scott

Yeah the last I checked youtube has a bunch of live vids of 'em... and they are super awesome live, worth checking out. and yeah they're big Velvet Underground fans Radiohead is to the Beatles as Pavement is to the Velvet Underground:)

Oh and you're definitely on the right track with Sonic Youth and the Fall With the fall, they're arguably the single biggest influence on Pavement's early style, in fact lore has it that John Peel played the Fall's frontman a cut from Slanted and Enchanted, told him it was a Fall song, and he believed it:) with Sonic Youth, they've stated that Pavement is their fave band- Sonic Youth got a hold of some of their first singles and asked them to open for them when they released slanted and enchanted, so yeah if you're into Sonic Youth- Pavement should do you just fine.

Crooked Rain Crooked Rain is definitely the best place to start- specifically the two disc mega re-issue, it has the original album + 1 1/2 discs of b sides, rarities, and outtakes- totaling over two hours of music- and it's the same price as a regular CD, and it may be as low as 7 bux on amazon. It's a good place to start, cuz the sound is still kinda lo-fi, but it's not as weird as either their first (Slanted and Enchanted) or third (Wowee Zowee) and then if you like that, Slanted and Enchanted or Brighten the Corners (the fourth) are your best choices for a second buy... Terror Twilight (the last) is good, but lacks the spirit of CRCR, Wowee Zowee is in my opinion, excellent, but is easily the least accessible album, so save it for last.

Another great track of Brighten the Corners is 'fin' the last one on the album (obviously) and it's very very melodic, and has a great guitar solo. and you're into the who right? So I'm assuming that you like your rock high energy, and it doesn't have to be clean cut all the time, cuz if you want some great semi-sloppy full charged rock, a lot of stuff on the first album is great!!! Summer Babe is the kick off track, three chord vamp awesome lyrics, very high charged. Then there's 'Two States' which is super simple, but punk in all it's greatness. Then they have a few down-tempo gems Zurich is Stained is a good one, and Here serves as a template for all emo bands (now I'm hardly calling pavement 'emo'... they are quite anti-emo really... but listen to it and you'll understand)

and don't be afraid to ask any questions, or for recommendations, I have a rather large... library of knowledge of all things pavement.

Don't worry, becoming super obsessed with them is quite normal after a couple listens. They're one of those 'love or hate them' groups, generally speaking, a person either instantly becomes offense, or goes 'meh' on the first listen. I remember when I first picked up Crooked Rain Crooked Rain- it was on sale, I knew absolutely nothing about the band, but the artwork was cool so I bought it on impulse. I put the cd in my stereo as I drove home, and I became obsessed within 10 seconds of the first track (silence kit) I mean the guitar sounded nothing like anything I had heard, and when those drums kicked in, and Malkmus wail over top.... and Elevate me Later is excellent, as is Spit on a stranger- check out 'Shady Lane' it's the spiritual cousin of both those

I'm starting this thread so that people who have witnessed the glory of pavement can talk about them. From just praising their genius, their sound, the music, the vocals... to discussing their underappreciatedness, the lyrical content (is there any at all?) To talking about how it makes you feel... cuz all us pavement fans know there are songs that fit every mood

oh and in case it just looked like I was pimpin' songs, I will try and better explain... I was trying to show the solidness of the album thru the fact that nearly every song located on that album... is near perfect... It's hard to show the perfection of CRCR to anyone who hasn't heard it before What it has that nothin' else does... magic, spark, creativity, and more rocking than any album since the late 70s. with my two noms, I would say that OK Computer is the best 'musically' but CRCR is the best 'fun' you will have with any album

Ahha, another faithful to the Pavement cult! I'm telling you, anyone who hears these will fall in love! If you're a modern kinda guy... love 'em, and if you're into the power of classic rock...love 'em. In a matter of a month or so you will become so obsessed that you will have to buy all their stuff... for anyone interested, I recommend getting Crooked Rain Crooked Rain first, then their first LP Slanted and Enchanted, now both of these come in two disc collector sets that I cannot explain how awesome they are. Then I would go for Brighten the Corners, their second to last, which marks the start of a more 'polished' sound.. then their last album Terror Twilight... which is good, a little less punky, and loses some of the magic, but it's still better then most of the stuff you'll find from the last decade and then if you're still into it... you can try and climb the mt. everest of pavement... Wowee Zowee, the follow up to Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, which is also available in a two disc.... the thing about wowee zowee is... pavement was actually poised to make it, they had a mtv vid rotation with cut your hair, they were on lollapalooza... but it seems like WZ was done just to spite anyone who wanted to see them become mainstream... cuz people, it is WEIRD.... they manage to cover every genre imaginable on the album, but it is also very good.... if you can handle it

All those drama kids on their vespas... glum looks on their faces... and pull out the plug and they snort up the drugs...pull out the plug and they snort up the drugs...their throats are filled wi- chord.done. awesome!

