lazarus said:
I'm curious, IYS, do you like any solo Malkmus? I just don't see that much of a difference between all the albums (Pavement and SM included) as many others do. They're all great IMO. I guess my main point is that I would direct new listeners to Terror Twilight because it's still the most accessible, and they can dig deeper into the more-offbeat stuff from there.
I've never been able to get into any of the Malkmus/Malkmus + Jicks stuff, no. I've even seen him/them live, but the show didn't mean anything until they started playing a Pavement song or two. It was really sad, now that I think it over...
I totally agree with you in regards to Malkmus's guitar skills, which I still think sounded the most perfectly imperfect on
Wowee Zowee; I feel like that was when he started speaking with his guitar on a more regular basis, while I feel like he's done too much of that in the wake of that spectacular album.
Anyway, I guess that I dislike the Malkmus stuff for the inverse reason that you like
Brighten the Corners so much--the songs just aren't any good, to my ears.
I should point out, though, that I don't unequivocally hate either of the band's last two albums. I think that
Brighten the Corners is solid but unspectacular and that
Terror Twilight is embarrassing, watered-down, bland...and still an okay album.
I can't back off of this, though--I swear to you that you have to start with
Slanted and Enchanted if you're totally new to Pavement. When I
really break it all down, I actually like, listen to, and have fun with
Wowee Zowee more than any of their other records, but nobody can deny the charm and appeal of that first earth-shaking record. I'll be sentimental with my criticism, for once, and say that I still consider it my favorite Pavement record simply because it was my first. Here, then, is my ranking...in case anybody cares:
1)
Slanted and Enchanted
2)
Wowee Zowee
3)
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (and, yes, "Hit the Plane Down" is disgustingly bad...how the shit did that end up on an album while "Preston School of Industry" never got past the demo stage...?)
4)
Brighten the Corners
5)
Terror Twilight (AKA, The First Malkmus Solo Album)
Seriously, though...fuck Nigel Godrich, that shithead.