Stephen Malkmus – TV-star’s look-alike veers off course

Looking like Agent Cooper (Kyle McLaughlin’s role in ‘Twin Peaks’), talking wittily, intelligently and self-effusively, Stephen Malkmus doesn’t belong in this hotel full of businessmen on their ‘working’ lunches. Typical, methinks, because Malkmus, oft-cited as ‘Rock Genius’ (of underground), has never really belonged; his Pavement years had been not only ahead but musically parallel and when it looked that things could be turning in their favour they decided to take a break for a spot of outta-band activity.

Soon afterwards the decision of temporary hiatus was turned into a permanent as Malkmus felt an urge to concentrate on his solo work properly. He had described the self-titled debut album as “the same as Pavement but with a different rhythm section” although never so clean-cut due to myriad of elements lifting it above being just a continuation. The second opus, ‘Pig Lib’, is co-credited to his backing band, The Jicks.

“I did a solo thing,” Malkmus smiles often although his is not a reputation of a fun-guy, “and The Jicks have become part of the picture through touring. It felt natural, there was nothing contrived about it. I’m a very kind of organic kind of a musician and just let things happen naturally and I’m sure they all are for a reason.”

‘Pig Lib’ is a fair disappointment with its assemblage of over-indulgent sonics, laboured styling and ‘clever’ lyrics; an experiment that turned out to be quite futile.

Blue pear

History is a baggage that the is most cumbersome in musicians’ cases and only few months ago we had a re-issue of Pavement’s 1992 debut, ‘Slanted & Enchanted’, with bonus material; feelings towards the former bandmates have softened over time although Malky claims that there was never any animosity just “creative differences” that led to the point when things became too predictable, conservative, stale…

Still, all his denying of the Pavement past, nobody is letting him forget it quickly despite his refusal to perform any of the former band’s sonic legacy.

“Well, this is different,” Malkmus argues, “because people have a picture of me from the Pavement days but the other musicians are different and this is different. We have an identity and playing such songs would further confuse the issue. As far as the compilation, reissues and whatnot, I have no control over it and can only watch what other people are doing. I may disagree all I want but I have no course of action to prevent it; on the other hand, it is good that music is available for fans to check it out, discover where we come from.”

Pork on rye

Malkmus’s lyrics are imaginative, witty, ironic, historic and Anglo-philiac. (Should that be – preterit?) His previous opus seemed like it might just fit in with the success of bands like Coldplay – “I heard ‘Yellow’ and it sounded little like a Pavement song to me”, was his comment at the time – but his music failed to be attractive to the mass audience of guitar-based songs. This time his imagination is not on par with songs such as like ‘Jo Jo’s Jacket’ when he dropped lines as if ‘Being Yul Brynner’.

What medication was he on, if we may inquire?

“I was having a joint with a crew,” he comments casually, “and thinking about where my songs come from. My musical inspirations are the same as in the case of Tom Petty, Oasis, New Order, Groundhogs or Fairport Convention… Lyrically everything inspires me, the life itself; the main realisation is that I’ll never be Bob Dylan or David Byrne… But I work on what I’m good at, at the right level.”

Listening to Malkmus’s latest disc one can detect his objective but somehow its spirit is reigned in; even the 9-minute epic of ‘1% Of One’ falls short of its target, the seminal Television’s ‘Marquee Moon’. ‘Pig Lib’ – whether it is a veggie-joke or dig at male species getting rid of their chauvinism – we don’t know and, frankly my dear, don’t give a damn… This time, anyway.