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Stephen Malkmus - 'Face the Truth' (2005)

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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 (Patrick South), Saturday, 19 March 2005 18:42 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Saturday, 19 March 2005 18:48 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Saturday, 19 March 2005 18:49 (twenty-one years ago)

"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, Saturday, 19 March 2005 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

they know it now

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 19 March 2005 19:12 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (johnny fever), Saturday, 19 March 2005 19:13 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (johnny fever), Saturday, 19 March 2005 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Simon H. (Simon H.), Saturday, 19 March 2005 19:52 (twenty-one years ago)

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, Saturday, 19 March 2005 20:40 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Saturday, 19 March 2005 21:15 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Jimmy Mod Has Returned With Spices And Silks (ModJ), Saturday, 19 March 2005 21:30 (twenty-one years ago)

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, Saturday, 19 March 2005 21:41 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― leroy, Saturday, 19 March 2005 21:56 (twenty-one years ago)

This is exciting me a lot.

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

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Saturday, 19 March 2005 21:58 (twenty-one years ago)

gah, pavement purists are so boring!!!

― sexy waitress connie stevens (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 19 March 2005 22:58 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 19 March 2005 23:10 (twenty-one years ago)

enjoy your preston school of industry records then!

― sexy waitress connie stevens (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 19 March 2005 23:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Nah, those suck too.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 19 March 2005 23:20 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (johnny fever), Saturday, 19 March 2005 23:22 (twenty-one years ago)

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, Saturday, 19 March 2005 23:32 (twenty-one years ago)

LOL ROFFLE WTF

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 00:25 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (John Cei Douglas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 00:28 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Sunday, 20 March 2005 01:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Nice Johnny

― Jimmy Mod Has Returned With Spices And Silks (ModJ), Sunday, 20 March 2005 01:44 (twenty-one years ago)

"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, Sunday, 20 March 2005 04:00 (twenty-one years ago)

This record is really fun so far. Thanks Johnny!

― mitch dub (ano ano), Sunday, 20 March 2005 04:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Gracias, Johnny.

― Bent Over at the Arclight (Bent Over at the Arclight), Sunday, 20 March 2005 05:07 (twenty-one years ago)

gracias amigo!

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Sunday, 20 March 2005 05:46 (twenty-one years ago)

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), Sunday, 20 March 2005 06:04 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Sunday, 20 March 2005 06:11 (twenty-one years ago)

It worked fine for me.

― o. nate (onate), Sunday, 20 March 2005 08:26 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 08:45 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 08:52 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Sunday, 20 March 2005 09:06 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (Patrick South), Sunday, 20 March 2005 15:00 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 20 March 2005 15:02 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (John Cei Douglas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (ano ano), Sunday, 20 March 2005 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 20 March 2005 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

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), Sunday, 20 March 2005 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― sexy waitress connie stevens (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 March 2005 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

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

They're great lyrics.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (John Cei Douglas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― mitch dub (ano ano), Sunday, 20 March 2005 18:01 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 18:07 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (John Cei Douglas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 18:10 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― mitch dub (ano ano), Sunday, 20 March 2005 18:11 (twenty-one years ago)

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), Sunday, 20 March 2005 18:22 (twenty-one years ago)

"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 (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:19 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:22 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:25 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:25 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (miccio), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:36 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:42 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:50 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (papa la bas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:55 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (miccio), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:24 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (ano ano), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

(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), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:37 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (johnny fever), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:45 (twenty-one years ago)

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, Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:46 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (miccio), Sunday, 20 March 2005 22:51 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Sunday, 20 March 2005 23:18 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (mr harvey weinstein), Sunday, 20 March 2005 23:26 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― rvssignonald's, Monday, 21 March 2005 01:02 (twenty-one years ago)

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, Monday, 21 March 2005 01:42 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, anyone have this on slsk? plz

― brokenfuses, Monday, 21 March 2005 04:30 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 05:36 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Monday, 21 March 2005 06:46 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (inca), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:11 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 21 March 2005 16:58 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― kieran (bhoy kieran), Monday, 21 March 2005 20:47 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually, it looks like this:

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

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:52 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:54 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 21 March 2005 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

this album is really great

― you make me feel like a tyrannosaurus rex (deangulberry), Monday, 21 March 2005 22:07 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 21 March 2005 23:11 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― kevinm, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 01:21 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 01:33 (twenty-one years ago)

slanted induction hour

― kevinm, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 01:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Enduction, rather.

― kevinm, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 01:53 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (johnny fever), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 03:59 (twenty-one years ago)

It looks kinda sorta like a nicer version of the cover of Sleater-Kinney's One Beat.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 04:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, green spermies are way better than lady bits.

― Mr. Harvey Weinstein (mr harvey weinstein), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 04:49 (twenty-one years ago)

It kinda looks like the box to Mac's iLife...

― Stencil, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 10:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I really think this might be my favourite of all his solo work.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 14:57 (twenty-one years ago)

"his name is leather mcwhip and he needs to be stopped"

― i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 15:03 (twenty-one years ago)

this music is SO MALE

― i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I think that it's kinda hilarious that SM would have a villainous alter ego called Leather McWhip.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.guitarnine.com/image/shockwaves.jpg

― i love scotch, scotchy scotch scotch (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

You lucky, lucky people.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 16:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Are "Horslip" and "Murder at the Yoga Olympics" the same song as "I've Hardly Been"?
And which song is "Invisible Bodies"? And "Mmmmm..."?
So many variations on the tracklist. Was this "leaked" copy from an official promo?

― Bent Over at the Arclight (Bent Over at the Arclight), Thursday, 24 March 2005 00:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Sounds like it.

― you make me feel like a tyrannosaurus rex (deangulberry), Thursday, 24 March 2005 00:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I just listened to the album. I really liked his last one, but this one does not seem nearly rural prog enough! I WISH there was a song called "Horslip" on it (since I just bought a Horselips best-of this weekend, and it was great!), but on my copy there sure isn't one.

― xhuxk, Thursday, 24 March 2005 00:43 (twenty-one years ago)

"I've Hardly Been" = "Murder At The Yoga Olympics" (it might actually be "Murder" on official release, a la "Ell Ess Two" and "Infinite Spark")

"Freeze The Saints" = "Invisible Bodies"

This much is obvious from the lyrics.

Not sure about "Mmmmm" and "Horslip." Those are probably alternate titles for "Post-Paint Boy," which was also called "Makers Of Modern" for a while.

