135 - Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
I never got into Pavement when they first came out. For me, the low-fi production was appropriate for their style but low-fi was not a sound I really enjoyed much (other than Steve Albini's production on PJ Harvey's Rid of Me). Pavement was one of those bands that my friends enjoyed and I listened to when around them. I'm listening to the album for a second time now and I am surprised with how little this music does for me. It just isn't clicking with me. There are moments like “Conduit for Sale!” where they remind me of The Minutemen or sound very iconic (knowing the album predates the songs I know which sound familiar). But I can't get into Slanted and Enchanted for some reason.
Maybe it is the disaffected vocal delivery of so many of the songs... Maybe it is the low-fi production... Maybe it is the slack and loose playing where everyone seems just a partial beat off from everyone else... I dunno. The Replacements were sloppy and I enjoyed it. What is the difference between my liking that and not enjoying this? Maybe it is because The Replacements seemed like they were aiming for a rocking performance and just did a sloppy job. Pavement isn't sloppy just in the performance, the whole process of song creation has a slacker take. The Replacements' not caring vs Pavement's intentional off-kilter - maybe that's the difference in how I'm reacting.
The closest I came to liking a song was “Two States” and its marching rhythm.
Songs I Knew I Liked: None
Songs I Now Like: None
Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: “No Life Singed Her” and “Fame Throwa”