So pleased to find someone else sharing the love for Brighten the Corners. To me it's an almost perfect album and would probably make the list of my personal top five albums of all time (if I was ever forced to come up with one!). There literally isn't a bad song on it and it contains some of my favourite songs ever (especially Fin, Starlings and We are Underused).
Haha, glad I’m not the only one who noticed the resemblance between “Cut Your Hair” and the Pardon The Interruption theme. I actually covered both of them in a medley at open mic in 2008, around when I first was getting heavily into the album. My ranking: 1. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (by a lot - I like the other albums too, but this one I feel strongly connected with and it’s a strong contender for my #1 of 1994) 2. Slanted And Enchanted 3. Wowee Zowee (this one could flip with Brighten The Corners) 4. Brighten The Corners 5. Terror Twilight
If you think Slanted and Enchanted is rough and lo-fi, you should check out the singles and eps they put out before that (all brilliantly compiled on the Westing by musket and sextant). A lot of people at the time including myself who like that older material were a bit disappointed with how clean and polished Slanted and Enchanted was at first. It did now on me after a while though.
Can you give me any recommendations on bands/artists with similar melody hooks/rhythmic tempo like Pavement/Malkmus? Not the marquee stuff like Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr, Pretenders types.
@@UrlocallordandsaviorTheir labelmates Guided By Voices share their lofi production, experimental tendencies and melodic pop sensibilities. Their catalog is dauntingly immense, their mid-90s albums are a good place to start.
Guys thank you for making this video! And the top songs as well. Jason, I fully respect your choices and your bravery to put S&E at #5. Their catalog is varied , to say the least and merits some criticism , especially when it's so often ranked their best. Also, I just love Joe's disdain and decision to not even appear in the videos LOL. I enjoyed Jason's comments on the beginning of Silence Kid, because the intro to that song is truly a magical piece of music and one of my favorite album openings of all time. And I think your comment on how the fidelity sounds just a bit better is spot on. It's improved just enough to bring all of their quirks and oddities and strengths together, maybe a little more organically than Terror Twilight. Kramzer could you elaborate why you not enjoy Ann Don't Cry as much off of Terror Twilight ?
I love all 5. But if I had to rank it would be: 1. Crooked rain 2. Brighten the Corners 3. Slanted 4. Wowee 5. Terror I have the 2 live albums that are kinda hard to find but I listen to those the most. Highly recommend. And quarantine the past is nice if you want a “greatest hits” type album.
Geez guys. This is simple. #1 Slanted & Enchanted #2 Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain #3 Brighten The Corners #4 Terror Twilight #5 Wowee Zowee (over indulgent, no through thread) That said, I love them all.
I met Grant Young before Pavement's show supporting Slanted ("met", meaning, very briefly chatted with). When Spiral opened the back doors of their tour van, GY basically fell out on the street from atop the mountain of gear inside. They proceeded to rock our early 20s world. The Grifters opened, they were great too. Still have the tour T-shirt. You guys nailed my faves: My list: Slanted, Brighten, Wowee, Crooked, Terror. Not a bad one in the bunch, though I think Terror is a distant 5th.
Stark separation in Pavement taste here, but still liking all of their stuff! I’m pretty much between you guys and love both sides. 1. Brighten the Corners 2. Slanted and Enchanted 3. Terror Twilight 4. Wowee Zowee 5. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
I agree with you Jason, I think Brighten the Corners is one of their best! The first half particularly. I can see this is difficult, all the albums were relatively strong in different ways. Just depends on your mood if you feel like the more lo fi or more produced.
You should do a remake of this with Joe since I have the feeling that he is the one with the best understanding of Pavement's music and style. 5. Wowee Zowee (1995) ★½ 4. Brighten the Corners (1997) ★★ 3. Terror Twilight (1999) ★★ 2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994) ★★½ 1. Slanted and Enchanted (1992) ★★★ ★★★★★ - Masterpiece ★★★★½ - Really great ★★★★ - Great ★★★½ - Really good ★★★ - Good ★★½ - OK ★★ - Bad ★½ - Really bad ★ - Awful ½ - The worst
You guys need to have a guest step in when one of you can't do these. I would have done Pavement with you guys! That said, today I'll lean with Kramzer's list although I'd have Crooked Rain as #1. As always, nice review, looking forward to making this Pavement week for me.
Slanted And Enchanted is my favourite as well. Like The Pixies' Surfer Rosa it's the essence of the band at it's rawest. I played this album constantly for at least a year when it came out.
I get the feeling that the ethos behind those albums being both bands’ respective best album is that they “were at their worst when they took themselves seriously”.
Ive noticed over the years of listening and watching, that the opening guitar in "Rattled by the Rush" is totally transition/cut scene music in the 3rd Season of "Friends".
Great video guys! Big band in the 90s. They have a big debt with VU, Lou Reed and Pixies but also a strong personality. My list: 1.Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. 2. Slanted and enchanted. 3. Brighten the Corners. 4. Wowee Zowie. 5. Terror Twilight.
@@frangarcia7774 And Alex Chilton owes a lot of his songwriting to Lou Reed as well...what I meant is that Pavement remind me more of those "inherited" influences than a direct link - because who was not influenced by VU...
Awesome that you guys did Pavement! I too really like them all but would go: 1. Wowee Zowee 2.Slanted and Enchanted 3. CR,CR 4. Brighten the Corners 5. Terror Twilight I know it’s a huge mountain of music to tackle but any chance that you would attempt Robert Pollard/Guided By Voices? Joe may want to sit that one out as well haha
Sure they are not easy listening, but they are worth listening to. I do not care for the crazy labels that industry or critics put on them. It probably had another impact on older music fans with some 20+ history with many types of out-of-mainstream music than for younger listeners. All of their albums were great when they came out and they stayed top choices over time. Those are albums I always go back to, and the first two are pretty interchangeable, might even be a double winner. Only #5 could have needed some editing, not all tracks are necessary and thus the album length is not really justified. 5. Wowee, Zowee 4. Terror Twilight 3. Brighten the Corners 2. Slanted & Enchanted 1. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Surprisingly, I totally agree with Jason here. Brighten the Corners was the album that turned me on to Pavement a few years back... and I do remember listening to Slanted and Enchanted (as well as bits and pieces of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain) shortly afterwards, but they didn't really stick with me, although I do remember enjoying them. After spending the rest of my Twenties becoming increasingly obsessed with a bunch of other music from thrash to post-bop and everything in between, I spent the last couple weeks re-immersing myself in that '90s noise/alternative/grunge/indie scene - Pavement, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr., Flaming Lips, etc. - bands I've always admired peripherally, but never sat down and spent as much time with them as I should have. This morning, I gave Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain a full spin for possibly the first time, and I was quite impressed. Naturally, I expected Slanted and Enchanted to be an equally mind-blowing experience based on its reputation - especially given my tendency towards the noisier/weirder side of things - Beefheart and his Magic Band, Ornette Coleman, Dead Kennedys, Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt, the first two Alice Cooper LPs, but... I just finished my second run through of Slanted and Enchanted, and - yeah, I guess it's okay. It was definitely a major let-down, though. I see why it's considered a noteable achievement, but it's just their slackeresque take on what bands like the Fall and the Pixies were already doing. An excellent take, indeed, but nothing as transformative as what the Flaming Lips were doing two years prior on In a Priest Driven Ambulance, for instance. I don't think Pavement really grew into their own until that second LP, which - perhaps ironically - I put off listening to for so long because it was supposed to be their "poppy" record. I've yet to spend much time at all with Wowee Zowee or Terror Twilight, but I'm excited for what's to come. P. S. I know it wasn't a case of Malkmus-voice fatigue because Fugazi's In on the Kill Taker makes for an excellent palette-cleanser in that respect. You guys should definitely rank Fugazi if you haven't already. Keep up the great work! Enough about me, though... Can we talk about the voice of Geddy Lee?
Slanted & Enchanted is easily their best record. Every album they released after was a letdown in comparision. They're great records on their own, though.
5. Wowee Zowee 4. Slanted and Enchanted 3. Terror Twilight 2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 1. Brighten the Corners I like Wowee Zowee but it's an easy 5 for me. Brighten the Corners is also an easy 1 for me. The other albums are more interchangeable 3-5. But they're all great. Westing is also good and worth some time. Several throwaway tracks on it but some great songs, like Maybe Maybe, Home, Debris Slide, Price Yeah, Box Elder, and My Radio.
Super difficult to rank such a solid discog, every album's brilliant in its own right. 5. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 4. Slanted and Enchanted 3. Terror Twilight 2. Brighten the Corners 1. Slanted and Enchanted
Greetings from Hamilton, Ontario, lads (well, 2/3 of you) -- discovered your channel recently, have been playing catch-up. Y'all do the work! Jason, pleasantly surprised to see you repping for The Pursuit of Happiness, Sloan, Zeus, and Andy Shauf and other quality Canuck fare -- hope you're digging on the new Jennifer Castle... I'm roundly onside with Kramzer here (though I miight swap the order of your bottom two (Wowee Zowee, Brighten). Pavement never put out a bad album, but nearly every one (save Slanted) has at least one dull track that never really evolved from its original jam, and the middle albums just have a couple too many of those. It's a matter of taste, but I really dig the noisy, Fall / Swell Maps-isms of Slanted (and would slot the even noisier Westing (by Musket and Sextant) collection of early EPs up near the top, along with the Watery Domestic EP). Terror Twilight may be more of a Malkmus record, but I like the Nigel Godrich touches, and there's a "folk jam" feel that presages some of SM's future solo / Jicks albums... I swear that the producers of "Friends" used a "Rattled By the Rush" sound-alike for interstitial music for the show, *please* somebody back me up on this...
Someone else did already comment that about friends. I haven’t heard Jennifer Castle but if you’re adding her to that list of great artists I’ll definitely check it out. -Jason
5.Terror Twilight-Real good,but sounds more like the Jicks than Pavement 4.Slanted & Enchanted-Songs not as strong as the others 3.Crooked Rain,Crooked Rain 2.Brighten the Corners-Very similar to CrCr,but I like the highs on here a little more 1.Wowee Zowee-Easy #1. This is like their Exile on Main Street. My favorite album of the 90's
Thanks boyz. Only really listened to Crooked rain, crooked rain as found them via the silver Jews (who I luuuuuurve) so will go and have a listen to some more.....
