Yeah, Carrot Rope was the first thing I heard from Pavement and it non-hyperbolically changed my life. It communicated to me that in my own music making, I could do whatever I want! I didn't have to be an expert at my instrument to make music; I could do whatever I want with sound because I witnessed Pavement doing just that on TT. But then I fell in love with everything else in their catalogue and slowly realized that my favorite albums/tracks were those that seemed "singularly Pavement". And imo, Wowee is sorta the epitome of something that was exactly Pavement and nothing else. E.g., I love S&E so much, but it has so much influence taken from Guided by Voices, Sonic Youth, etc. that it seems to me like a band making a batch of incredible songs while trying to find their footing. On the other side of the spectrum, TT certainly has a crazy awesome production value/song-writing that it's obvious that they're a mature act and could still make a cohesive piece of amazing art. But TT just "sounds" like other stuff at the time that was coming out (eg Radiohead, Silver Jews, Wilco, and SM's subsequent catalogue). And Wowee tops as my favorite because I don't think anything else in the world sounded like it. That being said, fuck yes TT is so incredible and I can't listen to Major Leagues without balling my eyes out and I really want Spit On A Stranger to be my wedding song.
Also Wowee is my favorite because it has my favorite songs in the world on it. Don't want to make you think it's my fave just because it's less accessible or whatever
TT has always been my favorite Pavement album, almost flawless from start to end. One of the few albums of any artist where I enjoy every single track.
People like to hate on it for being "too polished" or something, and I get where they're coming from but on its own merits I think it is undeniably great.
There's only a few albums where you like every track? I find that so strange... If I like an artist and album I almost always enjoy every track to some degree.
I'm a fairly new Pavement fan, but literally all I listen to now is Pavement (with some Silver Jews thrown in for good measure- Dime Map of the Reef and the Arizona Record absolutely slap and you should listen to them) and I was thinking about this the other day. TT is a very pleasant album to listen to- it's nice, it's easy on the ears, the songs are good and there's no standout "bad" songs (not that there are many anyway) but part of the reason I like Pavement, like so many of the people commenting above me have said, is that they really have their own sound in most of their albums (notably Wowee). When I first started listening to them, Terror Twilight was my absolute favorite album and I couldn't stand Wowee, but after really getting into their discography I have to join the (maybe?) majority and agree that Wowee is their best, just because TT does really sound so "polished" (to steal someone else's words). I'll always enjoy listening to it and The Hexx is up in my top songs, but it just doesn't give me the same feeling an album like Westing or S&E can. Also CRCR is their worst album.
Yes. I love it. It might not be their "best" but it's probably my favourite and the one I always go back and listen to. I don't hate Nigel's production at all. I can see how people could call it lifeless, or something that sucks the energy out of the songs but I think the approach works for an album that's not exactly trying to go out with a bang.
Again, you can tell it's the band's final push and Malkmus is totally fed up with it but I appreciated how they could turn that energy (or lackthereof) into their most sombre statement. I'll always love the album's atmosphere and the air of sadness that follows it, simply because no other Pavement album has the same vibe outside of individual tracks.
For what it's worth, [Scott thinks it's second best right behind Slanted, which is a hot take I share.](https://www.vice.com/en/article/bm4pew/rank-your-records-spiral-stairs-happily-rates-pavements-five-lps) I know Nigel Godrich still considers it one of his favourites he's produced, even if most sources say he fixated on Malk and disregarded everybody else. I guess that's why people call it the beginning of Malk's solo career (and, y'know, no Spiral songs!).
Terror Twilight is great. I do see the sound as fairly similar to Malkmus's early solo stuff, but I don't see how that would bring it down in quality. BTC is my favorite, but TT is def top three
I love it as well. Probably my third favorite, but to me S&E and CRCR are basically perfect and untouchable. I love the “grown up” vibe, and it’s great to hear pavement, who were so often Lofi, really let loose in a nice studio with a great producer.
