Pavement (band)
Encyclopedia
Pavement is an American alternative rock
band that formed in Stockton, California
in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following
, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau
and Stephen Thomas Erlewine
. Though only briefly brushing the mainstream with the single "Cut Your Hair" in 1994, Pavement was a successful indie rock band. Rather than signing with a major label as many of their 1980s forebears had done, they remained signed to independent labels throughout their career.
Initially conceived as a recording project, the band at first avoided press or live performances, while attracting considerable underground attention with their early releases. Gradually evolving into a more polished band, they recorded five full length albums and nine EPs over the course of their decade-long career. Though the group disbanded with some acrimony in 1999 as the members moved on to other projects, after a decade-long hiatus, a reunion was announced in late 2009. In 2010, they undertook a well-received reunion tour.
in 1989 as a studio project of guitarists and vocalists Stephen Malkmus
, Scott Kannberg
, known originally only as "S.M." and "Spiral Stairs". Their debut EP
s were extremely lo-fi
releases titled Slay Tracks (1933-1969)
, Demolition Plot J-7
, and Perfect Sound Forever
. They were recorded at Louder Than You Think, the home studio of Stockton local and former hippie
Gary Young
who also played drums on the recordings. Upon first hearing the duo's songs, Young was quoted as saying, "this Malkmus idiot is a complete songwriting genius." After the release of Slay Tracks, a new drummer, Jason Fawkes, was drafted to replace Young both live and in the studio. However, after just one tour and a handful of recording sessions, when it became apparent Fawkes and Malkmus did not get along well, Fawkes was ousted and Young reinstated.
Pavement's most obvious influence during this time was English rock band The Fall, although Kannberg stated in a 1992 interview that he preferred The Replacements. The Fall's Mark E. Smith
has claimed that Pavement were a "rip-off" of his band and that they didn't "have an original idea in their heads.", although other members of The Fall have been more positive about the band.
Around 1992 Pavement became a full-time band, with the addition of bassist Mark Ibold
, who had been one of the band's earliest fans, and extra percussionist Bob Nastanovich
to help Young keep time. Their debut album, Slanted and Enchanted
, was released commercially in 1992 after copies had been circulated on cassette tape for nearly a year. Though the percussive influence of The Fall was still pervasive, as was that of English post-punk
band Swell Maps
, many of the songs also exhibited a strong sense of melody. Later the same year, the band released the EP
Watery, Domestic
, which represented a balance between their earlier and later styles.
s, drunkenly falling off his drum stool, and running around the venue and stage while the rest of the band was playing. At the conclusion of a 1993 tour of Australia, Japan, and Europe, the group held a meeting in a hotel room in Copenhagen
during which Malkmus, Kannberg and Ibold remained silent while Nastanovich (Young's best friend at the time) argued with the drummer and informed him that his antics were unnecessary. Young ultimately agreed to leave the band. He was replaced by Steve West
(a fellow museum security guard at the Whitney Museum of American Art along with Malkmus and David Berman). West's debut performance was at a Drag City festival in Chicago, 1993.
Additionally, in 1993 the band contributed to the AIDS-Benefit Album No Alternative
produced by the Red Hot Organization
with their song "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence".
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
was released in 1994. The record was more indebted to the classic rock
tradition than their debut. The single "Cut Your Hair
" was the band's closest brush with the mainstream, and briefly enjoyed airplay on alternative rock radio and MTV. Pavement performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The video also aired on a season five episode of Beavis and Butt-head
, who termed it "buttwipe music."
The lyrics from another single from the album, "Range Life", criticized alternative rock
stars The Smashing Pumpkins
and the Stone Temple Pilots
. Malkmus has insisted over the years that the line is meant to be light-hearted and is sung from the point of view of the aging hippie
character in the song. Later live versions of the track had the singer substituting "The Spice Girls", "The Counting Crows", or others for "Stone Temple Pilots". In response Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan
threatened to drop his band from their slot headlining the 1994 Lollapalooza Festival
if Pavement was allowed to play. Corgan and Malkmus would trade barbs through the press for several years afterwards.
, recorded in Memphis and released April 11, 1995, covered a wide range of styles including punk, country and balladry across its 18 tracks, which often avoided conventional song structures. On the Slow Century DVD, Malkmus attributed his odd choice of singles to his pot smoking, stating that "I was smoking a lot of grass back then but to me they sounded like hits." Although Malkmus has said in recent interviews that the album is the last "classic Pavement record," Kannberg has voiced regrets about Wowee Zowee. "We made some mistakes on that record... we were kind of pressured into putting out a record a little faster than we were ready to. I mean, I'm totally into the record. It's just if we had another six months to think about it, it would've been much different."
During the tour for the album, Nastanovich stated on the Slow Century DVD, the band would often not work out a setlist before shows, opting for drug and alcohol fueled jams over hit singles. Some of these shows were held during the 1995 Lollapallooza festival, where the incoherent performances received a hostile reaction from many audiences. Footage from Slow Century shows the band being pelted with mud and rocks. The band then left the stage immediately and dubbed themselves "The Band That Ruined Lollapallooza."
Wowee Zowee was followed up by the EP Pacific Trim
, which was recorded with only Malkmus and drummers Nastanovich and Steve West. Their studio time was originally reserved for a Silver Jews
recording, but frontman David Berman walked out in frustration and the trio decided not to waste prepaid recording time.
Brighten the Corners
was released in 1997; a shorter, more conventional record than the previous album, I was produced by Mitch Easter
. Malkmus said on the Slow Century DVD that the album was an attempt to show audiences that Pavement had more mainstream and classic rock influences than it had previously portrayed. The album contained two of the band's best known singles in "Stereo" and "Shady Lane". It was the only Pavement album to include a lyric sheet except Slanted and Enchanted and sold better than its predecessors. Despite increased success, the band continued to fragment, with its members focusing more on other musical projects or on raising families.
. Bob Nastanovich came up with the title, and has revealed the meaning of it in several interviews: "Twilight Terror is the short span between sunset and dusk; this is considered the most dangerous time in traffic, because half of the people switch on the headlights, and the other half doesn't. It's when most accidents happen." During an interview on the Slow Century documentary DVD, he said that the band was having trouble coming up with names for the record until he put forth Terror Twilight. One of the final contenders was Farewell Horizontal (also the name of a 1989 science fiction
novel by K. W. Jeter
), and Nastanovich said, "There was no way I was going to be on the Farewell Horizontal tour for the next year."
The band originally planned to self-produce Terror Twilight, renting out Jackpot! Studios in Portland, Oregon
. The group stalled though, with Malkmus, Ibold, Nastanovich and Jackpot! employee and future Jicks
bassist Joanna Bolme usually opting to play Scrabble
over getting any sort of work accomplished. Kannberg was especially frustrated over the sessions, particularly at Malkmus' refusal to include any of Kannberg's songs on the album. Fan favorite "For Sale: The Preston School of Industry" and one other song penned by the guitarist were briefly worked on during the sessions, but eventually abandoned. At the end of the initial two week session, very little had been accomplished and it was decided that a producer should be brought in to assist them.
Nigel Godrich
, best known for his work with Radiohead
, Beck
and R.E.M.
, was hired to produce the album. The group first attempted to record in Sonic Youth's lower Manhattan
studio, which Godrich took a dislike to as it was within ear-shot of several practice spaces, and also set up more like a home studio. Godrich eventually convinced the band to move to a more "proper" 24-track studio, where he had previously worked on albums by The Beastie Boys
and R.E.M. Though the producer took an immediate shine to Malkmus, Kannberg and Nastanovich were wary of him. Nastanovich believes that though Godrich "took on a pretty substantial challenge and did a good job," that he "focused his attention on Stephen" and produced them "in a way that just sort of had more disregard for the rest of us." Nastanovich also later recalled an awkward incident where it became apparent that the producer didn't know the auxiliary percussionist's name. Kannberg, still disillusioned over his songs being rejected by Malkmus, said of Terror Twilight: "It was not fun to do that record from the very beginning. It was the hardest record to make."
Malkmus wrote the entirety of the record, and the recording of the music only featured minor contributions from the rest of the band. The group released one last EP, titled Major Leagues
. It features three Malkmus songs, two original Spiral Stairs songs and two covers, "The Killing Moon" by Echo & the Bunnymen
and "The Classical" by The Fall.
The group's final concert together was at Brixton Academy in London on November 20, 1999. During the concert, Malkmus had a pair of handcuffs
attached to his microphone stand, and at one point told that audience, "These symbolize what it's like being in a band all these years." After the concert, he confirmed to people at the after-party that Pavement was now done "for the foreseeable future." About two weeks later, a spokesperson for Domino records told NME
: "Pavement are retiring for the forseeable future to: 1. Start families 2. Sail around the world 3. Get into the computer industry 4. Dance 5. Get some attention."