This is so tough! I like/love them all. Funny thing is I think my top 2 is Slanted and Enchanted and Brighten the Corners so I agree with both your number 1 picks. There are some truly classic songs on both. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is also close. There are no bad albums in their catalogue to me. Although I can also see how someone may not like them.
Interesting difference of opinions... makes one wonder if Joe's list would place 'Slanted...' or 'Brighten...' closer to the top. How about him ranking only those two? On a side note for 90's 'power pop' : Jason, have you had the opportunity to sample The Loud Family's 'Plants and birds and rocks and things'?
#1 Brighten The Corners #2 Slanted and Enchanted #3 Crooked Rain #4 Wowee Zowee #5 Terror Twilight It would be great to have a list on Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Hey guys, gotta say from what I've sampled so far I'm with Joe on this one. Kramzer said he might like some of this stuff, so Kramzer what song(s) would you (or did you?) recommend Joe listen to?
I like Pavement, but I too often feel like they have a "hipper than thou" attitude (not just lyrically), which bugs me a bit. 5. Wowee Zowee - I haven't listened to this whole album in like 15 years. The longer songs are okay (Kennel District is my favorite), I really don't remember/care for the shorter songs. 4, Brighten the Corners - The first 4 songs are great, after that it's okay. It's hard to explain I'm not a fan of the sound of this album. 3. Terror Twilight - My first Pavement album. Literally bought a few hours before seeing them in concert which I went to because the girl I liked wanted to go see them, so seeing an opportunity I said "Let's go to the concert" for a band I had never heard of. So in 12 hours I went from never hearing of the band to seeing them in concert. You guys don;'t like Carrot Rope? That's my favorite from that album. 2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - This and #1 are by far their best albums. This one of course sounds way better than the debut. I, unlike Kramzer, really don't like "5-4=Unity" probably my least favorite track on the album. 1. Slanted and Enchanted - Unlike Jason, I like that off-kilter drumming particularly on Summer Babe. This literally sounds like it was recorded in some garage and that''s part of the beauty in it. I compare these two a lot to the Replacements "Let it Be" to "Tim" the songs are equal and it sounds better but loses that charm. Quick question on Spotify "Harness Your Hopes" is their most popular song a b-side from Brighten the Corners deluxe edition. Why? Is it featured somewhere? Am I crazy for not having heard of this song??
I totally get that "hipper than thou" criticism. That's one of the things that turned me off about them. I think the first thing I heard from them was that song dissing the Smashing Pumpkins. That was a big turn off. It didn't even matter who they were dissing.
I've watched several Listographies and so far I've yet to see a list that matches my own, but Jason's list here is the closest. I'd just swap 4 & 5 around.
Kramzer, yes re: ESPN. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_Your_Hair?wprov=sfla1 Good job, guys. No input here as I don't think I've made it all the way through a Pavement album, but I listen to some stuff that would probably make you run away with your hands over your ears as well 🤣✌️💙
I'm with Joe on these guys. They strike as a band intentionally playing worse than they are capable of. The whole "we don't give a crap" vibe is off-putting. I Don't get them.
Strong Disagree on the "Steve West is tighter than gary young" take. First of all their production got much cleaner after watery, domestic (with gary). That might get confused with the tightness of the Band. And second Steve West Plays waaaayyy more sloppy than gary young. Youngs fills in some of their first EPs/s+e/watery are unbelievably great. West would would never be able to Play "my first mine" as good as young. That being said West might fit the overall Mood and character of the Band better. He is so extremely laid back. He often plays more behind the beat than malkmus, wich is almost impossible. Take his playing on "Fin" for example. His unwillingness to Play fills on time is almost funny (sometimes upsetting) but it fits so well. So i dont dislike West, i just think that young is the better Drummer. But he probably was an alcoholic and because of that very unpredictable. West is a more stable guy, i think. Both great drummers. But i sometimes dream about post watery pavement with young behind the kit. Thank you for the Video about this great Band!
I just can't really get into S and E after a dozen listens. Too lofi and melody-deprived. Then again, i think TT is their best so it makes sense. Some fans were loyal to the lo-fi origins and some (like me) preferred a more accessible yet unique feel.
1. Crooked Rain 2. Slanted and Enchanted 3. Wowee Zowee (This one took multiple listens, but a couple of years ago, it finally clicked with me, but when it did, it clicked big time. There are some days, I would put this above Slanted and Enchanted, but not Crooked Rain) 4. Brighten the Corners (This album does sound amazing and there are some great hooks, but there are also some really weak songs, songwriting-wise too and the corners are beginning to get a little too rounded (brightened?) for my taste, and the band is starting to lose its ramshackle charm that made them so enjoyable in the first place) 5. Terror Twilight- ( I rarely go back to this one, even though I think "Spit on a Stranger" is one of Malkmus's best songs he ever wrote. ...And Carrot Rope is fun too... But for me, most of the songs just aren't very memorable). Guys, if you're talking about early indie bands, keep in mind that the genre and sound of indie rock really begins more in the 80's with the likes of R.E.M., The Replacements, Husker Du, Sonic Youth, and the Pixies, as well as British indie bands like The Smiths and The Fall (the latter of which was a huge influence on Pavement). I would say Pavement is early indie rock in the sense that they came on the scene just before indie and alternative were a few years away from gaining more mainstream acceptance. Granted "indie" didn't get really mainstream until the late 90's and early 2000's, but Pavement is sort of like the second or third chapter of the indie rock history book. Finally, I think it's kind of cool that Pavement was a band that only existed as an active recording band in one decade, just like the Beatles in the 60's. I don't give a rip about grunge. For my money, Pavement was one of, if not the band of the 90's.