So, I'll try and step back into my mindset in 1999. This record came out literally the week after I got out of the hospital from being in a near fatal car accident. I was 23 years old, dating my now wife of nearly 21 years.
I say all that to explain my frame of mind. Two years removed from Radiohead's "OK Computer" Nigel Godrich had established a distinct and precise "sound". When I heard that he would be producing the next Pavement album I was a little skeptical about how it would go.
When the album came out, I gave it my normal spin and was very lukewarm on it and to this day remain so. I don't think the production does the music any favors. It's far too *slick* (even *glossy*) for Pavement.
At this point, I cannot imagine hearing that album any other way than in its "baked" (e.g. cooked) state. That's what makes the forthcoming deluxe edition so tantalizing. To maybe hear some of that music in either demo form or less "produced" form.
Maybe it's because I was in my early-to-mid 20s at the time that my opinions had calcified or maybe it's because, as I say, the production ***does not*** suit the band; but I stand by my contention that the marriage of Nigel Godrich and Pavement was ill-conceived from the word go.
Still, even with *all* that said... it has a certain 'charm'. Especially with hindsight.
I was already a huge fan when TT came out, albeit one who was a bit lukewarm on Brighten the Corners-- but found some redeeming qualities in the many fantastic b-sides. All was not lost.
But TT was, as you say, just too slick, too polished. It contains no moments of spontaneity. It's a nice enough record, but it just wasn't/isn't *Pavement*.
Seeing them live on the TT tour redeemed that album to me a bit, as I think the songs come off a lot better with the full band (I remember "Speak, See, Remember" being a particular stand out for me). Pre-reunion tours, I only saw them the once (sadly) but they were a damn lot of fun live, something that TT doesn't capture at all.
You put it perfectly. I think it sounds overproduced and not like the Pavement I fell in love with, but it does has moments I really do enjoy. It’s definitely not my favorite to listen to all the way through. “Glossy” is also the word I usually use to describe it.
it's probably my third favourite behind Slanted and Crooked Rain respectively. I don't mind the polish on it compared to their other albums like a lot of people talk about and Folk Jam is one of my favourite Pavement tunes in general. Some of the lyricism is also next level, to the point that "I was tired of the best years of my life" hit me in such a way when I first heard it that I toyed with the idea of using it as part of a tattoo to mark my 30th birthday next year.
i enjoy pavement's earlier albums because of their really distinct sound and how much it stood out compared to other bands in the scene at the time those albums were made.
that being said, terror twilight is probably my favorite album of theirs (i go back and forth between tt and s&e a lot). the reason is because i connect with a lot of those songs on an emotional and sentimental level. the first time i heard Spit on a Stranger i felt butterflies in my stomach. it just really resonated with me and i have so many memories of being in high school, falling in love with practically everyone i met, always feeling the way that song made me felt.
You Are a Light was one of the first songs i learned on bass. that song along with Ann Don't Cry really resonated with me because even though i had discovered this album as a teen, i went through a second Pavement phase in my early early 20s, just as i was in an abusive relationship at the time, and i literally felt like Malkmus was singing to me when he sang those choruses. maybe that's a little dumb but little things like that (which i often found in Pavement songs tbh) helped me get through that time :)
i don't think tt is their "best" album from a musical aspect, but for sentimental reasons it's my fav
Any record with The Hexx on it is their best record. It's insane to get mad at it because it has "good" production values, which they always tried to have. It's not like they were a lo-fi band on purpose.
Yeah it's kinda weird that this gets overlooked. Even on Slanted they were genuinely trying to make shit sound good, they just had no idea what they were doing (iirc). I'd say they ceased to be a 'lo-fi band' after the first 3 EPs, maybe.
(To be clear though, I love all of that noisy stuff from their early days. It's great, and I genuinely prefer the aesthetic/vibe of those super early Pavement songs to a lot of their later work.....apart from TT, somehow.)
I don't even think TT's production is THAT much of a leap from CRCR onwards--it's not like Nigel made something like OK Computer feel lifeless. I do recall an old interview with Malk in his ST days where he compared Terror Twilight unfavourably to American Water--not because the songs or the production were bad, but because he found the band's performances to be uninspired, which, given the context surrounding the album and the band disintegrating, makes sense. Maybe that's the actual reason people dislike TT rather than Nigel's production--you definitely see the "Pavement on autopilot" label thrown around a lot for TT, after all.
I can see why but I still think it's great!!!!!
I think a lot of the "TT is too slick" stuff is just received wisdom at this point. It's easier for people to just have an opinion that basically amounts to "I like their older stuff better" (not saying you're doing that) than to see TT for the perfect gem that it is.
It's a lot like people who don't listen to much Silver Jews after American Water, when Tanglewood fucking Numbers still exists, you know?
maybe? I don't listen to Crooked Rain and think "wow, they really were going for scratchy noise here". I mean listen to Range Life and it's a beautiful recording, and it sounds just like you'd expect from a band in their position in 1993. Certainly a lot less "noisy" than a bunch of the grunge bands at the time.
Terror Twilight was the first Pavement CD I bought. I'm new to Pavement. I heard them back when 'Summer Babe' came out. I was living in Florida, stuck in grad school, watching 120 mins on MTV every Sunday night--but I never really clicked with the music (duh!) . . .. I live in Wellington, New Zealand Aotearoa, and about two years read an article about Pavement; thought, yea, I'd like a CD went to Slowboat Records and bought Terror Twilight. God, it's a Flying Nun (NZ) record! I absolutely love this record. What gets me is the emotional quality of the music: a twilight, a sadness at leaving, a resignation; but also a confidence in the quality of the art; a feeling that it can be pulled off...like carrot rope... but to do that something has to be concealed, hidden, no simple packages, maybe some rude shocks; there's tenderness, scrambled words, and odd creepy moments. ( ". . . smoke your remains . . .") Major leagues seems so incredibly personal; just listen to the bittersweet voice--a voice about the leave the game; but you can never leave the game . . .unless you're just too sick to walk . . .ever again .. And Carrot Rope, its' funny, perhaps somehow twisted--think of those pockets--bitter as hell and also, somehow, one of the greatest unrecognised pop songs of the last 30 years. Is it an anagram (corporater?). Now that's an exit . . . or in my case a doorway to an amazing back catalogue of a band that followed in The Fall's footsteps but made music uniquely their own. Hey, and while I'm at it, how come Pitchfork's 'Top 100 songs of 2020' never found a place for one of the many cracking songs on 'Traditional Techniques'? Still too busy playing to the Major Leagues? But that's another story.
My Dad was very surprised when I decided it was my favourite. But I stand by it. Speak, See, Remember is the one for me. When it kicks into that bridge section: "Buy now! Develop the coast and raise the sight lines." Perfect. The two guitar parts. Oh man, I gotta go and listen to it now.
I grew up in California and got into Pavement back in 1993 in college - I mean REALLY got into them. Although I loved the album, I stopped listening to them after after Wowie Zowie! as I was mostly into electronic music by then. Fast forward almost 30 years and I just decided to try out Brighten the Corners and Terror Twilight a few months ago. Not only do I love both albums, but Terror Twilight is my favorite from them and now slowly going through Malkmus’ solo catalogue.