In the summer of 2000, Malkmus called Kannberg and told him, "You need to change the website to say we aren't a band anymore. People keep asking me if we're breaking up and you know we're not a band anymore, right?" Kannberg told Malkmus that he needed to call the other members of the band to inform them that the band was finally breaking up, but Malkmus refused and Kannberg was left with the task of informing them. Steve West later admitted that he never received any official call about the breakup from anyone in the band, and discovered that Pavement had dissolved via the internet. Nastanovich later commented that "There was too much exhaustion for heavy emotion."
, a documentary by Lance Bangs
coupled with all of the band's music videos, was released as a 2 DVD set. Included was extensive footage, both professionally shot and taped by fans on camcorders, from the band's earliest shows in 1989 forward. The three final songs from the band's final concert ("Stop Breathin'", "Conduit for Sale" and "Here") are presented at the end of the documentary. Also on the DVD is a hidden easter egg clip from the same show, wherein Malkmus talks about how the handcuffs
attached to his microphone stand "represent what it's like being in a band all these years." A bonus disc with a complete concert in Seattle, Washington
, from the early part of the Terror Twilight tour was included on the second disc, as well as several songs from their penultimate show.
2004 saw the publication of Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement
, a biography on the band written by Rob Jovanovic
. Reviews for the book were mixed, with some saying that it contained much of the same information as the Slow Century DVD and expanded very little on it, while others called it a "fond retrospection".
interview, Scott Kannberg discussed the possibility of a reunion for the band's 20th anniversary in 2009. In a 2008 Entertainment Weekly
article, Kannberg echoed the possibility of a 2009 reunion, and mentioned Matador Records
' 20th anniversary. Mark Ibold was amenable to the idea; Malkmus, however, stated: "something small in 10 years like the Zeppelin thing
sounds good to me."
On September 15, 2009, Brooklyn Vegan reported that Pavement were scheduled to perform multiple benefit show dates in New York City's Central Park from September 21, 2010. Official statements by the band, label, venue and promoter were released on September 17, 2009 confirming the reunion. The announcement included one concert in Central Park and the promise of a tour, but said that the reunion may only be a one-off event. It said, "Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion." Tickets for the first Central Park concert sold out in two minutes, leading to the announcement of three more shows at the same venue.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Scott Kannberg spoke about the band's future: "We’ll do some rehearsing in the new year. The Central Park SummerStage shows, we’ll probably end up doing one or two of those. There’s festivals and stuff that we’re talking to, like Coachella. After that, anything that happens in the future is in the future." The band since confirmed a world-wide tour which started in Auckland
, New Zealand on March 1 at the Auckland Town Hall
, before heading on to Australia then heading to the UK, including the All Tomorrow's Parties
festival in Minehead, Somerset
(May 14 – 16) and several European shows. They also performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
in April 2010, the Sasquatch! and Primavera Sound
Festivals in May, the Toronto Island Concert in June with Broken Social Scene
, Band Of Horses
, and others, Open'er Festival
, Roskilde Festival
and Les Ardentes and Pitchfork Music Festival
in July.
The band released a "best-of" compilation album
in March 2010, entitled Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement
.
On June 24, 2010, Pavement performed at the Bob Hope Theatre in Stockton, their first-ever hometown show. Original drummer Gary Young joined the band for an encore, playing three songs from Slanted and Enchanted. Young also joined the band during six songs the next night at The Greek Theater in Berkeley.
In September 2010, Pavement appeared on The Colbert Report and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
. After concluding their proper US tour at the Hollywood Bowl
on September 30, the band played the following night in Las Vegas
at the Palms Casino as a part of the Matador 21 festival. During their set, Scott Kannberg kicked his monitor and smashed his guitar into his amp in frustration of not being able to hear himself while performing. NME
noted the band had an "icy atmosphere onstage". The band honored a further two South American show commitments in November 2010.
In an interview with Las Vegas Weekly, Malkmus addressed the possibility of the band continuing beyond their 2010 tour:
In an interview with Spin Magazine, Bob Nastanovich revealed it was a possibility that the band would play more shows, but ruled out new material as "Stephen does not write songs for Pavement anymore, or songs in the Pavement mindset."
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band that formed in Stockton, California
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
and Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
. Though only briefly brushing the mainstream with the single "Cut Your Hair" in 1994, Pavement was a successful indie rock band. Rather than signing with a major label as many of their 1980s forebears had done, they remained signed to independent labels throughout their career.
Initially conceived as a recording project, the band at first avoided press or live performances, while attracting considerable underground attention with their early releases. Gradually evolving into a more polished band, they recorded five full length albums and nine EPs over the course of their decade-long career. Though the group disbanded with some acrimony in 1999 as the members moved on to other projects, after a decade-long hiatus, a reunion was announced in late 2009. In 2010, they undertook a well-received reunion tour.
Beginnings and Slanted and Enchanted
Pavement formed in Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
in 1989 as a studio project of guitarists and vocalists Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...
, Scott Kannberg
Scott Kannberg
Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg is a musician best known for being a founding member of the indie-rock band Pavement.-Career:...
, known originally only as "S.M." and "Spiral Stairs". Their debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s were extremely lo-fi
Lo-fi music
Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...
releases titled Slay Tracks (1933-1969)
Slay Tracks (1933-1969)
Slay Tracks is the debut extended play by the American indie rock band Pavement. Pavement, then consisting of founding members Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg , recorded Slay Tracks with producer and future member Gary Young during a four hour session...
, Demolition Plot J-7
Demolition Plot J-7
Demolition Plot J-7 is the second extended play by American indie rock band Pavement, released in 1990. The EP was the band's first release on Chicago independent label Drag City, and its first release that was not self-issued...
, and Perfect Sound Forever
Perfect Sound Forever (EP)
Perfect Sound Forever is Pavement's third release, a 10" EP on Chicago's Drag City recording label. The songs on this record would later be made available on the Drag City compilation Westing ....
. They were recorded at Louder Than You Think, the home studio of Stockton local and former hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
Gary Young
Gary Young
Gary Young was the first drummer of the 1990s alternative rock band Pavement.-Early life:Gary Young was born in Mamaroneck, New York. His father worked in the plastics business.-Work with Pavement:...
who also played drums on the recordings. Upon first hearing the duo's songs, Young was quoted as saying, "this Malkmus idiot is a complete songwriting genius." After the release of Slay Tracks, a new drummer, Jason Fawkes, was drafted to replace Young both live and in the studio. However, after just one tour and a handful of recording sessions, when it became apparent Fawkes and Malkmus did not get along well, Fawkes was ousted and Young reinstated.
Pavement's most obvious influence during this time was English rock band The Fall, although Kannberg stated in a 1992 interview that he preferred The Replacements. The Fall's Mark E. Smith
Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and only constant member of the English post-punk band The Fall.-Early life:...
has claimed that Pavement were a "rip-off" of his band and that they didn't "have an original idea in their heads.", although other members of The Fall have been more positive about the band.
Around 1992 Pavement became a full-time band, with the addition of bassist Mark Ibold
Mark Ibold
Mark Ibold is a New York-based bass guitarist, member of the indie band Pavement from 1992 to 1999, and again as of their 2010 reunion. He is also currently in the alternative rock band Sonic Youth....
, who had been one of the band's earliest fans, and extra percussionist Bob Nastanovich
Bob Nastanovich
Robert "Bob" Nastanovich is a member of the indie rock band, Pavement, as well as former member of 1990s bands Ectoslavia, and Pale Horse Riders...
to help Young keep time. Their debut album, Slanted and Enchanted
Slanted and Enchanted
Slanted and Enchanted is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released in April 1992 on Matador Records. The album was distributed to critics as early as 1991, months before its official release; the original distribution did not feature the entire band as several members...
, was released commercially in 1992 after copies had been circulated on cassette tape for nearly a year. Though the percussive influence of The Fall was still pervasive, as was that of English post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band Swell Maps
Swell Maps
Swell Maps were an experimental English rock group of the 1970s from Birmingham that foreshadowed the birth of post-punk.Influenced by the disparate likes of T.Rex and the German progressive outfit, Can, they created a new soundscape that would be heavily mined by others in the post-punk era...
, many of the songs also exhibited a strong sense of melody. Later the same year, the band released the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Watery, Domestic
Watery, Domestic
Watery, Domestic is an EP by Pavement.The record marked the recording debuts of both Bob Nastanovich and Mark Ibold on percussion and bass respectively - although both had been touring members for some time, the debut album, Slanted and Enchanted and the preceding EPs had been recorded by a trio of...
, which represented a balance between their earlier and later styles.