I agree totally with this ranking and comments about albums, so im just going to give my views here. 1. Crooked rain is a master piece, great songs that are all different but flow perfectly IMHO one of the best albums of the 90s if not all time. 2. Slanted I to find it hard to decide on second it really is a toss up, both slanted and wowee are great but just different, but slanted is an important Indie album and has some total gems on it basically every song that made it too quaryined the past 3. Wowee, the song are really as good as the above but its just too long 18 songs and more a collection of songs rather than a perfectly flowing album, resequenced at 12 songs im sure it would have been regarded higher, could have added the other songs on as a bonus EP. 4. Brighten the Corners, exactly what you said. 5. Terror Twilight is the next step in just being too polished and lacking that grit, it really is the transition to the Jicks, its not bad, its just not the Pavement we came to love.
1. Wowee Zowee 2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 3. Slanted and Enchanted 4. Brighten the Corners Terror Twilight doesn't count because it sounds like Pavement trying to play Pavement
SM is an amazing guitarist from a creative standpoint. Nobody can bend and distort a note out of key and it actually fit the song like Malk.
Your comment on the drummer changing after their first album is what I was waiting to hear in this video. You are true music analysts.
5. Terror Twilight
4. Brighten The Corners
3. Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
2. Slanted And Enchanted
1. Wowee Zowee
100
They all rock! Wowee Zowee is my favorite, though
All of them are masterpieces!
Absolutely!
Yep
So pleased to find someone else sharing the love for Brighten the Corners. To me it's an almost perfect album and would probably make the list of my personal top five albums of all time (if I was ever forced to come up with one!). There literally isn't a bad song on it and it contains some of my favourite songs ever (especially Fin, Starlings and We are Underused).
1) wowee zowee
2) brighten the corners
3) crooked rain
4) terror twilight
5) slanted and enchanted
Haha, glad I’m not the only one who noticed the resemblance between “Cut Your Hair” and the Pardon The Interruption theme. I actually covered both of them in a medley at open mic in 2008, around when I first was getting heavily into the album.
My ranking:
1. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (by a lot - I like the other albums too, but this one I feel strongly connected with and it’s a strong contender for my #1 of 1994)
2. Slanted And Enchanted
3. Wowee Zowee (this one could flip with Brighten The Corners)
4. Brighten The Corners
5. Terror Twilight
If you think Slanted and Enchanted is rough and lo-fi, you should check out the singles and eps they put out before that (all brilliantly compiled on the Westing by musket and sextant). A lot of people at the time including myself who like that older material were a bit disappointed with how clean and polished Slanted and Enchanted was at first. It did now on me after a while though.
Can you give me any recommendations on bands/artists with similar melody hooks/rhythmic tempo like Pavement/Malkmus? Not the marquee stuff like Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr, Pretenders types.
@Urlocallordandsavior wouldn’t you rather listen to some good music? - Joe
@@UrlocallordandsaviorTheir labelmates Guided By Voices share their lofi production, experimental tendencies and melodic pop sensibilities. Their catalog is dauntingly immense, their mid-90s albums are a good place to start.
@@TastesLikeMusicPavement and Dinosaur Jr make the best music
Wowee Zowee is such an ecstatic affirmation of silly stoned awesomeness that...
Guys thank you for making this video! And the top songs as well. Jason, I fully respect your choices and your bravery to put S&E at #5. Their catalog is varied , to say the least and merits some criticism , especially when it's so often ranked their best. Also, I just love Joe's disdain and decision to not even appear in the videos LOL.
I enjoyed Jason's comments on the beginning of Silence Kid, because the intro to that song is truly a magical piece of music and one of my favorite album openings of all time. And I think your comment on how the fidelity sounds just a bit better is spot on. It's improved just enough to bring all of their quirks and oddities and strengths together, maybe a little more organically than Terror Twilight.
Kramzer could you elaborate why you not enjoy Ann Don't Cry as much off of Terror Twilight ?
S&E and BtC are my two favorite Pavement albums, haha. Glad to see both getting their due.
These last few vids feel super chill and natural, like 3 dudes just chillin n talkin about music. Keep it up guys!
Thanks! That’s the goal.
Omg you get us
I love all 5. But if I had to rank it would be:
1. Crooked rain
2. Brighten the Corners
3. Slanted
4. Wowee
5. Terror
I have the 2 live albums that are kinda hard to find but I listen to those the most. Highly recommend. And quarantine the past is nice if you want a “greatest hits” type album.
Geez guys. This is simple.
