Podcasts about jicks

This week, we will be celebrating Pavement Week on Revolutions Per Movie with episodes that are Pavement to the max!!!  For today's episode (#3 of 5) we talk to multi-instrumentalist of Pavement, The Minders, Pedro The Lion & Wild Flag, Rebecca Clay Cole!!!  We discuss her time in Pavement and her varied musical life, and she also brought us an amazing music film pick to discuss: the Luther Vandross documentary Luther: Never Too Much.  We also talk about her involvement with the Elephant 6 scene, how her first band was the incredible The Minders, learning to sing harmonies on the fly, working with The Jicks before being asked to join Pavement, what the Denver music scene was like in the late 90s, collecting 7” records, the mysteries of a sound check, how Luther's childhood friends (Fonzi Thorton, Robin Clark & David Bowie/Iggy Pop collaborator Carlos Alamor) remained in each other's musical lives until his death, Luther running the Patti LaBelle fan club, his first band performing on Sesame Street, a young Luther getting his bandmates' parents to buy their jade colored shoes for their live shows, Luther embracing the Philly sound, David Bowie making Luther his vocal arranger for the Young Americans album and Luther re-writing one of Bowie's songs, plus songs for The Wiz, touring with Bette Midler, chance encounters in creative situations, Luther being on every recording of Chic, his new wave album Busy Body, the racism in the record industry and how the media obsessed about his weight, how Luther controlled his band on stage tempo wise with such gentle ease and how Luther's vocal style came about from singing in a pizza commercial!So it's siizzzzllliiinnnggg hot on episode #3 of Pavement week only here on Revolutions Per Movie!!! REVOLUTIONS PER MOVIE:Host Chris Slusarenko (Eyelids, Guided By Voices, owner of Clinton Street Video rental store) is joined by actors, musicians, comedians, writers & directors who each week pick out their favorite music documentary, musical, music-themed fiction film or music videos to discuss. Fun, weird, and insightful, Revolutions Per Movie is your deep dive into our life-long obsessions where music and film collide.The show is also a completely independent affair, so the best way to support it is through our Patreon at patreon.com/revolutionspermovie. By joining, you can get weekly bonus episodes, physical goods such as Flexidiscs, and other exclusive goods.Revolutions Per Movies releases new episodes every Thursday on any podcast app, and additional, exclusive bonus episodes every Sunday on our Patreon. If you like the show, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing it on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!SOCIALS:@revolutionspermovieBlueSky: @revpermovie Click here to get EXCLUSIVE BONUS WEEKLY Revolutions Per Movie content on our Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's guest has poured a lot of passion and creativity into dog advocacy. Happy to welcome to the show Janet Weiss, the heralded drummer behind Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, The Shins and her long time band Quasi. Janet introduces us to her 7 year old Heeler Dizzy and pays respects to her "equal" Mac and her anxious girl Isobel. Great talk that covers her car accident that left her laid up for three months, the Drum-a-thon she put on that raised over $20k for her local dog rescue and her foray into pet portraits that she paints onto bass drum heads. Janet gave some well deserved shout outs to three great organizations starting with One Tail at a Time Dog Rescue PDX whose mission is to improve the lives of companion animals by providing humane, individualized care and a chance to know the comforts of a loving home through advocacy, education, and support of those in need. To adopt, foster, volunteer or donate visit otatpdx.orgHigh praise also goes out to Oregon Dog Rescue who are devoted to placing dogs in the best homes and assuring the long-term success of the adoption. To adopt, foster, volunteer or donate go to oregondogrescue.org to learn more.Lastly, there's Oregon Humane Society who are the largest animal welfare organization in the Northwest and offer a wide variety of services from pet adoption, training, humane law enforcement, veterinary care, humane education, and disaster response. For the many ways to get involved and support their mission go to oregonhumane.orgFor more pics and clips of Janet and her pack follow the show on Instagram @rockerdogpodcast

Super-Special-not-so-Secret Friend Don returns to the diningroom table for another thrilling bonus episode. Deon and Jay welcome his ass with arms wide open, as Lightnin' Lickers are want to do. Twelve crackin' tracks are lifted from wax and stitched back onto a mixtape after an in-depth discussion of the artists who created said cuts takes place. It's good to be back. Happy (Merry) St. Patrick's Day (Bay City Christmas)!Sonic contributors to the latest bonus episode of Lightnin'Licks Radio podcast include: Max Heath, Prince and the Revolution, Alan Silvestri, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Arc of All, Junkyard Band, Roberta Flack, Donald Trump, Jimmy Webb, The Beatles, Tim Hardin, Holland Dozier Holland, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Chris Whitley, Bonnie Tyler, Jim Steinman, Missing Persons, Mitchell Froom, Guns N' Roses, Stephen Malkmus, the Jicks, KMFDM, MC 900 Ft. Jesus, Beck, Revolting Cocks, Led Zepplin, Greta Van Fleet, Grace Slick, Bjork, Black Flag, Grateful Dead, Henry Rollins Band, Mike Judge's Beavis & Butthead, A Tribe Called Quest, Ubiquity, Digible Planets, Abe Jefferson, Billy Woods, ELUCID, Raekwon the Chef, Outkast, Ms. Judy, Quelle Chris, Don Messick as Zorac, Sade, Mr. K and Boyd Jarvis.Jay noted he was snacking on the sonic deliciousness of theSound Symposium, Noel and the Red Wedge, Wartime, and Fazerdaze.Deon is with Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Pavement, Roy Ayers, Cavalier and Child Actor. Don suggested checking out the Hard Lessons, Balthazar, S.G. Goodman, and MaidaVale. In a world full of and Stephen Millers and Ted Cruzes, be aMr. Studinger or a Tom Cedarberg. Share joy and buy music from your local record store. We suggest Electric Kitsch in beautiful Bay City, Michigan.  BONUS #25 mixtape:[SIDE 1] (1) S.G. Goodman - If You Were Someone I Loved {edit} (2) Pavement - Grounded (3) Noel & the Red Wedge - Special to You (4) Balthazar - Bunker (5) Roy Ayers - Slow Motion (6) Wartime - The Whole Truth [SIDE 2] (1) The Sound Symposium - America (2) The Hard Lessons - Milk & Sugar (3) Cavalier & Child Actor - Judy is Forever (4) Fazerdaze - A Thousand Years (5) MaidaVale - Daybreak (6) Sarah Shook & the Disarmers - Backsliders

Jake Morris, the longtime drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, joins the podcast for a rambling chat about his love of Steely Dan, Malkmus, indie rock touring, and his own excellent new solo album The Long Goodbye. A member of The FM Podcasts Network.

Jake Morris is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter based in Portland, Or. Outside of drumming for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, he releases solo records under the name Street Nights. His most recent record, The Long Goodbye is out now via his own label, Community Guidelines. Jake and Joe talk about their early drums lessons and Jake shares how a Living Color song sent him on the path of self-education.  He tells us why a more methodical approach to recording the new record was a more satisfying process and allowed him to not only be more focused, but more creative. The two discuss the current climate of touring, why it's more difficult and why they still pine for performing live. They share their election day experiences, compare the films The Long Goodbye and Fletch, and we hear a couple new tunes. Street Nights Episode supported by Izotope Ep supported by our friends @izotope. Izotope cyber week starts now! Head over to izotope.com now to and get massive savings on all their production software. Use code FRET10 at check out. Its black bundle Friday at @izotope NOW! Massive savings on All software bundles. limited time only.  11.29-12.02. Get the best deals of the year now. FRET10 Episode supported by Distrokid Check out the Distrokid App!

This week on the show, we're pleased to present a conversation with Matt Sweeney. He's lived a truly dazzling life in music. After coming up playing with the great band Chavez, he contributed to masterworks of indie rock—including records by Cat Power and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, with whom he crafted the monumental 2005 classic Superwolf, a classic in the Aquarium Drunkard canon. He's also worked as an in-demand session player, working on recordings for the likes of Cat Stevens, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond and other legends. Is Matt the only guy to play on both a Current 93 and Dixie Chicks project? We suspect so. His new band is called The Hard Quartet, which finds him joined by Stephen Malkmus of Pavement and The Jicks, Emmett Kelly of The Cairo Gang, and Jim White of The Dirty Three.  Their self-titled debut is out this Friday, October 4th. To quote from Jennifer Kelly's Aquarium Drunkard review of their self-titled album: “The term ‘supergroup' gets thrown around a lot, and it often means nothing more than ‘these people have all been in other bands.' But the Hard Quartet is a true super group, composed of four guys who have made their mark in music.”   Sweeney's a great conversationalist, and this talk gets into the new record, the philosophy of bass playing, the band's Monkees-like identity, the return of his web series Guitar Moves and much more. Aquarium Drunkard is supported by our subscribers. Head over and peruse our site, where you'll find nearly 20 years worth of playlists, recommendations, reviews, interviews, podcasts, essays, and more. Subscribe at Aquarium Drunkard.  Transmissions is a part of the Talkhouse Podcast Network. Visit the Talkhouse for more interviews, fascinating reads, and podcasts. This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/aquariumdrunkard

For this month's episode we've gone back to ten years, only a few years before the podcast began to talk about our favourite songs of 2014, including trve kvlt black metal, avant garde noise, sparkly pop bangers, swedish alt country, & kraut influenced post rock. We also discuss whether Elbow make suitable gym music, global conspiracy theories involving giant stone owls, and songs that sound like you're about to be burned in a wicker man.We've each chosen our 10 favourite songs of the year and sent them over to Colin's wife Helen, who put the playlists together and distributed them so we were each given a playlist of the 20 songs from the other two hosts, along with our own 10. We then ranked the playlists in order of preference and sent them back to Helen, who totalled up the points and worked out the order.She also joined us on the episode to read out the countdown, which we found out as we recorded so all reactions are genuine.Now, admittedly, in parts we're a little bit brutal to some of the songs in the list as we're three separate people with differing music tastes, but please remember that to be in this episode at all the songs have to have been in one of our top 10's of that year.Bands featured in this episode include (In alphabetical order, no spoilers here!) - Alcest, Alvvays, Babymetal, Devandra Banhart, Beck, Charly Bliss, Elbow, EMA, First Aid Kit, Ben Frost, Grouper, Ben Howard, King Creosote, Jenny Lewis, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, J Mascis, Mayhem, Mogwai, Opeth, Public Service Broadcasting, Röyksopp & Robyn, Run The Jewels, Svalbard, Swans, Taylor Swift, Thou, Ultimate Painting, Sharon Van Etten, Warpaint, & James Yorkston.Find all songs in alphabetical order here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2juBbBjb0YxzF6VMAvNIEi?si=4334ba0599c44034Find our We Dig Music Pollwinners Party playlist (featuring all of the winning songs up until now) here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/45zfDHo8zm6VqrvoEQSt3z?si=Ivt0oMj6SmitimvumYfFrQIf you want to listen to megalength playlists of all the songs we've individually picked since we started doing best of the year episodes (which need updating but I plan on doing them over the next month or so), you can listen to Colin's here – https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5x3Vy5Jry2IxG9JNOtabRT?si=HhcVKRCtRhWCK1KucyrDdgIan's here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H0hnxe6WX50QNQdlfRH5T?si=XmEjnRqISNqDwi30p1uLqAand Tracey's here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2p3K0n8dKhjHb2nKBSYnKi?si=7a-cyDvSSuugdV1m5md9NwThe playlist of 20 songs from the other two hosts was scored as usual, our favourite song got 20 points, counting down incrementally to our least favourite which got 1 point. The scoring of our own list of 10 is now slightly more complicated in order to give a truer level of points to our own favourites. So rather than them only being able to score as many points as our 10th favourite in the other list, the points in our own list were distributed as follows -1st place - 20 points2nd place - 18 points3rd place – 16 points4th place – 14 points5th place – 12 points6th place – 9 points7th place – 7 points8th place – 5 points9th place – 3 points10th place -1 pointHosts - Ian Clarke, Colin Jackson-Brown & Tracey BGuest starring Helen Jackson-Brown.Playlist compiling/distributing – Helen Jackson-BrownRecorded/Edited/Mixed/Original Music by Colin Jackson-Brown for We Dig PodcastsThanks to Peter Latimer for help with the scoring system.Part of the We Dig Podcasts network along with Free With This Months Issue & Pick A Disc.Twitter – https://twitter.com/wedigmusicpcast/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wedigmusicpcast/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wedigpusicpcast/Find our other episodes & podcasts at www.wedigpodcasts.com 

