First prize contest winner announced

[Patrick]

http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2010/01/25/pavement-best-of-track-listing-and-contest-winner/

[tinobeat]

Was it the band that actually sequenced the 2LP set? Its such a weird tracklist.

[johansen smith]

"Kennel District" being MIA is just ridiculous

[tinobeat]

I'm clearly not the target market for this, as its more of an introductory package, but I was definitely surprised by some of the inclusions and omissions.

[Paul]

The omission of Father to a Sister of Thought seems to almost defeat the purpose of a "best of."

[Red Medicine]

I won't be buying this, as I already own all their records, but here are my brief song-by-song comments anyway:

01 Gold Soundz (essential)
02 Frontwards (probably the best song from that EP)
03 Mellow Jazz Docent (meh)
04 Stereo (yes)
05 In the Mouth a Desert (my favorite Pavement song)
06 Two States (I think "Zurik Is Stained" should have taken this one's place)
07 Cut Your Hair (their biggest song ever, so of course it's on here)
08 Shady Lane / J Vs. S (yes)
09 Here (yes)
10 Unfair (no; I see that "Silence Kit" isn't on here for some reason, so this one shouldn't have been picked)
11 Grounded (there are a bunch of songs from WZ that I prefer over this one, like "We Dance," "Kennel District," "AT&T," and "Grave Architecture," but none of them have been included; to be blunt, the two selections from this album are completely puzzling and disappointing)
12 Summer Babe (Winter Version) (obvious choice)
13 Range Life (not one of my favorites, but it's considered a classic so I'm not surprised by its inclusion)
14 Date w/ IKEA (I would have replaced it with "Passat Dream" or "Fin")
15 Debris Slide (never cared for this one much)
16 Shoot the Singer (ditto)
17 Spit on a Stranger (only ONE song from TT? How the hell did the song below make the cut but not "Major Leagues" or "...And Carrot Rope"?)
18 Heaven Is a Truck (boring song; easily the weakest on CR, CR)
19 Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite at :17 (great song)
20 Embassy Row (underrated song from BTC, and I'm glad it's on here)
21 Box Elder (one of their best early songs)
22 Unseen Power of the Picket Fence (meh)
23 Fight This Generation (this song is too slow and too long; I could name 14 songs from WZ that I would have preferred over this one)


Overall, I think Wowee Zowee is being horribly misrepresented, and there definitely should have been more than one song from Terror Twilight. But I'm not buying it, so pay no attention to my complaints.

[tinobeat]

OK, I'll play this Monday Morning QB game too:

01 Gold Soundz (essential, absolutely)
02 Frontwards (would have picked Texas Never Whispers myself, but this whole EP should be on here, IMO)
03 Mellow Jazz Docent (sure, I can buy that, but I'd have picked either She Believes or Home for this slot)
04 Stereo (obvious choice, I can hang)
05 In the Mouth a Desert (solid)
06 Two States (solid)
08 Shady Lane / J Vs. S (obvious choice, but I might have skipped it, but have no problem with it being on here)
09 Here (solid)
10 Unfair (fantastic. skirts the line between klassic and deep cut, inspired inclusion)
11 Grounded (One of their finest moments, good call)
12 Summer Babe (Winter Version) (obvious choice, solid)
13 Range Life (obvious choice, solid)
14 Date w/ IKEA ("Kennel District" should be in this spot, lets be honest)
15 Debris Slide (brilliant)
16 Shoot the Singer (Best Pavement song, kudos)
17 Spit on a Stranger (NOT what I would have picked if only one song off TT was to be included. Carrot Rope or Major Leagues would have been my pick if I had to pick one)
18 Heaven Is a Truck (How is this on here and Fillmore Jive, Stop Breathin' or Ell Ess Two not? Come on, folks)
19 Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite at :17 (solid, obvious choice)
20 Embassy Row (Shoulda been a B-side on BTC, let alone included a greatest hits. I like the song, but Blue Hawaiian isn't on here and this is, which is a mistake, IMO. Starlings on the Slipstream would have been an acceptable replacement for this too)
21 Box Elder (fantastic, essential)
22 Unseen Power of the Picket Fence (seriously? This and not Painted Soldiers as the obligatory comp pick? Bad call, IMO)
23 Fight This Generation (Inspired pick for the closer, fantastic)

