Line #78 Music/Pavement


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pvm.jpg]]
2
3	Pavement were a CultClassic indie rock band from Stockton, California, initially active between 1989 and 1999. They were known as the figureheads of the indie rock movement in the USA during the 1990's and one of the {{Trope Maker}}s for the lo-fi genre alongside Music/GuidedByVoices and Sebadoh. The band was one of the first indie rock bands to gain moderate success on AlternativeRock radio with their sole big hit "Cut Your Hair" in 1994.
4
5	Its members were:
6	* Stephen Malkmus ("SM") - guitar, [[PerishingAltRockVoice vocals]]
7	* Scott Kannberg ("Spiral Stairs") - guitar, vocals
8	* Bob Nastanovich - percussion, backing vocals, multiple instruments (1993-1999)
9	* Mark Ibold - bass (1992-1999)
10	* Gary Young - drums (1989-1993)
11	* Steve West - drums (1993-1999)
12
13	First formed as a studio project for Malkmus and Kannberg, Pavement became a full-fledged band around 1992. While their initial material was marked by low recording quality and NoisePop and PostPunk influences (especially from Music/{{The Fall\|Band}}), the band became more accessible, at least sonically, starting in TheNineties - their albums ''Slanted and Enchanted'' and ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' established them as indie rock heroes and brought them a degree of popularity among indie kids. They moved away from outright indie into eclectic territory starting with ''Wowee Zowee'' (a change Malkmus attributed to [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs excessive marijuana smoking]]), without losing their trademark messiness, while their last two albums are noticeably mellower and spacier (''Terror Twilight'' verging on ''Music/OKComputer'' at times due to sharing a producer in Nigel Godrich).
14
15	Pavement broke up in 1999 due to intra-band conflict (especially between Malkmus and the rest of the group), and they reunited pretty epically in 2010. However, Malkmus has said that no further tours are planned, and Nastanovich ruled out the possibility of new material, saying Malkmus no longer writes "songs in the Pavement mindset." They haven't ruled out the possibility of more performances at some point in the future, but said it wouldn't be anytime soon because they wanted to "keep it fun" and didn't want people who saw them in 2010 to feel ripped off that they had a second reunion so quickly. Some of the other members (Kannberg and Young, specifically) have joined Malkmus onstage at various solo shows, but there hasn't been a full reunion. Two 30th anniversary shows were planned for the 2020 Primavera Sound Festival in Spain, but due to the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic, the Festival was rescheduled for 2021 and later cancelled a second time. The band later announced in September 21 that they planned a full-scale European tour for Fall 2022.
16
17	After the breakup of the band, Malkmus has had an extensive solo career, with six full-length albums released to date; Kannberg released two albums and an EP with his band Preston School of Industry and two albums as Spiral Stairs; Ibold has performed with a number of bands, including Music/SonicYouth and Free Kitten; Young has released three albums under the name Gary Young's Hospital; Nastanovich has performed with Silver Jews, Palace Brothers, Tall Dwarfs, Pale Horse Riders, and Misshapen Lodge; West currently sings in the band Marble Valley, which has released five albums and an EP.
18
19	They guest-starred in the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' episode "Pavement", where they were misidentified as "Music/TheBeatles" and played a noisy cover of the show's theme song while Space Ghost attempted to interview another guest.
20
21	!!Discography:
22	* ''Slay Tracks (1933-1969)'' EP (1989)
23	* ''Demolition Plot J-7'' EP (1990)
24	* ''[[SarcasmMode Perfect Sound Forever]]'' EP (1991)
25	* ''Slanted and Enchanted'' (1992)
26	* ''Watery, Domestic'' EP (1992)
27	* ''Westing (By Musket and Sextant)'' (1993) - compilation featuring their first three [=EPs=], some B-sides and compilation tracks
28	* ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' (1994)
29	* ''Wowee Zowee'' (1995)
30	* ''Pacific Trim'' EP (1996)
31	* ''Brighten the Corners'' (1997)
32	* ''Terror Twilight'' (1999)
33	* ''Major Leagues'' EP (1999)
34	* ''Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement'' (2010)
35
36	!!Tropes represented by Pavement:
37
38	* AffectionateParody: It's generally accepted that "Flux = Rad" is a tribute to Music/{{Nirvana}}, considering the quiet verse, loud chorus nature and the BrokenRecord nature of the chorus. Similarly, "Serpentine Pad" is generally considered an affectionate parody of Music/TheSexPistols and ''Sister''-era Music/SonicYouth. Additionally, "5-4=Unity" is an affectionate parody of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five".
