Band Of The Week (April 1-7) (revised)

ok, so obviously i'm starting a weekly post called 'band of the week'. this is a 'dangerous' step for me b/c i tend to be neglectful in all forms of non-face-to-face communication, (telephone, email, blogging, skype, text messaging, instant messaging, telegraph, carrier pigeon, smoke signals, etc) so i fear this will turn into an 'every other week' type of thing. another dangerous possibility is the embarrassment of choosing a new band that later turns out to be a dud.

this won't necessarily be a 'new band' or even a band that's new to me. the idea is just that i pick a band that stood out that week; i.e. they put out a new album, i picked up an older album, a suggestion from a friend, i listened to them a lot that week, a concert experience, you get the idea. so that's how this thing will work. i'll play it safe for a while, choosing bands that i really love. for every 'band of the week' i'll give a few song suggestions that you can (legally?) download and check out.

(yes i'm aware that barely anyone is reading this blog and that i'm just talking to myself)

but moving on, my debut 'band of the week' isn't as much a band as songwriter. this songwriter has been in bands, a great band, and they're included here. this 'band' is a long-time love of mine but recently i've been listening to them alot more.

this week's 'band of the week' is...

Stephen Malkmus (of Pavement and solo fame)

i'll try not to bore you w/ too many details. Malkmus spent the 90's as the front man of one of the biggest 'indie' bands of all time, Pavement. (i mean real indie, old school indie. not 'i made this album w/ my parent's money' indie) since then he's been making solo albums and touring w/ various musicians as his 'band'. now, while i know that he wrote a lot more 'outstanding' songs w/ Pavement, i think he's been more consistent as a solo artist.

his music is like that really great plaid button up you bought at second-hand store; its held together by some 15 year old threads w/ a few 'replacement' buttons. but the shirt has character, its one of a kind, looks great, and makes you wish you could find 6 more kinda like it. that's like Malkmus' music; the songs sound loosly held together w/ lots of off key moments but the songs are fun, powerful, and straight forward. i wish i could find 6 more bands that sound like him.

try these on for size:

Pavement songs:
Range Life
Gold Sounds
Cut Your Hair
Stereo
The Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence
Harness Your Hopes
Summer Babes (for Mat)


Malkmus songs:
Us
No More Shoes
1% Of One
Baby C'mon
I've Hardly Been

videos:

Baby C'mon


Cut Your Hair


enjoy!

be sure to congratulate Stephen next time you see him...