"It Kills" and "Mama" both used to be "Face The Truth" on setlists. "It Kills" has also been referred to as "Daddy."

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 24 March 2005 00:56 (twenty-one years ago)

If I'm let down about anything with this record, it's that "Carl The Clod" from the Buenos Aires solo show isn't on the album. Hopefully that will be on the next record, rather than being a b-side.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 24 March 2005 00:58 (twenty-one years ago)

The only song I don't like much is track 3, "I've Hardly Been." The synths are kind of annoying, and the vocals sound tossed off. It would be a total dud if it weren't for the chorus. And I don't like that little synth burping at the very end of the track.

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Friday, 25 March 2005 16:40 (twenty-one years ago)

The only song I don't like is Post Paint Boy. I feel like Matador asked him to make a Pavement sounding song for the single so he wrote that in ten minutes "I'm really really really really proud of what you did" ????
I know that isn't true, since the song has been around for a while, but it's boring and his vocals sound bad on that one. Otherwise, it's a really fun album. I never feel like there are highlights, it's pretty consistent.

― mitch dub (ano ano), Friday, 25 March 2005 16:58 (twenty-one years ago)

alright, after finally hearing this i could almost get behind a positive feeling of this album. it's rather a quiet affair, and the snyths do seem to be EVERYWHERE, but they work for the most part where they're at.could be pulled back a bit, though.
now, don't get me wrong! i'm still not convinced this album is as good as even , say, the first SM solo. but, even at first listen it's head and shoulders above piglib. maybe it's the feeling that HE'S feeling it.
"best since WZ"? ummm, no, not really. not even close.
baby c'mon stands WAY out to me. i was afraid there wasn't even gonna be an uptempo number, but this one's pretty crafty. i also noticed it seems like he actually spent some more time on the lyrics, maybe i'm wrong, but they seem a bit more fluid, less obvious.
i still yearn for more gtrs, but hey, it's better than what came before it. i don't hear the pavement throw back comment, either. it's not there.

stop yr frontin on PSOI. scoot kicks.

― eedd, Friday, 25 March 2005 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

im really loving this record. quite possibly malkmus' best material since pavement.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Friday, 25 March 2005 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Fractured knees, calamities... la la la.

Two things. I am sure SM gets a text message during "Pencil Rot".

The start of "Kindling for the Master" = http://home1.gte.net/res0mrb7/widescreen/axe/axe-wide-poem.jpg

Tell me I'm wrong! YOU CAN'T!

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Friday, 25 March 2005 21:56 (twenty-one years ago)

"freeze the saints" is the front runner for me so far. and the intro to "loud cloud crowd" is perfect.

i hate the lyrics to "post paint boy." they're petty and obvious. stuff like this ticks me off way more than the "nonsense lyrics" people always complain about.

― i am the modren man (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 28 March 2005 16:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Two things. I am sure SM gets a text message during "Pencil Rot".

an SMS? :-)

― i am the modren man (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 28 March 2005 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I feel bad for Malkmus in that he's become another one of those "it's his best material since ______" artists. Every single album without fail will get that comment from a bunch of people. Hey, remember when Pig Lib was his best record since Wowee Zowee? That was what, only three months ago?

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 28 March 2005 16:53 (twenty-one years ago)

haha matthew no one but us liked pig lib!

― i am the modren man (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 28 March 2005 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

i love pig lib

― steve hise, Monday, 28 March 2005 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Holy crap, this is great. "Pencil Rot" is fantastic. So is "Post Paint Boy." I love how unexpectedly Moog-y this album is. And "Kindling for the Master" elegantly wipes the floor with both Shins and Postal Service.

Then again, this is coming from a guy whose favorite Pavement record is "Terror Twilight."

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Monday, 28 March 2005 17:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I feel bad for Malkmus in that he's become another one of those "it's his best material since ______" artists.

But it's TRUE in this case!

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 28 March 2005 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I predict the next album will suck again like the last two.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 28 March 2005 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know. I like this album a lot, but I kinda liked the last two a bit more. But I think every album he's made has been either excellent or great. He never fell off to begin with.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 28 March 2005 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

You're something of a Malkmus apologist though, so this position doesn't exactly surprise me.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 28 March 2005 17:59 (twenty-one years ago)

something of a Malkmus apologist

haha

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Monday, 28 March 2005 18:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Apologist is the wrong word. Loyalist, maybe. I'm pretty critical of his work, though. Probably a lot more so than the lot of you who just write off a bunch of his records. I think you all just slept on the last two and are not really hearing what I am in this record - that he's treading water a bit in terms of progress. I like that he's experimented a bit with production and arrangement, and that he's put more effort into getting better vocal performances, but this most just sounds like Pig Lib II to me.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 28 March 2005 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

It's kinda like Out Of Time to Pig Lib's Green, if you want to go back to the old R.E.M. analogy. On the surface, there's a change and it's good to see him moving in one direction, but I don't feel like it's the most cohesive record he's made. I feel like the next one will probably be better, and show more progress and commitment, a la Automatic For The People.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 28 March 2005 19:03 (twenty-one years ago)


I really don't see Face the Truth as Pig Lib II. It kills has a Pig Lib vibe, but overall this record is more fresh and vibrant. I really liked Pig Lib, but the production was a little flat and it dragged a bit in the middle (mainly because of Sheets).

Freeze the saints, No More Shoes, Baby C'mon, loud cloud croud - this is some of his best writing.

― LL, Wednesday, 30 March 2005 11:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Sheets was the only mediocre moment on the whole of Pig Lib. Think I'm going to resist hearing this album till its release.

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 13:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Perpetua in R.E.M. analogy shockah

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 14:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Wait a second . . . Green is a cohesive record?

― southern lights, Wednesday, 30 March 2005 15:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd be more inclined to compare this new record to something like Sonic Nurse; it doesn't reeeally change a lot from the previous records, but hints at it round the edges - sounding like something of an amalgamation of the previous two. But just like that record, I reeeeally love it.

But maybe I'm more inclined to do it this way because I don't really know any R.E.M. albums.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

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.

You know, that's an idea I never bought. I really don't think Malkmus went mad with power as much as the rest of the band was just exhausted. SS didn't even submit any songs. You'll note that when they broke up, none of the other members even bothered continuing with music... Bob Nastanovich couldn't wait to get back to the races; with the exception of SS who's current band sounds half asleep.