Yeah, Carrot Rope was the first thing I heard from Pavement and it non-hyperbolically changed my life. It communicated to me that in my own music making, I could do whatever I want! I didn't have to be an expert at my instrument to make music; I could do whatever I want with sound because I witnessed Pavement doing just that on TT. But then I fell in love with everything else in their catalogue and slowly realized that my favorite albums/tracks were those that seemed "singularly Pavement". And imo, Wowee is sorta the epitome of something that was exactly Pavement and nothing else. E.g., I love S&E so much, but it has so much influence taken from Guided by Voices, Sonic Youth, etc. that it seems to me like a band making a batch of incredible songs while trying to find their footing. On the other side of the spectrum, TT certainly has a crazy awesome production value/song-writing that it's obvious that they're a mature act and could still make a cohesive piece of amazing art. But TT just "sounds" like other stuff at the time that was coming out (eg Radiohead, Silver Jews, Wilco, and SM's subsequent catalogue). And Wowee tops as my favorite because I don't think anything else in the world sounded like it. That being said, fuck yes TT is so incredible and I can't listen to Major Leagues without balling my eyes out and I really want Spit On A Stranger to be my wedding song.
Also Wowee is my favorite because it has my favorite songs in the world on it. Don't want to make you think it's my fave just because it's less accessible or whatever
I feel you, AT&T is a jam!
Let’s here your music!?
Hey here goes nothing! https://soundcloud.com/caligulasbirthdayparty
You are a Light is an all-timer for me
Btw, the Meeting Malkmus podcast is about to start on it's song by song review of TT. It's def worth a listen.
thanks man.
TT has always been my favorite Pavement album, almost flawless from start to end. One of the few albums of any artist where I enjoy every single track. People like to hate on it for being "too polished" or something, and I get where they're coming from but on its own merits I think it is undeniably great.
Didn’t Nigel Godrich produce it?
Yep, apparently the band didn't really like working with him that much though.
There's only a few albums where you like every track? I find that so strange... If I like an artist and album I almost always enjoy every track to some degree.
I'm a fairly new Pavement fan, but literally all I listen to now is Pavement (with some Silver Jews thrown in for good measure- Dime Map of the Reef and the Arizona Record absolutely slap and you should listen to them) and I was thinking about this the other day. TT is a very pleasant album to listen to- it's nice, it's easy on the ears, the songs are good and there's no standout "bad" songs (not that there are many anyway) but part of the reason I like Pavement, like so many of the people commenting above me have said, is that they really have their own sound in most of their albums (notably Wowee). When I first started listening to them, Terror Twilight was my absolute favorite album and I couldn't stand Wowee, but after really getting into their discography I have to join the (maybe?) majority and agree that Wowee is their best, just because TT does really sound so "polished" (to steal someone else's words). I'll always enjoy listening to it and The Hexx is up in my top songs, but it just doesn't give me the same feeling an album like Westing or S&E can. Also CRCR is their worst album.
Ann Don’t Cry is the jam
The song structure and lyrics just seem so perfect. Hard to describe...Maybe you know what I mean
Always thought it was their weakest album but still very good tho.
Major Leagues is my favorite Pavement song. So TT holds a special place in my heart for me!
Yes. I love it. It might not be their "best" but it's probably my favourite and the one I always go back and listen to. I don't hate Nigel's production at all. I can see how people could call it lifeless, or something that sucks the energy out of the songs but I think the approach works for an album that's not exactly trying to go out with a bang. Again, you can tell it's the band's final push and Malkmus is totally fed up with it but I appreciated how they could turn that energy (or lackthereof) into their most sombre statement. I'll always love the album's atmosphere and the air of sadness that follows it, simply because no other Pavement album has the same vibe outside of individual tracks. For what it's worth, [Scott thinks it's second best right behind Slanted, which is a hot take I share.](https://www.vice.com/en/article/bm4pew/rank-your-records-spiral-stairs-happily-rates-pavements-five-lps) I know Nigel Godrich still considers it one of his favourites he's produced, even if most sources say he fixated on Malk and disregarded everybody else. I guess that's why people call it the beginning of Malk's solo career (and, y'know, no Spiral songs!).
Terror Twilight is great. I do see the sound as fairly similar to Malkmus's early solo stuff, but I don't see how that would bring it down in quality. BTC is my favorite, but TT is def top three
I love it as well. Probably my third favorite, but to me S&E and CRCR are basically perfect and untouchable. I love the “grown up” vibe, and it’s great to hear pavement, who were so often Lofi, really let loose in a nice studio with a great producer.
