So I was talking about Pavement’s ‘Speak, See, Remember’ the other day, another song from the Terror Twilight album, and how I downloaded the LP on the 8th June 2012. Well, at the same time, I went ahead to check the properties of the other song files. It turned out that I had separately downloaded album opener ‘Spit on a Stranger’ a few months earlier, in February or so. Why? Only my 17-year-old self would know, ’cause this 30-year-old doesn’t remember.* But I’m thinking, by the time I decided to download all the other songs, I really liked ‘Carrot Rope’ and I must have grown to like ‘…Stranger’ a lot. So clearly it made sense to. Good thing I did too, because the album is one I can let run from front to back on any occasion. Feels good for my soul.
The image/concept of spitting on a stranger sounds understandably gross and needless, but it goes far more deeper than that in the way songwriter Stephen Malkmus approaches it. The track is a truly earnest falling-in-love song, in which the narrator – lucky enough to find themselves being one of the two involved in the relationship – begins to realize the positive effects this other person has on them, giving the narrator the determination to do whatever it takes to make the relationship work and hopefully last. So what does the ‘spit on a stranger’ phrase actually mean? Well, I think it’s roundabout way of referring to kissing. ‘Cause that’s what happens on dates that go well, I guess. We kiss, and we essentially get our spit on this person we’ve known for a relatively short amount of time. It’s a slightly ugly way to put it. The song is anything but, with the golden guitar work and wispy synthesizer and Malkmus’s sighing vocal delivery. A track to play to a glorious sunset, or sunrise even.
The big question I have about ‘…Stranger’ are the additional vocals on the right-hand side that come into the mix at around a minute and 38 seconds in. Anyone know what’s being said? I don’t, but I always try and sing along to them all the same. They provide a very nice countermelody during the proceedings. Had things gone producer Nigel Godrich’s way, ‘Spit on a Stranger’ would have been the closer on Terror Twilight. His proposed tracklist was put into practice on the 2022 Farewell Horizontal reissue. I’ve gotta say, it works beautifully as “the last song”. Ending the whole record on the line, “I’ll be the one that leaves you high”, would have been very suitable. But introducing the listener to the album’s “world” with the number is something I’m just too used to at this point. I would have only been four at the time of the album’s initial release, but even I get some sort of nostalgic feeling from the song. Feels like one that symbolises the end of the ’90s. And the end of the band during the initial run.
*08/01/26 – Thinking about it now, I’m sure I downloaded ‘Spit on a Stranger’ on its own on the mere fact it was a single by Pavement, and I wanted to test the waters before fully diving into Terror Twilight as a whole. You can see why I forgot, because it was a very simple decision that I thought nothing of at the time.
According to the old family computer, I downloaded Pavement’s Terror Twilight on 8th June 2012. That specific date marked 13 years to the day it had been available to the public since its release in 1999. I remember there being some hope that an extended reissue of the album would be released that year too. That didn’t happen, and instead Pavement fans had to wait 10 more years for that package to come through. ‘Speak, See, Remember’ is the ninth track on the album. It’s the least popular on there, looking at the Spotify numbers. But in my case, it was one of the “deep” cuts of the record that I got into nearly immediately. Was a number that frequently played on those bus journeys to school back in the day.
I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but a lot of Pavement songs (more specifically songs by Stephen Malkmus) contain melodies that more or less follow those played by the main guitar in the mix. And ‘Speak, See, Remember’ is no different. In various interviews, Malmus mentions that he doesn’t focus so much on the lyrical content of his work, seeing it more as exercise in wordplay and the like. So I’ve just come to think that he had the music ready and just wrote whatever sounded good at the time. But it’s not like the words in this track don’t make sense or aren’t worthy to look into. If I were to offer my suggestion… sounds to me like it’s about a man working an office job, having to go through usual office conversation, which then turns into a commentary on urbanisation and capitalisation at the end. Bit of a shift in topic to match the shift in music that happens with a minute-and-a-half left to go, when the band really get to rocking and culminates in this descending-scale guitar breakdown.