#1 Slanted & Enchanted
#2 Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
#3 Brighten The Corners
#4 Terror Twilight
#5 Wowee Zowee (over indulgent, no through thread)
That said, I love them all.
I met Grant Young before Pavement's show supporting Slanted ("met", meaning, very briefly chatted with). When Spiral opened the back doors of their tour van, GY basically fell out on the street from atop the mountain of gear inside. They proceeded to rock our early 20s world. The Grifters opened, they were great too. Still have the tour T-shirt. You guys nailed my faves: My list: Slanted, Brighten, Wowee, Crooked, Terror. Not a bad one in the bunch, though I think Terror is a distant 5th.
Stark separation in Pavement taste here, but still liking all of their stuff! I’m pretty much between you guys and love both sides.
1. Brighten the Corners
2. Slanted and Enchanted
3. Terror Twilight
4. Wowee Zowee
5. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
I agree with you Jason, I think Brighten the Corners is one of their best! The first half particularly. I can see this is difficult, all the albums were relatively strong in different ways. Just depends on your mood if you feel like the more lo fi or more produced.
Same. Brighten is probably top 2 for me.
This and the Joni video made me fall in love with this channel.
Two of like four artists that I can't physically rank them. Lol
You should do a remake of this with Joe since I have the feeling that he is the one with the best understanding of Pavement's music and style.
5. Wowee Zowee (1995) ★½
4. Brighten the Corners (1997) ★★
3. Terror Twilight (1999) ★★
2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994) ★★½
1. Slanted and Enchanted (1992) ★★★
★★★★★ - Masterpiece
★★★★½ - Really great
★★★★ - Great
★★★½ - Really good
★★★ - Good
★★½ - OK
★★ - Bad
★½ - Really bad
★ - Awful
½ - The worst
Yes, I’m the only one who thinks they stink. - Joe
Slanted & Enchanted (1992) ★★★★
Thanks guys. Another cool video. Will need check these guys out.
You guys need to have a guest step in when one of you can't do these. I would have done Pavement with you guys! That said, today I'll lean with Kramzer's list although I'd have Crooked Rain as #1. As always, nice review, looking forward to making this Pavement week for me.
Slanted And Enchanted is my favourite as well. Like The Pixies' Surfer Rosa it's the essence of the band at it's rawest. I played this album constantly for at least a year when it came out.
I get the feeling that the ethos behind those albums being both bands’ respective best album is that they “were at their worst when they took themselves seriously”.
Ive noticed over the years of listening and watching, that the opening guitar in "Rattled by the Rush" is totally transition/cut scene music in the 3rd Season of "Friends".
It's always reminded me of Dancing Days by Zeppelin just like the closing licks of Range Life are straight up Billy Squire's Everybody Wants You.
I'm in a real pavement phase at the moment.
I will pray for a quick recovery. - Joe
Will definitely be watching this later... Pavement are awesome!
Brighten The Corners isn't my personal #1, but I can certainly see why it would be for someone. Oh, and Slanted/Enchanted is #5 for me as well.
Let me try to guess your list..
1. Terror Twilight
2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
3. Brighten the Corners
4. Wowee Zowee
5. Slanted and Enchanted
?
Slanted & Enchanted #1
Great video guys! Big band in the 90s. They have a big debt with VU, Lou Reed and Pixies but also a strong personality.
My list:
1.Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.
2. Slanted and enchanted.
3. Brighten the Corners.
4. Wowee Zowie.
5. Terror Twilight.
I would add Alex Chilton and The Fall to their influences.
@@roxannewalsh agreed, but The Fall were also heavily influenced by Lou Reed and VU too
@@frangarcia7774 And Alex Chilton owes a lot of his songwriting to Lou Reed as well...what I meant is that Pavement remind me more of those "inherited" influences than a direct link - because who was not influenced by VU...
@@roxannewalsh spot on Roxanne. We can shake hands on that.
Everyone was influenced by the VU lol
Awesome that you guys did Pavement! I too really like them all but would go:
1. Wowee Zowee
2.Slanted and Enchanted
3. CR,CR
4. Brighten the Corners
5. Terror Twilight
I know it’s a huge mountain of music to tackle but any chance that you would attempt Robert Pollard/Guided By Voices? Joe may want to sit that one out as well haha
this is the correct ranking in my opinion!
SAME RANKING AS YOU!
Sure they are not easy listening, but they are worth listening to. I do not care for the crazy labels that industry or critics put on them. It probably had another impact on older music fans with some 20+ history with many types of out-of-mainstream music than for younger listeners.
All of their albums were great when they came out and they stayed top choices over time. Those are albums I always go back to, and the first two are pretty interchangeable, might even be a double winner. Only #5 could have needed some editing, not all tracks are necessary and thus the album length is not really justified.
5. Wowee, Zowee
4. Terror Twilight
3. Brighten the Corners
2. Slanted & Enchanted
1. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
My favourite Pavement albums from best to worst;
1) Terror Twilight
2) CR, CR
3) Slanted & Enchanted
4) Wowee Zowee
5) Brighten the Corners
Bro how is terror your fave and then brighten your least :(
@@beng4466 The first two songs on BTC are great, but the rest of the album leaves me cold and bored. I think it's their least interesting album.
