Slanted & Enchanted is a left-field classic, a record that came out of nowhere to help establish a new subgenre of ock & roll. Pavement had already sketched out their sound, as well as their amateurish lo-fi aesthetic, on a series of indie singles before recording their debut, but Slanted & Enchanted is where they pulled all of their disparate sounds together into a distinctive style. At first, the primitive sound of the record is the most gripping thing about Slanted, but soon the true innovations of the record appear through the songs themselves. Stephen Malkmus and Spiral Stairs subvert conventional pop structures, turning melodies inside out, reinterpreting and reworking older songs, and bending genres together. It's a complex, enthralling record, filled with fractured riffs, strong melodies, and cryptic melodies, and with all the hiss and static, Slanted & Enchanted sounds like listening to a distant college radio station -- melodies and hooks keep floating in and out of the mix, with individual lines instead of full lyrics surfacing through the murk. This unique song structure as much as the sound of the album itself makes Slanted & Enchanted an individual, signature work and one of the most influential records of the '90s.
What's with everyone I know listening to Pavement again all of a sudden? My pal Ben and I were just discussing Pavement today and my favourite record by them, Slanted & Enchanted, and he mentioned that it's funny I bring it up because he was just talking with someone ELSE about it. Then I noticed Ashod is recommending that we check out the Luxe & Redux version... Is it the anniversary of some...
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This isn't really music persay, but it's a huge, huge part of it. I'm almost finished reading "Love is a Mix Tape" by Rob Sheffield, who was a writer for Rolling Stone or something. Anyway, it's an autobiography with a timeline set by mixtapes of the 90's. Each chapter is a mixtape, and it tells the story on it's existance and origin. It's a great book about love and loss and all that great stu...
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For starters, thanks to lemontwist and mogroith for the Pavement; AJ was wondering why she liked Slanted & Enchanted so much. I think cuz it's really good pop music with strange structures/changes, and it still rocks. The band is naturally strange to the degree that their songs are strange, there's never any sense of "maybe we should do something weird here to be artistic." And, it rolls right ...
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The Rules:• One album per artist. • No EPs or singles, this list is about albums. • No greatest hits collections or compilations of previously released tracks. • Nominations must have been originally released on an independent label. Albums released on indies which were later acquired and/or re-released by majors are allowed.Some of those old indie rock albums that have been dubbed "classi
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For starters, thanks to lemontwist and mogroith for the Pavement; AJ was wondering why she liked Slanted & Enchanted so much. I think cuz it's really good pop music with strange structures/changes, and it still rocks. The band is naturally strange to the degree that their songs are strange, there's never any sense of "maybe we should do something weird here to be artistic." And, it rolls right ...
More >
I just noticed this on my main MOG page:Top Songs This Week Too Shy KajagoogooI swear, it wasn't me! I have an evil split personality who comes out when I sleep and listens to my music. Like Tyler Durden, but he's got a soft spot for one hit wonder bands from the 80's. I have documentation!I'm going to listen to "In The Mouth a Desert" by Pavement until the offending song is remove...
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What's with everyone I know listening to Pavement again all of a sudden? My pal Ben and I were just discussing Pavement today and my favourite record by them, Slanted & Enchanted, and he mentioned that it's funny I bring it up because he was just talking with someone ELSE about it. Then I noticed Ashod is recommending that we check out the Luxe & Redux version... Is it the anniversary of some...
More >
According to Matador's Matablog, the Pavement reunion show announced yesterday sold out in roughly two minutes. What's a band to do? Easy — add another show, that's what! And that's exactly what they have done: Pavement have added another show for the next day, September 22, at the same venue, New York's Central Park Summerstage. Tickets are on sale now, so get 'em quick, because they're not go.
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This isn't really music persay, but it's a huge, huge part of it. I'm almost finished reading "Love is a Mix Tape" by Rob Sheffield, who was a writer for Rolling Stone or something. Anyway, it's an autobiography with a timeline set by mixtapes of the 90's. Each chapter is a mixtape, and it tells the story on it's existance and origin. It's a great book about love and loss and all that great stu...
More >
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 "Slanted & Enchanted")