We've got Rachel from Portland in the house this week on The Pavement Top 50 Countdown. Rachel and jD discuss her Pavement origin story and unveil song number 14. TranscriptTrack 2:[0:00] Previously on the Pavement Top 50. And there it is at track 15 from Wowie Zowie, Rattled by the Rush. What are your thoughts on Rattled by the Rush, Ross from Fife? Well, I already said since I came to it last, Wowie's not my jam. I love it. It's still a Pavement album. It's never the one that I go to. Right. and Rattled by the Rush might be the last pavement hit that I actually heard oh really? Yeah, I don't think I heard it until at some point in the early 2000s I bought, I can't remember what it's called the DVD, Slow Century Slow Century, yeah I think maybe that's the first time I ever heard it oh, because they showed the video on that Yeah, I can't remember if it's the proper video or not. I know that they had to re-release the video because it was making people sick. People used to be such fucking pussies. Hey, this is Westy from the Rock and Roll Band Pavement.Track 3:[1:14] And you're listening to The Countdown. Hey, it's J.D. Here, back for another episode of our Top 50 Countdown for Seminole Indie Rock Band, Pavement. Week over week, we're going to count down the 50 essential pavement tracks that you selected with your very own top 20 ballots. I then tabulated the results using an abacus and a calculator watch operated by the power of friendship. How will your favorite song fare in the rankings? You'll need to tune in to find out. So there's that. This week, I'm joined by pavement superfan Rachel from Portland. How the fuck is it going, Rachel? Going pretty well, JD. Thanks for having me. No, it's my pleasure. It's good to have you here. Well, let's not waste any time and get right to it. Rachel from Portland. Talk about your pavement origin story.Track 3:[2:07] Hmm. Well, I first started listening to Pavement in high school and I am sure Cut Your Hair was the first song that I heard and it's just so catchy. And I don't even remember like where I heard it. I'm sure it was maybe on the, maybe on the radio, but it really grabbed me. There's something about just that it's so happy and it's so silly and I'm a very silly person and really gravitate towards that kind of music. So I got really curious about Pavement, but you know, Back in the 90s, CDs were really expensive. This was before I've heard a lot of people on your show talk about downloading tracks from Napster. I think I'm a little bit older than that, or maybe I'm a little technically not inclined.Track 3:[2:51] So I made a lot of mixtapes with a tape recorder next to the radio to record songs off the radio. Um so i actually don't really i don't have a super clear memory of of like how it evolved from there i know there were a few other pavement songs that i heard and really liked like specifically trigger cut and and you know just some of the other really um happy ones but but i was also you know um you know getting really into the grateful dead and and other things so i didn't i didn't really pursue my love of pavement a lot but it but it always had this really special place in my heart. I think that when you, uh, the music that you listen to when you're growing up, it kind of just never, like, it always takes you back to that place in a certain way.Track 3:[3:38] Um, so, uh, fast forward and I was, I was in high school, so I was a little too, um, you know, at that point I was kind of like going off and seeing some concerts. I never got to see pavement at that point. Um, but then, uh, fast forward a bunch of years when they got back together for their, reunion tour in 2010, and they'd released... Oh, your dog is so cute. Oh, just a second. Just one second. I'm sorry. Okay. Yes?Track 3:[4:10] Hello? That doesn't typically happen, because typically the door is locked, and that means I'm recording, so I apologize. Now I'll be doing some editing. Are they? Yes, no problem. So they got back to there for their reunion tour and they released Quarantine the Past, Um, which, yeah, which is, is really interesting because in some ways, you know, the albums, there, there aren't some bands I listened to the albums like straight through and some I kind of pick and choose the songs and pavement. I really love listening to the albums themselves, um, and kind of each song in context of the album though. Sometimes I'll, you know, I, I like them more and more. So, um, I, they were coming to, they were coming just outside of Portland to Troutdale that year, and I'm pretty sure it was sold out. And I just had this feeling of like, I have to go. It just like wouldn't, kind of wouldn't leave me. And so I ended up buying tickets from some like strangers off of Craigslist. And I can't remember which of my friends was supposed to go with me, but whoever was supposed to go couldn't make it. And the day before the show, I randomly had, I was going to hang out with a woman that I had met through the yoga studio where I teach. And we were hanging out at her house. It was like our first friend hangout. And I saw that she had pavement tickets on her fridge. Like they were paper tickets.Track 3:[5:40] And I said, are you going to the pavement show tomorrow? She said, yes, I love pavement. And I was like, can I go with you? And so I ended up going with her and her crew to the show. And it was one of, it was at the time, and this was 2010, I've been to a lot of concerts, but it was one of the, the like best shows I've been to in terms of just the energy on the stage and the way it just, the way it made me feel so alive and just so like joyful, you know, with, and, and one thing I love about Pavement is kind of this, this range of emotions that they go through. They have this very, you know, there's this whole thing about them being like slackers and being, you know, but, but they're very smart and they're very silly. And they kind of go from, you know, they kind of, they kind of go from these, like, they go through some really deep themes in their songs. So, you know, which we'll talk about when we get to our song for today. So I, I was after that, I was just so I was so hooked again. And I started like devouring the albums a little bit more and more. And so at that point, I started listening to them a lot more. And then they came back in 2022 to the same venue in Troutdale, Oregon.Track 3:[6:47] And I was so excited. I mean, I bought the tickets as soon as they went on sale. I couldn't wait. And it was a great show. It really, really was so fun. But I couldn't actually, from where I was standing in the venue, I couldn't really see what was going on on stage, which is kind of a bummer because they're so fun to watch them and their interactions. Um but after that show I just had this feeling that was 22 and I had this feeling of I I need I need more pavement I need more pavement now and so I looked at their whole tour schedule and it was like Australia and and I just couldn't do it there was no there was no way I could like drop my whole life to to go on pavement tour you know and they and they just don't I mean they were playing a lot that year but they don't.Track 3:[7:30] They don't play that much generally. And so in January of 23, when I saw them announce Iceland in July, I was like, I'm free those days. And then the cincher was that there's a nonstop flight from Portland to Reykjavik. I was like, nonstop. Really? Yeah, there's a lot of nonstop flights. That's beautiful. And there were a lot of bands at the time that were doing residencies at Harpa, like Papin did. Disco Biscuits did one. um freeze mcgee did one and wilco did one so um and a bunch of my friends are into those those bands and they had gone um for those shows so i just booked the flight and i and i was just like i'm gonna go i bought the tickets for the show and i bought specifically um the front row of the balcony because i really really wanted to see everything that was happening on stage um Um, and I was planning on going alone, you know, just cause there's so many bands that, you know, when I go see shows, I love going with friends and, you know, I'm, I'm a big fish fan and there's so many people in the world who are, who are into fish and they, and so like, when I go see fish, I have to decide, like, should I go with these fish friends or this friend with pavement? There's like, none of my friends are into, almost none of my friends are into pavement, um, which is, which is really sad. And so, um, I was just going to go. You've got some work ahead of you. Well, yeah, yeah, for sure.Track 3:[8:56] And so, but two of my girlfriends really wanted to go to Iceland. And so they joined me on the trip and we ended up extending the trip a little bit. And we went around the whole, we rented a camper van and went around the whole island for a week, which was just out of this world. And I'm so grateful to, and neither of these women like pavement. They both came with me to the first show, but they were not into it. But one of them did all of the planning. She did all of this research and planned out our entire trip around the island. And all I did was listen to as much pavement as I could possibly get my hands on for one.Track 3:[9:35] And so we had an amazing trip. They came to the first show. They weren't into it. And they didn't come to the other shows, which was fine because I'm like, I got to read. I got to read really hard. But I met some really lovely people, other pavement fans. There and the shows were beautiful they played quite a few repeats which were um the second night felt a little like i expected some repeats the second night it felt a little disappointing i was like how could there be so many repeats but by the third night they were mostly repeating stuff that i really like so i was okay with it um and i knew they were gonna do that you know i kind of expected it um there's a it's tough because they took what 70 70 songs on the road I forget. Somebody told us it was either 60 or 70. I was just re-listening to the episode with Steve West that I think maybe came out very recently. And he said 60. He said they took 60 songs on the road. That's who it was. Yeah. Yeah. And then they play 30 songs a night. So you're going to get some repeats. Yeah. Yeah. Which I expected. They did advertise B-sides and rarities for Iceland.Track 3:[10:42] There were only so many, but it still was wonderful. And Harpa is a gorgeous venue. It's beautiful. It was also really funny. There's like no security in Iceland, you know? And so like, I'm so used to like hiding all my things when I go into a show. And like you know nobody they barely looked at my ticket that was pretty funny yeah it was um they they were they were lovely shows i had a really sweet moment um uh i think it was after the first show i was walking with my friends we were maybe a lot we were maybe two blocks from the venue and it's you know it's it's late at night but it's still light out because it was july in iceland and i saw this this kid he was probably maybe seven years old he looked like he He was, I don't know if he was Icelandic or if he was somehow related to the band. I think I've seen pictures of him in the front row from those shows. So maybe he was connected somehow.Track 3:[11:37] But he was this kid and he was walking, I think, with his mother. And we were a few blocks from the venue. And I hear the kid just like, I hear him singing like, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. And I just perk up and I start singing it with him. And he looks at me and his eyes just light up. And I was like, there's this connection that happens when people, you know, when it's this, it's familiarity. And we just, we didn't speak any words. We just had this like these huge smiles at each other and kept singing it as we were walking. So it was really cute. The magic of pavement. Wow. Cool. I really feel that.Track 3:[12:14] Yeah. Oh, and then, and then after that, you know, they, they, they played those Brooklyn shows. I really wanted to go to them, but I couldn't go because I had to be in New York the next week. I actually had jury duty that week, so I just couldn't get to New York to go to the Brooklyn shows last year. But then this year, and then they played South America this year. I was like, I can't get to those either. I've got a lot of dreams of traveling for music that I can't quite make happen. But then they just played Bumbershoot in Seattle, which is only three hours away. way. And I was like, I was really torn because one of my dear friends was having a big blowout for his 50th birthday that same night. And I was just like, the pavement's not going to play that much longer, I don't think. And he said, I would never fault you for going to see music. So I went by myself. I took the train up to Seattle and had such a great time. And part of the reason I actually wanted to come on your podcast was one of the things that was so interesting to me about being at that show was, After being mostly in the balcony in Iceland, I did go down to the floor for the third night of that run. But I was determined. I was like, I want to be front row center for this show.Track 3:[13:33] And the way that the Bumper Shoot is this really great festival. It's set up in Seattle Center. It's really beautiful. And so I was standing kind of to the outside of the stage where they were going to play as the band before them was finishing. And as soon as they were done, I kind of started walking towards the middle. And there was a spot on the rail I could have taken, but it was off to the side. I really wanted to be more central. So I went all the way to the center and I ended up, you know, like fourth or fifth row. But it was still an hour before they were going to start. And so there were all these people who were also crowding around, like waiting for them. And so a bunch of us ended up sitting down and just chatting. And these two people that I was sitting with and who I talked to a lot, And we, you know, we saved space for each other during that time. It was so fascinating. The, it was this, it was this man and this woman and she had, she had just three weeks ago turned 21.Track 3:[14:28] And, and I know I just, I couldn't believe it. And so I asked her, and so I was like, tell, tell me how you got into pavement, you know, channeling you Diddy. And, and so we had this amazing conversation just about how she got into pavement and her favorite songs and everything. thing. And one of the things that I thought was so interesting, you know, we all know that, you know, pavement's having this TikTok resurgence. I'm not even on TikTok, so I don't know, you know, like all that stuff. But, but it was so interesting to me that there are, you know, and, and, oh, and almost all the, there was a lot of people who were, I'd say in my age range, slightly older than me, you know, maybe like in their fifties who were there, who were like really enjoying the show. But all the, most of the people who are right around me were, were in their twenties and it was so fascinating. And so the idea to me that there are people who, there are people who love pavement, like who are, who, who love pavement and love talking about pavement and love seeing pavement as much as I do, but have a completely different relationship with cut your hair than, than I do, you know, or that people who got into pavement, you know, when they first, when they first came out, it's so different. Um, and I was so fascinated by, by all of that. And then one of the weirdest things was that they didn't play cut your hair at the show. And, you know, I mean, they've played it in every other show I've been at, so it was okay. But I was actually really shocked about it. I was like, you know, they're catering to their new fans and they're not catering to their original fans.Track 3:[15:56] It's very cool to think that, you know, all this touring and the TikTok stuff has really led to a new generation enjoying this band. And that's just a testament to, you know, the music they made, right?Track 3:[16:18] For sure. And it's interesting that they, you know, like in some ways I really appreciate that they're not making new music as pavement. Like I love the new music that they're making. Otherwise I'm a really big fan of, you know, Stephen Malkin's and the Jicks and all of that work. And, and I'm really excited about the hard quartet stuff that's coming out. But, you know, there, there is a part of me that, that wonders, you know, what that would be like. And, and as much as I, in some ways, I wish like pavement hadn't broken up, like the stuff that Stephen Malkin, you know, created afterwards is so, so rich and so brilliant that, you know, I know that that was supposed to happen in that way. Yeah, I liken it to every time I make wishes about changing my past, you know, I think, I can't do that. I have two kids and I don't want anything to happen to them. I don't want to wish them away by accident. That would be terrible. Yeah, you want a butterfly to take your kids away. You know, the same thing goes with this man. Yeah. If they'd been broken up, you'd be on a totally different life path. Totally. Well what do you say rachel from portland that we take a break and then come back and listen to song number 14 yeah i'm into it all right let's do that hey.Track 2:[17:39] This is bob nastanovich from pavement thanks for listening and now on with a countdown down.Track 3:[17:47] 14...Track 3:[21:19] This week, we're on the horn with AT&T. How are you feeling about song number 14, Rachel, from Portland?Track 3:[21:29] I love AT&T. The song is super fun. I really love the way in which, like, the verses go into this, you know, when he goes into the, like, whatever, whatever. And there's a kind of screaming thing in it. It almost feels like the whole song, like, could be complete. And then it like starts again with the second verse, which I really love. Um, I just go, it takes you on a really cool journey. And I also love to me, there's so much like meaning in it. And there's also so much, um, that I don't understand and feels a little bit nonsense, nonsensical to me, um, which, which I, which really, which I also love. Cause that, that really feels part of like the essence of pavement, you know, like there was something really deep and there was something that's really nonsense. Sense and and it's almost like i almost feel like as a band they like both want you to want to figure it out and they're like don't be a fool and try to figure it out i love that yeah i can see that my first talk with spiral stairs ever he talked about the mystery of the band and you know how the first uh couple eps they were just spiral stairs and sm people didn't even quite know on the the first EP, whether the band's name was Pavement or whether it was Slay Tracks.Track 3:[22:49] So they loved that mystery. So who knows, that might have carried forward rather than in Persona, but in the music. That's a nice assessment.Track 3:[23:07] So what else do you think about when you think about this track? This is from Wowie Zowie. Is it one of your standout Wowie Zowie tracks?Track 3:[23:22] Yes and no. I mean, I love Wowie Zowie. It was, you know, I never submitted my top 20 ballot to you because I didn't find out about your podcast until after the ballots were in. And so when I, when I go through my like top 20, there's like, I don't know, 14 or so that are, that are very clearly in my top 14. And then there's, and then there's like 15 songs vying for the last six months. So this wasn't in that original, um, uh, roundup for me, but it is a song I really love. And, and there's most things on Wowie Zowie that I, you know, that again is an album I really enjoy listening to through. Through um and uh and I you know I would never I would never I would never skip this song when it came on it's um uh and now and now that I've like spent so much time listening to it for this podcast it it definitely might it might up its way into my top 20 a little bit um yeah but there's so many good songs on Wawi Zawi it's hard to it's hard to you know um I don't I don't think there's any on wawi zawi that i don't really love that much yeah i put you on the spot yeah, so um what do you think this one's do you have a do you have a take on this on this one i do i do have a take on it and i'm just gonna say i'm gonna preface.Track 3:[24:48] This by saying that um i i'm a life coach and so i think that i'm um coming to this from a little bit of like a life coach you know uh way of viewing it so i also will say that you know that's just my perspective and i i don't need to be right on any of this this is just the interpretation that that i came up with based on reading it um okay so a couple things that so first of all um at&t you know obviously it's a um you know phone company communication company so i think that that in essence there's this idea about, um, the, the way in which we are like in communication with each other, but also the way in which we are in communication with ourselves.Track 3:[25:30] Um, and the way in which that can be like clear and the way in which that can be clouded a little bit. Um, I did, I did go online and just kind of like look up the lyrics and read some things. And there, you know, there's a lot of different, there's a lot of different controversy about the lyrics in terms of, um, the way that they're printed like on the, you know, if you look, if you look at the lyrics, there's a lot of people who are like, no, that's not right. So, so, you know, who knows, who knows about that stuff. But, um, Uh, I, I personally think that there's a, well, let me just tell you, let me tell you what I'm feeling. All right. So, um, so when it starts with this, maybe someone's going to save me. I did, I did read somewhere that it's, that that's kind of like, um, punking Oasis a little bit. I don't know if that's true, but I, I kind of like the idea of it. Um, but, but to me, what it really means is like, I kind of feel that this is somebody who, you know, this song is really kind of speaking about somebody who is almost like afraid to take action in their own life and is kind of like swimming in the soup of what they, of like what they think they're supposed to be doing, you know, whether that's like the corporate ladder or, you know, or having success in certain ways. And so this idea of like, maybe someone's going to save me is, is kind of like, I'm not going to take my own action and I'm just going to kind of wait for someone else to come in and create direction.Track 3:[26:54] And, and so I think that kind of, to me, I really feel that in the, like, the laps I swim from lunatics don't count. Like, I'm like, I think a lot of us take, you know, we do, it's not like we're totally inactive. It's not like we're sitting on the couch all day, like couch potatoes, but we're maybe doing things that, that are, you know, helpful to others, but not necessarily helpful to ourselves, you know, or, or, you know, like, not, not the most urgent or meaningful things that we need to do, even though, even though they're, you know, it's action. So the things that when it when it says that open up your stockings, pull out of the things you never wanted from room service calls. To me, that really has to do with like, The the ways in which, you know, like the limiting beliefs or the bad habits that we've that we've gotten either like from our parents or from society or from the people who cared for us and the ways in which our brains kind of took that and and and turned it into operating systems for how we move through the world, which, you know, I think in general, those are very helpful in the sense that they got us through what we needed to get through. But they're not always helpful because they somehow sometimes they really limit us and they create like false beliefs that keep us from achieving what we want to achieve in our lives i know i'm getting i'm getting real deep here this is just the first verse.Track 3:[28:17] No this is cool i'll tell you what because i'm a little high right now and you're taking me places rachel from portland this is all right so keep at it okay cool so um so the whole idea was like open up your hands and let me see the things you keep in there in there. Like that to me really speaks to me about this idea of like, of like being vulnerable and like showing your true authentic self. And what I think the song is, is kind of challenging is this idea that like.Track 3:[28:46] That it is like, that's how we make real connection. And at the same time, it's really vulnerable and uncomfortable. We don't always want to do it. Right. You know, like and so, and so that, you know, that's kind of, That's kind of how I see this song, that like somebody who's really kind of afraid to connect with their own full, authentic, true self and is kind of experiencing the discomfort of, you know, living in a world where they're like putting on a face.Track 3:[29:19] Does that make sense? Yeah. I mean, does it make sense? Maybe you haven't thought about that song this song in that way i haven't thought about it in this way for absolute sure no this is cool um yeah keep yeah keep going i was i had a question slips away, Okay, yeah, let me know if you remember it. So then because then it goes into the like, whenever, whenever I feel fine, which I just love the riff on this. It's so high energy and fun. And then it gets into those really silly, like, like groovy, groovy kitty. But, um, but it's this idea of like, whenever I feel fine, I'm going to walk away from all this, all that. And it's kind of like, I don't know if you've heard people say, I'm sure I'm sure we've all heard people say things like, Oh, I can't do this because of this. Or like, you know, when this thing happens, then I'll be then I'll be able to do this. And it's almost like, wait, you know, I hear the character like waiting for, you know, waiting for that someone's that's going to save me. And when I feel better, then I'm going to do these things as opposed to just taking the action to make themselves be ready to do it. You know, like I'll walk away now as opposed to when I'll walk away whenever it is that I feel better.Track 3:[30:32] And this is where we get to one part where there was a, there's a, what's the word I'm looking for? Discrepancy in the lyrics. The lyrics that I found say, yeah, the lyrics I found say, you skinny, skinny people don't like that when you calm them. But I read online, somebody said, no, it's when you call them or when you call on them, which also works for AT&T. I think both ways work in terms of this interpretation. Like, like people don't like it when you're not authentic with them, you know? And so, or when you, in terms of a calm them, if it is call on them, then it could be like, Like, you know, almost this feeling of fear that if you ask someone for something, then, you know, it's like almost a fear of our own neediness, if that makes sense. You know, like everybody has needs, but nobody wants to be needy, you know, like we all want like, but we all have needs. And so I think if you're, you know, if it's like, if it's saying, you know, people don't like that when you call on them, if that's the lyric, then then there's almost this idea of like, a fear that if I ask someone for something, then they're gonna, you know, then then it's very vulnerable. Again, it puts you out there in a way that could be considered uncomfortable.Track 3:[31:49] Very, very interesting look at that. And it's nice that you prefaced it with your occupation. Because it's... No, where I'm going with this is we all bring our shared experiences to these songs. And you've shared some experiences with people as well. Well, so you're probably bringing all of that, you know, like you've got, yeah, you've given us some stuff to think about. Anyway, that's where I'm going with that. Yeah, for sure. And I wonder if the band would like laugh at me and be like, no, this isn't what it's about at all. I can honestly say all 50 episodes of this, the band would laugh.Track 3:[32:40] I think all 50 episodes. it's like but be grateful as well because they get to meet all all of y'all so that's the cool part as for um in i started university as a poetry major creative writing and poetry and, that's all you do in the first in the first semester is analyze poetry and it's like 90% of it is putting yourself out there, you know, on the limb, right? Most people, most people don't. Well, Rachel from Portland, do you have anything you'd like to plug? Um.Track 3:[33:25] I don't think so. There might, there might be a, a time coming soon where maybe a pavement song might be sung by me somewhere, someplace, but I'm not going to, I don't think I can say too much more about that. So if you happen to be in Portland, you know, you can find me somewhere. Get it recorded and you can submit it to the pod list next year. Oh, maybe I will. See?Track 3:[33:54] That's good. All right. That's what I've got for you. Uh want to thank rachel and i want to definitely thank pavement for at&t and all the other songs that we've heard so far next week we are going to track number lucky number 13, so uh hit the roulette wheel put it all on 13 and just some jd sent you and in the meantime wash your goddamn hands.:Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on the program, jD is joined by Russ Romandini to unveil song 21 on the Pavement Top 50 Countdown. Transcript: Track 1:[0:00] Previously on the Pavement Top 50.Track 2:[0:02] So here we go with Texas Never Whispers. Aiden from Vermont, what are your initial thoughts about this song? Texas Never Whispers is a really cool song. Full disclosure, before you sent me that this would be the song that we were going to be talking about, it honestly wasn't one of the tracks off of Watery the Mystic that really jumped out at me. But after um after you sent it and i knew that we were gonna have to chat about it um i listened to it a little bit deeper and i i definitely found like a new appreciation for it hey.Track 1:[0:38] This is westy from the rock and roll band pavement and you're listening to the countdown.Track 3:[0:46] Hey it's jd here back for another episode of our top 50 countdown for seminal indie rock band and Pavement. Week over week, we're going to count down the 50 essential Pavement tracks that you selected with your very own top 20 ballots. I then tabulated the results using an abacus and an air fryer. Seriously, is there anything this machine doesn't do? How will your favorite song fare in the rankings? You'll need to tune in to find out. So there's that. This week, I'm joined by Pavement superfan, Boston Russ. Boston Russ, how the fuck are you? I'm fan-tastic. and ready to rock. This is great news because it would be a hell of a podcast if you were not ready to rock. That's right. That's right. Thanks so much for having me on. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for doing this. You guys do all the heavy lifting on these, so this is fantastic for me. Let's get right to it. Let's talk about your pavement origin story. Sorry. I think my Pavement Origins story goes back to 1994.Track 3:[1:50] I'm a little late. I'm kind of a late comer in some respects. So back in 94, a good friend of mine, so I got to give him some props. His name was Sean McGovern. We called him Slappy and a few other things. He was in a band in the Boston area called Beeswax. There's some other bands in our area called Beeswax also, but he was in with a few guys. And they did AK-47 and a couple other songs. Sadly, he passed away a couple years ago. He got sick. Oh, shit.Track 3:[2:23] But back in 94, we were good friends, and we hung out a ton, and he just one day gave me this bag of CDs. He left it in my car. He's like, listen to these. And so Crooked Rain was there, and so I put it on, and Silent Kid comes on, and I'm just like.Track 3:[2:41] Who are these guys? And, you know, I played the album some. And it was just, like, I go back and I look at that time. And, like, the album release times were just, like, really, like, fast-moving parts of my life. It was, like, the end of college almost where Crooked Rain came out. It was, like, the end of my junior year. And I was doing a radio show. And I don't know. I, like, never quite linked up to, like, really featuring them prominently. And then wowie zowie comes out like two weeks before i graduated college and you know and get into like the summer in 95 and it's just like it like just blurred and so it's like i heard it like a little bit but didn't like totally like dive in not until bright in the corners came out in 97 and that like i just could not stop playing that album like just word great record and word out and And I wanted to see them in concert. I had been to a bunch of different shows for bands, like Foo Fighters. I got to see Foo Fighters when they were together for two weeks in 1995. Holy shit. They were together. Nobody knew who they were. This is my same friend. So Sean says to me, we got to go see this band play.Track 3:[3:55] Eddie Vedder's wife is doing a percussion band.Track 3:[3:59] And Eddie Vedder is going to play with Mike Watt. And Dave Grohl is going to show up. and do, he's going to play with his new band. And I was like, he's like, you got to go. And it was like this rainy Sunday afternoon. We go to this club called Avalon. So if anybody knows Boston, knows the 90s, we wore Avalon out. I mean, it was like one of the best places to go for rock bands. And Foo Fighters was the middle band. Grohl comes out on lead. And you're like, because you're like, oh, Dave Grohl, new band, going to be a drummer, right? He comes out on lead and does like, and he's holding his guitar tower in hand and it was like that one moment where it's like best ever or total train wreck and he did this as a call comes in with the first lines you know just his voice butter and from there it was it was crazy so like you know i followed like a lot of these bands and went to a lot of these shows and just didn't quite i kept missing pavement and then they broke up and i got old you and me both brother you know and it's like oh and they got together in 2010 and but my My son was like a year old, and I had really moved far from Boston at that point and totally missed the tour. And I was like, ugh, you know, and just kind of feeling like stuck. And so I would listen to, you know, Pavement a lot during the 2010s. They were a big part of Spotify, and I would play them. And I don't know, a couple of years ago...Track 3:[5:26] I was just saying to myself, it would be really great if these guys would really do a tour. Yes. And then it happened. And they came to Boston, and I got sick. No fucking way. I got sick at the end of September. I totally missed the announcement that they were coming, and then got sick, and I couldn't get tickets, and I skipped it. And I was just like, I'm totally beside myself. And I was like, all right. This is okay, because we're going to make up for it. And so, we come to the end of the calendar year in 22, and then one of the best things happened to me. My wife, her best friend calls her up and says, guess what I have? And my wife says, what? And her best friend says, I have an extra free ticket to see Taylor Swift. And my wife is a huge Swifty. All right. Okay? Huge. And, you know, but her best friend lives in Tennessee. And we're in Boston. And her best friend says, the ticket's for Tampa Bay.Track 3:[6:41] Oh, my God. So, because that's where her best friend mom lives, right? Right. So, she's just like, well, I'm going to go from Tennessee to Tampa and go to the show. Do you want to come with me? And and of course you know well i gotta tell my wife i'm like you got it's a ticket of the year i'm like this this is like you got a free ticket to this like yeah you have to go right you have to go so of course like she could i you know she got the ticket we just got her i got her a flight and you know she goes down there and has a ball right they drive they do like a 1300 mile road trip from tennessee to tampa and back they go to the smoky mountains they have like the best time ever right so right after that the ticket um you know i got out of the plane ticket, the pavement in iceland announcement comes oh yes and i'm like pavement iceland and i turned 50 and i'm like she's like, You have to do that.Track 3:[7:40] That is a great wife. Yeah. She is fantastic. And I'm like, I do have to do this, don't I? She's like, I think you do. And I'm like, it's three shows. I'm like, they'll play all the songs. They have to play all the songs just to vote because it's three shows in a row. Yeah. So I went ahead and I ended up booking the trip. And so this was like you know late late i think the release was like late january so like early february it was like a couple of weeks after they released the thing i i got tickets but i still got like fifth row and i got second row for like the last show i got really good tickets they were they were a little slow to sell out of the gate but and thankful for me because you know i'm like so i just i got a flight the flights were very reasonable and so got a flight and just said we're doing this thing. So as the year ticks by, I'm getting ready, getting ready, getting ready. And then I think it was sometime in late June, my birthday passed and all this, getting ready for the trip. And then I get the big announcement that says, in Iceland, they're going to do a walking tour with the band. I did not know this. yeah they put out a walking tour with the band so uh steve and bob participated in the walking tour.Track 3:[9:02] Um so um oh and and spiral also of course um so it was the three of them and then you would buy a record and and buy the tour uh the walk tour so 90 minutes around reykjavik um and there was a host and then they would go ahead and talk about, you know, they would just talk about the musical history of Iceland, and then you could walk around and get to meet the pavement guys. That's fantastic. There were 50 tickets, went on sale at noon. My hand was like on that button, and I was number 21. That's amazing. I could not believe I got a ticket. It and i i you know again i was like is i'm like is this hyping up to be the best trip ever i'm like sounds like i'm like what's happening here and so now we're leading up to the trip the trips at the end of july they did the shows at the end of july so sometime in july i'm on reddit i'm on the pavement channel and um sky posts up and he says who's going to iceland let's form a group, so I'm like great I'm like how about me I'm like I'm going he says hi I'm Mike from DC and I'm like I'm Russell from Boston.Track 3:[10:26] So, I jump in. Another guy, Steve from Milwaukee, jumps in and says to me, so, what do you think the weather's going to be like? I'm like, maybe like a mild Boston winter. Unfortunately, to me and Steve, that meant two different things. Sorry, Steve. Because I ended up considering that to be a little chilly. But I went a little cold. So, it was pretty funny. And so, slowly, this little group of people forms on Reddit and then goes over to WhatsApp. So the day comes, finally go ahead and fly out. Do the flight, no problem, get there. And then when you fly into Keflavik Airport, it's about 45 minutes from Reykjavik, you go and take a bus. Okay. And so, guy sits across from me, he's also from Massachusetts. His name's Curtis, and I strike up a conversation with him. And halfway through the conversation, He's like, by the way, are you here for pavement? And I'm like, yes. He's like, what gives me away? He's like, you know, you're a certain age, traveling by yourself. He's like, me too. I figured you were here for the shows.Track 3:[11:35] And I'm like, I'm on the bus and I'm not even there yet. And we're already way off and running. So we get to the Thursday show, and the moment of truth comes, and I'm walking down to Harpa Concert Hall. It's a huge glass structure. It's beautiful. If you ever see the pictures online, it was amazing. Beautiful place to play. And so I'm walking, and I'm within sight distance of the concert hall. I've already spent the day there. Reykjavik's beautiful. People are nice. Everybody's very relaxed.Track 3:[12:16] And guess who walks right by me is Mark Eibold. Really? Yep. Just walking to the venue. I'm walking to the venue. He's walking away from it. He's probably going out for maybe a quick bite to eat or something. something, you know, we got a little, we had, you know, time before they went on. He walks right by me and I'm like, Mark. And he turned around and I told him hello. And I said, you know, I was here for the shows and everything. He took a quick picture with me and, you know, and that was that. But I got to meet him and I was like, all right, I got to meet Mark. He is the elusive one. He is, he is elusive. And so, but I got to meet him and got a photo and, I mean, super nice. You know, it was like 90 seconds tops, you know, because I just didn't want to take up his time. I mean, you know, he's getting ready for the show and everything. So I was happy for that. And I went up to the concert hall and everybody just started to meet. And it was funny because I think it was Mike in the group said, Yeah.Track 3:[13:23] Okay, so here's the moment of truth. How are we all going to know, you know, who each other are since we don't know each other? Good call. So I said, all right, I'm going to go stand by one of the tables. I'm wearing bright blue pumas. You can't miss me. Because I'm also wearing this, like, bright vest. I tend to wear bright clothing sometimes. And so, like, I got this vest and I got this, like, hat and pom-pom and this whole getup. Can't miss me. I mean, I'm like screaming and everybody's dressed in like black and Reykjavik. So I'm like, I really stick out.Track 3:[13:57] I'm like, can't miss me. And so I think like the first guy that comes over is Steve and Steve's like, Russ. And I'm like, hi. And so that just kind of like broke the ice for everybody and people started to gravitate over. And, you know, like we're having a couple of beers. We're talking at the shows, you know, and just met some like really great people, you know, the merch tables there. And we're talking, you know, other people got tickets for the walk on Friday and it was amazing. And so one of the guys, Eric from New Jersey, Eric says to me, I said, you know, I got Crooked Rain with the tour. I said, but I really wanted Wowie Zowie. He's like, why don't you just buy it at the merch table, bring it with you tomorrow. They'll just sign it. I'm like, genius. Yeah. So I did that, and that ended up working out very well, because they signed both albums. So solid piece of advice from Eric. And so we did the show, and it was fantastic. They started off with Grounded, which is one of my favorites. Damn. And it was really great, because when they just break into Grounded, it's like...Track 3:[15:15] I made it, you know, and, you know, the, the, the months leading up to that were a little difficult. My mom was pretty sick. She's, you know, had, she had some tough moments last year and, uh, it was just like really emotional. I was like, holy crap. I like, I really did it. I mean, this was like 30 years in the making. Yeah. And I just, it was, you know, and it's like when you see that like pavement in Iceland thing and it's like, you look at that and it's like a lot of times you just look at those types of things and then it's like, oh, it should do And you don't end up doing it, you know, for all the reasons to not go and for all the reasons to go. And it's like, I'm here, here.Track 3:[15:59] And it was just amazing. I bet. It was just really great. They did Summer Babe. And, you know, by then, we're like, we're all friends. And, like, we're all yelling all the lyrics to the songs. And, you know, everybody's just, like, carrying on, having a good time. And, you know, go out to the bars after we're out late, having drinks. And everybody's, you know, really just getting to meet each other and have fun and, you know, learn where everybody's from. I mean, people came from Los Angeles, Jersey, D.C. There were people from Europe, Berlin, and England, and all these places. All these people just converged, and they all came by themselves. Really? Yep. Most people weren't by themselves. They all came by themselves. Wow. And so there was this group of people that had all come by themselves. And now it was like we started to become like this little unit. So now Friday... Friday was like really one of the highlights of the trip because we had the pavement walk and it was really, it was just great.Track 3:[17:19] I'll send you a copy of this picture, but like, so I bring Wowie Zowie and I mentioned how I like to dress up in bright colors and my whole get up for the day basically matched the album cover. And i didn't plan it that way but i had like you could see like my hooded sweatshirt and i wore this like green hooded sweatshirt and this you know in a shirt and my vest and hat and everything were all like blue and green and so and i had green puma sneakers like the old you know uh the old sneakers all like i'm like blue and green head to toe right and so i show up the next morning and everybody's looking at me and i'm like hey wowie zowie everybody just couldn't believe it and so you know steve west and spiral come up to me and they're like how you doing and i'm like i'm like i'm so glad to be here and they took a picture with me like right away they were like the nicest and um it was great i got to meet uh bob nastanovich and and his wife carly um who who I get to be really good friends with. She was absolutely amazing. So there's more interacting to come. So we go on the pavement walk.Track 3:[18:40] And it's hosted by a guy from Iceland. And so one of my favorite jokes on the whole trip gets set up, right? So we're walking through Iceland, and he's like, oh, this is where Bjork lived, and this is where this was, and this is what happened here and all of these spots. And then we get to this condominium.Track 3:[19:04] And, you know, he's standing in front of it and gets everybody up there and says, now this, this is, used to be the rock and roll club. He's like, it looks very clean now, but back in the late 80s and early 90s, this is where we would come and we would write songs, we would play songs. This was the club. This was it right here. This is the spot. He's like, this was everything right in this spot. He's like, and we used to. And then he said the thing that just made my eyes go like big bug wide open. And he said to me, we used to get blackout drunk. And I'm like and then there was like this kind of pause which I love because it just kind of sets me up and I have this sense of humor and I just kind of raised my hand and I said.Track 3:[20:11] Did you say that you got blackout drunk here? And he's like yeah and I said and, But this is your old club, right? And he said, yeah. And so I said, so now that it's closed on weekends and shut for good, would you consider this your own personal Hall of Fame? And Steve West is kind of looking at me and then all of a sudden just looks straight down to the ground like really hard. And you hear like three people chuckling in the background who get the joke and i'm sure the people got it but like you know maybe it wasn't their their sense of humor um and i just felt like i'm like he and he didn't get the joke which just to me made it like that much better it made it even better and i was just like you know it was great and so my my friend steve comes up. He's from the Midwest and has this very straight sense of humor. And he's like.Track 3:[21:24] Your joke earlier, that was good. Which I loved. He's just like the perfect straight man. It was so good. It was so good. And so we go on the rest of the walk and I got to meet Bob a little bit more. I got to meet Carly. But then I got probably about five minutes to walk with Spiral. And I got to tell Spiral like how much I loved Date with Ikea which is just like probably, it's definitely in my top five I think I submit it as like number three on my list because I just love that song they're just like songs that just really resonate with me it always makes me smile I love playing the John Peel version because it's just it's quicker and it just really hits every time and it's just funny because like.Track 3:[22:15] I became part of like team Spiral, right? Because like when I would go to the shows, I would stand like on Spiral's side. Like a lot of people buy tickets and stand to the left where Malk is. Yeah. But I like to stand to the right because I can see Spiral, I can see Bob, and I can see Mark and Steve very easily. And I can still see Malk and, you know, and Eyebold and everybody else. But like, you know, Mark's, you know, Moloch stands so far over, you know, but a lot of people gravitate over there. So it's good. And, you know, so, I mean, it was just, just amazing. And did you get to hear them play Date with Ikea? They did. They played it Friday night. They played it. I said, he's like, yeah, he's like, but we'll play it. He's like, we'll play it. And you get to hear it. And, and then, so we went and we went back and they did autographs. We got to meet them. They were just fantastic. They were all just so nice. I mean, everybody was generous with their time. I mean. That was my experience as well. Like, just so gracious and so accommodating. Yeah.Track 3:[23:31] Um, and so it was like, okay, where do we go from here? We did the Saturday show. I did like all, you know, I did some tours. I did Blue Lagoon, which is now like closed, you know, and those are heartbreaking every time we see like the volcano eruption stuff. And, you know, I feel for the people in that area. Cause like, oh, the people were so nice. I mean, just walking around Reykjavik, it was like, so, it was just so great. Cause everybody was like so relaxed. I mean, I was walking down the street one day and I had some napkins kind of coming out of my pocket and somebody comes up to me and he's like, your money. And I'm like, oh, thanks. It's just napkins, but thank you. You know, like, you know, and like, you know, where I live, it's like, everybody would be like, boop, I'll take that, thanks, and keep walking, you know, or let it fly away and, you know, all that. But, you know, we just had this crew and we would get, you know, we got together for drinks on the last Sunday and, you know, and people said their goodbyes and stuff. And it was just, it was great. But everybody's like, so who's going to Brooklyn? Because the tour wrapped up in Brooklyn in September. So in like six, seven weeks later, a lot of us went to Brooklyn.Track 3:[24:52] Jesus Christ. So because they had put the announcement out that the tickets were going to come out. And I told my wife, I'm like, I got to do one more. I just feel like I'm really called to just, I got to go to the last show. Got to go to the last. So I bought two tickets and I called, I have a twin sister. and I called my twin sister Andrea and I said.Track 3:[25:17] Because she used to go to all the shows with me. And she took me to Foo Fighters for our birthday. Like one of her birthday presents to me, we went to see Foo Fighters in Laconia, New Hampshire. Turned back the clock and it was a great time. So I said, well, you did Foo Fighters. I said, come to Brooklyn with me because she loves going to New York. I said, come to Brooklyn and let's go to Pavement. She's like, all right, let's do it. So I bought the tickets. And then we were coming up to the shows, and the only song I didn't hear in Iceland that I absolutely had to hear was Elevate Me Later and couldn't stop talking about it. Um so we get to um we get to brooklyn uh the.Track 3:[26:06] Week of the it was monday september 11th was the first show and everybody did the first show and i had friends there like and now everybody's like totally into it people know each other and and my friend eric the guy from new jersey was unbelievable and basically was just like posting in the chat like okay they're doing this song now Now they're doing this song. Now they're doing this song. And like some people would like post videos into the chat. Somebody tried to do a little live. I mean, like, I mean, the time that people were investing in sharing the information with everybody else was just wild. So I'm just like, I was like, I'm getting a ticket for Wednesday because it wasn't sold out yet. And I was like, I'm buying a ticket for Wednesday. And I worked it out with my sister where we were going to take the train together. And then she's like, I'll just buy a bus ticket. You meet me there and I'm like, I'm going, I'm going out on the train a day early and I'm going to the Wednesday show too. So I get to the Wednesday show and, um, cause now it's like, I'm in it now. Now it's like a minute. So I got tickets for the last two shows. I had to. And, um, I'm like, it was like really just called to do it because I got there, you know, I met up with Steve and Mike and, and everybody and, and, and it was wonderful seeing everybody, um, and met new people too, like, uh, Wes from Chicago, who was really great. And he ended up cutting some videos and some other folks.Track 3:[27:36] But they ended up doing Elevate Me Later on the Wednesday show. It was the only time in the whole tour, the whole year and a half tour, that they played Elevate Me Later. Holy shit. And they did. You were there for it. I was there for it. I couldn't believe it. Because they wrote it out as LS2 on the play sheet. Yeah, yeah. And I was like, are they going to play it? Because and my friend Wes is like well there's like two versions of it he's like so he's like I think so but maybe and then like they kicked into it and I'm like that's my entrance song, and it was like I was like in a hyper trance for like the first 20 seconds of it because like I couldn't believe they were finally playing it and it came out great it was amazing Rebecca Clay Cole, who was there doing the organ work on the tour, her voice on the backing vocal was just awesome with everybody else. It's a great version. It really needs to be on Spotify.Track 3:[28:38] Well, I hope we get some live records at some point from this tour. They were taking video and all kinds of stuff. So I am hoping that they do some live work with it. And if we get that out, produce, it would be super great. Um, so I mean, it was really great. Uh, I mean, um, we, you know, at, at the end of the Wednesday show, uh, we went to the bar across the street and we were having beers. We kind of closed that place down and then a spiral runs out and, um, you know, and he's just like booking it for his Uber. Right. Cause I mean, you know, there's still like, you know, probably 20, 20 of us there hanging out and he's like, yeah, Hey, I'll see you guys. And I'm like, hey, Spiral, it's me from Iceland. And he's like, wait, I remember you. And I'm like, knock back. And I'm like, oh, my friends heard that. And it was just like frivolity because it was just, it was too crazy. And I gave him a high five. He gave me a quick hug and he jetted off into his Uber. And I'm just like, my whole night was made. I guess so. You know, and then like it couldn't get any better except Steve Malkmus walked out and was hanging out on the corner waiting for his Uber. And he's just standing there and he's talking to like you know somebody else he was with and we're all standing there like diagonally across the street from Malk and he's just standing there and another friend of mine says.Track 3:[30:07] Russell, what do we do? And I'm like, we go up to him. And so like, I just started walking across the street and then like, I just like went right after, you know, and, and patiently waited for him to finish this conversation. And I'm like, hello. And I'm wearing my Reykjavik t-shirt, except it says Reykjavik in Japanese. And one of our other friends is Japanese in the group. And when she saw me and she walked into the bar, she was the only person who laughed at me because she's like, Like, your t-shirt says Reykjavik.Track 3:[30:35] I mean, the moments were just, like, amazing. They were all, like, it felt like every moment was like that. And then, so, like, Stephen was the only person I hadn't met. And, you know, again, super gracious, took some photos, you know, and, you know, I didn't take too much of his time because, you know, the rest of my friends all got time to meet him before his ride showed up. And that was that. You know, we did the Thursday show also. And, you know, we got to say goodbye to the band and to everybody else. And it was something else.Track 3:[31:09] And, you know, one last story that my friend Mike from D.C. is very fond of. So when we got back from Iceland, I had the picture with me dressed up in the Wowie Zowie outfit. And I have a picture. When we did the record signing, it was at 12 Tonar. Which is one of the record shops in Reykjavik. So in the back, they have this wall with graffiti, and it's all color. So I'm in my color outfit, and it's all color. And it's this really cool photo that came out, and you could see everything, the sneakers, the whole nine yards, right? And so I posted it on Twitter, and I said, you know, I posted it to Bob and Carly and Spiral, and said, thank you so much for everything. And Spiral wrote back and called me a legend. And that just like broke my friend Mike. He's like, he's like, hold up, hold up, hold up. He's like, do I have that right? He's like, did you call Spiral a legend or did he call you a legend? I'm like.Track 3:[32:18] He called me a legend. That's amazing. And Mike is like, why? Why did he call you a legend? He's like, what don't I know about you, Russell? And I'm like. I wear bright colors. Yeah. I mean, you know, I just, I'm like, I don't know, Mike. You know, I'm thankful he did that, you know. Oh, God, that's amazing. It was just, it's wild. It's out on the interwebs, you know, and it makes me smile. There are just so many pieces that made me smile. At me on Twitter. At me on Twitter with the photo. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I would love to see it. Yeah, I'm happy to share it. So a quick shout out to the whole crew here. So Steve, Mike, Eric, Liz from England, Sasha, Chiaki, Curtis, Chris from Berlin, Manny and Liza, Wes Stevens, Tony, Bacon, and a very large shout out to the man from Reykjavik himself.Track 3:[33:21] Elvar, Elvarsson, who was, you know, we all became friends with Elvar when we were in Reykjavik, and he was the only person in our group from Iceland. And I love his name because, Because in Boston, we always swear at people. And Elvar's name is Elvar, Elvar's son. So he's son of an Elvar. I mean, in our best Boston. And he's such a bright personality, a wonderful guy. He does a podcast called Peeling the Onion. So a shout out to him. And if anybody's out there, it's on Spotify. And he covers a lot of punk rock origins and stuff. So huge shout out to Elvar. And to all the people who were there for Iceland and Brooklyn, my sister, of course, you know, and my family for putting up with the time while I'm away and the incessant playing of the pavement. And, you know, but my son has now kind of become kind of a fan a little bit. Done good work. Yeah, we're driving around. You know, he has his pavement favorites too, which makes me smile. So it's, you know, some good dad work there. So I'm trying. I'm trying.Track 3:[34:39] Well, what do you say we flip the record here and play song 21 and then come back and have a little talk about that? Sounds good. I'm ready for a B-side. All right, let's do it. We'll be back after this.Track 1:[34:53] Hey, this is Bob Mustanovich from Pavement. Thanks for listening. And now on with a countdown. 21.Track 3:[38:08] Today's song is the second song from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain to appear on the countdown thus far. Today, we're talking all about number 21, Cut Your Hair. Russell, talk to me about your relationship with this song. I love this song, you know, for a few reasons. One, I think because, you know, it's ubiquitous. And when I talk about Pavement to the rest of the free world people are like, I don't remember that band, and if I say cut your hair people are like, yeah I remember that and I think it's great that there's a song that helps people kind of make that connection.Track 3:[38:57] Even though their relationship to the band isn't as deep as ours right um i also love it because like 90s russ had the best hair now for those you know for all my friends and family that know me my my hair is gone now and for all my recent friends all they know is you know russ has no hair but 90s russ and my 90s friends or people People that grew up with me know that like in college, they used to call me Mr. Perfect Hair or the guy with the hair. And my hair kind of came off to the left and it would – on the side, it came all the way around and it didn't move.Track 3:[39:43] It did not move. And it would just come down in the front and it was always perfect no matter like when you saw me. I could roll to the cafeteria at 8 a.m., and it had to be just right. It was always on. And people used to try to do all kinds of stuff to mess it up, and it was his own airtight defense system. It was awesome. It was part of me. You wouldn't see me without it. I didn't have the confidence back then to not have it. Be just so um it was just you know it was part of kind of life in my 20s so like you know the hair was it was just that was it wherever i was i was always able to make sure like i could find an outlet and uh blow dry my hair and uh and make it just so so it was um it was hilarious uh so So, you know, I love the song, and the song is just...Track 3:[40:53] You know, it's everything about, you know, kind of just like that, being perfect. It's like, you have to be so packaged and so, you know, you have to have that image just so. You know, like back in the day when we had the Andre Agassi commercials, image is everything. And that's what Cut Your Hair says to me. It's like, image is everything. Thing like if you're gonna go far as a band like you know like you have to have like this whatever it is packaged image that record company wants you to follow in order for your career to advance and and you can't really be yourself you know um that's how i i see the song is it's almost like It's a song of conformity. If you don't fit the image, you won't move forward. And it's interesting that Cut Your Hair is on Crooked Rain, which really propelled their career.Track 3:[41:59] Absolutely. And kind of got them to the point where the next record really could have put them up and over. And they come out with Wowie Zowie, which is really, people say it's equivalent to Weezer Pinkerton. Right. Yeah, I can see that. Which I loved, and it really kind of got a very cool reception. You know but like if you look at the like how everybody rated it it was like this album's amazing and i'm like well yeah that album is amazing the same thing with like wow he's out where you like it you know if as people reviewed it a lot of people didn't like it and some people like really loved it but when you come back and listen to wow he's out where you like it, You know, it was growing your hair. They made the record they wanted to make, even though it didn't quite conform to what the record companies necessarily wanted.Track 3:[43:03] You know, and they made that art what they wanted it to be. And so that's kind of like what Cut Your Hair kind of means to me, you know? I love it. Tension and Fame, South Korea.Track 3:[43:23] I mean, you know, it's a fun song. It's, you know, it's really light and peppy. You know, it's a song when you go to the show, you know, you're going to hear it, you know, more often than not, you know. And if they, when they played four shows, I think they left it out once, you know, maybe twice. But when we got to Brooklyn, they were really playing like real deep cuts. I mean, we got to hear like, they emptied the cupboards in Brooklyn and that was great. We got a lot of, hearing Half a Canyon and Pueblo and those kinds of songs were really great. But, you know, cut your hair, you know you're going to hear it. But, you know, like, it's fun. And sometimes it can be that song where it's just like, oh, you know, I don't know if I want to hear it because it is so popular, you know, and it is, you know, uniquely Pavement. And it's, you know, like, I want to hear other songs. But it was really interesting because when you gave me the opportunity to come on and talk about it, and I'm like, it really is a great song. It is a great song. You know? And...Track 3:[44:42] You know, I saw out on Reddit, I think it was last week, there's now a beer named after it called The Second Drummer Drowned. Dude, interesting story. The guy who posted that, I just said nonchalant, I said, oh man, it's too bad you couldn't ship one here. And then he DM'd me, got my address, and he is shipping one to me. That is outstanding. It is so fucking cool, and I believe his name is, oh shit, I think it's Mark. I will amend this at some point and make sure that he gets the shout out he deserves. But this leads me to an interesting question for you talking about, you know, this song and the fact that some people can dismiss it because it was their popular hit. It had, you know, it was on MTV rotation, like the music video.Track 3:[45:44] So is this song at 21, is it properly rated? Is it overrated? Is it underrated? What do you think? 21, we're into the great tracks now. Not to say that the whole 50 isn't great, but we're starting to get down to the nitty gritty. Be i have to i'm gonna say i was surprised when you told me that i when i was at 21, i did not expect to see cut your hair here me neither but i understand it in a way and so i will you know i'll share a little bit of my own um you know submission i ranked elevate Elevate Me Later, number one, for a very specific reason. I wanted the points for it because I wanted it to be somewhere in the top 50 because I love it. And so when we say, okay, it's going to be the top 50 countdown, I think about the math behind it and goes into it. So I think that Cut Your Hair kind of gets knocked down a little bit because...Track 3:[47:02] Everyone just assumes it's going to be there. Oh, that's a good call. Okay. So it's kind of like that old Simpsons episode where Bart Simpson, and this is like season one where Bart Simpson runs for class president against Martin Prince. And everybody thinks Bart's going to win and nobody votes for him. And only Martin Prince wins two to nothing because him and his only friend voted for Martin Prince. So it was two nothing Martin Prince. That was it. And Martin won. And everybody's like, nobody voted for Bart. So I feel like cut your hair as Bart. I mean, nobody really voted for it because everybody would just count on it being in everybody's highly ranked list. And here it is at 21.Track 3:[47:40] You're probably bang on the money, man. You know, that's an interesting take. I hadn't really considered that, but I think that's a very solid take. I mean, because I ranked some other songs a little bit higher because I wanted to make sure they made the cut. Yeah. And I put Elevate Me Later number one because I asked for it so much amongst my friends. It's tied to me now. And every time I hear it, I put it on right before we came on just to hype me up because it always makes me smile. but Grounded and then Date With Ikea were my top three. And Date With Ikea, for me, that was properly rated because I love that song. And having that time with Spiral, those few minutes with him in Reykjavik is something I will never forget. Of course. It's tied to it between that and the Twitter thing and the fact that he remembered me in the shows and Brooklyn and all that, I'm definitely like Team Spiral and everybody ribs me for that, good-naturedly, because it's just funny. And, you know, but I think that's- He's a gem, man. He's a gem. He's come on five times. Really? Yeah. He's been on five times. Amazing. Amazing. Yeah. I get it. I mean, they've all been great, you know. And a special shout out, too, to Carly, who's Bob's wife.Track 3:[49:10] We chat occasionally on Twitter and say, hi, how are you? And even during the shows, she would say hi to me and she'd say, hey, I love your energy. And like she was taping, she was videotaping the shows on her phone. And she's like, you know, at like certain intervals, she would just like hand me her phone. She's like, you tape this. And so like, I'm like watching the concert and I'm like holding up her phone, making sure I get good footage for her. It was hilarious. I mean, like the stuff that just happened was just like, I'm like, how am I even doing this? Like, why? Like, you know, why have I been chosen to kind of be in the middle of all of this? I had a very similar vibe when I did my UK trip. I had a very similar vibe. It was just like, who am I? What fucking planet is this right now? Right, right, right. This is my favorite band, and I'm following them around, and I'm getting backstage, and they know me. Like, this is so cool. Right, right. It's like, this can't be happening. That's right. And the whole Iceland trip was like, you know, like people talk about like, oh, I had this trip and everything went wrong. The Iceland trip was everything went right. Everything that could have happened that, you know, that could have turned into a positive turned into a positive. And even the little setbacks I had, like, were so quickly resolved, usually by the kindness of strangers or some good fortune.Track 3:[50:38] It was just amazing how well everything went, and really both trips. I mean, it was the time. I had a wonderful time. Well, you were owed it, I think. And after missing them a few times, I'm glad you got to resolve your story that way. Is there anything other than the Icelandic Gentleman's podcast that you want to plug while you're here? Um no I I think I just want to plug my friends one more time for everybody in those groups you know Steve, Mike, Eric you know all those guys everybody is like just the nicest you know it's like just a quick story like you know Eric bought merchandise for us in Brooklyn and then shipped it home to all of us Wow. And he's like, just Venmo me.Track 3:[51:37] Like, that kind of generosity of his time and trust and everything else. Just top shelf. And everybody was like that. Mike was like that. Steve was like that. I've had a good fortune to see Steve a few times, and we've been able to hang out. And even though he's out in the Midwest, we've been able to connect a few times. Oh, that's brilliant. You know, just all the people just, it made it so great. And it just turned into this giant snowball of good that just kept rolling downhill and just kept getting better, bigger. More people came into the fold. Everywhere we went, more people came in. It was amazing how welcoming everybody was and all the people that we met, how great they were. Keep in mind if you ever do a reunion. Oh, 100%. I'll hit you up on Twitter. And I'm sure we'll wind up somewhere at some point. That would be awesome. You know, what I'd really love is like.Track 3:[52:39] One more like place where like iceland where they played three shows yeah you know brooklyn they played four shows like they're doing a few south america shows it's kind of tough but it's like one show in one location at a big festival and like it's hard to like kind of do that but if they played like three shows somewhere where we could just show up and and like kind of recreate them take over and recreate the magic and yeah and make some new stories and spend that time I'm, I would just, I would love that. And I, you know, I don't know. It seems like it's going to be a while, if ever, before they really say, we'll, we'll do that again.Track 3:[53:17] We'll see. We'll see. Like, I don't know. Like, I think SM is getting ready to release. And maybe by the time this comes out, he will have made an announcement of some sort. So we'll get some new Jicks material, SM and the Jicks, or maybe another, like his last two records have been just him so maybe it'll be just him but i wouldn't be shocked if we see them on the road again because it's uh it's fun for them it's relatively lucrative you know like the the touring market is is a good thing and they've got a loyal fan base you know they do i mean my here's my call this is just this is my take um another person i got to meet on the the Iceland trip, was his daughter, Sunday, who's – Sunday's about 15 years old now. And she was super nice. And I connected with her a little bit because that's my son's age. So, like, I got the whole thing, you know, I understood kind of, like, where she was coming from because that's my son's age.Track 3:[54:22] And, you know, my dad –, piece kind of raised up when we talk about, are they going to hit the road again? I think when Sunday goes to college, I think that at that point, we'll have a chance for them to maybe come back out. But I get the feeling like he'll do the dad thing. She'll get through high school. His wife is obviously, we know she's an accomplished artist. She has her career. He'll make time for her. There'll be that balance of family and everything else. And then when So when Sunday's off to her next adventure, everybody will probably say, one more ride.Track 3:[55:04] That'd be great. So I'm thinking maybe 2027, we'll gas up the truck and we'll make it count, I think, by then. Well, if they wait until 2029, that would be 40 years, right? Yeah. 40 years since the band formed. I hope they don't go that long, but you know. Yeah. I hope so too. Yeah. You know, um, and that's where like kind of the, the old guy in me says, let's get out there before we can't. Yeah. Well, on that note, on that, uh, harrowing note, um, uh, it's been a pleasure to have you on, uh, Boston Russ. Uh, this has been a delight. I'm so glad your story turned out the way it did. That's the kind of feel-good stories we do here on Meeting Malcomus. So, you know, kudos to you. That's what I got for you this week. So tune in next week for song number 20. That's right. We're in to the top 20. In the meantime, wash your goddamn hands.Track 1:[56:12] Thanks for listening to Meeting Malcomus, a pavement podcast. Podcast, where we count down the top 50 pavement tracks as selected by you. If you've got questions or concerns, please shoot me an email, jd at meetingmalkinist.com.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Decoy Deloy is back with music news you need to know. Up first, dive into classic progressive pop band 10cc's new merch collection at Hello Merch; then, dig into the Desert Daze 2024 lineup, featuring Jack White, Cigarettes After Sex, Say She She, Molchat Doma, and so many more. Then, give the claymation video for Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, The Jicks), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Guitar Moves), Emmett Kelly (Cairo Game), and Jim White (The Dirty Three). And then, settle in for an interview with Maxo of Phoenix indie rock band Thankyoumaxo. Let it rip, it's Friday and it's WASTOIDS.Find more at WASTOIDS.comCall us anytime at 1-877-WASTOIDS. More podcasts and videos at WASTOIDS.com | Follow us on Instagram and YouTube.

