I Too Know What the Senator Wants...

I've always wondered how someone becomes a person saddled with the label "tries hard to look like they are not trying". Stephen Malkmus is surely one of those people and his most well known band, Pavement, epitomized the slacker sound that could easily soundtrack the next generations version of the movie Singles. Though the band put out five albums, did countless shows and Malkmus himself managed to thrive in his solo career with five more albums (most with his band The Jicks), often he is still categorized as someone not taking advantage of his talent. How can this be true? Knowing I have to be missing some, I still have well over 300 songs on my iTunes that can be attributed to the mind and pen of Mr. Malkmus. But people still tend to claim something is missing...

Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that when you hear his work, you're going to be forced to put in a little effort to appreciate it. Recently, John Mayer was quoted saying something along the lines of being exceedingly pleased to not have to write pop music anymore. Malkmus has never had that problem. Everything he writes seems to have the ability to be a perfectly crafted, potentially radio friendly pop song. However, the songs manage to have just enough tweaks to comes across a little off thanks to being filtered through a blender of odd tones, pauses, tunings and lyrics. When you reach the point where you accept that and burrow down to the gorgeous melodies, insanely catchy riffs and insightful lyrics, it's hard to come out the other side anything other than thrilled.

Being completely honest, it sure took me a while. I always felt like I was on the cusp of becoming a fan but I couldn't understand why he didn't want to write songs that made him and his bandmates mega stars that could be wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. I didn't get it. Thankfully, he did. Look around at the mega stars of today. Does anyone truly envy the life they have to live? I think he realized early that he could carve out his niche, bang out countless amazing songs that don't quite suit the public's view of a "hit" and live the life that he wanted. When I was able to accept this and in doing so subsequently hit the inevitable phase of obsession, it became clear what he had done. I've only been a fan long enough to enjoy two "new" releases of his, 2008's Real Emotional Trash and 2011's Mirror Traffic. While Emotional Trash was a glorious guitar jam fest with expansive tracks limited in no way by time or radio structure, Mirror Traffic is an eclectic bunch of tunes that sound as if Malkmus wanted to tilt the dial a little more towards the common denominator.

My wife is always concerned about the man with his hand on his zipper. I tell her it's OK.

Now, thats not to say this is an album packed with hit singles that people are going to be clamoring for, but it certainly has a plethora of catchy, riff-y, rock tracks that any initiated listener is going to really enjoy. Blasting off with the jaunty "Tigers", you're given your first taste of the scrumptious guitar that drips and drops it's way through Malkmus' career. Pedal steel helps to ease you into the chorus as Steve croons "change is all we need to improve". This man is surely changing then because his work is getting better with age. It's a perfect opener, showing the stylistic versatility that is prevalent throughout and the space new producer Beck manages to give the band. While Pavement could seem (enjoyably) cluttered at times, this is an album that breathes. "No One Is (As I Are Be)" is a perfect example. Simple finger picking guitar and bass saunter along as I am reminded of how much I enjoy when he slows things down and goes acoustic. A surprisingly appropriate french horn coerces the listener into a state of pure relaxation, priming them for the raunchy guitar blast of the next track, "Senator". While the song gets a lot of attention for it's profane content (hey look, it's the title of this post!), this truly is a standout track. Rife with energy and a perfect tone, it's a reminder of how this slacker can be roused when given the right motivation. As mentioned before though, this is not a purely guitar album like its predecessor. But in case anyone forgot about the abilities of our hero on his six string sex-strument, the solo will whip you back to reality.

When it comes to sing along songs that you simultaneously relish and dread upon pulling up next to someone at a red light, I'm not sure there is better example than the falsetto laden "Brain Gallop". Clearly, there's plenty left in his tank and other standouts such as "Stick Figures In Love" and "Forever 28" prove it. Both tracks show just how Malkmus is able to take parts like the insanely catchy riff of "SFIL" and the amazingly bouncy verse from "Forever" and squeeze them into tracks filled with other elements that might confuse a new fan. These both seem like the kind of fantastic songs that non-fans might become dissatisfied with due to their refusal to bend to the will of mediocrity. I still think it's been absolutely vital to his survival as an artist that he manages to sprinkle as many classicly brilliant parts into songs with plenty of other musically enjoyable detritus.

Having listened to a lot of Dylan lately, I'd be remiss not to mention the wonderful lyricism. Malkmus has that rare ability to craft a nonsensical one off line that resonates just as much as his long form stories. "Caught you streaking in your Birkenstocks" is about as head-scratchingly enjoyable an opening lyric as you are going to come across while the aforementioned "No One Is (As I Are Be)" is a beautifully cryptic look at how crippling coming to grips with who you are can be. "Someone's giving French kiss lessons, how else will we learn to love?" manages to capture every single element of a child going to summer camp at a certain age about as perfectly as anything most people could write in a few pages. Clearly a poet, Malkmus does a great job of providing you with plenty of crazy lines that seem odd upon first listen, but slowly morph into slices of life that you can't help but connect with.

For those looking for the raucous days of early Pavement, "Tune Grief" might give you a respite from all of the mellower jams. Not even two and a half minutes, it contains just enough "ooo ooo ooooo's" to remind you that Malkmus has aged a little from those younger years, even when he wants to dip a toe in his old sound. "Spazz" on the other hand is named perfectly and executed even better. Frantic and unexpected changes, Gregorian chant and atonal guitar symmetry blend within the three minute tune, taking you on a walk through his musical past.

That smirk can only be saying "Why yes, I did name my album after your programming."

Coming in at 15 total tracks and clocking in at a robust 51 minutes, some might complain the album is a little bloated. This has always been an issue of mine. If you like an artist, odds are you are even going to enjoy the songs that might not be them at their absolute best. I'm usually scouring the internet looking for b-sides, demos or unreleased tracks anyway, so why not make it more easily accessible and just overload your albums? While people may complain that it waters down the album as a whole, I would counter that I would rather have mediocre to sub-par tracks from my favorite artists any day rather than the best of some weaker band. Mirror Traffic is a fantastic collection that should give all Malkmus fans the confidence that he isn't slowing down. While some may worry his work doesn't live up to a preconceived notion of "potential", I'm hard pressed to find many other guys that are still doing relevant and fantastic work 25 years into their careers. At age 47 he is still churning out great material and doing it in his own time, at his own pace.


Final Score: .89 You're Living All Over Me's