Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus shares the songs that shaped his life
Along with bands like Guided By Voices, Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, Pavement were a massive name in the American slacker rock scene that was popular during the 1990s. Fronted by Stephen Malkmus, Pavement emerged from the underground as one of the most influential alternative bands of the decade.
Laced with lo-fi charm, Pavement’s music was far from neat and polished. Malkmus’ voice often wobbled out of time with the slightly out-of-tune guitars, but it all came together perfectly well. The band mixed garage-rock-inspired guitars with memorable hooks and melodies, and Malkmus’ lyrics were often humorous and unpredictable, much like his vocal delivery.
Although Pavement found brief mainstream success with their 1994 single ‘Cut Your Hair’, which they performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the band decided to remain signed to independent labels. They continued to find underground success throughout the ’90s with the release of albums such as Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, and 1997’s seminal Brighten The Corners until their split in 1999.
The band reunited for shows in 2010 and embarked on a US tour this year. They will hit the UK on October 17th, beginning in Leeds. However, since the band stopped making music, Malkmus has occupied his time with other musical projects. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks has been the singers’ main project since 2001. However, he has also continued working with another project of his – Silver Jews, releasing the album Tanglewood Numbers with them in 2005 alongside Pavement member Bob Nastanovich.
Malkmus has dedicated his life to music since he was a teenager, joining several punk bands such as Bag O Bones, The Straw Dogs and Crisis Alert. After high school, he began studying at the University of Virginia, where he was a DJ for the college radio station. But what songs got Malkmus into music? And which songs have shaped the musician into who he is today?
To answer these questions, we must go back to Malkmus’ adolescence. He once revealed that the first song he learnt on guitar was ‘Purple Haze’ by Jimi Hendrix. He explained: “Learning that first chord in ‘Purple Haze,’ that seventh he plays, somebody showed me that, and I was like, ‘This isn’t that hard.’ That first stuff was a little hard. A lot of people learn [this] song first.”
Malkmus has also shared: “In ninth grade, someone taught me basic bar chords and open strumming chords, but the gateway to me thinking the guitar was a cool thing was the E seventh chord. It’s a slight change in E seventh that was in ‘Purple Haze’. […] I was really blown away by the sound of it: it sounded funky and seemed really advanced, but it wasn’t that hard. […] This was all on acoustic; I didn’t play electric until I got into punk.”
The singer has also expressed how vital Sweet’s track ‘Fox on the Run’ was to him in junior high school. “I looked at my yearbook from junior high recently and you know how people write, ‘See you next year!’? Some girl wrote, ‘Dear Steve, I love how you sing ‘Fox On The Run’ all the time.'”
Malkmus revealed that as a child, he was a big fan of disco. As a nine-year-old, he appreciated ‘Oh What a Night’ by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons because it was “kind of like early disco. Full production. […] I just heard it on the radio all the time and thought this is a super catchy song.”
Another definitive track of Malkmus’ childhood was ‘California Dreamin” by The Mamas and the Papas. “It triggers memories of California sunshine, orange trees, driving down to the beach and looking for ocean glass – a very happy, easy time, wearing Lacoste onesies.”
Elsewhere, Malkmus also detailed his love for ‘Abracadabra’ by Steve Miller Band, saying: “It sounds to some maybe like easy-going blues rock, but actually this is really perfectly considered.” Malkmus also called Queen’s ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ “an insane song” and “very punk sounding.”
A track he always returns to is ‘Sister Ray’ by The Velvet Underground, which he called “the ultimate song.” Detailing further, he even said: “Lou Reed was so important in every way and better than Bowie, better than Iggy Pop.” Below, find a list of songs Malkmus has cited in interviews with The Guardian and NPR.
Songs that have shaped Stephen Malkmus’ life:
- ‘Purple Haze’ – Jimi Hendrix
- ‘Fox on the Run’ – Sweet
- ‘Oh What a Night’ – Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
- ‘California Dreamin’ – The Mamas and the Papas
- ‘Abracadabra’ – The Steve Miller Band
- ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ – Queen
- ‘Sister Ray’ – The Velvet Underground
- ‘Mirror’ – Samiyam (feat. Earl Sweatshirt)
- ‘Cross Bones Style’ – Cat Power
- ‘Hotter Than Hell’ – KISS
As for modern tracks, Malkmus is a big fan of ‘Mirror’ by Samiyam featuring Earl Sweatshirt. “To me, that sample, whatever Samiyam is doing on there, is crazy. And the time signature is totally warped.”
