Pavement U&C

d

Comprised of Stephen Malkmus (SM Jenkins), Scott Kannberg (Spiral Stairs), Mark Ibold, Bob Nastanovich, and Steve West (and Gary Young for a minute in their early days), I can say with 100% certainty that Pavement is my favorite band in the world and will always hold that title.

While I’ve seen Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks on various occasions, I’m ashamed to say I never got a chance to see the band perform live, and get overly excited with the smallest news item relating to a possible reunion, whether it’s Malkmus talking about a one-off ‘reunion’ gig for Matador Records‘ 20th anniversary party, rumors the band hired a booking agent and approached Coachella about performing this year (and they’d look a lot better headlining on Saturday than The Killers, who, like Jack Johnson last year, have zero business even being on the bill…), or even listening to the Dark Was the Night album and hearing Matt Berninger, of The National, sing on the track “So Far Around the Bend”:

You’ve been humming in a daze forever
Praying for Pavement to get back together

So, when a friend with great ears tells me they’ve only been minimally exposed to Pavement music, I definitely feel the need to create a Pavement playlist, though this task is always a bit difficult given their prolificacy: during their time together, a period of approximately 10 years ranging from 1989-1999, Pavement released 5 LPs and 9EPs to critical acclaim:

d
LPs

• Slanted & Enchanted (released 4/20/1992, #5 on Pitchfork’s Top 100 Albums of the 1990s, #4 on Spin’s list of Top 100 Albums of the Past 20 Years, #1 on Blender’s Top Indie Albums of all Time)
• Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (released 2/14/1994, #8 on Pitchfork’s Top 100 Albums of the 1990s)
• Wowee Zowee (released 4/11/1995)
• Brighten the Corners (released 2/11/1997)
• Terror Twilight (released 6/8/1999)

EPs

• Slay Tracks (1933-1969) (released in 1989)
• Demolition Plot J-7 (released in 1990)
• Perfect Sound Forever (released in 1991)
• Watery, Domestic (released in 1992)
• Rattled by la Rush (released in 1995)
• Pacific Trim (released in 1996)
• Shady Lane (released in 1997)
• Spit on a Stranger (released in 1999)
• Major Leagues (released in 1999)

Perfect Sound Forever: A Pavement Playlist track listing (download as .zip folder from YSI):

1. “Home” from Watery, Domestic

2. “Summer Babe (Winter Version)” from Slanted & Enchanted

3. “Box Elder” from Westing (By Musket and Sextant)

4. “Unfair” from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

5. “Gold Soundz” from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

6. “Major Leagues” from Terror Twilight

7. “Range Life” from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

8. “Type Slowly” from Brighten the Corners

9. “Grounded” from Wowee Zowee

10. “Unseen Power of the Picket Fence” from the No Alternative AIDS benefit

11. “Kennel District” from Wowee Zowee

12. “Two States” from Slanted & Enchanted

13. “Embassy Row” from Brighten the Corners

14. “Stop Breathin’” from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

15. “Passat Dream” from Brighten the Corners

16. “Cut Your Hair” from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

17. “Shady Lane” from Brighten the Corners

18. “Starlings of the Slipstream” from Brighten the Corners

19. “Ann Don’t Cry” from Terror Twilight

20. “Zurich is Stained” from Slanted & Enchanted

21. “Fight This Generation” from Wowee Zowee

Bonus/UPDATE:

• UPDATE #1: Pavement Live at Mississippi Nights – St. Louis, Missouri 10.14.99
• UPDATE #2: Pavement Live at Copper Commons – Missoula, Montana 4.21.97
• UPDATE #3: Pavement Live at Indie Fest – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 6.26.92
• Pavement “Nail Clinic” from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Disc 1: LA’s Desert Origins
• Pavement “The Killing Moon (Echo & the Bunnymen cover)” from the Major Leagues EP

a

If anyone has any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations please let me know so I can continue to improve this list while keeping it at no more than 20 songs.

a

Further reading:

Rob Jovanovic’s Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement