malkmus PIG LIB: 1% of one

Former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus has begun work on a new album which may wind up either as a solo project or a collaboration with his band, the Jicks. "I've been down in the basement working on a different kind of record," he wrote on his official Web site. "The band has been contributing a bit but it has more of a solo vibe than anything I've done in a long time."

Malkmus adds that "we're probably gonna do some group recording" sometime this month. The finished product "looks like a January release though may come earlier," presumably via the artist's long-time label Matador.

Malkmus' last release was 2003's "Pig Lib," which bowed at No. 5 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart and has sold 49,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. He and the Jicks will return to the live stage July 2 at the AV Festival in Malaga, Spain, which will also feature Morrissey, Squarepusher, Stereolab, Trans Am, John Cale, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Four Tet and Shellac.

In related news, Pavement's legacy is chronicled in Rob Jovanovic's new book, "Perfect Sound Forever," released last month by Justin, Charles & Co.

i cringe just hearing his name anymore. it's like watching someone become a junkie- a slow, rotting, bore.

where have all the neo-guys gone?

I am really looking forward to the new Malkmus album. I'm still under the impression Pig Lib is (very possibly) the best thing he's ever done. Definitely my favourite album of 2003.

Hello? Hello hello? Hellooo?

love this album

have listened to this one more than his other solo stuff combined. love the bonus disc too

I saw Malkmus in 2001 at age 14 at a festival and I thought the last song was great, and I spent a while fruitlessly trying to figure out what it was - none of the songs on the s/t sounded like it and I didn't know the lyrics. 19 years later figured out it was "1% of One."

This is among my favorite Malkmus solo albums - in the top three somewhere

yeah this was probably his best imo

Until his latest, the last thing I liked that he did. I would probably take it over the last two Pavement albums.

1. Pig Lib
2. Stephen Malmus
3. Traditional Techniques

Those are my top 3 as well, but I would flip 2 and 3. I like weirdo folky Malkmus.

1. Pig Lib
2. Stephen Malmus
3. Traditional Techniques

^i need to relisten to the ones that came in between but this feels right. def feel comfortable saying his first two solos deserve to be in the top 3.

Maybe

1. Pig Lib
2. Sparkle Hard
3. Traditional Techniques

Sparkle Hard is terrific and should be in any SM solo top 3

1. Pig Lib
2. Mirror Traffic
3. Sparkle Hard
(4. s/t)

you know, the only SM solo album (with or without jicks) I didn't really enjoy is Wig Out at Jagbags, which just felt boring and by the numbers. Agree that Sparkle Hard is extremely strong. Real Emotional Trash also sounded great the last time I played it ...

i dunno, jenny and the ess dog, church on white, the hook i like sparkle hard but i don't think it has songs as strong as that
i'll check it out again

Wig Out was where I thought "he's finally totally lost it". It was so Malkmus it hurt, like an impression of himself. But the solo album he released recently made me think he might have found it again.

first album has a lot of strong songs and manages to be playful but not annoying

otm. the 1st album doesnt feel like a lost pavement album to me, but the best (or at least my favorite) songs on it def feel like they could have been from a version of pavement that retained the sense of fun that was ebbing from on the later records. pig lib resonates for me as his first album as a fully formed solo artist, very much its own thing

xxp That's funny -- Wig Out is the only one that has sort of caught my ear! (not counting the Pig Lib bonus EP, which I do really like.)

Wig Out was where I thought "he's finally totally lost it".

Have you heard Groove Denied?

as a Malkmus lifer, i have to say, i thought Groove Denied was ... bad. and seeing him do it live didn't change that opinion at all.

yeah kinda cool in theory but not good

sparkle hard really sounded good today

yeah, i was really excited when it was announced, mostly because when he is indulging his weirder interests, i always dig it. but...

underground

Must be twenty years eh? I had Animal Midnight stuck on my head the other day. This is easily in my top three Pave-related albums

But seriously this is such a classic album. I underrated 'Sheets' at the time but that whole "Hwah Hwah Hwah Hwah Hwah!" section is so great

How to score the bonus EP in 2023? #YSI #Leonardo

This is my favorite SM solo (at least until Traditional Techniques), but my version swaps a couple songs from the bonus disc for Animal Midnight and I think Sheets.

Wait, my version subs:

Vanessa from Queens
Sheets
Animal Midnight

For:
Dynamic Calories (opener)
Fractions & Feelings
Old Jerry

Hmmmm