― David Allen (David Allen), Thursday, 31 March 2005 13:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Stephen Malkmus To Tour With Mastodon

― latebloomer: AKA Sir Teddy Ruxpin, Former Scientologist (latebloomer), Thursday, 31 March 2005 14:23 (twenty-one years ago)

"SS didn't even submit any songs."

According to that one Perfect Sound Forever book, some of the songs Spiral showed up with Malkmus rejected showed up on the first PSOI album.

― a line was struck, Thursday, 31 March 2005 14:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Honestly, his "fair share" of creative control would be 100% if we are administering by talent.

― mitch dub (ano ano), Thursday, 31 March 2005 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Anywar, FtT is rocking in my bedroom constantly. I'm moving down the tracklist: at first I was all about the opening Pencil Rot It Kills I've Hardly Been combo. Now the middle section is really satisfying something. I slighted Freeze the Saints for being too Pavementy but it's Malkmus' prettiest tune since Major Leagues (though I never cared for the first album's ballads like a lot of people). Loud Cloud Crowd might be my favorite on the whole album. I'm pretty meh on Kindling for the Master, Post Paint Boy, and Malediction. My favorite SM album.

― mitch dub (ano ano), Thursday, 31 March 2005 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I think that more than anything else, Malkmus broke up Pavement because he was tired of playing with those guys and wanted to do something with new collaborators. If Malkmus didn't feel that way, they'd still be together - Spiral seemed to be in denial for quite a while, insisting that it was a hiatus.

Green is my favorite mid-period R.E.M. record!

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 31 March 2005 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

None of those eventual Preston School songs would've fit in with Malkmus' Terror Twilight songs. I don't think so anyway. Maybe "Falling Away," but that's pretty featherweight compared to other Spiral songs that have made it to Pavement albums.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 31 March 2005 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Whoa, I wanted weird...and I GOT weird. Whoa.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 4 April 2005 14:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Does anyone know what instrument is used on the first solo of “Kindling”?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 8 April 2005 14:30 (twenty-one years ago)

a dulcet, which is a miniature dulcimer.

― shut up, Friday, 8 April 2005 17:58 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...
8.7 in Pitchfork today.

I think I might be alone in thinking this is unwarranted.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 13:57 (twenty-one years ago)

It annoyed me that the Silver Jews were called a "short-lived side project with D.C. Berman" in that review. It annoys me that I get annoyed by stupid shit like this.

― mcd (mcd), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 14:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I didn't bother to read the review, but... 'a "short-lived side project with D.C. Berman"' is just an inexcusable factual error no matter how you look at it.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 14:06 (twenty-one years ago)

definetely unwarranted...way too much filler on this one for it to be considered anything above average solo malkmus...this review should be switched with yesterdays 6.9 for the Gorillaz

― Space Is the Place (Space Is the Place), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 14:09 (twenty-one years ago)

the review reads a little rushed (the Silver Jews gaffe, plus the synth on the opener is described as "boxy and towering". like a tower of boxes?) but i'm extremely glad about the 8.7. this one is firmly in my top 10 for the year. and, again, i am not a Pavement fan at all.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 14:32 (twenty-one years ago)

oh, and Sam refers to the LP as a *Jicks* record at least twice. it's not, is it?

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 14:36 (twenty-one years ago)

they play on the record, but in title it isn't a jicks record.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 14:43 (twenty-one years ago)

i tried to get some exact credits ala who plays what on each song, but nils says that nothing of the sort was provided.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 14:44 (twenty-one years ago)

it's a fun album, but by no means the best thing he's ever done.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

http://artforum.com/uploads/upload.000/id09019/article00.jpg

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:14 (twenty-one years ago)

does anybody know who the mother of his child is? no-one's sayin' in print.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:17 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1500623/04222005/nullmalkmus_stephen.jhtml

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm sorry but the baby sling is bullshit. Everybody knows the Baby Bjorn is way more practical.

― mcd (mcd), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:24 (twenty-one years ago)

goddamn. I can't find ANY real interviews promoting this record!

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

In-store tonight at 7 at the Capitol Hill Sonic Boom.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:27 (twenty-one years ago)

babymama on the left:
http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/people/LASTER/Images/laster10-8-22s.jpg

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:33 (twenty-one years ago)

well, now I know what she LOOKS like.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

disclaimer: non a pavement fanatic here.

Listened to the record at Sonic Boom two weeks ago when it was a promo only still. There was one really good long song on it.. otherwise, it just blew over me. *shrug*

― donut debonair (donut), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

The Malk is proud of his back-to-basics approach that eschewed the use of modern technology like Pro Tools. "You remember in '78 or '79, when people were like, 'Disco sucks?' " he asked. "Pro Tools sucks as much as disco sucks."

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Still not so sure about this album but then I wasn't so sure about Pig Lib and that slowly but surely became a firm favourite and possibly one of my most played records over the last few years.
I've gotta say this is lyrically disappointing so far, Malkmus could be singing about anything but his voice is carried away by the production and the singing falls pretty flat. It's Malkmus's words that are usually the first thing to stick out on any of his records but the only line I can think of is the bit about the alter-ego in his head and that's only because someone mentioned it upthread.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

The Malk is proud of his back-to-basics approach that eschewed the use of modern technology like Pro Tools. "You remember in '78 or '79, when people were like, 'Disco sucks?' " he asked. "Pro Tools sucks as much as disco sucks."

He should contact the U of O people and organize a Ducks' game Multi-track Software package burning in the middle of the field.

― donut debonair (donut), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:22 (twenty-one years ago)

The liners have (confusingly stated) musician credits for the album, but not for songs, as far as I can see.

― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:56 (twenty-one years ago)

8.7 is totally fair for Face The Truth. Not too glowing, but definitely a fair ranking for a solid record. Eff the haters.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 17:30 (twenty-one years ago)

The inspiration for "Post-Paint Boy" is so much more apparent now...

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Re: his babymama, I mean.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I was a bit baffled when I read a review saying "after the near unlistenable Pig Lib SM remembers what he's good at and produces his best solo work by far" on teletext.

― Suedey (John Cei Douglas), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 17:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha, it's Pig Lib II!