The song initially starts out as, what I’ve always thought of, one that you’d hear in some kind of underground, smooth jazzy kind of night club. The tempo has a swing to it that you want to click your fingers to every time the snare hits. There are those little piano chords that arrive once in a while. And Malkmus as ever provides a laidback but still endearing vocal. The track contains what I think is the second usage of a “Remember/December” rhyme in a Pavement song after being used initially in ‘Gold Soundz’. Thought that was kind of interesting. I’ve always wondered if that “Do it, do it, do it” uttered by Malkmus was inspired by Lindsey Buckingham doing the same in Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Second Hand News’. And also, the album title comes directly from this song too. Without it, we may have had the album Farewell Horizontal on our hands. Doesn’t have the same ring to it.
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.
Inspired by the Anniversaryfeature on Stereogum, I’ve decided to cover Pavement’s last album Terror Twilight. It gets the rep for being the one that sounds the least ‘Pavementy’. Stephen Malkmus referred to it as the album ‘no one cares about that much‘. Well, I care. It’s my favourite of theirs. I want to write about it. I do this with the aim of making you listen to it after reading. Hear it for yourself. If you comment, let loose.
I was only four years old when Pavement released what turned out to be their fifth and final album Terror Twilight on 8th June 1999. I had been existing for a short amount of time. I would have been in my final month of nursery or so. The arrival of the new millennium would have had no real significance to me. Why would I have to worry about the arrival of the 21st century when I had to worry about my older sister coming downstairs to stop me from watching Thomas the Tank Engine? Times were rough in those days. I didn’t have much going on, obviously.
In comparison, Stephen Malkmus and Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg since 1989 had been performing together for ten years. Pavement as the five-piece many will recognise, including bassist Mark Ibold, drummer Steve West and auxiliary percussionist/hype man Bob Nastanovich, had been performing for six of them. Before the final album that specific configuration of the band created three albums – two indie rock classics in 1994’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Wowee Zowee in ’95, and the turning-thirty album Brighten the Corners in 1997– which had gained them a large following of fans and praise from critics all across the board. The latter saw them return to a concise collection of twelve tracks after the zany, experimental approach to Zowee. I can only assume what Pavement fans must have been thinking in the years waiting for the next album…. “Where would they go from there?”, “How would they go about it?”….. “Would Malkmus and the rest even be bothered to do another one?”
Things didn’t get off to a great start. Initial sessions for the album began in Portland, Oregon in the summer of ’98. Stephen Malkmus became increasingly frustrated and tired of teaching his bandmates how to play the new songs he had written in preparation. Years of doing this repeatedly for previous albums as well as touring had taken its toll. Kannberg brought in songs to possibly be worked on, including unreleased gem ‘For Sale! The Preston School of Industry‘. Barely any attention was paid to them. Time meant for band practice gave way to procrastination through games of Scrabble. The decision was made to hire a producer to give the band a push in the right direction. Nigel Godrich received the call by Spiral Stairs to fill the position. With him the band relocated to New York to really get things going.
Before doing so, Malkmus performed two solo gigs in August ’98 in the Longbeach Museum of Art. With a prerecorded backing track, he previewed future album cuts ‘Spit on a Stranger’, ‘Ann Don’t Cry’, ‘Carrot Rope’ and ‘You are a Light’; you can make out a bit of the guitar riff from ‘Platform Blues’ too. It’s clear that the lyrics are still in the process of being worked on; the songs are still in an embryonic stage musically too. It’s interesting to hear them in that state. Though clearly they needed some development.
