tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17487428551967514492023-11-15T05:22:19.846-06:00I can't sing it strong enough.pavement oeuvre song meaningscomoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-8597190750309948372010-09-21T21:19:00.000-05:002010-09-21T22:17:48.516-05:00Fillmore Jive<span style="font-family:arial;">One night benders - no matter the drug - used to be a ton of fun, but I was never really sure why. You would eventually hit a point where all you want to do is pass out, be left alone, and wake up in your bed as if nothing had happened.</span><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Of course, you know exactly how you arrived at this point. The night was electric. "The jam kids on the Vespas" and all of that. Crowded streets. Even more crowded bars or house parties. You felt alive. You grabbed the bottle for another swig, a pill there, a toke here. The night was going to be memorable one way or the other.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Then, it all hit you like a ton of bricks. You shouldn't have had that last drink or eaten that mushroom. This rock 'n roll lifestyle is old and not really that rewarding. So, you want out. You wanted to pass out on the couch.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Maybe you did pass out on the couch or in the kitchen or by the toilet or in the back of a car. No matter. If you could have just laid there with no distractions, you could have slept it off.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">However, this was the night that would never end. Some late-comers entered with fresh cases of beer, a bag of weed, and some blow. You probably couldn't pick yourself up to join them at that moment, but you also couldn't drag yourself out of the room. You weren't just fucked, you were fucked and had to suffer while these douche-bags turned up the stereo and started the whole night over for you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">At this point in the evening (or morning) the room was spinning and you had lost complete and utter control. At best, you eventually passed out and snuck in a couple hours of sleep before slipping out without anyone noticing. At worst, and most likely, you puked all over the place. Someone cleaned you up and arranged for a ride home. Hopefully, you were just able to sleep in your own bed.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">That's the Fillmore Jive.</span></div><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aR3cEAHBRjQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aR3cEAHBRjQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10546958494179349497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-16414515926541527672010-07-27T07:47:00.000-05:002010-07-27T07:47:00.573-05:00Gold Soundz<span style="font-family:arial;">"Gold Soundz" is a relationship song. The relationship is new and fun in the beginning. He trusts her with secrets and likes how she laughs at the ignorance of others. He gives her space, but he likes that she's empty like him, etc.<br /><br />Alas, it can't last. Remembering past transgressions drums up some hurt feelings, possibly even revealing new deceptions. There's a quick about-face. Secrets are taken back.<br /><br />Luckily, it's a young love. The kind that's fleeting. The affairs that last a summer or a semester. The memories and experience are worth it if for nothing else other than the short-lived passions.<br /><br />-----------------------------<br /><br />A couple of other thoughts...<br /><br />Does SM sing "that I won't eat you when I'm gone" or does he sing "need" where "eat" goes? Eat doesn't make much sense. Need makes a ton of sense. However, it certainly sounds like he says "eat" in either a nonsensical manner or crass one. I sort of suspect the lyric is meant to be "need" and Malk plays around a little in the studio and changes it to "eat".<br /><br />The phrase "quarantine the past" appears in this track. Interestingly, it's also the title of the band's greatest "hits" collection released earlier this year. The implication is that the collection attempts to quarantine the past, but in actuality, one can't quarantine Pavement's past, at least not from the alt rock reunion circuit.<br /><br />OK. Make it three thoughts. The accompanying video is absurd. The band in Santa costumes go bow hunting for a dead chicken in an outdoor shopping center in order to gain the keys to a convertible...Well, you just have to watch it.<br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rj6QilYg5VA&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rj6QilYg5VA&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10546958494179349497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-31206526525459837772010-07-26T19:38:00.000-05:002010-07-27T12:31:58.350-05:00In the Mouth a Desert<span style="font-family: arial;">Why bother to enter into a relationship? It will just end. There will be sadness and heartache. Why even begin?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Such is the philosophy of "In a Mouth a Desert". Of course, looking back with those 20/20 goggles. one can't help but apply this song's message to the band itself. The band (we) always knew it wouldn't last. Stephen Malkmus was too good to be held back by the rest of his band mates.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, they did make it last. Pavement went on to record four more albums after </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Slanted and Enchanted</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> and have now successfully sought out a reunion tour. For both, we are grateful.</span><br /><blockquote style="font-family: arial;">Can you treat like an oil well?<br />When it's underground, out of sight?<br />And if the sight is just a whore sign,<br />Can it make enough sense to me?</blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes it's cool to get into a relationship as long as no one knows about it. Of course, the best part of being in a relationship is that </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">everyone knows about it</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. So, is the relationship worth the investment just to hide it? Does this even make sense?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">"In the Mouth a Desert" continues on with references to trust and commitment, using analogies of knots, twine, and faith. Of course, as any believer of entropy would attest, these relationships falter and unravel over time. In this track, the unraveling appears to be one-sided as one half (or even one-fifth) of the relationship has doubts that the other parts are equal to his.</span><br /><blockquote style="font-family: arial;">I've been crowned the king of it and it's all that we have<br />So, wait to hear my words and they're diamond sharp<br />I can open it up and it's up and down</blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;">In the band's relationship, the "king of it" is Stephen Malkmus. His songs are what made Pavement possible and lasting. Sure, it was always a group effort, but without SM's vision of the "Pavement sound" and ability to create the oddest hooks, there would have been no Pavement. It was never an equal relationship.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course, these were SM's friends. And even from the beginning of the band's run, it was apparent SM would struggle with his loyalties versus his ambitions...</span><br /><blockquote style="font-family: arial;">I've been down, the king of it and it's all that we have<br />I've been down and I could wait to hear the words<br />They're diamond sharp today</blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;">I always suspect that SM's friendships with the rest of Pavement is what kept them together for so long and possibly fueled the reunion. Malk didn't want to be the center of attention. He wanted his friends to be able to play the parts as he envisioned them. On the same token, the rest of the band could see their limitations and didn't want to hold SM back. The inequality happened as it became apparent the other four members didn't have the chops to take Pavement to another level, to Malk's level.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">A lot happens after "In the Mouth...", but the words are prophetic, even if they weren't intended that way.</span><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/14fMEDatDDo&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/14fMEDatDDo&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10546958494179349497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-64839598267532951322010-02-11T06:10:00.000-06:002010-02-11T06:45:31.332-06:00Frontwards<span style="font-family: arial;">Well, I've got style</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Miles and miles</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">So much style that it's wasted</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Where is style most wasted? Where is individualism crushed? A place with empty homes and plastic cones. Kids sitting on the curb at the 7-11 smoking the cigarettes they stole from their mother's purse. Discussions revolve around stolen hub caps and an endless dance around revealing anything real or personal. Patterns of generations broken in hopes continuing in a sterile, benign environment, free of crime (aside from stolen rims) and worry. A place where the biggest concern is the nightly weather report.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Yep. I'm talking about the suburbs. Any distinction between families, homes, personalities is squelched in the conformity of good schools, tract housing, and SUV's.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Unbeknown to those who escaped to the suburbs is how it kills their kids. Such a white-washed existence is absent any inspiration. Bored suburban kids make do with whatever they can get their hands and their parents' disposable incomes on in hopes of filling that creative void. There's a reason why you can get way more drugs in communities with street named for the trees they've cut down. Petty theft and date rape fills their time as they wait to become their parents.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Conversely, some of those kids use these dire situations as inspiration to get out, mentally and spiritually if not physically. They write or learn to play guitar. Some of them form bands and make a living at that. Thankfully, Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg hopped off their skateboards and returned from their studies out of state record a few songs.</span><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BpoMzsDL7z4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BpoMzsDL7z4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10546958494179349497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-84157916321532363832010-01-20T20:27:00.000-06:002010-01-20T21:26:46.623-06:00Speak, See, Remember<span style="font-family:arial;">Breaking up is hard to do. You avoid it. You try to paint the breakup as a chance for new opportunities. No matter how you dance around it, it's inevitable. It will suck for one or both of you. There are no such things as good breakups.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Pavement had their breakup over </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Terror Twilight</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. Sure, there was a tour following, but it was a goodbye tour and </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >TT</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> was their goodbye album. I don't know how it affected the band members, but I know it was rough on the fans.