Is it philistine of me not to worship the ground (ha!) Pavement walks on?
Too many vocal tics (especially in "Cut Your Hair"), not enough vocal talent. As compositions the songs are good enough.
Is this an acquired taste I should work harder to acquire?
Posted by Matt Bruce at January 28, 2008 06:39 PMI would have to say for certain it's not for everybody. It's not mostly even for me. And they certainly weren't responsible for two of the top five albums of the 90's, despite Pitchfork claiming otherwise.
But there's some real gems in there. As someone who's often more interested in individual songs rather than an album as an entirety, I realize they're not ideally suited to satisfy me. But Summer Babe, Perfume V, and the aforementioned Cut Your Hair all have something to offer for sure.
I don't think working a lot harder is going to get you there. But what sorta got me there was randomly deciding to take Slanted & Enchanted with me on a road trip. Listening to it uninterrupted, and while I'm not extremely concerned with hearing something with which I'm familiar...that's brought me around on them more than any other time.
Posted by: ZD at January 28, 2008 10:21 PMThere's nothing wrong with not liking Pavement. There's nothing wrong with not like ________ regardless of what strawmen say.
It seems like your impression of them is similar to mine; the difference is that I don't weight "vocal talent" significantly. Or maybe it'd be better to say that the "vocal talent" I'd be looking for would have more emphasis on tics and less on showing note-perfect precision. I like leaving a lot of room for range in my vocal appreciation - and I don't mean just being able to hit both high and low notes.
A more proper singer wouldn't've worked for Pavement, in their time. Though maybe I'm overestimating their contributions and underestimating say, The Fall.
So, yeah, that's how Malkmus sings. I find it interesting and fitting. It attenuates some with time but not enough that I am even sure what era Pavement you've heard.
I don't particularly understand being so turned off by a vocal style but I realize a lot of people are. And that shuts a lot of musical doors.
Also apparently my filled-in URL had been the Wikipedia article on Sexual Intercourse, which I used as an answer to one of your questions but that was quite some time ago. I feel rather embarrassed right now.
Posted by: mountmccabe at February 2, 2008 09:36 AM