Laurie, if you liked those you absolutely need to hear 'Elevate me Later'! and if you have the chance, Silence Kit

Holy crap- I can't believe I forgot Cut Your Hair... you know it's an awesome album when you're explaining all the awesome songs and forget one of the awesome songs "ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo oooooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo oooo" haha Levis testify! How awesome is the Fillmore Jive guitar solo(s)?

My second nom, I gave it some hard thought Pavement-Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Now... this might be a little 'out there' but I decided that everyone else was gonna get classic rock covered, so I figure I can get some modern in here. This album is spectacular, now for any of the older fellows that read this, here is my message to you; If you really like punk back in the late 70s, but felt that it just lost it's style, it's appeal, felt that everyone went too new-wavey... or just stopped making good original music... get this album, like right now, get it, either go out find it and buy it, or get onto your internets and download it, I don't care, and I doubt Pavement really does either, besides after you hear this, you're going to want to buy everything else they ever did. Now, to the album itself. It's hard to describe the magic of this album to anyone who hasn't heard it... I imagine it would be like trying to explain Led Zep IV(or insert really good inexplainable album of your choice) to someone who hadn't heard it... but I will try. Pavement have been described as 'slacker gods' which is unfair... as they undoubtedly tried quite hard to make something this good...but it's style is just so laid back... but godlike The opening track, starts off with heavy distorted guitar playing what appears at first listen to be pure randomness... but then the drums kick in, and a melodic line starts floating over... and all of a sudden those 'random chords' start to kick some major buttocks! Then comes Stephen Malkmus' instantly recognizable voice... I admit, it's a stretch to get used to, but once you do, you fall in love with it... and if you could get used to Joe Strummer and whatnot.... The lyrics are a big part of pavement lore... as they are ridiculous, nonsensical, yet Malkmus' use of language is brilliant, everything has such great flow and it fits the music perfectly... picture if Dylan had spent his whole career writing songs with lyrics like 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' So the first track (silence kit)= pure rocking awesomeness Then there's the civil war song, Stop Breathin' which is essentially just a four chord vamp... but the interplay between the guitar and the drums and the vocals...chilling. Then there is 'elevate me later' which has to be one of my fave songs of all time, it's ballad-ish, midtempo, but the lyrics the voice are beautiful...check it out. other gems ( I forget the exact order) Gold Soundz= it sounds so good, and once again the lyrics are amazing... there's this one moment in the first or second verse where you can tell he's just kinda adlibbing, and it ends with 'And we're comin' to the chorus now!' cut to chorus.... you really have to listen to appreciate did I mention they also do country/blues There are two great songs in the album 'Range Life' and 'Heaven is a Truck' Heaven is a truck is a bit more bluesy- the lyrics are great and it even has a lennonish mantra near the end 'Range Life' is a song that is sung from the perspective of an aging hippy looking at the modern ('93 anyway...) music scene, it's really country-ish and it's great, it's also the song that almost stopped Lollapolooza '94 from happening, as Billy Corgan was going to withdraw the Smashing Pumpkins from playing if Pavement was allowed to perform, as one of the lines in the song was 'As for the smashing pumpkins, I don't really give a f---' They didn't get along very well, there's some really fun feud material between Corgan and Malkmus. Then the album ends with the guitar driven 'Fillmore Jive' Right here they showcase the musical skill that is really behind these 'easy' songs... Malkmus is actually a great guitar player.. a great great great great guitar player... at a jazz level, in fact numerous Pavement jazz tribute groups have been put together in the last decade, anyway, back to the guitar prowess, Malkmus knows how to play 'out' of a key, and then suck you right back into it... for anyone not familiar with theory just take my word... it's hard to do, and this song showcases the guitar skillz rather well... it's the longest pavement song (excluding live jam cuts) at around six and a half minutes, it rocks... okay, that might not have been the most convincing of arguments on it's own... but go out, listen to the album a couple times thru.... and then my ramblings will make sense. I own this on CD, Cassette, plus a special edition 2 disc CD (which is sweet by the way, it costs as much as the regular, but has 1 and a half discs of b sides and outtakes added to it) and I have it on vinyl, it's that good. (and if you can, pick up the vinyl....)