39	* TheAlcoholic: Gary Young was known for his drunken antics (doing hand-stands, failing to stay on his stool during live performances, running around the stage while the band played, handing out cabbage and potatoes to fans). According to Stephen Malkmus, the reason Bob Nastanovich was originally brought into the band was to cover for Young in case he passed out.
40	* AuthorAppeal: Stephen Malkmus was a history major in college, which explains "Conduit for Sale!" and the other historical references in their songs from time to time.
41	* BreatherEpisode:
42	** "Zürich Is Stained" and "Here" serve this purpose on ''Slanted and Enchanted''.
43	** "5 - 4 = Unity" serves a similar purpose on ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'', though it should be emphasized that the album is a lot more laid back than its predecessor anyway, and several other tracks could also be considered to qualify.
44	** ''Wowee Zowee'' has several as well, though "Grounded", "Father to a Sister of Thought", and "Pueblo" particularly stand out on this count.
45	** By the time of ''Brighten the Corners'', their sound had gotten light enough that this trope arguably no longer even applied.
46	* BrokenRecord: Several songs. "Flux = Rad" uses this as part of its AffectionateParody of Music/{{Nirvana}}. "Jackals, False Grails: The Lonesome Era", "Chesley's Little Wrists", "Best Friend's Arm", "Loretta's Scars", "Nothing Ever Happens", "Sue Me Jack"... honestly, close to about half of their earlier material.
47	* CarefulWithThatAxe:
48	** According to the liner notes of the ''Sordid Sentinels Edition'' of ''Wowee Zowee'', the reason Stephen Malkmus screamed "My God, I can't believe I'm still going" in "Half a Canyon" was out of genuine disbelief; he recalled feeling lightheaded recording the track and thinking he was going to faint or at least lose his voice after all the screaming.
49	** Also occurs in "Cut Your Hair": "Advertising looks and chops a must / No '''''BIG HAIR!!!'''''"
50	** Malkmus lets out some pretty epic screams in the bridges of "No Life Singed Her". The website Genius describes it as "an unhinged, brief, chaotic track veering back and forth between normal rock and DeathMetal screaming (and in only about 2 minutes)".
51	** Another particularly noteworthy instance occurs in the second chorus of their otherwise fairly reverent cover of Music/{{REM}}'s "Camera", in which Malkmus lets out a series of screams so intense his voice eventually breaks. For bonus points, this is overdubbed over a subdued vocal line sung an octave lower, just as it was in the original song.
52	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Gary Young, [[ThePeteBest the original drummer]], due to reasons seen in TheAlcoholic above.
53	** The band themselves, due to their WordSaladLyrics along with their quirky sound and demeanor.
54	* DreadfulMusician: Nastanovich was said to have been hired as percussionist because Young's drumming on ''Slanted'' was too shaky.
55	** Stephen Malkmus once said he thinks anyone can be a singer if ''[[SelfDeprecation he]]'' [[SelfDeprecation can make a career out of it]], since he's not exactly known for having the most tuneful voice.
56	* EitherOrTitle:
57	** A strange example with the same song being given two names in the packaging to the album: "Elevate Me Later" is referred to as "Ell Ess Two" in the tracklisting in the interior booklet of ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' (possibly implying it to be a sequel to "Loretta's Scars", or else commenting on the similarity between their chord progressions). There is also a demo recording of the song with this title, perhaps implying that its title was changed late in the album's recording process.
58	** Another strange case occurs across two releases of the same album: The same track is referred to as "Fin" on U.S. pressings of ''Brighten the Corners'' and "Infinite Spark" outside the U.S.
