Pavement!

It started with “Cut Your Hair”, my fierce love for Pavement. The silly video and the vocals won me over. The silky, floppy hair, strong jaw and patrician nose of Stephen Malkmus made me feel fluttery. Then I fell into the cd Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and could not stop listening to “Stop Breathin’”. “Got struck by the first volley..”. The song had swooping power chords, passionate singing, confusing yet evocative lyrics…why, they were more than just sarcastic songwriters making fun of Stone Temple Pilots (“…those elegant bachelors”). They had depth, mixed with silliness and wordplay. My favorite combo! I stuck with Pavement and listened non-stop to Slanted and Enchanted and also took a shine to Stephen’s solo stuff. And when I feel blue, I look up the performance of “Jenny and the Ess-Dog”, performed by SM and the Jicks on Letterman, easily accessed on YouTube. Malkmus does a rock-star perfect yell and tosses his floppy hair and looks like the aging yet handsome slacker that he is.