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">To cope, we turned to the things that got us through. We remembered the good times. We focused on future opportunities to make the best of these hard times. Pavement opened us up to many new bands. The breakup would at least leave us with a better perspective on the music landscape than we had before Pavement.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">That and we waited for the reunion.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We've talked about this reunion for years, at least since the Pixies reunited (the first time). Soon, we'll see Pavement at Lollapalooza, in Central Park, at Coachella, or wherever they land. Then, we'll remember what those days in the mid-nineties were like.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">"Speak, See, Remember" may not have intentionally been about Pavement's breakup, but it was about a breakup in a general sense. The album's title is mentioned. "Terror twilight" has been described as that ominous moment right before the sun sets. This track may very well have been that ghastly moment. Luckily, SM is there to assure us that it will be OK. I mean, he had a new album out in just over 18 months.</span><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jeLRwRfXptA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jeLRwRfXptA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-41867996627821928402009-08-25T22:00:00.000-05:002009-08-25T22:27:01.752-05:00Grounded<span style="font-family: arial;">The rumors of this blog's death have been greatly exaggerated.<br /><br />A friend popped up on Twitter this evening and suggested that "Grounded" </span><span title="processed" class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">is <span style="font-family: arial;">"[T]he soundtrack to the perfect dusk drive. Windows down, natch..." I couldn't agree more.<br /><br />This song makes me want to swerve back and forth on a lonely country road, crickets chirping, a warm breeze in my face...<br /><br />The life of a doctor is so slow, so mundane. He goes through his days like any working other working stiff, except he holds someone's life in his hands. If you make a mistake at your job, your workplace loses some money or a client. A doctor fucks up and someone's dead.<br /><br />But it's a business. The doctor comes in to work everyday. At the end of the day, he calls home and drives off in his sedan. His day ends when he leaves the hospital.<br /><br />Funny how this song came to my attention at the height of the health care reform in this country. Folks arguing over letting the government take care of our health needs or to just allow things to stay as they are. I won't take sides here. The fact is that people are suffering, even dying while we figure this mess out.<br /><br />It's a business. There will be profits and there will be losses. Boys are dying on these streets.<br /></span></span></span><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ryh-bYA0_yY&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ryh-bYA0_yY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-3466073587340536632009-02-13T14:08:00.000-06:002009-02-14T16:06:08.302-06:00Painted SoldiersIf Spiral Stairs, aka Scott <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kannberg</span>, had written this post-Pavement, one could easily make the argument that the song's about Stephen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Malkmus</span>. It's no secret that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Malkmus</span> ruled the roost when he fronted Pavement. SM dominated the songwriting duties throughout the catalog. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kannberg</span>, the other songwriter in Pavement, was relegated to the occasional track and soundtrack submission.<br /><br />The opening line explains <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Kannberg's</span> place in the band perfectly: "That's all you're singing now?" Spiral Stairs contributed very little to the Pavement <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">oeuvre</span>, but as this song demonstrates, it wasn't due to his inability to write a good song.<br /><br />From there, you get the feeling that the song is a tongue-in-cheek jab at SM and his <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">perceived</span> ego. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Kannberg</span> wonders aloud <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">why "</span>he" has to be so mean and hurtful. Then, he takes his own shot at the antagonist: "I knew he liked to talk about himself/but he wanted the whole world to know./It made me sick inside/I just gotta hold back."<br /><br />However good "Painted Soldiers" is or where it ranks on your all-time best Pavement tracks list, it is hard to deny its <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">eerie</span> resemblance to several of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">SM's</span> best songs. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">woohoo</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">hoos</span> alone remind me of "Cut Your Hair" and the dead-pan delivery is quintessential SM.<br /><br />The video is classic. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Kannberg</span> fires the rest of the band and inserts <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Veruca</span> Salt as the new Pavement. Highlights of the video include: Nasty at the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">horse track</span>, Mark <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Ibold</span> as a pimp, Steve West at home with his 10+ children, and SM in his Mustang with built-in fax machine.