59	** Either averted or ZigZagged with "Silence Kid": It is erroneously known as "Silence Kit" due to a misprint in the artwork, despite Malkmus clearly singing "Silence kid" several times in the song and the phrase "Silence Kid" occurring several times in Malkmus' own handwriting in both the original release of the album and the ''L.A.'s Desert Origins'' re-release. However, it also appears that the misconception about the song's title has become so prevalent that the band themselves now refer to the song as "Silence Kit" in setlists.
60	* EpicInstrumentalOpener: The vocals in "And Then... (The Hexx)" don't enter until three minutes into the song.
61	* EpicRocking: Not that often, but there are a few examples in their discography. The best examples are probably "Fillmore Jive" (6:39), "Half a Canyon" (6:10), the demo of "Fight This Generation" (8:11), "And Then... (The Hexx)" (7:02), and the live version of "Type Slowly" (6:48). Examples from Malkmus' solo records include "1% of One" (9:11), "No More Shoes" (8:00), and "Real Emotional Trash" (10:09).
62	* EruditeStoner: WordSaladLyrics aside, their lyrics are often literary and allusive, but there's no doubt what some of their pastimes included.
63	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin:
64	** "Pueblo (Beach Boys)" is their song "Pueblo" performed InTheStyleOf Music/TheBeachBoys.
65	** "Instrumental" [[ShapedLikeItself is an instrumental]].
66	* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Flux = Rad" fades into "Fight This Generation" and songs two through four on ''Terror Twilight'' ("Folk Jam", "You Are a Light", "Cream of Gold") fade into one another. From bonus material and [=EPs=]:
67	** "Recorder Grot (Rally)" -> "Heckler Spray" (''Westing'' - which is kind of odd, because they originally came from separate [=EPs=])
68	** "Angel Carver Blues/Mellow Jazz Docent" -> "Two States" (''Luxe & Reduxe'' live show)
69	** "No Life Singed Her" -> "So Stark (You're a Skyscraper)" (''Luxe & Reduxe'' live show)
70	** "Box Elder" -> "Baby Yeah" (''Luxe & Reduxe'' live show)
71	** "Raft" -> "Coolin' by Sound" (''L.A.'s Desert Origins'')
72	** "Golden Boys" -> "Serpentine Pad" (''Sordid Sentinels'' BBC Radio 1 session; indexed as a single track)
73	** "Half a Canyon" -> "Best Friend's Arm" -> "Brink of the Clouds" -> "Candylad" (''Sordid Sentinels'' live show at the Wireless; the latter two are indexed as a single track)
74	** "Unfair" -> "Easily Fooled" -> "Heaven Is a Truck" (''Sordid Sentinels'' live show at the Wireless)
75	** "Date w/ Ikea" -> "Fin" (''Nicene Creedence Edition'' Peel session)
76	** "Grave Architecture" -> "The Classical" (''Nicene Creedence Edition'' Peel session)
77	* GenreRoulette: ''Wowee Zowee'' is one of the most infamous examples in indie music.
78	* GreatestHitsAlbum: ''Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement'', released in 2010 to coincide with their reunion, and titled after a line from "Gold Soundz".
79	* {{Greed}}:
80	** "Grounded" is a subtle ProtestSong about greed and its effects on the American medical system. Malkmus [[https://abrahamriesman.com/post/406114262/a-thing-stephen-malkmus-wrote commented]] at one point: "Only 10% of our doctors went into it because they wanted to help others. The others did it for the money. Written for my personal physician and his cadre of German automobiles."
81	** Similarly, "Elevate Me Later" condemns the predatory behaviour of the upper class and expresses sympathy with working-class protesters.
82	* IncrediblyLamePun: ''Summer Babe (Winter Version)''. Fans agree that this pun was awesome.
83	* IndecipherableLyrics: Stephen Malkmus has gone on record to say not even he knows what he's yelling about in the studio version of "Best Friend's Arm." Most lyric sites replace a majority of the lyrics with question marks. [[https://genius.com/Pavement-best-friends-arm-lyrics Genius]] has an attempt to transcribe the whole song, but who knows how correct it is.