Obviously this is just one reporter's opinion, and again, this comp isn't for me, and I didn't even get a proposed "imaginative" tracklist in on time for RSD consideration, but I figured I'd chime in. Wowee Zowee and Terror Twilight are WOEFULLY underrepresented, and there's definitely some head-scratching picks off S&E and CR,CR. "Harness Yr Hopes" and "Give It A Day" could easily have pushed almost any two of these songs out of the way too, and represented the wealth of awesomeness the b-sides and singles-only tracks provided. I mean, if this is what the band wanted, I won't argue, its their call, but I think this is actually a pretty poor cross section of their career. I do hope the kids who buy it do love it, though, and do decide to delve deeper into nerdery and get to love the band as much as they should be loved, so if it works, who am I to complain?

[Fiona]

Gosh, I'm surprised that people are mildly (very mildly) upset at the selection of 'Spit on a Stranger'. In terms of Pavement's canon, Terror Twilight doesn't hold that many personal highlights, but 'Spit on a Stranger' is, for me, the very definition of that old chestnut "achingly beautiful". That and 'Gold Soundz'.

Fwiw 'Conduit for Sale!', 'Perfume-V', 'Jackals, False Grails: The Lonesome Era', 'Gold Soundz' and 'Black Out'* are my favourite Pavement songs.

*I perfectly remember hearing this for the first time - Reading festival, 1994, when it was 'New Gold Soundz', on Mark Goodier's show on BBC Radio 1. I was SO excited at hearing new material so soon after CRCR. I hope my tape of that set is still safe.

[Patrick]

I mean, if this is what the band wanted, I won't argue, its their call, but I think this is actually a pretty poor cross section of their career.

really tino? Looking at your comments above, you only really have problems with 5 out of the 23 tracks. Surely that doesn't make it a poor cross section, just maybe not exactly the one you would have chosen - though pretty close?

These kinds of things are incredibly subjective. There's no right answer, and all the songs that you wish had been on there were on there at one point or another.

I mean, we could have gone with just the really obvious hits for Pavement and made the most predictable collection of all time... I'm really glad they chose Heaven Is A Truck, for instance - once you hear the album flow (and Paul, you should listen too - it's cheap and has great artwork) - you realize that it isn't a filler track at all but a classic Pavement deep cut. It sounds totally different here from side 2 of Crooked Rain. I actually can't get that song out of my head at the moment.

We just got the vinyl test pressings in and it's particularly fascinating as 4 sides or "suites," each with its own mood.

I miss "Silence, Kit," "Perfume-V," "You're Killing Me," "Forklift," "Elevate Me Later," "Stop Breathin'," "Rattled By The Rush," "Father To A Sister Of Thought," "AT&T," "Grave Architecture," all of the "Give It A Day" EP, "Baptist Blacktick" and other B-sides as much as you guys do.

But 23-song comps need to be idiosynratic or they'll be boring. As a flow, rather than just a collection of greatest hits, I think you guys will agree that Quarantine is not just interesting but also enveloping and addictive.

** As for Terror being underrepresented... guilty as charged. I think most people feel that it is the weakest Pavement album. Other see it as a dry-run for the first Malkmus solo album. Whether or not either of those statements are true, Major Leagues was on the comp for a while - but the record was just too long. Carrot Rope was never a contender. Finally, 2010 is going to be the year of Terror, with the first vinyl reissue coming March 9, and Terror Deluxe coming in Oct/Nov, so we (and the band) thought, let's give the other records the nod.

[Seamus]

Sorry if this is a bit pathetic, but can you tell use more about who chose the tracklisting, and what the process was? And were there any other songs that were on it until the last minute?

[Fiona]

As a Pavement mixtape (if you will) for the uninitiated, with that tracklisting: job done, definitely. It's quite the depth of quality to choose from and I know as a die-hard I would have had an awful time trying to look at it with head more than heart. I don't know that I feel so strongly as to hold my head in my hands and wail over omissions etc., with one exception: 'Unseen Power of the Picket Fence' - 'Greenlander' (which I would associate with Volume Four, as it happens), any day of the week. No other gripes!

