Pavement Songs Ranked
The Pavement was an American indie rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. For most of their career, the group consisted of Stephen Malkmus (vocals and guitar), Scott Kannberg (guitar and vocals), Mark Ibold (bass), Steve West (drums), and Bob Nastanovich (percussion and vocals). Initially conceived as a recording project, the band at first avoided press or live performances, while attracting considerable underground attention with their early releases. Gradually evolving into a more polished band, Pavement recorded five full-length albums and nine EPs over the course of their decade-long career, though they disbanded with some acrimony in 1999 as the members moved on to other projects. In 2010, they undertook a well-received reunion tour and will perform two 30th anniversary shows in 2021. Here are all of the Pavement songs ranked.
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20. Box Elder (Slanted and Enchanted, 1992)
“Great melodies, ace drumming, lotsa goofball absurdity, a genius singer who hasn’t quite realized his genius potential yet, and some keen guitar lines.”
19. Carrot Rope (Terror Twilight, 1999)
“Great song, love the interplay of vocals in the beginning. It’s actually a perfect song, but I listened to it the night before I went on a trip and the next night I threw up, so I’ve been hesitant/afraid of listening to it since.”
18. Stop Breathin (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA’s Desert Origins, 2004)
“Their approach was slack, but the lyrics and melodies were clearly the product of lots of hard work. The result is an impressive, varied-yet-cohesive album featuring one gem of a song after another. These tracks are anthems, just not in the “stand with fist in air” vein.”
17. Trigger Cut / Wounded-Kite At :17 (Slanted and Enchanted, 1992)
“Lyrically Pavement owe a lot to Michael Stipe. This is evidenced not only by the REM cover versions and tributes but by the oblique lyrics that seem much closer to contemporary poetry than typical rock lyrics. This tendency is evident even on their most musically accessible tracks.”
See more: Pavement Albums Ranked
16. Frontwards (Slanted and Enchanted, 1992)
“They is a great looseness and slack to this record, but do not think for one moment Malkmus’ song writing is anything short of perfect.”
15. AT&T (Wowee Zowee, 1995)
“AT&T, perhaps the best example of what makes Wowee Zowee so cool. AT&T is at its core, a great pop song, but it’s steeped in so many layers of apathetic irony and musical experimentation that you have to work really hard to win its heart.”
14. We Dance (Wowee Zowee, 1995)
“We Dance” is deceptive. At first glance, it seems like little more than a steel acoustic guitar number with a somber Malkmus on vocals—the sort of somberness that occurs after you’ve sobered up mid-party, once you realized drinking till your trash is just a waste of time (to quote Elliott Smith’s doctor), or you realized you’re just drinking to get away from the crushing loneliness but no one really does—I’m getting off track here.”
13. Zurich Is Stained (Slanted and Enchanted, 1992)
“Zurich Is Stained” is my favorite from the album. It has this soft acoustic guitar and country strings being picked in the background. It reminds me of Lou Reeds slower songs.”
12. Grounded (Wowee Zowee, 1995)
““Grounded” is a different kind of the same word. The guitar of the intro and underneath the solo of the outro could be the answer to suburban boredom, while the guitar parts in the middle of the song build up and up before a ruckus of debris before letting it crashing down around you immediately after (you can practically see Malkmus whipping at his guitar to make those noises; I find it funny that one of the ultimate-guitar tabs for “Grounded” has this section labeled “Rock”.”
11. Spit on a Stranger (Terror Twilight, 1999)
“Really love the bedroom indie pop, cheap-keyboard sound of the last 2 tracks. I honestly wish Malkmus had released more stuff like this.”
10. Silence Kit (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA’s Desert Origins, 2004)
“. “Silence Kit” may lift the melody line from Buddy Holly’s “Everyday,” but having never been a very big Buddy Holly fan, I have to say I much prefer Pavement’s take on it.”
9. Stereo (Brighten the Corners, 1997)
“Perfect witty, catchy pop/rock single that sets the tone with superfluous forward thinking songwriting and performance capabilities executed in timeless fashion.”
8. Shady Lane (Brighten the Corners, 1997)
“Perfect romantic pop song. Cheezy, while being suave enough in style to come across as not cheesy.”
7. Rattled by the Rush (Wowee Zowee, 1995)
“The album follows with its most technically impressive track (though not my favorite), “Rattled by the Rush.” It sets itself up like any number of Pavement songs, with Stephen Malkmus singing to match the guitar, breaking a line like “Oh, that I could bend my tongue outwards” into “Oh / that I / could bend my tongue / outwards.” On slow, summer days, I swear there’s not much better than singing along to “Rattled”’s lackadaisical hook, “I’m drowning for your thirst” or “I’m rattled by the rush” (if you listen closely, there are even backing vocals that are always a step behind the actual one).”
See more: Blur Albums Ranked
6. Range Life (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA’s Desert Origins, 2004)
“A countryish alt-rock song about the urge for bohos to settle down into domesticity. (Spoiler: they did.) It’s such a wonderful, wonderful song that I almost wish Malkmus never sung that Smashing Pumpkins verse.”
5. In the Mouth of a Desert (Slanted and Enchanted, 1992)
“It’s all good, very listenable, very melodic, and yet earnest. It’s packed full of ideas and dwells at once in bitter nihilism as well as optimistic care-free living in the moment reality.”
4. Cut Your Hair (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA’s Desert Origins, 2004)
“Now this one is a great indie rock single. The catchyness in this song is simply mad, and it has pretty much everything from funny lyrics to nice guitars. The oh-oh-oh parts are wonderful.”
3. Here (Slanted and Enchanted, 1992)
“Here,” a meditative tune about emptiness which evinces more earnestness from lead vocalist Stephen Malkmus than on any of the album’s other tracks.”
2. Summer Babe (Slanted and Enchanted, 1992)
“The lead single had the sunny title of Summer Babe, even though it is probably the most downbeat song on the album. In part, this is because Pavement were a band who always maintained a sense of humor.
1. Gold Soundz (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA’s Desert Origins, 2004)
“Gold Soundz is, for me, one of that small group of classic songs that I love from the first interval through to the last, no matter how many times I hear it. It has the taut energy of the best work of The Replacements or Big Star. Like those great bands Pavement manage to make music that captures the confusion and beauty of romantic angst.”