84	* {{Instrumentals}}: "5-4=Unity", "Kneeling Bus", "Strings of Nashville (Instrumental)", and "Instrumental", among other tracks. "Pueblo (Beach Boys)" could be considered this as well if wordless vocals count.
85	** "5-4=Unity" originally had seemingly improvised vocals, but it was decided it worked better as an instrumental: The WithLyrics version, "5-4 Vocal", was released as a BSide. Similarly, the WithLyrics version of "Kneeling Bus", "Rug Rat", can be found on ''L.A.'s Desert Origins'' (alongside "Kneeling Bus", "5-4 Vocal", "Strings of Nashville (Instrumental)", and "Instrumental", incidentally).
86	* LighterAndSofter: In general, they tended to progress in this direction as their career moved along. Their last two albums are definitely this to the material that preceded it, as are their first three albums to their early [=EPs=]. It should be pointed out this is a general trend, however; they have some light material on their early records, like "Here" and "Zürich Is Stained" from ''Slanted and Enchanted'' and "Secret Knowledge of Backroads" from a John Peel session from the same period.
87	* LimitedLyricsSong: The entire lyrics of "Jackals, False Grails: The Lonesome Era" are: "I've got one holy life to live / I've got one holy life to give", repeated several times. "Chesley's Little Wrists" has only "I'm bogged down" and variants thereof. (Well, there's some gibbering at the end of the song, but it's not likely that Malkmus is actually singing/saying anything resembling words there.) "Baby Yeah" has... well, mostly the title repeated several times, though there are a couple of other lines too.
88	* LongSongShortScene: "Nothing Ever Happens" was left off ''Slanted and Enchanted'', but the song's riff became a 30 second instrumental postscript to "Trigger Cut / Wounded-Kite at :17". The full two and a half minute song, with vocals by Spiral Stairs, finally saw release on ''Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe and Reduxe'', ten years after the release of the original album.
89	** Similarly, "Dark Ages" was left off of ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'', but the final minute of the song was turned into an introduction to "Fillmore Jive". All 2:40 of "Dark Ages" appeared on ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: L.A.'s Desert Origins''.
90	* LongestSongGoesLast: ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' has "Fillmore Jive" (6:38), while ''Brighten the Corners'' has "Fin" (5:24).
91	* LoudnessWar: Mostly averted, but the reissue of ''Brighten the Corners'' is pretty squished (it scores [=DR7=], so it's not the worst offender out there, but it's still a far cry from the original's [=DR10=]). Some of the other reissues are louder than the originals as well, although the reissue of ''Crooked Rain'' appears to use the same master as the original.
92	** With the exception of the last two tracks, the first disc of ''L.A.'s Desert Origins'' is barely even dynamically compressed, and it's unlikely anyone but the most obsessive audiophile will notice it. The second disc is a bit more compressed than the first, but still not bad by modern standards. Neither are particularly clipped either. The set overall comes to [=DR9=], with no songs scoring worse than [=DR6=]. Oddly, though, ''Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe'' is actually pretty badly clipped throughout, despite being released '''before''' ''L.A.'s Desert Origins'' (it still comes out to [=DR8=] overall, though). ''Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition'' has about the same level of clipping as ''Luxe & Reduxe'' and also comes out to [=DR8=].
93	** As for the original releases of their albums, the first few were released before the time this trope really became prevalent. By the time of ''Brighten the Corners'' and ''Terror Twilight'', it had started to become a widespread problem, but while ''Terror Twilight'' is slightly clipped, it still comes out to [=DR9=] overall, which was quiet and dynamic by 1999 standards, let alone today's.
94	* MetalScream: A few songs, most notably in "Half a Canyon".
95	* MindScrewdriver: Malkmus has sometimes written explanations of his WordSaladLyrics, though the explanations frequently go into {{Cloudcuckooland}} themselves, unsurprisingly. [[https://abrahamriesman.com/post/406114262/a-thing-stephen-malkmus-wrote Here’s an example]] for ''Wowee Zowee''.
