Tag Archives: pavement

#1090: Pavement – Range Life

Leave a reply

Along the line, Pavement’s ‘Range Life’ became one of my favourite songs from the group’s 1994 Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain album. But there was once a time where I really didn’t care for it at all. After being convinced that Pavement could be one of the best bands ever after only hearing ‘Cut Your Hair’, ‘Shady Lane’ and ‘Stereo’ – in that order too – I went to seek out some of their other tunes that may have music videos on YouTube. This was a long, long time ago. Probably 2008 time, so much, much younger and a lot more foolish in terms of myself. ‘Range Life’ was there, I listened, and I’m sure I didn’t make it through the entire thing. It was almost five minutes long, which to a 12-year-old me seemed an eternity. But importantly the melody seemed to just meander and not go anywhere in those verses. And those reaches for the high notes in the choruses sounded like the singer wasn’t even trying. What was it all about? I didn’t get it. It took a few years after to come back to it that I eventually understood.

‘Range Life’ is the tale of a narrator, most likely Stephen Malkmus writing about himself, who’s the singer in a good, ol’ rock-n-roll band and tired of the constant touring and cycle of clichés that come along with the rock-n-roll lifestyle. He looks over the horizon and thinks about another way of living, one where he’s free to roam and doesn’t have to think about when his next rent payment is due. The trace of country rock I think adds to the idea of easy living and searching for those bigger horizons. So when Malkmus does reach those high notes with his voice breaking and all on the ‘Raaaange liiiife’ choruses, it’s not because he’s not trying. In fact, he’s trying very hard. Not saying he’s in pain when he’s singing it, but I think it’s meant to symbolize some sort of mental pain, like it’s signifying the strong urge to break away that’s eating away at him. But in the end, it’s not meant to be seen as song that’s sad or emotional. On the contrary, there are some incredibly relatable and witty lines in here, the most notable one being where Malkmus disses The Smashing Pumpkins. This act would begin a rivalry that people comment on to this day.

I think the track really solidified itself in my eyes upon finding a live performance of it by the band on HBO’s music television series Reverb. Bear in mind, the year’s 1999 so Malkmus was already thinking of ending Pavement during this time, so there’s much more of a couldn’t-give-a-fuck-vibe on his part than usual. Some marijuana may be involved in there too. More importantly though, the track is delivered with a lot more punch than in the original recording. Plus, Malkmus goes even deeper in the Stone Temple Pilots and Smashing Pumpkins lyrics in the final verse, referring to the former as the ‘Stone Temple Nothings’ and almost making a slight at D’arcy Wretzky’s plastic surgery for the latter. It’s pretty funny stuff, the crowd have a laugh at it too.

#1068: Pavement – Pueblo

Leave a reply

For a while in 2018/19, I was into buying 33 1/3 books that had been written and dedicated to albums that I greatly appreciated myself. Off the top of my head, I own the ones written for R.E.M.’s Murmur, The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks, Talking Heads’ Fear of Music and Television’s Marquee Moon. I’m sure there are a few others too. Being the Pavement fan I am, it only made sense to get the edition dedicated to Wowee Zowee. Now, at this moment in time, I can’t really remember anything much from it. I read it the one time and felt that I didn’t really need to again. But I did learn a few things that I would have never thought about before. Like how Malkmus recorded the guitar solo for ‘Rattled by the Rush’. Or how he played all the instruments on ‘AT&T’.

A large amount of the book is taken from an interview with Stephen Malkmus in which he reveals all this stuff. While mentioning the things noted in the paragraph before, he also stated that when time came to record the vocals, the majority of them were made on the spot with a mix of also having some stuff written down to help guide him along. I have a clear memory of reading this, anyone can correct me. But I do recall him mentioning that ‘Pueblo’ was one of the songs to receive this treatment. You can probably tell by looking at the lyrics anyway. What Malkmus is singing about here is anyone’s guess, but the melody mirrors that of the guitar during the verses so at least that gets into your head during the initial listen.

The track consists of a verse and a chorus and another verse and chorus, separated by a chill instrumental break with a few guitar freak outs. Probably the most notable part of the whole song is when Stephen Malkmus amps up the intensity of his vocal from the second verse into the final chorus, in which he’s more yelling at the listener rather than singing. After all this, the song funnily ends on a bit of a damp squib – like the band had no idea to properly end everything, so they sort of just stop playing. But in the context of Wowee Zowee, its oddities should come as no surprise. If any reader out there is a big, big fan of the song, it’ll be worth to check out the work-in-progress versions of the song that were released on the Crooked Rain deluxe edition from 2004. The ‘Beach Boys’ take makes sense when you hear it, and the ‘Domain’ version is something that sounds like it could have fit on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain itself.

#1030: Pavement – Perfume-V

1 Reply

Slanted and Enchanted. Regarded by many to be Pavement’s best album. Regarded as one of the best indie-rock albums of the ’90s. I believe a few members of the band look fondly upon the album and the time it was made themselves. But personally, it’s low down on my ranking. Not that I think it’s bad. It has a few of their best songs on there. But then I hear how the songs are performed live compared to how they were released, and they just sound so much better in a live context. To be fair, I did listen to Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain before going back to it, so that may have played a part in my judgement.

