Pavement Reunion

So, in case you somehow haven't heard, a little band of slackers are ganging up to once again spread their musical apathy far and wide. To anyone who paid close attention to the video footage of the band's final stage appearance together in 1999 (this on the Slow Century DVD), this news may seem like a surprise.  

A surprise because as the last song of the night/tour ended, Stephen Malkmus, the band's big brain and creative leader, nearly ran off stage into the arms of his then-girlfriend. I, for one, watched that clip a good 20 times when the Slow Century DVD was first released. It angered me at first ... then soon after felt so real. It made me feel okay about the band ending and Malkmus going solo. Not just Malkmus going solo, but Malkmus basically claiming that his then-bandmates just weren't talented enough to play with him anymore. (Okay, maybe HE didn't say that, but every music critic of that time did after hearing his debut solo record, 2001's GREAT self-titled.)

If you've thus far avoided all the Pavement reunion coverage, let me fill you in. In 2010 a reunited Pavement will do all of the following: tour the world; headline a slew of big festivals; curate a festival or two; release a greatest hits package (see cover are above); reissue all their studio albums on LP at afforadable prices (they reissued a $65 version of Brighten the Corners on LP last year); issue an expanded and remastered version of Terror Twilight; have their picture in every major music rag and on every major music site/blog for months. They'll probably do a lot of other stuff, too (I can almost promise a reunion DVD, but we'll see).

The big news (to me at least), is the LP reissues and Terror Twilight expansion. Great of a band as they were, in most ways, this reunion stinks something awful. I might be wrong, but I get the impression that 'ol Stephen, who is doing just fine as a solo artist, is throwing his old pals a bone. The key hint is the big-dollar festivals they've signed up for. Loads and loads of money stands to be made, and his bandmates very likely NEED those dollars. So, honestly, why not. Fans will enjoy it, Stephen can close the book on Pavement by 2011, etc., etc. Who knows. All speculation at this point.

The truth is that ... well, damn, I just want the new Malkmus solo record. I saw him play a show in Seattle in December of 2008 and he played nine new songs. If he had nine new songs 13 months ago, how many could he have now? And how fucking great were those nine new songs!!! So, as much as I love Pavement and I'm sure I'll buy up all that reissue bullshit and go to a show or two or nine, I'd honestly rather just get some new studio recordings from the mind of Malkmus. That's the shit we live with - we being the music nuts.

I also suppose all this reunion stuff will help cement the band's place in history. Expose them to a new generation. Maybe add to the myth (or, like the Pixies, maybe kill the myth a bit?). These are things I don't care about. I am, however, very curious about this hits package. I've made my share of Pavement mixes for friends over the years, the key being that I'm a super fan who has all the EPs, singles, soundtracks, etc. that feature all the non-album tracks. Now, since Matador has been reissuing everything the band ever did, all of that non-album stuff has become easier to get paws on, and thus my status as a Pavement mix-tape-maker has dropped.

The thing about all the non-album stuff is that it's not only usually just as good as the album cuts, but very often BETTER. In fact, for nearly every album they've released there are 10  or so non-album songs from that era that could be put together to make a just-as-good record. So, yeah, Pavement only has five proper studio albums (and that great Drag City-issued EP collection), but they have enough great studio material for nine, maybe 10, full-length records, Eleven if you count the Drag City release.

The point of all this geeky b-side talk is that, if they're true to their high art word, the folks at Matador Records should be releasing a hits collection with a whole lot of b-sides on it. Here's to hoping. In the meantime, here's the fanboy greatest hits tracklist I came up with for Pavement. It's long, but damn, they really were THAT good. 

1. "Summer Babe (Winter Version)"

2. "Trigger Cut"

3. "Conduit For Sale!"

4. "Loretta's Scars"

5. "Here"

6. "Perfume-V"

7. "Fame Throwa"

8. "Our Singer"

9. "Circa 1762"

10. "Secret Knowledge of Backroads"

11. "Texas Never Whispers"

12. Frontwards"

13. "Lions (Linden)"

14. "Cut Your Hair"

15. "Unfair"

16. "Gold Soundz"

17. "Range Life"

18. "Fillmore Wrimus Jive"

19. "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence"

20. "All My Friends"

21. "Raft*"

22. "Strings of Nashville"

23. "We Dance"

24. "Rattled By the Rush"

25. "Grounded"

26. "Father to a Sister of Thought"

27. "Best Friend's Arm"

28. "AT&T"

29. "Fight This Generation"

30. "Kennel District"

31. "Easily Fooled"

32. "Give It a Day"

33. "Gangsters and Pranksters"

34. "Sensitive Euro Man"

35. "Painted Soldiers"

36. "No More Kings"

37. "Stereo"

38. "Shady Lane"

39. "Date with Ikea"

40. "Type Slowly"

41. "Starlings of the Slipstream"

42. "Fin"

43. "Harness Your Hopes"

44. "Roll With the Wind"

45. "Slowly Typed"

46. "Cherry Area"

47. "Wanna Mess You Around"

48. "No Tan Lines"

49. "The Killing Moon"

50. "The Classical"

51. "Spit On a Stranger"

52. "You Are a Light"

53. "Major Leagues"

54. "Ann Don't Cry"

55. "Cream of Gold"

56. "Billie"

57. "The Hexx"

58. (Unreleased song)

59. (New song)

... and "Carrot Rope" (60) 

Written by G. William Locke