Paving the way

Rising solo career on display in ex-Pavement lead singer Stephen Malkmus' fourth album

By: Dave Arey

Posted: 3/4/08

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

"Real Emotional Trash"

80 Decibels

Indie Rock

Sounds Like: Lou Reed, The Pixies

Anyone who saw the Bob Dylan biopic, "I'm Not There," would say that out of all the cover songs featured throughout, one clearly stuck out - Stephen Malkmus' version of "Ballad of a Thin Man." That's partially because of the kaleidoscopic scene it scores, but also because Malkmus takes one of Dylan's most enigmatic songs and makes it his own.

If anyone could understand "Ballad of a Thin Man," a song about being too cool for your own good, it's Malkmus. As the driving force behind Pavement, no one knew what to think of Malkmus. Was he an offbeat pop singer, a drugged-out noodler, art's gift to rock music or something different altogether?

"Real Emotional Trash," his fourth solo album since Pavement broke up in 1999, shows he's all those things and then some. It features jam sessions reminiscent of the Grateful Dead or The Allman Brothers, taut pop songs and large sections that defy classification or explanation.

"Dragonfly Pie," the opener, begins with a guitar riff that would fit right in "Led Zeppelin II," before Malkmus' boyish yelp enters and creates a completely different atmosphere. He utters a phrase that could easily be his personal motto ("Can't be what you ought to be, got to be what you want to be"), and then spends the rest of the song singing gibberish, just to get the point across. Like most of Malkmus' work, it's musically familiar and lyrically obtuse - throughout, his guitar does a lot more talking than his mouth.

Lyrics are always a point of contention with fans of Malkmus' work. If you're the sort of person who constantly reads into lyrics, trying to find deeper meaning, "Real Emotional Trash" may not be for you.

Malkmus is more concerned with conjuring moods rather than coherency, resulting in many songs that make sense in pieces but make no sense as a whole. For instance, the more than 10-minute title track, details a road trip through California. What happens, and for what reason, is up to the listener to decide.

Countering the formless nature of most of the album is "Gardenia," the shortest and most straightforward song on the album. Backed by gorgeous harmonies and a slinky guitar, Malkmus asks a lover if she is "just a present waiting to be opened up and parceled out again."

Of course, Malkmus is no one's present, and if his songs are not waiting to be opened up, that's by design. Or, as Dylan might put it - he's an artist, and he don't look back.

Pavement: From Revolutionary to Reactionary

One look at Stephen Malkmus' former band's career reveals much about the mercurial nature of his solo material.

"Slanted and Enchanted," 1992

"Lies and betrayals, fruit-covered nails, electricity and lust." So began the career of the band that was to be R.E.M.'s weird, arty West Coast cousins.

"Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain," 1994

The group turned down the distortion and released the most poppy album of its career, especially the would-be hit single "Cut Your Hair."

"Wowee Zowee," 1995

What happened? Littered with weird ballads and goofy jams, this is the first sign that quality control may be a problem.

"Brighten the Corners," 1997

A softer, lighter album that is fine, though a little boring.

"Terror Twilight," 1999

Strictly a ballad band, though a damn good one.

dwarey@syr.edu