When I did go through Slanted for that first time in 2012/2013, ‘Perfume-V’ wasn’t a track that I considered to be much of a highlight. Then again, I didn’t really like the whole lo-fi feeling the album was going for. Again, it just didn’t sound like Crooked Rain. It probably wasn’t until some years later where I watched videos of Pavement performing the track live, particularly this performance from their initial 2010 reunion tour and this from their ’92 Reading show, that I thought, “Hmm. This song’s actually pretty great.” It’s quite intense in its own short way. Gets a bit shoegazy at some points. No solos, no wandering breakdowns like you can get in many a Pavement track. It’s two verses, two choruses a bridge and then it’s outta there.

Not very clear on what it’s about. Contains the cryptic and surreal lyricism that Stephen Malkmus is known for. But to hazard a guess, I think it actually may be about a narrator who’s having severe guilt and a bit of an existential crisis after having a one-night stand with a prostitute. They question whether these one-nighters would actually be able to fulfil them for the long-term. When the sun comes up and the rays come down on the scene that’s happened on the bed, the narrator can’t help but be attracted to what they see, but still doesn’t feel too great about it. The rest of the lyrics is anyone’s guess. Well, all of what I’ve said is my guess too. But all in all, it’s always a good time when this one comes on shuffle.

#969: Pavement – Old to Begin

1 Reply

Stephen Malkmus turned 30 years old in the spring of ’96, and, you know, turning 30 is supposed to be a big change in your life. Meant to be a time of reflection. Have you grown to be the person you thought you would when you were a kid? What’s next? Or is this all there is? I’m getting there, so the existential crisis hasn’t hit just yet. But I think Malkmus had one in his own way, and his concerns and feelings about the milestone were somewhat detailed in Pavement’s 1997 album Brighten the Corners. In his own cryptic, surreal and sarcastic style as always. The music reflected it too. A bit of switch-up from the winding and unpredictable nature of 95’s Wowee Zowee, Brighten… was much more straighter and somewhat digestible. No less entertaining though.

After offering observational takes on the music industry and touring respectively with ‘Stereo’ and ‘Transport Is Arranged’ and contemplating about settling down in ‘Shady Lane’, Malkmus puts the focus of aging within the lyric for ‘Old to Begin’. ‘Embrace the senile genius, watch him reinvent the wheel’ is the song’s first line, which I’ve always thought was a funny way to start things off. Considering he’s probably writing about himself, it couldn’t be a more self-deprecating statement for a guy that was seen as this indie prince-god-man to a lot of adulating fans. From there he puts in an idea of ‘feeling like a fixture set in 1966’, referencing the year that he was born, and in the track’s final verse utlises a list of things that you sort of begin to worry about once you hit the big 3-0, like credit cards, back problems and general stress. I’m telling you, once he hit that age, Malkmus started to feel the hands of time creep up on him a bit. Although, I could very much be wrong and be spewing a bunch of nothing. It’s my take, is all.

I get a personal kick out of the introduction, myself. One guitar strum is followed by a climbing bass guitar chord progression, followed by a synth that imitates the bass, followed by a guitar that plays the same chord progression again before the drums enter and everyone comes in together. It’s an engaging way to start things off for a track that has a real mid-tempo, slow-moving feel to it. For a guy who knows that he can’t sing strong enough, Malkmus can certainly reach those chesty high notes when he wants. His ability to sing low and quiet before suddenly putting some power into his vocal as he does in the verses here is not an easy feat for any vocalist. But he’s able to do so with ease, and it all culminates with the track’s cathartic ending where the intensity ramps up and he’s roaring some “la-la”‘s in your ears. It’s not a track that a lot of Pavement fans will seek out, but it does the job for this guy typing.

#795: Pavement – Major Leagues

Leave a reply

No kidding around here. I think Pavement’s ‘Major Leagues’ might be one of my favourite songs of all time. Every time that first kick drum comes in with that blanket of reverberated piano, guitar and all the rest, I’m just taken to another place. Terror Twilight is one of my favourite albums; ‘Major Leagues’ comes near the midway point of it, and it continues the mellow and very chilled vibes that the album establishes from track one. I’ve written a whole post dedicated to that record. Have a read when you have the time.

Like many other Pavement songs, it’s one where no one but Stephen Malkmus could explain what it truly means. For me, I think it’s a track about relationships, taking them seriously or not taking them seriously at all. Not being afraid to take things on to the next step and looking at the bigger picture, which I think the whole ‘bring on the major leagues’ refrain refers to. But then there are lyrics about magic Christians and kissing wine that can leave you clueless. It’s typical Pavement/Malkmus stuff, and it always works so well. “Lip balm on watery clay/Relationships, hey hey hey” is one of the best opening lyrics to a song too. Just want to say.

Its music video, directed by Lance Bangs, is also up there on the list in my head of favourite music videos. It features Stephen Malkmus miming to the song, and is intercut with footage of the band playing mini-golf and practising in the studio during the making of Terror Twilight. I had to know more about the making of it, so I contacted Bangs on Twitter. He told me that the scenes with Malkmus were filmed in the Mima Mounds Natural Preserve in Washington State, while the mini-golf scenes were filmed in Portland on 82nd Street, at a place that “closed/went out of business”. So there you go. You want to travel to places associated with Pavement, there are two for you. Whenever we are able to travel again. There is another official video for ‘Major Leagues’ which has a boxing theme; I don’t think that one is as good.