Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Bowery Ballroom, New York (January 26, 2001)
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Stephen Malkmus
Bowery Ballroom, New York
January 26, 2001 |
Maybe it's our age difference that makes the late '70s guitar-rock aesthetic appealing to him and cheesy to me. Or maybe it's because I have only been processing the 11 years of music that Malkmus created in Pavement for about 5 years. However, upon hearing Malkmus' new album for the first time, I proclaimed it crap and was unable, in my overwhelming disappointment, to listen to it again for quite some time. I was (and am) just not ready to listen to Malkmus age into a guitar-rock god or a quirky caricature of his former self.
Despite my aversion to the record, I still acquired a ticket to catch Malkmus in his solo material debut and somehow convinced myself that, despite having seen him destroy songs I loved in his Pavement days, he would somehow be able to make songs I strongly disliked into something worthwhile.
The 70-minute set featured 11 of the 12 songs on the soon-to-be released album. And while instrumentally, the Jicks -- made up of sometime Fastbacks drummer John Moen and Minders bassist Joanna Bolme -- were far tighter than Pavement could ever have hoped to have been, anyone who has ever heard Pavement knows that that really isn't saying much. Like any band that has not been together for very long, there were some tempo difficulties, but Moen and Bolme's enthusiasm and ability to correct problems adequately compensated. The weakest aspect of the band was Malkmus's girlfriend Heather, who lent her voice -- or rather, forced her voice over -- far too many choruses.
SM, in his own right, has (and should) never be considered a good or on-pitch singer. However, he has always harbored the ability and charisma to get through songs with his sing-talk style and farcical vocal reaches. In this instance, his mediocre singing voice being paired with one that was bad in an entirely different way just sounded plain horrible.
However, my major gripe definitely lies in the actual content. During the course of the set, Malkmus was surprisingly pleasant, responsive, and charming. However, the actual songs are just not very good. "Phantasies"'s oh-oh-oh refrains and the falsetto chorus of "Vague Space" proclaiming "I love to turn you on" sound unconvincing and trite coming from a man who once authentically sang, "I was tired of the best years of my life." And though "Trojan Curfew" and "Jo Jo's Jacket" trotted out obligatory references to Homer and Yul Brynner, it almost sounds as though Malkmus chose his lyrical subjects because of some unknown obligation to the esoteric.
But, not every song was a dud. "The Hook" proved far better than I expected as Malkmus spoke a story of aging in the framework of gaining respect on a Turkish pirate ship. The structure of the song was supposedly inspired by Chris Elliot's 1994 movie "Cabin Boy." Sounding uncannily like a Lou Reed yarn, the song transported the audience aboard the ship while simultaneously dispensing insight into an adulthood lived as a cult rock hero. On "Church On White," the melodic and delicate 6/8 guitar work juxtaposed with clever and original lyrics like "Promise me / you will always be / too awake to be famous / too wide to be safe" brought to mind Malkmus' more effective songs on Pavement's final album, Terror Twilight.
Which brings me back to the initial question: Who the fuck is Stephen Malkmus? To be honest, I'm not really sure. I'm not really sure I ever knew or can ever know. But, though it pains me to say it, if he keeps writing songs like this new batch, I'm not sure that I will stick around to find out.
A.K. GOLD | A.K. Gold lives in Washington, D.C., where she slaves away for a non-profit organization and constantly compares everything to New York City or Chicago. She's earned her "cred" as a college radio and pre-1960 country music DJ, committed indie label street teamer, sporadic zinemaker/contributor, retired mail-order filler and occasional freelance writer. From time to time, she publishes Anecdotal Evidence, a per zine that will some day be considered for the National Book Award, or possibly not. If you want to buy a copy, or desire to write to her for some other reason, email criticgirl@hotmail.com.