Back to New York. Godrich, a now recognisable name with OK Computer, Mutations, and Up in his resumé, wasn’t ready for Pavement’s casual approach to recording nor the surroundings it all took place in, his recollection is noted in Rob Jovanovic’s Pavement biography Perfect Sound Forever: “It was just a little too difficult. The control room didn’t give me enough scope to have any control over things. And they couldn’t play the fucking songs.” Nevertheless the sessions carried on. Doubts and tension within the band simmered. A travel to London occurred in the winter time to put more touches onto the songs. Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood showed up to add some harmonica in ‘Platform Blues’ and ‘Billie’. High Llamas percussionist Dominic Murcott provided drums for ‘Major Leagues’ and ‘Carrot Rope’ in the absence of Steve West; he and Nastanovich didn’t join the other three on the London trip. Mixing and mastering occurred throughout the first few months of 1999. Nearing a year after its initial conception with a lot of money spent and movement between various studios, the album was complete.
The album’s sound and mellow style is set straight away with first track and first single ‘Spit on a Stranger’. ‘Stranger’ captures a feeling of content and confidence one can having after making out with someone. A split-second freak out on the drums suddenly gives way to a cute descending keyboard melody, arpeggiated guitar chords and Ibold’s sliding bassline. A few measures on and Malkmus’ airy vocals enter the frame. They’re a constant throughout the album. Whereas previous Malkmus album openers were written and delivered with a hint of sarcasm/tongue-in-cheek manner, ‘Stranger’ glides past with a quiet assurance in its own charming way. It’s a worthy track to start off any album, though probably for some didn’t leave the sense of anticipation and excitement you would find in ‘Stereo‘ or ‘Summer Babe (Winter Version)‘.
It goes without saying that Terror Twilight is Pavement’s cleanest-sounding record. Having that rough-around-the-edges manner in their music was something that the band had become to be known for. Though with Godrich’s fingertips at the mixing board the album contains the majority of Pavement’s smoothest material. Tracks like ‘Folk Jam’, ‘Major Leagues’, and ‘Ann Don’t Cry’ float on with a deep warmth and irresistible gloss, aided by the addition atmospheric flourishes and an emphasis on the music’s deeper tones.
The album also contains Pavement’s poppiest tracks with the aforementioned ‘Spit on a Stranger’ and the album closer ‘Carrot Rope’. A bouncy number with layered guitars, bubbly keyboards, cryptic lyrics and an undeniably catchy chorus, the song features Malkmus, Kannberg and Ibold on partial lead vocals, something that had never been done before on any Pavement song, and closes out the band’s discography with a farewell wave and some mystery. What is Malkmus talking about in this track? I don’t really know, but I enjoy listening to it. Its music video is the last one in which all five band members are together. It’s a heartwarming sight to see them dancing with reckless abandon in blaring yellow raincoats.
So how does Malkmus fare on the record as a whole? Nastanovich made a comment in Perfect Sound Forever – that’s a good book by the way, any Pavement fan should seek it out – on how the album was more a ‘singer-songwriter solo project’. Very true, he does write every song on there. Does he do a good job? Very much so. Lyrically, he’s on point as he is on any other Pavement album. I would argue that Twilight contains some of Malkmus’ most surrealistic lyrics than what came before. They’re descriptive, imaginative, very fun to listen to and roll right of the tongue when singing along to them. ‘Folk Jam’ – a title based on the track’s folk-influence and its lyrical content about parental ancestry – possesses one liners that are enough to bring about a sharp exhale from the nose. “Watch out for the gypsy children in electric dresses, they’re insane/I hear they live in crematoriums and smoke your remains” is a stand out from ‘You Are a Light’. The lines concerning black widows and gaunt street hawkers from ‘Billie’ and ‘Cream of Gold’ respectively are pretty sweet too. I could go on for a while. Within the album come lyrics that lie opposite to the nonsensical yet observational style he utilised on earlier projects.
One thing that isn’t hard to notice when listening to Twilight is how unenthusiastic Malkmus sounds. I feel that’s something that started on Brighten the Corners, but it’s here that you can really sense it. Initially I thought that Malkmus’ delivery was that way solely to match the album’s laidback vibe. Though taking into account that he was possibly thinking of ending the band added another layer to it all. Lines like “The damage has been done/I am not having fun anymore” and “Never build a building ’til you’re 50/What kind of life is that?” now had an emotional depth (for lack of a better phrase) to them. He only really shouts or raises his voice above his relaxed baritone when the music around requires that shift. It’s by the numbers. You can’t help but feel that his heart may not be all that into it, and it’s a bit of a bummer when you realise.