This week on the Countdown, jD is joined by Ayden Flanagan to reveal song 22 and to share his Pavement Origin Story. Transcript: Track 1:[0:00] Previously on the Pavement Top 50.Track 2:[0:02] So here we go with Texas Never Whispers. Aiden from Vermont, what are your initial thoughts about this song? Texas Never Whispers is a really cool song. Full disclosure, before you sent me that this would be the song that we were going to be talking about, it honestly wasn't one of the tracks off of Watery the Mystic that really jumped out at me. But after um after you sent it and i knew that we were gonna have to chat about it um i listened to it a little bit deeper and i i definitely found like a new appreciation for it hey.Track 1:[0:38] This is westy from the rock and roll band pavement and you're listening to the countdown.Track 3:[0:46] Hey it's jd here back for another episode of our top 50 countdown for seminal indie rock band and Pavement. Week over week, we're going to count down the 50 essential Pavement tracks that you selected with your very own top 20 ballots. I then tabulated the results using an abacus and an air fryer. Seriously, is there anything this machine doesn't do? How will your favorite song fare in the rankings? You'll need to tune in to find out. So there's that. This week, I'm joined by Pavement superfan, Boston Russ. Boston Russ, how the fuck are you? I'm fan-tastic. and ready to rock. This is great news because it would be a hell of a podcast if you were not ready to rock. That's right. That's right. Thanks so much for having me on. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for doing this. You guys do all the heavy lifting on these, so this is fantastic for me. Let's get right to it. Let's talk about your pavement origin story. Sorry. I think my Pavement Origins story goes back to 1994.Track 3:[1:50] I'm a little late. I'm kind of a late comer in some respects. So back in 94, a good friend of mine, so I got to give him some props. His name was Sean McGovern. We called him Slappy and a few other things. He was in a band in the Boston area called Beeswax. There's some other bands in our area called Beeswax also, but he was in with a few guys. And they did AK-47 and a couple other songs. Sadly, he passed away a couple years ago. He got sick. Oh, shit.Track 3:[2:23] But back in 94, we were good friends, and we hung out a ton, and he just one day gave me this bag of CDs. He left it in my car. He's like, listen to these. And so Crooked Rain was there, and so I put it on, and Silent Kid comes on, and I'm just like.Track 3:[2:41] Who are these guys? And, you know, I played the album some. And it was just, like, I go back and I look at that time. And, like, the album release times were just, like, really, like, fast-moving parts of my life. It was, like, the end of college almost where Crooked Rain came out. It was, like, the end of my junior year. And I was doing a radio show. And I don't know. I, like, never quite linked up to, like, really featuring them prominently. And then wowie zowie comes out like two weeks before i graduated college and you know and get into like the summer in 95 and it's just like it like just blurred and so it's like i heard it like a little bit but didn't like totally like dive in not until bright in the corners came out in 97 and that like i just could not stop playing that album like just word great record and word out and And I wanted to see them in concert. I had been to a bunch of different shows for bands, like Foo Fighters. I got to see Foo Fighters when they were together for two weeks in 1995. Holy shit. They were together. Nobody knew who they were. This is my same friend. So Sean says to me, we got to go see this band play.Track 3:[3:55] Eddie Vedder's wife is doing a percussion band.Track 3:[3:59] And Eddie Vedder is going to play with Mike Watt. And Dave Grohl is going to show up. and do, he's going to play with his new band. And I was like, he's like, you got to go. And it was like this rainy Sunday afternoon. We go to this club called Avalon. So if anybody knows Boston, knows the 90s, we wore Avalon out. I mean, it was like one of the best places to go for rock bands. And Foo Fighters was the middle band. Grohl comes out on lead. And you're like, because you're like, oh, Dave Grohl, new band, going to be a drummer, right? He comes out on lead and does like, and he's holding his guitar tower in hand and it was like that one moment where it's like best ever or total train wreck and he did this as a call comes in with the first lines you know just his voice butter and from there it was it was crazy so like you know i followed like a lot of these bands and went to a lot of these shows and just didn't quite i kept missing pavement and then they broke up and i got old you and me both brother you know and it's like oh and they got together in 2010 and but my My son was like a year old, and I had really moved far from Boston at that point and totally missed the tour. And I was like, ugh, you know, and just kind of feeling like stuck. And so I would listen to, you know, Pavement a lot during the 2010s. They were a big part of Spotify, and I would play them. And I don't know, a couple of years ago...Track 3:[5:26] I was just saying to myself, it would be really great if these guys would really do a tour. Yes. And then it happened. And they came to Boston, and I got sick. No fucking way. I got sick at the end of September. I totally missed the announcement that they were coming, and then got sick, and I couldn't get tickets, and I skipped it. And I was just like, I'm totally beside myself. And I was like, all right. This is okay, because we're going to make up for it. And so, we come to the end of the calendar year in 22, and then one of the best things happened to me. My wife, her best friend calls her up and says, guess what I have? And my wife says, what? And her best friend says, I have an extra free ticket to see Taylor Swift. And my wife is a huge Swifty. All right. Okay? Huge. And, you know, but her best friend lives in Tennessee. And we're in Boston. And her best friend says, the ticket's for Tampa Bay.Track 3:[6:41] Oh, my God. So, because that's where her best friend mom lives, right? Right. So, she's just like, well, I'm going to go from Tennessee to Tampa and go to the show. Do you want to come with me? And and of course you know well i gotta tell my wife i'm like you got it's a ticket of the year i'm like this this is like you got a free ticket to this like yeah you have to go right you have to go so of course like she could i you know she got the ticket we just got her i got her a flight and you know she goes down there and has a ball right they drive they do like a 1300 mile road trip from tennessee to tampa and back they go to the smoky mountains they have like the best time ever right so right after that the ticket um you know i got out of the plane ticket, the pavement in iceland announcement comes oh yes and i'm like pavement iceland and i turned 50 and i'm like she's like, You have to do that.Track 3:[7:40] That is a great wife. Yeah. She is fantastic. And I'm like, I do have to do this, don't I? She's like, I think you do. And I'm like, it's three shows. I'm like, they'll play all the songs. They have to play all the songs just to vote because it's three shows in a row. Yeah. So I went ahead and I ended up booking the trip. And so this was like you know late late i think the release was like late january so like early february it was like a couple of weeks after they released the thing i i got tickets but i still got like fifth row and i got second row for like the last show i got really good tickets they were they were a little slow to sell out of the gate but and thankful for me because you know i'm like so i just i got a flight the flights were very reasonable and so got a flight and just said we're doing this thing. So as the year ticks by, I'm getting ready, getting ready, getting ready. And then I think it was sometime in late June, my birthday passed and all this, getting ready for the trip. And then I get the big announcement that says, in Iceland, they're going to do a walking tour with the band. I did not know this. yeah they put out a walking tour with the band so uh steve and bob participated in the walking tour.Track 3:[9:02] Um so um oh and and spiral also of course um so it was the three of them and then you would buy a record and and buy the tour uh the walk tour so 90 minutes around reykjavik um and there was a host and then they would go ahead and talk about, you know, they would just talk about the musical history of Iceland, and then you could walk around and get to meet the pavement guys. That's fantastic. There were 50 tickets, went on sale at noon. My hand was like on that button, and I was number 21. That's amazing. I could not believe I got a ticket. It and i i you know again i was like is i'm like is this hyping up to be the best trip ever i'm like sounds like i'm like what's happening here and so now we're leading up to the trip the trips at the end of july they did the shows at the end of july so sometime in july i'm on reddit i'm on the pavement channel and um sky posts up and he says who's going to iceland let's form a group, so I'm like great I'm like how about me I'm like I'm going he says hi I'm Mike from DC and I'm like I'm Russell from Boston.Track 3:[10:26] So, I jump in. Another guy, Steve from Milwaukee, jumps in and says to me, so, what do you think the weather's going to be like? I'm like, maybe like a mild Boston winter. Unfortunately, to me and Steve, that meant two different things. Sorry, Steve. Because I ended up considering that to be a little chilly. But I went a little cold. So, it was pretty funny. And so, slowly, this little group of people forms on Reddit and then goes over to WhatsApp. So the day comes, finally go ahead and fly out. Do the flight, no problem, get there. And then when you fly into Keflavik Airport, it's about 45 minutes from Reykjavik, you go and take a bus. Okay. And so, guy sits across from me, he's also from Massachusetts. His name's Curtis, and I strike up a conversation with him. And halfway through the conversation, He's like, by the way, are you here for pavement? And I'm like, yes. He's like, what gives me away? He's like, you know, you're a certain age, traveling by yourself. He's like, me too. I figured you were here for the shows.Track 3:[11:35] And I'm like, I'm on the bus and I'm not even there yet. And we're already way off and running. So we get to the Thursday show, and the moment of truth comes, and I'm walking down to Harpa Concert Hall. It's a huge glass structure. It's beautiful. If you ever see the pictures online, it was amazing. Beautiful place to play. And so I'm walking, and I'm within sight distance of the concert hall. I've already spent the day there. Reykjavik's beautiful. People are nice. Everybody's very relaxed.Track 3:[12:16] And guess who walks right by me is Mark Eibold. Really? Yep. Just walking to the venue. I'm walking to the venue. He's walking away from it. He's probably going out for maybe a quick bite to eat or something. something, you know, we got a little, we had, you know, time before they went on. He walks right by me and I'm like, Mark. And he turned around and I told him hello. And I said, you know, I was here for the shows and everything. He took a quick picture with me and, you know, and that was that. But I got to meet him and I was like, all right, I got to meet Mark. He is the elusive one. He is, he is elusive. And so, but I got to meet him and got a photo and, I mean, super nice. You know, it was like 90 seconds tops, you know, because I just didn't want to take up his time. I mean, you know, he's getting ready for the show and everything. So I was happy for that. And I went up to the concert hall and everybody just started to meet. And it was funny because I think it was Mike in the group said, Yeah.Track 3:[13:23] Okay, so here's the moment of truth. How are we all going to know, you know, who each other are since we don't know each other? Good call. So I said, all right, I'm going to go stand by one of the tables. I'm wearing bright blue pumas. You can't miss me. Because I'm also wearing this, like, bright vest. I tend to wear bright clothing sometimes. And so, like, I got this vest and I got this, like, hat and pom-pom and this whole getup. Can't miss me. I mean, I'm like screaming and everybody's dressed in like black and Reykjavik. So I'm like, I really stick out.Track 3:[13:57] I'm like, can't miss me. And so I think like the first guy that comes over is Steve and Steve's like, Russ. And I'm like, hi. And so that just kind of like broke the ice for everybody and people started to gravitate over. And, you know, like we're having a couple of beers. We're talking at the shows, you know, and just met some like really great people, you know, the merch tables there. And we're talking, you know, other people got tickets for the walk on Friday and it was amazing. And so one of the guys, Eric from New Jersey, Eric says to me, I said, you know, I got Crooked Rain with the tour. I said, but I really wanted Wowie Zowie. He's like, why don't you just buy it at the merch table, bring it with you tomorrow. They'll just sign it. I'm like, genius. Yeah. So I did that, and that ended up working out very well, because they signed both albums. So solid piece of advice from Eric. And so we did the show, and it was fantastic. They started off with Grounded, which is one of my favorites. Damn. And it was really great, because when they just break into Grounded, it's like...Track 3:[15:15] I made it, you know, and, you know, the, the, the months leading up to that were a little difficult. My mom was pretty sick. She's, you know, had, she had some tough moments last year and, uh, it was just like really emotional. I was like, holy crap. I like, I really did it. I mean, this was like 30 years in the making. Yeah. And I just, it was, you know, and it's like when you see that like pavement in Iceland thing and it's like, you look at that and it's like a lot of times you just look at those types of things and then it's like, oh, it should do And you don't end up doing it, you know, for all the reasons to not go and for all the reasons to go. And it's like, I'm here, here.Track 3:[15:59] And it was just amazing. I bet. It was just really great. They did Summer Babe. And, you know, by then, we're like, we're all friends. And, like, we're all yelling all the lyrics to the songs. And, you know, everybody's just, like, carrying on, having a good time. And, you know, go out to the bars after we're out late, having drinks. And everybody's, you know, really just getting to meet each other and have fun and, you know, learn where everybody's from. I mean, people came from Los Angeles, Jersey, D.C. There were people from Europe, Berlin, and England, and all these places. All these people just converged, and they all came by themselves. Really? Yep. Most people weren't by themselves. They all came by themselves. Wow. And so there was this group of people that had all come by themselves. And now it was like we started to become like this little unit. So now Friday... Friday was like really one of the highlights of the trip because we had the pavement walk and it was really, it was just great.Track 3:[17:19] I'll send you a copy of this picture, but like, so I bring Wowie Zowie and I mentioned how I like to dress up in bright colors and my whole get up for the day basically matched the album cover. And i didn't plan it that way but i had like you could see like my hooded sweatshirt and i wore this like green hooded sweatshirt and this you know in a shirt and my vest and hat and everything were all like blue and green and so and i had green puma sneakers like the old you know uh the old sneakers all like i'm like blue and green head to toe right and so i show up the next morning and everybody's looking at me and i'm like hey wowie zowie everybody just couldn't believe it and so you know steve west and spiral come up to me and they're like how you doing and i'm like i'm like i'm so glad to be here and they took a picture with me like right away they were like the nicest and um it was great i got to meet uh bob nastanovich and and his wife carly um who who I get to be really good friends with. She was absolutely amazing. So there's more interacting to come. So we go on the pavement walk.Track 3:[18:40] And it's hosted by a guy from Iceland. And so one of my favorite jokes on the whole trip gets set up, right? So we're walking through Iceland, and he's like, oh, this is where Bjork lived, and this is where this was, and this is what happened here and all of these spots. And then we get to this condominium.Track 3:[19:04] And, you know, he's standing in front of it and gets everybody up there and says, now this, this is, used to be the rock and roll club. He's like, it looks very clean now, but back in the late 80s and early 90s, this is where we would come and we would write songs, we would play songs. This was the club. This was it right here. This is the spot. He's like, this was everything right in this spot. He's like, and we used to. And then he said the thing that just made my eyes go like big bug wide open. And he said to me, we used to get blackout drunk. And I'm like and then there was like this kind of pause which I love because it just kind of sets me up and I have this sense of humor and I just kind of raised my hand and I said.Track 3:[20:11] Did you say that you got blackout drunk here? And he's like yeah and I said and, But this is your old club, right? And he said, yeah. And so I said, so now that it's closed on weekends and shut for good, would you consider this your own personal Hall of Fame? And Steve West is kind of looking at me and then all of a sudden just looks straight down to the ground like really hard. And you hear like three people chuckling in the background who get the joke and i'm sure the people got it but like you know maybe it wasn't their their sense of humor um and i just felt like i'm like he and he didn't get the joke which just to me made it like that much better it made it even better and i was just like you know it was great and so my my friend steve comes up. He's from the Midwest and has this very straight sense of humor. And he's like.Track 3:[21:24] Your joke earlier, that was good. Which I loved. He's just like the perfect straight man. It was so good. It was so good. And so we go on the rest of the walk and I got to meet Bob a little bit more. I got to meet Carly. But then I got probably about five minutes to walk with Spiral. And I got to tell Spiral like how much I loved Date with Ikea which is just like probably, it's definitely in my top five I think I submit it as like number three on my list because I just love that song they're just like songs that just really resonate with me it always makes me smile I love playing the John Peel version because it's just it's quicker and it just really hits every time and it's just funny because like.Track 3:[22:15] I became part of like team Spiral, right? Because like when I would go to the shows, I would stand like on Spiral's side. Like a lot of people buy tickets and stand to the left where Malk is. Yeah. But I like to stand to the right because I can see Spiral, I can see Bob, and I can see Mark and Steve very easily. And I can still see Malk and, you know, and Eyebold and everybody else. But like, you know, Mark's, you know, Moloch stands so far over, you know, but a lot of people gravitate over there. So it's good. And, you know, so, I mean, it was just, just amazing. And did you get to hear them play Date with Ikea? They did. They played it Friday night. They played it. I said, he's like, yeah, he's like, but we'll play it. He's like, we'll play it. And you get to hear it. And, and then, so we went and we went back and they did autographs. We got to meet them. They were just fantastic. They were all just so nice. I mean, everybody was generous with their time. I mean. That was my experience as well. Like, just so gracious and so accommodating. Yeah.Track 3:[23:31] Um, and so it was like, okay, where do we go from here? We did the Saturday show. I did like all, you know, I did some tours. I did Blue Lagoon, which is now like closed, you know, and those are heartbreaking every time we see like the volcano eruption stuff. And, you know, I feel for the people in that area. Cause like, oh, the people were so nice. I mean, just walking around Reykjavik, it was like, so, it was just so great. Cause everybody was like so relaxed. I mean, I was walking down the street one day and I had some napkins kind of coming out of my pocket and somebody comes up to me and he's like, your money. And I'm like, oh, thanks. It's just napkins, but thank you. You know, like, you know, and like, you know, where I live, it's like, everybody would be like, boop, I'll take that, thanks, and keep walking, you know, or let it fly away and, you know, all that. But, you know, we just had this crew and we would get, you know, we got together for drinks on the last Sunday and, you know, and people said their goodbyes and stuff. And it was just, it was great. But everybody's like, so who's going to Brooklyn? Because the tour wrapped up in Brooklyn in September. So in like six, seven weeks later, a lot of us went to Brooklyn.Track 3:[24:52] Jesus Christ. So because they had put the announcement out that the tickets were going to come out. And I told my wife, I'm like, I got to do one more. I just feel like I'm really called to just, I got to go to the last show. Got to go to the last. So I bought two tickets and I called, I have a twin sister. and I called my twin sister Andrea and I said.Track 3:[25:17] Because she used to go to all the shows with me. And she took me to Foo Fighters for our birthday. Like one of her birthday presents to me, we went to see Foo Fighters in Laconia, New Hampshire. Turned back the clock and it was a great time. So I said, well, you did Foo Fighters. I said, come to Brooklyn with me because she loves going to New York. I said, come to Brooklyn and let's go to Pavement. She's like, all right, let's do it. So I bought the tickets. And then we were coming up to the shows, and the only song I didn't hear in Iceland that I absolutely had to hear was Elevate Me Later and couldn't stop talking about it. Um so we get to um we get to brooklyn uh the.Track 3:[26:06] Week of the it was monday september 11th was the first show and everybody did the first show and i had friends there like and now everybody's like totally into it people know each other and and my friend eric the guy from new jersey was unbelievable and basically was just like posting in the chat like okay they're doing this song now Now they're doing this song. Now they're doing this song. And like some people would like post videos into the chat. Somebody tried to do a little live. I mean, like, I mean, the time that people were investing in sharing the information with everybody else was just wild. So I'm just like, I was like, I'm getting a ticket for Wednesday because it wasn't sold out yet. And I was like, I'm buying a ticket for Wednesday. And I worked it out with my sister where we were going to take the train together. And then she's like, I'll just buy a bus ticket. You meet me there and I'm like, I'm going, I'm going out on the train a day early and I'm going to the Wednesday show too. So I get to the Wednesday show and, um, cause now it's like, I'm in it now. Now it's like a minute. So I got tickets for the last two shows. I had to. And, um, I'm like, it was like really just called to do it because I got there, you know, I met up with Steve and Mike and, and everybody and, and, and it was wonderful seeing everybody, um, and met new people too, like, uh, Wes from Chicago, who was really great. And he ended up cutting some videos and some other folks.Track 3:[27:36] But they ended up doing Elevate Me Later on the Wednesday show. It was the only time in the whole tour, the whole year and a half tour, that they played Elevate Me Later. Holy shit. And they did. You were there for it. I was there for it. I couldn't believe it. Because they wrote it out as LS2 on the play sheet. Yeah, yeah. And I was like, are they going to play it? Because and my friend Wes is like well there's like two versions of it he's like so he's like I think so but maybe and then like they kicked into it and I'm like that's my entrance song, and it was like I was like in a hyper trance for like the first 20 seconds of it because like I couldn't believe they were finally playing it and it came out great it was amazing Rebecca Clay Cole, who was there doing the organ work on the tour, her voice on the backing vocal was just awesome with everybody else. It's a great version. It really needs to be on Spotify.Track 3:[28:38] Well, I hope we get some live records at some point from this tour. They were taking video and all kinds of stuff. So I am hoping that they do some live work with it. And if we get that out, produce, it would be super great. Um, so I mean, it was really great. Uh, I mean, um, we, you know, at, at the end of the Wednesday show, uh, we went to the bar across the street and we were having beers. We kind of closed that place down and then a spiral runs out and, um, you know, and he's just like booking it for his Uber. Right. Cause I mean, you know, there's still like, you know, probably 20, 20 of us there hanging out and he's like, yeah, Hey, I'll see you guys. And I'm like, hey, Spiral, it's me from Iceland. And he's like, wait, I remember you. And I'm like, knock back. And I'm like, oh, my friends heard that. And it was just like frivolity because it was just, it was too crazy. And I gave him a high five. He gave me a quick hug and he jetted off into his Uber. And I'm just like, my whole night was made. I guess so. You know, and then like it couldn't get any better except Steve Malkmus walked out and was hanging out on the corner waiting for his Uber. And he's just standing there and he's talking to like you know somebody else he was with and we're all standing there like diagonally across the street from Malk and he's just standing there and another friend of mine says.Track 3:[30:07] Russell, what do we do? And I'm like, we go up to him. And so like, I just started walking across the street and then like, I just like went right after, you know, and, and patiently waited for him to finish this conversation. And I'm like, hello. And I'm wearing my Reykjavik t-shirt, except it says Reykjavik in Japanese. And one of our other friends is Japanese in the group. And when she saw me and she walked into the bar, she was the only person who laughed at me because she's like, Like, your t-shirt says Reykjavik.Track 3:[30:35] I mean, the moments were just, like, amazing. They were all, like, it felt like every moment was like that. And then, so, like, Stephen was the only person I hadn't met. And, you know, again, super gracious, took some photos, you know, and, you know, I didn't take too much of his time because, you know, the rest of my friends all got time to meet him before his ride showed up. And that was that. You know, we did the Thursday show also. And, you know, we got to say goodbye to the band and to everybody else. And it was something else.Track 3:[31:09] And, you know, one last story that my friend Mike from D.C. is very fond of. So when we got back from Iceland, I had the picture with me dressed up in the Wowie Zowie outfit. And I have a picture. When we did the record signing, it was at 12 Tonar. Which is one of the record shops in Reykjavik. So in the back, they have this wall with graffiti, and it's all color. So I'm in my color outfit, and it's all color. And it's this really cool photo that came out, and you could see everything, the sneakers, the whole nine yards, right? And so I posted it on Twitter, and I said, you know, I posted it to Bob and Carly and Spiral, and said, thank you so much for everything. And Spiral wrote back and called me a legend. And that just like broke my friend Mike. He's like, he's like, hold up, hold up, hold up. He's like, do I have that right? He's like, did you call Spiral a legend or did he call you a legend? I'm like.Track 3:[32:18] He called me a legend. That's amazing. And Mike is like, why? Why did he call you a legend? He's like, what don't I know about you, Russell? And I'm like. I wear bright colors. Yeah. I mean, you know, I just, I'm like, I don't know, Mike. You know, I'm thankful he did that, you know. Oh, God, that's amazing. It was just, it's wild. It's out on the interwebs, you know, and it makes me smile. There are just so many pieces that made me smile. At me on Twitter. At me on Twitter with the photo. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I would love to see it. Yeah, I'm happy to share it. So a quick shout out to the whole crew here. So Steve, Mike, Eric, Liz from England, Sasha, Chiaki, Curtis, Chris from Berlin, Manny and Liza, Wes Stevens, Tony, Bacon, and a very large shout out to the man from Reykjavik himself.Track 3:[33:21] Elvar, Elvarsson, who was, you know, we all became friends with Elvar when we were in Reykjavik, and he was the only person in our group from Iceland. And I love his name because, Because in Boston, we always swear at people. And Elvar's name is Elvar, Elvar's son. So he's son of an Elvar. I mean, in our best Boston. And he's such a bright personality, a wonderful guy. He does a podcast called Peeling the Onion. So a shout out to him. And if anybody's out there, it's on Spotify. And he covers a lot of punk rock origins and stuff. So huge shout out to Elvar. And to all the people who were there for Iceland and Brooklyn, my sister, of course, you know, and my family for putting up with the time while I'm away and the incessant playing of the pavement. And, you know, but my son has now kind of become kind of a fan a little bit. Done good work. Yeah, we're driving around. You know, he has his pavement favorites too, which makes me smile. So it's, you know, some good dad work there. So I'm trying. I'm trying.Track 3:[34:39] Well, what do you say we flip the record here and play song 21 and then come back and have a little talk about that? Sounds good. I'm ready for a B-side. All right, let's do it. We'll be back after this.Track 1:[34:53] Hey, this is Bob Mustanovich from Pavement. Thanks for listening. And now on with a countdown. 21.Track 3:[38:08] Today's song is the second song from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain to appear on the countdown thus far. Today, we're talking all about number 21, Cut Your Hair. Russell, talk to me about your relationship with this song. I love this song, you know, for a few reasons. One, I think because, you know, it's ubiquitous. And when I talk about Pavement to the rest of the free world people are like, I don't remember that band, and if I say cut your hair people are like, yeah I remember that and I think it's great that there's a song that helps people kind of make that connection.Track 3:[38:57] Even though their relationship to the band isn't as deep as ours right um i also love it because like 90s russ had the best hair now for those you know for all my friends and family that know me my my hair is gone now and for all my recent friends all they know is you know russ has no hair but 90s russ and my 90s friends or people People that grew up with me know that like in college, they used to call me Mr. Perfect Hair or the guy with the hair. And my hair kind of came off to the left and it would – on the side, it came all the way around and it didn't move.Track 3:[39:43] It did not move. And it would just come down in the front and it was always perfect no matter like when you saw me. I could roll to the cafeteria at 8 a.m., and it had to be just right. It was always on. And people used to try to do all kinds of stuff to mess it up, and it was his own airtight defense system. It was awesome. It was part of me. You wouldn't see me without it. I didn't have the confidence back then to not have it. Be just so um it was just you know it was part of kind of life in my 20s so like you know the hair was it was just that was it wherever i was i was always able to make sure like i could find an outlet and uh blow dry my hair and uh and make it just so so it was um it was hilarious uh so So, you know, I love the song, and the song is just...Track 3:[40:53] You know, it's everything about, you know, kind of just like that, being perfect. It's like, you have to be so packaged and so, you know, you have to have that image just so. You know, like back in the day when we had the Andre Agassi commercials, image is everything. And that's what Cut Your Hair says to me. It's like, image is everything. Thing like if you're gonna go far as a band like you know like you have to have like this whatever it is packaged image that record company wants you to follow in order for your career to advance and and you can't really be yourself you know um that's how i i see the song is it's almost like It's a song of conformity. If you don't fit the image, you won't move forward. And it's interesting that Cut Your Hair is on Crooked Rain, which really propelled their career.Track 3:[41:59] Absolutely. And kind of got them to the point where the next record really could have put them up and over. And they come out with Wowie Zowie, which is really, people say it's equivalent to Weezer Pinkerton. Right. Yeah, I can see that. Which I loved, and it really kind of got a very cool reception. You know but like if you look at the like how everybody rated it it was like this album's amazing and i'm like well yeah that album is amazing the same thing with like wow he's out where you like it you know if as people reviewed it a lot of people didn't like it and some people like really loved it but when you come back and listen to wow he's out where you like it, You know, it was growing your hair. They made the record they wanted to make, even though it didn't quite conform to what the record companies necessarily wanted.Track 3:[43:03] You know, and they made that art what they wanted it to be. And so that's kind of like what Cut Your Hair kind of means to me, you know? I love it. Tension and Fame, South Korea.Track 3:[43:23] I mean, you know, it's a fun song. It's, you know, it's really light and peppy. You know, it's a song when you go to the show, you know, you're going to hear it, you know, more often than not, you know. And if they, when they played four shows, I think they left it out once, you know, maybe twice. But when we got to Brooklyn, they were really playing like real deep cuts. I mean, we got to hear like, they emptied the cupboards in Brooklyn and that was great. We got a lot of, hearing Half a Canyon and Pueblo and those kinds of songs were really great. But, you know, cut your hair, you know you're going to hear it. But, you know, like, it's fun. And sometimes it can be that song where it's just like, oh, you know, I don't know if I want to hear it because it is so popular, you know, and it is, you know, uniquely Pavement. And it's, you know, like, I want to hear other songs. But it was really interesting because when you gave me the opportunity to come on and talk about it, and I'm like, it really is a great song. It is a great song. You know? And...Track 3:[44:42] You know, I saw out on Reddit, I think it was last week, there's now a beer named after it called The Second Drummer Drowned. Dude, interesting story. The guy who posted that, I just said nonchalant, I said, oh man, it's too bad you couldn't ship one here. And then he DM'd me, got my address, and he is shipping one to me. That is outstanding. It is so fucking cool, and I believe his name is, oh shit, I think it's Mark. I will amend this at some point and make sure that he gets the shout out he deserves. But this leads me to an interesting question for you talking about, you know, this song and the fact that some people can dismiss it because it was their popular hit. It had, you know, it was on MTV rotation, like the music video.Track 3:[45:44] So is this song at 21, is it properly rated? Is it overrated? Is it underrated? What do you think? 21, we're into the great tracks now. Not to say that the whole 50 isn't great, but we're starting to get down to the nitty gritty. Be i have to i'm gonna say i was surprised when you told me that i when i was at 21, i did not expect to see cut your hair here me neither but i understand it in a way and so i will you know i'll share a little bit of my own um you know submission i ranked elevate Elevate Me Later, number one, for a very specific reason. I wanted the points for it because I wanted it to be somewhere in the top 50 because I love it. And so when we say, okay, it's going to be the top 50 countdown, I think about the math behind it and goes into it. So I think that Cut Your Hair kind of gets knocked down a little bit because...Track 3:[47:02] Everyone just assumes it's going to be there. Oh, that's a good call. Okay. So it's kind of like that old Simpsons episode where Bart Simpson, and this is like season one where Bart Simpson runs for class president against Martin Prince. And everybody thinks Bart's going to win and nobody votes for him. And only Martin Prince wins two to nothing because him and his only friend voted for Martin Prince. So it was two nothing Martin Prince. That was it. And Martin won. And everybody's like, nobody voted for Bart. So I feel like cut your hair as Bart. I mean, nobody really voted for it because everybody would just count on it being in everybody's highly ranked list. And here it is at 21.Track 3:[47:40] You're probably bang on the money, man. You know, that's an interesting take. I hadn't really considered that, but I think that's a very solid take. I mean, because I ranked some other songs a little bit higher because I wanted to make sure they made the cut. Yeah. And I put Elevate Me Later number one because I asked for it so much amongst my friends. It's tied to me now. And every time I hear it, I put it on right before we came on just to hype me up because it always makes me smile. but Grounded and then Date With Ikea were my top three. And Date With Ikea, for me, that was properly rated because I love that song. And having that time with Spiral, those few minutes with him in Reykjavik is something I will never forget. Of course. It's tied to it between that and the Twitter thing and the fact that he remembered me in the shows and Brooklyn and all that, I'm definitely like Team Spiral and everybody ribs me for that, good-naturedly, because it's just funny. And, you know, but I think that's- He's a gem, man. He's a gem. He's come on five times. Really? Yeah. He's been on five times. Amazing. Amazing. Yeah. I get it. I mean, they've all been great, you know. And a special shout out, too, to Carly, who's Bob's wife.Track 3:[49:10] We chat occasionally on Twitter and say, hi, how are you? And even during the shows, she would say hi to me and she'd say, hey, I love your energy. And like she was taping, she was videotaping the shows on her phone. And she's like, you know, at like certain intervals, she would just like hand me her phone. She's like, you tape this. And so like, I'm like watching the concert and I'm like holding up her phone, making sure I get good footage for her. It was hilarious. I mean, like the stuff that just happened was just like, I'm like, how am I even doing this? Like, why? Like, you know, why have I been chosen to kind of be in the middle of all of this? I had a very similar vibe when I did my UK trip. I had a very similar vibe. It was just like, who am I? What fucking planet is this right now? Right, right, right. This is my favorite band, and I'm following them around, and I'm getting backstage, and they know me. Like, this is so cool. Right, right. It's like, this can't be happening. That's right. And the whole Iceland trip was like, you know, like people talk about like, oh, I had this trip and everything went wrong. The Iceland trip was everything went right. Everything that could have happened that, you know, that could have turned into a positive turned into a positive. And even the little setbacks I had, like, were so quickly resolved, usually by the kindness of strangers or some good fortune.Track 3:[50:38] It was just amazing how well everything went, and really both trips. I mean, it was the time. I had a wonderful time. Well, you were owed it, I think. And after missing them a few times, I'm glad you got to resolve your story that way. Is there anything other than the Icelandic Gentleman's podcast that you want to plug while you're here? Um no I I think I just want to plug my friends one more time for everybody in those groups you know Steve, Mike, Eric you know all those guys everybody is like just the nicest you know it's like just a quick story like you know Eric bought merchandise for us in Brooklyn and then shipped it home to all of us Wow. And he's like, just Venmo me.Track 3:[51:37] Like, that kind of generosity of his time and trust and everything else. Just top shelf. And everybody was like that. Mike was like that. Steve was like that. I've had a good fortune to see Steve a few times, and we've been able to hang out. And even though he's out in the Midwest, we've been able to connect a few times. Oh, that's brilliant. You know, just all the people just, it made it so great. And it just turned into this giant snowball of good that just kept rolling downhill and just kept getting better, bigger. More people came into the fold. Everywhere we went, more people came in. It was amazing how welcoming everybody was and all the people that we met, how great they were. Keep in mind if you ever do a reunion. Oh, 100%. I'll hit you up on Twitter. And I'm sure we'll wind up somewhere at some point. That would be awesome. You know, what I'd really love is like.Track 3:[52:39] One more like place where like iceland where they played three shows yeah you know brooklyn they played four shows like they're doing a few south america shows it's kind of tough but it's like one show in one location at a big festival and like it's hard to like kind of do that but if they played like three shows somewhere where we could just show up and and like kind of recreate them take over and recreate the magic and yeah and make some new stories and spend that time I'm, I would just, I would love that. And I, you know, I don't know. It seems like it's going to be a while, if ever, before they really say, we'll, we'll do that again.Track 3:[53:17] We'll see. We'll see. Like, I don't know. Like, I think SM is getting ready to release. And maybe by the time this comes out, he will have made an announcement of some sort. So we'll get some new Jicks material, SM and the Jicks, or maybe another, like his last two records have been just him so maybe it'll be just him but i wouldn't be shocked if we see them on the road again because it's uh it's fun for them it's relatively lucrative you know like the the touring market is is a good thing and they've got a loyal fan base you know they do i mean my here's my call this is just this is my take um another person i got to meet on the the Iceland trip, was his daughter, Sunday, who's – Sunday's about 15 years old now. And she was super nice. And I connected with her a little bit because that's my son's age. So, like, I got the whole thing, you know, I understood kind of, like, where she was coming from because that's my son's age.Track 3:[54:22] And, you know, my dad –, piece kind of raised up when we talk about, are they going to hit the road again? I think when Sunday goes to college, I think that at that point, we'll have a chance for them to maybe come back out. But I get the feeling like he'll do the dad thing. She'll get through high school. His wife is obviously, we know she's an accomplished artist. She has her career. He'll make time for her. There'll be that balance of family and everything else. And then when So when Sunday's off to her next adventure, everybody will probably say, one more ride.Track 3:[55:04] That'd be great. So I'm thinking maybe 2027, we'll gas up the truck and we'll make it count, I think, by then. Well, if they wait until 2029, that would be 40 years, right? Yeah. 40 years since the band formed. I hope they don't go that long, but you know. Yeah. I hope so too. Yeah. You know, um, and that's where like kind of the, the old guy in me says, let's get out there before we can't. Yeah. Well, on that note, on that, uh, harrowing note, um, uh, it's been a pleasure to have you on, uh, Boston Russ. Uh, this has been a delight. I'm so glad your story turned out the way it did. That's the kind of feel-good stories we do here on Meeting Malcomus. So, you know, kudos to you. That's what I got for you this week. So tune in next week for song number 20. That's right. We're in to the top 20. In the meantime, wash your goddamn hands.Track 1:[56:12] Thanks for listening to Meeting Malcomus, a pavement podcast. Podcast, where we count down the top 50 pavement tracks as selected by you. If you've got questions or concerns, please shoot me an email, jd at meetingmalkinist.com.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jamie Parkins joins jD as his guest on today's episode of Meeting Malkmus. Jamie reveals song number 24 and tells jD about his Pavement origin story. Transcript: Track 2:[0:00] Previously on the Pavement Top 50.Track 1:[0:02] Song number 25 is our first entrant from the masterpiece, Watery Domestic. It's Shoot the Singer, One Sick Verse. David from New York, what are your initial thoughts about this song? Shoot the Singer, I think it's probably one of Pavement's most perfect songs. If you just listen to it, it's such a beautifully textured song. And the production is pretty unique, I think.Track 2:[0:30] Hey, this is Westy from the Rock and Roll Band Pavement, and you're listening to The Countdown.Track 3:[0:38] Hey, it's JD here, back for another episode of our Top 50 Countdown for Seminole Indie Rock Band, Pavement. Week over week, we're going to count down the 50 essential pavement tracks that you selected with your very own Top 20 ballots. I then tabulated the results using an abacus and a bag full of M&M's with the brown ones removed a la Van Halen. How will your favorite songs fare in the rankings? Well, you'll need to tune in to find out. So there's that. This week I'm joined by Pavement superfan, Jamie from Watford. Jamie, first of all, fucking great name. Second of all, how the fuck are you? I'm very good, thank you for that. it's the uh english variant of the name not the not the scottish variant but i'll take it thank you well that's my name as well so yeah there we go yeah so um let's get right into things like let's not beat around the bush here let's jump right into your pavement origin story yeah wow um, I guess I've been very lucky. So I was trying to tot up how many times I've seen pavement. I think it's 10, maybe 11. Wow.Track 3:[1:53] And then, you know, I've seen Preston School of Industry a couple of times, I've seen Steve and the Jicks. But how I fell into pavement, I think, was just serendipitous.Track 3:[2:04] So I was 15, I happened to be at a friend's house, and he said.Track 3:[2:09] Got a spare ticket for a concert tomorrow. Morrow i'd never really been sort of to a concert i think you know i've been to a couple right at that age when you're 15 you're sort of you know you you're an age where perhaps you don't need your handheld anymore and he said got a ticket for a bank or pavement yeah i'd never heard of them um and i was just starting to get into what we would call in britain kind of indie so pre-brit pop but kind of indie music so bands like carter census things mega city four these might these might mean things to some of your listeners particularly in the uk um i was like yeah great free ticket um it happened to be my birthday the next day um so i borrowed a tape you know good old uh sort of probably what it would have been a 60 minute cassette and listened to slanted for you know over and over again ahead of the gig right because you don't want to turn up at a gig and not not know anything about the music and so that was um august 92 at the marquee in um in london and I didn't know what to expect didn't know what I was walking into certainly didn't know that I was going to become like a you know a big fan of this band wow so what do you remember about the show the actual show so I guess by because of the fact I was 15 and I wasn't drinking um I should I probably remember more than than you know I would from a gig like three years ago um.Track 3:[3:37] So this is going to sound, it's going to sound a bit crazy, but, and, and having listened to the other pods, like there's a common theme here, which is just how open the band are. Right. And how welcoming and accommodating they are. And, you know, I don't, I think they always realize their sort of size and everything. Right. Then they're not, they're not filling out stadiums and they don't, you know, they don't need to be standoffish at all. So we went to the gig. I've no memory of, of, um, uh, the support band, but that's primarily because somehow Somehow, me and my friend managed to end up backstage at the Marquee. We were drinking Port Band's Red Stripe Lager.Track 3:[4:14] And next thing you know, we're talking to Gary. This is Pete Gary when he's handing out like salad and handing out plates of food. And it's pretty grotty. It's actually from a black bin bag, which is not particularly exciting or alluring. But you're there going okay this is the drummer of the band that we're about to see he's handing out food we'll have a quick chat um i i have a vague memory but i don't know if this is just like history playing tricks but i have a vague memory of either steve or spiral one of the two wearing a football top um a luton town football top which for me is a watford fan that's like one of our big rivals so i don't know again if i'm sort of making this up but i have a memory that that might have been, you know, like, why are you wearing that top? You know, and that started a conversation.Track 3:[5:09] And then next thing I know, Gary's handing my friend a bottle of water. So because we were thirsty, it wasn't a bottle of water, obviously, because it was Gary. It was a bottle of vodka. And just all it's just like, this is, this is insane. And the gig hasn't even started yet. And then the concert itself was just fantastic. I mean, you know, 15 years old, um, marquee is quite a famous London venue. You know, I think the stones have played there, you know, it's, um, it's a typically small venue with a low roof and, um, sweat dripping off the ceilings. And it's the sort of perfect place to see a band that's kind of, you know, on that upward curve. Right. Yeah, absolutely. So Jamie, talk to me about, uh, your sort of your go-to record. Do you mention that slanted was the first thing you heard and you listened the shit out of it? Um what was two-part question what was next for you and you got to live it all in real time so that's spectacular uh but what is your go-to record now so there's two separate questions there, yeah i mean stunted was definitely like the the gateway drug as they say um.Track 3:[6:17] And I was lucky you're right right I was there you know every Monday when the new album came out buy the next album you know play it to play it to the nth degree two years later the next album watch them on the following tours that support those albums so I was really really fortunate I feel very very lucky um yeah uh watery domestic I mean that was a pretty fast follow wasn't it from yeah um from slanted I think I think like a lot of people have been on your thing today that was like their high point i think just musically i think you know in the case of four songs they just nailed it they nailed it yeah but i would say the album that i come back to the most is definitely uh crooked rain crooked rain i think i don't know if it's about the age like you know i was what i would have been 17 18 then you know you're kind of really impressionable music i think it also it follows on from watery domestic really nicely there's a kind of um There's a continuity of their style. Gary is, you know, there's still bits of Gary drumming on Crooked Rain, I think, if you kind of go deep into the sleeve notes and stuff like that. So I think, for me, that's the album that, you know, like I'm rebuying my LP collection, for example, and that was the first one I got. Oh, wow. Yeah. I got slanted first. Yeah. It's an expensive habit to start again, right? Jesus, is it ever? Wow.Track 3:[7:43] So, you've seen a bunch of shows, like 10 or 11 shows. You've got Crooked Rain as your record. Is there anything else you want to share about your Pavement Origins story? What else? I've got a couple of thoughts and things I'm happy to share. I don't think they're a great festival band, is my take. Seems that way. I've not seen them. Is it Benicassin? And what was the one they did on their tour back in the famous one? Yes, right. I saw it in Porto and it was really good. They were really good there. There just i think the two times i've seen them at reading festival um and i've seen them at v festival in the uk and that kind of mid-afternoon slot open air i don't think it suits their aesthetic i don't think it suits the way that their music kind of fills the room um whereas you know i saw their last gig at brixton the the night that they kind of quit with the with the handcuffs and all of that sort of you were there yeah i'm not knowing obviously like you know, there's no social media, right? You, you kind of, you know, did I notice the handcuffs on the microphone? No. Um, um, did they look tired yes um and then you know maybe two weeks later you're reading in the music press that you know that that was their last gig and that they're moving on to different things you know.Track 3:[9:06] So at the time i didn't i didn't add up the add up everything i was seeing but um kind of with hindsight you didn't go oh yeah maybe mount must have kind of checked out a little bit and um so yeah i mean but you know as a fan right it's kind of cool to be at their so-called final gig and then they do it again and again and again right they come back.Track 3:[9:29] The um it's a shame i think we're at some of the same gigs in london then because, uh i was i was at two of the gigs last year in london or no it's not last year is it god two years ago now two years ago man yeah i'd hoped to go to manchester but um i had to sell that ticket in the end so i i took myself twice to london so i kind of thought two out of four is not bad i could have done i could have done four but you know there's bills to pay that's That's right. Yeah. Well, I love those London gigs. I thought they were, the Roundhouse is a great venue. It was really awesome. If no one's ever been, you know, it's a really interesting venue, right? And I thought they did it justice and the venue did them justice in a way. Yeah, I think so. It was great. I saw three out of the four. I missed opening night because I was in Liverpool. Right. Well, then we were definitely, that's weird, right? Because we were definitely, if you missed opening night so did i so we're at the same gigs oh that's so what a small world, well should we settle in and listen to track 24 yeah let's do it halfway through right sort of 24 halfway through the 50 or so yeah that's right yeah so let's do that we'll play the song right now and uh we'll be back on the other side hey.Track 2:[10:45] This is bob mistandovich from pavement Thanks for listening, and now on with a countdown. 24.Track 3:[16:18] Well, Jamie, here we are at song 24 on the countdown, a stone-cold classic. This is the eighth song on our list from Pavement's penultimate album, Bright in the Corners. At 24, it's Finn. Jamie, what are your initial thoughts about this song? I think I remember really liking it kind of when you buy Bright in the Corners, you put it on, you go through the album, and it feels like a sensible, good closing song. Um the name kind of gives it away right to the degree and i'll be honest i'm not one for analyzing lyrics and like if you're not one for analyzing lyrics then you've got no chance with pavement lyrics right because mountainous goes all over the shop um but listening to the album recently again i've got two things about the song one is i think the album is really interesting i think lyrically it might be pavements most interesting album i think like mountainous seems to be having a lot of fun like you know i wrote down a few of the you know just on different songs right we know we went dutch dutch on shady lane you know a voice coach taught me to sing he couldn't teach me to love all the above on transported range i just think he seems to be having a lot of fun lyrically um and they kind of flow and um you know there's elements of rhyming in there which you know paper and haven't always done but the more i've listened to this song i've got to be honest and i don't know if this is not going to make me very popular given that people voted for it but i'm kind of ambivalent about this song the more i listen to it yeah oh yeah yeah i I know, sorry. No, don't be. You're in the podcast here now, right? No, no, no.Track 3:[17:47] I'm curious to know why. I was listening to it again today to give it its dues and give it a fair chance. I think my issue with the song, first of all, it's not a bad song, right? I think, you know, I don't have many pavement songs that I would put down as being bad. I think my issue with it is that it's really slow to build up and maybe that's deliberate.Track 3:[18:09] But when you've heard the guitar solo, which is great and you love the guitar so at the end and it closes out the album and it's you know take the name right it's the fin it's the end the first half of song you're just like come on let's just get to the good bit um and i kind of feel like and so the first time you hear the song you're probably thinking this is lovely i'm enjoying the experience but once you once you've had the good bit i actually find the the the kind of first half of the song uh quite slow quite quite interminable um i know sorry sorry um i went and listened to uh a live version um from their recent tour thinking you know do they play at a different speed is it you know is it different and the kind of feeling was the same again and don't think it works if you play it mid gig as well because it kind of it drifts the guitar solo kind of fades away and and if you listen to it.Track 3:[19:06] It doesn't just finish it kind of goes and goes and goes and you can keep hearing the song all the way to the end. And it just gives the impression that like, I think it, you know, am I reading too much into it, but it feels like Mount must, you know, by this point he'd had enough in pavement and maybe this is coming out. He's talking about things that, you know, walled gardens, he wants to get out. You know, is this his way of saying it through music? Because I think terror twilight is the most mountainous and the jigs type album. Yeah. And so I wonder, you know, and I think, maybe someone on your show had already said it that it was the one where the rest of the band had the least amount of writing credit like so i always think terror twilight is almost like his first album was into the jigs and this is almost like him kind of closing out on pavement um and i'm sure that i'm definitely probably reading way too much into it but that's kind of just my it just feels a little bit like yeah this is the end i get the feeling really like the guitar solo but but why are you taking so long to get to it? Sorry. You heard it here first. Shall I publish your email address in the show? So you can get, I'm thinking I've blown any chance of an invite back for the top 10.Track 3:[20:17] But yeah, I think, I think if you're a super fan, right, you're going to like some stuff more than the others. Absolutely. And I think, you know, I've got to, I've got to be fair. I just, I, I didn't vote for it. I'm kind of, like I said, I'm kind of ambivalent towards it. Like, you know, So the Hex, which is maybe a slightly similar sounding song, kind of takes you on the same journey, is infinitely better. And I don't know the rest of this countdown, but I'm guessing that the Hex is probably in the top 10 or so. I would have imagined that a lot of fans would vote for that. I'll never tell. Yeah, I know. I know you want to keep us guessing. That's right. Right so i i guess then it's pretty clear that you think this song is overrated on the list at 24, where would where would you put yes um well does it um probably i mean look to be honest could i count 50 songs you know like do i have the energy to do probably not um but like you know when I think of things and you know this is me showing my you know earlier favouritism maybe but silence kit um.Track 3:[21:34] Heaven as a truck uh frontwood you know these are all songs that would you know get way in front of uh of finn um and you know that's the earlier stuff right um uh so yeah i i think it's probably for me it's probably overrated in the in the countdown but um that's the beauty of music right we all have our opinions and you know some people this means something probably very different to what it means to me absolutely you're a big fan of this album right i think this is your favorite album yeah do you definitely you're definitely thinking this guy jamie's a complete jerk i'm not inviting him back no not at all no this is meant to be water cooler fodder you know like this yeah yeah yeah you know jamie's crazy it's absolutely at 24 or you know i'm totally with jamie it's overrated you know like that kind of thing uh it's meant to be it's meant to be fun so i'm glad you had some fun with it do you do you get people commenting is there a way in which Where do we see what people's hot takes on this is?Track 3:[22:35] Twitter, Facebook, you know, all the usual suspects. I've got to get back into Facebook. I'll have to see what people say. Yeah. Well, it's been great talking to you, Jamie. Yeah, and likewise. I've really enjoyed the series so far. Thank you for doing it on behalf of all of us weird pavement fans. It's appreciated. Well, it's my pleasure. It's my pleasure. And getting to meet cool people like you is always fun, too. Yeah, and maybe there'll be another gig, right? We could hope. Maybe they've got some tax bills to pay. I saw Spiral is selling some of his equipment at the moment. So, you know, maybe they've got some bills to pay and they'll do another series of gigs. That'd be good. That would be cool. Maybe we'll see each other there. All right, brother. Talk to you soon. Thanks, JD. I will do. I love it. Thank you. Cheers, man. Wash your goddamn hands.Track 1:[23:27] Thanks for listening to Meeting Malcomus, a pavement podcast where we count down the top 50 pavement tracks as selected by you. If you've got questions or concerns, please shoot me an email. JD at meetingmalkmus.com.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sintonía: "Hide Out" - The Hideaways"Tigers", "No One Is (As I Are Be)", "Senator", "Jumblegloss", "Forever 28" y "Fall Away", extraídas del álbum "Mirror Traffic" (Domino, 2011)"Lariat", "J Smoov" y "Chartjunk", extraídas del álbum "Wig Out At Jagbags" (Domino/Matador, 2013)"Solid Silk", "Middle America", "Kite" y "Bike Lane", extraídas del último álbum de Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks hasta la fecha: "Sparkle Hard" (Domino (UK)/Matador (US), 2018)Todas las músicas compuestas e interpretadas por Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks menos donde se diga lo contrario Escuchar audio