Gary Young's departure and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
During the Slanted & Enchanted tour Gary Young's eccentric behaviour included his handing out cabbage and mashed potatoes to fans at the door of the venue, doing handstandHandstand
A handstand is the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands. In a basic handstand the body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended, with hands spaced approximately shoulder-width apart...
s, drunkenly falling off his drum stool, and running around the venue and stage while the rest of the band was playing. At the conclusion of a 1993 tour of Australia, Japan, and Europe, the group held a meeting in a hotel room in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
during which Malkmus, Kannberg and Ibold remained silent while Nastanovich (Young's best friend at the time) argued with the drummer and informed him that his antics were unnecessary. Young ultimately agreed to leave the band. He was replaced by Steve West
Steve West (pavement)
Steve West replaced original drummer Gary Young in the critically acclaimed indie rock band Pavement. He is a graduate of Trinity High School in Richmond, VA. He now sings in the band Marble Valley, which released their fourth album, "Slash & Laugh," on in 2008.-References:...
(a fellow museum security guard at the Whitney Museum of American Art along with Malkmus and David Berman). West's debut performance was at a Drag City festival in Chicago, 1993.
Additionally, in 1993 the band contributed to the AIDS-Benefit Album No Alternative
No Alternative
-Home video track listing:# Matthew Sweet "Superdeformed"#*directed by Kevin Kerslake# Neneh Cherry "Athens, Georgia 1993"#*directed by Jim McKay & Michael Stipe# Urge Overkill "Take a Walk"#*directed by Matt Mahurin...
produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
with their song "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence".
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is an album released by Pavement in 1994. With this album, the band abandoned the lo-fi sound displayed on Slanted and Enchanted...
was released in 1994. The record was more indebted to the classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
tradition than their debut. The single "Cut Your Hair
Cut Your Hair
"Cut Your Hair" is a song by American rock band Pavement from their second album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. It was written by Pavement songwriter and lead singer Stephen Malkmus. The song snidely attacks the importance of image in the music industry...
" was the band's closest brush with the mainstream, and briefly enjoyed airplay on alternative rock radio and MTV. Pavement performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The video also aired on a season five episode of Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
, who termed it "buttwipe music."
The lyrics from another single from the album, "Range Life", criticized alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
stars The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
and the Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
. Malkmus has insisted over the years that the line is meant to be light-hearted and is sung from the point of view of the aging hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
character in the song. Later live versions of the track had the singer substituting "The Spice Girls", "The Counting Crows", or others for "Stone Temple Pilots". In response Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
threatened to drop his band from their slot headlining the 1994 Lollapalooza Festival
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
if Pavement was allowed to play. Corgan and Malkmus would trade barbs through the press for several years afterwards.
Wowee Zowee and Brighten the Corners
The next album, Wowee ZoweeWowee Zowee
Wowee Zowee is the third studio album by Pavement. The album showcased a more experimental and spontaneous side of the group, returning them to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the classic rock vibe of 1994's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain...
, recorded in Memphis and released April 11, 1995, covered a wide range of styles including punk, country and balladry across its 18 tracks, which often avoided conventional song structures. On the Slow Century DVD, Malkmus attributed his odd choice of singles to his pot smoking, stating that "I was smoking a lot of grass back then but to me they sounded like hits." Although Malkmus has said in recent interviews that the album is the last "classic Pavement record," Kannberg has voiced regrets about Wowee Zowee. "We made some mistakes on that record... we were kind of pressured into putting out a record a little faster than we were ready to. I mean, I'm totally into the record. It's just if we had another six months to think about it, it would've been much different."
During the tour for the album, Nastanovich stated on the Slow Century DVD, the band would often not work out a setlist before shows, opting for drug and alcohol fueled jams over hit singles. Some of these shows were held during the 1995 Lollapallooza festival, where the incoherent performances received a hostile reaction from many audiences. Footage from Slow Century shows the band being pelted with mud and rocks. The band then left the stage immediately and dubbed themselves "The Band That Ruined Lollapallooza."
Wowee Zowee was followed up by the EP Pacific Trim
Pacific Trim
Pacific Trim is an EP released by indie rock group Pavement on January 23, 1996 . It was recorded on short notice to coincide with the band's Australian tour...
, which was recorded with only Malkmus and drummers Nastanovich and Steve West. Their studio time was originally reserved for a Silver Jews
Silver Jews
Silver Jews was an indie rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by David Berman along with Pavement's Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman remained throughout and was the only constant member. During the last few albums, Cassie Berman became a regular member of the band...
recording, but frontman David Berman walked out in frustration and the trio decided not to waste prepaid recording time.