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qlZ0EoBhUeo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qlZ0EoBhUeo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-35391588650546418942008-12-14T07:06:00.000-06:002008-12-14T07:21:45.136-06:00Old to BeginAt first listen, I take "Old to Begin" as a warning to a younger lover to back off in case she doesn't want to stagnate. Then, I sort of feel as though the idea of "old" in this song has more to do with that stagnation than a May-December romance. Besides, how many Pavement songs are actually about romance?<br /><br />There always seems to be some celebrated old (white) guy coming up with "new" ways of doing the same, old thing. Just as Al Gore invented the internets, these guys claim everything as their own, thinking that it makes them young and vibrant again to "reinvent the wheel." Meanwhile, they ignore the accomplishments of those who did all the work and really just come off as pompous blowhards stealing yet another idea. Then, we're all supposed to marvel at how great these men are.<br /><br />It doesn't matter to these re-inventors that their ignorance of true ingenuity sets us all back a few years while they catch up. Their self-importance and legacy depend on their name being attached to someone else's invention.<br /><br />In the end, their legacy is a fraud. All these men are left with are excuses and a gaping hole in their narratives.comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-87416988531469418222008-12-04T22:06:00.000-06:002008-12-04T22:42:49.264-06:00Conduit for SaleThere is no other Pavement song that annoyed the women in my life more than "Conduit for Sale." That's OK. I love this song. Angry, like that feeling one gets when something is taken away.<br /><br />The House of Savoy ruled a chunk of Italy for a long, long time. It was not a happy day when the heir proctor had to give in to interests from France and the Italian nationalist movement. Unless I have butchered the history, it seems to me that the conduit for sale was the road through Turin, possibly to the port of Nice. There was also some strange love triangles involving a guy named Ray, but I could be mistaken.<br /><br />Either way, you should know that SM likes his history. There's a little history to this song that I don't have time to learn from Wikipedia or share with you through this post. It does make me think "Embassy Row" is somehow connected, but that's a post for another day.<br /><br />What you should know about "Conduit..." is that it is an angry punk rock romp with a smart undercurrent. Listen...<br /><div><object height="339" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x3vgth"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x3vgth" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="339" width="420"></embed></object><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x3vgth">Pavement-conduit for sale (live san diego)</a></b><br /><i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/jar0">jar0</a></i></div>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-44375790088408258992008-10-06T07:39:00.000-05:002008-10-07T16:52:20.017-05:00Curt Your Hair<div>If Pavement ever had a "hit," this was it. "Cut Your Hair" was <span style="font-style: italic;">Buzzworthy</span> on MTV and even received decent radio play from commercial stations. If there was a quintessential Pavement song, I'd also argue that "Cut Your Hair" earns that title as well. Honestly, this was the song that introduced me to the band.<br /><br />Lyrically, the song is on the silly side, but there is an underlying punk ethos there that drives the sentiment home. Pavement was coming along at a time when underground bands were being scooped up and marketed to the masses. Lost was any of the energy or originality that made these bands so sought after by the majors in the first place. Pavement saw this going on around them and responded in song.<br /><br />Each of the three verses address a movement away from music toward image. The first verse comes across as harmless, but it addresses image over content in the form of a haircut, the song's main theme. The haircut won't suddenly make a mediocre band great or a crummy album go platinum. However, tell that to all the bands posing as "emo" nowadays. Emo bands used to look like the guys in Pavement, not dudes with black eye make-up and silly haircuts.<br /><br />The second verse becomes clearer as it addresses the over-saturation of bands to the market. Of course, the dilution of good music through the overabundance of bands has only worsened over the years, but the early nineties was the beginning. Another great song from the era that addresses this issue is Archers of Loaf's "Greatest of All-Time." </div><br /><div> </div>The third verse comes with a full-on attack on sell-outs. Buying songs and legitimacy is bashed. Image is pummeled by superior songwriting while the song unravels into rants of careerism. ("Career, career, Korea...")<br /><div> </div>Besides being one of Pavement's catchiest tunes, it is higlighted by several aesthetics that make it so memorable. First of all, the <em>whoo-ooh-ooh's</em> that fill the space between the verses are as memorable, if not more, than the lyrics or music or band itself. Also earmarking the song as a significant part of the ouvre, the guitar solo winds and whirls out of control, clearly setting Pavement apart from the hair-metal wannabe's of the grunge era. Finally, the song had a string of lines about drummers that either referenced those who hit the skins for Spinal Tap or former drummer, Gary Young.