This week on the podcast jD welcomes David Fieni to the show to discuss his Pavement origin story and then they crack the top 25 with song number 25 on the countdown!Transcript: Track 2:[0:00] Previously on the pavement top 50.Track 1:[0:02] This week we are celebrating song number 26 fight this generation what do you think of this one jeremy from the falls this is probably it bridges like the the best run i think that pavement has on any album.Track 2:[0:21] Hey this is westy from the rock and roll band pavement and you're listening to the countdown countdown.Track 3:[0:29] Hey, it's JD here back for another episode of our top 50 countdown for seminal indie rock band, Pavement. Week over week, we're going to count down the 50 essential Pavement tracks that you selected with your very own top 20 ballots. I then tabulated the results using an abacus and a bong made out of a kumquat. How will your favorite song fare in the rankings? Rankings you'll need to tune in to find out so there's that this week i'm joined by a pavement super fan david from new york dude how the fuck are you i'm fucking great i'm psyched to be here chatting with jd oh that's cool another uh pavement super fan yeah yeah absolutely are you uh are you did you make your pre-order for the box set or are you going to i'm going to i'm just like Like, it's crazy because it's like one of those things, I think a little bit like you, I've started, I sort of came to Pavement when, that was like my shift to CDs. And I got all of their stuff on CDs. And then I only started getting the vinyl in the last couple of years. Yeah. And so literally just before this, I ordered my last piece, which was Watery Domestic. What a cool, yeah, Watery Domestic. And then the singles thing looks just freaking amazing.Track 3:[1:50] It does yeah i'll order it uh the shipping to canada is obscene though it's like 60 bucks u.s to ship to canada which is like that's not right that's probably 80 bucks uh a canadian you know so it's like it's like half the cost of the product yeesh i don't know so david let's uh not beat around the bush here let's get right into things you mentioned compact discs and your collection. Tell us about your Pavement Origins story and getting those compact discs. Well, J.D., when I was four years old, Billy Corgan murdered my parents.Track 3:[2:31] Actually, that's not true. So I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I was right in the – I would have been – if I wasn't such a prick and, like, took myself too seriously, I would have been right in the midst of, like, the beginnings of pavement. Wow. But all the people around me were, like, saying, you know, I was reading stuff, how great pavement was. And I was like, oh, fuck that shit. I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon, the indie bandwagon. And so I didn't really get into them until maybe 1996. Okay. Which is, you know, they're still – they're peaking as they usually did. And so I don't remember if it was Bright in the – no, it was Crooked Rain was definitely the thing that kind of just sucked me in for life.Track 3:[3:19] And then Bright in the Corners. And I'll tell you a quick story about in 1997, I went to Rolling Stones concert. Pearl Jam opened up the Oakland Coliseum. And I drink a lot. And I got about an hour of sleep. And the next day I had, because of lack of sleep, I asked the girl out in my class that I had a hard crush on to go out for coffee. We talked for like three hours. And then I actually ended up marrying her. I've been married for 24 years with her, to her. But after that coffee, I rode my bike over to my friend Walter's house, and he was playing some records, and he put on Slanted and Enchanted. And I have like the strongest memory of listening to here on his little dinky turntable. So I got into the band like 96 and 97. I saw them at – where was it? The Warfield.Track 3:[4:16] Where's that? And that's in San Francisco, yeah. And then I saw them in 99 for Terror of Twilight. And I've seen Jicks and Pavement and stuff since then. And I did see them in Philadelphia this last time around with my friend Seth. So that was freaking amazing. Loved that. So, yeah, I mean, they're kind of like a second wave band for me because I was into stuff like R.E.M. and The Replacements and Husker Du and all of this stuff. And then I got into Pavement and it's kind of like a, you know, it's something that stuck with me. And it's definitely a pretty hardcore relationship. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. I know exactly what you mean. So talk to me about your first real-time record then was Bright in the Corners, right? If you got in in 96, Bright in the Corners comes out in 97. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's funny. I think, yeah, it must have been Bright in the Corners.Track 3:[5:20] And that's still... I mean, the thing is about the records is like I think that each of them has been a favorite at a different time, including including Terror Twilight, which when it came out, I just I love that record. It's obviously it's like a shift in a different direction in some ways, but it's it's so fucking brilliant. And I just can't, you know, I love all of the all of the records. I'll tell you, I'll come back to that later, but there was an interesting hole in my collection until fairly recently that I'll tell you about. All right. Yeah. So you saw them in Philadelphia on the reunion tour. What did you think this time out? Dude, it was like bliss for me. I was just, I was like smiling the whole time, which is probably exactly the opposite of what I did the first times I saw them when I was, you know.Track 3:[6:20] I thought I was fucking cool or something. But this time I was just grinning the whole time. And, you know, I know you've seen a bunch of the shows. People are singing along, which is like not a super pavement-y thing, but it totally was great. And also a cool thing was that my friend Seth, he has his son and some friends of his. They're all into pavement, and they're like this new generation coming up. And so they were there. And that's obviously so cool because it makes me think of like, oh, when I was growing up and I was into like the bands from the 60s or something, you know? Yeah. Like it's like a cycle, you know, that goes on. What do you think pulled him in? Was it osmosis from his old man or was it Harness Your Hopes or what's the deal? Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, I think it's people who want music that doesn't suck, that's not corporate music, that is just fucking cool and original. And it just, you know, there's a thing that Malcolm has said in this, I think recently, someone asked him, like, why are you going to make another record? And he's all, no.Track 3:[7:33] He said, the songs exist in the present, which I love that. I mean, it's such an obvious, simple statement, but it's also true, right? The songs exist in the present. And so each time you sing it, that song is going back out. Each time you play a record, it's existing right in that very moment. So it's like, I just think there's the music just, the music stands out. Maybe, you know, maybe the whole Harness Your Hopes thing kind of brought in a few people. But, you know, it's just, it's a good, it definitely made me slightly hopeful for the future.Track 3:[8:10] Harness Your Hopes definitely harnessed my girls, my two girls. Oh, yeah. They're both big TikTokers, and I guess that's where they saw it. But my daughter will brag to me that she's got Pavement in her playlist. I think she's got one other song, but I don't know the song. Yeah. I'm guessing it's something like Major Leagues or something. That one, I guess. Yeah, my 12-year-old daughter loves Harness Your Hopes, but she listens to Pavement. I put stuff on. I make playlists for her, and so she gets into that stuff. You raised her well. I know, at least in that respect. Yeah. So what is your go-to record at this point? I know you said that they're all, you know, they've all taken a turn as your favorite, but if you're feeling nostalgic and you want to hear something, which one do you go to?Track 3:[9:02] Um, I don't know. You know, I think maybe Crooked Rain is going to be the one. Crooked, both Crooked Rain and Bright in the Corners. Fellow Bright in the Corners lover. Is this right? Yeah. There's not that many of us.Track 3:[9:18] It's a great record. it is a great record but you're right crooked rain is what is it it's it's almost like it feels timeless like it doesn't feel of the 90s yeah to me uh production wise the low the low fineness of it um it just doesn't have that same 90s production you know that we're that we were so inundated with uh from seattle you know yeah that's right i mean the whole issue of production is is like such an interesting thing to going from like gary yeah as the producer yeah and um and then through the different iterations of different folks and obviously terror twilight has its own story but yeah i mean i think that's part of it like and you and you go back to those early like demos and stuff and it's just they are just fucking around with sound a lot of the time right and um yeah i was listening to i was listening to the because they're streaming the the singles collections you know they are yeah yeah i was listening to that today and so i was just like a song like a song i don't like just put on is it the k dart song or internal k dart internal k dart yeah which is like It's like.Track 3:[10:38] It's not like a fully formed human, you know, being, it's like a sonogram, but it's still beautiful, because you can hear spiral and SM, like kind of experimenting with sounds and how they're going to play off each other and just textures and stuff. And so, you know, that stuff is, is, is really important, obviously.Track 3:[11:03] I love your analogy. It's a sonogram. That's brilliant. It will be fully formed at some point, slanted and enchanted. But early on, on Demolition Plot, it wasn't necessarily. You're right. It was more foggy, primordial ooze, I call it. I like your sonogram-ness. That's very cool. So is there a single in the box set, one of the seven inches that you're looking most forward to?Track 3:[11:34] I don't know. I have to look at it again. But I think it'll be, you know, the singles have a number of songs on each side, as far as I understand. So I'm looking forward to kind of just having a different, because it gives you like a different entry point into the catalog, right? Yeah. Because you're listening to these singles, and then some of the B-sides, and then some of these other tunes. And so, yeah, it was interesting listening to the Summer Babe. It sounds like the vocal is mixed differently from what I'm used to. I mean, the whole thing. I guess they're all remastered, aren't they? Well, I think they are. But on the Summer Babe 7-inch, that's the one with Baptist Black and Mercy Snack, I think. I think so. It's not the winter version. That's the designation. On Slanted, it's the winter version. This is the original, you know, the original. As far as I understand. Right, that makes sense, because it was the single that came out right before. Yeah. Yeah. So it might have had a little bit more work on it on the winter version. So good ear. Good ear on you. Do you want to get into this and flip the record and talk about the song number 25? Let's do it. All right. right let's do this we'll be back right after this hey.Track 2:[13:04] This is bob nastanovich from payment thanks for listening and now on with a countdown 25.Track 3:[16:28] Song number 25 is our first entrant from the masterpiece, Watery Domestic. It's Shoot the Singer, One Sick Verse. David from New York, what are your initial thoughts about this song?Track 3:[16:43] Shoot the Singer, I think it's probably one of Pavement's most perfect songs. If you just listen to it, the textures, it's such a beautifully textured song. And the production is pretty unique, I think, for them. It has this really, I think it must be, this is the Water Domestic is where Ibold and Bob join the Spiral One SM and Gary. And I don't know exactly who's playing on what and all that, but I'd like to think it's Mark. And that bass, it kind of has this kind of cool buzzing sound. It reminded me of Us from Piglib, but then I listened to it, and it doesn't really play out. But it's just a cool kind of – the bass is kind of – has a beautiful sound. It also has – and I don't think I even noticed this until listening to the song a bunch in prep for this. It has a really – what sounds very much like a really perfectly kind of mixed acoustic guitar in the back, but really kind of mixed in just so and you know and that's just like one of the things so like and they have the the verses that have this beautiful kind of more kind of relaxed mellow.Track 3:[18:08] Tone and you hear again like really nice interplay with spiral and and malchmus and then you get to i don't know if they're really choruses but it's like slow it down song is sacred and you know Those two – and then the distorted guitar comes in, and it's really such a cool contrast with the –, and then it goes back to the sort of more little chill verses. And then it has that outro, which is freaking – it's so good. It's just – it's a cool thing because it –.Track 3:[18:45] So, again, one of the lines that stands out in the song is, slow it down, song is sacred. And you hear Malkmus sing, and his vocalization is super, it's really beautiful on this song. I think it's one of his best, really, performances in some way. And it's really kind of, there's like an urgency to it that is not always there, but that's not what you want for every song. And in the end, it kind of is like, it doesn't technically slow down, but it kind of is like he's slowing it down and trying to get more out of the song. And he wants to stay in the music and there's the la da da da da da da and um which made me think about so this is shoot the singer it's a song that has references to music in its title and, maybe a little bit in the song and then it made me think of other songs like cut your hair has that kind of you know the non non words but vocalization right right so a lot of the and And that's another song that's about music. So it's like I feel like there's a few others that I can't remember now that have. So Pavement songs that sort of have like music themes or songs about songs or whatever, they seem to often go into that, you know, la, la, la kind of shit, which is really cool. It's kind of like pure music without, you know, without words or something.Track 3:[20:02] I don't know. This song, I just, it's such a beautiful song. And obviously Water Domestic is, you know, such a, like, masterpiece. And I, dude, I owe you, like, a massive, I owe you massively because I, super fan that I am, you know, I've seen them a bunch. And I had everything. And I was into, I had gotten, like, Westing and all of that stuff and listened to that stuff before I discovered in the last, like, five years. Don't fucking mock me, dude. Watery Domestic. And it was because listening to Meeting Malkmus. So somehow I had seen that fucking rooster, right? I had seen that rooster, but I had never, I had never like listened. I mean, I think I must have heard a song or two, but I was like completely oblivious. And so that's like such a joy to just discover what's. What a cool thing to find that. Yeah. It's and it's, you know, in large part to your, you know, your podcast. So thank you. Well, I'll take the feedback. I love it. But I think that it's important, because I came to Pavement late as well, as well as your situation with this record.Track 3:[21:23] To me, it's an absolute bonus to, in the midst of loving a band.Track 3:[21:35] Uncovering something that you didn't know about, and you're listening to new music that is old, if that makes any sense. Yeah, right. And it's right in that sweet spot, right in the pocket of slanted and crooked rain, right? So, what a fertile period. Yeah, it's peak.Track 3:[21:52] It's total peak pavement. And it's interesting, too, because it's like Gary's last stand, and you listen to it. And I think in some ways, all the love in the world to Westy, right, who just is great. I love him. But like in a certain sense, like Gary, at least at this period, his playing was more like pavement-y. You know what I mean? Sure. It's a little bit more rickety, slapdash, and kind of I hate to say slacker or whatever, but it kind of like it really fits in. Of course, they kind of, Westy kind of you know it's a it's a slightly different direction but i mean i love i love you know i love them both but you know this so this so that ep so it's the cool thing is like i have no nostalgia about the record i just listen to it it's right now it's happening and i you know get into it but um i feel like it's a song that has two standouts and that's front words and Shoot the Singer. Yeah. But they're set up perfectly with Texas and Lyons, Linden, right? Because it's just such a perfect little sequence. You can't get a more perfect EP out there.Track 3:[23:12] And, yeah. So the other thing that I wouldn't mind mentioning is, so I grew up 50 miles away from Stockton. Gee whiz. And so, like, it's hot and boring. And, like, those songs, like, Lions Linden especially, but also, like, Summer Babe and a few others, they totally evoke that landscape of, like, bored people.Track 3:[23:40] Kind of just like, you know, like suburbia. It's kind of like a little bit almost beyond suburbia in some ways. It's kind of this, you know, every street a straight line, all of that stuff. And then there's the Delta and the girl mixing a cocktail with a cigar, all that shit, you know? So it's like very evocative of that whole landscape. Escape yeah i mean i i can't say enough about this ep uh like you mentioned their standouts but i would have it's sophie's choice yeah to pick yeah to pick the number one and i would include lions linden and texas never whispers in in that yeah for sure um it's just so goddamn good And even when you listen to Lux and Redux and you get Greenlander and I forget the other two right now because I'm an asshole, but even those outtakes from Watery are spectacular. Yeah. Oh, I know. Greenlander is another one of those sleeper ones that's such a freaking cool song. Yeah. Definitely. Where do you think in the scheme of things this song was rated 25 so right at the halfway point.Track 3:[25:04] Do you think it's overrated, underrated, perfectly rated? What do you think? I think – I'm glad it's not any lower. Me too. Because I would put this in the top 10, 15 for me for sure. Of course, it changes all the time, like whatever. But I think 25, it's fine. I'm not going to go on a rampage. I'm not going to go on a rampage, J.D., against your fans. Did you vote? I didn't vote. You know, I saw the call, and then I meant to, and then I didn't. So many people have reached out and said, oh, man, I missed this. Yeah. There was enough to make this 100% valid, let me tell you. Yeah, yeah.Track 3:[25:55] Dude, that's what I got. How about you? Is there anything you want to plug or mention? Listen to the Bug Club, man. They're amazing. They opened up for a pavement in the UK a few dates, and I got into them from that, and they've just become one of my favorite bands. The Bug Club from Wales. I don't know, that and Permanent Ceasefire. That's about it. Okay. Well, that's cool. I like giving the tips. That's nice. That's what we've got here. Song 25. Stay tuned next week when we cover song 24. In the meantime, thank you so much, David from New York, and be sure to wash your goddamn hands.Track 1:[26:39] Thanks for listening to Meeting Malcolmists, a pavement podcast where we count down the top 50 pavement tracks as selected by you. If you've got questions or concerns, please shoot me an email. JD at Meeting Malcolmists dot com. You.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sintonía: "Monkey Sho´Can Talk" - Red Holloway"No More Shoes", "Freeze The Saints", "Mama", "Kindling For The Master" y "Post-Paint Baby", extraídas del álbum "Face The Truth" (Domino Records, 2005) de Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks"Hopscotch Willie", "Cold Son", "Gardenia", "Elmo Delmo", "We Can´t Help You" y "Walk Into The Mirror", extraídas del álbum "Real Emotional Trash" (Domino Records, 2008) Todas las músicas compuestas e interpretadas por Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Escuchar audio

jD hangs with Stephen on today's episode of the Top 50 Countdown. First, as usual, he shares his Pavement origin story and then reveals song 27!TranscriptTrack 1:[0:00] Previously on the Pavement Top 50. You can exhale now because track 28 is Stop Breathing. Amir, what are your initial thoughts about this song? I love this song. It appears in my Top 20 that I sent you. I think it's number 14 there. So it's half of your number. Hey, this is Westy from the Rock and.Track 3:[0:22] Roll Band Pavement, and you're listening to The Countdown. Hey it's jd here back for another episode of our top 50 countdown featuring seminal indie rock band pavement week over week we're going to count down the 50 essential pavement tracks that you selected with your very own top 20 ballots i then tabulated the results using an abacus and some fucker named gene how will your favorite song fare in the ratings well you'll have to tune in to find out. So there's that. This week, I'm joined by Pavement superfan, Stephen. Stephen, how the fuck are you? I'm very good, JD. How are you? I'm doing quite stellar, in fact. It's a good day to be breathing and upright, you know? It is. It is. Spring's in the air. You know, winter's gone. Things are looking up. Funny enough, it's snowing here today. First, you know, we've passed spring. We didn't get any snow at all. And then, you know, it turns into spring and all of a sudden we've got snow. So, you know, who can fucking tell?Track 3:[1:30] No, no, but yeah, thanks for having me on. It's like we said before, just before we started, I've been listening to the whole countdown so far. And, you know, it's been great. It's a nice little pick me up on the Monday morning when it drops. And it's a good feeling to think that, you know, there's going to be one a week for the whole year pretty much. So, yeah, I've been really enjoying it. Well, thank you so much. That means a lot. So let's get, you know, let's make this about you now and let's get right into your Pavement Origins story. Yeah, okay, yeah. So, I mean, I'm 42 now and I got into Pavement when I was about... Sort of 15 16 so it was basically when uh terror twilight came out.Track 3:[2:19] When i was a teenager i was really into radiohead at the time i mean i still am but uh, they were they were my band at the moment so i was obsessively into everything that they did and i would read all the interviews and you know get every release and bootleg and ep and thing that came out uh from that band and i remember i was on holiday once and uh i picked up a music magazine in the airport on the way over and there was a a big article in there about pavement and the terror twilight release um and i'd kind of heard of them a little bit uh i kind of knew off them but it was always but they were always sort of mentioned in the same breath as um, the fall and john peel and things like that and so yeah in my mind i kind of built them up as a kind of scary alternative loud punky i don't know abrasive sort of band that was sort of unlistenable, um and i kind of remember at the time also around that time in the 90s um blur brought out their uh.Track 3:[3:27] Self-titled album the one that has song two on right graham graham coxson was going around on the interview circuit and saying oh yeah this this this album's influenced by you know really really hard understandable american bands like like pavement and i was like oh okay yeah so this in my head i kind of built them up as um something a bit difficult and then i read this saw this article in um this music magazine it must be key magazine or enemy or something and they just came across like a really nice bunch of guys and i thought right when i get back from holiday i'm going to buy that record it sounds really good also so yeah the other thing was that the main draw at that time was uh the radio head rich sort of connection godrich yeah so he he nigel godrich produced it they had johnny greenwood playing harmonica for some reason on uh platform blues and on billy and so i bought the album purely on that uh that sort of thought really i'd never heard any of their songs didn't know anything about them and i remember getting home putting putting the CD on, and the first song is Spit on the Stranger. So that was the first Pavement song I'd ever heard. Wow. And it's got such a lovely, warm introduction, and those sort of synth pops, and the vocal, and the melody. I thought, wow, this is great. This isn't what I was expecting at all. I was expecting something really hard, and almost the kind of stuff that you hear on Westing.Track 3:[4:51] Yes, yes. And so, no, I loved it. I got really into that album. them i loved uh every track on it really um uh especially carrot rope loved carrot rope but i don't i don't quite i don't quite get the kind of uh the sort of online hate that that song gets i think that's a great song um but yeah from terror twilight i then kind of worked backwards and picked up all the cds in kind of reverse order i got i think bright in the corners next, text uh and i kind of worked backwards uh crooked rain wowie zowie was hard to find i think in those days i couldn't find it so it took me it took me about a year or so to track that that cd down.Track 3:[5:33] Um so yeah i wonder why that is i don't know i think it it was in the 90s it was kind of like, you know there wasn't the internet wasn't so prominent you couldn't you almost didn't know what a band's back catalogue was. You had to kind of track it down and search it out in record stores and read about them in magazines and, uh yeah so for whatever reason that that record was hard to hard to track down but uh yeah so it's by the time i went to university i think i had all the albums, uh but then unfortunately they broke up yeah so i kind of missed the boat on the on the sort of original incarnation uh uh but then the the sm debut came out which is absolutely, that is my absolute favorite album by anybody of all time. It's really fucking good. Yeah, it's so good. I mean, I still listen to that album now. Like it's, what was it, 24 years old, is it? 23 years old or something, as we speak. Yeah, pretty close. I think I listened to it last week. I still get something from that album. Me too. I do. I listened to it for like three days in a row, Les, two weeks ago. Listened to it for like three days in a row, just straight. It's still got it, hasn't it? Every song on there is fantastic.Track 3:[7:00] The sort of guitar work, the melody. And I think sometimes with... It's quite a poppy, immediate album. And sometimes those sorts of albums don't really have the longevity. But for whatever reason, this one does. It's really got a lot going on. Um so so yeah so then so from that i i kind of so from 2001 onwards i kind of picked up all the, mountainous solar stuff as it came out uh uh but none of them really grabbed me like the debut did um up until um traditional techniques so yeah that that that's another one that's really got under my skin that album it's a great one um i think it came out i think it came out just at the beginning of lockdown yeah it was 2018 yeah and it might it might be something to do with that you know sort of being trapped in the house with this with this new record and i listened to it every day for for a long time over over lockdown uh but yeah that that's that's a really good one as well yeah um and it was around that sort of time that um.Track 3:[8:14] That i uh found your podcast and uh yeah oh wow it was it was kind of the traditional techniques album that made me kind of think oh i need to get a bit more into to revisiting some of the other mountainous stuff that i've not really got into the first time around and i found your podcast and the uh uh the mountainous conundrum podcast yes yes the guys did yeah that was great so uh yeah kind of that that period that lockdown period for me is kind of synonymous with listening to a lot of pavement podcasts, listening to traditional techniques, and sort of going back and re-exploring some of the other Mount Masolo stuff.Track 3:[8:55] But yeah, so yeah, I didn't catch them live. Well, I saw Mount Masolo a few times when he was touring the first album at festivals and little venues, and that was really cool. Here's one for you. I saw Radiohead, and opening for Radiohead was SM and the Jicks. Oh, really? What year was that? Yeah, that was Hail to the Thief, when they were touring for Hail to the Thief. Yeah, 2004, something like that. Oh, that'd be cool. That's about right, yeah. So they were doing, were they doing Real Emotional Trash or something at that time? What were the Jicks doing?Track 3:[9:40] Whatever came after Pig Lib. uh pig lip okay cool yeah no the one after pig lip uh shit i can't i can't think of what it was face the truth i've got it up here somewhere uh face the truth, Or Real Emotional Trash, one of those two. That's pretty cool. Yeah. So did you get a chance to see Pavement live ever? I did. Well, when they regrouped in 2010, I seem to remember. Yeah. And they did a series of shows down in London. But it was the week I was getting married.Track 3:[10:19] Tough to escape that. So I didn't go, but I thought about it. It was almost like you know travel down to london come back get married the next day and i thought no it's not that's not gonna work so i'll uh i'll skip that but then i thought yeah wise uh but then i caught them on the um on the most recent tour and that that tour was fantastic that really.Track 3:[10:40] You know i was completely obsessed with that tour it was so good where did you where did you see the manchester uh yeah so i saw them in leeds um and manchester uh and then the following year, they played a little one-off uh festival in the uk called blue dot and they were headlining right yeah yeah and that was really cool um yeah you got some of the uk gigs didn't you yeah i saw every every stop except for leeds oh no that's a shame yeah oh so you're at manchester yeah yeah that was a good one i thought yeah too yeah that i remember on that one they, they opened with major leagues didn't they which i think which is a bit i always think that's a bit of an odd uh odd intro song it doesn't really get things going in the same way it sort of set the mood for the night like it was a more mellow show for sure definitely definitely it's but still great still a great song yeah, but yeah no but then so the funny thing about the Leeds gig was um.Track 3:[11:52] I went with my brother and we went for some food beforehand and a couple of drinks. And we're in this Indian restaurant. And the waiter comes over and says, oh, are you guys going to the pavement gig later? Because he must have seen our T-shirts and things like that. Well, oh, yeah, yeah. And he goes, oh, the band ate next door just an hour ago. So there was another slightly more upper class Indian restaurant next door. And he's like, oh, no, they just ate there recently. and so i was like really really buzzing from that i was like oh yeah we've eaten in the restaurant next to the one that pavement ate in so we finished up there and we're walking up to the venue and the doors opened i think at seven and it was probably about you know one or two minutes to seven o'clock and we're walking up through the town center and as we're walking, we kind of notice that we're kind of walking in step with this other group that are kind of walking in this at the same speed and in the same direction you know it's a bit awkward when you're kind of trying to overtake each other and uh i thought hang on they've got they sound like american accent and um so i look over and it's uh it's bob and spiral walking up walking up to the venue um and bear in mind that the doors are just about to open so they're just like strolling up through the city center like they've got all the time in the world.Track 3:[13:15] And I was like, oh, you know, I don't normally, you know, don't normally do this but i'll have to i've got to say something you know and i've had a couple of pints by this point so i was feeling a bit more uh confident but uh so so as we got to the traffic lights i stopped them and said oh sorry guys you know just got to say hello you know you're a big fan and they were really really nice guys just stopped and we sort of stood there by the road and chatted for about five minutes or so and you know they were in no rush at all to to get to the venue or start the gig or anything like that um yeah so really really nice um, really nice guys uh and then and from that point yeah it was just a great gig uh yeah yeah oh that's so fun that you got to meet them they're so gracious right yeah no really good guys and just yeah just chatting like you know like it was like it was nothing you know yeah and you know asking where we were from and you know uh they were talking about how they'd played at the same venue with sonic youth like back in the 90s and you know and stuff like that just really yeah it's really nice little little moment um and then managed to to meet them a second time um at the blue dot festival uh the year after wow uh because they and i don't think this was really.Track 3:[14:40] Picked up online that much but on the first event of the day at the festival it was on the poster described as a listening party, And I thought a listening party with pavement and it was a sort of event curated by Tim Burgess from the charlatans. Okay. He does these sort of online listening parties where he plays an album and people listen along live and, you know, that sort of thing. And so I thought, okay, that's probably just, you know, in a tent somewhere, they're probably playing a pavement album and maybe talking about it on stage, that sort of thing. So I thought, well, I'll head over to that before, you know.Track 3:[15:20] Before we go and see any bands. And so I head over to this tent, turn the corner, and the entire band are in this tent, up on this little stage. And it's probably about, I don't know, maybe 200 people on sort of chairs. It's like a sort of wedding tent, you know, like chairs. And they're playing Wari Zari through the speakers. And they've got this interviewer on stage, and she's just talking to them about the album as they play it through, like track by track.Track 3:[15:50] Um and you know so you got like a sort of track by track rundown of every wow it's like it's so surreal to sort of turn the corner step into this tent and you know mount merson the rest of them were all on stage and they're doing that kind of track by track blow by blow rundown of every every you know every song on the rise alley i was just i was just like i wish i wish i had a bit of paper to write some of this stuff down or to remember what they're saying because it was it was really good really good sort of um director's commentary yeah exactly it's like you know those sort of um uh on tv here on say like you know on like a friday night we might get, a sort of behind the scenes documentary on some 80s band or something and they're sitting at the mixing desk and they're talking about how they recorded this album years ago it was like that but for a band you actually like and for an album you know um an album you're actually really invested in um yeah so that was really cool, uh and then yeah so what's your go-to record these days uh these days i would say it's um yeah uh because i think it's got the most variety sure does uh it's probably like the best.Track 3:[17:10] Single if you were to sort of say what if you were to give one record to somebody and say this This is what pavement's like. I would say it's Wari Zari because it's got the louder stuff, the quieter stuff.Track 3:[17:21] It's really eclectic.Track 3:[17:26] Yeah, when I was younger, it was Crooked Rain that was always the one that I would go to. But I think now it's Wari Zari.Track 3:[17:37] Well, what do you think there, Stephen? Should we flip the record and talk about song number 27? Let's do it, yeah. Alright, we'll be back right after this.Track 3:[23:35] It's the fourth song from Terror Twilight on the Countdown. Song number 27 is the fantastic The Hex. Stephen, what are your initial thoughts about this song, The Hex? The Hex. It's a really cool song. It's, I think it's completely different to anything else that Pavement does. I think it's very unique. um it's got a style which isn't really isn't really there in any i can't think of any other song that looks like it it's um you know it's kind of it's kind of slow kind of lurching, atmospheric um it's got a kind of it's almost a kind of proggy kind of vibe um Um, uh, but yeah, no, no, it's really, it's really cool. Um, I love the guitar solo. It's, it's absolutely brilliant. Did they play at any of the live shows you went to? They did. They did. They did, uh, at Blue Dot. Yeah. I was, um, they, they didn't take leads on Manchester and I was really hoping they would. Uh, and yeah, and then they, they played it at the last one. So I was happy. Yeah. Really happy with that. They really open it up live. Don't they? Oh, it's great. Yeah. Yeah, really cool song live.Track 3:[24:57] It's one of those kind of jammy songs. You know, you can tell it's come from a, you know, a band session rather than something that's been kind of written in advance.Track 3:[25:10] And in fact, you've got the, there's that other version of it, isn't there? And then the Hex. Yeah, and then the Hex. Yeah, that's on the B side. and that's i think that was part of the bright in the corners sessions yeah i believe so yeah yeah yeah and so that that version is pretty cool as well but that's much more it hasn't really got that kind of haunting sort of vibe to it it's more kind of crunchy and rocky it kind of i don't think it really emphasizes that sort of guitar line so much it's more straight into the kind of chorus and then like Magnus is doing the kind of scatting yelling bit over the top, it's quite a cool version. Yeah. So you can kind of see how that kind of rocky jam that they started with sort of evolved into this kind of more atmospheric, proggy song and I'd imagine quite a lot of that is probably down to Nigel Godrich. I bet you're right. I bet you're right. Because it's really dense as well, isn't it? Yeah. Whereas a lot of Pavement songs tend to be sparse production-wise, the whole Terror Twilight is so rich and atmospheric. Yeah. This song is a great example of that. Definitely, definitely. It's almost kind of claustrophobic. You can kind of get lost in it.Track 3:[26:33] Yeah, it's a really cool song. um in fact yeah on the on the nigel gottrich uh sequence i think he puts it at number two, so he obviously thinks it's like uh you know should be up there at the beginning i do think it works a bit better at the end as a uh you know as a sort of finale rather than pin it right right up there at the beginning yeah i like the sequence that that they put together for uh terror twilight uh i think i like it a little bit better than the gottrich sequence but it's cool that we have both. Definitely, yeah. Yeah. It changes the record. It does, it does. It's funny how a sequence can change the feel of something. Yeah. But like I was saying before, Spit on a Stranger is just the perfect opening for an album, I think. It's spot on to put that at the beginning.Track 3:[27:28] But to start off with The Hex, it's pretty dense. It's pretty yeah um but yeah no yeah really cool so do you have a handle on what this song is about, well i was having to think and yeah i mean i've been listening to this song a lot, over the past few weeks in preparation um and trying to get a sense of what's what's going on but to me it feels kind of it's kind of in some ways it's a bit radio heady because i think it's it's kind of, it's kind of a bit about um existence and alienation and feeling sort of lost and uh like some of the lyrics um, He's talking about, you know, sort of been reeling around a parking lot, being, you know, being lost in life and not knowing where you're going.Track 3:[28:27] There's some great stuff in the lyrics. That line about the epileptic surgeons with their eyes X'd out. You know, it's pretty creepy stuff. Yeah. You know, attending to the torn up kid. so you can kind of imagine this sort of you know you can kind of read that as someone who's sort of physically broken or someone who's maybe emotionally torn up like you know life has just got too heavy and right broken them down and you've got these sort of zombie, twitching surgeons attending you know attending to this kid um so pretty pretty sort of nightmarish childish kind of stuff um i love that line about the uh the secondary stumbles because the cadence of the count has led him astray i just love the sort of syncopation of that line it's it's brilliant um and then you've got uh uh the the sort of section about the architecture students which i love that yeah that's got to be one of his uh one of his best lines definitely It's, yeah, really funny. It kind of.Track 3:[29:50] Yeah, he has these lines like the bit about, you know, the architecture students with the itch they can't scratch, and, you know, the surgeons in the second verse and songs like Grounded where he's sort of taking a pot at doctors and it seems like he's got this kind of.Track 3:[30:09] He likes to sort of take the pot shots at the professional classes, I think. I think, you know, he's there from the sort of creative side, the artistic side and he's looking at the people that are kind of dedicating their lives to these sort of, you know to these professional and technical endeavors and he's sort of you know taking little pot shots at that I think that's I think that's great. I like that that's good but yeah it's kind of, it reminds me of a lot of like a Radiohead song something from OK Computer or something where it's talking about the state of the world and alienation and being lost and these sort of little nightmarish, the janets uh here and there um really good really good stuff um the the line about the swallow at the beginning is pretty cool as well i mean i think so too yeah i mean i think that's him kind of in some ways kind of showing off a little bit about some you know his knowledge about migratory birds which you know you can see that so it's quite humorous on that on that side but also i think it's kind of talking about um so so the line is uh swallow answer to your inner voice and please return god installed that radar in your pointy little beak so please return so it's kind of like it's a bit you know you could see it one way it's about nature about migratory birds or you could or you could see that it's something to do with kind of like destiny and fate.Track 3:[31:39] These creatures are kind of, you know, they're drawn back. They've got no sort of free will.Track 3:[31:47] And you can maybe see it like, perhaps it's kind of, maybe like a broken relationship and he's, you know, his partner's broken up with him and gone off and he knows they'll come back because they're drawn back with this sort of instinct, this kind of fate. You know, you can't escape this kind of instinct that's within you. Um good yeah so it's all yeah there's i think there's a lot of stuff in there like that which is i think i think different to to your average pavement song it's a lot more downbeat a lot darker a lot sort of um.Track 3:[32:24] A lot more sort of oppressive um and and that together with the whole sort of rhythm with the thing and the kind of sort of lurching piano guitar line that sort of just you know that sort of those sort of bass notes and then sort of that sort of descending guitar part all the way down yeah um yeah really cool really cool nice stab nice stab on the sm lyrics though because Because, for real, he's really tough to nail down, right? Like, it's really tough to figure out what he's saying because it does change so much. It is like phraseology, in a sense, you know? Like, just throwing out neat, syncopatic phrases and bits of thoughts and bits of ideas, and then you get this structure, you know? Very cool. Yeah, definitely. It's more about the kind of image. which, you know, it's kind of poetry in that sense, isn't it? Because it's more about the image it creates in your head than anything literal, you know? Yeah.Track 3:[33:28] How do you feel about the ranking of this song? Is it properly ranked? Is it 27? Should it be higher? Should it be lower? Yeah. I mean, not wanting to question the abacus, but I think it could be higher. I think uh i was just looking at my my uh submission to you and i think i had it at 13, that sounds more about right like just outside the top 10 i think it's one of the one of the one of the greats definitely i mean it's different i can i can understand why it's lower because i think i don't think it's a pavement song in that sense i think it's more of a it's not really really representative of what what they do it's quite unique um it's more of a shows you that sorry i apologize okay it all well it also shows you that terror twilight just doesn't have the same love that you know that other pavement records have you know like people like some of the songs are held back because you know people like a lot of people have terror twilight is number five. The rest of the records are interchangeable. You know, like, oh, I have Slanted at number one. Oh, I have Crooked at number one. Oh, I have Wally's Alley at number one. But most people have Terror of Twilight around five, it seems.Track 3:[34:50] Yeah, no, I can understand that. And I think maybe because this was the first record that I got, you don't come to it with all that sort of baggage, really. That's right. You can kind of see it as an isolated record rather than in the context of everything else. But no, I think it needs to be higher. Just for the guitar solo alone, it's like, it's so, so, so good.Track 3:[35:16] It's almost kind of a bit Pink Floyd-y, a bit kind of prog-y. It's probably like the cleanest guitar solo that he does really like most most of the guitar stuff he does is kind of you know sort of intentionally sloppy and and you know distorted and he's hit you know hitting these off key notes on purpose and you know like like the um like the solo on thin which is another absolutely fantastic solo but that's all like you know that's that's completely all over the place which you know in a really good way but uh in a great way yeah Whereas this solo is much more tightly controlled and sort of almost like classic rock. You know, it's really nice. Interesting. Classic rock. Okay, I can see that. Yeah, I could see it on the, you know, downside of the moon or something like that. Yeah. I was just listening to Dark Side before we got on the call. Yeah. Nice, nice. Yeah.Track 3:[36:16] Yeah. Well, man, it's been great having you on to talk about your origin story and the hacks. Is there anything that you want to plug or anything like that? No, not really. No, I don't really have much internet presence or produce anything creative. Well, that's cool. That's cool, nevertheless. No, no, no. I really appreciate your time. And I thank you so much for doing this. No worries. it's no it's been it's been a lot of fun i was i was looking forward to this for a long time and you know like i said i've been enjoying the countdown so far uh and uh looking forward to see what seeing what comes up at the top i'll never tell yeah well i'll tell in december but yeah all right steven thanks so much talk to you soon watch your goddamn hands.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on the pod I'm thrilled to be joined by Rebecca Clay Cole motherfuckers! We talk about her Pavement origin story, to joining the band on key, and breaking down song number 29!Transcript:Track 2:[0:00] Previously on the Pavement Top 50.Track 1:[0:02] At track 30, we have Spit on a Stranger. What the hell do you make of this song, Devin? I'm really glad I got this song because I love this song. And the thing about this song is that there's a real tension within the song that truly appeals to me. because I believe that musically and in the verses, this is the most romantic song that Pavement has ever recorded.Track 2:[0:31] Hey, this is Westy from the Rock and Roll Band, Pavement, and you're listening to The Countdown.Track 3:[0:39] Hey, it's JD here, back for another episode of our Top 50 Countdown for Seminole Indie Rock Band, Pavement. Week over week, we're going to count down the 50 essential Pavement tracks that you selected with your very own top 20 ballads. I then tabulated the results using an abacus and all my fingers on my left hand, except for my thumb. Fuck you, thumb. How will your favorite songs fare in the rankings? Well, you'll need to tune in to find out. So there's that.Track 2:[1:06] This week, we're joined by Pavement superfan, well, not Pavement superfan, Pavement superstar, Rebecca fucking Clay Cole. Rebecca, how the hell are you?Track 4:[1:17] Hello, I actually, I'm a fan. I don't know if I'm a super fan, because I've met some super fans. And I don't know if I have the level of technical knowledge. But I'm a fan and in the band. So nice to meet you.Track 3:[1:30] Nice to meet you as well. You definitely have the technical knowledge. I saw you guys play on the 22 reunion tour eight times, I think. And it was tremendous. I had so much fun. I was at the Fonda show. I saw two shows in Toronto and then like six shows in London.Track 4:[1:48] Oh, great.Track 3:[1:49] Or not London, but UK.Track 4:[1:51] Cool.Track 3:[1:52] So very, a lot of fun.Track 4:[1:54] A good range of shows there.Track 3:[1:55] Yeah, I think so. I was pleased. I wanted to go to Iceland really bad, but that didn't fall on the cards.Track 4:[2:02] Well, maybe we'll be in Iceland again someday.Track 3:[2:04] That would be cool.Track 4:[2:05] Join us if that happens.Track 3:[2:07] I will do that. So let's get right to the punch here and talk about, this is sort of funny to be talking about something, Sort of funny to be talking with somebody in the band about their Pavement Origins story, but obviously you came late to the band, and we'll talk about that. I really want to know what it's like to join a band that's an established band, but hasn't been on the road in a while. I want to know that as well, but I really want to know your Pavement Origins story.Track 4:[2:36] My Pavement Origins story. Well, I think the first time I was aware of Pavement was when they were opening for Sonic Youth. It was maybe Sonic Youth Mudhoney Pavement at Red Rocks.Track 3:[2:52] Oh, really?Track 4:[2:53] They were the first band to play and I had never heard of them. I hadn't heard of much because at this point I think I was six months in Denver. And before that I'd lived like on a farm and on an island. So I had no cultural touchstones at all for a teenager. I was really, I wouldn't say ignorant, but I just sort of formed my own musical education. I'd never been to a punk show. There were no punk shows in the Virgin Islands, you know, or in the farm in Kentucky. So all of that is to say some friends took me to Red Rocks to see this show. And Pavement was the first band. So that was my first introduction to Pavement.Track 3:[3:29] And what did you think?Track 4:[3:31] I did not understand it. I didn't understand it at all. But Gary was in fine form, and I remember not spending a lot of time behind his kit. And I just was confused what the performance was. I didn't understand it. I didn't have the language to understand it at the time.Track 3:[3:49] That's phenomenal. And Red Rocks, to boot. I've never been, but it's supposed to be just a fantastic venue, right?Track 4:[3:59] Maybe Pavement can play it again with me.Track 3:[4:02] Oh, that's awesome.Track 4:[4:04] I'll just plant that seed out there to the universe.Track 3:[4:06] Yeah.Track 4:[4:07] We'd like it to grow.Track 3:[4:08] So where did it go from there? Did you... At what point did you click? Did it go, oh, yeah, I get this?Track 4:[4:17] You know, not much later. Maybe a year or two later, I was... I found myself joined into an indie band. And this was 90... 94 maybe okay um 93 94 95 for sure um and so pavement was of course i should maybe it's not and of course but it was just like a touchstone you know it was like they were one of the coolest bands doing it and someone that everyone in my scene looked up to very very greatly and so i saw them touring wawi zawi they had my friends the apples and stereo opening for them for a section of that tour and so I got to see that show with Apple's opening which was great um so yeah I would say Wowie Zowie was that era where I like I definitely remember thrifting for my first set of stage clothes for the Minders like listening to that cassette going to the thrift store with my friend Tammy oh.Track 3:[5:12] That's a cool memory.Track 4:[5:13] Getting ready for our first gig yeah.Track 3:[5:15] That's so cool what What was the name.Track 4:[5:17] Of the band? The Minders.Track 3:[5:19] The Minders. Is there anything out there that people can find?Track 4:[5:24] Yeah. Check it out.Track 3:[5:26] Yeah, I will definitely check that out. Yeah. So from there, we fast forward a number of years, and it's now 2021, I'm guessing, when you got the call, or was it early in 2022?Track 4:[5:43] I actually, Steven had asked me in 2020, 19.Track 3:[5:50] Oh, right. Because they were going to go on the road in 2020.Track 4:[5:54] Because the Jicks were at Primavera, I think.Track 3:[5:59] Okay.Track 4:[5:59] If I'm not mistaken. This is how I remember it in my time. I'm friends with Joanna. She played briefly in The Minders. And we're just really close in addition to that. And the rest of the Jicks. I'm friends with all the Jicks. But anyway, Stephen had asked me about 2020 and not to tell anyone. And so I hadn't. And so then somehow, because they were in Barcelona, he must have mentioned that I was doing it or that it was happening or someone in Barcelona. I don't know. But I got a lot of angry texts from the jigs like, why didn't you tell us?Track 3:[6:30] Oh, man.Track 4:[6:31] It's like, well, I was asked not to say anything to anyone. It was really hard. I'm glad someone knows now.Track 3:[6:37] You're a person of your word. That's great.Track 4:[6:39] In this one case, I was, yeah. Usually I'm that terrible gossip. it so.Track 3:[6:45] That happens and then obviously covet happens so that doesn't that doesn't you know pan out but 2022 comes around and you guys all assemble in portland to um to jam and to rehearse like a shitload of songs.Track 4:[7:04] What was what.Track 3:[7:06] Was that like for you how much prep work did you have to do going into that.Track 4:[7:11] Um I took it pretty seriously and I did a lot of prep work I pretty much took the three months before those rehearsals were just me rehearsing for rehearsals and I set up my my rig basically the same rig I use live I set up a version of that in my living room, with a mixer and an amp and like you know tried all sorts of different keyboard configurations and tried to figure out what I wanted to use live. And then from there, sort of figuring out, you know, there was programming a lot of sounds. It was important for me to learn the catalog in such a way that, that my goal was like if steven just played any riff like kind of randomly started noodling it that i would be able to know like the song its title where to find it in my notes like does it have keyboard and do i have that part ready to go or percussion or vocals or anything so that was sort of the level i wanted to be prepared for practice the first full band rehearsal which i I think, actually, I think I met my goal. I took, I had extensive notes.Track 3:[8:16] You posted them on social, right?Track 4:[8:18] I think Bob posted that picture first.Track 3:[8:21] Yeah, yeah.Track 4:[8:22] I was surprised you wanted to, like, but yeah. Those were the distilled notes. I mean, like, some songs have pages and pages where I've just painstakingly, like, transcribed, you know, using music notation, like, how the part looks on the sheet so I could read it and understand it that way. Other notes are a little more esoteric and squiggly. So yeah, that was the prep, three months of that. And I got, of course, by the end thought I wasn't ready at all. And then I showed up to practice and realized I was pretty ready.Track 3:[9:00] So you walk into the room. I'm sorry to keep painting these pictures. But you walk into the room, and this is an established group of people. Although they haven't seen each other in 10 years probably or close to or some of them haven't seen each other. How difficult is that to insert yourself or be inserted in something that is already established like that?Track 4:[9:25] And something I love. Not just like something that it's established for me in that way.Track 3:[9:32] Yeah.Track 4:[9:33] It was sort of heavy actually. I made it heavy in the preparation I guess. Like, I was nervous. I was very nervous about, uh... I mean, it sounds silly to say now that I've spent some years with them, but I was just hoping everyone would like me. Not like personally, necessarily, but what I'm bringing to the songs. Was everyone in the band equally on board with having a keyboard player? Am I stepping on any parts? At first, I was concerned, does Bob still want to play some keyboard lines?Track 3:[10:06] Oh, yeah.Track 4:[10:07] I wasn't quite sure how it had all come to be. And so I just, I, I, I walked in to not timidly, but just like trying to get a read before I really started asserting myself. But I, but then I forget my filter only lasts for a little bit. And then it's like within an hour or two, I think it was fine.Track 3:[10:27] Oh, that's so cool to hear. Yeah.Track 4:[10:29] I forget to be nervous. And then I'm just myself for better or for worse.Track 3:[10:33] No, that's great. great so from there we go to LA and we go to the Fonda show which I gotta tell you that show like kicked all sorts of ass that was so good you guys played so long and such a varied like we didn't know going into it that the set list was going to be as varied as it was um you know we We knew that you guys had practiced a lot of songs, but it just, it was surreal. What was it like for you?Track 4:[11:06] Surreal.Track 3:[11:07] Surreal as well.Track 4:[11:08] I mean, we'd done all, we'd done the rehearsal in Portland and, you know, the team, you know, for musical building, but also for me, some team building, like who are these guys exactly? And like, and then we did some practice in LA on a soundstage before the Fonda as well. And I was nervous. It wasn't even like I was nervous. I was just unsure. I was really unsure what to expect. I now had practiced with them for like eight days, and I had watched so much YouTube of them live. But I hadn't been on stage to feel, like I wasn't sure what I was going to feel on stage, if that makes sense, like how it was actually going to feel to perform the music.Track 4:[11:48] And like rehearsal and performance are two different energies. Strategies, just wasn't sure what I was going to get from the five guys as far as all that went.Track 4:[11:56] And I also was really unsure what I was going to get from the crowd. It's like, I was like, yeah, I have eight days of practice with them. Like, I feel pretty good that they like my contribution. But now the question is, like, does anyone else like the contribution? Is it going to work?Track 4:[12:12] Will it be unfavorably compared? I had a lot a lot of that swirling in my head i was and it was uh yeah i wouldn't say nerves both under and overstates the situation it wasn't like i was shaking in my boots but it felt heavier than that it was like too heavy to be shaken in my boots but then steven did this really cool thing and maybe he could tell i was nervous i i will also say i don't think i was the only one with jitters i think they also hadn't played out in over a decade together so a lot of those questions maybe they're asking themselves as well um but steven rallied us really classic but and maybe like a little maybe it seemed pat to say it now but at the time it felt really good but he was just reminded us all that we practiced hard and it was going to be fun um and it's the strangest thing jd because as we walked on stage all of that tension left and that's really gifts that's been the hugest gift for me of playing in this band I got it on the first show and it's no fear it was just like this is fun these guys are fun the energy is fun and that is how it feels on stage to play with them I learned that night the reason the tension goes away is because it's about something.Track 4:[13:34] More important than And like, did you execute your part properly?Track 3:[13:37] Right.Track 4:[13:38] You know, it's like, are you in the right head and heart space? And they probably don't use these words for it. This is how I'm describing it. You know, to make the music matter, there has to be a feeling there. And they all excel at that. It turns out I had nothing to be worried about. Pure joy being on stage with those guys.Track 3:[13:54] Okay, I'm curious about your favorite songs to play. What are some that you had a lot of fun with?Track 4:[14:02] I mean, they're all so fun. And I'm not just saying that, I mean.Track 3:[14:06] No, that's cool.Track 4:[14:07] They're all pretty fun to play. Even when I'm just shaking a tambourine half of one chorus or something of a song, it's like, I can't believe I get to play the tambourine on this part. They didn't just invite me up. They're paying me to come up here and play this tambourine part.Track 3:[14:26] That's so cool.Track 4:[14:27] It's just like, what a dream gig.Track 3:[14:29] Yeah. I love how you did Trigger Cut, like how you did the sha-la-la-la-las in Trigger Cut.Track 4:[14:35] Oh, yeah. So cool. That's so fun. That's really fun. And that is a fun one to play. Like, obviously, like, anything that finds just me and Bob, like, in a tambourine party is fun. Like, any, you know, the more tambourines, the better. It's always good. It's always fun. That's just, there's never a night where I look up and see Bob playing tambourine and don't immediately get completely lifted.Track 3:[14:57] Oh, that's so cool.Track 4:[14:59] So anything where I'm doing that is fun. Working out something like Embassy Row was kind of fun because we, like, practiced the beginning part and, you know, then it rocks at the end. It's sort of like seeing those songs kind of work out in practice and then singing.Track 2:[15:13] Yeah, yeah, I get that. So what do you think? Should we get into the track, song 29?Track 4:[15:24] Let's do it. So it ranks 29 of 50?Track 2:[15:27] That's right, yeah. We'll be back on the other side with Rebecca Clay Cole. Hey, this is Bob Mastandovich from Pavement. Thanks for listening, and now on with a countdown. 29!Track 3:[21:05] There it is, the sixth song from Bright in the Corners on the Top 50 Countdown, also the sixth song on the record. This week, we're talking about song 29, the fantastic, the jammy type Slowly. Rebecca, what is your relationship with this song?Track 4:[21:21] Oh, I love this song so much. I mean, it wasn't on my first wave of songs to study, even though I knew we were going to play it. But it wasn't like, you know, there are other songs I felt like I had to nail more. So this was towards the end. I said, OK, let me get into this type slowly jam. And putting on the hat of Stephen playing that piano part and like figuring out where he put his hands and why for that song on that recording was like. I feel like a little peek behind the curtain there to the mind of the man.Track 3:[22:02] Wow.Track 4:[22:03] Because I play the piano most. That's my primary instrument. And so thinking about how he was approaching the piano on that song was cool. And I scored every note out. There's a score that I've written of everything he does. Because everything he did was so cool. And I wanted to be sure to capture not all of it verbatim, just understanding where he was coming from with all of those parts. So by the time we played it live, I had that sort of intimate relationship with it where I had been in my headphones on an edible and just flying high and really getting into the, was that a 32nd note rest or a 16th note rest? Really too over-processed on that probably, but in a fun way for me because that's how my brain works. And so by the time we put it live and I got to sort of use some of that and throw some of that out, it just kind of became a song in the set I always liked to see. I always like to see Types Lully in the set.Track 3:[23:09] That's fantastic. I like to see it as well. Bright in the Corners is one of my favorites. So I'm glad to see it's represented a lot on this top 50 list. And there's definitely more to come from Bright in the Corners. What do you think in terms of this ranking do you think it's properly rated overrated underrated like you seemed surprised when you said 29 out of 50 a and I don't know what that what that surprise meant.Track 4:[23:39] Yeah, I guess I don't know either, because I don't know what's 50 to 30.Track 3:[23:46] Right.Track 4:[23:46] So that's one of the things. So I don't know what came behind it. I can probably guess half of what's ahead, at least. But I don't know. To me, I think of it as a live track.Track 3:[24:00] Oh, OK.Track 4:[24:01] A song that was built for live. And I don't know if it was. but it just takes it takes so much life on on the stage um that it's almost like one of those songs that was made to do that when.Track 3:[24:18] You guys got it prepared to go on the road did you know you were going to do the jams in it or was that sort of like organic on the road the.Track 4:[24:29] Jams are organic they had jammed that song before so it wasn't a surprise at all that they'd be jamming and And the song as it is on the record is a bit of a jam. I mean, I did count it out measure for measure for the purpose of my scholastic exercise, but I knew we weren't going to deliver that just like that on stage. If I had to get out the sheet music to make sure I could make sense of it, I mean, no, you know, it's not worth that. So I knew there would be jams and the jams changed. Changed you know it was it's the for me type slowly is the most me i get to be on stage with pavement oh wow because i'm not yeah well it's a jam and so and there's a lot of freedom in the jam for me on the piano because the part was free to write it was very free freely written kind of thing and in and out play when i want don't play when i want stop playing the piano and just shake something else for a while or play one note and whatever I do kind of seems to work I don't even think Stephen has me in his monitor so it's not like but in my mind maybe he does but in my mind it's like you know the guitars and me and then I'm and sometimes I'm with the rhythm I'm kind of I get to jump into everyone's show on that song like I'll be with Mark for a couple minutes.Track 4:[25:51] Then I'll jump over and watch Steve West and then it's like what's Bob doing and then oh yeah yeah, Stephen's doing something cool. Let me pop over. Let me get my attention back over to the guitar and see what's going on. And Spiral will come over and jam. So for me in the set, that's like my most, I'm not really thinking about it as a pavement song, monolithic and unchangeable. I think about it as like a pavement song in the now that's still being kind of designed.Track 3:[26:17] Oh, that's a really cool way to look at it. Live music is, there's a singer that I've heard say that a song isn't finished until you play it live. You know, like you've got it written and performed, but until you take it on the stage, it sort of hasn't fully gestated.Track 4:[26:38] I think that might be true. Yeah. A song like this might never gestate. It might never be done. It's just a grower.Track 3:[26:47] Yeah, that's a good way to think of it.Track 4:[26:49] You know, it's always going to evolve live. Like, I'm sure the next time we play it, there'll be something that's not. Everyone takes different positions. musicians and yeah and then sometimes steve west will think it's time to end type slowly, and it's not or sometimes we're like we could totally end it like why hasn't it ended or and sometimes i'm the one out there like i'm still playing and it's like oh crap we're already to the next verse and i'm still oh the clouds like it just is so loose like that i love it you could never do it the same way twice which is probably why i love it so much that's.Track 3:[27:23] Very pavement as well Wow. It seems very pavement. Yeah.Track 4:[27:27] On brand.Track 3:[27:28] Is there anything else you want to say about Type Slowly?Track 4:[27:35] Um, no, there's nothing I really want to say about Type Slowly. I was wondering if you were going to ask me about Slowly Typed.Track 3:[27:42] Oh, I didn't even know. I didn't.Track 4:[27:45] But you didn't. So no, we don't, we don't have to talk about Slowly Typed.Track 3:[27:48] Well, now that you've opened the door. I would like to hear your thoughts.Track 4:[27:52] I mean, my only thought about Slowly Typed is that it shows the way that the scaffold that song hangs on now into that live jam that it's played on, I think, is how it was meant to be. Or how it does its boast power. The Slowly Typed version is, not going to ever be a nine minute epic live jam okay maybe i mean maybe i don't know maybe i'll throw that challenge out for the next round of shows but yeah um so i just think that's sort of an interesting thing to think about like i actually looked when i was doing all my homework for this tour i thought okay let me go see like if there's any like live slowly typed nine minute jams i can find on YouTube. And I couldn't find any, only the type slowly jams.Track 3:[28:40] It's, it's wild how YouTube has changed things, right? Like, I mean, the fact that you can just go and like, look at these shows to, to do your notations and to do the things that you want to do very neat that you didn't have to sort of fly by the seat of your pants.Track 4:[28:54] I mean, it felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants. But no doubt it was helpful. Like, because you listen to something on record, and it's like okay that's on record a record that was recorded 30 years ago and this band has probably played it live 500 times since then so they don't remember their body memory of the song is probably not like the recording version it's like some live version somewhere that i need to go find and there were a couple other songs not type slowly where i was sort of playing it true to the record and it would be like don't do that i'm like but it's like exactly this is exactly the parts too much or it's you know and i'm like and then i realized it's just oh yeah right because it hasn't been there for 30 years. So it's good to go back and look at the live versions of things to just sort of watch, kind of like what you just said about how a song, it doesn't really go until it's performed for an audience. But if you've performed that song for 30 years, it might have traveled somewhat from the recorded version.Track 3:[29:51] Yeah, I would guess so, now that you've said it. It wasn't something I considered before, but now that you've said it, It's like, yeah, that seems pretty clear.Track 4:[30:02] Yeah, I found that to be on a lot of songs. So YouTube was a really great resource. I would just be like listening to something. I'm like, there's no way Bob played this live on the keyboard. But I know he played the keyboard. So then I'd go back and watch the live version and watch what he was doing on keyboard and split the difference between Stephen's part recorded and Bob's part live.Track 3:[30:21] Oh, okay.Track 4:[30:21] But use that YouTube as a, it was a great resource for me. And it still is. I learn a lot of songs in general. So it's usually a little goldmine of knowledge.Track 3:[30:30] Are you always are you always finding yourself noodling and learning stuff yes yeah yeah i can't.Track 4:[30:39] Really not think about it.Track 3:[30:41] Just listening to you talk so far it's like yeah you seem to have that very analytical you know sort of uh view of things right um like to to to do this which is yeah i think.Track 4:[30:55] I'm more analytical than a lot of uh musicians or at least my creative flow is in an analytical way I like math, I like charts I like spreadsheets, and that just really helps me get into my own flows of things even when I was trying to figure out I went over to a friend of mine's studio when I first started learning these pavement songs and I was just like help, I don't even know where to start, there's like maybe a hundred songs, I just didn't even I'm like how do I even and start it.Track 3:[31:29] Yeah.Track 4:[31:30] And he was like, make a spreadsheet. That's what you do. And I totally did that. I made a spreadsheet with the album, the song. Does it have piano? Does it have percussion? Does it need me to go find some kind of synthesizer sound? I don't know what. Just like I made a spreadsheet, and that's how I, yeah, I'm pretty analytical. Yes.Track 3:[31:50] That's a pavement first, I would think, a spreadsheet.Track 4:[31:55] Well, for the music, maybe. Maybe. Maybe there's... No, I bet there's got to be a set list spreadsheet.Track 3:[32:01] Oh, okay.Track 4:[32:03] That's a lot to keep track of. Yeah.Track 3:[32:05] Maybe not.Track 4:[32:05] Maybe Bob does it all from his heart and head. But maybe if I were him, I would... But then again, I'm the one that loves the spreadsheets.Track 3:[32:14] Right. Yeah. Well, Rebecca, it's been dynamite talking to you. You know, especially seeing as it's tough to... It's been tough to hear from you these last couple of years, like to read in magazines or stuff like that. I haven't, you know, I haven't seen a tremendous amount of pavement information with you included. So this is really special to me. I'm really thankful that you decided to stop by and do this.Track 4:[32:44] Yeah, thanks for asking. It's fun to talk about it because it's just like a really fun experience that I've gotten to have. And I'm like the luckiest music fan on earth, I think, in certain ways.Track 3:[32:54] Oh, that's a great way to wrap it. That is great. Thank you so much.Track 4:[32:59] Thank you. Good luck with the rest of the countdown.Track 3:[33:01] All right. Wash your hands. Wash your goddamn hands.Track 2:[33:05] Thanks for listening to Meeting Malcolmists, a pavement podcast where we count down the top 50 pavement tracks as selected by you. If you've got questions or concerns, please shoot me an email. JD at Meeting Malcolmists dot com. Oh.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sintonía: "Troubbble" - Stephen Malkmus"Phantasies", "Jo Jo´s Jacket", "Church On White", "Jenny & The Ess-Dog", "Pink India" y "Vague Space", extraídas del primer álbum de Stephen Malkmus en solitario, de título homónimo (Domino/Virgin Records, 2001)"Ramp Of Death", "Vanessa From Queens", "Dynamic Calories", "Witch Mountain Bridge", "Us", "Fractions and Feelings" y "1% Of One", extraídas del álbum "Pig Lib" (Domino, 2003) de Stephen Malkmus & The JicksTodas las músicas compuestas por Stephen Malkmus e interpretadas por Stephen Malkmus & The JicksEscuchar audio

