Tag Archives: stephen malkmus

#1148: Stephen Malkmus – Rushing the Acid Frat

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On a post from a couple months back, I gave a small recap of Stephen Malkmus’s burst of productivity nearing the end of the 2010s. There must have been something in the air because from 2018 to 2020 we got three different albums with the songwriting guitarist’s name on there. Today’s track comes from the record that came around in 2019, Groove Denied. Though his previous self-titled debut and 2005’s Face the Truth were labelled as solo albums, they were still technically Jicks productions as plenty of songs on both contained performances by the whole band. On Groove Denied, Malkmus was properly on his own, making it his first true solo effort after 30 years in the business.

The lead-up to the album’s release was exciting. There had been lore for a while that Malkmus had an electronic record stored in a vault somewhere, and Groove Denied turned out to be it. Turned out that the whole ‘electronic’ bit was just a tad exaggerated. But before I found that out, ‘Viktor Borgia’ was released as the first single a couple months prior. It was certainly different from Malkmus’s usual bag. I liked it though. Reminded me of a rougher LCD Soundsystem. Listeners were left to ponder on it for about a month, and then ‘Rushing the Acid Frat’ came as the next single. The track brought things into more familiar territory, coming along with a trippy video where an animated Malkmus walks toward the camera with a stride in his step while the visuals in the background get all psychedelic.

The song’s lyrics appear to detail types of imagery one might envision while on a heavy acid trip. At least that’s what I’ve always thought. According to Rolling Stone, Malkmus stated that he imagined a fraternity where they just took LSD all the time and attempted to write a song à la The Kingsmen’s ‘Louie Louie’ that these acid takers would hear while tripping,. Thinking of that now, I can see a similarity between the two. Though while ‘Louie’ sticks to that four-chord progression, Malkmus goes into dreamlike choruses where the stereo space opens up and his vocals spreads into the left and right channels with a higher countermelody popping up in the middle. The guitar (or is it a synth?) that comes in at points is wild too, not making any attempt to give a melody, but just providing some straight up noise to add some chaos to the song’s mellow rhythm. Big fan of it. But I’m just a huge Malkmus fan, anyway.

#1033: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Phantasies

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Does anyone out there have an insight as to how Stephen Malkmus feels about his early, early “solo” albums with the Jicks? I guess, just like any artist, as time goes on you become more focused and familiar with the more recent stuff and you may not feel the same closeness you once had with that old material. Would be a bummer if that’s the case, because the Stephen Malkmus album from 2001 is my favourite out of the Jicks albums to date. Not saying that everything he’s done since then hasn’t matched up to it. I just enjoy a large number of the tracks on there.

‘Phantasies’ is the second song on the album, and going a unique way in terms of a lyrical narrative, Malkmus sings from the persepctive of, presumably, an Inuit living in Karakatu, Alaska – a town that doesn’t exist – and going about their daily business with their fellow Inuit colleague. It’s a nice, little, upbeat tune. Coming after the sorta surreal opener of ‘Black Book’, ‘Phantasies’ turns the album’s direction into a more approachable direction. And a fun one too. Malkmus sounds like he’s having a blast just singing it. There are keyboard-activated vocal samples that are played like a kid in high school when the teacher’s left the room. The synth that follows the vocal melody during the verses has a childlike innocence to it. The “Whoa a-whoa-ohs” in the choruses are kinda silly, but that’s really what the whole song is going for. Silly and carefree, but still with a lot of heart.

All of this, the music, the lyrics, the performance, the whole untroubled air of it all, I’ve come to link with Malkmus’ then-newfound freedom after the breakup of Pavement two years prior. There’s that clip of him in the last Pavement show where, with a pair of handcuffs dangling off his microphone, he says to the audience – “This is what it’s been like being in a band all these years.” Something along those lines. And now that was over, it was like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. The whole feeling of freedom isn’t confined to just this song though. The whole album revels in it. Malkmus sang he wasn’t having fun anymore on Pavement’s final album. In this song you can hear the huge difference in tone when he was.

