malkmus solo pollo

ege bamyasi (2013)

just looked this up.... lmao

i'm probably due for a rescreen of all of these

S/t is my least favorite, with the rest virtually tied

Real Emotional Trash

this is pig lib easy for me. i know a lot of people like the debut, but it's always felt really insubstantial to me. i think mirror traffic is the most underrated and jagbags the worst by a fairly wide margin

pig lib by far, followed by the debut and then the rest and then jagbags dead last

"Mirror Traffic" for me, full of gorgeous tunes and kicking ass. The tour was great too.

Pig lib, then the s/t, then 'face the truth". "Real emotional trash" was a bore, probably the worst

Nice, I thought I'd be the only person to say Pig Lib. Mortal Traffic comes close, and "Share the Red" might be his best song ever.

Those two are also the most quotable for me. "The distortion is way too clear," "confined within the fortress of this day," etc. etc.

mirror traffic is Really Good, feels like wowee zowee 2

The s/t debut has more bon mots. "I had a crap gin and tonic/It wounded me" is certainly one of the sharpest depictions of existential dread I've heard. But Face the Truth is way more tuneful, cheerful, and consistent. I'm sure I underrated Mirror Traffic but I don't care enough to revise my opinion.

i think i'd rank the 4 that are still in my rotation: mirror traffic > pig lib > face the truth > s/t but i think the s/t has some of the highest highs ("church on white")

Rankings:

1. S/T: breezy, sharply written no stakes album in par with Pavement's last two albums

2. Pig Lib: inventive, audacious album Pavement couldn't have made

Big drop off

3/4: Face The Truth/Mirror Traffic: Face The Truth had some nice little songs I can't quite remember. Ditto Mirror Traffic. Both would probably sound pretty good if I revisited them.

Dead Last: Real Emotional Trash: the moment Malkmus lost any interest in playing for anybody but himself. Languid songwriting + wonky performance = he kind of flat out bad album I didn't think he had in him.

I didn't rate Jigbags because I honestly forgot it existed. Was it good?

i love RET

Pig Lib is where self-parody became suffocating, i.e. "Do Not Feed the Oysters."

i dont see how that song is a self-parody

Honestly surprised. Face the Truth seemed like a clear step above everything else to me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z6z1TM-dk4

I see "Do Not Feed the Oysters" as the teaser for the great kids' album that Malkmus could write someday (watch out Dan Zanes). I voted "Pig Lib" in this as well, but caveat emptor, I've never listened to anything after "Real Emotional Trash", which I actually liked well enough at the time. Just didn't really feel the need for any more. God bless him for keeping on doing his thing though.

Jagbags is one of the worst albums I've ever heard. Pig Lib one of the best.

Voted Pig Lib but Real Emtional Trash is great, "Wicked Wanda" is one of his best songs. Haven't heard his last three albums.

kinda interesting/impressive that there seems to be no clear consensus (except maybe that the last record was not good).

for me, s/t, pig lib and RET are the standouts — I actually wish RET was jammier than it is.

pig lib

Another for Pig Lib. Great album.

I see "Do Not Feed the Oysters" as the teaser for the great kids' album that Malkmus could write someday

Yeah! I was a prepubescent Pavement fan and still see them as a great band for 10 year olds, a la the Beatles. "Oyster" is definitely an extension of that, not exactly a children's song but the one that might stand out for a child listener.

If there's self-parody in his work I'd point to something like "Baby C'mon" -- first time I heard it I couldn't believe he'd make something so generically Pavement-y.

Pig Lib bonus disc also excellent, esp. "Dynamic Calories."

true. he's got other good b sides as well: wow ass jeans and especially walk into the mirror which would have made RET better but apparently janet weiss didn't like it.

I guess I should vote on this before I forget, huh?

Solo Malkmus these days needs more b-sides. I miss that from the early days.

I'm confused by the Jagbags hate. What don't you guys like about it? I think it's similar to Mirror Traffic but a little looser and more varied--and with slightly more of a Pavement vibe than the previous few albums.

i'm glad this is open for awhile as it's a good time for a revisit.

looking on discogs, he seems to have not released any b-sides since RET. not sure if this is because of changes in how labels work or if he just doesn't have extra tracks any more.

I hated the first solo album (except for Church on White) *so much* I have never listened to any of his subsequent solo albums. maybe this will be the poll that rectifies that idk

some say "gardenia" is 'about' james murphy, a rough passing of the baton (of sorts)

I kinda like the way you dot your "J"s
With giant circles of naïveté
The kind of circles include everything
Don't mean to damn you with the faintest phrase
It's just a symptom of the blithe age
Walter Lippmann
He would be amazed

So you've got some curb appeal
But can you cook a three course meal?
Or are you just a present waiting to be opened up and parceled out again? Hey!

You are a gardenia
Pressed in the campaign journal in the rucksack of an Afrikaaner candidate for mild reform

It's like we're at a Ponzi Scheme now
There's no escaping
Without a door prize
They're operating at significant loss
And now the way that you watch your weight
Richard Avedon, Richard Avedon would
Richard Avedon would surely approve

So much for your curb appeal
So much for your three course meals
Cause I am not a present waiting to be opened up and parceled out again. Hey!

I would require some evidence of Jamz Murphy dotting his J's with giant circles like a 12yo girl before giving any credence to that theory

the torture of the van wick expressway at 5pm on friday gives you some idea of how rejection makes me feel

A crap gin and tonic! It wounded me!.

"we lived on Tennyson and venison and the grate-ful-deh-head" so great

Pig Lib stands up, and would have benefited from the inclusion of Dynamic Calories and Fractions and Feelings, though I'm not sure where.

Wig Out At Jagbags is a great album title.

I wondered if that was a Dag Nasty reference given the era addressed in Lariat

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

i know what the senator wants

π glib

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

24/7 creative adults. forget your place

Most of these are good. Pig Lib is a masterpiece