jD is joined by Pierce from Detroit to discuss his Pavement origin story and wax poetic about song 37 on the countdown. Enjoy!Transcript: [0:00] Hey, it's JD here, and I just wanted to throw something down, somewhat of a challenge to all you musically inclined folks out there.We are going to be doing a pod list again this year, and a pod list is simply a podcast playlist.It's a pod list. The previous four pod lists have consisted of talented members of our Pavement community submitting songs that they have covered from the Pavement oeuvre.Pavement adjacent songs are also welcome. So you could do PSOI, you could do Jicks, you could do Malcolm is Solo.Anything is fair game, truly. So get your band together or grab an acoustic guitar and just play your fucking guts out.From there, submit the song to me by email and we'll go from there.So please submit those songs, jd at meetingmalkmus.com, or even better, use wetransfer.com if it's a big WAV file. And WAV files are what I prefer.That will work out just magnificently. That's what she said.Podlist 5 coming July 8th. So get those songs in and be a part of something special. Thanks so much.Now, on with the show. Previously on the.Track 2:[1:26] Pavement Top 50. Without further ado, number 38, Date with Ikea.Daniel from Chicago. Hey.Talk to me about your experience with this song. Well, it was the first Pavement album that I was able to buy on its release date.So it has a special place.It was released, I think it's April 17th, 1997.And I went to my local mall and walked in and bought this album.Hey, this is Westy from the Rock and Roll Band Pavement.Track 4:[2:13] And you're listening to The Countdown. hey it's jd here back for another episode of our top 50 countdown for seminal indie rock band pavement week over week we're going tocount down the 50 essential pavement tracks that you selected with your very own top 20 ballots i tabulated the results using an abacus and a small group of children in the fourth grade,How will your favorite song fare in the rankings? Well, you'll need to tune in to find out. So there's that.This week, we're joined by Pavement superfan, Pierce from Detroit.[2:47] Pierce, how you doing, motherfucker? I'm good, I'm good. It's good to be here.Oh, it's great to have you, man.[2:54] How's the weather in the city right now? It's been unseasonably warm yesterday.We got close to 60. I think we got to 60.So you know every people in shorts and uh it's not going to be here forever it's going to be nice today again and then it's going to go you know it's uh we're still in february so.[3:16] It it's going to be some jacket weather before you know it yeah i bet yeah how about you how what's the what's the weather like there it's been the same here it's been unseasonablylike i wore a vest yesterday instead of a jacket right like kind of nice yeah i mean you know aside from the existential dread but we won't go there yeah i suppose you're right yeah so let'slet's get right to this let's talk about pavement uh you mean my favorite band your favorite band of all time yeah oh man yeah i uh i you know i i kind of i listened to a uh previous episodeand then i you know got my mind you know i'm always jump chomping at the champing at the bit to uh relay my pavement origin story.So, I mean, I don't even know if it's like, it's not anything spectacular, but I mean, I guess the thing that really strikes me is just how much the band means to me and how much musicmeans to me.And, you know, so I'm always, you know, looking to knock on somebody's door and tell them about pavement.[4:26] So where did it all begin? Well, I mean, um, you know, so I came, I found pavement, um, in high school um i uh you know i i was really into just like a lot of corporate rock youknow i was all about like you know back and bc boys which are still i i still like and value those but uh you know i mean it's listening to like the sublime and 311 and you know all thatand And not to say that that's not, if that's your bag, that's your bag, you know, but like I, I, uh, so then in my sophomore year, a friend got me into fish and, um, and so like fish, you know,I, I've had like, I've kind of estranged myself from fish.Um, and I realized that, uh, starting at the top of a pavement podcast, talking about three 11 and, uh, and fish, I don't know if that's the coolest start, but, uh, you know, so I remembervividly, I got an entertainment weekly fish feature magazine and, uh, I guess the summer of 2000.[5:45] Summer of 2000 and just going just before going into my junior year in high school and uh there was a fish a to z and key they had uh like a little cartoon of the guitarist treyworshiping at this pedestal with slanted and enchanted like a little a little drawing on it and uh so key he, the A to Z P for fish was pavement.[6:12] And, uh, I was like, okay, well, I'll check that out.And, um, you know, I got slanted and enchanted and it just, uh, it was like instantaneous, you know?[6:23] And, uh, and so then I think the same day I went out to another CD store, I think I bought it from either a local CD store or from Best Buy.And then I went to another local CD store and i bought the major leagues ep so like wow my first two were like you know slenderman major leagues and uh i was like wow this this iscompletely different but i love it totally so different and so then you know i think within like a couple days i had bought um wowie zowie you know and then i went on uh a week-longsummer uh like a band camp thing to interlocking and uh so i remember being in this school bus and like hearing half a canyon you know and it just it blew my mind i was like in thegarden state natalie totally right i mean the headphones was like this is gonna change you know and uh and i mean um you know the uh the ensuing years of like and even just moments oflike trying to like play it for friends and having them be like oh okay that's cool man but you know and then gradually getting more people into it but yeah I mean man you know it's so it'sjust wild to think that you know.[7:49] My musical adventure really, I mean, I don't want to like put it all on pavement, but I feel like, like that, that really was the catalyst for so many, so many things that I've, um,discovered and enjoyed in the last 24 years.[8:07] Talk to me more about that. What does that look like?Oh man. I mean, so, you know, I'm just, you know, that that was the age of Napster and Audio Galaxy and LimeWire.And so you'd connect your audio galaxy.If you connect your you disconnect the phone line and connect it to your computer and then like try to download three songs and then go to sleep.And then you wake up and like one of the songs would have downloaded and you'd be like, OK, I'm good.Now i know about dinosaur junior you know it's like they would uh that it was just uh it was a wild time and then yeah then the advent of uh you know you had like music mags like thebig takeover and you had um the starting of pitchfork and so just you know over the last however many many years, just, I mean, it's, we just, we live in a, an age of renaissance.I mean, the reissues of just classics and never heard classics.Like I'm into like light Italian library music and like, you know, world music and.[9:28] These niche like i got into vaporwave over the pandemic and i got into dungeon synth and it's just like it's this exploding cosmos of never-ending musical discovery and at the sametime i mean you know at the end of the day pavement's still my number one favorite yeah you know and and terror twilight is my favorite album of all time okay that's which is i i realizedthat that's uh that's kind of like the one of the wildest takes i could have but sure yeah yeah i mean i just uh yeah i mean i when it comes to pavement i would say every just.[10:13] Just about every song every release is like i mean there's something so special i i know i don't know if we're supposed to like lead into this or but i'll just say like you know the earlystuff you know know the the original eps and and seven inches that are collected on westing or yeah um it i mean it's just magical i mean uh yeah there's just there's such a swirling vortexof melody and dissonance and feedback and i mean it really it's it's all it's all thanks to those three individuals that you know were just like conjuring some kind of alchemy out of youknow obviously they had they had their their you know pavement they had their artists that were informing them but I mean the way that Malkmus and Scott and and Gary like.[11:19] Did that i mean it's it's still it's just they could have just done those eps and i would still probably talk with the same reverence but then you know you see you see that line uh andand so you know coming to pavement you know pretty much at the end of pavement without i did too that's So that's my story, too.[11:41] They, you know, I was able to kind of just, like, find this tome of amazingness.And, I mean, with the reissues, I mean, there's clearly still so much to be discovered.I mean, I think we're so fortunate.I mean, with Terror Toilet being my favorite album, like, that reissue, like, last year or the year before.I mean that that was like the greatest thing that matador could i i've been like on you know uh mouth miss and pavement message boards crying for this for just so long and i mean idea orsince 2008 rather yeah and um and i mean it just like it really you know minus it's it's it's missing missing you know just one or two tracks from the at home with the groove box with thegroove box comp but i mean i i have that comp so i i also think it's missing for sale the person school of industry oh right like the actual version right right and um you know that's funnytoo because i i was going to mention that later i feel like the brief slide i feel like hold on.[12:59] Let's come back because we don't mention in the first half at all oh sorry yeah no that's okay Okay.It's all building up to that. Oh, sure, sure. So, yeah, I mean...[13:13] You know, I, I, I was able to see one of the, the Central Park shows.Oh, me too. And, and, oh, awesome.Which one did you go to? I forget now. I think it was the one on the, I want to say it was on the 10th or 11th of September.Okay. All right. Yeah. I think that might've been.[13:36] So I've got the, I've got the poster hanging in the other room.We went to the third night, which was Thursday night.Um and i think the night before uh i had some friends that went and it was there was a downpour, okay so i don't go to that one so i guess i'm fortunate oh so you saw the one with the ocsopen don't worry i have a very poor memory okay well that's okay i'll just say you know pavement is my number one and the ocs are by number two really yeah and so that that that thatsung not seeing that particular show um especially that era like that was like the warm slime uh which i i did i saw the vocs the week before and i told them how excited i was for them tobe opening for pavement oh man were they excited oh yeah and and john doyer like signed my uh signed my my albums that i brought and he like gave me a poster i've got the poster thathe gave me like hanging next to the central park pavement poster um yeah but i mean like.[14:47] You know so that was my at the time my girlfriend now my wife's first time in new york and we like went right up to like we got there probably at like five in the afternoon oh wowand we're like standing right like probably like 20 feet from basically where malchmas would be standing you you know, for the rest of the night.[15:12] So like, you know, we made it through this marathon set and pretty close to the end, like, I think my wife, my now wife was like, I need to go to the restroom.Like, I've been standing in this one spot, you know, because as you're standing there, just people continue to compact.And so eventually you're just kind of stuck, you know, know especially if you want to hold on to your spot um and i was i was standing next to this dude that was like heckling malchus tolike play like deep cuts from like territory which like i'm like thinking in my head like yeah i i want that too but i'm not gonna like not right harass him yeah yeah yeah so that was uh thatwas a really amazing experience and then then we get to see, uh, the Detroit show, um.[16:12] Not last year, but the year before. 2022, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And that was also, that was incredible.I mean, just, wow, what a band, you know? Right, agreed, 100%.So what's your, okay, so just, you're in a rarefied air with Terra Twilight as your number one.What is your least ranked?What's your number five? And I mean, I know these are difficult and often sort of ridiculous questions, too, because it's more like 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, right?Right, right. I kind of, I bring it on myself when I throw something like that out there.[16:56] Um but you know i mean i'll say my number five when i first heard brighten the corners i thought that it was my favorite uh i think over time i've come to so with terror twilight ismy number one i think my number two is uh wowie zowie just because i mean it's it's a masterpiece and then then three i think goes to slanted just because again i mean how many timescan you have a masterpiece but they apparently did and then i would say.[17:34] Brighton and then crooked rain and i i you know i know no disrespect to crooked rain because no of course not this is just you know this is just what it is yeah yeah but i mean um,The other thing is just the hidden tracks, the B-sides.I mean, I think that really is what, I mean, I don't know.I would say that the five studio albums are enough to make it like pavement, pavement.But but then this rich, rich undertow of of just amazing songs that, you know, should have made the albums or, you know, in some cases, for sure, at least, you know, at least we havethem.Um you know i i really i i heard you mention uh in a previous episode that there's like a seven inch box coming yeah and uh i'm curious what what that looks like is that me too straightsingles or i don't know are we gonna get a remastered clay tracks like Yeah, but the Secret History.[18:53] You know, they launched that first volume of the Secret History, which is, you know, it's basically just extra tracks from, you know, Slenderman, Enchanted, Lux, and Redux.Um but you know i feel like crooked rain uh uh the desert sessions and uh and what was that we sent no addition like those those are crying to be double or triple augmented yeah yeah imean you know it always it's interesting because when you're putting something like that I mean, I remember being on the Stephen Malkin's forum once.And people, you know, when they came out with the first Secret History Volume 1, they were like, I have all these tracks.But it's like, yeah, I mean, I have those tracks too.And I don't even think at the time, like, Spotify was what Spotify is.But, I mean, there's having the tracks, you know, on CD, and then having the tracks on a 45-7 inch or a 12-inch.But like the joy of being able to put down a two a double lp set or a triple lp set and like flipping it over and having i mean again um what matador did with uh the spit in a stranger ep.[20:19] Uh you know i mean like that's that was a dream come true i mean i i kind of wish that they did that for the the um major leagues one too but you know i mean that i i did get a 4lpbox set as well from them that kind of combines those two into one disc i want i want uh like you can go out and find the nicene creators uh right in the corners on vinyl yeah um like thebox set like like the reissue.But the other three are not.They didn't even issue them on vinyl. So I hope there is, like you say, a reissue of Ellie's Desert Origins and Sorted Sandals and Blacks and Redux.I sure hope that happens. And then I do hope they come out with a Bright in the Corners one again because right now you can only find it on Discogs and it's like 300 bucks.I know. And you know, when I first bought that, I bought it for like, you know, list price for like 90 bucks for Mandador, I couldn't buy it fast enough, right? Right. And then...[21:28] They sat on them for so long because again people i remember that there was a strong reaction to it was like why am i buying this i already bought this as a double cd set and i'mlike nice you're missing the point here this is amazing right yeah and uh and so i ended up buying like two copies for like 20 dollars or something liquidated from matador because theywere just like they couldn't get rid of them fast enough of the vinyl boxes of the vinyl boxes so i was like giving them i gave two out for like christmas or birthday presents what the hell iknow and you know i mean hindsight it's 2020 right i wish that i had uh built my empire but you know i mean um i mean i i can't really see them doing that for the for the first threebecause i but you know i mean who am i to you know weigh in on on what matador will or won't do i mean right we'd have to imagine they like money they're gonna keep monetizing thiscatalog in any way they can what it looks like is what it looks like is anyone's guess right yeah right right but i mean you.[22:44] Know it not to beat a dead horse here but that that tear twilight's i mean like i just i love you know because then following malchus into his solo career i mean there's just so manygreat you know demos and songs that are in with what i presume is the groove box or you know kind of proto uh groove denied and i mean i mean rooftop gambler corpus and the handgrenade those are like Two of my favorite songs. Wow.[23:17] I just love it. I love it so much.Damn. Well, I wonder if you're going to like the song that we're covering today.Oh, definitely. Should we get ready to give it a spin? Let's do it.All right. We'll see you on the other side with track number 37 on the countdown.Hey, this is Bob Nestanovich from Pavement. Thanks for listening.Track 2:[23:39] And now on with a countdown. 37. Mmm.Track 4:[25:38] So there we have it. Debris Slide is the first song on the countdown from Perfect Sound Forever.It's a 1990 EP.This song is side two, track two. It's Debris Slide. What are you thinking here, Pierce, from Detroit?Oh, man. I mean, it's classic, right?I mean, I would say, you know, know when i think about the the tracks from the first few eps the first you know perfect sound forever slate tracks demolition plot g7 you kind of have agrab bag of like just kind of wild, noisy experimental quote-unquote pop and then you know occasionally they're gonna throw in like those capital s songs to kind of anchor out you knowand kind of uh totally give it give it a little bit more substance so i think you know if if you were to be looking for the song uh to play for someone off of you know westing by musket andsextant outside of summer babe i mean that And even that, I can't really say that, because, like, Baptist Black Tick.[26:59] Box Elder. Box Elder. I mean, and so I feel like Debris Light kind of takes, like, the song, the songiness.It's not the song, Box Elder, but it's the songiness, the kind of verse, chorus, verse, chorus. Yeah.Distilled. and then it marries it with like all of the wild zany scuzzy distortion and it's got like that frantic energy which you know i'm sure you and and anybody listening to pavementrealizes but it was definitely eye-opening to me when i started first like playing records out like pavement doesn't have a whole lot of amps up tunes, you know, like, like they have, youknow, unfair and they have, uh, you know, flux equals rad.And there's, I mean, there's a host of other songs that like have a, have a, I mean, embassy row.Right. But like for the most part, pavements wheelhouse is, um, you know, just.[28:15] Uh a song that opens up and is uh is just kind of giving you this walking tour of uh milk missus uh thesaurus and dictionary and guitar traps um so like so this song is really it's kindof a weird one because i mean i feel like you know normally you're getting just these these really weird, you know, similes and metaphors and, and weird word placements.And this one is kind of like, he's just playing with like homonyms, you know, he's like, and I mean, it's great. It's, uh.[29:00] Without wanting to make a completely wrong, um, hot take, you know, it's kind of like, uh, i don't know like just just like a you know punky yeah you know kind of tossed off itdefinitely i mean that that's that's one of the attributes that's so fantastic about all these early songs is just how uh like easy it sounds to them like they're just inventing magic if you if youwere were to listen to just the music without the melody and lyrics it would sound like a pretty hardcore song you know i was gonna say like black flag and you know i just like got intoblack flag in the last year or so um and and so and i know that that that was an influence i mean uh.[29:57] It really it's it's kind of unusual for for pavement but at the same time you can see why you know it it became a perennial favorite for like setlist and also i mean i feel like it thissong maybe in particular informs so much of slanted you know i mean yeah well it's so melodic like it's got a great melody it's got the bop bop bops you know make you nod your headand throw you back to a different time uh like a music making and yet they do it so it's almost flippant like it's really it's really pretty cool that they're yeah you know almost thumbingtheir nose at this traditional pop but they're performing it at the same time yeah really really fucking cool yeah and then you know uh i was gonna mention it earlier um just the uh.[30:54] The ba-ba-ba-da-ba's kind of are referenced again all those years later by Scott with For Sale, the Preston School of Industry. I mean, I don't know.[31:09] That just came to me just before we were getting on.I was like, I don't know in the back of my head if there are any other pavement songs with ba-ba-ba-da-ba going on in them.Um well there's a lot that like have something that rings similar to that right like you think cut your hair you think um uh painted soldiers um okay just off the top of my head uh yeah youknow thinking about it quickly but there yeah there it is almost a pavement hallmark this you know this melodic sort of la la la kind of thing yeah you know um yeah obviously not likelike rock solid blueprint because there is no blueprint for this stuff.They, you know, they just, when you think, you know, the answer, they change the questions, you know? So where, so what are you thinking?This song comes in at number 37. Is it properly rated?Is it overrated? Is it underrated?Where, where should it have appeared in your mind?No, it's hard because I think, you know, I, I've participated in any number of threads, you know, your top 10, your top 20.[32:29] What are your favorite Pavement songs? And I mean, I feel like because this band means so much to me, I kind of tend to dig a little bit deeper.I mean, like, from the perfect sound forever, I mean, Angel Carver Blues, Melodjazz Duck, that would probably be my pick from here, or even Heckler Spray.But, you know, just because I love all these songs doesn't mean Cut Your Hair isn't amazing, right?Right, exactly, yeah. I would say, you know...I think this song is pretty well-rated.[33:21] I mean, again, with a band this expansive and with such awesome tunes, I mean, they're going to take you some places.So, like, I don't really feel like any top 20 or 50 is going to look, I mean, you know, I've got, like I said to you earlier, like the porpoise and the hand grenade rooftop.I mean, those that go in my top 10, and I don't think that would really, I mean, I really, I just love it. You're a big haul guy.[34:05] Uh but i mean i i i love debris slide so i i would say it's perfectly rated oh well i love it that's great well pierce it's been wonderful talking to you this afternoon yeah thanks forputting up with my uh oh shit this it's always great talking to people yeah after doing this for three years just with myself i'm like kicking myself why didn't i have people on earlier earlierit makes it so much easier no this is this is so cool and uh super you're super easy to talk to um i and and so i i really relish the opportunity i'll jump at the chance of talking about aboutthis music as often as i can uh i don't know if you you want me to uh set up my uh my, my pitch here, uh, throw it, throw in a little, so I've got, uh, a website that I started, um, um.[35:06] Just last year, and it's kind of based off of a cartoon that I drew like maybe 15 years ago.But it's like a mixtape slash comics website.It's kind of like loosely based around paranormal peanuts, kind of gumshoe ghost.And he, uh, he researches capers and it's a lot of nonsense, uh, uh, non sequiturs.And then a lot of mixes that, you know, feature pavement and the fall and Sunra and, um, all, all, all manner of things.So that the name of the website is ghostropolis.com.Ghostropolis.com. Yep. Yep, g-h-o-s-t-r-o-t-o-l-i-s.com. And it's Ghostropolis Radio.You can also do GhostropolisRadio.com.So if you put Ghostropolis in the Google machine, you'll likely get where you need to go. I think so.From the fertile mind of Pierce from Detroit, Ghostopolis.com.[36:22] Ghostropolis. Ghostropolis. Oh, shit, I just fucked it up already.Oh, you're good. no hey i appreciate it man all right buddy i appreciate you thanks so much for doing this all right thanks for having me all right wash your goddamn hands.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

