9: here-- pavement

i considered only letting there be one song per band on this list. but i figured that wouldnt be right. some bands have just been more important than others. so, here is the second pavement selection. one that did not enter my life as early as 'grounded,' but has likely had a longer impact on me. i did get the album 'slanted and enchanted' shortly after i got 'wowee zowee,' and honestly, i thought every song was gold. all the tunes were both slanted and enchanted. they had some kind of magic about them (and a light fuzzy upsidedown pop). but no song stood out to me on the album like the song 'here.'

the song is deceptively simple. it is a pop song, but like most of pavement's work, it twists and turns and bends backwards in ways that make it sound perfectly complete and deep and complex. it has a gentleness about it, like it is something fragile, something delicate. in some ways, it seems to be the personification of a shrug. i can visualize some kid (me?) with his head down, hands in pockets. there is an honesty about the whole thing that i found to be very real and clear. the lyrics, typical of the s. malkmus style, are smarter than i am (or at least seem to be), and i liked that. but you still can understand what he's going after. and there is this background tension that builds behind the light melody. it somehow gets extended and released at the end of the song so that its conclusion could not make sense any other way.

this song made me consider music that fit outside the mold of what i had liked prior. i found i really could like stuff that was softer. the fact that it was creative, intelligent, unique and conveyed a universally understood sentiment made it perfect. songs like this made me appreciate more challenging lyrics. stuff that made you think a little bit. this song also gets the nod because it has not seemed to go out of my life since i first heard it. it just seems to find a place wherever i end up, and i think that's pretty cool. i guess its subdued splendor has not lost its effect on me (and i guess a guess is the best i'll do).