[Patrick]

The band chose Jesper to curate it. He came up with various tracklistings which went to Steve and Scott for approval - they came back with changes - back and forth, back and forth until they finalized what you have here.

Many, many mixes and CDRs were created and mailed back and forth, and I jumped in with my comments when appropriate/solicited.

[tinobeat]

really tino? Looking at your comments above, you only really have problems with 5 out of the 23 tracks. Surely that doesn't make it a poor cross section, just maybe not exactly the one you would have chosen - though pretty close?

These kinds of things are incredibly subjective. There's no right answer, and all the songs that you wish had been on there were on there at one point or another.

Well, yeah, I was sounding dramatic, but the truth is while I pretty well object to about 5 tracks, there's a lot of "solid"s on there and given my druthers I probably would have changed about half of it. Of course this is so subjective, and that's why I'm trying hard not to sound like I'm complaining, just commentating!

I mean, we could have gone with just the really obvious hits for Pavement and made the most predictable collection of all time... I'm really glad they chose Heaven Is A Truck, for instance - once you hear the album flow (and Paul, you should listen too - it's cheap and has great artwork) - you realize that it isn't a filler track at all but a classic Pavement deep cut. It sounds totally different here from side 2 of Crooked Rain. I actually can't get that song out of my head at the moment.

We just got the vinyl test pressings in and it's particularly fascinating as 4 sides or "suites," each with its own mood.

I agree, its certainly not predictable! And again, opinions etc. I think Fillmore Jive is THEE classic deep cut from CRCR and Heaven, while awesome, isn't quite on par, but I do appreciate the "cohesive sides" idea you're putting forth. Maybe I'll put together my own QTP on my itunes and feel it out before judging further, haha. Where are the side breaks?

[Salman]

These are some of my favourites that didn't make the cut: Rattled by the Rush, The Hexx, Forklift, Conduit for Sale! and Stop Breathin'. I'll take your word, Patrick, on how it will all sound sequenced together....

I love the two inclusions from the Watery, Domestic EP.

[Patrick]

As to songs that got omitted... Kennel District was never on it (personally I would have gone for it), but Painted Soldiers was there instead of Date w/ IKEA up until the last minute.

The very last change was the addition of Fight This Generation at the very end - the closer through most of the sequences was Unseen Power. That decision came down from Scott, and it totally worked.

If you really want to get into the history of the selection, tracks 1-4 came from one sequence, and tracks 5-21 (less Two States and Box Elder, and with Painted Soldiers in place of Date and at track 7) came from another sequence... in which In The Mouth A Desert would have started off the comp. This would have made it a bit more chronological but also a bit more predictable, so the "intro" sequence containing songs from all over the band's career was pre-appended. (Debris Slide was the fifth song in the original 5-track intro sequence, but it felt like too much lo-fi too early. Stereo was the opener through many of the sequences until it got switched out for Gold Soundz - we didn't want to open with a song that was also the opener for one of the LPs.)

That original 6-20:

6. In The Mouth A Desert Slanted
7. Painted Soldiers brain candy
8. Cut Your Hair Crooked Rain
9. Shady Lane/J vs. S Brighten The Corners
10. Here Slanted
11. Unfair Crooked Rain
12. Grounded Wowee
13. Summer Baby (7" Version) Slanted
14. Range Life Crooked Rain
15. Shoot The Singer (1 Sick Verse) watery
16. Spit On A Stranger Terror Twilight
17. Heaven Is A Truck Crooked Rain
18. Trigger Cut Slanted
19. Embassy Row Brighten The Corners
20. Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence no alternative

Rattled By The Rush, Stop Breathin', Major Leagues and Give It A Day were all on the sequence at one point... but the record was spilling over into double CD territory, and with all the Pavement double CDs out there, and the desire to keep the cost down and make this a cheap digestible introduction for newbies, the scalpel came down (painfully in the case of those particular songs!) to come up with a more compact, yet idiosyncratic, selection that had good flow.