96	* MinisculeRocking: Several songs, but "Recorder Grot (Rally)" (0:22), "Drive-by Fader" (0:28), "Sordid" (0:28), and "Sentinel" (0:14) have to take the cake.
97	* MoodWhiplash: They employ this often, particularly on ''Wowee Zowee'', and sometimes within the same song. One of the best examples is how the frantic "Flux = Rad" fades into the eerie "Fight This Generation", which then has an almost paranoid-sounding second half.
98	* MotorMouth: Malkmus at times can get this way. Some of the best examples in their discography are on "Conduit for Sale!" and "Best Friend's Arm".
99	* MusicalPastiche: Beyond the ones above, there are several other examples. "Kennel District" might have listeners wondering, "What is this 1988-era Music/MyBloodyValentine song doing on a Pavement album"? The next song, "Pueblo", sounds more than a bit like ''On the Beach''-era Music/NeilYoung.
100	* NewSoundAlbum: ''Brighten the Corners''
101	** Arguably, each of their albums starting with ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' is this when compared to the album before it. ''Wowee Zowee'' is one of the more infamous examples due to its experimental nature. Though Pavement's GreatestHitsAlbum, ''Quarantine the Past'', contains rarities such as "The Unseen Power of the Picket Fence" and much more than just the "hits," it still only contains TWO tracks from ''Wowee Zowee'' (the same amount of tracks that are pulled from an early EP), neither of which were released as singles.
102	* TheNineties: Arguably ''the'' defining indie rock band of the decade.
103	* NonAppearingTitle: Roughly half their songs.
104	* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: "Nothing Ever Happens".
105	* PerishingAltRockVoice: Both SM and Spiral Stairs.
106	* PissTakeRap: "Blue Hawaiian" and "Easily Fooled"/"The Sutcliffe Catering Song".
107	** "Robyn Turns 26" from the compilation ''At Home With the Groovebox'': Stephen Malkmus raps about the life of a 26-year-old Portlandian slacker/hipster, to the backing of vintage drum machines and synthesizers.
108	* PrecisionFStrike: Many songs.
109	* PunBasedTitle: They have a few. "5-4=Unity" refers to the song's 5/4 meter signature, plus the fact that subtracting four from five gives you one (i.e., unity). ''Nicene Creedence Edition'' is explained below under ShoutOut, as is "Platform Blues" under "SomethingBlues". Sometimes they construct entire songs around puns, such as "Candylad" (a pun on the board game TabletopGame/CandyLand) and "Gangsters & Pranksters".
110	* RearrangeTheSong: Live arrangements frequently differed substantially from their studio versions. "Here" from ''Luxe & Reduxe'' and "Best Friend's Arm" on ''Sordid Sentinels Edition'' are probably two of the best examples.
111	** An alternate mix of "Here" from ''Luxe & Reduxe'' is notable for including an additional guitar track that was left out of the ''Slanted & Enchanted'' version: Though it's the same recording otherwise, the added layer of droney, distorted guitar gives it more of a NoisePop feel, and the liner notes state that the band didn't use this mix of the song because it sounded too much like Music/TheJesusAndMaryChain.
112	* RecycledLyrics: Variants of the line "Stick your penitentiary clothes inside a vent" appear in "Fin" and "Birds in the Magic Industry".
113	** "Carrot Rope" and "Harness Your Hopes" both include lines about "harness[ing] your hopes" to someone: The former has "Harness your hopes to the folks" and the latter has "Harness your hopes to just one person".
114	* RefugeInAudacity: ''Wowee Zowee'' was originally going to be titled ''Dick-Sucking Fool at Pussy-Licking School,'' before the band decided it was too risqué. The phrase still appears in the album booklet.
115	* RougeAnglesOfSatin: A graphic mistake on the back cover of ''Crooked Rain'' led to a lot of people thinking the song "Silence Kid" was named "Silence Kit". It doesn't help that the reissue also made this mistake on the back cover.