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 17:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I fully intend to give Face The Truth a fair shake, but after three or four listens, there is nothing memorable about it. Novelty synth licks, banal melodies. I want to like it, considering I've liked everything else SM has done.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 18:12 (twenty-one years ago)

"Eff the haters"

hey, eff u, pally!
and as far pig lib II goes, it asuredly is not. if it twas, then i'd have already filed it. there's actual hooks in there this time!!!
not just gtr. wankery that does nothin...

― eedd, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 18:15 (twenty-one years ago)

It wasn't until this week, Matthew, that I really started to "get" your comparisons of Face The Truth to Brighen The Corners (the main difference being that FTT goes out of its way to be complex, textured, and pretty, as opposed to just pretty).

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 19:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha, it's Pig Lib II!

OTM

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 19:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I fully intend to give Face The Truth a fair shake, but after three or four listens, there is nothing memorable about it. Novelty synth licks, banal melodies. I want to like it, considering I've liked everything else SM has done.

I agree so far.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 19:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Me too.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I love it so far. (still on first listen, though).

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 01:05 (twenty-one years ago)

first listen and it's alright.

i freaked out listening to it in the car and it made me really sad. I had to turn it off. Does anybody else find this a really sad record?

― Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 12:47 (twenty-one years ago)

it is kinda sad. there's a meloncholy about it, isn't there?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 14:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm sure I spelled that wrong. It's "melancholy," right?

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 14:46 (twenty-one years ago)

melon collie

― miccio (miccio), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 15:11 (twenty-one years ago)

as far pig lib II goes, it asuredly is not. if it twas, then i'd have already filed it. there's actual hooks in there this time!!!

Well, for one, "Oyster" is on that record, so that just make you nutty!

What I mean by this record being Pig Lib II is that a lot of the songs are still developing a lot of the musical ideas and influences that were all over Pig Lib. "No More Shoes" is very obviously cut from the same cloth as "1% of One" and "Witch Mountain Bridge" (and going back a bit further, "FIN."), "It Kills" isn't far off from "Oyster," and "Malediction," "Loud Cloud Crowd," and "Post-Paint Boy" could have fit in just fine on the last two albums if it weren't for a slightly different approach to production and arrangement. (It's not hard to imagine any of those three played in a style more like "Discretion Grove" or "Jo Jo's Jacket.")

I think he's done some really good things with the arrangements on this record. He's becoming a pretty good producer, at least for his own music.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 15:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I've come to the conclusion that this is his best solo record yet.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 14:15 (twenty-one years ago)

the best thing about finishing a review? being able to read other people's review of what you were reviewing. so my reading will consist solely of Face The Truth reviews for the next few days.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 14:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't decide if I should buy this or not....I have his other two and like them, but don't listen to them much. And I like the new one except for track 3. How's the packaging?

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 14:31 (twenty-one years ago)

The packaging is beautiful. You should buy it. Help him linger here!

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I've been trying to find some images of the artwork for you, but am having no luck...

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 14:42 (twenty-one years ago)

anyone want to host this?

― breezy, Wednesday, 1 June 2005 15:00 (twenty-one years ago)

http://i9.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/2f/94/18_1_b.JPG

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 15:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe I'll buy it today. Is that poster packaged inside the album?

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 15:32 (twenty-one years ago)

i think malkmus should cover al stewart's "in brooklyn" for his next album. in fact, i will go all the way to portland to hand-deliver a copy of the song to him. although he probably knows it already, because it only sounds like ALL HIS SONGS.

― The Pinup Girls of YANK (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 19:01 (twenty-one years ago)

http://southsidecallbox.com/ftd/mp3s/Al%20Stewart%20-%20In%20Brooklyn.mp3

― The Pinup Girls of YANK (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 19:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't like this album.

― Marc-, Wednesday, 1 June 2005 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

"pencil rot" has really grown on me.

― The Pinup Girls of YANK (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 19:17 (twenty-one years ago)

i want to hear it. does anyone want to host it?

― breezy, Wednesday, 1 June 2005 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I always thought he should cover "Time Of The Season."

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 2 June 2005 14:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Well he did cover "Never My Love" which is even more up his alley.

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 2 June 2005 15:22 (twenty-one years ago)

He also covered "The Poet & the Witch," which is pretty awesome. The new album isn't as majestic as Pig Lib, but whatever, it's still worth more listens than most of the other albums I've heard this year.

― beta ray bill, Thursday, 2 June 2005 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

has anyone seen him on this recent tour? how is the show? and are the jicks this time around the same as last time around? i'm going to see him tonight w/ martha wainwright.

― teekay, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 17:57 (twenty-one years ago)

i thought the philly show was boring until someone jumped onstage, threw his water bottle drunkenly into some lights, and shouted philadelphia before attempting an escape backstage.

― blackmail.is.my.life (blackmail.is.my.life), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 18:54 (twenty-one years ago)

apparently the shows have been hit or miss so far: http://www.obner.org/bb/viewtopic.php?t=8276

― katie, a princess (katie, a princess), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 19:02 (twenty-one years ago)

This is a record I'll play to death. Even so, it's no great feat -- I praise it in negatives -- it doesn't sound forced -- it does not sound tired or uninspired -- it is not boring. And maybe this is a great feat for someone is his late 30s who's been doing this, for the same label, for well over a decade. Now I picture the "Cut Your Hair" video scene where Malk wears the crown and sheds a tear... he's now the former king of indie rock.

I really thought this album he'd go all Associates or something and make a stab at bigtime fame and grab some emmies... he's resisting nicely, not that any of this would be bad.

― Aaron A., Wednesday, 15 June 2005 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Endo is a helluva drug.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 17 June 2005 10:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I like this album now. Not much as Pig Lib, but that would be hard but I like it.

― dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 17 June 2005 11:09 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/music/reviews/cd/review_1117671492

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 17 June 2005 11:54 (twenty-one years ago)

"This is a record I'll play to death. Even so, it's no great feat -- I praise it in negatives -- it doesn't sound forced -- it does not sound tired or uninspired -- it is not boring. And maybe this is a great feat for someone is his late 30s who's been doing this, for the same label, for well over a decade."

I don't follow this guy's music, but do you really believe that what you just described is possibly a "great feat?"

