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)

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)

Skipping 188 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

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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