116	* ShoutOut: ''Wowee Zowee'' is named after an early Music/FrankZappa song ("Wowie Zowie") by way of erstwhile drummer Gary Young (it was a CatchPhrase of his), and its cover art is reminiscent of ''[[http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drm400/m425/m42564cf3zd.jpg Känguru]]'' by the {{Krautrock}} band Guru Guru. The back cover showing a wizard with the speech bubble [[GratuitousGerman "Pavement Ist Rad!"]] is probably an additional nod to the origin of the cover.
117	** From "Stereo":
118	-->"What about the voice of [[Music/RushBand Geddy Lee]]\
119	How did it get so high?\
120	I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy?\
121	(I know him and he does)\
122	And you're my fact-checkin' cuzz"
123	** Most of "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence" is Stephen Malkmus gushing about [[Music/{{REM}} R.E.M.]] (more specifically, their second album, ''Reckoning'').
124	** Their CoverVersion of "The Killing Moon" by Music/EchoAndTheBunnymen throws in lyrics from "Thorn of Crowns" and "Yo Yo Man", two other Echo and the Bunnymen songs from their album ''Ocean Rain'': C-c-c-cucumber, c-c-c-cauliflower, c-c-c-cabbage / He's the yo-yo man, always up and down".
125	** There are a whole bunch of these in the live show included in ''Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe'', including to Music/TheBeatles, Music/EchoAndTheBunnymen, and Music/SonicYouth.
126	** The ''Nicene Creedence Edition'' of ''Brighten the Corners'' is a PunBasedTitle referring to the Nicene Creed, a central creed of the Christian faith, and, of course, Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival.
127	** A bunch to classic rock songs on the front & back covers of ''Westing'' ("Stoned Soul Picnic" by Music/LauraNyro, "California Dreamin'" by Music/TheMamasAndThePapas, "Ramblin' Man" by Music/TheAllmanBrothersBand, "Maps and Legends" by Music/{{REM}}, "Heart of Stone" by Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" by Music/TheHollies, "Earth Angel" by the Penguins, ''Cosmic Slop'' by [[Music/GeorgeClinton Funkadelic]], etc.).
128	** A WorkingTitle for "Platform Blues" was "Ground [[Music/CaptainBeefheart Beefheart]]".
129	* SomethingBlues: "Platform Blues" (which doubles as a PunBasedTitle on "platform shoes") and "Angel Carver Blues/Mellow Jazz Docent".
130	* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: Due to the IndecipherableLyrics in some of their songs, or to Malkmus' fast delivery in others, this can occur in a few cases.
131	** The main lyrics people are likely to know for "Conduit for Sale!" are "I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying… Imagine, if you will, Herr Proctor, something something… I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying… something something… between here and there is better than either here or there! I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying…" It's not that the other lyrics are indecipherable; they're just delivered so quickly that they're difficult to commit to memory.
132	** "Best Friend's Arm" is an even more extreme example, since the only easily decipherable lyrics are "I can see, I can see, I can see, I can see" and "Keep it under your best friend's arms". It's anyone's guess as to the others.
133	* TheSomethingSong: "The Sutcliffe Catering Song", which was later renamed to "Easily Fooled".
134	* SongStyleShift: They employ this frequently, especially in their longer songs. Particularly notable examples include "Fight This Generation", "Canyon Rope", "You Are a Light", and "Speak, See, Remember".
135	* StepUpToTheMicrophone[=/=]VocalTagTeam: Scott Kannberg's turns at lead vocals fall somewhere between the two: He has the sole lead vocals on one or two songs on every full-length album except for ''Terror Twilight'', but Stephen Malkmus still definitely has the majority of vocals. In addition, "Painted Soldiers" is the only Kannberg-sung track to have a music video, and even then it wasn't officially a single. Meanwhile, the verses of "Carrot Rope", the final song on ''Terror Twilight'', are partly sung by Stephen, partly by Scott, and partly by bassist Mark Ibold, which is his only lead vocal on a Pavement album; however, Stephen sings the chorus himself.
136	* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "Spit on a Stranger," "Box Elder," "Range Life", and "Here," among other songs.
137	* TakeThat: "Range Life" mocks Music/TheSmashingPumpkins' IndecipherableLyrics and Music/StoneTemplePilots' image. WordOfGod says it wasn't intended to be a particularly serious criticism, but Billy Corgan didn't take it well.