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 17 June 2005 12:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Best solo Malkmus yet? I'm starting to think so. It feels more cohesive, less scattershot than the last two. Like on the s/t one he was trying out his new freedom as a solo artist, wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to be, so he included a little bit of everything. Then on "Pig Lib" the focus got a little tighter, though he still finds his reach exceeding his grasp at times. This one sounds like he's having fun doing something he feels comfortable doing - maybe not a big stylistic leap from anything that he's been doing since, oh, "Brighten the Corners", but still pretty good.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 17 June 2005 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I like it about as much as the last two, I really don't get what people dislike about them aside from that they came closer after the end of Pavement. Aside from "Black Book," the self-titled record is pretty wonderful, lots of songs that I love very much.

The show in NYC was really good. The Jicks were a lot tighter and it seemed like Malkmus was actually trying hard, concentrating, really going for it. Most Malkmus and Pavement shows I've seen just seemed like he was goofing off and having fun. I don't think he was having a bad time, it just seems more like he wants to challenge himself now.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Friday, 17 June 2005 17:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I think it's pretty cool...picked it up yesterday....feels loose and 70s and jammy like Pig Lib but maybe more assured in a way....seems to rely less on the big guitar solo and more on sort of wierd, meandering song structures...like the keyboards....Pencil Rot is a fucking JAM!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Sunday, 19 June 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

B-b-b-b-b-but the last two were all about the weird meandering song structures too...

Seriously, I just want to know if I've been listening to some weird specially-made-just-for-me version of those records for the past few years.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Sunday, 19 June 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

i have a boot from the LA show a few days ago and it sounds really good.

― jody l'anti-vierge (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 19 June 2005 21:47 (twenty years ago)

A thoughtful review of Face the Truth from the New Republic website:

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w050620&s=brady062204

The author's thesis is that Malkmus is suffering from a split personality syndrome.

On his new album, Face the Truth, Stephen Malkmus, former frontman of indie music superstars Pavement, suggests one of the fates that awaits an aging indie darling: split musical personality disorder. There are two Stephen Malkmuses on Face the Truth. Stephen Number One appears to be a man on the cusp of mid-life who has started to fret more and more about the meaning of life and how he might best go about ensuring his legacy. Unfortunately, this Stephen tends to express his pensiveness in trite formulas about trying hard and not giving up, an indie popster Stuart Smalley. And then there's Stephen Number Two, Number One's cocky doppelganger who is filled with the sheer exuberance of making smart and smart-alecky pop music. This Stephen has some issues to be sure, but he resists the maudlin expressiveness of his worried other. Instead, Stephen Number Two deals playfully in the currency of artistically inclined indie pop: cryptic word play and evocative images.

Face the Truth is a fine album. It's musically adventurous, ranging freely and to great effect over a multitude of styles. And it tantalizes us with the two sides of Malkmus's personality. But sadly the album never brings Stephens One and Two into any sort of productive dialogue that might yield some larger insights into Malkmus as a musician. Instead, the two personas just exist side by side, leaving us to wonder which one is the real Malkmus.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 27 June 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

I think he's right that there are two Malkmus personalities. It seems like personality Number One (the "man on the cusp of mid-life") is the one that Malkmus has only started showing recently - basically since going solo - whereas personality Number Two ("filled with the sheer exuberance of making smart and smart-alecky pop music") is the one that he displayed throughout his tenure with Pavement. However, I wonder about the idea that there is no productive dialogue between the two personalities - or if it is necessary for there to be the kind of dialogue that the reviewer seems to crave. How could these two personalities function more organically as a whole? I'm not sure I know the answer.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 27 June 2005 15:31 (twenty years ago)

Perhaps another way to put the question is: Can ambiguity and directness exist side-by-side? For instance, I don't have the same negative reaction that Brady has to lines like: "Seasons change--
Nothing lasts for long / Except the earth and mountains". Brady reacts to this with: "Blech. Here and in other places, there isn't any of the attractive ambiguity that is present in the music." However, can't directness be as attractive as ambiguity? Must every meaning be hid behind obscurity and evasion? Perhaps Malkmus hasn't found the most original way to express the concept of impermanence, but at the same time, lines like that have cropped up in classic pop songs since the dawn of the form, a tradition that Malkmus is simultaneously alluding to, and I don't see why he should be afraid of invoking that tradition. The juxtaposition of directness and ambiguity reminds me of electric period Dylan on songs like "I Want You" - where the simplicity of the chorus contrasts with the elliptical imagery of the verses - proof that different ways of communicating meaning can co-exist.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 27 June 2005 15:39 (twenty years ago)

That observation isn't bad. Going on his terms, I definitely prefer Stephen Two. More "Pencil Rot," less "Freeze The Saints" next time, please. But I don't know, "Malediction" really works for me. I identify with that song a lot lately, and I don't think that it's very corny.

I do think that the Stephens merge a bit on "It Kills" and "No More Shoes."

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 27 June 2005 15:42 (twenty years ago)

yeah, that review's pretty dumb. i think little stephen's reached or slipped into some kind of neil young stage, where his catalogue's gonna become a kaleidoscope of stephens, transes, ragged glories, comes a timeses. it'll be fun. i like forward to stuff as good as the first couple albums. this new one's not doing it yet for me.

― the gorgeous steinbrenner, Monday, 27 June 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

You enjoy "Pencil Riot," Matthew? It annoys the fuck out of me, although as Metal Machine Music-esque intro it serves its purpose.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 27 June 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

Oh hell yeah, "Pencil Rot" is certainly one of the top songs on that record. It's totally my kind of thing.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 27 June 2005 16:39 (twenty years ago)

I really like this whole album alot....I think it's by far his best solo work.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 27 June 2005 16:40 (twenty years ago)

To stretch the Dylan analogy a bit further, you could see Face the Truth as a transitional album like John Wesley Harding - where the enigmatic surreal poetry of the artist's earlier work existed side-by-side with more direct, traditional pop lyrics (for instance something like "Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" next to something like "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"). If so, then perhaps the split personality that we see on FtT is going to give way as one personality becomes dominant. If he follows the Dylan model, then perhaps we should be expecting Malkmus to record his Nashville Skyline soon, where the abstract wordplay is nowhere to be found, and the songs are simple, direct and straightforward lyrically.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 27 June 2005 16:57 (twenty years ago)

At this point I'll take a whole album's worth of "Mama" and "Post-Paint Boy" and "Freeze The Saints" over "Pencl Riot" and "Loud Cloud Crowd."

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:03 (twenty years ago)

it took me about five listens to get into "pencil rot" but now it's one of my favorite songs on the record. actually, i have the exact opposite opinion as alfred soto -- i'll take an album's worth of "pencil rot" and "loud cloud crowd" over an album of "mama" and "post-paint boy" (okay songs, but malkmus can do so much better).

