Stephen Malkmus

some nuggets in here that are already making the rounds on twitter, but my question is this:

i don't listen to podcasts, really. are they all as aggressively / poorly edited as this one?

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/stephen-malkmus-pavement-podcast-838534/

1 minute in and goddamn I hear what you mean - not sure if I can listen to that for 30 minutes, wtf

It gets worse (after where you are) but then seems to get better after maybe 5 or 8 mins.

also

is this the best guy RS has to conduct this interview or is he hamstrung by the publication to talk to SM about Beck, Radiohead and Weezer

Interesting that he’s open to another Pavement reunion.

is it, though? his answer has pretty much been the same since about 5 years after they first split.

Really? I remember him saying “no way” for years, until the reunion actually happened... and I haven’t seen him suggest he was open to another one (let alone “psyched”) until now. I thought the deal has always been that the other guys would do it an second, but Malk hasn’t been interested.

I mean, he might've said "no way" for a while, but I feel like he softened his stance - "never say never, it could happen" etc. - a couple years before the reunion, which happened at 10 years.

But I don't know, maybe I'm remembering wrong. I'm an old man.

I do think you're right that "psyched" is a stronger word than he's ever used before, and I think your second sentence is pretty much always true. So maybe I'm just splitting hairs, too.

I thought that one reunion was mostly because someone in the band needed money?

That was rumored at the time (re: Bob).

Maybe the financial/career upside has become more appealing to Malkmus lately... In his round of interviews for the last Jicks album, it sounded like he wanted to break out of the usual routine (small album followed by tour of the same old venues, etc.)

Those reunion rumors re:Bob always sounded silly to me. I'm sure all the members were happy to earn the money that tour generated.

Re:future reunions, it could just be that after doing it once malkmus realized that the sky didnt fall, his standing as a solo artist (such as it is) didnt evaporate, or whatever else he was worried about didnt happen.

Saw one of the reunion shows and it was great, and the band uniformly seemed sincerely happy to be doing it

nastanovich specifically said that he had financial problems when the last reunion happened but didn't go as far as to say it happened because of that, and said that malkmus had approached him about the reunion happening rather than vice versa

Stephen also seems to have mellowed/softened significantly over the past 5-10 years ... getting old and having kids will do that to you.

He might've done the last one because he felt like he owed it to someone(s) but I bet the next one he'll really enjoy getting the gang back together.

Reunion show I saw was great, people who say Pavement sucks live should be rounded up and shot into the sun.

I've seen them do good and bad shows (when it seemed clear they weren't into it)

Yeah SM seems to have enjoyed the reunion experience itself.

Show I saw was a weird memory - it was on Olympic Island in Toronto during the NXNE festival, openers were Broken Social Scene, and after BSS about half the crowd streamed out. I asked someone who was leaving where everyone was going, and he said him and all his friends were hoping to catch a free outdoor set by Iggy & the Stooges. I was like jfc dude where are yr priorities. Anyway Pavement killed.

Like all praise to the stooges & all but youre picking the band touring The Weirdness over the Pavement reunion show you're already at?

pavement reunion was good! they sounded exactly like pavement, played pretty much everywhere, but didn't overstay their welcome ... would go again if they got it back together!

ha I went to that free Stooges show, but then I didn't have tix to Pavement.

Pavement should reunite every 10 years or so, until they're elderly dudes sitting on stools and playing acoustic "Zurich Is Stained."

Hey, it’s really happening (sort of?):

It’s official. We’re getting back together for two exclusive concerts in 2020. See you next June at Primavera Sound in Barcelona and NOS Primavera Sound in Porto! pic.twitter.com/FQeS1HODpI

— PAVEMENTtherockband (@pavement_band) June 1, 2019

"dammit bob stop gambling"

My wife sez ppl on FB are throwing fits that they’re not playing more shows (U.S., etc.).... Whatcha gonna do? Nice quick payday/vacay for the guys (and maybe there will be more to come...)

it's the adam sandler model of only making movies set in places you want to visit

I’d be surprised if there aren’t more shows announced. 2021 maybe?

Wishing a lot of artists would have the courage to pull the plug on their solo projects for similar reasons https://t.co/OOTgadWzuq

— CSTB (@cstbtweet) July 2, 2019

New (non-Jicks) album coming, w/Chris Funk and Matt Sweeney: https://matablog.matadorrecords.com/2020/01/21/coming-march-6-stephen-malkmus-traditional-techniques-xian-man-premiere-us-ca-spring-2020-tour/

Lead single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LU4rS7XOxw

this sounds cool! surprised he's already got a new one coming out ...

glad he's trying out some folkier moves — I always liked this solo "No More Shoes"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC3CCA2zHHg

I like the new one. inscrutably lovable

getting heavy Tinariwen vibes from this

Sweeney always brings the vibes
maybe this will be Malk's Superwolf

very happy to hear him in pastoral bluesy 60s psych mode, looking forward

This is brilliance, why aren't people going crazy for it

it's not out yet?

gonna go cop this jawn tomorrow

Stephen Malkmus - Traditional Techniques (2020)

i think people *are* going crazy for it.

it's just a small number of people that care what SM is up to.

Sounds great on first listen. Surprising.

i haven't listened to this so can't really vouch for it yet but it's a 90-minute convo w/ SM so it seems like it's worth posting:

https://soundcloud.com/user-940109391/aewch-109-stephen-malkmus-or

Cookies Hoops (basketball-focused) pod with Malkmus vs. Andrew Kuo/Ben Detrick:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/judgment-night-43049847

Judgment Night: Cookies 257 with Stephen Malkmus

Musician Stephen Malkmus joins Cookies Hoops to discuss protests in Portland (8:30), beating the covid blues (17:21), the joy of watching "Alone" survivalist porn (25:02), the NBA's current reign of dynamic duos (40:51), the Jail Blazers' legacy and dubious officiating in 2000 playoffs (51:12), "Judgment Night" soundtrack (1:00:33), Damian Lillard as a franchise star for life (1:08:02), missing life on the road and his road dogs (1:18:01).

Live on 1/16

https://m.soundcloud.com/tim-lyden-755875237/malkmus-trad-tech-16-jan-2022?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1&si=38C0715FBD20401B89A3728BFA89E2F6&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Not sure if this has been shared on any of these threads, but it will hopefully be of interest to some.

~88 SM and the Jicks live cuts from 2001-2005, with their own songs and a ton of covers.

https://archive.org/details/jickspicksvol1_rev4.1/209+Fractions+%26+Feelings+-+2002-06-01+Graceland%2C+Seattle+WA.flac

digging into that today and it's a treasure trove! the "yellow"/"here" mash-up where he seems to switch between the songs at random in a response to a request for a pavement song lmao

lmao love the cover art

https://ia804600.us.archive.org/35/items/jickspicksvol1_rev4.1/JP1.jpg

That’s really funny. Is this like an official thing?

He played Yellow/Here in Edinburgh in 2001, and afterwards said it was to point out the similarity between the two

https://i.redd.it/amazing-interview-with-malkmus-from-a-1993-issue-of-melody-v0-d0zdrqqbzcta1.jpg?s=0213e99f1c871267c21e71e40de6429d6a1da99b

(stolen from Reddit)

The band posted it on IG