Stephen Malkmus Series: “Xian Man”

From the perspective of hindsight, March 6, 2020 turned out to be a bad time for Stephen Malkmus to release an album. Within weeks of the record’s release date, Malkmus’s beloved NBA suspended their season, schools in the United States began closing down, and individual states started to shut down bars and restaurants. Travel bansContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Xian Man””

Stephen Malkmus Series: “Forget Your Place”

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””

Stephen Malkmus Series: “Cast Off”

“Cast Off” is the lead-off track of 2018’s Sparkle Hard, the last album that Stephen Malkmus released with the Jicks: The song and album open with a dramatic chord and then Jicks’ keyboardist Mike Clark plays a beautifully gentle passage on the piano, which is repeated a few times with variations to create a senseContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Cast Off””