Old to Begin

At 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?

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.

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.

In the end, their legacy is a fraud. All these men are left with are excuses and a gaping hole in their narratives.

Date w/ IKEA

Jingle-jangle goes the opening guitar chords of "Date w/IKEA," one of two contributions by Scott Kannberg to Brighten the Corners. This might be the poppiest song Spiral Stairs ever wrote. It's certainly the jangliest.

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 BtC 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.

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.

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 BtC 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.

Shady Lane

"A shady lane/Everybody wants one"

"A shady lane/Everybody needs one"

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.

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 "Shady Lane".

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?

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 Shady Lane, Missoula, or Williamsburg, we all have a place we would like to live that is free of the problems of the world.

"The worlds collide, but all that I want is a shady lane."

Starlings of the Slipstream

A slipstream is that area behind something moving through fluid (air, water, etc.) where the pressure is reduced. It's sort like when you wave your hand through water and there's this absence of liquid in your wake. Birds, like the starling, travel in flocks that help create these slipstreams. Mostly we think of geese flying in a V formation, but some birds just fly in a tight flock for the same effect.

The absence of pressure in this slipstream is the primary focus of this Pavement song. Think of the band as the starling. Pavement came along after many bands and indie labels cut a path through the music industry to make room for more eccentric, artistic styles. Bands in the early to mid-nineties were relieved from the pressure of selling millions of records, because a market had been created that allowed many musicians to quit their day jobs, release some records on Matador, and hit the road. I, for one, am thankful for this slipstream.

Pressure tends to ruin anything that's enjoyable or stimulating, not always, but often. The fact that Pavement could make interesting, timeless music and make money doing it, is a testament to this slipstream in the music scene.

The song doesn't have to be about indie rock, but it's one example. As people break from conventionality and do for themselves, the space they create becomes their own slipstream. I look at blogging, documentary film making, half of Portland and realize people all over are creating their own slipstreams. I know it's cheesy, but sometimes just the idea that we have some agency to do and create what we like makes me feel better.



One more thing...Does anyone else conjure up an image of Revenge of the Nerds during the second verse? (I put a spy-cam in a sorority/Ah-oo darlings on the split-screen)

Stereo

"What about the voice of Geddy Lee?/How did it get so high?/I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy/I know him and he does/Then you're my fact checking cuz"

These were the lyrics I'd recite everyday to Brittany, a plump fifth grader in my second year of teaching. I'd ponder about the voice of Geddy Lee, and she'd respond that he does, in fact, have a high-pitched voice. Of course, it helped that her parents were huge Rush fans and had named Brittany's older brother after the falsetto-singing, bass guitar virtuoso from Toronto. Undoubtedly, Brittany's parents became big fans of Geddy Lee's unique delivery while listening to songs like "Tom Sawyer" or "Working Man" on FM rock stations.

"Stereo" is Pavement's version of R.E.M.'s collaboration with KRS-One in 1991's "Radio Song". SM's delivery is somewhat rap-like but with absurdity dominating his narrative as opposed to the overtly political message of "Radio Song". Instead of complaining about the shortcomings of corporate radio, Pavement chooses to marvel at the diversity of ridiculousness found all across the dial, including their own songs.

The lyrics highlight some amusing anecdotes that illustrate this variety. Observations of farm reports, sports call-in shows, and conservative talk radio with the ever-present classic rock dominate SM's listening experience. This multitude of material is only broken when the band hears their own song on the radio and (somewhat predictably) goes wild with delight.

As Brighten the Corners' opener, "Stereo" demonstrates a much more focused band with a more conventional sound (for radio possibly?) than the previous release, Wowee Zowee. Maybe the band backed off the weed or actually rehearsed together, but whatever they did, BtC marks a point in the band's history when the songs began to resemble a more traditional rock sound that could find a place on radio. (This, of course, ignores the fact that "Cut Your Hair" was a minor radio hit.) Although, it was still their own version of that tradition, BtC wasn't anything like the classic rock, including Rush.

Transport Is Arranged

Brighten the Corners was the beginning of the end to the Pavement we all loved. Members were getting married and moving to exotic locales like Louisville and Idaho. The mid-tempo jams that were hinted at on Wowee Zowee were further developed on this album with "Transport Is Arranged" as a prime example.

It would not do justice to SM's stream of consciousness monologue to dissect it word-for-word, but the tone of the message can be interpreted. (Of course, any interpretation will be put through numerous criticisms, but isn't that what blogging is about?)

The song's lyrics, in tone if not in cryptic meaning, expressed Malkmus' uncomfortableness with the direction of the band and its members. Although the lyrics are not as literal as the tracks "Old to Begin" or "Fin", the feeling of discomfort with maturity is clearly expressed. SM is trying to get out of this predetermined maze that is adulthood which has claimed his band mates, but, in the end, he can't run away and leave it all behind. Even the escape is methodically calculated or arranged.

The song means a lot more to me now as a thirty-two-year-old than it did in my senior year of college. The pressures of home-ownership (moving this weekend) and impending parenthood (babies all around!) are revealing the plan for my life that I did not intend when I was 18, 21, or even throughout my 20's. There's something unnerving about fate, especially when it involves responsibility and maturity.