Pavement...

[tonym]

I know there are some Pavement fans on this site so I thought I'd pick their brains over again.

I'll have some money to spend after xmas and my birthday and was wondering which 2 albums to buy from there catalogue post-'Crooked Rain'.

I've looked at AMG but the guys(s?) who write the reviews seems o be a great fan of anything they do.

I'm tempted by the last one, Terror Twilight, but I can't decide between Wowee Zowie and Brighten The Corners.

If you can suggest any permutation of the above, please tell.

Thanks, Tony.

[TomNYC]

Tony,

I would go for Wowee Zowee. It's a bit "messy" and all over the place, but on the whole, it's a much more exciting listen than either Terror Twilight or BTC. If I had to choose between BTC and TT, I would actually pick the former.

I think that Pavement was getting a bit -- dare i say -- formulaic by the time of those albums.

[Joe]

Another vote for WOWEE ZOWEE, which is profoundly stoned -- but, if Matador are going to issue it in expanded form in '05, you might care to hold off. I like BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS quite a bit; I think its Pavement's FOREVER CHANGES. But TERROR TWILIGHT... no thanks.

[tonym]

Thanks for that fellas. Wowee Zowie and BTC it is, if I don't see it tomorrow in York then there's an online order going in that evening.

Cheers.

[AfricaBrass]

yah, if yr gonna bother, get WZ & then skip all the way to last year for the SECOND Malkmus & the Jicks record. the folk-prog-psyche influence comes to the fore & is all the better for it. first Malkmus solo is good but not great; last two Pavement are fine but redundant, there are 1000s (& 1000s) of rock records i'd suggest you dig first + i don't like the sound qua sound (slick-ish) on 'em.

venga venga venga!!

c

I DIG that album. It's called Pig Lib.

There's also a documentary on Pavement called Slow Century. I think it's worth picking up.

[AfricaBrass]

Another vote for WOWEE ZOWEE, which is profoundly stoned -- but, if Matador are going to issue it in expanded form in '05, you might care to hold off. I like BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS quite a bit; I think its Pavement's FOREVER CHANGES. But TERROR TWILIGHT... no thanks.

I'm in agreement.

I think Brighten the Corners is quite good.

Some of the guitar on it reminds me of Syd Barrett (and that is ALWAYS a good thing).

[doubleM]

I play softball w/ Malkmus on Sundays (when weather permits). He's a nice guy, and a good softball player! I've never listened to any of his stuff, though.

[AfricaBrass]

I play softball w/ Malkmus on Sundays (when weather permits). He's a nice guy, and a good softball player! I've never listened to any of his stuff, though.

Wow! That's cool.

I've been enjoying his solo records, you should check them out sometime.

[Brandon Burke]

Pavement is good and all but they're incredibly derivative of these guys...

...I mean, even the damned artwork.

[tonym]

Pavement is good and all but they're incredibly derivative of these guys...

...I mean, even the damned artwork.

Derivative yes, but if you can't stand that Mark guy, definately more lovable

[Quincy]

Has anyone picked up James Carter's tribute to Pavement?

AMG review.

This slipped by me when I was ordering Conns. It sounds interesting.

[Jazzdog]

Brighten the Corners for me as well.

Wowee Zowie is okay but its a litle too wide ranging...too many duds IMO. TT is okay, but pales in comparison to the first three, which to me, IS Pavement.

I'm intriqued by the Gold Sounds cd...though it seems like an odd choice for these guys, Pavement is at heart a free form Rock Band.

I never thought the arrangements were as gloriously schizo as many Fall tunes are, but the whole presentation of the band, minus the vocal style and recalls The Fall in their mid 80's incarnation.

[Guest akanalog]

that one hex induction fall album-yeah that sounds just like some pavement though i like it a ton less.

anyways-wowee zowee is incredible. it is my favorite pavement album.

i hate brighten the corners. dont like any of those songs really.

i think terror twilight is underrated. or at least a bit better than brighten the corners.

it is too bad the song "the hex" was sort of wimped down from the powerful live versions.

but i think wowee zowee-its a trip. brings me back to the good side of high school memories.

also get the give it a day EP if you see it just because that is an awesome song. maybe that will be on one of these extended releases though?

[.:.impossible]

I think Brighten the Corners is a fantastic album. I don't know how I missed this the first time around. There are some near-classic rock songs on this thing! Type Slowly for instance.

Wowee Zowee is of course the alt-darling because of its scrawling nature & the heavily weighted factor that it is their sophomore effor, but Brighten the Corners and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain are real shots at making a good album. I think they succeeded with both.

I actually like certain elements of Terror Twilight, but I'd say that Preston School of Industry's two albums do top it. The second Jicks album definitely rocks. Terror Twilight ranks at the bottom of all Pavement-related recordings, and that is still a pretty good thing.

Yeah, The Fall is cool, but they made some real clunker albums to me. You really never know what you're getting when you buy an album that is 'off the beaten path'. I mean, they made a shitload of albums!

[Guest akanalog]

wowee zowee wasnt their sophmore effort.

[Guest akanalog]

i think i hate brighten the corners because i went on a mini-tour and saw pavement like five times in one week down the east coast when they were supporting this album. i remember writing negative reviews of the songs in my college newspaper and people were annoyed at me. but i do still dislike most of the brighten the corners songs. they havent grown on me.

i just listened to a live bbc session from 1999 where they play some brighten the corners stuff and i still like it better though carrot rope makes me sad as i think of it as the FINAL pavement song.

[.:.impossible]

You're right. Crooked Rain was...

[Werf]

I love me some Pavement, as my avatar attests. My favorites, in order:

Slanted and Enchanted

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Wowee Zowee

Westing (Musket and Sextant)

Brighten the Corners

Terror Twilight

I love their single eps, too, with extras, in particular Pacific Trim, Shady Lane and Major Leagues.

The new Malkmus solo is my favorite of the post-Pave stuff: Face the Truth. Great stuff.

[J Larsen]

I love every Pavement record, starting with Demolition Plot J7, which was one of the first 7" records I ever bought. Generally, I think the older the album, the better it is, but that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I heard them as they came out. (Thinking about it now, "love" is probably going a bit far for the last record, but it's still worthwhile.)

It's always been obvious to everyone that Pavement was influenced by the Fall, but honestly I've always found the Fall to be a bit tedious - even their most classic records. I guess it's probably breaking some law of rock to say it, but I think Pavement were a far more engaging and all-round better band. I don't really care how derivitave they were. A lot of crappy groups influenced a lot of groups that I like.

Edited October 11, 2005 by J Larsen

[tonym]

It's always been obvious to everyone that Pavement was influenced by the Fall, but honestly I've always found the Fall to be a bit tedious - even their most classic records. I guess it's probably breaking some law of rock to say it, but I think Pavement were a far more engaging and all-round better band. I don't really care how derivitave they were. A lot of crappy groups influenced a lot of groups that I like.

←

Well said!

[Joe]

I recently revisited TERROR TWILIGHT and have to revise my opinion. I still have no use for "Major Leagues" (Malkmus paying tribute to Air Supply?), "Carrot Rope", or, 8 times out of 10, "Spit On A Stranger", but the rest of the album works quite well. On the whole, mosr darker and more sinister in aspect than I remember.

I bleed in beige.