Honey I’m A Prize And You’re A Catch And We’re A Perfect Match

No way, Badger! While I’m glad to see someone give Brighten The Corners some well deserved respect, you’re just wrong about Terror Twilight. The only song I’ve never really liked on that album is “Cream Of Gold”, which has always seemed very second rate to me – everything else is great stuff, from the spazzy fits of “Platform Blues” to the pretty balladry on “Spit on a Stranger” and “U R A Lite” to the gloomy “The Hexx”, the album’s a winner. Problem is, unlike the previous Pavement records, it’s a Malkmus album with Pavement as sidemen. It might have been better off as a Malkmus solo album, and not the final Pavement record. All the same, I think it’s a much better Final Pavement Record than Brighten The Corners would have been. There’s something very ‘end of an era’ about Terror Twilight – Malkmus knew it was over with this one, and you can tell by listening to it.

I don’t think it’s an easy record, and I think for me it helped to have heard early works-in-progress versions of these songs before the album came out. The songs on Terror Twilight are really well crafted, I think – Malkmus spent a lot of time on them, and it shows. I think in some spots, the album can sound a bit labored – “Cream Of Gold”, “Anne, Don’t Cry”, and “Major Leagues” are a bit forced – but when the songs work, they really work. “Spit On A Stranger” is perfect pop to me, “The Hexx” even in de-fanged mellow VU ballad form is still fantastic though I prefer the big rawk version, and “Speak, See, Remember” is cleverly constructed and has some really well executed dynamic shifts. C’mon, how can you deny the part at the end of that song when SM’s singing “stand back/ expansion is what we do the best/ I don’t see the grass and fields/ I see an epicenter with agendas/ and you are aware/ they must be met”, it’s so golden! Pretty much every moment of “U R A Lite” glistens, it’s such a dreamy and romantic song, even if the lyrics aren’t.

Badger, give Terror Twilight a better chance. Trust me.

A Tangerine And A Side Order Of Ham

I’m still trying to figure out a way to write about how much I love Prince lately without sounding silly. Can someone tell me why when people steal from Prince, they never seem to want to copy songs like “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”, “Starfish & Coffee”, and “Forever In My Life”? Or even songs like “U Got The Look”? Most everything on the Sign O’ The Times record sounds like a subgenre unto itself, and very far ahead of its time in spite of the album’s title.

One of the things that I really love about Prince’s voice is how he’s so effortlessly soulful, he sings with feeling without ever being too much. He knows exactly how to express every line, his restraint and control is amazing. I love how Prince is so deliberate, in total control of every aspect of his music. I wonder how much work Prince put into this music – how much is off the cuff, how much is improvised, how much is practically scientific in how precise it is. I know the man is a virtuoso, but just how easy it for him?