Pavement gets rediscovered
By DANIEL MCSWAIN
Scene Music Critic
Unrealized and sometimes violently explosive talent has a habit of striking when least expected. Nineteen ninety-two can't really be remembered as the high point of a lot of things. Most will remember nothing more than the halcyon days of middle school, the Gulf War, Generation X and puberty. It was during this time that the band Pavement released Slanted & Enchanted. It was good. People liked it. People also liked Crystal Pepsi.
Ten years have passed. And in the release of Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Redux, a bomb bigger than any clear cola has been dropped on the musical world once again. Complete with an entire live show, the two-disc release boasts re-mastered versions of all the album tracks, plus a veritable smorgasbord of collector's nuggets. Containing a snazzy cover and a 60-page booklet that captures the spirit of the album, this release is obviously a labor of love.
Labeling Pavement in a distinct genre is impossible. Their guerrilla styled distortion mixed with an off kilter and out of time rhythm section is reminiscent of the acid punk scene of the 80's. The band, which started as a rag-tag collective of five guys living in different states, could, like their sound, be called accidental. Experimental noise, psychedelia and a flair for the dramatic that bordered on glam rock at times were no doubt important ingredients in Pavement's inimitable sound. They did their own thing, and people liked it.
Even with all of the accompanying material, the original album is unmistakable in its cohesion and singular vision. The fact that those 14 tracks hold together like a single, breathing, symbiotic creature is part of what makes the album such an accomplishment. In the words of one spectator, "Pavement breathed like no band has done since."
Stephen Malkmus, the vocally bipolar front man of the group, possesses an alien charisma, endearing and obtuse all at once. His manic rants on tracks like "Conduit For Sale!" and "Fame Throwa," on which Malkmus and company decry the evils of a greedy, dehumanizing music industry, are juxtaposed with his barbital sputtering of lyrics on songs like "Zurich is Stained." Malkmus voice is obviously untrained, but winsome nonetheless. Perfection, musical or otherwise, was not on the shortlist of Pavement's goal for this work. Communicating their unmistakable joy for making music was, and it is obviously there.
On top of the original 14 album tracks, the re-release contains a recording of the band live from the Brixton Academy of London in 1992. "Watery, Domestic" the EP that the band recorded right after "Slanted" is also included on the double-disc, as are the outtakes from that release. Probably the tracks of most value to collectors and more experienced Pavement fans are two sessions done in the studio of the legendary radio personality and producer John Peel. At risk of placing the sequel above the original, the first Peel session boasts a live rendition of the song "Here" that redefines the original song in one of the most beautiful indie rock gems to date.
The relative obscurity of the band could be considered one of the more unforgivable musical crimes of the past decade except that Pavement enjoyed their liminal existence on the fringe. The band acted out what it implored their audience, "Slow it down/ song is sacred." But now they are back to convert those who missed them the first time around.
Contact Daniel McSwain at mcswain.3@nd.edu
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, November 5, 2002
