The Pavement songs inspired by The Fall
“I am Mark E. Smith,” declared Fat White Family frontman Lias Saoudi in 2014, “I’ve got the paperwork to prove it.” It’s a sentiment that seems to have been borrowed by almost every post-punk vocalist since the modern revival of the genre first began, each of them desperately trying to emulate the dark wit and talky vocalisations of The Fall frontman, for better or worse.
From Yard Act to Squid to The Cool Greenhouse, echoes of Smith’s style and persona have reverberated throughout the modern indie scene, but the overwhelming influence of The Fall on alternative music long predates the current scene. The Mancunians also had a mammoth influence on 1990s alternative staple and fellow future indie icons Pavement.
Led by Stephen Malkmus, the California-born band bore comparisons to The Fall early into their career. True to the snarky reputation he had built up, Smith openly shared his distaste for this comparison and criticised Pavement for copying their creations. Malkmus, on the other hand, accepted this accusation and was more than willing to share his admiration for The Fall.
During a conversation with Rolling Stone, the Pavement frontman and soloist explained how a number of his songs were directly inspired by The Fall, beginning with ‘Our Singer’. The song formed the conclusion to the band’s iconic 1992 record Slanted and Enchanted. According to Malkmus, it was “very related” to ‘Hip Priest’, which The Fall had released a decade earlier.
It’s easy to see how Pavement borrowed from the seven-minute track for ‘Our Singer’, from the swaying percussion to Malkmus’ delivery. According to the vocalist, the song was rushed due to the limited time they had left in the studio. “I was like, ‘I got this last one,” he recalled, “I’m not even going to bother teaching it or doing any over-dubs, just get in here and play a waltz beat.’”
Malkmus went on to acknowledge how The Fall had influenced a number of other songs on the same record, comparing ‘Conduit for Sale’ to ‘New Face in Hell’ and ‘Jackals, False Grails: The Lonesome Era’ to ‘The Classica’. He also deemed ‘Fame Throwa’ “very Fall, especially the chorus.”
“So that’s four solid songs I can directly trace to the lineage of specific songs by the Fall,” he admitted, “The rest of the album, I don’t really hear the Fall. But that’s a lot.” With a direct influence on over a quarter of the album’s runtime, it’s no surprise that the band were subject to comparisons and even attracted the wrath of their inspiration.
Despite being on the receiving end of Smith’s snide comments, Malkmus was never deterred by this and continued to share his pivotal influence on the band. For The Fall enthusiasts, perhaps a dig from Smith is an honour.