Surprisingly, I totally agree with Jason here. Brighten the Corners was the album that turned me on to Pavement a few years back... and I do remember listening to Slanted and Enchanted (as well as bits and pieces of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain) shortly afterwards, but they didn't really stick with me, although I do remember enjoying them. After spending the rest of my Twenties becoming increasingly obsessed with a bunch of other music from thrash to post-bop and everything in between, I spent the last couple weeks re-immersing myself in that '90s noise/alternative/grunge/indie scene - Pavement, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr., Flaming Lips, etc. - bands I've always admired peripherally, but never sat down and spent as much time with them as I should have. This morning, I gave Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain a full spin for possibly the first time, and I was quite impressed. Naturally, I expected Slanted and Enchanted to be an equally mind-blowing experience based on its reputation - especially given my tendency towards the noisier/weirder side of things - Beefheart and his Magic Band, Ornette Coleman, Dead Kennedys, Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt, the first two Alice Cooper LPs, but...
I just finished my second run through of Slanted and Enchanted, and - yeah, I guess it's okay. It was definitely a major let-down, though. I see why it's considered a noteable achievement, but it's just their slackeresque take on what bands like the Fall and the Pixies were already doing. An excellent take, indeed, but nothing as transformative as what the Flaming Lips were doing two years prior on In a Priest Driven Ambulance, for instance. I don't think Pavement really grew into their own until that second LP, which - perhaps ironically - I put off listening to for so long because it was supposed to be their "poppy" record. I've yet to spend much time at all with Wowee Zowee or Terror Twilight, but I'm excited for what's to come.
P. S. I know it wasn't a case of Malkmus-voice fatigue because Fugazi's In on the Kill Taker makes for an excellent palette-cleanser in that respect. You guys should definitely rank Fugazi if you haven't already. Keep up the great work!
Enough about me, though... Can we talk about the voice of Geddy Lee?
Slanted & Enchanted is easily their best record. Every album they released after was a letdown in comparision. They're great records on their own, though.
@@kurdt1012 Nah, bro. Exact opposite. They're better with a drummer who can drum.
Wowed zowee for me . Guitar solo on Rattle by Rush gives me a rush every time
This guy Joe! How can you not like Pavement....
1 Crooked
2 Wowee
3 Slanted
4 Brighten
5 Terror
One of my favourite bands though I don't care for brighten the corners too much
1. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
2. Slanted and Enchanted
3. Wowee Zowee
4. Brighten the Corners
5. Terror Twilight
5. Wowee Zowee
4. Slanted and Enchanted
3. Terror Twilight
2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
1. Brighten the Corners
I like Wowee Zowee but it's an easy 5 for me. Brighten the Corners is also an easy 1 for me. The other albums are more interchangeable 3-5. But they're all great. Westing is also good and worth some time. Several throwaway tracks on it but some great songs, like Maybe Maybe, Home, Debris Slide, Price Yeah, Box Elder, and My Radio.
Super difficult to rank such a solid discog, every album's brilliant in its own right.
5. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
4. Slanted and Enchanted
3. Terror Twilight
2. Brighten the Corners
1. Slanted and Enchanted
Greetings from Hamilton, Ontario, lads (well, 2/3 of you) -- discovered your channel recently, have been playing catch-up. Y'all do the work! Jason, pleasantly surprised to see you repping for The Pursuit of Happiness, Sloan, Zeus, and Andy Shauf and other quality Canuck fare -- hope you're digging on the new Jennifer Castle...
I'm roundly onside with Kramzer here (though I miight swap the order of your bottom two (Wowee Zowee, Brighten). Pavement never put out a bad album, but nearly every one (save Slanted) has at least one dull track that never really evolved from its original jam, and the middle albums just have a couple too many of those. It's a matter of taste, but I really dig the noisy, Fall / Swell Maps-isms of Slanted (and would slot the even noisier Westing (by Musket and Sextant) collection of early EPs up near the top, along with the Watery Domestic EP). Terror Twilight may be more of a Malkmus record, but I like the Nigel Godrich touches, and there's a "folk jam" feel that presages some of SM's future solo / Jicks albums...
I swear that the producers of "Friends" used a "Rattled By the Rush" sound-alike for interstitial music for the show, *please* somebody back me up on this...
Someone else did already comment that about friends. I haven’t heard Jennifer Castle but if you’re adding her to that list of great artists I’ll definitely check it out. -Jason
In my opinion terror twilight is an awesome album
5.Terror Twilight-Real good,but sounds more like the Jicks than Pavement
4.Slanted & Enchanted-Songs not as strong as the others
3.Crooked Rain,Crooked Rain
2.Brighten the Corners-Very similar to CrCr,but I like the highs on here a little more
1.Wowee Zowee-Easy #1. This is like their Exile on Main Street. My favorite album of the 90's
Yes Wowee Zowee is so underrated
Thanks boyz. Only really listened to Crooked rain, crooked rain as found them via the silver Jews (who I luuuuuurve) so will go and have a listen to some more.....
RIP Dave Berman.
my ranking would be:
1. crooked rain, crooked rain
2. S+e
3. brighten the corners
4. terror twighlight
5. wowee zowee
though i literally love them all
Wowee zowee is a clear no1... it’s a a masterpiece.