― monsanto and yanni (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:45 (twenty years ago)

also, o. nate is cool. :-)

― monsanto and yanni (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:46 (twenty years ago)

Hey, thanks, Jody. You're pretty cool yourself.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

I like both sides of Malkmus, personally. I don't feel like the album has too much literal or imagistic. Its just fine, a fine small-stakes album. But then I'm not pining for either old-school spazzola or deep thought.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I don't get why anyone would be so eager to write blander, more "normal" songs, even if they come out really good. Don't we already have a billion other people for that sort of thing? I'd rather have him play up his Malkmusness rather than attempt to diminish it.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 27 June 2005 20:27 (twenty years ago)

Eager for Malkmus to write blander, more "normal" songs, that is.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 27 June 2005 20:28 (twenty years ago)

But even Malkmus' middle-of-the-road stuff sounds like no one else's. Plus, I think you guys are exaggerating the extent of Malkmus' schizophrenia; it's not mellow-Malkmus vs rockout-Malkmus. Maybe I'm unconvinced by the likes of "Pencil Riot" because it's not a good song: awkward and confused. Which is not to say that on the next album he could pull out another "Fight This Generation" or "Rattled By The Rush" or another one of those midperiod Pavement songs which do the pencil riot a lot more convincingly. I just don't think his heart is in the rockers anymore.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 27 June 2005 20:39 (twenty years ago)

"Pencil Rot" felt really Fiery Furnacy willful the first few times I heard it but I dig the places it goes now. I think it has way more oomph than either of those Wowee tracks you mention, god that middle break is just a gas.

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 27 June 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

Man, "Pencil Rot" just has so many hooks that I love, really rad vocal parts and interesting keyboard textures. I don't think there's a better first verse of an album on any other record that I've heard so far this year. And it's twice as good live with John Moen on drums.

Miccio is right about oomph. If I had to compare "Pencil Rot" to a preexisting Pavement song, I think it'd be more like "Stereo" maybe. But even still.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 27 June 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

Goddamn it! I'm gonna listen to it right now and report back.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 27 June 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

I like how he has to repeat "shit pile" with another really excited "SHIT PIIILE!" like he's excited to be swearing or something...it's cute!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 27 June 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

Yeah I think at first I was like "oh great, he's being cute" and now it's "oh great! he's being cute!"

― miccio (miccio), Monday, 27 June 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

So I reheard it: those synth-farts evoke, not unpleasantly, Eno-era Roxy. I'd love to hear it live. I'd be great if he got every Jick to sing a different part/voice.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 27 June 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

I find it very hard to listen to in one sitting.
i usually get to "mama" and get disgusted.

― That One Guy (That One Guy), Monday, 27 June 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

The only live recording of "Pencil Rot" that I have right now is from the Cleveland, and that show isn't recorded very well and they were kinda sloppy on it. When I saw them play the song in NYC, it was crisp and super focused and just really really awesome. Moen really packs a punch with the opening riff, whenever that comes in the song sounds like it's going to take off like a jet.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 27 June 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

Much prefer Pig Lib, but the newest is enjoyable in more spots than not.

― Brett Hickman (Bhickman), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I don't get why anyone would be so eager to write blander, more "normal" songs, even if they come out really good.

I just think that sometimes the intentional obscurity can be a crutch. It was amusing when Pavement was first starting out. Here was a band singing words in English that seemed like they were about something, but it was usually darned difficult to figure out what. That insouciant mystifying air was part of what made Pavement attractive to a certain segment of the audience. However, after a while, the oblique lyrics become so much designer wallpaper, plastered equally across whatever musical scaffolding is available. I like "Pencil Rot" but I have to admit that its lyrics mean less to me than the more straightforward lyrics of a song like "Freeze the Saints".

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

In any case, its not the lyrics that make me deem FTT my favorite solo Malkmus - its the tunes. "No More Shoes" rocks effortlessly in a way that "1% of One" tried way too hard to do.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

nate OTM. And I do enjoy FTT much more than Pig Lib.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

"Pencil Rot" isn't straightforward?

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:40 (twenty years ago)

Care to explain what it's about then?

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:41 (twenty years ago)

I don't have the lyric sheet on me right now, but if you put them up here I'll parse them for you.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:42 (twenty years ago)

I'll leave Miccio to the parsing (because I want to read it) but I've got to say, there are loads of lines in "Pencil Rot" that are pretty clear and are totally relevant to my life lately.

The first verse about having a villain in his head is great, but this is the part that really gets me:

I'm here to sing a song
a song about privilege
the spikes you put on your feet
when you were crawling and dancing
to the top of the human shit pile
somehow you managed to ellucidate
something that was on all of their minds
and other people see themselves in you
and I can see them in you too

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 18:34 (twenty years ago)

well that's a big part of it right there.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 18:36 (twenty years ago)

I mean its basically a variation on Paul Westerberg's "World Class Fad." A little more cryptic but its not exceptionally obtuse for Malkmus at all.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 18:37 (twenty years ago)

I couldn't find the lyrics online, but even if you take that one verse that Matthew posted, it's a lot less clear what he's trying to say once you start reading it closely. Ok, he's singing a song about "privilege" - but what about it? And how is the "you" he is singing about when he says "Other people see themselves in you"?

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 18:47 (twenty years ago)

I meant: "who is the you he is singing about".

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

Writers get sloppy with the pronouns all the time, Elvis Costello did it intentionally. You really have to get pedantic about it to pretend its exceptionally cryptic, ESPECIALLY for malkmus.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 18:51 (twenty years ago)

part of the fun from Dylan on (people did it before Dylan but he's really where it got acknowledged) in rock lyrics is just mixing up genuine sentiment with random jokes, cloudings, make-it-rhymes, etc. It's not that the track reads with the clarity of a pamphlet, just that its not particularly inscrutable at all.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 18:55 (twenty years ago)

I'm kinda glad that it's vague with pronouns because every time I hear it, it feels like it's about a different person. Sometimes it's Malkmus, sometime it's me, sometimes it is people that I know.

But you can make a strong case that he's singing about himself, especially since the first part of the song is about him being at odds with a villain in his head and saying "save me from me."

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 23:53 (twenty years ago)

It's not that the track reads with the clarity of a pamphlet, just that its not particularly inscrutable at all.