Radiohead- OK Computer This is THE album of the last 20 years, it was produced by master musicians, the songs are mindblowingly good, and the album flows into one continuous opus. Airbag- the opener...what an opener, the whole album starts with Johnny Greenwood getting all that he can out of some simple cords, and from there, it progresses into a synthy sci fi masterpiece... and it rocks. Followed by Paranoid Android- The six minute tune about Marvin the robot from Hitchhiker's guide... how awesome is that? It starts out ominous, then it rocks, then they get symphonic... comes back to creepy and ominous... Subterranean Homesick Alien Blues- a very pretty song, it's a great song about aliens, what more could you want? Karma Police- 1984 and symphonic rock awesomeness... what more could you want Electioneering- ROCKS! This has got to be one of the best guitar riffs ever... I go forwards you go backwards.... it's great Climbing up the walls- get some good speakers, set them up around you, crank the volume, and listen to one of the best done songs ever... every single sound, every note.... totally atmospheric, and Thom's voice...eerie. Finally No Surprises= BEAUTIFUL, it's fairly simple as far as Radiohead goes... but it's a great ballad...greatgreatgreatgreatgreat, and the lyrics, amazing No alarms...and no surprises.... anyway, those are the standout tracks of OK, it's awesome.

Sorry that you don't like rock'n'roll, it's a shame really. Petty remains as one of the last living people that can still put out consistent rock, and give a good show. I'm hardly a classic rock nazi either, but I'm also not a pretentious indie fan boy

Feist, Arcade Fire, and Bright Eyes all had more worthy albums this year Just to name three off the top'o my head.

abbey road is pretty good, it's a great collection of songs... but that's what it is... a great collection of songs, it's like they don't 'belong' together at times... Basically what I'm saying is while it has great songs, it's just not much of an album... Let It Be has the same feeling... it's like I can hear all the stress and 'bad vibes' that were runnin' round the studio during recording. Personally, my faves are the White Album and Sgt. Peppers. The White album- cuz it just flat out rocks, it's the beginning of the John Paul and George doing solo stuff and using eachother as backup rather than acting as a whole unit... but they did it so well. And Sgt. Peppers.... oh sweet sweet sweet sgt peppers... and yeah it's really popular right now to say 'sgt peppers the greatest album of all time... pshaw overrated...'... but it's the music! that sweet sweet symphony that Paul crafted... it's a feat that has yet to be recreated, (well...polyphonic spree.... but lacks that beatle-ness) I mean just take 'When I'm 64' it appears to be a simple little ditty at first... but you need to grab the vinyl, set up your speakers all around you (a little bit of 'Paul's herbal supplement' is entirely optional but....) and crank that track... the woodwinds, the bells, that awesomeawesomeawesome recording, Paul's voice! Well, that probably shoulda been a different thread... but it is late and I am tired.

If Paul dies *again* I'm gonna be soooo pissed.

Musicians need money simple as that, I don't care who they take money from or who they sell their songs to- as long as they can still play their music and write great songs... they can do whatever they want. A musician's life, with the instruments, the traveling, the studio time, the recording equipment- it's very expensive and this doesn't just apply to rockstars and world famous musicians- anyone who uses music and an instrument to make a living needs money to sustain themselves.... it's a sad fact sometimes... but a fact nonetheless.

yeah... I just decided to stand back and bask in the shadow of hijackness. and I was gonna hijack it with talks of Tom Petty.... definitely more off-topic than viking armies

aaah yes.. if I remember correctly, your mother is a prostitute... oh that's not quite right.. hold on..... Peaches yo' mama is a ho!

You better! otherwise you get the hose again!

I'm surfing thru the boards and looking at probably dead posts, that for no reason need to be resurrected... but I will anyway! If you're interested in the Flaming Lips, you should check out Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and the Soft Bulletin... Yoshimi has some great great great songs, and the album flows really nicely I PERSONALLY prefer the sound of the Soft Bulletin, but most people find Yoshimi more suitable to their taste... then there' the newest one (with W.A.N.D) and I can't remember the name right off the top of my head (there's just so much much going on in there!) and it has about 4 great songs... but I find it doesn't hold up to Yoshimi and SB peaceout!

I for one... would love to read that parenting book.

He's doing the superbowl this year... but he's not allowed to play you don't know how it feels... cuz of the whole 'rolling a joint' thing... so I wonder if he'll play Mary Jane's Last Dance