<br /><br /><div> </div>The song has had an extra emotional tie for me as of late. My daughter, Lucia, was born three weeks ago, and this seems to be her favorite song...so far. Or at least my slower, twangier version sooths her like no other mid-nineties song I sing to her.<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BoMdkyeZOqE&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BoMdkyeZOqE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-88509120060160698162008-08-12T09:52:00.000-05:002008-08-13T16:59:24.285-05:00Two StatesAccording to Wikipedia, there have been 27 separate attempts to split California into multiple states since 1850, the year California earned statehood. Most of these actions attempted to split the state in half, dividing the Golden State between the north and south.<br /><blockquote>Two states!<br />We want two states!<br />North and south<br />Two, two states</blockquote>A couple of times, the northern portions of the state were nearly renamed the Colorado, either as a territory or another state entirely. Portions of other states were also considered in California secession plans, like Oregon and Arizona. Mountain Ranges were often considered when determining where to draw the borders. In the late 19th century, the building of the Ridge Route as a way to cross the Tehachapi Mountains helped thwart talk of splitting the state.<br /><br />The last attempt to split the state came in 1992. State Senator Stan Statham was able to pass a proposal in the House to put the issue of state secession on the ballot in 58 counties. The proposal didn't survive the Senate.<br /><blockquote>Forty million daggers<br />Two states<br />We want two states<br />There's no culture<br />There's no spies</blockquote>When one travels to California, it becomes rather apparent that the state is already very divided. The southern portion is sunny and generally very conservative, especially in Orange County. The north has the very liberal bay area and touches California's hippie cousin, Oregon. The temperatures also tend to be cooler and rainier than the south.comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-86650329180697904762008-08-06T21:37:00.000-05:002008-08-07T06:02:45.362-05:00Date w/ IKEAJingle-jangle goes the opening guitar chords of "Date w/IKEA," one of two contributions by Scott Kannberg to <span style="font-style: italic;">Brighten the Corners</span>. This might be the poppiest song Spiral Stairs ever wrote. It's certainly the jangliest.<br /><br />This was something new for Kannberg. He was generally shut out in previous Pavement albums. He'd fool around on the guitar before the band met to record, and Malkmus would show up with demos and nearly complete songs ready to go. Kannberg came prepared to the <span style="font-style: italic;">BtC</span> sessions with some songs ready for production. Of course, by this time, it was Malkmus' show. Kannberg was somehow able to sneak in two songs. This was one of them.<br /><br />Even though he was unable to contribute many songs to the catalog, Pavement was good to Kannberg. Much like the situation he describes in the song, Kannberg realized he needed to stay around and stick it out. The song specifically describes a guy staying with his overly dramatic girlfriend despite her wild outbursts. He just joins her on a trip to IKEA for some new furniture when things go awry. It's easier that way.<br /><br />The jangle mentioned before is something different for the band. The pep of the song actually picks up the album full of mid-tempo SM laments. This track, as well as "Passat Dream," kept <span style="font-style: italic;">BtC</span> from wallowing in the mid-tempo mire. These songs gave the album some balance, cementing Kannberg's value to the band as a secondary songwriter.comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-6455922485847215502008-08-05T07:28:00.000-05:002008-08-05T08:03:58.631-05:00Newark WilderCryptic is a love song for polygamists. Malkmus begins the story with a passionate courtship. A brand new era is about to commence for our hero. However, there's the sticky situation with the spouse already in place and not willing to give up her partner...<br /><blockquote>She won't let you know that I need a right to touch her<br />She won't let you wait for me<br />For me to touch you</blockquote>A once happy marriage is tangled in the mire of a threesome and possible divorce. <br /><blockquote>Crowds of the people and voices and steeples and wedding rings<br />Wild are the horses and break-up divorces and separate rooms from</blockquote>In the end, compromise is found. The first wife keeps the new one hidden, cut out of pictures. The man's needs are met. He's satisfied.<br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>Three of us is enough. </blockquote>The song, despite the strange, jazzy rhythms, would fit nicely in an episode of <span style="font-style: italic;">Big Love</span>. Its groove is sleepy, almost lazy, but it fills in the slot right behind the radio-ready poppiness of "Cut Your Hair" just before it leads into the raucous "Unfair." "Newark Wilder" is the perfect segue on a perfect album.comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-55482891299828106362008-07-08T16:59:00.000-05:002008-07-08T17:41:31.093-05:00Black Out<span style="font-family: georgia;">The saying "Ignorance is bliss" holds a lot of truth. If you're not aware that anything is wrong, about what you have to worry? If you're in the dark, you don't see imperfections.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Take a hole-in-the-wall bar for instance. The lights are mostly turned off. The only thing you're thinking about is getting plowed and hooking up with the young lady next to you. Then the bartender turns on the light and tells everyone to go home. You look around and see that this dingy little place is not where you want to spend the rest of your evening. The woman you were just chatting up doesn't look so great either. (She's probably thinking the same thing about you.