Customer Reviews

Stephen Malkmus

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a great record, and it contains lots of the good things Pavement had going for them the last 3-4 years, plus a more adventurous attitude. The big thing to me is that it's FUN (a way too rare thing). The lyrics are great; they're in the same vein as the last few Pavement records, but still surprising, funny and insightful. The music is faster, more relaxed, and confident. The mood is positively upbeat.

OK, it isn't a classic. But it's best record I can imagine Stephen Malkmus making right now. Considering it's a solo debut following the breakup of the 90's best band AND it's the best record I've heard in a few years AND SM is obviously still moving forward in an artistic sense... don't under estimate it when you listen to it and simply say, "What a great record."

Some people won't like this record for a bunch of predicatably bad reasons. Don't believe it. This record is the sound of being simultaneously optimistic, intelligent and playful. And hey, not everyone fits that description.

Now-defunct indie gods Pavement, while producing a few of the finest albums of the past decade, never made much of a splash outside of indie rock circles and never sold many records. So I'm pretty amazed at how much hype I've seen surrounding the first solo album from the band's frontman -- prominent, glowing essays in Rolling Stone, Spin, and the rest of the music press. Not surprisingly, Stephen Malkmus (the album) sounds an awful lot like Pavement -- after all, setting aside a few songs written by Pavement second chair Scott Kannberg and some instrumental and vocal flourishes by the rest of the band, Pavement essentially was Malkmus (particularly on the last few albums). It's not too far off to consider Pavement's last album, Terror Twilight, to have been the real first Malkmus solo album, much like the final Replacements album (All Shook Down) was really the first Paul Westerberg solo album.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that, for better and worse, the breakup of Pavement isn't the biggest deal in the world, as Stephen Malkmus simply picks up where the band left off. In many respects, this album is far better than Terror Twilight, an album which, while including a few moments of that twisted Pavement alt-pop glory ("Spit on a Stranger," "Carrot Rope," "Major League"), was way too dull for my taste. After re-invigorating indie rock and tossing off two of the greatest albums of the '90's (if not the rock era) -- Slanted & Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain -- Pavement went steadily downhill. While Malkmus' gifts as a lyricist continued to grow, he seemed to abandon his talent for coming up with a unique hook for each song; beginning with their third full-length album, Wowee Zowee, Pavement seemed to add music to Malkmus' lyrics almost as an afterthought. While this worked to some extent on the underrated Brighten the Corners, by Terror Twilight the music was totally lacking in energy. So it's a pleasant surprise that Malkmus has decided that, yes, catchy hooks matter after all. And Stephen Malkmus, while still playing to Malkmus' strengths as the crafter of idiosyncratic lyrics, is a perkier, poppier album than I would have expected. Tunes like "The Hook" and "Jennifer and the Ess-Dog" have that instantly-hummable quality of early Pavement, coupled with the verbal jabs that make Malkmus a stand-out in indie circles. The former is an allegorical I've-Grown-Up-And-Gone-Solo tune reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's first post-Genesis single "Solsbury Hill"; the latter is an almost-melodramatic retelling of a May-December romance between a rich teenage girl and her boyfriend who plays in a 60's cover band. And despite Malkmus' rep as a snide purveyor of slacker irony, the songs are earnest and benefit from the personal warmth he started bringing to his lyrics around the time of Brighten the Corners. It's not a perfect album, and even at its catchiest lacks the go-for-broke abandon of early Pavement, but it shows that, unlike Westerberg, Malkmus went solo with a few good ideas still kicking around.

Because SM's voice is so unique (think a pre-pubescent Lou Reed trying his absolute hardest to sing as well as he can), comparisons between this, his first solo outing, and Pavement - the band he fronted and wrote most of the material for, a band considered by many to be one of the most original and wonderful rock groups of its era - were going to be inevitable. Yet this album comes as quite a surprise, primarily because it's much less like a Pavement record than even Malkmus himself had warned in pre-release press (the only Pave it resembles is some of the Terror Twilight material, and the very Malkmus-dominated Pacific Trim EP). There's an earnestness in the way SM seems to have approached these solo songs, as if genuinely trying to forge something new that is all his own, all the while inspired by music of which he is unabashedly a fan. Pieces like Phantasies, Troubbble and Jenny & the Ess Dog are unlike anything Pavement recorded, and the New Wave pop vibe that sets the pace for much of the record works wonderfully under the guidance of SM's unique vocal stylings. So why isn't it great? The trouble with this album is - at least musically - no fault of Malkmus': you simply miss Pavement. Listening to tunes like Vague Space and Jo Jo's Jacket, the Pavement fan rues the breakup all the more, as these tracks would have been absolutely incredible if recorded by the old band. One can't help but long for the yips and off-key screech-alongs of Bob Nastanovich, or for the fat bounce of Mark Ibold's bass playing. The Jicks, as SM's new band are called, are all good musicians, perhaps even better technically than the guys in Pavement were. But what's lacking is the sense of group effort on the brink of chaos, something that should never work and yet miraculously does. That was Pavement. Here we have an exceptionally gifted singer-songerwriter who will undoubtedly provide us with beautiful and original material for years to come, all on his own. Only there's just something a little less original about that.

I noticed that a few reviewers are off the mark on 'Jo Jo's Jacket. The "truly arbitrary snippet of some guy talking about the shaving of his head" is from Yul Brynner--also the subject of the song: "perhaps you saw me in 'Westworld', I acted like a robotic cowboy." By the way, if you aren't already convinced that most album critics are prime examples of self-confirming bias, check out the editor's comment on the Brynner sample: a thinly veiled statement about Malkmus' intent? C'mon, it's just a funny tribute to a bald guy.