And I think that’s another thing that gets to Pavement fans about this album. It lacks a lot of power and spontaneity that a lot of their older records had. The band weren’t so silly any more. There are rare moments that catch the listener unawares and hit a sweet spot. Take the time signature change in ‘Billie’ as its intense instrumental middle suddenly transitions into a waving waltz-time outro. ‘Speak, See, Remember’ becomes an entirely new composition from three minutes onward after a hanging guitar chord is met with a cathartic cymbal crash, as does ‘You Are a Light’ when it undergoes a complete melodic change halfway through. These instances occur so naturally within their respective songs; it’s when Pavement try to recreate their oddball demeanour of the past that the results don’t pay off as well and sound just a bit forced.
‘Platform Blues’ – a song one could offhandedly put as Pavement’s take on ‘Paranoid Android’ – is a bluesy off-the-wall piece with three distinct sections separated by slick instrumental breaks. Unlike the Radiohead track, the overall song structure doesn’t gel too well. In a podcast with Emil Amos, Malkmus makes reference to a track that “[the other four] barely played on and did not like” and he admits “was not as good as it should have been“. I believe it is this one. ‘The Hexx’ too, in the works since the sessions for Brighten the Corners, is one of Pavement’s boldest compositions and is the album’s centerpiece; while it is definitely a solid performance it suffers from a lack of intensity that the band could easily produce in their live performances to really draw the listener in.
The band embarked on a tour upon the album’s release. Relations in the band were strained further, particularly between Malkmus and the other members. Some time during then, a video for ‘Major Leagues’ was created in preparation for the release of an EP. The music video is Pavement’s last.
“We’re pretty much a 90s band. Proud to be 90s and we’re living up the last few months ‘La Vida Loca’ 90s style“, Malkmus dryly utters with the Californian sun beaming down on him and the rest of the band. Mark Ibold makes a joke out of the statement with a clapperboard gesture, though Malkmus knew what was up. 20th November 1999 was the date of the band’s final concert, held at London’s Brixton Academy. During the show, Malkmus has some handcuffs attached to the microphone and says to the crowd that they “symbolise what it’s like to be in a band“. Probably meant it to be a joke, but no one was laughing. The band were more or less done.
Terror Twilight is a fine album. Out of the five studio albums Pavement released, it is definitely the most comforting one to put on and chill out to. Easy listening is guaranteed. It has got me through a hangover or four in the past. Its smooth textures and overall relaxed aura can provide the best listening experience. For many though, it’s the sound of a singer-songwriter who was looking for a way out and a band coming to its conclusion. Terror Twilight not only signifies the end of Pavement, but the 90s too in an indirect way. It was the comedown to a crazy time.
I like “Terror Twilight”. I like it a lot. It’s my favourite Pavement album – I don’t care what you think. The whole album has this airy, breezy production to it which acts as a great hangover cure, and generally the songs on there aren’t too shabby.
The album includes “Folk Jam”, a steady number where the band play over a groove that is established from the first hit of the crash cymbal. The track has a bit of a country/folky vibe to it, probably because of the appearance of a banjo that is played by one of the members. Stephen Malkmus also mentions the manner of his birth, bemoans his ancestry and states a fear of Irish folk tales. So you can probably tell that the song won’t necessarily mean anything just by looking at that. But at least Malkmus doesn’t lie, this is a tune about his folks and another type of folk that scares him. Pretty clever, didn’t really think about that until now.
There’s not much of a chorus or a change in dynamics; it may come off as a bit repetitive for a new listener. However, it doesn’t have ‘jam’ in the song’s title for no reason. But I’m just saying, if you get bored listening to the track (which you shouldn’t)…. what you see is what you get.
The Music in My Ears 