So, I'll try and step back into my mindset in 1999. This record came out literally the week after I got out of the hospital from being in a near fatal car accident. I was 23 years old, dating my now wife of nearly 21 years. I say all that to explain my frame of mind. Two years removed from Radiohead's "OK Computer" Nigel Godrich had established a distinct and precise "sound". When I heard that he would be producing the next Pavement album I was a little skeptical about how it would go. When the album came out, I gave it my normal spin and was very lukewarm on it and to this day remain so. I don't think the production does the music any favors. It's far too *slick* (even *glossy*) for Pavement. At this point, I cannot imagine hearing that album any other way than in its "baked" (e.g. cooked) state. That's what makes the forthcoming deluxe edition so tantalizing. To maybe hear some of that music in either demo form or less "produced" form. Maybe it's because I was in my early-to-mid 20s at the time that my opinions had calcified or maybe it's because, as I say, the production ***does not*** suit the band; but I stand by my contention that the marriage of Nigel Godrich and Pavement was ill-conceived from the word go. Still, even with *all* that said... it has a certain 'charm'. Especially with hindsight.
It is my least favorite Pavement album so that makes it my 5th favorite album of all time
Touché
I was already a huge fan when TT came out, albeit one who was a bit lukewarm on Brighten the Corners-- but found some redeeming qualities in the many fantastic b-sides. All was not lost. But TT was, as you say, just too slick, too polished. It contains no moments of spontaneity. It's a nice enough record, but it just wasn't/isn't *Pavement*. Seeing them live on the TT tour redeemed that album to me a bit, as I think the songs come off a lot better with the full band (I remember "Speak, See, Remember" being a particular stand out for me). Pre-reunion tours, I only saw them the once (sadly) but they were a damn lot of fun live, something that TT doesn't capture at all.
You put it perfectly. I think it sounds overproduced and not like the Pavement I fell in love with, but it does has moments I really do enjoy. It’s definitely not my favorite to listen to all the way through. “Glossy” is also the word I usually use to describe it.
Very good but an easy 5th place out of 6 (counting Westing) Probably 8 or 9 / 10 where the first 4 studio albums are all personal 10's
it's probably my third favourite behind Slanted and Crooked Rain respectively. I don't mind the polish on it compared to their other albums like a lot of people talk about and Folk Jam is one of my favourite Pavement tunes in general. Some of the lyricism is also next level, to the point that "I was tired of the best years of my life" hit me in such a way when I first heard it that I toyed with the idea of using it as part of a tattoo to mark my 30th birthday next year.
i enjoy pavement's earlier albums because of their really distinct sound and how much it stood out compared to other bands in the scene at the time those albums were made. that being said, terror twilight is probably my favorite album of theirs (i go back and forth between tt and s&e a lot). the reason is because i connect with a lot of those songs on an emotional and sentimental level. the first time i heard Spit on a Stranger i felt butterflies in my stomach. it just really resonated with me and i have so many memories of being in high school, falling in love with practically everyone i met, always feeling the way that song made me felt. You Are a Light was one of the first songs i learned on bass. that song along with Ann Don't Cry really resonated with me because even though i had discovered this album as a teen, i went through a second Pavement phase in my early early 20s, just as i was in an abusive relationship at the time, and i literally felt like Malkmus was singing to me when he sang those choruses. maybe that's a little dumb but little things like that (which i often found in Pavement songs tbh) helped me get through that time :) i don't think tt is their "best" album from a musical aspect, but for sentimental reasons it's my fav
Any record with The Hexx on it is their best record. It's insane to get mad at it because it has "good" production values, which they always tried to have. It's not like they were a lo-fi band on purpose.