You know, this is kinda my position on his entire catalog. There are times when he's just fucking around, but he's not nearly as impenetrable as people make him out to be. If you want things to be incredibly literal, he's not your guy, but if you want something a bit scrambled and impressionist, he's pretty wonderful, especially in the Slanted & Enchanted and Brighten The Corners periods.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 23:57 (twenty years ago)

It's also a track, both musically and lyrically, that evokes (for all you pretentious literary fucks like me) Malkmus fave John Ashbery in its mixing of tones, the confusion of the vulgar with the courtly, and the mocking of pretentious literary fucks like me reading into it. I gotta confess I like it more than I did yesterday but I'm reluctant to admit whether it's anything more than a really striking assemblage. Which is what Malkmus is about nowadays (and lovely ballads).

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 23:59 (twenty years ago)

Well put. I definitely sense the Ashbery influence as well.

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 00:19 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...
anyone else note there's a double 12" pack of 'kindling for the master' remixes on the way? emperor machine, major swellings (aka prins thomas), hot chip and polmo polpo are doing the tweaking.

― genital hyphys (haitch), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 10:48 (nineteen years ago)

that should be excellent actually. I put "Kindling For The Master" on a Disco-Punk mix a while ago and despite it being a sort've dance mix, that track works very well.

― wogan lenin (dog latin), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 11:44 (nineteen years ago)

"I definitely sense the Ashbery influence as well."

Which poems in particular? The first thing I think of when I think Ashbery is LISTMANIA.

― Suzy Creemcheese (SuzyCreemcheese), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 12:22 (nineteen years ago)

Which poems in particular?

Oh, I don't know. I have Your Name Here (I think his second most recent book) and just the sort of conversational, discursive style that makes strange leaps of tone and logic seems to have a little of what Malkmus does on tracks like "Pencil Rot".

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 13:03 (nineteen years ago)

I'd suppose this has been posted before
http://www.avclub.com/content/node/50987

Pavement, "Stereo"

RC: Oh wow, I'm awesome. Brighten The Corners—I would argue, the best Pavement record. The Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain people can slam a cock, because this is the best. I miss Pavement. I went and saw Stephen Malkmus live a couple years ago. Terrible. He's a jam band now. There was this guy in the front row who wouldn't stop asking Malkmus, "What's up with the Jicks?" He kept saying, "Steve, what's up with the Jicks?" And my friend Jason started yelling, "Esteban, que pasa los Jicks?" Needless to say, he did not answer us. Not a good show, though I got very drunk.



thank you, Rob!

― edde (edde), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 13:20 (nineteen years ago)

He might be right about BTC (which I have argued is the best Pavement album on these boards), but I think he's wrong about solo Malkmus. I'd rather listen to Face the Truth than any Pavement album these days (though this may partly be due to overexposure to the Pavement albums).

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 13:30 (nineteen years ago)

well, that may very well be true, but i just played WZ the other day, and ya know what?
STILL awesome.
jicks...eh...not so awesome.
1st+3rd are listenable,but not great. 2nd=manure

― edde (edde), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 15:47 (nineteen years ago)

hich poems in particular? The first thing I think of when I think Ashbery is LISTMANIA.

"Soonest Mended," "Syringa," and "The Wrong Kind of Insurance" have tonally lots in common with Malkmus' work.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 16 August 2006 15:56 (nineteen years ago)

Hmm ... I guess I'll buy that, although I'm not really hearing it. Hadn't read any Ashbery in a while, but just went through "The Wrong Kind of Insurance," "Tennis Court Oath," and "Song," and I don't really hear the same tone. To be fair, I was thinking metrically ... plus, I don't think Malkmus is as discursive as people make him out to be, at least in his post-Pavement lyrics.

That said, Malkmus live >>>> Ashbery's marathon reading of Litany during the Ashbery Festival earlier this year.

― Suzy Creemcheese (SuzyCreemcheese), Thursday, 17 August 2006 04:11 (nineteen years ago)

I really just don't get loving Brighten The Corners and hating the Jicks...it just doesn't make logical sense to me. I mean, if you're really hung up on Westing/Slanted/Watery Pavement, okay, sure...

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Thursday, 17 August 2006 06:17 (nineteen years ago)

I love both, but maybe because BtC is really laid-back, whereas there's something peppy about the Jicks.

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Thursday, 17 August 2006 19:32 (nineteen years ago)

well, matt, the jicks just aren't doin much for me. like i said, 1st+3rd jick albums= alright. 2nd not so much, if at all.
that said, TT is still the bum note, for me, in that Pavement catalog.
i maintain that it's actually the 1st SM solo album, but the rest of the d00ds playin on it.
and i suppose to a point it's the Westing/Slanted/Watery/CRCR/WZ pavement i get hung up on.

― edde (edde), Friday, 18 August 2006 16:38 (nineteen years ago)

I just listened to CR,CR the other day and the only songs that made my ears perk up at all were "Range Life" and "Newark Wilder". I've never been that crazy about WZ, which seems to be too inconsistent, plus the good songs aren't long enough and the mediocre songs go on too long. The best songs on it are more like song fragments.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 18 August 2006 16:49 (nineteen years ago)

See, I think it's actually best to look at the Pavement and Jicks catalog as being two parts of the same discography. There's an obvious progression from one record to the next, and you're right, Terror Twilight is the transition from Brighten The Corners to the selt-titled solo record. (It annoys me forever that he never gave it a name.)

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Saturday, 19 August 2006 16:09 (nineteen years ago)

i always file my jicks records next to my pavement ones. you're right they are a logical progression. I think the reason people disagree about PAvement is because each album has it's own particular vibe. The first one you get into is your favourite because that is how you see the band and everything else is a bit of a betrayal.

Slanted - Raw, adrenaline fueled, tentative, don't give a fuck
Crooked - Great bouncy indie pop songs.
Wowee - Sprawling, eclectic, punky, songs that switch halfway.
Brighten - Laid back, well lyricised, mature songwriting, maybe a little melancholic
Terror Twilight - Progressive, paranoid, millenium fever, nocturnal

I think I like them all but for me I found the pre-CRCR material a little hard on the ears.

― wogan lenin (dog latin), Monday, 21 August 2006 09:17 (nineteen years ago)

ahhh, but that's it's inner beauty shining thru!!!
hard, maybe. but, it gives back as much as it harms...