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ignorance truly is bliss. There is no worrying about the world if you're not aware it has any problems. It's almost freeing to be so worry-free.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Though it's ultra-cryptic, "Black Out" plays with this idea. After rather confusing verses, Malkmus repeats, "No one has a clue." And the song closes with the repeated lines of "</span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">fun fun fun, fun for the summertime blues" and "it's gonna set you free."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">What could ever have Pavement so carefree, without worldly worry? Pot. It's been well-documented that band succumbed to a lot of pot smoking during the recording of </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: georgia;">Wowee Zowee</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">, and "Black Out" does little to dispel this fact.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO1aRrWfBHE">(Crappy live footage of "Black Out")</a><br /></span></span></span>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-12801236011002957592008-07-03T07:10:00.000-05:002008-07-03T07:48:31.476-05:00You Are a Light"You Are a Light" is a love song. Pavement is not known for too many love songs, but this is certainly one, and the song is as Pavement a love song as there is.<br /><br />The first verse describes a life in chaos. Anxiety is abundant thanks to our impending dependency on technology. (It was recorded in 1999.) The technology frustrates and confuses, making a return to the good old days and suicide our only options. At least SM has his light or to whomever he's singing.<br /><br />Another scenario is described in the second verse where SM finds himself studying abroad, in Spain. Silly American/middle-class phobias of gypsy children and mortuary feasting consume him. Luckily, he has his love to shine the light to lead him home.<br /><br />Things get downright sexual as the third verse begins. References to driving sticks and a lot of hollering close out the song.<br /><br />SM repeats that he is "the isolator." An isolator is usually a switch that does what its name suggests: it isolates electrical current. The current in this case could be fro his light or in hopes of powering his light. Either way, this is as passionate as the usually monotone singer gets.<br /><br />The music of the song is easy and jazzy through the first two verses, but rocks and breaks out after the second chorus with a typical Pavement-esque solo. This switch in intensity is carried into the third verse. Overall, besides the jazzy undertones, the arrangement is rather minimalist. The simplicity of the band's performance is augmented by various blips and electronic flourishes here and there, never more clearly heard than at the very end.<br /><br />(Th performance below contains alternate lyrics from the track I reviewed. SM was known to mess with lyrics now and again.)<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cB8SK9PkOxk&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cB8SK9PkOxk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-77480907011846653362008-06-25T01:08:00.000-05:002008-06-25T01:23:55.658-05:00No Life Singed HerEvery band writes about mortality at some point. Zeppelin had "Stairway to Heaven", and Blue Oyster Cult had "(Don't Fear) the Reaper". However, as with most Pavement tracks, "No Life Singed Her" takes a totally different angle than the traditional mortality song.<br /><br />First of all, there's this laissez faire attitude about the final hours. Then there's the imagery of slicing up a symbol of faith. Now the angel won't have to suffer from life the way we do. Eventually, we just float up to heaven or wherever we go, and that's it.<br /><br />The song itself is way more acidic than that. SM's screaming and the harsh tones of the guitars make it a much more abrasive song than the lyrics or choral delivery would suggest.<br /><br />But maybe that's life. We do what we want with our time, despite its fragility and value. Our faith is cut down time and time again. Before long, we accept death and move on.<br /><br />(Sorry for the silly video, but it did have the track in question.)<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MAQCPD_Hsdg&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MAQCPD_Hsdg&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-31616422547065286492008-05-14T06:55:00.000-05:002008-05-16T09:57:21.951-05:00Spizzle TrunkAn old school punk rocker measuring just over one minute and complete with unintelligible lyrics and piano banging, "Spizzle Trunk" demonstrates the inner-rocker within Stephen Malkmus. SM would go on to a solo career where he'd experiment with a similar aesthetic in his live shows...and throughout his most recent album, sans the youthful punk ethos.<br /><br />The spizzle is for the sound. The trunk describes the curmudgeon.<br /><br />The lyrics describe a middle-aged man living a miserable life with his cat and his detestable neighbors, family, and friends. You can picture the grump sitting at the kitchen table, shoveling cornflakes down his throat just before he sneezes them out his nose. He's got male-pattern baldness and nasty disposition. <br /><br />"Spizzle Trunk" is punk rock for the balding, forty-year-old grump in all of us.comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-23787775570437288512008-03-31T21:19:00.000-05:002008-03-31T22:10:58.965-05:00Elevate Me LaterThe Left is a mess. I'm talking about the left of the political spectrum, the Left Coast, whatever else is left. I don't know that SM was speaking directly to the problems of anything "left", but I do get the sense that's the resulting message of "Elevate Me Later".