Brighten the Corners
Brighten the Corners
Brighten the Corners is the fourth studio album released by Pavement. All songs were written by lead singer Stephen Malkmus, apart from "Date with Ikea" and "Passat Dream". The title is likely a reference to Ella Fitzgerald's Brighten the Corner, or its title track "Brighten the Corner Where You...
was released in 1997; a shorter, more conventional record than the previous album, I was produced by Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter is a songwriter, musician, and producer. As a producer, he is probably best known for his work with R.E.M. from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush, and...
. Malkmus said on the Slow Century DVD that the album was an attempt to show audiences that Pavement had more mainstream and classic rock influences than it had previously portrayed. The album contained two of the band's best known singles in "Stereo" and "Shady Lane". It was the only Pavement album to include a lyric sheet except Slanted and Enchanted and sold better than its predecessors. Despite increased success, the band continued to fragment, with its members focusing more on other musical projects or on raising families.
Terror Twilight
In 1999, the band began work on its final album, Terror TwilightTerror Twilight
Terror Twilight is the fifth and final studio album released by Pavement. It was produced by Nigel Godrich and featured Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead playing harmonica on the songs "Platform Blues" and "Billie"....
. Bob Nastanovich came up with the title, and has revealed the meaning of it in several interviews: "Twilight Terror is the short span between sunset and dusk; this is considered the most dangerous time in traffic, because half of the people switch on the headlights, and the other half doesn't. It's when most accidents happen." During an interview on the Slow Century documentary DVD, he said that the band was having trouble coming up with names for the record until he put forth Terror Twilight. One of the final contenders was Farewell Horizontal (also the name of a 1989 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by K. W. Jeter
K. W. Jeter
Kevin Wayne Jeter is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters...
), and Nastanovich said, "There was no way I was going to be on the Farewell Horizontal tour for the next year."
The band originally planned to self-produce Terror Twilight, renting out Jackpot! Studios in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. The group stalled though, with Malkmus, Ibold, Nastanovich and Jackpot! employee and future Jicks
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks is a rock band consisting of Stephen Malkmus, Mike Clark, Joanna Bolme, and Jake Morris. Malkmus was the main singer and songwriter behind the influential 1990s indie rock band Pavement.-History:...
bassist Joanna Bolme usually opting to play Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
over getting any sort of work accomplished. Kannberg was especially frustrated over the sessions, particularly at Malkmus' refusal to include any of Kannberg's songs on the album. Fan favorite "For Sale: The Preston School of Industry" and one other song penned by the guitarist were briefly worked on during the sessions, but eventually abandoned. At the end of the initial two week session, very little had been accomplished and it was decided that a producer should be brought in to assist them.
Nigel Godrich
Nigel Godrich
Nigel Godrich, , is a recording engineer, record producer and musician. He is best known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead and is sometimes referred to as the "sixth member" of the band...
, best known for his work with Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
and R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, was hired to produce the album. The group first attempted to record in Sonic Youth's lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
studio, which Godrich took a dislike to as it was within ear-shot of several practice spaces, and also set up more like a home studio. Godrich eventually convinced the band to move to a more "proper" 24-track studio, where he had previously worked on albums by The Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
and R.E.M. Though the producer took an immediate shine to Malkmus, Kannberg and Nastanovich were wary of him. Nastanovich believes that though Godrich "took on a pretty substantial challenge and did a good job," that he "focused his attention on Stephen" and produced them "in a way that just sort of had more disregard for the rest of us." Nastanovich also later recalled an awkward incident where it became apparent that the producer didn't know the auxiliary percussionist's name. Kannberg, still disillusioned over his songs being rejected by Malkmus, said of Terror Twilight: "It was not fun to do that record from the very beginning. It was the hardest record to make."
Malkmus wrote the entirety of the record, and the recording of the music only featured minor contributions from the rest of the band. The group released one last EP, titled Major Leagues
Major Leagues (EP)
Major Leagues EP is Pavement's final EP, although two more singles were released afterwards. It features seven tracks in total:* A radio edit of the Terror Twilight version of "Major Leagues."...
. It features three Malkmus songs, two original Spiral Stairs songs and two covers, "The Killing Moon" by Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
and "The Classical" by The Fall.