jD is back and he's joined by Daniel from Chicago to discuss his Pavement origin story and dissect track number 38. Transcript: [0:00] Hey, it's JD here, and I just wanted to throw something down, somewhat of a challenge to all you musically inclined folks out there.We are going to be doing a pod list again this year, and a pod list is simply a podcast playlist.It's a pod list. The previous four pod lists have consisted of talented members of our Pavement community submitting songs that they have covered from the Pavement oeuvre.Pavement adjacent songs are also welcome. So you could do PSOI, you could do Jicks, you could do Malcolm is Solo.Anything is fair game, truly. So get your band together or grab an acoustic guitar and just play your fucking guts out.From there, submit the song to me by email and we'll go from there.So please submit those songs, jd at meetingmalkmus.com, or even better, use wetransfer.com if it's a big WAV file. And WAV files are what I prefer.That will work out just magnificently. That's what she said.Podlist 5 coming July 8th. So get those songs in and be a part of something special. Thanks so much.Now, on with the show.Track 3:[1:24] Previously on the pavement top 50.Track 2:[1:27] What do you have to say dan from rochester about playbook oh man so um first of all when i i listened to this a lot this week and there's three versions so i did some some deepdiving into comparing the different like studio versions that are out there but the first thing that surprised me was the length is relatively short it's slightly less than three and a half minutesand to me that song always felt like very epic.Track 3:[1:58] Hey, this is Westy from the Rock and Roll Band, Pavement, and you're listening to The Countdown.Track 4:[2:05] Hey, it's J.D. here, back for another episode of our Top 50 Countdown for the seminal indie rock band, Pavement.Week over week, we're going to count down the 50 essential Pavement tracks that you selected with your very own Top 20 ballots.I then tabulated the results using an abacus and a six-pack.[2:24] Okay, there were only four left, but I was thirsty. see how will your favorite pavement song fare in the ranking you'll need to tune in to find out so there's that this week we're joinedby pavement superfan daniel daniel how are you doing motherfucker uh doing good how are you i am excellent today it's a bright and sunny day out i did a 10k walk it's uh just fantastic itis a good day it's like i'm in chicago and it's uh 50 degrees and so that's like summer so yeah right to have that in february is like just another another planet it's amazing yeah so let's getright into this let's talk about your pavement origin story daniel from chicago i am from a town in the south called montgomery alabama Okay.And I'm also 45, late Gen Xer.Discovering music in the early 90s, you really had to try to search out cool stuff, and especially in a shitty town like Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama.[3:42] There were like only one record store that was independent and you kind of had to like know a person to get there. And.[3:52] So that's a big part of my origin story is I am from a shitty place.And the more I get to know pavement, I realize that Stockton is a lot like Montgomery.It's strip malls and crime and not a lot to do, not a lot of real culture.So I see that connection now.When I was a teenager, I was into classic rock like Neil Young and Bob Dylan and Steve Miller Band, I guess, was my intro to what my dad showed me about rock and roll.But I started 10th grade and I noticed a guy had the iconic pavement sunny side up shirt. Right.And I said, this guy knows something. He kind of shined with this aura.And at the time, I didn't know much about indie rock or alternative rock.But I knew a lot about film.I was into Tarantino, and that led me to John Woo and other independent film.[5:17] I knew a lot about beat literature, like Kerouac and Ginsberg, Burroughs.So we met, and he helped me with the pavement and the Sonic Youth. We traded CDs.I traded VHS, independent film, with him.And we eventually started a shitty noise band in his garage.Oh, that is so cool. Yeah. Yeah. And we talked about Pavement and Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation.At the time, I think Crooked Rain was the big one, and Wowie was pretty big on our playlist.List um but i'm really thankful for that meeting and his taste was just um beyond anything of people from montgomery so i that's my story and i i continue to love pavement my entire lifehas been my favorite band and i felt very special uh having them as a part of my life and i i'm not sure who it was that said.[6:38] I think it might be Mark Arm from Mudhunt Honey said, when you listen to Pavement, you feel smarter.And I feel like I'm in on some kind of secret.Yeah. And I feel enlightened when I listen to Stephen Moutmiss and his poetry and his lyrics.I feel smarter. And coming from a place of like education was not valued and no culture, it meant a lot for me to like have pavement as this kind of avant-garde art band that led me todifferent bigger cities and bigger ideas.Is so so what was take take me through your experience daniel take me through that so you saw him wearing the sunny side up shirt what was the first spin like like what did you spin firstif you remember i remember and and what was going on in your head when you heard it i got crooked crooked rain crooked rain first and i remember the disc and people these days missout on the artwork of the disc right it's got that layer of like kind of red and maroon art.[8:01] And i spun it and i was like first off i've never heard uh a vocalist sound like this before right and i was like is he singing or is he like speaking um and they're in the liner notesthere's a picture of like a singer but i always thought it was that that was mouth mess or that was spiral stairs i wasn't sure but it turns out it's like just a random collage um i wasn't sure ifthe the singer was playing guitar or was just like singing.Wow. Like something from a different world completely. And unlike any music.[8:46] That i've uh ever encountered even since it's um now i can kind of associate what not miss was doing with like lou reed yes big time uh but at the time it was just like what is thisvocalist doing and then there were parts of the guitar playing it was like kind of dissonant guitar and i was like is are these guitars even in tune like it sounds like noise in some parts but somelodic and others and so melodic and others and that's their secret yeah um.[9:25] And then i started listening to the lyrics um the first song that comes to mind i wrote on my uh we used to have book covers of paper to cover the book i wrote the entire uh lyrics forstop breathing this is like the most poetic I don't know what he's talking about but I was also I went to it like an art high school and I was in creative writing and I would do my best to tryto emulate in my poetry what mountainous was doing with like his prose or his lyrics right Right, okay.So he was talking about, I think, stuff around a father-son relationship in that song, and I had struggles with my dad, and as we all probably do.Sure. And I was like, abstractly, he's talking about stuff that is really hitting home.And so there were some songs I didn't get at first, like...[10:39] But yeah we'll talk about some of that stuff later sure okay yeah um so that was your first experience with them and crooked rain what a great jumping off point and just to followup on you know like who's playing what and what are they doing it wasn't like you could tune into mtv at the time and see a great deal of pavement you know and and sort of match it uplike you could with with other bands.You know, in this case, they were so rarefied.It would be tough to get your hands on, you know, live footage or anything like that. So that leads me to my next question.When did you see them live? Did you see them live?First, my first concert by them was.[11:28] It must have been early my first semester at auburn university i went uh started uh 97, i went to birmingham alabama at a place called the nick i think that's what it is and so it musthave been september or october of 1997 and it was a like maybe uh, 100, 200 person venue. It was a very small venue.And me and my two friends from Auburn, we got there nerdy, super early and waited at the rail of the front row.[12:18] And it turns out that we were right across from Spiral Stairs guitar setup.Okay. And it was in support of Right in the Corners.So, amazing show.I think at the time, what they were doing was they were playing about 15 songs with an encore of three songs. And they played Credence.Sinister Purpose was their cover that they played.And they they had their set list on paper plates which i thought was very diy and cool and spiral at the end of the set uh he picked up his paper plate threw it like a frisbee and i caught it soi had the the set list i don't have it anymore but oh damn one time it was in my dorm it was in a collection as i moved around the country of course of course but i wish i had had thatamazing moment.Probably, I would say it's probably my third or fourth concert ever. Um, and.[13:35] I went to REM and Radiohead in support of Monster. That was my first.So it's in good company.Yeah, I bet. So how did you find like-minded people in uni?Was it easy or did you have to seek them out like you did in high school?Or how did you find your compatriots to go to that show with?This is so funny. uh the first day of english class the teacher asked what what what do we like and get to know you ice icebreaker questions and me and this guy cleave we both put thesame bands we really liked pavement number one lemon heads number two rem number three we we wrote those identically, and it's it's like this uh serendipitous kind of thing happenedwith us and we became, very close friends and at the time he was like really into pink floyd and i said hey man you got to get really back into pavements better than pink floyd so weobsess over our mutual love of malchmas and uh pavement so that that's how that connection happened but other times in my life i've never really found someone who says pavement's myfavorite band and maybe you're my probably my.[15:04] Like third person i they always seem to be like a french band no one is like so obsessed like i am or possibly you are.And that's okay with me. Like, this is something, it's very special kind of in this time where everything feels like homogenized.I'm glad that this is a special thing for a few of us.Yeah, I think so too. We can unite in that, unite in our solodom.In our solitude. dude. Um, What's your go-to record these days?[15:51] Well, it's grown. It's changed over time. Of course. As it should, probably.I think the most bang for your buck and artistic expression of what they represent is Wowie Zowie.Sure. Yeah, I can get behind that. It is their version of the White Album in that it is so many different genre attempts.And it feels loose it feels fun um it's thematically all over the place yeah and, i just it just feels like a real expression of what they were going for as a band yeah i i i'm not sure if it's likethe best album but for me i think it feels like pavement and what they wanted um and the the go-to for me i hope it makes your list is uh grave architecture okay i find that to bequintessential uh a pavement song but yeah Yeah, it's just so all over the place and wacky that I love it.What do you say we take a quick break and we come back on the other side of track number 38?Sounds good. All right, cool.Track 3:[17:18] Hey, this is Bob Mustanovich from Pavement. Thanks for listening.And now on with a countdown.Track 2:[17:26] 38.Track 4:[20:04] Alright, track 38 is Date with Ikea, the first spiral jam on the countdown.It's the fifth from Pavement's fourth record, Bright in the Corners, after Blue Hawaiian at 50, Embassy Row at 44, Old to Begin at 43, and Starlings of the Slipstream at 40.Without further ado, number 38, Date with Ikea.Daniel from Chicago.Hey. Talk to me about your experience with this song.Well, it was the first Pavement album that I was able to buy on its release date.So it has a special place.It was released, I think it's April 17th, 1997.97 and i good went to my local mall and walked in and bought this album and, it's a banger it's a really fucking good album and 100% it's it it rocks and this song is a rocker and you feellike there's some shimmering layered guitar going on yeah Yeah. Um.[21:30] I'm not sure what the song's about. It feels like... Tough to discern.At the time, I didn't know what Ikea was.Now I know. I think it's a Norwegian furniture store, wholesale furniture.[21:50] So now I think I know what the meaning of the song is.Because I've had a date with Ikea. I bought a house, and I've had to go to Ikea to celebrate needing furniture.And I remember going to Ikea going, oh, this is what the song is about.Maybe domestication.Maybe it's a union.I like domestication. Yeah. But the lyrics are about a relationship strife.The actress is always breaking things. That made me think something's going wrong in the relationship or he's annoyed with his partner.Not sure. But Spiral's songs have always had their own feel to them.And this feels like a quintessential uh spiral stairs song not what what else does it sound like in those years maybe uh like super chunk like no pocky for kitty, i don't know if you know ofany other bands that might sound like but.[23:08] No, because it's tough, because his cuts sort of stand alone on a pavement record, because they're so radically different than the stuff that SM does, right?I think that's what I'm trying to get at, yeah.[23:24] But lyrically, you can go down the same bottomless pit with both of their lyrics.I think Malk tends to be, he's got the turn of phrase, right?He's got the gift for a turn of phrase in a way that Spiral doesn't necessarily have the same horsepower at this stage in the game.If you listen to PSOI, like that first record, All This Sounds Gas, man, is he firing on all cylinders on that record.I think so. So that is prime beef.And I love it. Uh, his two outings on brighten the corners are both, you know, I think they're both a great jumping off point for what you need to get from, from spiral. That's just my take.I think you're right. Uh, the idea that it can be on the same album and feel so different.[24:25] Right. And I'm okay with that. Sort of their secret weapon in a way, right i think so i there and i'm in a lot of ways i'm not sure uh spirals influence on what mountainous does that'skind of a mystery i i believe it showed up more on probably slanted and yeah the early stuff yeah the eps off the top i think they were much more collaborative collaborative but i'm likingwhat i hear this this is a rocker this feels like it's got the.[25:04] Almost like a classic rock feel to it of maybe tom petty in there and the heartbreakers, but um got the sing-along chorus here's the a weird thing about uh the spiral Spiral stuff.When I would go to the shows, the crowd would cheer so much for Spiral.It was almost like we were rooting for this underdog.[25:40] And when spiral was playing his, uh, cuts like mountainous, what it seemed like he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing.He would not, he wouldn't have a guitar part to it. He, he would just kind of like Panama. I'm playing guitar.And, but I noticed how much the crowd would get behind, uh, like spirals chance to shine.Shine so you happen to see any dates on the most recent tour in 2022 i did i saw one of the chicago okay i found that steve was much more uh on board with the spiral stuff if if for lack ofa better term if he wasn't on board in the earlier years and i don't know that i'm i'm prescribing that on him.I shouldn't, but I sort of am.And I just feel like they were much more cohesive, like band-wise, this time out.I saw the same thing, and I think I read in interviews where Mountmess before had seemed kind of apprehensive to put his ball in the pavement court, per se.He was very much on board with being a band that was reuniting and good vibes in general yeah but at the time i think what you notice about uh.[27:07] Bright in the corners is oh he's starting to get his own voice mountainous right and it's, it has to feel um daunting to have other people in the band wanting to collaborate whenyou're you're like really finding your groove.So with Wowie, there's, I think, maybe one spiral cut, Brighton two, but then with Terror zero, you're starting to see, Mount Missus realizing that I have something to say and I want it tobe the singular vision.[27:53] That's just my take. I add a lot of meaning and interpretation that might not be there.No, that's what we do with our favorite bands, right?They add, they give us that to sort of interpret. But I feel like.[28:09] Mount miss really was hitting his groove and maybe spiral was hitting his groove as well and they just it was a sign that they needed to take some time off hey listen i don't want tomake this comparison too apt but it's interesting to me that having watched the beatles documentary george is shut out of that song and then he immediately rips off all things must passwhich which is a double record, which just shows like how he had all these songs in the bag.And it's like, how did John and how did John and Paul not include any of his stuff on Let It Be?And then, you know, 40 years later or 30 years later, you have Terror Twilight, which I think is sorely lacking a spiral song.Like, I think that there's part of that record that, that, you know, because a lot of people, it's their number five.And I think it's their number five, because it doesn't sound like a pavement record, necessarily.It sounds lush and rich, production-wise.I continue to call it a beta test for Steve's first solo record.[29:27] It's just interesting to me that it's lacking this something, and I think that something is a Spiral Gem. you might be on to something with that.And, and I'm, I'm, I'm, while I'm glad they both had a great solo careers, um, it is, it's sort of missing something.Yeah. So where do you think in terms of the ranking, this comes in at 38, what do you think, uh, is it properly rated?Is it overrated? Is it underrated? Uh.[30:02] I'm a little, I've been thinking about this. I think it might be overrated.If you would have asked me in 1997, I would have said it should be up there in the 30s.I don't think this has aged for me as well as it should have. I don't know.[30:25] Nowadays, I listen to Brighton and I go, what's the song three on there?Oh, he had to ask me that.I'm cool and underqualified is who I am. I don't have that stuff at my fingertips. No, I've got this.So if you listen to Transport is Arranged. Okay.Going right into Old to Begin. Yeah. Those...It kind of is in between transport and old to begin.And I feel like those are like way stronger songs.Like, and also those are songs where Malcolm is really starting to have his own voice.And it's like very unique rock.And I think those songs, since I heard old to begin, it's like 44 or 43.I I think it's I think those two songs Transport and Old to Begin, are better than Date with Ikea so for some reason I'm feeling like.[31:40] The lack of cohesion of this album, give it a shot, listen to it without Date With Ikea.It's a different album, and it's an interesting choice by the engineers and the producers to put Date in between those two.I think it should be ranked lower. I'm sorry, JD. No, that's okay.That's why I asked the question.[32:08] Hopefully uh transport somewhere in the top 50 i think that's such a a fucking rocker and it's so heavy at the end um but yeah i would put date and probably in my uh, a little bitlower would it crack the top 50 still i don't think so i if i'm going to be completely honest it's going to be in the lower 50 maybe 60s or 70s okay wow you heard it here here first folks stilllove it chicago still love it though it's one of his children but he just disparaged it uh daniel do you have anything that you would like to plug at all is there anything that you're known foron the internet or oh let me tell you i am a therapist here in chicago and i uh as you can see by my uh many plaques on the wall i'm trained to do uh psychotherapy Therapy in the westernsuburbs of Chicago.If you know anyone that wants therapy or wants to try it out for the first time, I specialize in anxiety, depression, addiction, and men's issues.Oh, boy. I ticked a few of those boxes.[33:26] My greatest hits right there. Yeah. Well, it's been great talking to you, and I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. So thanks for that.Thank you for having me on. It's my pleasure.Wash your goddamn hands.Track 3:[33:43] Thanks for listening to Meeting Malcomus, a pavement podcast where we count down the top 50 pavement tracks as selected by you.If you've got questions or concerns, please shoot me an email.JD at meetingmalcomus.com.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

jD is back and he's with Dan from Rochester to discuss track 39!Transcript:[0:00] Hey, it's JD here, and I just wanted to throw something down, somewhat of a challenge to all you musically inclined folks out there.We are going to be doing a pod list again this year, and a pod list is simply a podcast playlist.It's a pod list. The previous four pod lists have consisted of talented members of our Pavement community submitting songs that they have covered from the Pavement Ouvra.Pavement adjacent songs are also welcome. So you could do PSOI, you could do Jicks, you could do Malcolm is Solo.Anything is fair game, truly. So get your band together or grab an acoustic guitar and just play your fucking guts out.From there, submit the song to me by email and we'll go from there.So please submit those songs, jd at meetingmalkmus.com, or even better, use wetransfer.com if it's a big WAV file. And WAV files are what I prefer.That will work out just magnificently. That's what she said.Podlist 5 coming July 8th, so get those songs in and be a part of something special. Thanks so much.Now, on with the show. Previously on the.Track 2:[1:26] Pavement Top 50 So Cam from Toronto What do you think Of Starlings of the Slipstream This is a great little song I love I love this song just as a stand alone item I love this songGoing right into the song Finn To wrap up that album But those might actually be My two favorite songs Right in the corners What a great one to punch to close things out Finn isprobably actually my favorite song on that album.Track 4:[2:05] Hey, it's JD here, back for another episode of our Top 50 Countdown for Seminole Indie Rock Band, Pavement.Week over week, we're going to count down the 50 essential Pavement tracks that you selected with your very own Top 20 Ballads.I then tabulated the results using an abacus and six boxes of M&Ms.How will your favorite song fare in this ranking? Well, you'll need to tune in to find out. So there's that.[2:31] This week, we're joined by Pavement superfan, Dan from Rochester.[2:35] I can see you right across the lake dan hey toronto oh do you remember when there was the ferry for a couple years i heard tales of that yeah yeah people were more interested ingoing to toronto from rochester and i don't think the torontans were very interested in coming here unfortunately i thought it was a cool i thought that's that's what i heard yeah yeah iwould have uh i would love if that was still a thing because uh driving to toronto you have to go all around the lake so yeah exactly it's the shortcut you know it was it was totally perfect inever used it but it was totally yeah yeah so let's talk let's talk about pavement yes let's this is this is why we're all here why we're all gathered around the fire to listen to rochester regale uswith his pavement origin story yeah so take us set the scene yeah set the scene so the scene was the the mid-90s and uh you know i was in high school and uh getting into into music anduh basically you know the internet was new um you couldn't really download songs you know if i needed if i had to if i wanted to hear a song i had to buy the cd so it was kind of uh youknow i had limited funds and limited accessibility to get to a cd store you know we had the one um one place it It was called Media Play.It was like a chain that sold CDs, you know, so it's kind of like a Best Buy or whatever.[4:02] Okay. So, you know, that was, you know, that was what I had to do.So I would sometimes take a chance on bands or CDs that I'd heard about.[4:12] And I had gotten really into R.E.M.And they were like my favorite band during that time. And so I heard about this band called Pavement that had a song about R.E.M., which I thought was so cool.[4:27] So I ended up getting that CD, the No Alternative compilation.I remember that one. Yeah, and it had Nirvana on it, and it had Smashing Pumpkins and a bunch of big bands from that time, and it had Pavement.And so yeah, I got that. So that was the first Pavement song I heard. Yeah.[4:47] And, you know, it was cool. I just loved the novelty because of, you know, a band singing about another band. I just thought it was funny, you know.Sort of meta in a way now. out yeah yeah it was so cool and that really put them on my on the map for me because i was like i was seeking out all the rem stuff all the b-sides you knowand i had a book and stuff so yeah just hearing about that i was like i have to hear that so you know and it was cool you know i loved the song i was starting to move kind of from that likealt rock um kind of scene to getting getting into the more indie stuff and, uh, whatever it was about, uh, pavement, what I had read about, you know, really piqued my interest.And then hearing that song, you know, and it wasn't, I would say like, it's not my favorite pavement song, but like, you know, it's, it's cool.It was fun. I liked it probably now. Yeah. Oh yeah, totally. Yeah. Yeah.So, um, and then, uh, and then this was probably in, I I'm guessing just cause of the release date.Yeah. 99. So So probably like months before Pavement broke up, I was doing this.[5:57] And I went to the media play and I bought one of the cheaper CDs that I could find, which I have right here, which is the Spit on a Stranger single EP. Nice.Because it was cost effective, you know? It had five songs and it was pretty cheap.So I don't remember what else they had available at the time, but I took a shot on this and I took it home.I listened to Spit on a Stranger. I loved it.[6:22] I skipped to the porpoise and the hand grenade because I liked the title and you know that song I thought it was good didn't blow me away I don't think but then I went back to tracktwo harness your hopes and that was that was really the one that that cemented it for me that song really yeah which is is awesome because as we know it's a big Spotify hit now in thestreaming era.[6:44] And uh it was back in in 99 that was the hit for me and my friends too we we all really love that that song so uh so that was the one that did it for me and then i started uh startedcollecting them all so and here we are i guess you got into it too right at the right at the point where they started to do the reissues so you were yeah able to get those yeah it was greattiming because yeah that's a good point even though like the band had broken up by that point you know a few years later i was in college and uh for the first time in my life hanging outwith people who also knew who pavement were and the slanted reissue was coming out and it was like a big deal and everyone you know some people were new to pavement so i got tobe like oh you got to hear this you know and so yeah we were it was good times for sure it's it's always cool when you get to be somebody's sherpa you know yeah right that's exactly justguiding them through this you know this mountainous uh region of songs that they don't know exactly yeah yeah and um you know i I had a, I had a radio show at school, so it was fun,uh, digging up all the, all the weird stuff to play and, uh, everyone hanging out.What was your playlist like on, on the radio?Um, you know, uh, let's see, Guided by Voices, of course, big one.[8:09] Um, I, I was into bands like, uh, there's this band, Idlewild, who had just released a record that I thought was really cool.Okay. You know, just all the class, you know, Matador stuff, Yola Tango, of course.Yeah. And, you know, I would get into some weirder stuff, too.Like, you know, I'd play the shags or like, you know, Captain Beepart or, you know, eclectic stuff.Pretty classic. Oh, that must have been fun. Freeform, like college radio.Yeah. Yeah. It was super fun.All my friends were music nerds, you know, so it was just it was a big party every week week hanging out on people's shows and just coming up with cool creative weird uh musicalthings to do so and you know pavement was like the the guiding light you know it was like the the band that united everyone.[8:58] That's so cool because that's i didn't get that experience at all i still you know that was one of the reasons i started the show initially was just i didn't get people to i didn't have peoplein my life to really talk about pavement with so yeah i was like i'll talk about i'll stand on my soapbox and talk into the ether sometimes yeah sometimes it's rare you know to to get tointeract with yeah people like like that you know i met lots of cool people doing it like including it It seems like you have.Yeah. Yeah, man.So if you had to rank the records, you came to Terror Twilight.That would have been your first record that was released in your fandom.Right, right. Where does it rank for you? You know, I always say to myself, like, they're all pretty much more or less equal, equal ranked.I mean, they're all like five star records to me. Agreed. Um, I went through a phase where, um, brighten the corners was my favorite.That was definitely my favorite. And I would say it's not anymore.[10:03] Um, I, I don't know if terror twilight has spent too much time on the top, like the, you know, the, yeah, the personal top slot, but, uh.[10:11] It, it, it deserves, it deserves a spot.You know, I've, um, I've talked to, you know, I have friends who consider that their pavement pavement record and i always say i respect that because some people some people uh viewthat one as maybe like slightly less for some reason and i don't i don't get that at all yeah i don't get that at all and uh yeah i mean we we need terror twilight you know it's just uh the factthat pavement made that record with uh nigel godrich and had that kind of cool uh shiny production production um yeah i mean that's that's so crazy to go from slanted to the back rightand then you have everything in between so it's just yeah it's all it's all good it's all great yeah yeah terror twilight spent some time at the top for me yeah um not not that much but uhbreak the corners is currently my favorite oh nice yeah yeah uh beside watery like i mean i think watery deserves a spot.[11:08] On the mantle all to itself like that's kind of like a very perfect release you know it's like isn't it yeah it's so crazy how good that fucking thing is yeah and then even the even the thesession tracks that didn't make it to the sumi jack greenland greenlander so right like they're all stone cold classics it's bonkers it is it's absolutely bonkers yeah and having those allcollected on on that reissue was just it's so great um i would always listen to those peel session things you know yeah like kentucky cocktail and all that and.[11:48] Back when they were just bootlegs you know just like a tape someone made off the radio so it's it's really nice that um they released proper you know nice sounding quality versionsof those because because westing is on final now right yeah yep yeah i don't have it but uh i i should probably get it because i've got the eps but i've got them built into my wall is likeartwork work you know oh yeah uh like um here i'll show you how cool yeah i have never i've never encountered uh one of those in the flesh um one of those actual eps you know so that'spretty cool yeah it's fun i'll turn on my light for some somehow there we go i'm an old man when it comes to this technology jesus yes right you're doing great i used to do so well i used toknow know at all internet wise and shit but now it's uh well enough about me it happens is there anything else you want to tell us about your pavement origin story should we uh take abreak and you know that pretty much covers it i got you know this again it was early internet so i was i was rocking like the uh the pavement message board back in the day there was alittle community yeah um and uh it it was it was cool it was good times you know i i met some people there that But later on, I actually got to meet in person.And for a few years, that was a pretty cool scene.[13:13] I remember the message board got bought out by another band somehow.I don't even know how that was possible. What? Yeah.So one day, you show up to the message board URL.It was like ProBoards or something where it was like, anyone can start a message board. but I think some other band somehow had the clout or the money or whatever to buy the URL.And, uh, it's like, yeah.Oh man.[13:44] How about shows have you seen any shows oh i knew this was going to come up i have never seen pavement oh that's that's fine i i have seen mulchmas um but yeah you know imissed them uh in the 90s just a little too young coming in late i missed them in the 2010s i don't know really what i was up to but i was kind of um just not in the right area like i mean ilive in rochester i i always have to drive and sometimes i'm just not not up for it and then the newest one i was i was kind of eyeing uh toronto but yeah i didn't make it so oh man i knowbut i've listened to so many live pavement uh bootlegs and shows and stuff uh but yeah my first time seeing mulchmas was on piglib tour oh right you know this is back in college erathat's really when i started going to shows a lot so yeah we went and saw him at the knitting knitting factory i think it was in new york yeah yeah and i saw him open for radiohead i sawhim open for radiohead too in montreal yeah oh sweet yeah yeah mine was uh where was it i think i want to say uh like baltimore area oh cool dc yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah well if you getthe chance i mean it seems like Like, they're on the clock.[15:06] You know? Like, I don't know that we're going to get many more.Yeah, I really should. I know it's, you know, I know it'll be amazing.Next time you get the opportunity, right? You have to pull the ripcord.Yeah, I need to. That'll be so cathartic.Well, let's take a quick break here, and we'll come back, and we'll talk about track number 39.Okay Alright Hey this is Bob Nastanovich from Pavement Thanks for listening and now on With a countdown 39.[19:08] Okay, we are back, and that was, of course, Pueblo, the 16th track on Wowie's Alley. It sits between Kennel District and Half a Canyon in a nice little sandwich there toward theback end of the record.This is the fourth Wowie's Alley song on the countdown after Best Friend's Arm at 49.Motion suggests itself at 48, and We Dance at 46.So this is so far the highest ranking Wowie's Alley track at 39.And uh what do you have to say Dan from Rochester about Pueblo?Oh man so um first of all when I I listened to this a lot this week and there's three versions so.[19:46] I did some some deep diving into comparing the different like studio versions that are out there but the first thing that surprised me was the length is relatively short it's slightly lessthan three and a half minutes And to me, that song always felt like very epic to me, maybe just because it's sandwiched toward the end of like, you know, the end of a long, epic record.It's right by like half a canyon and it kind of it vibes with that song.But I would have if you had asked me before how long it was, I would have said like five minutes or something just because it's it has a very languid pace in it.It kind of just sprawls all over the place of language. Thank you. Yes.[20:30] Yeah. So, you know, it felt bigger, I guess, longer than it really is.But, you know, it does what it does in a relatively short time. So that's cool.That really led me on the path to kind of figuring out like, hey, what's going on with the song structure, you know? And it's a simple song, but it has a kind of like spacey jam in the center.Sure does.And that's like, to steal your word, epic. Those guitar swells?Swells yeah you know they make this song so epic and then that blistering blistering is the wrong word because it's not blistering it's it's it's not languid anymore but yeah it's it's crushingit's heavy fucking great so yeah right yeah oh yeah you know um yeah so i i love that that's good mix of, you know, that's the wowie zowie like archetypal sound.It's like the noise, the, the beauty, the catharsis, the kind of surreal, you know, you don't even know really what the song's about until I listened to your earlier episode, which was geez,like three years ago when you first talked about the song on your show and you were, you told a story about how it was about like a hanging thing.[21:48] And remember this at all. Yeah. So I think it was something Malkmus said.It was like, uh, like a story about some, a guy, like a mayor of some Southern California town.And, you know, there was a, there was a guy getting, getting hung or hanged, I guess it is. And, uh, like a love interest.And he, I guess Malkmus had some, you know, story behind it, which I thought was interesting.Which is rare for him really yeah it yeah it it kind of reminds me of a song like pink india you know which he would write much later it's kind of that story song kind of vibe and the songshave similar vibes too in the sense that they're kind of slow and have this guitar part that's kind of lyrical you know and so it it lends itself to telling like some sort of narrative um but alsoSo, like, at that point, Malkmus wasn't really writing narratives that you could, like, parse just by, you know, they might not have defined words or anything.You know, he kind of has, he had a way of just singing stuff and it would be evocative without really, you know, without you being able to tell what he was really trying to communicate.[23:03] So, you know, that's Malkmus' like big talent, I think, or one of them.I do too. like just mashing phrases together that just work rhythmically and from a cadence perspective yeah but they're so obtuse you know yeah yeah um this song i love the dynamicslike i i love that like how it does go from those guitar swells to that again i'm going to use your word again that those you know the the i i called it chill guitar to start and then you go intothe main verse verse with with very slowed down lyrics it takes him almost you know 30 seconds to get the first two lines out you know before you before you get into the thick of thingsquestion for you yes you as soon as you listen to the episode and i did not uh and i have a very poor short-term memory yeah it's very funny i was with some friends yesterday and wewere talking about work uh from 15 years ago and i was naming people's first and last names that you know know we haven't seen in 15 years yeah very good long term but short term boydoes it suck it's uh.[24:10] It's uh i have a difficult time making new memories so yeah it's uh it's a shitty thing but my question here is um who is jacob right right so uh i was pondering this because of coursea few songs earlier on the album he's talking about jacob javits so i'm like you know know that's like a new york city landmark or something like that or that's right yeah um so i was likewell is that connected i don't think so um i mean pueblo so it's on the i mean, Maybe in some subliminal way, but I don't think it's supposed to be the same guy.You've also got this Spanos County, I think that he says.Right. And in the thing you quoted on the other episode, he referred to Spanos as like a person.Like it was a, you know, like this mayor of this town. Oh, okay.Yeah. So, yeah, I really don't know. No, but I think, you know, Jacob, I guess, is the protagonist of the song who's getting ceremonially or unceremoniously murdered.I, you know, I think. But again, in the context, you're not really sure.Is he like pleading? He's saying, you know, Jacob, you move, you don't move.Like, so. It sounds like, doesn't it? Like, if you move, you don't move.Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah.[25:36] And Jacob is also mentioned in the Pueblo Domain version of the song, which is the Peel version of the song.Okay. I was comparing these two.So, you know, that one was recorded.[25:55] Uh in february 94 like a few days before crooked rain came out so you know this song we know has been kicking around for a while uh before it was eventually released and it kindof went through some some changes so the peel session version is it's he's saying like jacob you glow you you know you won't go and um but the the lyrics in there are so very abstracteven you know more so than the album version uh really yeah and it's hard to the the song the the early version is really different too it's it's longer the chorus repeats more times the umand you know there's kind of like more more to the meat of the song and less jam oh okay version yeah so i i always i always thought that version the peel version was was like thesuperior one um but i i never really realized how different they are like they really are um so i kind of i'll send you if you want or i don't know if i can do a screen share here but istructured them out it's probably not too interesting for a podcast but you know i i wrote down like you know verse one chorus one you know and mapped out the two different songs tocompare and they're pretty different they're pretty different yeah the um the wowie zowie version basically does verse chorus chorus, jam, verse, chorus, and then outro.[27:20] And then the Pueblo Domain actually repeats each of the choruses twice. It's twice as long.And then it does verse, two choruses, verse, two choruses, then a little jam, and then it ends on an instrumental version of the chorus.And it's a little louder and more boisterous and energetic. energetic so i uh.[27:48] It's on the Sordid Sentinels. It's on the Crooked Reign. It's on the Crooked Reign? Yeah, so check that one out for sure.Especially, yeah, and just anyone, if you haven't heard that, it's worth checking out the Peel session at the end.Tucked way at the end of that Crooked Reign reissue.They do also Brink of the Clouds, which ended up as a Wauwizawi B-side.[28:14] But it has a section at the end, like the kind of rocket and uh part of the song that's not on the studio version and yeah it's good you know it's cool i just you know pavement doinglike the unreleased songs on the radio sessions was just such a so cool and it's so cool it really lent to their mythos you know the yeah the mythology of the band like what you know theyhave all these songs like where where's all this stuff coming from why why does Malkmus just essentially just throw these gems away kind of thing?So, you know, which goes back to Hold on Hope and all that stuff.You know, he's just, he was so productive around this time, you know, and if you look at those reissues, you know, all the B-sides, all the stray tracks, it's just, it's amazing.[29:03] Yeah. Oh, like from 89 to 93, they were so prolific, right? right? Yeah.And there's so many songs on that Crooked Rain reissue that ended up on Wowie Zowie.So it's almost like right after Slandered and Enchanted was a huge burst of songs that ended up going out into the next two or three albums.Yeah. That's far out. Yeah.So what do you think about where this song is rated?Are you a fan of this song? I am a big fan of the song, but I think it's probably properly rated.It feels right. It feels like a song where...[29:48] Like i do really like it but i think it works best in the context of the album or at least it really shines as as a kind of almost penultimate track on wowie zowie you know it it's almostlike the climax of that album um like the emotional climax along with half a canyon you know just like i can see that yeah you know um and i also i i don't know for sure but i kind offigured that like a lot of pavement fans might not know like it by the title or something because it's not you don't really hear the title in the song no i don't think he sings it in the song hedoes on the peel version oh he does in the first line yeah i didn't realize it for a while but i was just listening and he said something about pueblo right right in like the first line but uh butyou know regardless like it seems like a song that's a deep cut but also well worthy to be a fan favorite you know because it it it's very pavementy it's almost like you couldn't really getmore.[30:50] In a certain like pavement mode of this kind of like it's almost a little countryish but it's just noisy and crunchy it's a little jammy and spacey it's just it's pure pavement yeah i thinkit would fit on watery like i i think you know i think it could like it yeah it's that good you Yeah, oh yeah.And if you hear the other version of the song on Crooked Rain, not the Peel version, but the, they call it the Beach Boys version.Right, yes, yeah. And all that is, is an instrumental. It's that pretty guitar intro and verse melody and everything.And Malkma's doing some just kind of wordless harmonies.[31:34] But just listening to that version, the way the guitar sounds is less twangy and is more sounds like, you know, In the Mouth of Desert or that kind of slanted style.Okay. And you can kind of hear how it fits into that kind of zone and how it kind of changed and fits into the wowie zowie zone where the guitar is more like a little slidey or a little liketwangy.It's really clean, right? Yeah. Like there's no distortion coming through it.Yeah. It's very clean sounding.Yeah. I would guess that, you know, the sound of the song kind of influenced the lyrical direction a little bit.It feels just like a, it feels a little country-ish, a little like desert-y or something.Yeah. There's a lot of that on Wowie Sowie, isn't there? Yeah.But yeah, and to me, that sounds like, I would connect that to sounds from the watery era too.Too, like even like Greenlander is kind of this almost like kind of stark and almost like these desolate songs he was doing around this time, like Rain Ammunition's another other one.Right.I don't know if you talk. Did you talk about like Rain Ammunition on the year first?Didn't get to it. You didn't do like the B-side stuff.Well, the initial thing was to use the bonus feed as B-sides.I think I got through 35 of them.Yeah. there's like 40 episodes on the bonus feed. Now there's the bottom 100 or the bottom 50 of this top 100 as well.[33:02] So I think, well, I can't give it away. I can't tell you that.Don't give anything away.Rain ammunition is on that bottom 50 or not.You know, I don't know. I'm just, I love all those stray songs around this era.So yeah, you know, there's a very defined vibe.Also kind of similar to like the early Silver Juice stuff that Malkmus was on I think you could connect stylistically that kind of like.[33:33] Deserty uh watery domestic slanted vibe and see how it kind of morphed into like the more country, tinged uh wowie zowie thing yeah and that's around the same time that davidwas doing starting to get a bit more twangy as well yeah yeah and i know i talked to bob recently and he you know he talked about how david pushed steve a little bit um well not a littlebit probably a lot lot right like lyrically like there was a lot of competition between those guys you have to think they pushed each other yeah yeah to like i mean how cool is it that thesetwo like amazingly talented guys got to meet and work together in their lives you know it's fucking insane this is really converged yeah and i i get the impression that you know mulchmiss everything kind of came easy to him and i think berman was someone who had to really push himself a little little more, like, you know, maybe like a little more dedication to craft orwhatever.I think he would look at Malkmus as like, you know, what, you know, like, how does he do it kind of guy, you know, just had to kind of like, you know, they had to like one up each othera little bit, you know, like a friendly, competitive kind of thing, you know?Well, I think Bob says, you know, he feels fortunate. I think I've heard him say that he feels fortunate to have worked with one of the best songwriters to ever live and one of the bestlyricists.Yeah, totally. It's so, so cool.[34:58] Yeah, Bob's had a great, lucky, you know, it's awesome for him to be able to work with those guys, I'm sure.Yeah. I can't even imagine. Nope, me neither. Yeah.So, that's what I've got for you this week. Is there anything else that you want to tie up?Is there anything that people can plug or anything that you can plug for people to look up?Sure, yeah, actually. That you're doing? doing uh i uh i'm in a band called rectangle creep and rectangle creep yeah we're pretty um pretty guided by voices influenced and there'spavement and we have 10 000 songs we have we do we have a lot of albums and stuff but if anyone you do have albums oh yeah like you know check check the band camp check theband camp and i do some i have a lot of different projects so So maybe I'll just mention that one, but it's a whole universe of bands and stuff like that. But yeah, it's fun. That's great.[36:00] You know, music is awesome. So go to Bandcamp and search for Rectangle Creep.Yeah, Rectangle Creep. And yeah.[36:08] Cool. Well, it's been great talking to you, man. Yeah, definitely.Thanks for letting me be a part of this project. It's really cool what you do.Yeah, well, thank you very much. Of course. We'll be back next... Oh, sorry to interrupt.I was just going to say how much I really love your interviews with Spiral.And it's really cool how generous he's been with talking to you.And all the other guys too but I mean I love how accessible he is and it's so cool learning about that stuff so I'm looking forward to you know whatever new pavement stuff comes out ifyou know whatever news and projects you know I appreciate that you help bring this stuff to light I'll fly the flag forever man do it yeah well, great talking to you again Dan yep thanks alot wash your god damn Sam Hance.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week jD is joined by Pavement super-fan Josh in Pittsburgh to discuss his Pavement origin story and dissect song number 43 on the countdown.Transcript:Track 1:[0:00] Previously on the Pavement Top 50.Track 2:[0:02] Okay, so the number 44 track, you've just heard it.It's Embassy Row, the second song from Bright in the Corners after Blue Hawaiian at number 50 on the countdown.Scott, what do you think of Embassy Row at number 44?Embassy Row, I do love. The things I like about it is it kind of lulls you in with this.I feel Marcus kind of does quite a lot with his lyrics and his melodies.They're kind of like nursery rhymes, the way they flow. floor and the structure of the set is quite kind of nice.Track 3:[0:34] Hey this is Westy from the Rock and Roll Band Pavement and you're listening to The Countdown.Hey it's JD here back for another episode of our Top 50 Countdown for Seminole Indie Rock Band Pavement.Track 6:[0:50] Week over week we're going to count down the 50 essential pavement tracks that you selected with your very own top 20 ballots.I then tabulated the results using an abacus and strangely a change counter.And all that's left for us to reveal is this week's track.How will your favorite song fare in the ranking? You'll need to tune in or whatever the podcast equivalent of tuning in is every week to find out. So there's that.This week we're joined by Pavement superfan Josh in Pittsburgh.Josh, how are you doing, motherfucker?I'm pretty good, JD. How are you doing? i'm great thanks for asking so uh what's the weather like in pittsburgh right now cold it's been below freezing it's been snowy and icy it's a bit of areprieve today is it's only going to be about 32 but then we're supposed to get another like two to four inches in and around the city here in the next couple days oh my gosh we've beenvery fortunate here in toronto it's cold cold as hell but no snow so far like really there's been a couple inches but it's like like not staying on the ground.Track 3:[1:56] Yeah.Track 6:[1:56] It's just not as much snow as it feels like we had when we were kids. No, definitely not.It feels like there was like walls of snow when I've traveled my sidewalk. Yeah.That might be my height. I don't know.So let's not beat around the bush here. Let's talk about pavement.Let's hear your pavement origin story.Well, it starts with Malcolm's self-titled In Earnest. I'll work back a little bit.Track 1:[2:30] Sure.Track 6:[2:32] Well, I'm 46. I'm a full-blown child of the 90s.I think i was 13 to 23 in that decade so super formative years yeah um hugely into beastie boys and nirvana and primus all things less claypool all that and um definitely was hearingpavement probably beavis and butthead was maybe my first exposure uh you know cut your hair and i think i remember in college we're like maybe around 98 99 i went down to the localrecord store in burlington vermont and i got um some tapes because i i had unearthed an old walkman and i got like slick rick the artist storytelling and something else and i got crookedrain crooked rain on tape i was like you know i need to i need to get back into this pavement thing a little more and see what's going on and gold sounds became quite an anthem for mei'm um i was a huge fish I'm a big Phish fan, the band Phish.And I was in Pittsburgh, of course, because I live here, when they played here one summer, and they covered Gold Sounds by Pavement. They did?And I was just like, you know, worlds colliding in the perfect way.Yeah, Phish has covered quite a few indie bands. Trey's got a big indie thing.Malcolmus was at a Phish show recently with Jake.Track 1:[3:53] Oh.Track 6:[3:54] Wow. Up in Seattle. I know the Jicks drummer. He took him, he's a big Dead and Fish fan, and he took Malcolm to do a show, I think.[4:02] So, um, you know, they were definitely on the radar, but they weren't like penultimate for me yet. And then, um, I moved out to California after college.It was 2000 and, uh, I was feeling pretty distant from everything back home on the East coast where I'd lived and grown up.There was some family stuff going on. I started to feel isolated.I don't think nine 11 had happened yet, yet but it was just that that whole time in life and um i was feeling kind of just depressed and detached a little bit and then i saw um malchmus onletterman doing uh jenny and the s dog oh shit and i was like oh my god this is so good i was like that's not pavement what's he doing, and he's you know letterman's like he's got a newalbum out and it's great go check it out and i I think I went to Tower Records on Sports Arena Boulevard in San Diego the very next day and got the album.And it really helped me quite a lot because here I am, this total slacker out in California, no clue what I'm doing.[5:12] My network's not around me anymore. And I'm like, look at this This guy, Malkmus, you know, the slacker gentleman of our generation here is out here still doing his thing and hesounds great and he looks great.He's like, you know, I can just, I can keep being me.I can find my way back. I don't have to like, uh.[5:34] Make some grand sweeping change in life i can just you know be the aging slacker as well and you know from there i wore that album out self-titled i wore it out me too dug backinto the the pavement catalog full bore uh what was the second jicks album um uh pig lip pig lip wore it out in fact the pig lib with the japanese bonus tracks might be might be it's rightthere at the top of my uh the entire malcolm's pavement catalog that pig lib with japanese bonus tracks maybe my number one go-to yeah but yeah i mean he just he speaks to me i get it ilove it like i said he's the uh he's sort of our gentleman slacker representation for our generation i feel like totally he's the crown prince of indie rock yeah right right for sure or what didcourtney call him courtney called him the clown prince yeah courtney love called him the clown prince of indie rock i think which is fine i mean if anybody's a clown with their makeupand her antics so did you get a chance to see them on the 2010 like i'm guessing you didn't see them earlier on did you see them on the 2010 i never saw pavement until this reunion tour ihad to go to new york city with a buddy in 2010 2010, and he was an acquaintance. He was the only other Pavement fan I knew.[7:03] He was just another guy I would see at my local bar hang all the time.You were still in California at the time?[7:08] I was back in Pittsburgh by now. I was back in Pittsburgh by 06.[7:12] I was like, dude, Pavement, I'm just going to be in New York.Let's go. He's like, yeah, I'll go.But we just weren't close enough friends to formulate the plan and see it through.I should have just gone on my own or something. But no, I didn't see that 2010 tour.Where did you see them in 2022 then? I saw them in Detroit.No, they didn't play in Pittsburgh. Pavement didn't play in Pittsburgh.I saw Pavement in Detroit and then in D.C.Oh, cool. Where did they play in D.C.?Um some old theater i can't remember the name of it right now because it was a great show it was one of the uh you know his whole um uva crew his whole virginia contingent was thereoh wow so i think he really you know laid it on a little bit and you could feel something a little special i I think there was a couple of the more rare songs from the tour, if I remember,from that, database that somebody put together of all the songs that they played.Track 1:[8:15] Yeah.Track 6:[8:15] That was pretty slick. I drove out there myself. I went to Detroit with my wife. I went to DC solo.Oh, yeah. I was right in the front row. Got one of these from Bob.Track 3:[8:26] Oh.Track 6:[8:26] Shit. He's holding up a ping pong ball right now. Oh, yeah. Yeah, one of the autographed ping pong balls.Yeah, I bought a ticket myself for the second row.And serendipitously there was nobody in the seat right in front of me in the front row so you were in the front row as soon as they walked out i hopped over my seat i was right in the frontrow right in front of uh mark and rocking out burying my head in the speakers just eating it up oh that's great and i kind of hung around afterwards just kind of coming down before i gotin my car i drove all the way back to pittsburgh myself after dc how big a drive is that four hours, but so i was hanging around just kind of coming down a little bit and um, There's thisdownstairs lounge. I went and got some water, went to the bathroom and they cleared everybody out of this lounge real suddenly.And I go upstairs and you see this whole crew of people with pavement intermingled.And I was like, oh, that's his, that's his like friends and family, Virginia crew right there or something.Very neat. Yeah. You didn't, you didn't elbow your way in.I was like, I wonder if I could just sneak into that line and get back down in the lounge.And they'd be like, wait, who are you? I was like, I'm about the right age.I could probably just mix right in. They'd be like, which one are you again?Track 1:[9:42] Yeah.Track 6:[9:43] Oh, I was a major in history. Yeah, Josh from Lit, remember?What's your record? Which is the record that you go to the most often? For Pavement? Yeah.Track 1:[9:59] Yeah um you know i've got these playlists on my apple music that is just one's malt miss and it's everything he's ever done one's like malk only one's pavement only so most of thetime i just hit shuffle and let it go i'm one of those the same thing, unapologetic fans that i can't like everybody's like what's your least favorite album like what What are you talkingabout?Track 6:[10:23] Yeah. But, you know, it changes. Wowie Zowie's always near the top.Crooked Rain's always near the top. But it's really hard to say my go-to.Yeah. It's a Sophie's Choice for sure. Yeah.Track 1:[10:39] Yeah.Track 6:[10:39] I feel like they're 1 and 1A at the very least.For me, it's Bright in the Corner and Watery Domestic. Oh, well, the Watery Domestic EP is hands down.Track 5:[10:53] The best collection of songs that they you know right a little four song ep that's i mean if if we're counting that then that's the go-to that's my number one pavement recording from1990 to 92 they were so prolific yeah and so much of it was great and then they follow that up with crooked rain and it's like just what an embarrassment of wealth i know slanted and theyjust they came out swinging yeah absolutely so should we flip the script today and talk about our featured song of the week which is track number 43 let's do it let's do it okay so we'll takea quick break and we'll talk to you on the other side sounds good hey this is bob mustanovich from pavement thanks for listening and now on with a countdown 43.Track 6:[15:10] All right, that was the fifth track from Bright in the Corners, Old to Begin.It's our third song from Bright in the Corners on the countdown so far.Of course, number 50 was Blue Hawaiian.And just last week, we listened to Embassy Row at number 44.So here we are with Old to Begin, Josh in Pittsburgh.What do you think of this as track number 43?I love it. i love it it was in my uh top 20 oh wow okay yeah i was kind of sitting at my uh desk at work thinking about where i rank these songs and set you back set you back set you backjust kept ringing in my head it's not a you know it's probably lower down in my 20 but it's in my 20 for sure it's um it's great it's got kind of all of those pavement elements to it it does thesort of loud quiet loud thing really.[16:14] Well um i'm a bit of a gearhead i think you can hear probably i want to say the crowther hot cake was one of their go-to overdrive pedals but there was um um something else ithink it's called the j drive which is another drive pedal that malchus had used in pavement era early jicks maybe um you can really hear the guitars crunching yeah um and then that last30 seconds.[16:43] I you know that's that classic while we buy the ticket and take the ride kind of pavement stuff where they just devolve into that you know symphonic chaos chaos malcolm is doingthat perfectly affected kind of uh vocal whine and grind that he kind of can peel out there um that's so shrill and punky right yeah absolutely and yet the lyrics he's singing are like la la layou know so it's like this uh this um strange dichotomy of sounds going going on you know yeah it's good i mean you know juxtaposition i guess that's uh attention element yeah youknow that's good stuff uh the lyrics yeah the lyrics are um, You know, I think the easy go-to there is that it's sort of a, maybe not quite a love song, but a dedication, you know, relationship,aging, all that sort of stuff.But I've kind of always had this thought that you could view this song, if you wanted to, maybe as a relationship and a critique that Malcolm X has with art and culture.Track 1:[18:07] Oh.Track 6:[18:08] Expand on this. Well, you know, sort of metaphorically and even straightforwardly, the lyrics definitely have a lot of art sort of bent in reference to them.Sure, I can see that. Summary acts, narrative age.Track 2:[18:27] You know.Track 6:[18:28] Fixture set in 1966. I kind of have always had this low-key thought that maybe he's sort of lamenting, because I mean, we know that he loves art and culture, literature, theater,worked in the museum.You know, we know that he's quite a literate dude, definitely knows what's happening, I think, in the art and culture worlds at all times.And we also know that he's the kind of guy that is easily bored and dismissive of things that he maybe thinks are a little derivative or that sort of thing.And if you kind of think about that when you listen to these lyrics, you can kind of maybe, skew it that he's bored with theater and art, that it's in a rut, that it's stuck in some old ways thatit's, you know.Track 3:[19:22] Um.Track 6:[19:23] I don't need your summary acts to give into the narrative age.Like he doesn't want somebody just cramming the things down his throat.He, you know, he wants people to approach art differently.Track 1:[19:36] And, you know.Track 6:[19:37] Overlay their own ideas, map their own feelings and thoughts onto something that's, I don't think he likes when an artist hands it to you on a platter, certainly with his lyrics.I think he leaves a lot sort of open to interpretation by keeping it intentionally vague and distorted.So I've kind of always had this thought in the back of my mind that, you know.Track 2:[20:00] Maybe he's complaining about some art and culture going on at the time that it's just it's stuck in a rut it's too straightforward in your face, you're watching them reinvent the wheelyeah right right um and you know set your back set old to begin like you know somebody presents some new play or some new piece and it's already it's been done it's old to begin we'veseen this we have this somebody needs to move art forward forward this is good yeah that's sort of been something i always thought that's a little, outside of the going ideas about old tobegin yeah when you get to that last part and it certainly feels a little more on the nose with uh you know all those things that can get you bored with a you know a physical lovingrelationship with a partner um latent cause menopause cause.Track 6:[20:56] Stress, credit card debt, all that sort of stuff that he talks about.But even still, I mean, if you're an aging artist and you're approaching middle life and, you know, maybe you feel that you've lost that youthful exuberance and desire to dig in and find andcreate something new, you know, what slows anybody down from anything they love, be it a person, in be it their output in life it's you know it's all this getting old crap that we have todeal with.[21:28] I'm staring 50 in the in the barrel right now july i turned 50 so yeah i get it i get that yeah, yeah that's real because to me his lyrics are tough to tough to rifle through this song isprobably the most um like forward straightforward in in a sense like not not using your theory just looking at the lyrics straight ahead there's a lot of references to age age and that sort ofthing you know we hear about menopause we hear about set in 1966 we hear of course old to begin um you know a senior a senile genius uh we don't get a lot of that in malcolm is songslike i i don't find like where there's a lot of consistency with the lyrics so i can see See how you can take a surface look or go deeper like you did, and you're likely to be satisfied in eithercase, whereas a lot of times his lyrics aren't, without sounding negative, aren't necessarily satisfying because you're left scratching your head.You know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.[22:53] And, you know, I do also look at the song very much on its surface because, you know, as I was saying in my little back history there.Track 1:[23:04] I was kind of dealing with getting older and.Track 6:[23:08] You know, leaving sort of the college life and East Coast life behind when I was out West and kind of unsure about what I was going to do or supposed to do. So, you know, like Isaid, his really his whole vibe really helped me kind of reconcile with all that.So I do love the lyrics on their surface, too, for that, because.Yeah, I mean, he's he's dealing with the same thing. You're almost 50. I'm 46 now.Like, I got back pain. I was laid up with back pain a couple of weeks ago for about a day and a half. I got credit card stress, you know.So it is comforting to take the lyrics very much on their surface.Yeah. But then he's also talking about, I think, a love life, if you take them like that.Track 3:[23:53] Yeah.Track 6:[23:53] I think so. And, you know...Track 3:[23:58] You want to have a partner to grow old with that helps you feel good you know that you can kind of uh buoy each other and keep each other afloat and moving ahead and you knowif you get, dissatisfied or disenfranchised with your partner like i think maybe on its surface is some of the stuff being talked about here that can be really a lot to contend with uh what'sone of those lyrics in there find your identical twin or you know that's another thing that's one of those things that line right there i can never decide if he's saying finding an identical twinor find an unidentical twin yeah it does sound like.[24:45] The the the way it rolls off the tongue uh it does sound like unidentical twin the way the way it is time we drifted apart find an unidentical twin is that saying like we're too similarand being too similar is not satisfying you drift apart you want to find somebody less like you somebody different or you know are they drifting apart because one of them's old to beginand he wants something more and maybe he wants to find somebody more like him find an identical twin you know it's uh it's it's just one of those things again with um i and i think heintentionally leaves things a little like the vocal tracks are a little low in the mix or intentionally mumbled or garbled so that you reach a little more you find whatever meaning you needyeah you hear it the way you need to hear it yeah yeah i think it's a that is a great song one of my favorites all my gear in my house is named after a piece of pavement a pavement song somy backup drive is called old to begin oh perfect yeah my uh, my fantasy football team is named the stockton hex oh nice.[26:01] How are you doing uh or how did how yeah i guess okay i've got i'm kind of uh obsessed with fantasy football i got a couple different teams they're all named stockton hex and theyall have the rooster from watery domestic as my team logo oh that's brilliant you know i do well enough i keep entertained i don't uh i win a little money here and there oh you're playingfor scratch i like it yeah but yeah i i have the same sort of tendencies to name a lot of playlists and and and items and things for you know song and music references fish pavement beastieboys yeah cool yeah well Well.Track 6:[26:40] I'm going to guess that my next question, I already know the answer to my next question, really, because you had this song inside your top 20.So my next question is, do you think the song is properly rated?And I'm guessing you would say no, because at 43, it's well beyond the top 20. Yeah.I do. That's fine. It is properly rated. I'm glad it made the top 50.You said you got over a hundred songs submitted.Track 1:[27:06] Yeah.Track 3:[27:07] Yeah.Track 6:[27:08] You know, to tell you the truth, I compiled my list, JD. I never actually sent it to you.I'm such a quintessential slacker that I, uh, I worked on it and worked on it and it was sitting on my desktop at work.And I was like, uh, you know, I never did send that thing in, which, uh, makes me feel, you know, maybe, uh, maybe I could have of bumped uh old to begin up a slot or two um one ofmy personal favorite deep tracks greenlander i wonder if it uh if it appeared at least in your 100 or so i've got a i gotta pay my three bucks and get back into the um uh bonus feed so i canlisten to 50 through 100 i think i heard you mention you're doing those yeah it starts this friday yeah um you know i feel like i should have got my list in there to do a little service to acouple of my deeper cuts personally but yeah i think as far as the general fan base i think probably old to begin is fairly rated i you know i know uh you're a brighton guy i love all thealbums almost equally but i think probably brighton is near the bottom of most pavement fans list if you ask like it yeah and so for any, any brighton song to make it in the 50 you got tofeel pretty good for them yeah i think so Well, yeah, and quite a few made it in.Track 1:[28:27] Yeah.Track 6:[28:28] Well, there's definitely a few bangers on there. Yeah, agreed.Track 1:[28:33] Well.Track 6:[28:34] Is there any place that people can track you down or that you would want to be tracked down on the internet or anything like that?I just live in Pittsburgh. I work my job. I raise my family.So if I come to town, I'll take me for a Formanti Brothers? Yeah, absolutely.[28:52] Yeah, you know what? But if I was going to stump for anything, I had tickets for the Trad Tech Tour that got canceled due to COVID. Oh, me too.And if anybody's going to log in anywhere and search for anything or leave a message, let's all try to hit up Malkness and Sweeney and those guys and tell them to get it back together andget out there and give us that Trad Tech Tour, man.I want to hear those two guys shredding the guitar together.That's a strong record. That's a really strong record. Yeah. Yeah.I had tickets too. I forget where, I think probably Cleveland and maybe Detroit.You know, I try to hit them if they come to Pittsburgh, great.And if they hit any of those sort of rust belt cities within my reach, I hit them up. So if traditional techniques tours around or if pavement comes around again, we'll try to...[29:42] Hit them up together. If you come to Pittsburgh, yeah, we'll go to Permanente's.Ah, love it. I love the ballpark there.I'm a baseball guy and you have a gorgeous ballpark. You got my email.Anytime you're going to be in Pittsburgh for anything, drop me a line. Will do. Awesome.Well, it was great talking to you today. Yeah, you too. All right, brother.I guess here comes the outro. Oh, one last thing since the outro is probably coming up. I don't know if this is the same for everybody else, but I don't hear carrot rope the same anymore.Oh, really? I hear you. you. I hear your voice.This has been Meeting Malcomus, a pavement podcast. I hear it every time.Oh, I'm sorry I ruined the song. No, it's great. I love it. I love it.All right, brother. Talk to you soon.Track 3:[30:25] Yeah, you too.Track 6:[30:26] JD. Thanks a lot, man. Take care and wash your goddamn hands.Track 3:[30:29] Yeah, wash your goddamn hands. Thanks for listening to Meeting Malcomus, a pavement podcast Podcast, where we count down the top 50 pavement tracks as selected by you.If you've got questions or concerns, please shoot me an email, jd at meetingmalkmus.com.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meeting-malkmus-a-pavement-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

