkmus as smug doesn't have anything to do with solo album covers or lyrics he's written since 1999 or anything like that. It's all about his stage presence going back into the Pave years, interviews from that time, and the general sense of feeling like I know a few guys who are just like him and they all rub me the wrong way. Honestly, I can't see how anyone would perceive him any other way!

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 2:45 PM. (johnny fever) (link)

I wonder if I would think that "No More Shoes" was like his version of Murray Street if he hadn't pointed it out himself in some recent interview.
I'm thinking that this is reasonably obvious (I just made that comparison a few hours ago, and I hadn't read the interview). It's probably my favorite song from the new album.

-- dlp9001 (dlp9001@aol.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 2:46 PM. (link)

Honestly, I can't see how anyone would perceive him any other way!

I definitely perceive him as smug in real life (interviews, site posts, see blount's point about cover) but I think albumwise a lot of that is projected by the listener

-- miccio (anthonyisright@GEEmail.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 2:51 PM. (miccio) (link)

Ha, I'm sure that all the stuff Johnny Fever is talking about is everything that makes me think "wow, what a cool guy."

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 3:18 PM. (inca) (link)

That's interesting that you make a b/w distinction between the album and it's cover, the persona and the interviews, etc etc etc.

-- Mr. Harvey Weinstein (hw@conspiracy.com) (webmail), March 20th, 2005 3:26 PM. (mr harvey weinstein) (link)

can anyone on soulseek share this by revealing their username? it would be much pappreciated.

-- rvssignonald's (rss@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 5:02 PM. (link)

the innate smugness and detached amusement was part of Pavement's appeal. Same with solo Malk. Spiral is a very nice guy, but was always replaceable. The catalyst of the early band was clearly Young, who, was not only replaceable but whose absence improved the band by getting rid of the Bob Stinson element. Or, made it worse, depending on how snobbily old school you considered yourself to be circa 1993 or whenever it was Young's benders did him in.

Like Matt P. said, Malkmus did not want the first solo album to be marketed as such, and wanted to simply call it the Jicks. But--and he admitted to me that he agreed with the rationale--the label knew it would be a lot easier to market the record with his name. I also asked him point blank about putting his mug on there and he said he thought it "would be funny." Whatever that means.

The new album is good.

-- don weiner (miggs@multiple.net) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 5:42 PM. (link)

yeah, anyone have this on slsk? plz

-- brokenfuses (cardboardmedia@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 8:30 PM. (link)

I really wish that Matador had allowed Malkmus to record under the name "The Jicks" rather than under his own name. I think it did them some short-term favors in terms of marketing, but it's done him few favors critically. It wasn't a good long term thing, maybe. I think people tend to respond more favorably to bands than post-popular band solo records.

"Freeze The Saints" kinda snuck up on me just before. I think I totally mis-underestimated that one.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 9:36 PM. (inca) (link)

maybe he should slowly mutate from Stephen Malkmus to the Jicks a la Neil Michael Hagerty --> the Howling Hex.

-- Matos-Webster Dictionary (michaelangelomatos@yahoo.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 10:46 PM. (M Matos) (link)

Yeah, maybe he will. I think he's getting more comfortable as a solo artist now, so he's probably going to be more like Neil Young or Elvis Costello, going back and forth between work that he does primarily by himself and collaborations with The Jicks a la Crazy Horse or The Imposters.

-- Matthew C Perpetua (perpetua@graffiti.net) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 8:11 AM. (inca) (link)

Let's just hope he doesn't make anything as painful as North while on his own.

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 8:58 AM. (johnny fever) (link)

theres a short malkmus interview at http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music. Click to listen again to steve lamacq in texas.

-- kieran (gallagherkieran@hotmail.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 12:47 PM. (bhoy kieran) (link)

http://www31.tok2.com/home2/yoshiki/cgi-bin/img-box/img20040217111010.jpg

-- i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (theundergroundhome@gmail.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 1:22 PM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (link)

Actually, it looks like this:

http://www.matadorrecords.com/images/fullsize/ole-650.jpg

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 1:52 PM. (johnny fever) (link)

isn't that, like, every matador cover from the past ten years?

-- i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (theundergroundhome@gmail.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 1:54 PM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (link)

listening now. believe it or not, i think people who are partial to earlier pavement (ahem purists ahem) will be into this.

-- i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (theundergroundhome@gmail.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 1:57 PM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (link)

this album is really great

-- you make me feel like a tyrannosaurus rex (xxxxxxx@gmail.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 2:07 PM. (deangulberry) (link)

I wonder if I would think that "No More Shoes" was like his version of Murray Street if he hadn't pointed it out himself in some recent interview.

the drumming on "no more shoes" reminds me a lot of "the empty page."

-- i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (theundergroundhome@gmail.com) (webmail), March 21st, 2005 3:11 PM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (link)

I want my alka-seltzer? Almost ruins an otherwise fine song. Worst line ever penned by SM? Maybe.

-- kevinm (kmulcahy@gmail.com) (webmail), March 22nd, 2005 5:21 PM. (link)

I haven't read this thread yet. Have we decided which Pavement album is best yet?

-- dog latin (doglatin@REMOVEgmail.com) (webmail), March 22nd, 2005 5:33 PM. (dog latin) (link)

slanted induction hour

-- kevinm (kmulcahy@gmail.com) (webmail), March 22nd, 2005 5:52 PM. (link)

Enduction, rather.

-- kevinm (kmulcahy@gmail.com) (webmail), March 22nd, 2005 5:53 PM. (link)

isn't that, like, every matador cover from the past ten years?
-- i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (theundergroundhom...), March 21st, 2005 4:54 PM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (link)

I dunno. It seems very Sub Poppian to me.

-- Johnny Fever (---@---.kom) (webmail), March 22nd, 2005 7:59 PM. (johnny fever) (link)