[johansen smith]

Wow, I only assumed some sort of rights thing kept "Give it a Day" off-- it's the quintessential b-side for me. And I really thought everyone hated "Heaven is a Truck," maybe I was projecting...

[johansen smith]

To be fair though, I think Matador already released a Pavement Best Of:

[Patrick]

And I really thought everyone hated "Heaven is a Truck," maybe I was projecting...

Ha, I remember driving around the mountains of North Wales with Chris Lombardi in winter of 1993, and the only music we had was an advance cassette of Crooked Rain (it still had the original Brinx Job on there, as track 3)...

we passed a place called Castle Deena and we kept singing along, "she is the queen of the castle, Castle Deena..."

Where is the savoir faire, guys?

[Patrick]

tino, I'll dig out those side breaks for you when I'm back in the office.

I was kind of stunned that Texas Never Whispers didn't make it, honestly...

Btw, Wowee has been so canonized but in the office Brighten was way more of a fave. Sometimes stuff like that can have to do with being on the other side of the marketing dialogue... WZ was such a hard sell, and BTC just flowed like butter.

Another funny thing - many people have commented on Embassy Row as being an odd choice, whereas for us that was the third "single" from BTC - I think there was even a radio DPRO.

It is very proto-SM solo though.

[9000]

the level of nerdery here makes me even more bummed that the jsbx "best-of" (and re-releases) aren't being put out by matador.

[abevigoda]

. I think Fillmore Jive is THEE classic deep cut from CRCR

Was always bummed it seemed to be rarely played live.

You and me doin' tai chi in the park after dark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWoQBIgdk5k

[tinobeat]

the level of nerdery here makes me even more bummed that the jsbx "best-of" (and re-releases) aren't being put out by matador.

Haha, I was telling Fiona this yesterday, but from when the tracklisting was announced, I probably spent a good 2-3 hours talking about it with various other nerd buddies about it. I think this thread definitely quelled my initial disappointment, hearing about the process and everything. The whole idea that I'd be disappointed about a greatest hits comp that I probably won't be buying (I own multiple vinyl and CD copies of many of these songs, like a good nerd) is telling about how much of an impact this band has had on me, haha..

NERDERY SUPREME.

[narlus]

i am very happy to see "Mellow Jazz Docent," "Unfair," and "Embassy Row" on the comp, and ending it w/ "Fight This Generation" is a brilliant move.

[pavemental]

This is a lot to digest. Thanks for the level of nerd detail! In an attempt to continue the objective/nerd discourse:

- So this was never intended to be a singles collection ('carrot rope' was never on there). Interesting. That said, I'm surprised Father to a Sister and Rattled didn't make it; former is a good example of a broader range (see Heaven is a Truck, below) and latter, well, okay, I guess its the weaker of the typical Pavement indie rock singles (see Stereo, Range Life, Gold Soundz, Cut Yr Hair).

- Of the three 'lo-fi' tracks (Box Elder, Debris Slide and MJD) the first two are obvious choices (debut/a regarded classic and a live fave/proto S&E track) but why the choice of MJD over songs like From Now On (another live favorite and from a different EP) or Home (arguably a more fully realized song?)

- I always thought of Angel Carver Blues/Mellow Jazz Docent as one song, or at least two halves of a complete piece, so its weird only the second part would make the cut. Curiously though, Shady Lane/J vs S has always struck me as two entirely separate tracks. Maybe the semantic difference is from discovering the former pairing on vinyl and the latter live on the pre-BtC tour. So I guess my question is why no Angel Carver Blues when we do get J vs S and Wounded Kite?

- I don't get the hate for Heaven is a Truck. Surely a deep cut if there ever was one? Clearly a heartfelt one for sm and a nice change of pace from the rest of the material. A good inclusion on a comp to showcase range.

- Unfair makes sense: a deep cut that was a firm live fave. The band, esp. Bob, clearly loved playing this one.

- Very surprised not to see AT&T on here, since its so accessible and this is a comp (and therefore for the huddled masses).