Next is slanted and enchanted...
This is so tough! I like/love them all. Funny thing is I think my top 2 is Slanted and Enchanted and Brighten the Corners so I agree with both your number 1 picks. There are some truly classic songs on both. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is also close. There are no bad albums in their catalogue to me. Although I can also see how someone may not like them.
For me:
Wowee Zowee
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Brighten The Corners
Terror Twilight
Slanted & Enchanted
Interesting difference of opinions... makes one wonder if Joe's list would place 'Slanted...' or 'Brighten...' closer to the top. How about him ranking only those two? On a side note for 90's 'power pop' : Jason, have you had the opportunity to sample The Loud Family's 'Plants and birds and rocks and things'?
Based on cursory listens my favorite of theirs would be Terror Twilight. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic More in line with Kramzer's ranking then...
5 Slanted
4 Cr Cr
3 Terror twilight
2 Wowee Zowee
1 Brighten the corners
All are amazing but this is my preference
I like them all but my ranking would be
Brightern The Corners
Wowee Zowee
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Slanted and Enchanted
Terror Twilight
Best to worst:
1) Slanted (iconic)
2) Terror (masterpiece)
3) Wowee (unevenly brilliant)
4) Crooked Rain (most acclaimed)
5) Brighten (popular)
#1 Brighten The Corners
#2 Slanted and Enchanted
#3 Crooked Rain
#4 Wowee Zowee
#5 Terror Twilight
It would be great to have a list on Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
None of the Jicks records get anywhere near the quality of Pavement.
@@jamesmcavoy5440 I disagree
Hey guys, gotta say from what I've sampled so far I'm with Joe on this one. Kramzer said he might like some of this stuff, so Kramzer what song(s) would you (or did you?) recommend Joe listen to?
The album I’ve found least objectionable is Terror Twilight. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic OK sounds like you've give them a fair shake
I'd say Major Leagues
IF "Westing (By Musket and Sextant)" was treated as an album, where would it sit in the Top6?
If yer a Pavement fan.....yer fave changes every listen
What if you think they’re the worst? - Joe
I like Pavement, but I too often feel like they have a "hipper than thou" attitude (not just lyrically), which bugs me a bit.
5. Wowee Zowee - I haven't listened to this whole album in like 15 years. The longer songs are okay (Kennel District is my favorite), I really don't remember/care for the shorter songs.
4, Brighten the Corners - The first 4 songs are great, after that it's okay. It's hard to explain I'm not a fan of the sound of this album.
3. Terror Twilight - My first Pavement album. Literally bought a few hours before seeing them in concert which I went to because the girl I liked wanted to go see them, so seeing an opportunity I said "Let's go to the concert" for a band I had never heard of. So in 12 hours I went from never hearing of the band to seeing them in concert. You guys don;'t like Carrot Rope? That's my favorite from that album.
2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - This and #1 are by far their best albums. This one of course sounds way better than the debut. I, unlike Kramzer, really don't like "5-4=Unity" probably my least favorite track on the album.
1. Slanted and Enchanted - Unlike Jason, I like that off-kilter drumming particularly on Summer Babe. This literally sounds like it was recorded in some garage and that''s part of the beauty in it. I compare these two a lot to the Replacements "Let it Be" to "Tim" the songs are equal and it sounds better but loses that charm.
Quick question on Spotify "Harness Your Hopes" is their most popular song a b-side from Brighten the Corners deluxe edition. Why? Is it featured somewhere? Am I crazy for not having heard of this song??
I totally get that "hipper than thou" criticism. That's one of the things that turned me off about them. I think the first thing I heard from them was that song dissing the Smashing Pumpkins. That was a big turn off. It didn't even matter who they were dissing.
@@179richRange Life is a beautiful song
Brighten the Corners is my favorite
Crooked Rain, number one. The other two, ties.
I've watched several Listographies and so far I've yet to see a list that matches my own, but Jason's list here is the closest. I'd just swap 4 & 5 around.
Do y’all listen to Frank Zappa?
I’ve dabbled. He has so much stuff though, so I’m certainly no expert. -Jason
I guess you could say they don't have too many potholes in their catalog, amirite?
Well done
It's like picking your favorite child = impossible
These children ended up as murderers. - Joe
Pavement is so deep man when Stephen malkmus said twine comes down I was like whoa he's speaking for a generation hear
Yeah I agree they suck. - Joe
1. Wowee Zowee 2.+ everything else
Best band of the 1990's
I just threw up in my mouth. - Joe
The truth hurts
If I could erase one band in the history of music, just snap it out of existence it would be Pavement. - Joe
Might as well just snap me out of existence as well then.
You’d be fine. You wouldn’t even know they’re gone. - Joe
Westing by Musket and Sextant
Can you do Death Cab for Cutie?