Whatever anyone has said about this album, bad or good, please ignore. Because even people who have said good things about this album have made speculations that are ridiculous. For instance, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said that "'Jo-Jo's Jacket may or may not be a vicious attack on Moby'..". Being the expendable critic that he is, his source obviously came from Internet speculation that the song was about Moby, which Malkmus has denied. Uh, the reason that he denied it was that there is no mention of Moby or anything remotely related to Moby in the song. The song is about Yul Brynner, and his acting career, including his role as the robotic cowboy in "Westworld." But being that there are a lot of idiots out there, they heard 'bald head' and since Moby is the hot pop icon right now, of course the song would have to be about him, since Malkmus has dissed modern pop-icons or bands in the past, like in the song "Range Life", right? Uh, wrong.

This album is great, and Malkmus is only getting better as a songwriter. However, if the album was not called "Stephen Malkmus" and was called "Pavement's next record" and he pulled the wool over our eyes, nobody would have necessarily noticed. Is this a bad thing? No, because Stephen Malkmus WAS Pavement, so of course it sounds like Pavement. Man, some people are dumb.

All of the songs on here are classic, with the exception of "Black Book", which I don't really like. All of Malkmus' lyrical quirkiness is ever-present and this is just simply one of the best pop albums to come out in recent years.

BUY THIS ALBUM! It actually rivals "Brighten the Corners" and would be equal to it, if not for "Black Book", which stands out because it's the only song on the album that isn't a nice smooth melodic song.

This is so far the best record of 2001. I would highly doubt that it would not be in my top 10 at the end of the year, along with The Dismemberment Plan's new Cd, when it comes out.

Top 10 Reasons Why This Gets 5 Stars:

10.) Every song on here is good. Every song is sing-alongable and enjoyable. My favorites change day-by-day.

9.) Stephen Malkmus sounds kind of like Lou Reed on this album - and that's good.

8.) Follows in the Pavement tradition-- if you like Pavement, you'll like this, just as much, if not better.

7.) Beautiful melodies and intelligent lyrics throughout.

6.) Humorous, indifferent, warm, and earnest all at the same time. A sweet combination.

5.) Diverse songs that range from tweaked ("Phantasies") to distorted ("Discretion Grove") to pop-induced ("Jennifer and the Ess-Dog")

4.) It's his first solo album. And that's a good thing..

3.) Classic Malkmus wordplay. Ex: "Her slurred medieval accent was like a puddle at my feet," in "Trojan Curfew."

2.) It even samples Yul Brynner on "Jo Jo's Jacket"!

1.) It really is that good, trust me!

I've been a Pavement fan nearing on a decade now (wow, that makes me feel old). I can't say that I understand this Yoko Ono "let's blame the girlfriend" sentiment of some of the more negative reviews. Give the guy a break . . .. That said, after the fog has cleared and I've been listening to this album long enough, I can say without hesitation that it is the weakest thing he's done. Sure a few of the songs are catchy and fun but, at the same time, it's all so inconsequential. Definitely not a CD that demands to be heard. You get the feeling that Malkmus is going through the motions. TERROR TWILIGHT was a move in the right direction and this seems like a step back. While I always enjoyed the humor of his oh-so-clever lyrics, several of the songs here seem like they could be written by joke-rock dweebs extraordinaire THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS or (heaven forbid) BARENAKED LADIES. No, story-songs about pirates don't make for compelling listening. And Yul Brenner references for the sake of making Yul Brenner references ain't my idea of good songwriting (even if initially they gave me a chuckle). Hopefully, the next one will be more inspired.

Let me say this, viz., this album is like a really great ham sandwich. And not Buddig on Wonder bread, but Black Forest Ham on a good baguette with premium butter. It's apparently simple, but the quality is so good that it is a classic, completely enjoyable and satisfying, I never get tired of it. It has enough flair to be slightly European in flavor, but it is still a wonderful comfort food. Brilliant all around. Thanks SM.

I love this album. Absolutely love it. That said, it doesn't hold a candle to the "good" Pavement records. S&E, CRCR, Wowee Zowee can't be touched. But I do like it better than Terror Twilight and BTC. You knew where Pavement and Malkmus were going. They steadily ironed out all the rough edges and dissonance by their fourth album. Malkmus' solo debut is the culmination of that process, being really, really poppy. The complexity of early Pavement is pretty much gone, and the joker personality of SM is in full effect here. But there are some achingly beautiful songs here, like Trojan Curfew, Church on White, Pink India, Deado... Then there's the goofy, fun stuff, like the sound effects in Troubble, the steel drum in Vague Space and the lyrics of the pirate tale, The Hook. Oh, and Jenny and the Ess-dog sounds just like Spit on a Stranger. But who cares? Lighten up and listen to it again. You'll like it. Trust me.

The main thing that dissapointed me on this album was that Stephen Malkmus doesn't really tread any new ground here, unless adding little classic rock nods here and there (good) and occasionally taking the annoying hipster quotient last heard on Pavement's Brighten The Corners and multiplying it by 3 (bad) counts. In addition, there's a lot of parts of the album where it sounds like the man stumbled upon a box of moogs and toy instruments in someone's attic and insisted on using them as many times as possible. In "troubble" the dinky instruments work, because the song is actually built around these quirky noises, but elsewhere it sounds like he took regular guitar pop songs and just overdubbed "wacky" sounding instruments for no good reason.

However, even a misguided Malkmus can come up with memorable melodies (heh, alliteration!). There's still enough pavement-worthy material like "black book" and "church on white" to make it worth buying, and even the goofier songs are enjoyable when he's not mucking them up with xylophones and synth farts. "Jenny And The Ess-Dog" is catchy, and actually sort of poignant for a song about an aging hippie and a high school senior girl falling in love, and "the hook", while perhaps more in character for Cake than for SM, is an entertaining pirate romp with head-bob-inducing cowbells.