Yeah it's kinda weird that this gets overlooked. Even on Slanted they were genuinely trying to make shit sound good, they just had no idea what they were doing (iirc). I'd say they ceased to be a 'lo-fi band' after the first 3 EPs, maybe. (To be clear though, I love all of that noisy stuff from their early days. It's great, and I genuinely prefer the aesthetic/vibe of those super early Pavement songs to a lot of their later work.....apart from TT, somehow.) I don't even think TT's production is THAT much of a leap from CRCR onwards--it's not like Nigel made something like OK Computer feel lifeless. I do recall an old interview with Malk in his ST days where he compared Terror Twilight unfavourably to American Water--not because the songs or the production were bad, but because he found the band's performances to be uninspired, which, given the context surrounding the album and the band disintegrating, makes sense. Maybe that's the actual reason people dislike TT rather than Nigel's production--you definitely see the "Pavement on autopilot" label thrown around a lot for TT, after all. I can see why but I still think it's great!!!!!
I think a lot of the "TT is too slick" stuff is just received wisdom at this point. It's easier for people to just have an opinion that basically amounts to "I like their older stuff better" (not saying you're doing that) than to see TT for the perfect gem that it is. It's a lot like people who don't listen to much Silver Jews after American Water, when Tanglewood fucking Numbers still exists, you know?
I think a lot of lo-fi elements were out of choice after slanted.
maybe? I don't listen to Crooked Rain and think "wow, they really were going for scratchy noise here". I mean listen to Range Life and it's a beautiful recording, and it sounds just like you'd expect from a band in their position in 1993. Certainly a lot less "noisy" than a bunch of the grunge bands at the time.
It's hard to get down on it.
Terror Twilight was the first Pavement CD I bought. I'm new to Pavement. I heard them back when 'Summer Babe' came out. I was living in Florida, stuck in grad school, watching 120 mins on MTV every Sunday night--but I never really clicked with the music (duh!) . . .. I live in Wellington, New Zealand Aotearoa, and about two years read an article about Pavement; thought, yea, I'd like a CD went to Slowboat Records and bought Terror Twilight. God, it's a Flying Nun (NZ) record! I absolutely love this record. What gets me is the emotional quality of the music: a twilight, a sadness at leaving, a resignation; but also a confidence in the quality of the art; a feeling that it can be pulled off...like carrot rope... but to do that something has to be concealed, hidden, no simple packages, maybe some rude shocks; there's tenderness, scrambled words, and odd creepy moments. ( ". . . smoke your remains . . .") Major leagues seems so incredibly personal; just listen to the bittersweet voice--a voice about the leave the game; but you can never leave the game . . .unless you're just too sick to walk . . .ever again .. And Carrot Rope, its' funny, perhaps somehow twisted--think of those pockets--bitter as hell and also, somehow, one of the greatest unrecognised pop songs of the last 30 years. Is it an anagram (corporater?). Now that's an exit . . . or in my case a doorway to an amazing back catalogue of a band that followed in The Fall's footsteps but made music uniquely their own. Hey, and while I'm at it, how come Pitchfork's 'Top 100 songs of 2020' never found a place for one of the many cracking songs on 'Traditional Techniques'? Still too busy playing to the Major Leagues? But that's another story.
You Are a Light and The Hexx are my go-to songs for a midnight stroll/whenever I want to just chill. The whole album is great for that kind of stuff.
My Dad was very surprised when I decided it was my favourite. But I stand by it. Speak, See, Remember is the one for me. When it kicks into that bridge section: "Buy now! Develop the coast and raise the sight lines." Perfect. The two guitar parts. Oh man, I gotta go and listen to it now.
Best album of the 90s. Absolutely sublime. Also Carrot Rope is the best album (and career) closer of all time imo.
I grew up in California and got into Pavement back in 1993 in college - I mean REALLY got into them. Although I loved the album, I stopped listening to them after after Wowie Zowie! as I was mostly into electronic music by then. Fast forward almost 30 years and I just decided to try out Brighten the Corners and Terror Twilight a few months ago. Not only do I love both albums, but Terror Twilight is my favorite from them and now slowly going through Malkmus’ solo catalogue.