<br /><br />Somewhere it's written that <span style="font-style: italic;">Crooked Rain Crooked Rain</span> is Pavement's <span style="font-style: italic;">Hotel California</span>, hence the never-ending Cali references and that sunny, SoCal sound made so famous by the Eagles. Of course, SM and Spiral Stairs grew up in the depressingly NoCal town they forgot to name (Stockton). So, maybe that's why they're somewhat critical of the "The Golden State".<br /><br />California's reputation as leftist or the "Left Coast" only makes it the perfect locale for ridicule. Political correctness sometimes goes overboard on the political left where the so-called right stays the course and takes down a road from which we might never return. Look at the Democratic primary. Two minority candidates beat up each other over who will best represent the left while the old white guy on the right sits back and waits patiently.<br /><br />I don't think Pavement is/was anti-left. I just think they, like many progressive thinkers grow weary of the constant battles that occur within the ranks of liberal, leftist, whatever thinkers. Instead of finding answers, the left continues to tear itself down with hypocrisy and a fastidious intolerance of ideas that veer in other directions. California embodies this sentiment with its hippies, punks, and wannabe actors and all the ways in which they miss the point.comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-22709203151317384042008-02-12T10:54:00.000-06:002008-02-12T11:16:33.985-06:00Shady Lane<p class="MsoNormal">"A shady lane/Everybody wants one"<br /><br />"A shady lane/Everybody needs one"<br /><br />All we ever want is a shady lane, right? No matter the complexities or difficulties in our lives, all we really want is an ideal home, independent of the world's troubles.<br /><br />A shady lane is a metaphor for the ideal life. Imagine a perfect, tree-lined neighborhood with kids on bikes and dogs barking. The white picket fences separate the homes while neighbors mow their lawns or enjoy a glass of lemonade on their front porch. The street is possibly even named "<st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Shady Lane</st1:address></st1:street>".<br /><br />Of course, this neighborhood is only ideal if we ignore the racist across the street, the Bible-thumping lady next door, and the child-molester on the corner. But it looks pleasant and serene, doesn't it?<br /><br />While literally this may not be everyone's (or even SM's) ideal life, but it's the iconic, stereotypical one that is perpetuated in popular culture, especially here in the states. The point is that the metaphor of the perfectly peaceful existence is there for all of us. Whether it's <st1:address st="on"><st1:street st="on">Shady Lane</st1:street>, <st1:city st="on">Missoula</st1:city></st1:address>, or <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Williamsburg</st1:place></st1:city>, we all have a place we would like to live that is free of the problems of the world.<br /><br />"The worlds collide, but all that I want is a shady lane."</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5UWME8jXhVI&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5UWME8jXhVI&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-49684632600037599212008-02-05T17:44:00.000-06:002008-02-05T21:57:04.220-06:00Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17"Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17" begins with an ominous tone much like a scene in a horror film.<br /><br />The process a filmmaker undergoes when piecing together a narrative is chronicled in this Pavement cut. With every scene and edit, the filmmaker considers the conflict (lies and betrayals), striking images (fruit-covered nails), and urgency (electricity and lust...). And in creating the film, truth and success are discovered.<br /><br />The wounded kite scene (possible a play on Wounded Knee) is that piece about 28 seconds left in the track that seems to come from nowhere. I figure that the kite begins to tear and finally tumble to the ground around the 17th second.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bmJ59RjROc8&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bmJ59RjROc8&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-55002808577625048402008-02-04T22:30:00.000-06:002008-02-04T22:54:22.437-06:00Rattled by the RushWe get shaken or rattled in so many situations. Do we like it? Do we dread it? Do we feed off of it? All of the above.<br /><br />The rush of being questioned, performing physical feets, or being in awkward situations rattles our inner-souls. We lose ourselves for a moment. The excitement leaves us disoriented.<br /><br />It's like how you used to wrestle with your dad or an older sibling. You could never win. Your dad was too big, too strong, but he was sure not to hurt you. Something about this fruitless, physical activity arouses you. You then find yourself a little out of it, almost dizzy.<br /><br />"Rattled by the Rush" places the classic rock tendancies of their later material within the herky jerky, laisez-faire jamminess of mid-nineties Pavement. The song demonstrates quintisential Stephen Malkmus' vocal stylings. He slides easily from deadpan smartass to squealing troubadour and somewhere in between. Aside from SM's singing, it's also one of the most ambitious guitar performances that ranges from the aforementioned classic rockiness to a looser, sloppier.<br /><br />The song is as Pavement-y as it gets.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMN6pZ1lh-Y&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMN6pZ1lh-Y&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-91724758841235854572007-12-15T09:34:00.000-06:002007-12-15T10:04:33.031-06:00The HexxA <span style="font-style: italic;">hex </span>(with one <span style="font-style: italic;">x</span>) can stand for a couple of things. The first is the idea of a curse or spell that is placed on an individual or family by a witch. This can explain the lyrics of Pavement's "The Hexx".