138	* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: Their early material qualifies. They quickly abandoned this, however, as they started using higher-quality recording techniques and made their songs more complicated.
139	* TriumphantReprise: The band's first John Peel session closes with an electrified version of "Here" that, in the sequence of ''Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe and Reduxe'' (on which it closes out the first disc), essentially qualifies as this when contrasted with its subdued studio arrangement.
140	* [[TropeMakers Trope Maker]]: For the genre known as lo-fi, along with Guided by Voices. By the time of their first album, however, they stopped completely relying on lo-fi recording equipment, and by the time of ''Crooked Rain'' they'd pretty much abandoned it entirely. The only remnant of lo-fi on anything after their early [=EPs=] is occasional lo-fi vocals (e.g., on "Half a Canyon" from ''Wowee Zowee''); the instruments on most of their records, including ''Slanted and Enchanted'', are generally well recorded, and the album is mixed clearly enough for listeners to distinguished the individual musicians' parts.
141	** By extension they're also the TropeCodifier for the general sound of Indie Rock as a whole during the genre's formative years of the early and mid '90s.
142	* UncommonTime: "5-4=Unity" is obvious; it's an AffectionateParody of Music/DaveBrubeck's "Take Five", so naturally you'd assume it's in 5/4, but actually, it's a slight variant: it's mostly in (5+5+5+6)/4, with a few measures at the end of each phrase in plain 6/4... but close enough. In any case, it's not their only example:
143	** "Jam Kids" has significant portions that are also in 5/4.
144	** "Fight This Generation" has a lengthy passage in 7/4 (or 14/4) - it's the one including the TitleDrop.
145	** Malkmus is fond of constructing choruses with patterns of three bars of 6/4 followed by two of 4/4 (for a total of 26/4). Examples include "Pueblo" and "Easily Fooled", though the latter also sometimes uses other patterns as well.
146	** The opening/bridge of "Kris Kraft" changes meter signatures several times; at least two bars are 5/4.
147	** "Cataracts" has a lengthy segment in 10/4 (4+4+2/4).
148	** There's a riff in "Platform Blues" in 7/4 or 14/4 ("You're a nice guy, and I hate you for that").
149	** The first half of "Speak, See, Remember" frequently jumps around between 4/4 and 6/4 in a highly disorienting manner. Its verses have patterns of 4+6+4+4/4 (18/4) at times. The second half is entirely in CommonTime.
150	* VisualPun: At one point in the "Cut Your Hair" video, Mark Ibold coughs up a live cat and gives it away to the barber he was about to get a haircut from. This is a reference to his involvement with the band Free Kitten.
151	** The ClipShow style music video for "Harness Your Hopes" inserts actress Sophie Thatcher into footage from previous music videos, and at one point she's donning a yellow rain jacket alongside the band in a clip from the "Carrot Rope" video: Sophie is known for playing the teenage Natalie Scatorccio in ''{{Series/Yellowjackets}}''.
152	* WordSaladLyrics: Oh dear god, "Conduit for Sale!"
153	-->Unable to bear the scandal, Ray, philanthropist
154	-->Rents low-down scab house in conduit
155	-->Herr Proctor offers said land for a song
156	-->But no one wants to sing
157	-->In an attempt to retain social privileges
158	-->Yet mask it as goodwill
159	-->He says to the conduit members,
160	-->"Take this rotten old tree and make it bear fruit."
161	-->Cheers erupted throughout the thin settlement
162	** Some people seem to believe it's about the fall of the House of Savoy in Turin.
163	** Many of their lyrics are presented in such a fashion it's difficult to discern what they're about. For example, on songmeanings.com, the comments section of "Carrot Rope" debates whether the song is about religion, sexual molestation, cricket, a stream of consciousness where every other line is a NonSequitur, or something else entirely.
164	* XtremeKoolLetterz: "Gold Soundz", "False Skorpion", "Kris Kraft" (the last of which is named after Chris-Craft, a manufacturer of boats).

Context Music / Pavement