jD, Pete, and Tim welcome Paul Langlois to the show to talk about his new record Guess What.TracksWill to FightDesperation Calling638 MainGuess WhatTranscriptTrack 1:[0:03] Well, I would see him working away in Timothee's from time to time, like I would walk past Timothee's and there would be Gord Downie sitting there on a laptop and, you know,my reaction as a super fan is like, I got to go in and say hi. And then, and then as the same super fan, I'm like, what if he's writing? Well, what if he's writing the next fucking great song? And I'm the asshole who interrupts that, right? Track 6:[0:28] Well, he would have been writing something, but he kind of put the songs together after. Track 1:[0:35] Oh, gotcha. Okay. Okay, gotcha. Track 6:[0:38] So, how is my signal? Because I can hotspot. It could be better. Track 1:[0:41] No, this is good. You're coming through great. Track 4:[0:43] It's great. Track 5:[0:44] Okay. Track 1:[0:44] It looks like a nice day. Are you outside? Track 6:[0:47] I'm outside. Track 1:[0:49] That's great. Track 6:[0:49] These are my little sister's paintings. Yeah, I sort of had a thing built where I can live outside and just be Oh, man Shelter shelter up there, you know, yeah So I spend a lot of time outhere. So I'm in downtown Kingston ish like about five blocks from the center of downtown and Cool. Yeah, so I like it here. We've been here like five years ever since the kids left Nice, nice. Track 5:[1:23] Just the two you have? Sorry. Track 6:[1:26] Two girls, yeah. And they're both kind of making their way in Toronto, 27 and 23, and in their separate career paths. Track 5:[1:34] Okay. Track 6:[1:36] So they're kind of, you know. Fairly entry-level and where they're working, but Sure. All right, and we just thought we Give them a break and they pay us far less rent than they would have to pay. Track 5:[1:49] Yeah. Track 6:[1:49] No, that's good I said and we've actually used the place because I have to be in Toronto More than I ever thought I thought I was retired and now I have to be in Toronto all the timeand So we stay there every time Cool. Ah. Toronto hotels these days, you're saving 600 bucks every time. Track 1:[2:07] Toronto hotels are insane right now. They're totally insane. So the premise of this podcast was, I found these two friends of mine that are from different parts of the world, but they both grew up in Southern California, and they had not heard ofThe Hip. So this is getting hip to The Hip, where we're taking them from not having heard them, and We go through the discography and sort of get their reactions as to what they're hearing. Because you know, you guys are a cultural phenomenon and it's strange sometimes when you meet people who aren't aware of this thing that is like 11 million people watched the lastconcert. You know, that's staggering when people don't know. Track 6:[2:51] I've got to say, great concept for a podcast. I did notice the title and I didn't really catch, like I didn't really know what it meant. Yeah, I love it. I love it. Track 5:[3:03] We're of the we're of the same generation pretty much here And you know Pete and I grew up with Southern, California radio you know, that's what got us into music and You know80s 90s. Track 4:[3:15] Yeah the radio. Track 5:[3:16] Yeah, I was making mixtapes off the radio and Middle school and yeah, you know, we didn't we didn't have the the hit playing on 91x in San Diego No, not a lot of radio play inCalifornia. Track 6:[3:28] There's a San Francisco station, uh, K-Fog? I forget the name of it. That's not K-Fog. There was a San Francisco station that played us, which is why we were able to, you know, eventually play the film or, you know, a couple,couple of days in a row kind of thing and sell that out. But that, I think it's K-Fog, something like that. Track 1:[3:50] It sounds very San Francisco. Yeah. There you go, actually. Track 6:[3:55] Our radio play was random. Dallas, we got played in the early days, and Chicago, we got played. So all the non-border towns, like, you know, Buffalo, they have Canadian radio. So we're always, we ended up in arenas there. Seattle, not as much, but then it was just random. You know, we'd get play in some American cities and no play whatsoever in others. So it takes so much longer by word of mouth than it does if you've got a song on the radio. Track 4:[4:29] Sure, you know, so so so Paul, this is something that I are you guys recording, by the way? Track 1:[4:35] Sorry, recording? Yeah, it's right. Track 6:[4:37] Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you're not losing all the all the goal. Track 5:[4:42] Okay, so we pretty much hit go and do no, no. Track 4:[4:45] Um, because we're talking about this too. And this has come up a number of times on the podcast, right? And obviously, you just were talking about some radio stations, you got random and play in certain cities, this and that. And Tim and I grew up at a time prior to streaming. We saw that switch. So essentially, whatever we were listening to, unless you were in some like super niche underground group with the cool kids and shit, you were listening to what wasbeing played on the three main stations, right? And we saw all the takeover with Clear Channel. We saw all that shit happen. Yeah, us too. The thing that I noticed, and I'm not trying to blow smoke up your ass here, Paul, but I'm going to maybe do a little bit, so clench if you got to. [5:39] I thought about a lot over the nine months we've been recording this podcast, is that good music is good music, and there's probably so much shit that falls through the cracks. Here you got Tim and I, who never heard of the hit before. We both have a lot of similar bands in common that we like, but J.D. Put us on this mainline IV drip of the Tragically Hip since we started this, and at first it was a slow burn, but But now it's like, I cannot imagine my life without your guys' band. And again, I'm sorry to blow smoke at you. No, that's not. I'm not trying to do that. No, I love it. I love it. But it's just like, good music is good music. And I had a deep dive into Guess What too, and we'll talk about that, I'm sure. Yeah, just it's if you're not exposed to it, man, then you're not exposed to it. Track 6:[6:43] You know, I really appreciate that like it's it's like and And the slow burn part as well. Like I think It was a slow burn for many people just because I Don't think it was that obvious like, you know, the early days were kind of like Oh, it's kind of like more a barroom bumpkind of you know know, um, really kind of not boring, but, you know, simple. [7:15] And so, but I know that when we were writing and recording, When we were writing and recording, we meant to do that. For these songs, the songs that we chose for each record, we believe that they would stand the test of time, that you'd probably have to listen to it four, five, six times before you start to,before it starts to grow on you, as you said, slow burn. And I think that's better. I mean, there are certainly songs I love that immediately it's kind of like, wow, okay, that's a hit. But a lot of times there's, even back then, you know, in the 80s and 90s, sometimes it's kind of spoon-fed stuff. I mean, it smells like Team Spirit right away. I loved it. That's not spoon-fed. We're just doing this thing. They're doing their thing. But there's many more examples of where it's more spoon-fed, where it lasts about nine or 10 listens, and then it's like, okay, I've had enough of this. Track 4:[8:18] Moving on, when I do when I when I press play on in violet light, I remember and I told JD and Tim this I was like, dude, I'm not I this is not gonna work. This is gonna be a shittytwo weeks. We're listening. And then like it ends up like, I just it just starts. It's like a cicada man. It just burrowed its way into my head. And then, like, at some point a week and a half into it, I'm rolling down the highway here in Spain, just like fucking windows down just like what? Where have you been all my life? Track 6:[8:50] That starts with Use It Up, right? Oh yeah, Use It Up. Track 1:[8:54] Oh yeah, yeah. Track 4:[8:56] Oh dude, Use It Up. Oh fuck. Track 1:[8:57] That was the song he picked. Yeah. Because every album I make them pick a song and Use It Up was for that record. Track 6:[9:05] It's so funny because I didn't like that song at first. I was like... You didn't? Yeah. Now what? We're reaching here, it's no good. And then it grew on me as we were sort of all learning our parts and playing it together. It was like, oh, I get it now. Use it up. Yeah, this is the best thingfor later. But at first, I was just like, this is going to be a horrible record. Track 4:[9:31] Oh, dear. Track 5:[9:32] Well, I even said to my kid, I have a 21-year-old, I have 21 and 18-year-old sons, and my 21-year-old plays drums and an amazing drummer and he's getting into other stuff too. But I played him some of the, you know, I don't remember which album, but he looked at me and he's like, are you sure you can do this? What is this band? And the guy, does he sing weird? What are you doing? And I'm like, I hope so, bro. Let's see what happens. But no, since then, I've played in bits here and there. And my whole family, of course, has been subject to the hip. Yeah, same here. And they're now recognizing the hip when they come on. I haven't forced them to sit down and hear an album, but that'll happen eventually, I'm sure. But yeah, the slow burn has been awesome. And for you guys to accomplish that, I mean, you were in high school, right? When you... Shortly after high school? Track 6:[10:34] Just after, yep. So there's a university here, Queen's, so three of the guys were at Queen's. Johnny was still in high school, drummer. Okay, that's right. He was in grade 13, which they don't have grade 13 anymore, but... Yeah, so it was kind of Yeah, a long long time Yeah, I mean for that to happen. Track 5:[10:55] It's like you know I have a My brother-in-law told me at one point like what are you gonna? Do bro? You know you're 19 You're not doing anything is like I'm gonna be a pro skateboarder And I'm like dude you got a one and what 40 million shot to be a pro skater Yeah, come on.I mean, but you guys you guys were young and you kept at it, and you didn't go after careers I don't think I mean, I'm sure some of you held like part-time jobs or something But you guysjust kept going at it. Track 6:[11:24] We all had parents that were kind of like very supportive but at the same time everyone was in University and You know, what's the backup plan my dad said all the time and I'mlike no backup plan dad These guys because I joined a bit later like a year and a half in they were covered in And I love them and Gord Downer is my best friend and he asked me to joinbasically because I was Leaving. I mean I didn't think of it as a threat, but he thought it was a threat that I was just gonna go down Try my luck as a songwriter and He was like he didn't like that at all. And so that's the other And when I joined, my dad was like, yeah, but, um, you're going to go back to school and you'll have a backup plan. I'm like, I don't need one. Track 1:[12:20] And so I'm just going to ask you what's the moment, what the moment was where you knew you didn't need a backup plan. You knew that early on, like that it was like you guyshad lightning in a bottle. Track 6:[12:31] I knew when I joined, I went to all their gigs and, um, but whenever I could, like I I was driving cab, but Gord would always have me on the list. And they were just like small in-town gigs, either at the university or at a biker bar or whatever, a few bars that they were playing. And... I knew, like, and it wasn't just Gork. I knew that Robbie and Johnny and Sinclair, like, that they were just doing something different. Now, mostly they were playing covers, but they had songs that never made it even to our first baby record. Great songs, Heart Attack Love and Baby Blue Blood and, you know, all these songs were Reformed Baptist Blues, which was on Thaskadelphia, but surprising. [13:21] But it was just like, God, they know how to write songs. Gord is unbelievable. Nothing like the friend I had. Like as soon as he got up on stage, it was just kind of like, wow. And so I just felt like, you know, they have it. And word of mouth already just in Kingston. You know, they say you can't, if you're in a band and you can't draw a crowd in your hometown, then chances aren't great. [13:53] But if you can, you can take that. And so we just would just gradually take it to the next town over, Belleville or, you know, Brockville, then Cornwall and, you know, Oshawa, justsort of like just took it up and down the 401, which is a highway around here. And just, we relied on word of mouth. And then we started booking things that way. Let's do three nights. So we'll play Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and by Saturday we'll have it full because everyone's gonna be going home saying, okay, the singer's crazy and the band isheavy and tight. And so we built it up that way. I'm not sure if you could do it these days. I mean, there's still venues. So I think you actually could still do it our way. It was the only way we knew how to do it, but we always felt like, we were always like. We all had a couple of hundred bucks in general, you know, so it wasn't like, um, we were, we weren't, uh, not making money, you know, we were able to, and our parents weresupportive, you know, Gord's parents got us a van and et cetera. It just kind of, um, we knew very early on that we could just keep doing it. Let's just keep doing it until it goes south. And it never did. Track 1:[15:10] I guess not. Track 4:[15:11] Holy shit. Track 1:[15:11] Amazing. Track 4:[15:13] It's an understatement. Track 1:[15:14] Yeah. Track 4:[15:17] So I want to, I don't know if it's cool fellas, but I want to dig into the to guess what a little bit. Track 1:[15:23] Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Track 4:[15:27] So first off, you guys recorded the bathhouse. Yeah, we talked to we talked to Gord. What was it like three months ago? We talked to Gord. Track 1:[15:35] Oh, yeah. Yeah. Track 5:[15:37] Let's go. Yeah. Track 1:[15:39] When his record dropped, he came on. Track 6:[15:41] Pardon me? Track 1:[15:41] When his record dropped, he came on. Track 6:[15:44] I really love that record. I've told him many times. He's so funny. You know, he's just like... He's such a sweet dude. Yeah, he is. And he's, you know, we complain mutually about having to be the singer and, you know, and just all the complications. But I love his record. I've told him all the time. It's just like, it's classic him. just such variety. But we're not talking about his record, I guess. Sorry. Track 4:[16:15] No, no. No, he kind of said some of the same stuff, but your vocals on, I love the vocals on it. And then I was kind of reading about what you did with the, in terms of choosing the band and what's his name? His name is, oh, Billy Anglin. That dude is a, he's a freak on the drums, man. Track 6:[16:45] Desperation calling oh yeah yeah when he does that yeah like what the hell is that he's a giant in real life I don't know if you knew that's crazy he's like I don't know I think he's sixfive Oh he's easily 250 must be I don't know how much away but well hey he's a giant and he was a kid that we heard about Johnny mentioned him to me. I remember back when we first started, Johnny was like, there's a kid over at Elsie, which was another high school. We were at Casey and they were at Elsie and there's a kid, Billy Anglin, and he's like five years younger than us. He's like, they had the same drum teacher and he's like, that kid's really good. And he played into his 20s and then he started a construction company and hadn't played for 20 some years. And another The other guy in the band, Joe Carscallon, is kind of like a family friend of his. And he was like, you know, Bill Anglin would do it if he asked and I'm like, seriously? And anyway, he is great. We just played a show just out of town. There's a little quaint little town, Guananacue. I'm not sure if you've been there, JD, but it's a beautiful little summer town, Thousand Islands. Track 1:[18:00] Okay. Track 6:[18:01] And we played a gig on Saturday night. And I was just like, for some reason, I was just kind of really focused on Bill and the stuff he was doing. I'm very lucky. And the same with everyone else in the band, of course. Oh yeah. He just hits them so hard and he's so big. And he has a huge drum kit too, like huge. Where it's like, oh my God. We pull into a little club a couple of weeks ago just to have a warmup show. Track 4:[18:32] And the club owner's like, You know, the drums basically took up the whole, it's like, is this a Russian, is this a Russian cover band? Is Neil Curtin? Yeah. Track 6:[18:43] Anyway, I'm going to tell Bill you mentioned him because he's amazing. Track 1:[18:49] The big toms at the beginning of Will to Fight as well. Track 6:[18:52] Right. That's what I thought. That's what I thought Pete was going to say. Track 1:[18:55] Those big toms right off the start, it's like, oh fuck, this song has a bone to pick with me. It's like, it's challenging me right now, this song, it's. Track 6:[19:09] We've been opening with that one. Oh yeah. And Bill loves it, you know, he's had a setlist. Track 5:[19:14] Cool. Track 6:[19:16] Oriented and I always put Will to fight first and he's quite happy with it, he loves starting. Like he is not short on confident. For a guy who hasn't played, he's played on his own but who hasn't played with anybody for 20 years, It's pretty amazing. Track 4:[19:31] That's crazy, man. You know, you, well, it's because we're talking about drums. This is something that's that came that came up a couple times in the podcast. I don't know what record it was that we're talking about. But I had mentioned and I said it and I said it exactly like this. I was like, Paul Langlois is a fucking drummer. Track 1:[19:52] Yes. Yeah. I remember you remember that? Track 4:[19:55] Yeah. And and I said that because I don't remember what song and what record it really hit me like a Like a freight train, man. Track 1:[20:02] It was in between evolution is what you said it. Was it? Track 4:[20:06] Was it in between evolution? Track 1:[20:07] Yeah. Track 4:[20:07] Yeah. Just your, the tone of that, bless Paul, and just the chunk, chunk, chunk that was, I can't remember the song that it was on where it hit me and I was like, dude, I don't knowwho's drumming here. Is it Paul or is it Johnny? Because I'm getting, because I've done that. I've done that thing where you listen to each member of a band individually. Like, I don't know if you've ever done that, like next time you, next time you want to have a good time listening to your, if you like Rush, I mean, I like Rush. Who doesn't? Track 6:[20:40] I love Rush. I love Rush. Track 4:[20:42] Take it, take a Rush tune or watch maybe a live, live recording and focus on one. Watch it three times and focus on one musician each time. And you'll just see something new every time. Track 6:[20:54] I love that idea. Yeah. I love that idea. And thanks for that. On my first solo record, because I always thought... I got a drum kit when I was 30 as a birthday present, and it was Johnny's kit. Well, he set it up. And so my wife got it for me, Joanne. And then, so I was just drumming secretly in the basement, just because I always wanted to try it. And so my very first record, Fix His Head, which was like, I don't know, 15 years ago or something. Track 1:[21:27] 2010, yeah. Track 6:[21:30] Yeah, so 13 years ago and... I was just on my own. It was just me. And really, I was in there, in our studio, just with the engineer. Like, it's quite awkward, really. Because it's just the two of us, you know? I'm like, Aaron, you go outside or go do what you're going to do. Just give me the song on a loop. And I'm just going to play the song. And if I get a good one, I'll run into into the control room and push the space bar and stop it. And so that's how I drummed, really, because I just didn't like him kind of just being bored in there, probably on his phone. Yeah. Track 5:[22:10] Hovering. Track 6:[22:11] So anyway, I did all the drumming on Fix His Head. And it's not stellar drumming, but I was happy enough with it that it passed. I mean, it would have been way, if Johnny or Billy Anglin was playing, obviously, it would have been way, way better. But I wanted it to be a private record. I didn't really want to put it out. Track 1:[22:33] That's crazy. That's so crazy. But it's interesting you say that. I have a question for you that's been bothering me since your new record came out. Your new record is called Guess What, and it's the Paul Langlois band. But I go back into my old records that I have. I have them in Apple, so they're digital. And they say, like, fix this head, says Paul Langelois band now on it. But wasn't it just Paul Langelois before? Track 6:[23:02] Yes. Track 1:[23:03] Oh, so I'm not going crazy. Track 6:[23:06] Yeah, no, you're not crazy. You're not going crazy. I mean, it drives me a bit crazy, really, the thought. And Joanne hates, hates Paul Langlois Band, hates that there's no the. Oh, really? Track 1:[23:19] She's like, Jake. Track 6:[23:22] Yeah, the hips are my manager. My manager is also the hips manager, Jake Gould. He does a great job, but he was kind of, he was very in favor of just Paul Langlois Band. And I'mlike, okay, that's awkward, though. Wouldn't you say the Paul Langlois band? Track 1:[23:39] Yeah. Track 6:[23:40] Two guys in the band, Greg Ball especially, was like, no, Paul Langlois. Don't say Paul Langlois band, your first two records were Paul Langlois, so just Paul Langlois. And through the agents and all the people booking and stuff, it's like, well, the Paul Langlois band would probably be more appealing as an act to book, because I was trying to playfestivals this summer. And so I was like, okay. And then it's like, oh, by the way, we gotta go back. And it's all because of Spotify. Everything's because of Spotify these days. Track 1:[24:15] Oh, God. Track 6:[24:17] You gotta go back and call your first two records Paul Langlois banned because if someone searches, I don't understand it, but the algorithm, whatever it is, if someone searches,guess what, Paul Langlois banned, my first two records aren't gonna come up. And so that convinced me. I'm like, I want my first workers to come up. Track 5:[24:36] It happens. Track 4:[24:37] But that's the same thing with Malcolmus and the Jicks. Do you guys, I don't know if you guys know that. He has the same, that's a weird thing on Spotify. They want it to come up. They wanted to come up the other records so everybody can access all the music. And I get it because you also want people to listen to your, you know, your other records. But it's also like that. Track 6:[24:59] Yeah, I would like that. But I get it. But I hate it. You know, it's, it's, it's silly. It's silly. Track 4:[25:04] Me too. Track 6:[25:05] Paul Langlois would come up. Just if I call this the Paul Langlois band, which is- Change the algorithm, man. Track 4:[25:13] Change the search bar. Like make them both come up. Track 1:[25:16] Jesus Christ. Track 5:[25:18] That's funny you mention that Paul, at one point during our discography review of you guys I said, yeah, I love this whole process but the hip has totally fucked up my algorithm inSpotify. Like every time I play something now it's like something associated with the hip. It's like all these other bands but I have discovered some other bands. Track 1:[25:39] We were talking one day, Tim and I were talking, I was out for a walk and he's like, you're going to get a kick out of this, Paul, cause he's like, who is April wine? Oh, really? And I was like, April wine is like a seminal Canadian. Track 5:[25:52] Absolutely. Many, many hits. Track 6:[25:53] Big band. Good hits. Good. Yeah. Track 5:[25:59] Yeah, they're, they're fucking cool. Like I would, that was a fun surprise for me. That was, you know, thanks to the algorithm. So, but that, but that was, that was one of those things, you know, So 10 years, 10 years between Not Guilty and Guess What? Track 1:[26:18] Yeah. Not Guilty was 2013. Obviously that was a fucking giant 10 years in your life. What changed singer-songwriter wise? What did you take from that 10 years of experience and put onto this record? Is there anything you can lay down for us? Track 6:[26:47] You know, I think I got the… Lyrics are my toughest. That's the toughest. It's like finishing the bathrooms, you run out of money. And so, oh yeah, let's go for the vinyl shower. And so that's what I would do with lyrics. I'd kind of almost get, I get somewhere, but then I just stop and I didn't know where to go. So I think time passing more than anything. Gord, Gord passing. Track 1:[27:18] Yeah, yeah, of course. Track 6:[27:19] Time passing, the way the tour was so special, such an achievement on all our parts, but especially for Gord. Of course. The achievement on his part was unbelievable. It was unbelievable to watch, like from the inside, just how hard he worked and how driven he was. Was, like he didn't stop. And so I think that kind of affected, that helped me just with lyrics. Time passing, the girls moving out, my daughters, you know. And you know, now it's like in my 50s. And it's kind of like, I think that sort of just came through in the songs, Will to Fight, you know, just anything, just kind of like. So there was that. I didn't think I would ever, like I just was not interested in songwriting until I got offered a gig. And it was a few months away. And Joanne said, well, you've got to do it. And I'm like, well, I've got to put a band together. I'm not fucking into that. Who would I get? [28:34] Anyway, so then I thought of they're all buddies, Kingston buddies, and musicians, but they all have other jobs. And, um... Yeah, and then we started rehearsing and playing and and It was fun and so I decided I had a couple of songs Okay, maybe I'll finish those and we'll have a couple of You know new recordsongs. I was just playing my first two records kind of thing and then that was the end of August last year and and I booked the studio for November 7th, I think or 8th and And so then I had adeadline, so in September and October, I just kept throwing songs at them and I kept writing. And so it was the first time I'd written anything in 10 years. Like I just, I hadn't written anything. And then it was like, oh, wow, this is fun. These guys are good. And so the whole record is live. I mean, I play guitar and at the same time, I didn't do anything except one scratchy vocal. I redid one vocal, but we're playing live and there were very little fixes and very little overdub. Joe overdubbed a couple of solos. [29:54] So it was just kind of exactly how I wanted it to be and it was very reminiscent of how the hit recorded. You know, we like to not make mistakes, go into the control room and be like, yeah, this is a one. Of course, we'd leave it mostly up to Johnny, because the drums have to be right. He would always pick the ones that we wanted, without even talking about it. Okay, we like take number three. That was a very similar process to recording in the hip or in the bathhouse, so it was all very inspiring. So I'm a new person, honestly. I really thought I was done. Gord died, I just thought, well, we had a good run. It's sad. Yeah. But it was like 32 naturally years actively together. It's been longer now, but you know, all of us together playing and it wasn't like a five-year run, you know? And so I just thought, okay, that's good. But you know, yeah, we did it. And I'm just going to move on and come up with other things. Track 4:[31:07] I just didn't come up with anything else. No, but 638 Main says, like, I got a window into the song where you were at with this record and what kind of the question that JD asked. Like that I was like, okay, I see kind of where Paul's Brain was at with this record and like that's fucking cool, man. I'm so happy for you, dude I don't know. I had the same shit too before we recorded like before I Jumped in with this band that I'm in man. I was just kind of like, all right, I'm done playing music and then you fall in and then you get a band together and then you're like Like, oh, this is fucking, this is fun, man. This is rightwhere it should be. Track 6:[31:52] Yeah, you forget how fun it is. I did. And it's funny you mentioned 638 Maine. Not many people, but I have a couple of quirky friends that are like 638 Maine, man. I love that one. Whereas most of my friends, I'm sure they've never mentioned that song. I don't think it's necessarily a skipper, but it's an odd one. Track 4:[32:14] And basically- That's what's cool about it. Track 6:[32:17] Yeah, it's, you know, to me, it's cool, because I made it up on the spot. I didn't have anything written down. And I just pictured myself. Track 1:[32:26] What? Track 6:[32:26] Like I'm talking about what it's like to be in a studio. And we were in there eight days. And Greg and I, those guys were going, like there's a firefighter, construction, a factory shiftworker. Greg's a waiter, so he took the eight days off. And I don't have another job, so I did too. So Greg and I were out there the whole time. And a couple of nights, it was late. They were all latenights. And I was just sitting there, just like, oh, it'd be good if I could set myself in a bar to describe what it's like being in a studio. I didn't know if it was Monday or Tuesday. It was kind of like, you're lost in the music. You're lost in the recording. So I thought, and we only had nine songs, or nine that I liked. And so I was like, I want to try this one. And I just made it up. I just like set myself on fire. And then I'm kind of chasing the song. You know, it's all turning out like it should or whatever the words are. Track 4:[33:29] But it paints the picture, man. There was a hip song like that too. Do you remember, Tim, the apartment where Gord was describing the apartment? You know what I'm talking about? Track 1:[33:40] Apartment song. Track 4:[33:40] But that 638, man, it paints the picture, man. Track 6:[33:44] Oh, well, thanks. Thanks. Yeah. I was, I was very, uh, very happy with that. And Greg and Joe were asleep on the couch in the control room. So it was just, I just laid it down on acoustic and then, um, and saying it. And... And Bill and Matt, drums and bass, they played. And Joe and Greg were kind of pissed off because I missed it. So I allowed them to add a guitar and backup vocal. Track 4:[34:23] So anyway, I'm glad you mentioned that. It's cool, man. It's a deep cut. Deep cut. Yeah, we're going to Kingston. And for the finale we're doing is September 1st, but I think the day before or the day after we're going to Kingston. Yeah, August 31st. Track 1:[34:41] We're doing it. They're flying in August 30th. And uh, we're doing a road trip to Kingston. Track 6:[34:48] You're kidding. Track 1:[34:50] No. Oh, yeah, we're gonna do it. Yeah. I've got it right. Track 4:[34:54] Like I mean, yeah, I'm gonna be so dragon ass, man. Track 5:[34:59] It's all part of this process. Track 6:[35:00] That's what are you? Are you kind of Just doing it for fun. I'll meet up with you either way whether you're recording something or not That would be amazing to buy you a beer yeah, yeah, that would be absolutely amazing Yeah, we check the redhouse. Just get in touch with me. Track 4:[35:19] All right Let's do it, man. Let's do it. Track 5:[35:22] Let's do it Yeah, we're flying into town and we have an event at the rec room in Toronto on September 1st. So that's that's like our Our grand finale of the pod is we're meeting up and there's a tribute band, 50 Mission, playing at the Rec Room and we're doing this fundraiser for the DanielWinsor Fund. Track 6:[35:45] Oh cool. And so are you going to be, is it an event where you're not sort of talking together or are you guys going to get up and sing? Track 1:[35:54] We're going to record the final episode of the podcast at this event. Track 6:[35:58] Oh cool. Track 1:[35:59] So they'll finally reveal whether or not they're hip bands, which they've done a poor job concealing it. It's so funny at the beginning, they would be like, Pete would be like, oh, yeah, there's this lick that the rhythm guitarist plays. And you know, then later on, it's like, Paul Langlois, am I saying his name right? And then later on, it's just Paul. You know what I mean? Track 4:[36:21] I had no concept of your existence, man. I mean, I was like, what's this guy's, who's this guy's name? Now it's like, everything's off the tongue, man, but I, by the way, I gotta ask you, and I know they're for different things, but what do you prefer about it? Do you like your telly or do you like the Les Paul? What's the, what's the one that you're, that you, if you die with the guitar in your hands, the one you want in the hands? Track 6:[36:45] I mean, it would kind of, it would have to be to tell you, I'm playing the telly on the solo band shows. Okay. So, I've gone back to the telly. I don't regret playing a Les Paul. I started Les Paul day for night on. And that was a black one, Black Beauty. But then I switched to a Sunburst, which I love that guitar. That's my second favorite. That's my second favorite. But the Tele for sure. That was the first electric I bought, like officially bought to play in the band. And I'm using it now. And yeah, it would be the Tele for sure. Track 4:[37:28] I never played a telly ever until about six months ago when I visit my family in California. I walked into a guitar center and I went into the expensive room that you're not supposedto go in. I sat and there was nobody there. It was just a ghost town. I sat with a telly for like an hour and I was like, jeez, man. I got it because I always played a Strat. I got a Jazzmaster, and an SG, but I never, and I've never played, I mean, I played a Les Paul once, twice, but I never owned a Les Paul. That's thenext on the list. But a Tele was, I liked it. Track 6:[38:05] Yeah, well, see, it's funny, because I find a Strat the most different guitar, and because Robbie played it already, and he was like, he had 15 years of experience on me, because Ididn't start playing until I was 19, and he started playing, he was small. And he was playing a Strat. And so I was like, I mean, I started out playing acoustic and after a while I was like, fuck this, I can't fucking hear. And I had a big train ramp and it was just like, it was impossible to, I'd turn it up to, and I got electrocuted all the time because it was a old shit. Well, I finally said, I'm playing electrocute It's a lot of telly and because I figured that telly is kind of the opposite of a strat almost and I've never really ever tried to play a strat, like Ireally honestly never have. Les Paul's and Telly's I find are way more similar. The Strat to me is a different one. It's super cool, but it's just not my thing. Track 4:[39:13] I just like the pickups, man, like that Steve Miller tone, that Buddy Holly, those 57s and those 59s, those pickups are just so tinny and, you know. I don't know, I like that. Yeah, no, it's amazing. Track 5:[39:31] So, when we were just getting into Saskadelphia, right, and I'm listening to Crack My Spine the other day with my headphones on, you know, because I want to hear everything, andyour guitar on that was just like, it kind of just sounded like, it reminded me of the Ramones, like you were just kind of playing some power chords through there. It just reminded me of like 80s kind of punk rock, you know, and I just, I just loved that about it and it's been such an interesting thing hearing you guys playing guitar because, you know,most bands you got bass and drums kind of linked up as the backbone and you might have a lead guitarist but you might not or a rhythm guitarist but you guys were just like playing guitardoing your thing and it works and I think that's just such a cool rare thing about a band that you guys pulled off. And then it's been so fun to then go on and listen to your solo stuff and hear your evolution too, because we don't get this opportunity with bands very often in general. Like how many bands are still around or guys still around? Well, that's so cool to hear. Track 6:[40:43] You know, what I would credit that the most, or whom I would credit, is Don Smith, who produced Up to Here and Road Apples, because he handled us, he hard panned us, left andright, Robbie and I. So listen, I listen to ACDC, and sorry, but Malcolm Young isn't loud enough. Like, it's like the guitars are like this. Track 5:[41:12] It's true. Track 6:[41:14] So Don panned us. And so then every producer after that, and our guy, Mark Breakin, who actually helped us produce our only record we did without a producer was Trouble at theHen House. And Mark Breakin still mixes, you know, he mixed Saskatoon, he's been our sound man and our live sound man for the whole time. Although he did leave to bigger and better things for a good chunk of 15 years or so, but he's back with us and he pans them too. So he, so you can hear one in one ear, one in the other. I'm deaf in my right ear, So I have to listen to it twice just to. You know, hear what Robbie's doing, the odd time I'm interested. [42:03] But I credit Don because Don did that and he was super cool and we were so, he was unbelievable and we couldn't believe we were working with him. He'd done Traveling Wilburys and he did everything and he was Mr. Cool and he was just like, you guys just do your thing. And this is when we were young, impressionable, you know, we wanted to do our thing, but we figured, you know, people are going to tell us, you know, you should be a bit more countryand people did, you know, a bit more country, maybe or something. Don was just like, just do your thing. And he panned the guitars. So basically, he, he, I credit him with my job. Because people can hear me if they want, you know, if they're taking a closer listen, and like you guys do, it's kind of like all my parts are just naked on one side. At one point though, I made a list, and it's an ongoing list of songs where I'm in the right speaker if you're looking at it. I'm always on the left, and Robbie's always on the right. Except more and more, I'll check it, and I have like a list of about 12 songs where I'm on the right and Robbie's on the left. My producer decided to switch it. Track 1:[43:20] Oh, funny. Track 6:[43:23] Which is curious to me. Because when I put on headphones, so I can only hear out of this ear, 100% deaf in this one. Wow. I always put the left ear, because that's me. Oh, shit. Track 4:[43:37] And then you go. Track 6:[43:39] And then the odd hit song I'll run into, and it's kind of like, that's not me. That's Robbie. Track 4:[43:44] Who's this shitty guitar player? Track 6:[43:46] We didn't listen to each other at all, by the way, not at all. Track 4:[43:53] It's funny, dude. Paul, when you guys did Trouble, man, and that was a record, I think Tim and I, I don't know, I'm speaking for Tim here, but for me, that was the record where I was like, it finally openedfor me. And I got everything prior to that too, but that record was like, okay, this band doesn't give a shit about what anybody thinks, man. Just gonna do their own thing. And that's where I was like, you guys grew into this just animal that nobody knew existed. I don't know, man, that was a that was a break. That was the record that JD when JD flew to Malaga for primavera sound last year, he brought a vinyl and this is me still not knowinganything about you guys. And he brought me trouble at the house. And I was like, Yeah, I do you remember? Track 1:[44:48] Do you remember I mailed you trouble at the hen house on CD. And you're like, I don't have a CD player. I was like, who doesn't have a CD player? Track 4:[44:56] We moved here and I and then yeah, because we moved from the state. Anyway. Yeah, yeah. Track 6:[45:07] It's it's funny. Just to add something, because I thought of it earlier, very early on this chat, you were saying something, Pete, that I thought of, and I'm like, oh, fuck, I thought ofsomething good to say, and I forgot, but now I remember. So there was this band, there's this, I don't know that they're a band anymore, they're from Philly, and they're called Marah, M-A-R-A-H. [45:36] And they're a couple of brothers. And anyway, out of the blue, the day after our last show, the singer writes Robbie a letter. And he's like, and he describes, the letter makes me cry. me cry like it he describes his life and you know they got signed to, Maybe Steve Earle had a label, someone like that. Oh, nice. Nashville person. So they had some success, but they just ruined everything all the time. That was just their nature. You have brothers, and any time things started to go well,they would kind of blow it up. And then he described, he goes on to describe, he was out in the country on a TV at a cabin he doesn't use, but he happened to throw on the TV, and the CBC covered that show live, youknow, so it was live on the air, and he describes, you know, watching the show and what's about to happen, and what was my point? Well, there's this thing in the doc that Robbie quotes him, like, what's going to happen here? You know, are they gonna all bands either explode on the way up or on the way down everything? [47:01] Burn out nothing works out and What are you telling me? These guys are gonna pull the he compared it to a You know an air balloon, whatever they're called parachute No, like a balloon, you know, oh, yeah hot air balloon what they're all gonnapull it down and and land safely, like win rock and roll or something. It's just kind of like, anyway, it was just an amazing letter years ago. And I've always had the intention to kind of reach out to him and say, fuck your letter, man. Cause he, it's way more than that. Another thing he said is he would try, cause this is quite like this podcast that you're doing JD. He would, he learned not to play the hip to people, to his friends, to anyone, various girlfriends. He was like, I'd never do it. If he found a real hip fan, he said, like because they're touring, right, in New York or London or wherever, as soon as he realized it's a real hip fan, they'd be at the back of the bar. He'd take them to the back of the bar, and they'd have pints, and they'd talk about all things hip. [48:18] And anyway, so he said, if someone came over to my house, and I trusted them enough to play the hip, And they started talking over the music. That's it. Christmas lights off. Everyone's going home. [48:34] He's an amazing writer. Track 4:[48:38] It's so true. I said that to JD a couple of weeks ago when I was in California this last time in May. We were driving to Joshua Tree. And I fucking hate when people put on music and they're like, listen to this band. You're going to love this band. And it's like, you build it up, right? I didn't do that. I grabbed my buddy's phone, we're driving down, I don't know, 64 or whatever it is, down in Joshua Tree, 29 Palms, and I just grabbed his phone and I put on Trouble atthe Inn House. Yeah. And he's like, who the fuck is this? Track 6:[49:10] That's how to do it. Yeah. Track 4:[49:12] That's all I did. I played a couple tunes and he's like, who's this band? I was like, oh, it's... And then, you know, cause you don't set the expectations. Yeah. Track 6:[49:23] Yeah, no, exactly. That's how to do it. That's the downy way, actually. Did Gord and all his brothers. You surprise somebody. If you give people warning, it's not the same, you know? Yeah. It's just like, no, no. Track 1:[49:38] Expectations. Track 6:[49:39] Yeah, and when Gord was sick. Track 5:[49:41] It's true, it's true. Track 6:[49:42] His brother was looking after him mainly, and I was mainly there to help Pat. Someone would be, I wanna come over and see Gord, you know, because there was no tour in the future. Like, we all just thought this is it. And I was like, oh, this guy wants to come by. And Pat's like, well, just don't tell Gord about it. Tell them to come but we won't tell them about it. It'll just get surprised. That's how the Downies do it. It's like, oh we're here. Track 5:[50:10] That's cool. Track 1:[50:15] Paul, I know we said 45 minutes and we're over so I'm sorry for taking more of your time than we should have. No problem. Track 6:[50:20] I still got seven minutes before the next one. Track 1:[50:26] Oh wow, you're on junket mode, eh? Track 6:[50:28] Yeah, three today. Track 1:[50:32] Oh wow. Well, any chance we'll see you on the road in the fall? Or is it just take it as it comes? Track 6:[50:43] Take it as it comes, yeah. Sort of trying to stick to festivals, but obviously they start disappearing when the fall comes. So, unknown. So, I've got two more gigs in August and like one in Windsor-ish, Kingsville, and one in Bath, where our studio is, and those are both in August. Track 1:[51:08] It's been great talking to you. So great. Track 6:[51:10] Yeah, great talking to you guys. It's nice to meet you too, as well. Track 4:[51:13] Nice to meet you, Paul. Thanks for your time, man. Track 6:[51:17] Hey, we'll talk again. Track 5:[51:18] Yeah. Track 6:[51:18] Good luck with everything. Track 5:[51:19] For sure. Track 4:[51:20] Take care. Track 5:[51:20] Thanks. Track 6:[51:21] OK. See you guys. Track 5:[51:22] All right. Cheers! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gettinghiptothehip/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

