I've always put as much effort into having a strong opinion one way or the other about Pavement as Stephen Malkmus does into his vocals.

joe_lmr wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 10:47 am I've always put as much effort into having a strong opinion one way or the other about Pavement as Stephen Malkmus does into his vocals.

I'm not a Pavement apologist (see my post above), but you could say the same thing about Leonard Cohen, right?

Harness Your Hopes is easily the worst song in their entire catalog, no hyperbole. Gen z continues to be 180 degrees wrong about everything.

Wowee Zowee is #1, the rest are tied for #2 except Terror Twilight which is like Godfather 3 and just makes me sad. Kinda ended the golden age of 'indie rock'.

Spiral Stairs wrote some of their absolute best tunes- Painted Soldiers, Kennel District, Date w/IKEA. Always wondered if he got outvoted by SM or if his flashes of inspiration were rare. Cuz those Preston School records aren't super great.

jeff fox wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 7:47 pm
Spiral Stairs wrote some of their absolute best tunes- Painted Soldiers, Kennel District, Date w/IKEA. Always wondered if he got outvoted by SM or if his flashes of inspiration were rare. Cuz those Preston School records aren't super great.

I agree, but they all kinda do have a "check out what we wrote while we were waiting for you to show up to practice" vibe to them... in a good way.

joe_lmr wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 10:47 am I've always put as much effort into having a strong opinion one way or the other about Pavement as Stephen Malkmus does into his vocals.

I think there was cosmic lighting when Beavis and Butthead came up with the most astute analysis of the whole band. What did they say, "Huh huh, it's like it kind of rocks, but like, it's not like, really trying. Try! Try goddamn it!".

But really, it's kind of wonderful to see Malkmus stumble through several excellent albums almost accidentally effective. That's a kind of grace I think. How many of us can be that at home in our own skin?

I think Malkmus’ vocals are iconic. He is an amazing singer

I always really liked them. I don't think Steve West is a very good drummer. Gary Young was great. Saw them a bunch of times back in the day, even got to open for them once in '96. I think my favorite song might be Greenlander.

trey wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 11:39 pm I don't think Steve West is a very good drummer. Gary Young was great.

Gary Young was a unique drummer and a unique personality. The band certainly lost something when he left.

Regarding Steve West, the studio albums don't flatter him, but out of everyone in the band, he has really been killing it the most during the reunion shows. He sounds great live.

I never got into it, just not for me. That said I did appreciate Malkmus' contribution to Silver Jews.

I like them, but the critical fawning of them makes me kind of roll my eyes (how many 10s has Pitchfork given them?). Slanted and Crooked Rain are my favorites.

I used to play Quiz Bowl in high school, and one time on the way to a tournament, a friend a year ahead of me let me listen to Crooked Rain. He was into the indie stuff - Archers of Loaf, Built of Spill, They Might Be Giants, etc - and hated most of the popular stuff I enjoyed (Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, etc). I thought the album was ok, but I'd appreciate it more later.

Saw them once back in '96, saw them again on this last go 'round with a friend (seeing them was on his bucket list). It was a good show, I was glad they did 'Range Life' b/c they didn't play it when I first saw them.