Final tour and breakup
Pavement embarked on a six month world tour in support of the album, during which time relationships within the group frayed, especially between Malkmus and the other members of the band. Steve West later recalled times on the tour bus where Malkmus would put his coat over his head, refuse to speak to anyone, and call himself "The Little Bitch". Critics noted that their setlist had started to include a number of their early songs, much like a band playing their greatest hits on a farewell tour. Malkmus's attitude continued to deteriorate as the tour wore on, finally coming to a head during their slot at the 1999 Coachella Festival. During the concert, Malkmus refused (or was possibly unable, due to illness) to sing, effectively turning their set into a mostly instrumental one. Nastanovich called a band meeting after the show, and Malkmus finally confided to his bandmates: "I just don't want to do this anymore."The group's final concert together was at Brixton Academy in London on November 20, 1999. During the concert, Malkmus had a pair of handcuffs
Handcuffs
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists close together. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each half has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist...
attached to his microphone stand, and at one point told that audience, "These symbolize what it's like being in a band all these years." After the concert, he confirmed to people at the after-party that Pavement was now done "for the foreseeable future." About two weeks later, a spokesperson for Domino records told NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
: "Pavement are retiring for the forseeable future to: 1. Start families 2. Sail around the world 3. Get into the computer industry 4. Dance 5. Get some attention."
In the summer of 2000, Malkmus called Kannberg and told him, "You need to change the website to say we aren't a band anymore. People keep asking me if we're breaking up and you know we're not a band anymore, right?" Kannberg told Malkmus that he needed to call the other members of the band to inform them that the band was finally breaking up, but Malkmus refused and Kannberg was left with the task of informing them. Steve West later admitted that he never received any official call about the breakup from anyone in the band, and discovered that Pavement had dissolved via the internet. Nastanovich later commented that "There was too much exhaustion for heavy emotion."
Slow Century and Perfect Sound Forever
In 2002, Slow CenturySlow Century
Slow Century is a two-disc DVD retrospective of the band Pavement filmed and compiled by filmmaker Lance Bangs. The first disc contains Slow Century itself, a 90-minute documentary with extensive interviews with the band members and considerable live concert footage from across their career...
, a documentary by Lance Bangs
Lance Bangs
Lance Bangs is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and music video director who has created videos for Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Green Day, the Arcade Fire, the Shins, The Thermals, Belle & Sebastian, Menomena, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, R.E.M., Mike Watt, Death Cab for Cutie, The Black Keys, Kanye West, and...
coupled with all of the band's music videos, was released as a 2 DVD set. Included was extensive footage, both professionally shot and taped by fans on camcorders, from the band's earliest shows in 1989 forward. The three final songs from the band's final concert ("Stop Breathin'", "Conduit for Sale" and "Here") are presented at the end of the documentary. Also on the DVD is a hidden easter egg clip from the same show, wherein Malkmus talks about how the handcuffs
Handcuffs
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists close together. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each half has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist...
attached to his microphone stand "represent what it's like being in a band all these years." A bonus disc with a complete concert in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, from the early part of the Terror Twilight tour was included on the second disc, as well as several songs from their penultimate show.
2004 saw the publication of Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement
Perfect Sound Forever (book)
Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement is the name of a 2004 biography written by Rob Jovanovic about the 1990s indie rock band Pavement....
, a biography on the band written by Rob Jovanovic
Rob Jovanovic
Rob Jovanovic is an author, most notable for his 2004 biography about the indie rock band Pavement, Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement. Jovanovic has also penned volumes on Beck, Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers, Nirvana, Big Star, Kate Bush and R.E.M. as well as sports...
. Reviews for the book were mixed, with some saying that it contained much of the same information as the Slow Century DVD and expanded very little on it, while others called it a "fond retrospection".
Reunion
There was frequent speculation about the possibility of a Pavement reunion. In a 2006 Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
interview, Scott Kannberg discussed the possibility of a reunion for the band's 20th anniversary in 2009. In a 2008 Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
article, Kannberg echoed the possibility of a 2009 reunion, and mentioned Matador Records
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
' 20th anniversary. Mark Ibold was amenable to the idea; Malkmus, however, stated: "something small in 10 years like the Zeppelin thing
Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London on December 10, 2007. The headline act was the English rock band, Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full-length concert since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980,...
sounds good to me."
On September 15, 2009, Brooklyn Vegan reported that Pavement were scheduled to perform multiple benefit show dates in New York City's Central Park from September 21, 2010. Official statements by the band, label, venue and promoter were released on September 17, 2009 confirming the reunion. The announcement included one concert in Central Park and the promise of a tour, but said that the reunion may only be a one-off event. It said, "Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion." Tickets for the first Central Park concert sold out in two minutes, leading to the announcement of three more shows at the same venue.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Scott Kannberg spoke about the band's future: "We’ll do some rehearsing in the new year. The Central Park SummerStage shows, we’ll probably end up doing one or two of those. There’s festivals and stuff that we’re talking to, like Coachella. After that, anything that happens in the future is in the future." The band since confirmed a world-wide tour which started in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand on March 1 at the Auckland Town Hall
Auckland Town Hall
The Auckland Town Hall is a historic building on Queen Street in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions , as well as for its famed Great Hall and its separate Concert Chamber...