#671: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Jo Jo’s Jacket

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Another one from Stephen Malkmus’ debut solo album, ‘Jo Jo’s Jacket’ was released as that record’s second single in 2001. It is not about anything in particular. Its title has nothing to do what appears in the verses. The closest thing relating to Malkmus that I think ‘Jo Jo’ could be is The Jicks’ bass guitarist Joanna Bolme, and even then it doesn’t make things any clearer. Though if there’s anything Stephen Malkmus is known for, it’s somehow making a coherent lyric out of the most random things.

It starts off as a song from the perspective of actor Yul Brynner, known for his shaved head and starring in the film Westworld in 1973, who provides the spoken word introduction taken from an old interview. It then switches to a kind of stream-of-conciousness type lyric in the second verse which may or may not be a slight dig at Moby. And then, sandwiching these verses, is a joyful wordless chorus that glides along with the track’s tempo and general breezy atmosphere.

Whatever the subject matter may concern, it really doesn’t matter in the long run, the song’s infectious groove and melody can’t be denied. It’s one of the straighter rockers on Stephen Malkmus but, compared to say ‘Discretion Grove’ which I think is okay but never really loved, it gets my foot tapping every time those first power chords hit.

#666: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Jenny & the Ess-Dog

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Near the end of Stephen Malkmus’ first album as a ‘solo’ artist is ‘Jenny & the Ess-Dog’ – a tale of two people who couldn’t be further apart on the social spectrum in terms of age (Jenny is just 18, the Ess-Dog (Sean) is 31) and upbringing but ultimately like each other enough to have a sweet relationship.

They listen to Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms album together and buy a pet – a dog – as some couples tend to do. Unfortunately, Jenny goes to college and the relationship eventually fizzles out leaving the two individuals to embark on their separate journeys.

The song is very easy-going and upbeat in its delivery, driven by a climbing/falling vocal melody backed by warm, sunny guitars and child-like keyboard patterns that guide each verse along. ‘Jenny’ is another track on the album that I always felt mirrored the freedom that Malkmus felt upon the split of Pavement in 1999. There was no track like this on Terror Twilight, and I guess he felt that he could with ease with the burden of his old band off his shoulders. This could have been a radio hit if he wanted it to be.

Its music video above has nothing to do with its lyrics as is the usual for a lot of Malkmus-related music videos though that shouldn’t take anything away from the song’s quality. Charming in its own strange way.

My iPod #254: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Deado

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“Deado” is the last track on Stephen Malkmus’ first ‘solo’ album after his former band Pavement split up. The term ‘solo’ doesn’t really count though; “Stephen Malkmus” was recorded by the band he formed immediately after, known by the name of The Jicks. Malkmus wanted to release it under the band’s name but the record label ‘insisted’ that he release it under his own. On iTunes and any other music service, you can only find the album under Stephen Malkmus, but I will label it under the group’s actual name whenever I do a song from this album.

When listening to the album for the first time, I couldn’t help but notice Malkmus’ enthusiasm in his vocals compared to those in Pavement’s last album “Terror Twilight”. From sounding like a guy who wrote his songs and sang them just to get them over and done with, he sounded more confident – ready to embrace the challenge of doing something new – and as a result the album is quite upbeat and fun, with some laid-back parts here and there.

“Deado” is very laid-back. The acoustic guitars, various synthesizer noises and sound effects and the double-tracked vocal give the song a hazy and ethereal feel. It’s the track that plays when relaxing and sitting in a chair in your back garden, or sinking your head into the pillow when you’re about to go to bed. Soothing stuff to the ears.

Lyrically, I haven’t a clue what it’s about. My interpretation of it is that, somehow, it is from the Ess-Dog’s point of view after becoming estranged from Jen who is referred to in the chorus (Listen to the preceding track “Jenny & the Ess-Dog” for more information). Apart from that… nah-I couldn’t tell you. The song ends with a minute ‘reprise’ of another song from the album “Vague Space” before fading to silence, bringing to a fine debut album to a close.