<br /><br />The song carries on the theme of <span style="font-style: italic;">Terror Twilight</span> of an impending doom. As stated many times in this here blog, the last Pavement record served notice that the band's run had come to an end, but that's getting redundant.<br /><br />Malkmus describes various situations in which his subjects suffer from hexes of their own. Capistrano swallows that are supposed to return to their San Juan home, suddenly can't. Epileptic surgeons and fooled football players prepare as their failures are close at hand. One of the greatest Malk-metaphors demonstrates this point further.<br /> <blockquote>Architecture students are like virgins with an itch they cannot scratch,<br />Never build a building till you're 50; what kind of life is that? </blockquote>The 70's atmospherics support the gloom and doom of a hexed life. Bluesy guitar solos and wailing in the background set the mood of the track. One can picture a movie scene in which the protagonist is stumbling through a crowded hallway, intoxicated on some mind-altering substance, and dazed by his own failures as this music plays, drowning out the chaos around.<br /><br />The other meaning to <span style="font-style: italic;">hex</span> comes from a hexadecimal or a base-16 numbering system. Coincidentally, the song arguably has sixteen lines: five verses of two-lines each and a six-line chorus. Again, it's probably just a coincidence.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VLTIbJeoC5Y&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VLTIbJeoC5Y&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-38995581373894236482007-12-15T09:06:00.000-06:002007-12-15T09:34:22.079-06:00You're Killing MeFuzz and spit is how the opening and background of "You're Killing Me" might be described, the first track on the first release of the Pavement discography, <span style="font-style: italic;">Slay Tracks (1933-1969)</span>. The highly experimental and lo-fi (read "cheap") production value helped catapult Pavement to indie darlings, and they never looked back.<br /><br />The song's noisy hiss, lack of percussion, and simple, repetitive lyrics made the song a tribute to the band's punk ethos. While so much of Pavement's later work appealed to the listener's intellect, this song had a guttural feel lacking once the band signed with Matador. However, the same sentiment can be found in songs like "Conduit for Sale" or "Fight this Generation".<br /><br />Interestingly, some of the lyrics were the moniker for one of the earliest Pavement fan-sites, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sign on the Door</span>.comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-77408384890079038212007-12-01T08:17:00.000-06:002007-12-01T08:42:26.911-06:00Unseen Power of the Picket Fence<blockquote>"There's some bands I'd like to name-check/And one of them is REM."</blockquote> And so begins Pavement's contribution to the alterna-compilation benefiting AIDS research and education, <span style="font-style: italic;">No Alternative</span>. This homage to REM, the Athens-based band that made college rock mainstream, pays tribute to the band's influence on Pavement. Like any dedicated fan, SM describes both what made REM important (left standing after Sherman rapes the South) and disappointing (<span style="font-style: italic;">"Time After Time" was my least favorite song...</span>). SM offers a song-by-song audit of REM's best (and earliest) work while relating the band's cultural significance to a fallen and broken South.<br /><br />Some reporters asked REM front man Michael Stipe what he thought of the Pavement track. He was insulted they didn't like "Time After Time" but he was honored to be name-checked by such up-and-coming indie band. According to indie rock lore, Stipe suggested that the band could play the song as if serenading him on an MTV special featuring the songs, bands and issues of the compilation. Pavement declined.comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1748742855196751449.post-76951423682866756342007-11-14T14:48:00.000-06:002007-11-17T09:53:00.531-06:00Spit on a StrangerThe spacey psychedelia of "Spit on a Stranger" opens up 1999's <span style="font-style: italic;">Terror Twilight</span>, the final Pavement record, and listeners were bound to notice the change in the band's sound. The song's (and album's) first few seconds of drum beats almost start a different song altogether before warped guitar lines and a hippie-dippy bass line carry us to the first verse.<br /><br />The song is a reflection on the band's long, tenuous relationship. This, in conjunction with the album's title referring to that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">eerie</span> moment just as the sun sets, describes the strange feeling the one gets as the end approaches. You feel the end of the band as the record progresses.<br /><br />The idea of "spit on a stranger" is an odd and cryptic one. (Of course, <span style="font-style: italic;">this is Pavement</span>.) Just as the band's breakup (hell, their whole career) was awkward, spitting on a stranger can be just as strange. It's similar to accidentally grazing some one's rear or turning to make a comment to what you thought was your companion only to find a complete stranger standing there.<br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gFjJP8O5vqQ&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gFjJP8O5vqQ&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>comoprozachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898082287641166601noreply@blogger.com1