- Glad to see the other fan/live favorites: Grounded & In the Mouth a Desert (if you'd seen the band in the first half 90s you'd understand why these had to be included).

- I'll continue to pile on with the "'Fight this Generation' was an unexpected but inspired choice."

- Curious about choosing Unseen. Surely a bit of a throwaway? If you had to go for a comp track, isn't Greenlander more emotional (although I guess similar but inferior to songs like Here, Zurich, Shoot the Singer) or give some Spiral love (Painted Soldiers).

- Two States: chosen for being a fan favorite or a sentimental pick from Spiral? Arguably not the best example of the bands songwriting talents...

- Very surprised by Embassy Row, esp. given the 'not a singles comp' angle. Surely Type Slowly is more representative of where the band was at/headed at that point in time?

- Was there any concern about the relatively heavy weighting towards S&E and CR, CR vs the other albums? More than half this comp represents 92-94.

Ah, I could go on. Either way, its obviously fantastic. I'm looking forward to putting together a playlist on my itunes to preview this.

Oh, one last thing. Can Patrick talk about the remastering? How drastic is the difference in sound? And what will audiophiles in the front trenches of the loudness wars make of it?

[Paul]

I got into Pavement around the time Cut Your Hair started showing up on MTV, and I bought CR,CR at the time. But over the years, Father to a Sister of Thought has grown to become what I consider not only the definitive Pavement single, but perhaps the definitive Pavement song. Also, I think it deserves as much credit as Uncle Tupelo, et al. for advancing the indie-rockier alt-country movement at light speed. It's been said that the first time the Ramones played London, everyone in the audience at the show started a punk band. I think Father to a Sister of Thought could likewise claim responsibility for the birth of a thousand more records. That may or may not be true, but all the pieces fit.

Anyway, that song, more than any other, is the most surprising omission to me. (Very glad to read that Carrot Rope never even stood a chance, though... ha!)

[the Pawnbroker]

Wow, I only assumed some sort of rights thing kept "Give it a Day" off-- it's the quintessential b-side for me. And I really thought everyone hated "Heaven is a Truck," maybe I was projecting...

"Give it a Day" might be my favorite Pavement song. I love that loping quality of the bass plus Malkmus' vocal "attack." The lyrics comparing the puritans to the singer's present day boy-girl situation are one part narrative, one part love song, one part kiss off, one part "let's run away from the world", and ten parts awesome.

And when that guitar fuzzes at the end of each verse . . .

[marqueemoon]

I think this is a pretty solid list for the most part. I can't take any of this personally because this best of is for the new converts. The only two I would've included that are pretty obvious are We Dance and Stop Breathin. Only because I've heard so many people tell me those were ones that got them hooked on Pavement.

Now if this were a fan compilation I think it would've been great to have everything up for grabs. Live tracks that might've been superior to the studio lie Type Slowly at the Tibetan Freedom Concert, The Hexx and Harness Your Hopes from BBC and the Brixton versions of Summer Babe and Home. But that wouldn't help Matador stay in business.

[kdart91]

hey Patrick,

has there been any decision on whether the Terror Twilight Deluxe package will be released on vinyl, a la Brighten the Corners?

[Fiona]

hey Patrick,

has there been any decision on whether the Terror Twilight Deluxe package will be released on vinyl, a la Brighten the Corners?

I was taking it that there was going to be a regular vinyl reissue, followed by a somewhat concurrent cd/vinyl super-reissue. I'd probably stump for the super-duper TT vinyl reissue, simply because it's the missing link in my Pavement collection.

But yeah, I was wondering if my reasoning was sound.

[Patrick]

The only two I would've included that are pretty obvious are We Dance [....] Only because I've heard so many people tell me those were ones that got them hooked on Pavement.

F'realz?? We Dance?

[Patrick]

I was taking it that there was going to be a regular vinyl reissue, followed by a somewhat concurrent cd/vinyl super-reissue. I'd probably stump for the super-duper TT vinyl reissue, simply because it's the missing link in my Pavement collection.

But yeah, I was wondering if my reasoning was sound.