'My love of Malkmus' music first came from his solo records with The Jicks. This may be the reason why I hold them so highly.' This week Oliver explores Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks' record 'Mirror Traffic'. Also, great new music from indie punk rockers The Front Bottoms. Added visuals on iOS devices thanks to Vizzy.fm. Follow @asonicyouthpodcast on Insta and Facebook. This show is part of the Free FM 89.0 YOUTH ZONE. Made with support of NZ on Air.

Founded by Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks) and Sam Coomes (Heatmiser, Elliott Smith) in 1992, Quasi has become a Pacific Northwest rock & roll institution. The band's new album Breaking The Balls of History is out now on Sub Pop Records. On this episode of Hotline, they answer your questions from the 1-877-WASTOIDS answering machine, sharing their fantasy world, records they can't live with out and much more. Call us anytime at 1-877-WASTOIDS. More podcasts and videos at WASTOIDS.com | Follow us on Instagram and YouTube.

TWENTY YEARS!? Where on earth has the time gone? In this special episode of the Fools on a Hill Podcast, Cal, Liam and Yanni take you through Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks' Pig Lib. We talk about our thoughts on the album, our favourite tracks and whether or not we feel the album has aged well. Let us know what you think! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/foolsonahillpodcast/support

Adam has been making records in Portland for over 10 years. Some of the bands he has worked with include Portugal. The Man, Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Black Thought, Dame D.O.L.L.A, Built to Spill, Quasi, The Decemberists, Red Fang, and Jerry Joseph. Adam moved from Phoenix to Portland in 2009 after studying audio at MCC, and landed at Jackpot! shortly after. Aside from engineering, he has also scored and mixed films, produced children's audio books, and captured live performances all around the city. All production by Cody Maxwell. Artwork by Cody Maxwell. Opening graphic assets by sonorafilms. sharkfyn.com maxwellskitchenpodcast.com

We're back for 2023! and to celebrate, we're talking about our favourite songs from 20 years earlier in 2003, when Colin quit university to work in a record shop, In addition to the music we talk about linguistics in pop punk, and feature both the longest, & shortedt songs we've ever had on any of our playlists. We've each chosen our 10 favourite songs of the year and sent them over to Colin's wife Helen, who put the playlists together and distributed them so we were each given a playlist of the 20 songs from the other two hosts, along with our own 10. We then ranked the playlists in order of preference and sent them back to Helen, who totalled up the points and worked out the order.She also joined us on the episode to read out the countdown, which we found out as we recorded so all reactions are genuine.Now, admittedly, in parts we're a little bit brutal to some of the songs in the list as we're three separate people with differing music tastes, but please remember that to be in this episode at all the songs have to have been in one of our top 10's of that year. Bands featured in this episode include (In alphabetical order, no spoilers here!) - Alfie, Alkaline Trio, A Perfect Circle, Blink 182, Broadcast, Cult Of Luna, Cursive, The Dears, Evan Dando, Explosions In The Sky, The Fall, Four Tet, Jose Gonzalez, Hope Of The States, Jay-Z, Lamb Of God, Liam Lynch, Machine Head, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Mew, Ministry, Kylie Minogue, Mogwai, Opeth, The Postal Service, Radiohead, Sleep, Spiritualized, Stars, & Patrick Wolf.Find all songs in alphabetical order here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4uuaF2z2giwA5OBbH7LxbT?si=ffd7a22f3065434cFind our We Dig Music Pollwinners Party playlist (featuring all of the winning songs up until now) here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/45zfDHo8zm6VqrvoEQSt3z?si=Ivt0oMj6SmitimvumYfFrQIf you want to listen to megalength playlists of all the songs we've individually picked since we started doing best of the year episodes, you can listen to Colin's here – https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5x3Vy5Jry2IxG9JNOtabRT?si=HhcVKRCtRhWCK1KucyrDdg Ian's here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2H0hnxe6WX50QNQdlfRH5T?si=XmEjnRqISNqDwi30p1uLqA and Tracey's here - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2p3K0n8dKhjHb2nKBSYnKi?si=7a-cyDvSSuugdV1m5md9Nw The playlist of 20 songs from the other two hosts was scored as usual, our favourite song got 20 points, counting down incrementally to our least favourite which got 1 point. The scoring of our own list of 10 is now slightly more complicated in order to give a truer level of points to our own favourites. So rather than them only being able to score as many points as our 10th favourite in the other list, the points in our own list were distributed as follows -1st place - 20 points2nd place - 18 points3rd place – 16 points4th place – 14 points5th place – 12 points6th place – 9 points7th place – 7 points8th place – 5 points9th place – 3 points10th place -1 pointHosts - Ian Clarke, Colin Jackson-Brown & Tracey BGuest starring Helen Jackson-Brown.Playlist compiling/distributing – Lydia ClarkeRecorded/Edited/Mixed/Original Music by Colin Jackson-Brown for We Dig PodcastsThanks to Peter Latimer for help with the scoring system.Say hello at www.facebook.com/wedigmusicpcast or tweet us at http://twitter.com/wedigmusicpcast or look at shiny pictures on Instagram at http://instagram.com/wedigmusicpcast Part of the We Made This podcast network. https://twitter.com/wmt_network You can also find all the We Dig Music & Free With This Months Issue episodes at www.wedigpodcasts.com

“I've always been in more than one band,” Janet Weiss notes. Even during the nearly two-and-a-half decades she spent as one-third of Sleater Kinney, she's kept busy. Since 1993, she's been half of Quasi and had overlapping stints with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and Wild Flag – to make no mention of the albums she's performed for indie rock darlings like The Shins and Bright Eyes. When we sat down to speak, she was prepping for a joint tour as Quasi and the drummer for Jon Spencer's latest project, the Hitmakers. The shows coincide with the release of Cockroach In A Small Town, the debut LP from Slang, a project that also features Drew Grow, Kathy Foster and Anita Lee Elliot. It's a lot, all at once, but after rehabbing from a serious car accident, followed by a two-year pandemic fueled hiatus, Weiss is more than ready to get back at it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Oliver looks at a prog rock masterpiece from indie legend Stephen Malkmus (and The Jicks). Also featured is a new track from Kurt Vile.

Abrimos este número 1 de la temporada 16 de La Ruleta Rusa Radio Rock con nuestra primera dosis de rock clásico de este episodio, el segundo trabajo de estudio de los alemanes Karthago, Second Step, publicado en 1973. Nuestra mirada al rock contemporáneo en este número, nos llevó a uno de los últimos trabajos del proyecto del vocalista, multiinstrumentista y compositor, Mariusz Duda, Lunatic Soul, de los que escuchamos Through Shaded Woods. En nuestra sección de Clásicos Contemporáneos, nos volvimos a encontrar con uno de nuestros héroes, el líder de Pavement, Stephen Malkmus, esta vez al lado de sus The Jicks, de los que escuchamos el EP, Dark Water, publicado en 2003. Y cerraremos de vuelta al rock clásico, desde una posición relajada y tranquila gracias a la música del gran Bert Jansch y su octavo trabajo de estudio, Moonshine, publicado en 1973. A disfrutarlo!

Abrimos este número 1 de la temporada 16 de La Ruleta Rusa Radio Rock con nuestra primera dosis de rock clásico de este episodio, el segundo trabajo de estudio de los alemanes Karthago, Second Step, publicado en 1973. Nuestra mirada al rock contemporáneo en este número, nos llevó a uno de los últimos trabajos del proyecto del vocalista, multiinstrumentista y compositor, Mariusz Duda, Lunatic Soul, de los que escuchamos Through Shaded Woods. En nuestra sección de Clásicos Contemporáneos, nos volvimos a encontrar con uno de nuestros héroes, el líder de Pavement, Stephen Malkmus, esta vez al lado de sus The Jicks, de los que escuchamos el EP, Dark Water, publicado en 2003. Y cerraremos de vuelta al rock clásico, desde una posición relajada y tranquila gracias a la música del gran Bert Jansch y su octavo trabajo de estudio, Moonshine, publicado en 1973. A disfrutarlo!

Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work and as the former lead guitarist of rock band The War on Drugs. Both in the studio and during live performances, Vile is accompanied by his backing band, The Violators, which currently includes Jesse Trbovich (bass, guitar, saxophone), Rob Laakso (guitar, bass) and Kyle Spence (drums). His laid-back and drifting indie rock takes notes from masters like Neil Young, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr., exploring inventive guitar tones on meditative and often self-reflective songs. Lineup: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Courtney Barnett, DRINKS, Cass McCombs, John Prine, Nathan Bowles, Grouper, Yo La Tengo, Jessica Pratt, Steve Gunn, Kurt Vile, Steely Dan, The Go-Betweens, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Suicide, The Move, Captain Beefheart, Miles Davis, The Sadies, The Pogues, The Rolling Stones, Rusty Kershaw, Doug Kershaw, Willie Dunn, Aphrodite's Child, Lou Reed, Prince, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Big Star, Flamin' Groovies, The Byrds, Tim Buckley, Randy Newman, David Byrne, Gary Numan Tubeway Army

It's the final of The Malkmus Conundrum! You all said we wouldn't amount to anything and we didn't! In this momentous episode, Paul, Mark and Chris are joined live by Conundrum Contributors Emre Ramadan, Mike Goldsmith and Duncan Robertson plus remote contributions from jD (Meeting Malkmus) and our old pal Craig Angus. 8 songs remain... only one can solve the Conundrum. Expect plenty of the usual silliness, secret recordings, plus not one but two episodes of The Malkmus Equation. Which song will solve The Malkmus Conundrum? Crank it to find out. MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT to all of our contributors from this series: Emre Ramadan, Mike Goldsmith, Duncan Robertson, Craig Angus, jD, Chris Sermanni and Eddy Walsh. MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT to Stephen Malkmus and every Jick celebrated in this podcast: Joanne Bolme, Mike Clark, Jake Morris, Janet Weiss and John Moen. Oh, and Beck of course. We will return with The Pavement Conundrum very soon - don't touch that dial or RSS feed. Thanks for listening. Follow us on Twitter: @malkmusconun (soon changing to @pavementpod or @pavementconun, who knows??) @thepaulcarlin @thegallatron @themarkedwards

Oh boy, this one is a doozy. It's the second semi-final and there are four more matchups to determine which tunes make it to the final of The Malkmus Conundrum... There's one problem though... one of your trusted guides really lets the pressure get to him and let's just say it's the moment podcast historians will be writing about decades from now. There's little else to say. Please enjoy. If you can. Follow us on Twitter: @malkmusconun @thegallatron @themarkedwards @thepaulcarlin

It's the first semi final of the conundrum and your hosts Paul, Mark and Chris are joined by friend Emre to undergo the agonising task of picking four out of eight songs to progress to the final. As well as that, there's a big announcement due as we await the result of Podcast Journalist of the Year with a live link up to the event. Champagne is on ice as we hope for another win for our resident podcast journalist, Mark Edwards. Bad decisions are made as The Malkmus Conundrum approaches its conclusion. Hey, we're on Twitter: @thegallatron @thepaulcarlin @themarkedwards @malkmusconun

The long-awaited collaboration podcast with Meeting Malkmus is here! Finally, Paul, Mark and Chris catch up with jD from the Meeting Malkmus podcast to come together like GI Joe and Transformers with the sole objective of discussing the great man, Stephen Malkmus across THREE TIME ZONES. In this episode, jD provides a list of his favourite Malkmus + Jicks tunes which the four men discuss in detail. Plus, the latest on Mark's dinner party circuit and Chris singing.Friendships are formed, silliness follows and they contrive to produce an episode that'll appeal to everyone with plenty of daft diversions and a lot of Paul begging to be a guest on jD's Sloan podcast. Follow jD at @meetingmalkmus and be sure to subscribe to his fantastic podcast. If you like, you can also follow us on Twitter at these accounts: @malkmusconun @thepaulcarlin @themarkedwards @thegallatron

Episode 416 also includes an E.W. Essay titled "Faith." We share actual Findings as gathered and published by Harper's Magazine in their April 2021 edition. We have an E.W. poem called "Lullaby." Our music this go round is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grapelli, Yes, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, JQ, the Miles Davis Sextet, Fela Ransome-Kuti & His Koola Lobitos, Courtney Barnett, Bransford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Small Batch Radio Crafted in the West Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. Tell Your Friends and Neighbors... 

This is a Lightning Seeds podcast now; no, wait, it's a Status Quo podcast now. In either case, join Paul, Mark and Chris as they discuss five more Jicks matchups in the company of friend of the podcast, Duncan Robertson. It's the last quarter final and things get real tense as the participants participate in partial picking of, eh, tunes. Oh and Paul gets bullied, as usual. Follow us on Twitter: @malkmusconun @thepaulcarlin @themarkedwards @thegallatron @knacknud

We're smack bang in the middle of The Malkmus Conundrum Quarter Finals and there's another hour and 40 minutes of stupid nonsense for your ears. Paul, Mark and Chris have a lot on their minds, from the tyranny of geography to spiders laying eggs on our brains. Fortunately they have drafted in Friend of the Show, Duncan Robertson, to help assess five more matchups. There's drama, there's insight, there are arguments and added Leather McWhip. Follow us on Twitter if that's your bag: @thegallatron @themarkedwards @thepaulcarlin @knacknud Made with love AND RESPECT for SM & Jicks.

It's the start of the quarter finals of The Malkmus Conundrum and, for this episode, it's just Paul, Mark and Chris. Aside from delving in to SIX tricky matchups, your hosts debate crisps, how to decolonise the painting ladder industry, shower beers and form the Jake Morris Appreciation Society. It's another episode of Malkmus-centric genius. Please shout at us on Twitter: @malkmusconun @thepaulcarlin @themarkedwards @thegallatron

Stephen Malkmus is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from Portland Oregon, He is a founding member of Pavement, Silver Jews and releases both solo records and records under Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks. In this episode Joe and Stephen talk post Trump Portland, vaccine distribution , the permeance of 90's pop culture and the significance of the last pre-internet decade. Stephen tells us he's missing touring, but is also settling into a lifestyle the pandemic has brought to him. Last, Joe AND Stephen share a 2005 Jicks tour story and Stephen tells us what he looks forward to in the "normal" future. We hear two tunes from Stephens solo record "Traditional Techniques".Enjoy. There is a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnelMusic by Stephen Malkmus and Joe Plummer. Episode sponsored by Izotope Izotope.com

Your heroes have reached the end of the second qualifying round and, let's be honest; none of you thought we could do it. You said we wouldn't amount to anything... well look at us now! In this wonderful episode, Paul, Mark and Chris are joined by another friend; another Chris - it's Chris Sermanni who comes with excellent musical credentials but is new to Malkmus World so get ready for some fresh, fresh takes. This episode's matchups are: Kite vs Shaggy // Tigers vs Signal Western // Middle America vs Juliefuckingette // Cold Son vs Discretion Grove. We appreciate all your messages and Mark especially appreciates the fan mail as he is, of course, the breakout star of The Malkmus Conundrum. Find us on Twitter if you want: @thepaulcarlin @thegallatron @themarkedwards @iaminagreement and know this: we do this all for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.

A conversation with Shil Patel, who owns radio promo company https://tigerbombpromo.com/ (Tiger Bomb Promo). He's done promo campaigns for Sufjan Stevens, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Hiss Golden Messenger, Julia Holter, The Magnetic Fields, Daniel Romano, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers - and many many many more. If you want to know more about how a radio campaign works - Shil is going to break it down for us. He shares the components of a campaign, how he gauges if the campaign is successful, the hidden benefits of doing a radio campaign, and some of his best advice to up and coming musicians.

It's episode 24 of your favourite podcast and this time round, Paul, Chris and Mark have a bonafide Glasgow indie rock icon on board to discuss eight more fantastic Jicks tunes. Craig Angus of Savage Mansion joins the team ON HIS BIRTHDAY and his sheer enthusiasm for Malkmus is palpable. Makes drinking in the morning sound like it should happen every day. This episode's matchups are:Planetary Motion vs Ramp of Death // Trojan Curfew vs Out of Reaches // It Kills vs Future Suite // Refute vs Senator. Follow Craig and his band here: @craigaang @_savagemansion and the rest of us here: @thepaulcarlin @thegallatron @themarkedwards.

Welcome to A Great Big City News, Episode 4: The 747 Takes Flight, Fraunces Tavern Bombing, and Government Shutdown Resources Federal workers food bank in Morrisania — The city has also put together a directory of resources for city residents impacted by the shutdown at nyc.gov/federalshutdown Supreme Court will hear challenge to NYC gun law — Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog.com 62 years ago on January 21, 1957 — The Mad Bomber is arrested after planting at least 33 bombs that injured 15 people 49 years ago on January 22, 1970 — The first Boeing 747 enters commercial service on a Pan Am route from JFK Airport to London Heathrow 44 years ago on January 24, 1975 — The terrorist group FALN plants a bomb at Fraunces Tavern killing 4 and injuring 50 Episode 3 — Green Dot MoneyPak scam targeting ConEd business customers — Consumer Alert: Check-Cashing Scam Targeting Job Seekers Do you remember the New York Wheel? — New York Wheel goes to auction A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2011, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com/support and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more. With your support, you can guarantee that A Great Big City will survive to tell future generations of the giant New York ferris wheel that never was

Welcome to A Great Big City News, recorded Sunday, January 20. Today: Cleaner food carts, a lunar eclipse, and a city of millionaires. Visit agreatbigcity.com/support to learn how to support New York City local news and allow us to keep bringing you this podcast. If you are a New York-based business and would be interested in sponsoring our podcasts, visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more. Food carts get Dept of Health grading system The only total lunar eclipse of 2019 will be visible from the city and will happen overnight from Sunday into Monday The Amateur Astronomers Association of New York will be hosting viewing opportunities where you can see the moon through a telescope: Find them in Manhattan in Lincoln Center Plaza and in the Bronx at Skyview on the Hudson near 259th and Riverdale Avenue, and you can check their website for more info at aaa.org. NYC Parks - The Supermoon — NYC Parks' Urban Park Rangers will also be holding an event to view the eclipse on Central Park West at 106th Street, beginning at 7pm. Call 718 360 1444 for more info. New York City has more millionaires than any other city in the world. NYPD 110th Precinct shared a recent scam targeting ConEdison customers — NYPD info on "Green Dot" MoneyPack scams 28th Street subway mosaics Federal workers food bank in Morrisania The program offers free delivery anywhere within the five boroughs, or furloughed workers may come to 488 East 164th Street in Morrisania between 9am and 5pm. The city has also put together a directory of resources for city residents impacted by the shutdown at nyc.gov/federalshutdown. The NY Hotel Association is also offering free rooms to federal employees impacted by the shutdown who may need to visit New York City during a health or family emergency situation. Email sandy@hanyc.org with the subject "GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ROOM APPLICATION" — situations are evaluated on an individual basis. 18 years ago on January 17, 2001 — A 2.4 magnitude earthquake strikes the Upper East Side of Manhattan A Great Big City has been running a 24-hour newsfeed since 2011, but the AGBC News podcast is just getting started, and we need your support. A Great Big City is built on a dedication to explaining what is happening and how it fits into the larger history of New York, which means thoroughly researching every topic and avoiding clickbait headlines to provide a straightforward, honest, and factual explanation of the news. Individuals can make a monthly or one-time contribution at agreatbigcity.com/support and local businesses can have a lasting impact by supporting local news while promoting products or services directly to interested customers listening to this podcast. Visit agreatbigcity.com/advertising to learn more. Thank you. A Great Big City would not be what it is today without your support. Park of the day Abingdon Square — A pleasant piece of green in between some classic low-rise West Village apartment buildings. The park comes to life in late April when 10,000 tulip bulbs bloom and create a spectacular display. Stop by during Halloween to see the yearly Pumpkin Patch, a large display of jack-o-lanterns carved by local residents. In November, there is a tree lighting with food and caroling. Abingdon Square may not be as famous as some larger parks, but it ranks as one of the oldest parks in the entire city! If you're interested in starting a garden in your community, attend the Find your Green Thumb: Starting a Community Garden presentation on Tuesday, January 22. You'll learn from community gardeners how to develop an empty lot in your neighborhood into a green garden and how to follow the GreenThumb community garden rules and regulations. The presentation starts Tuesday at 6pm at GrowNYC's Project Farmhouse at 76 East 13th Street in Manhattan. Contact 212 602 5300 for more info. Concert Calendar Grails, Helen Money, and Upper Wilds are playing Saint Vitus in Greenpoint Sunday, January 20th at 7pm. Gnash, Mallrat, and Guardin are playing Irving Plaza on Tuesday, January 22nd at 7pm. King Princess and Banoffee are playing Warsaw in Greenpoint on Wednesday, January 23rd at 7pm. Holy Ghost are playing Elsewhere in Bushwick on Thursday, January 24th at 8pm. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are playing Brooklyn Steel in Greenpoint on Friday, January 25th at 9pm. Kacey Musgraves is playing the Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side on Friday, January 25th at 8pm. Find more fun things to do at agreatbigcity.com/events. Thanks for listening to A Great Big City. Follow along 24 hours a day on social media @agreatbigcity or email contact@agreatbigcity.com with any news, feedback, or topic suggestions. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review wherever you're listening and visit agreatbigcity.com/podcast to see show notes and extra links for each episode. Intro and outro music: "Start the Day" by Lee Rosevere

Special guests Clay Parker Shields and Walt Lilly talk to us about the new Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks album Sparkle Hard Also discussed: Goat Girl - s/t Mary Lattimore - Hundreds Of Days Parquet Courts - Wide Awake

After 17 years as a solo artist, Stephen Malkmus still has the ability to delight, if perhaps not outright surprise, his audience. Sparkle Hard is at once his most sonically adventurous and structurally tight set of music in over a decade and easily stands among his most rewarding work with the Jicks. Since leaving Pavement, Malkmus has always favored low-key consistency over wild experimentation, but when the results are this good, you can't really blame him.An album review by Tyler Clark.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Eyelids' jangling guitar rock channels elements of American lo-fi and the Dunedin sound, chiming through the indie rock tradition with a DIY scrappiness that certainly comes from the band members' experiences in numerous rock groups (not least, The Decembrists and The Jicks.) Joining John Richards on the Morning Show, the Portland quintet play four songs from their latest record, Or, (and an older tune) and discuss crocheted album covers, band nicknames, and the Sounders/Timbers rivalry. Recorded 6/23/2017 - 5 songs: Falling Eyes, Camelot, My Caved In Mind, Bound To Let You Down, So It GoesSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.