I would -Jason
Kramzer, yes re: ESPN. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_Your_Hair?wprov=sfla1
Good job, guys. No input here as I don't think I've made it all the way through a Pavement album, but I listen to some stuff that would probably make you run away with your hands over your ears as well 🤣✌️💙
I’m with you Lisa, which explains my absence. - Joe
funny that each of your #1s were the other's #5
dude how could you put slanted and enchanted last and then say the reason is GARY FUCKING YOUNG???? that is the complete opposite to me
3 mins in and theyve put s+e and Brighten the corners last, how
Only one of a handful of bands who have no bad albums
Yeah I think they’re all awful too. Bad would be too kind. - Joe
One may not love them but they should be Liked! So much better than Radiohead.
Nobody is better than radiohead
@@ryankramzer1256 Of course there are better ones! PAVEMENT !!!
@@mutant_blues NOOOOOOOBODY
well that's just a silly comment
Why are these bands even compared just cause of the Nigel Goodrich connection?
Mark e smith the fall imitators.
Yeah Pavement sucks alright. - Joe
Slanted & Enchanted is their best.
Would have been soooo great with Joe.
Haha! Bold First Pick!
They owe a lot to The Fall.
More like a little. They owe more to Sonic Youth.
Slanted and Enchanted is a great album, but a total rip off of The Fall. Wowee is my favourite. Last two albums are way below the first three.
I'm with Joe on these guys. They strike as a band intentionally playing worse than they are capable of. The whole "we don't give a crap" vibe is off-putting. I Don't get them.
Thank youuuuuu. - Joe
Terror twilight....period. name a bad tune?
Strong Disagree on the "Steve West is tighter than gary young" take. First of all their production got much cleaner after watery, domestic (with gary). That might get confused with the tightness of the Band. And second Steve West Plays waaaayyy more sloppy than gary young. Youngs fills in some of their first EPs/s+e/watery are unbelievably great. West would would never be able to Play "my first mine" as good as young. That being said West might fit the overall Mood and character of the Band better. He is so extremely laid back. He often plays more behind the beat than malkmus, wich is almost impossible. Take his playing on "Fin" for example. His unwillingness to Play fills on time is almost funny (sometimes upsetting) but it fits so well. So i dont dislike West, i just think that young is the better Drummer. But he probably was an alcoholic and because of that very unpredictable. West is a more stable guy, i think. Both great drummers. But i sometimes dream about post watery pavement with young behind the kit. Thank you for the Video about this great Band!
I just can't really get into S and E after a dozen listens. Too lofi and melody-deprived. Then again, i think TT is their best so it makes sense. Some fans were loyal to the lo-fi origins and some (like me) preferred a more accessible yet unique feel.
1. Crooked Rain
2. Slanted and Enchanted
3. Wowee Zowee (This one took multiple listens, but a couple of years ago, it finally clicked with me, but when it did, it clicked big time. There are some days, I would put this above Slanted and Enchanted, but not Crooked Rain)
4. Brighten the Corners (This album does sound amazing and there are some great hooks, but there are also some really weak songs, songwriting-wise too and the corners are beginning to get a little too rounded (brightened?) for my taste, and the band is starting to lose its ramshackle charm that made them so enjoyable in the first place)
5. Terror Twilight- ( I rarely go back to this one, even though I think "Spit on a Stranger" is one of Malkmus's best songs he ever wrote. ...And Carrot Rope is fun too... But for me, most of the songs just aren't very memorable).
Guys, if you're talking about early indie bands, keep in mind that the genre and sound of indie rock really begins more in the 80's with the likes of R.E.M., The Replacements, Husker Du, Sonic Youth, and the Pixies, as well as British indie bands like The Smiths and The Fall (the latter of which was a huge influence on Pavement). I would say Pavement is early indie rock in the sense that they came on the scene just before indie and alternative were a few years away from gaining more mainstream acceptance. Granted "indie" didn't get really mainstream until the late 90's and early 2000's, but Pavement is sort of like the second or third chapter of the indie rock history book.
Finally, I think it's kind of cool that Pavement was a band that only existed as an active recording band in one decade, just like the Beatles in the 60's. I don't give a rip about grunge. For my money, Pavement was one of, if not the band of the 90's.
What's at #3?
@@inasnowstorm1496 Whoops! Sorry about that. lol
I agree totally with this ranking and comments about albums, so im just going to give my views here.
1. Crooked rain is a master piece, great songs that are all different but flow perfectly IMHO one of the best albums of the 90s if not all time.
2. Slanted I to find it hard to decide on second it really is a toss up, both slanted and wowee are great but just different, but slanted is an important Indie album and has some total gems on it basically every song that made it too quaryined the past
3. Wowee, the song are really as good as the above but its just too long 18 songs and more a collection of songs rather than a perfectly flowing album, resequenced at 12 songs im sure it would have been regarded higher, could have added the other songs on as a bonus EP.
4. Brighten the Corners, exactly what you said.
5. Terror Twilight is the next step in just being too polished and lacking that grit, it really is the transition to the Jicks, its not bad, its just not the Pavement we came to love.
Slanted and Enchanted their worst album?? 🧐
Slanted and Enchanted at #5 wtf!
1. Wowee Zowee
2. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
3. Slanted and Enchanted
4. Brighten the Corners
Terror Twilight doesn't count because it sounds like Pavement trying to play Pavement
And not a word about Malkmus' out of tune singing.
Their hearing is damaged. - Joe