When Stephen Malkmus made the rounds and talked to journalists about his 2018 album with the Jicks called Sparkle Hard, he routinely made reference to a solo, keyboard-centric album that he had in the can. In fact, he revealed in a 2018 Washington Post interview that he had submitted this album to his label MatadorContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Forget Your Place””
Tag Archives: Pavement
Stephen Malkmus Series: “Senator”
In 2011, Stephen Malkmus, with his backing band the Jicks, released Mirror Traffic. The album contains an arresting cover image of three Black men, two of whom are watching something in the distance while the third is zipping and hiking up his pants. With the album’s release, Malkmus did an interview with Pitchfork breaking downContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Senator””
Stephen Malkmus Series: “Real Emotional Trash”
As Stephen Malkmus moved further away from his Pavement tenure and put out more solo albums, a pattern began to emerge. Each record was a response to the previous one. Whereas Stephen Malkmus was a platform for him as a songwriter and indie music figurehead, Pig Lib was a full-on rock and roll band albumContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Real Emotional Trash””
Stephen Malkmus Series: “Freeze the Saints”
Stephen Malkmus is one of our great melodists and balladeers. There are so many other aspects to his music to that compete with this simple statement, whether it’s the obvious influence of The Fall on his early songwriting, the Zeitgeist-y “reflection of a generation” labels forced on Pavement’s music, or Malkmus’s gradual acceptance of hisContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Freeze the Saints””
Stephen Malkmus Series: “Water and a Seat”
When Matador Record released Stephen Malkmus’s first album in 2001, there was a concerted effort on their part to establish Malkmus as a solo artist and offer this new stage of his career as distinct from Pavement. Most of the contemporary reviews of the album couldn’t help but push this same narrative. Though there’s some quirkinessContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Water and a Seat””
Stephen Malkmus Series: “The Hook”
After 10 years as a singer, songwriter, guitar player and quasi-leader of Pavement, Stephen Malkmus finally released a solo album. The record was self-titled and put out under his name alone, despite Malkmus wanting to call it Swedish Reggae and crediting it to his new band, The Jicks. Graced with cover portraying a mulleted, half-smilingContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “The Hook””
Some Thoughts on Pavements
Pavements — the 2025 quasi-documentary which tracks the impact of the band Pavement from their beginning in Stockton, CA in 1989 through their ups and downs in the 1990s until the present — is anything but a simply-told story. Writer/director Alex Ross Perry has stuffed his film with every idea he possibly can to makeContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Pavements”
A Good Year for Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus had a good year. It was also a busy one for the singer, songwriter, and guitar deity as it included the launch of a new band, more reunion tour dates with foundational 90s indie band Pavement, high-profile interviews, and the premier of a movie which featured his younger self. What follows are 10Continue reading “A Good Year for Stephen Malkmus”
Recliner Notes 