― edde (edde), Monday, 21 August 2006 13:03 (nineteen years ago)

Maybe I've just heard it a billion times, and it definitely is my favorite album by anyone, but I really don't see what's so weird about Wowee Zowee. I mean, the "song fragments" thing - um, no. Just because a couple songs are kinda short doesn't make them "song fragments." What, do you want "Brinx Job" and "Serpentine Pad" and "Flux = Rad" to go on for another three minutes or something?

― Matthew Perpetua! (Matthew Perpetua!), Monday, 21 August 2006 19:25 (nineteen years ago)

i still like face the truth a lot.

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 21 August 2006 19:35 (nineteen years ago)

six years pass...

would anyone agree with me that this is the best album malkmus has done since Wowee Zowee?

it's possible i'm just asking "does anyone judge the quality of an SM album by the amount of distortion and fart sounds?"

― da croupier, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 18:55 (thirteen years ago)

yeah I think so.

"I think so" because I'm still fond of the first album.

Can we agree that the last one and the second are the worst?

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:05 (thirteen years ago)

eh i think pig lib is great. last one i liked at first but haven't felt the need to go back to very much. actually face the truth was the same way -- haven't listened to it in forever. maybe i'll dig it out.

― tylerw, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:07 (thirteen years ago)

It was hard for me to like an album with a Malkmus concept called "(Do Not Feed the) Oysters."

I remember liking "Us."

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:09 (thirteen years ago)

SM, Pig Lib and Mirror Traffic are all great. Real Emotional Trash is almost totally joyless. Face The Truth is OK, but I've never heard anybody rep for it as his best solo album before

― Evan R, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:09 (thirteen years ago)

Pig Lib felt like his solo Wowee Zowee moment at the time, but now I don't really know

― Evan R, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:09 (thirteen years ago)

Real Emotional Trash is almost totally joyless
huh this one might be my favorite. but i like the long jamz.

― tylerw, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:12 (thirteen years ago)

I usually like the long jamz, I just didn't think the ones on that album were very good. Which, since it was his longest, jamziest album, was a big problem for me

― Evan R, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:13 (thirteen years ago)

The longer tracks were big highlights on Face The Truth, though. "It Kills" does indeed kill

― Evan R, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:14 (thirteen years ago)

The last one is great!

This one is pretty horrible

― beef richards (Mr. Que), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:18 (thirteen years ago)

imo his solo career goes

1. tentative post-pavement singer-songwriter album
2. tentative post-pavement jam-leader album
3. awesome, confident post-pavement singer-songwriter album
4. boring, confident post-pavement jam-leader album
5. produced by beck? not in a rush but maybe i'll hear it someday

― da croupier, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:18 (thirteen years ago)

face the truth and pig lib are my faves. i like dragonfly, title track, gardenia, and elmo delmo from real emotional trash, the rest is pretty snoozy. i never ended up buying mirror traffic.

― mizzell, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:19 (thirteen years ago)

the last one is totally fun, you should give it a whirl da croup

― beef richards (Mr. Que), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:19 (thirteen years ago)

Yeah, anybody who ignored the last one is in for a treat. really good record

― Evan R, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:22 (thirteen years ago)

would anyone agree with me that this is the best album malkmus has done since Wowee Zowee?

--da poopier

this was actually my impression of "mirror traffic" for a little while!

― liljon /bia/ bia (k3vin k.), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:23 (thirteen years ago)

archness, miles and miles of archness, and it's wasted

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:31 (thirteen years ago)

yeah i think mirror traffic is the best of his solo stuff

― beef richards (Mr. Que), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:35 (thirteen years ago)

Mirror Traffic repelled me last year, but having heard "Fall Away" a couple times since I can't remember why the album was better or worse than the others. I still loathe "Tigers" and the Birkenstocks line though.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:37 (thirteen years ago)

I really grew to love 'Pig Lib' after a while, its probably his best and its totally unlike anything he ever did with Pavement. 'Face The Truth's is my second fave, I havent gone back to it like 'Pig Lib'. 'Real Emotional Trash' is the worst by far.

― Michael B Higgins (Michael B), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 19:49 (thirteen years ago)

I like "No More Shoes" a whole lot, probably in my top 3 of his solo stuff, but not sure about the rest of it. Pig Lib is one of those albums where it seems completely obvious to me that it's the artist's best (solo, not band), so opinions to the contrary are kind of like a neat window into the wonderful variety that is the universe...

― dlp9001, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 22:20 (thirteen years ago)

SM, Pig Lib and Mirror Traffic are all great. Real Emotional Trash is almost totally joyless. Face The Truth is OK, but I've never heard anybody rep for it as his best solo album before

― Evan R, Tuesday, November 27, 2012 1:09 PM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^^
THIS

― Raymond Cummings, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 03:35 (thirteen years ago)

Mirror Traffic repelled me last year, but having heard "Fall Away" a couple times since I can't remember why the album was better or worse than the others. I still loathe "Tigers" and the Birkenstocks line though.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, November 27, 2012 2:37 PM (8 hours ago)

"fall away" was a favorite - i've always been such a sucker for those kinds of malk ballads ("here," "we dance," "out of reaches")

could do without "tigers" and also "senator"

― liljon /bia/ bia (k3vin k.), Wednesday, 28 November 2012 03:43 (thirteen years ago)

Face The Truth is my least favourite Malkmus-related album. Pig Lib is up there with my faves. He really started steering the fineline into self-parody after Pig Lib.

― make like a steak and beef (dog latin), Wednesday, 28 November 2012 11:55 (thirteen years ago)

Mirror Traffic was okay, felt a bit hodgepodge though with nothing to hold it together. I liked the songs on an individual basis more than anything.

― make like a steak and beef (dog latin), Wednesday, 28 November 2012 11:56 (thirteen years ago)

I haven't heard Mirror Traffic, but all the other ones have their moments. If I had to pick just one, I'd probably go with Real Emotional Trash.

― o. nate, Thursday, 29 November 2012 19:19 (thirteen years ago)

six years pass...

attn Tyler W:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-55tkIS1PVo

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 27 January 2019 03:33 (seven years ago)

Hadn’t heard of that until today, thanks for posting! “Mountain Roads” rips.

― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Sunday, 27 January 2019 13:55 (seven years ago)

*sighs*

― Groove(box) Denied (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 27 January 2019 23:20 (seven years ago)


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