After the BTC deluxe vinyl fiasco, the chances that we would do a TT deluxe vinyl issue are approximately.............. 0.0%.

The regular TT vinyl reissue will be available in just over a month though, first time in many years.

[johansen smith]

The Cat Power version obv

[Fiona]

After the BTC deluxe vinyl fiasco, the chances that we would do a TT deluxe vinyl issue are approximately.............. 0.0%.

The regular TT vinyl reissue will be available in just over a month though, first time in many years.

That's fine by me! I would totally buy deluxe vinyl versions of S+E and CRCR though. Totally.

[Jesper]

some brief notes here, mostly comments on Pavemental's lengthy comment, but should be of interest to most people commenting here:

"So this was never intended to be a singles collection ('carrot rope' was never on there)"

• Quite correct. We basically worked with three criteria here:
1) limit the record to one CD
2) showcase the band's entire career (ie not just "The Matador Years") as well as all facets of the band
3) create the best possible listening sequence using a mix of the most popular songs and some more eccentric interesting choices.

We also really wanted this record to appeal to people not familiar with the band, the people who didn't "get it" at the time and the younger "weren't there at the time" generations. Diehard fans probably already have compiled their own best of CDRs over the years...

Our pool of tracks to chose from was reduced from every single Pavement track down to 45 or so songs, all which we considered absolutely essential. Would have made an amazing 3-CD set...

Every person involved in compiling the record had to compromise. My own personal compilation would look quite different. And I think we had 30 or so different versions going. But I am confident that in the end we decided on a sequence of songs that makes for a really great listen and one which should make people very interested indeed in checking out the band's "real" releases, and when they do that they will discover a band that had a pretty much unprecedented amount of truly great songs. Personally, I cannot think of a band of similar output from the last 20 years that comes even close to 40-50 incredible songs. GBV perhaps? That greatest hits comp of course had many similarities to this one too - 'where the hell is "X"' - 'why is not "Y" included?' A: time constraints and compromises.

To sum up a perhaps too lengthy explanation: the songs on the comp are not all of the bands best songs, but we think it is the best 1-CD combination of the band's best songs we could come up with to keep all of us happy.

"but why the choice of MJD over songs like From Now On (another live favorite and from a different EP) or Home (arguably a more fully realized song?)"

• The tricky part was of course to decide which songs to axe, and not just that but which ones to cut in relation to the other tracks ie there is a chessboard worth of possible combinations here and you need to eliminate great tracks no matter what, you're fucked from the start as it were... every single song I have seen mentioned in comments asking why a certain song was excluded were in the '45 song pool'


"So I guess my question is why no Angel Carver Blues when we do get J vs S and Wounded Kite?"

• Valid question. Well, the way I see it, ACB and MJD are two different songs. The other two examples I think should be considered as codas to the songs. I think MJD sounds really incredible on its own and where it is in the sequence, and I also think ACB is a little too abrasive for this type of record - it just didn't fit.

"I don't get the hate for Heaven is a Truck."

• Hear Hear! What he said. The "Heaven is a Truck" negative vibes have been baffling me to no end.


"Was there any concern about the relatively heavy weighting towards S&E and CR, CR vs the other albums? More than half this comp represents 92-94."

• it's basically just the way it happened to turn out - there was no plan to lean heavy on that, or any other, particular era. I would have liked more Wowee action on there as well.

"Can Patrick talk about the remastering? How drastic is the difference in sound? And what will audiophiles in the front trenches of the loudness wars make of it?"

• Loudness wars folk should be happy, and I'm one of them. Greg Calbi did it, and we kept most of his original remastering work with some adjustments, remastered the stuff he hadn't done originally. Most time was spent creating a good listening experience with all the differently recorded material. We spent two days mastering this.

[fatbhoi]

will there be a limited color vinyl version of the record store day issue?

[Patrick]

TBD. It's all limited edition... it may be colored vinyl. If so, the whole run will probably be colored. watch this space.

[pavemental]

Many thanks for the detailed answer Jesper. I've put the comp together on my itunes and it does indeed flow really nicely, although I'm looking forward to hearing the ACB-less MJD in this sequence!