Pavement:Classic or Dud

Speedy Ortiz

some of those on my list are definitely Pavement-ier than others

the first Clearance album might be the *most* Pavement-y
or the Wake Up album from last year, "Tigers Can't Be Choosers" ... very Pavement-y

Kiwi Jr almost unforgivably pavement-y, but they have so much charm (and its wasted)

Speedy Ortiz have been around for 10+ years, should probably split soon and hoover up some bigger fest reunion slots in 5 or so years.

I think the mood is brighter because they’ve had an extra 10 years from the split to mellow out and leave a lot of the bad blood behind them.

Also, Tik-Tok, “Harness Your Hopes,” the kids.

xpost yeah of course. Makes me wonder if they should have just waited until now. The show I saw in 2010 had awkward vibez

There are a few good quotes in this article the band shared today:

Pavement revisited ‘Harness Your Hopes’ by releasing a new video on YouTube, and the song, along with the Spit on a Stranger EP was finally issued on vinyl back in April. It’s a turn of events that still leaves Mark Ibold more than a bit confused.

“I’m still a bit surprised by our whole response to this,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “First, we go and make a video because some fucking algorithm tells us to, and now we’re practising playing it live. That just doesn’t sound like Pavement to me.”

If someone had told me in 1994 that one day Pavement would make a video of an old song because an algorithm told them to, I'd have said that sounded about right.

the sudden rise in likes was because the track was “on a playlist or something… you know, one of those ‘Monday Moods’ or whatever the fuck they do.”

Kannberg ushers a groan at the mere mention of the song or Spotify.

“I’m still a bit surprised by our whole response to this,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “First, we go and make a video because some fucking algorithm tells us to, and now we’re practising playing it live. That just doesn’t sound like Pavement to me."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHqcBL_a7q8

In more seriousness, I get it, and also that piece is good. Though there is no way a flight from Des Moines to Portland should take seven hours.

pretty excited about seeing them in October. Saw the the Jix twice & though and that was fun and worth the drives & $$, I regret not catching Pavement on the OG run. Chances are it would have been meh but you’re only 19 once

❤️ “Old to Begin”

It seems that I am parting with more money

https://kf-merch.com/products/uncut-magazine-pavement-edition

lol, yes, I ordered that the other day since it's not entirely clear that it will be distributed as widely as Uncut itself usually is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCJJY23i7o

full primavera set

hell yes

Rebecca Cole of The Minders/Wild Flag on keyboards!

best things about this:
1. everyone looks like they are having a blast
2. you can hear the huge crowd singing along
3. Rebecca Cole!!! (keyboards & backing vox & attitude)
4. Bob's backing vocals, actually everything abt him
5. Spiral killing it on "Kennel District"

6. Best version of "Type Slowly" I think I've ever heard

jumped right to that one--you're right, the extended jam sounds awesome

7. Interpolation of "Marquee Moon" into "Folk Jam"

8. Stephen dropping an "ACAB" into "Range Life"

heres a hot one from 97

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh1flmiy_u4

type slowly that is

they definitely seem to be having more fun this tine around — it's nice!

I really love the versions of "Cut Your Hair" and 'Perfume-V" here as well

they seem a little "restrained" hope it's just the big stage, and hope there are lotsa tapers this fall

Is there a little bit of "All Apologies" in the "Type Slowly" jam, do you think?

their p4k set in 2009 (?) was underwhelming, glad to see they're reaping the love from people and truly enjoying themselves

OMG "Two States"!!!!!!

Just want to say I loved them in 2010 and thought they were having fun then too! Were they faking?

(a lot more fun than they were having touring terror twilight in any event)

Yeah they definitely seemed to be having fun when I saw 'em in 2010, and so did the crowd.

i saw them in 2010 and they killed. . .

my sense/guess is the big shows they're a little nervous, that primavera show SM doesn't even open his eyes for like the first 5 songs

malk seemed salty at the rest of the band at another show i saw around that time, had to start/stop then explain how a song went to spiral stairs to a half filled shitty venue

haha, it may have just been me having less fun in 2010, i don't know.

"Zurich Is Stained" sounds hella out of tune at the beginning(?)

Lotta singing along in this audience. Really had no idea this many people knew the words to old Pavement songs in 2022.

xp guess it's just Spiral's gtr all the way thru that song

god, what a fuckin' dream for Rebecca Cole. or at least it looks like a dream to me.

i would love to read a long, good interview with her about this experience.

Glasgow show I saw in 2010 was awkward as hell and soured the whole thing. Everything seems much better now

my sense/guess is the big shows they're a little nervous, that primavera show SM doesn't even open his eyes for like the first 5 songs

obsessed with this set tbh

I bought Slay Tracks b/c I am from Charlottesville and a friend of mine tipped me to it after I left town (in 1984) but was still coming back in the college and post-college years, so wild to me that Berman and Malkmus and James McNew (later of Yo La Tengo, who I knew in high school altho we went to different districts) all played in a basement proto-band with said friend, if I had stayed in town I would have met them. Instead I went to the West Coast and followed the band on and off until the post-Wowee era

coming at me after all these years this stuff hits hard, I was cool on the Watery-Crooked era back in the day but now "Frontwards" and "Cut Your Hair" and "Unfair" sound amazing to me in this context. I'd pay good money for a professionally mixed release of this set.

I think someone was taping their rehearsals back in the spring summer professionally, it was some famous director, Alex Ross Perry? But it looks like he did the Harness Your Hopes video. But if you look at their IG those LA rehearsals were taped and possibly even the Portland stuff.

I actually listened to a few 2010 reunion shows this week and they sound great for the most part. I think that maybe at the time, I wasn't quite ready for 90s nostalgia. I had fun at the show I saw back then, but it felt a little un-memorable.

i got lucky and saw a show where they played 3/4 of Watery Domestic! (They skipped Feed Em To the Lions)

does SM forget to introduce Bob at the end of that Primavera set?

Crazy that the L.A. shows are in a few weeks… the summer went fast.