, before heading on to Australia then heading to the UK, including the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
festival in Minehead, Somerset
Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...
(May 14 – 16) and several European shows. They also performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
in April 2010, the Sasquatch! and Primavera Sound
Primavera Sound Festival
San Miguel Primavera Sound, commonly known as Primavera Sound or simply Primavera, is an annual music festival which takes place in Barcelona, Spain in late May and, in some years, early June...
Festivals in May, the Toronto Island Concert in June with Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Most of its members currently play in various other groups and solo projects, mainly based around the city of Toronto...
, Band Of Horses
Band of Horses
Band of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...
, and others, Open'er Festival
Open'er Festival
The Heineken Open'er Festival is a music festival which takes place on the North coast of Poland, in Gdynia. The first edition of the festival was organized in Warsaw in 2002 as Open Air Festival. The main organizer of the festival is the concert agency Alter Art, but the performance took its name...
, Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
and Les Ardentes and Pitchfork Music Festival
Pitchfork Music Festival
The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by Pitchfork Media and held in Union Park in Chicago, IL. The festival, which is normally held over three days in July, focuses primarily on artists and bands from alternative rock, rap & hip-hop, electronica, and dance...
in July.
The band released a "best-of" compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
in March 2010, entitled Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement
Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement
Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement is a compilation album released by Pavement on March 8, 2010 to coincide with the band's reunion...
.
On June 24, 2010, Pavement performed at the Bob Hope Theatre in Stockton, their first-ever hometown show. Original drummer Gary Young joined the band for an encore, playing three songs from Slanted and Enchanted. Young also joined the band during six songs the next night at The Greek Theater in Berkeley.
In September 2010, Pavement appeared on The Colbert Report and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
. After concluding their proper US tour at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
on September 30, the band played the following night in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
at the Palms Casino as a part of the Matador 21 festival. During their set, Scott Kannberg kicked his monitor and smashed his guitar into his amp in frustration of not being able to hear himself while performing. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
noted the band had an "icy atmosphere onstage". The band honored a further two South American show commitments in November 2010.
In an interview with Las Vegas Weekly, Malkmus addressed the possibility of the band continuing beyond their 2010 tour:
No, we’re sticking to our guns and what we promised, even though it has been fun. Anyone who bought a ticket to see us, I don’t want them to have paid these slightly higher prices to see us and then have us right back there again—it’s just disingenuous. And we want to keep it fun.
In an interview with Spin Magazine, Bob Nastanovich revealed it was a possibility that the band would play more shows, but ruled out new material as "Stephen does not write songs for Pavement anymore, or songs in the Pavement mindset."
Discography
- Slanted and EnchantedSlanted and EnchantedSlanted and Enchanted is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released in April 1992 on Matador Records. The album was distributed to critics as early as 1991, months before its official release; the original distribution did not feature the entire band as several members...
(1992) - Crooked Rain, Crooked RainCrooked Rain, Crooked RainCrooked Rain, Crooked Rain is an album released by Pavement in 1994. With this album, the band abandoned the lo-fi sound displayed on Slanted and Enchanted...
(1994) - Wowee ZoweeWowee ZoweeWowee Zowee is the third studio album by Pavement. The album showcased a more experimental and spontaneous side of the group, returning them to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the classic rock vibe of 1994's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain...
(1995) - Brighten the CornersBrighten the CornersBrighten the Corners is the fourth studio album released by Pavement. All songs were written by lead singer Stephen Malkmus, apart from "Date with Ikea" and "Passat Dream". The title is likely a reference to Ella Fitzgerald's Brighten the Corner, or its title track "Brighten the Corner Where You...
(1997) - Terror TwilightTerror TwilightTerror Twilight is the fifth and final studio album released by Pavement. It was produced by Nigel Godrich and featured Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead playing harmonica on the songs "Platform Blues" and "Billie"....
(1999)
External links
- Pavement at Matador RecordsMatador RecordsMatador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
- Pavement at Domino Records
- Podcast of Pavement Live at the Great American Music HallGreat American Music HallThe Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater...
- Stephen Malkmus on Reissue of Pavement's 'Brighten the Corners'
- Podcast: Pavement Reunion Tour Concert, Sydney, Australia