Track Marks

A roundtable with Silver Jews, Pavement, Palace and Royal Trux

By Gali Ohara. Originally appeared in Unknown.

Jenny Mae, “Hey Baby” (Anyway)

Will Oldham (Palace): If I walked in and heard it, I’d turn around and walk back out.

Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, Silver Jews): It was just a pop song.

WO: It was no fun.

David Berman (Silver Jews): It was just a pop song, fine. Why aren’t you allowed to work in a pop paradigm now, when it’s fine for you turn on an AM radio and you have the 1910 Fruitgum Company.

WO: When there’s really quiet vocals and really loud guitars, it always seems annoying. It’s just no fun at all.

DB: I didn’t like it, but I’m curious what there motives were. If they’re into self glorification, then I have to castigate ‘em.

SM: They’re trying to sell, make a big hit.

WO: You can’t judge music by the intention of music.

DB: When you sing that way, you can’t hear the words.

WO: What’s the deal with vocals as instrument but still using language?

DB: There’s no point. They might as well moan and wheeze.

WO: Exactly. If they moaned and wheezed, it would be a lot better.

DB: But then it would just be (better) because it’s avant-garde.

Rocket from the Crypt featuring Holly Golightly, “Eye on You” (Interscope)

DB: There was a male lead singer. I couldn’t tell if he had two backup singers.

WO: He had a guest vocalist.

DB: Right, but she was lower in the mix.

WO: She had a seperate part.

DB: But she was quieter than him. Emotionally, what she was putting forth was she was backing him up.

WO: I didn’t think so.

DB: He was being a revolutionary and he was out there preaching, and she was like Che Guevara’s lover. They had sex. Obviously the way he was singing and the way he was behind her - definitely they fucked each other. Either they’re sleeping together now, or when she got in the band they were sleeping together.

SM: She was like, ”I’m just as bad as you.” but she got screwed in the mix.

WO: She was the highlight of the song.

Barry Adamson, “Come Hell or High Water” (Mute)

SM: Tortoisehead.

DB: The real question here: is he black? At first I thought he was white, like a Nick Cave guy, but he could be a black guy who is like Puffy.

Jennifer Herrema (Royal Trux): Nah, man. This is depressing but that’s about it.

DB: What does that mean if music is depressing? If the guy’s depressed, then it should make you feel better. How does it achieve that power over you? If it’s really bad music, it should not touch you at all.

WO: It’s potentially depressing. The fact that we can stop it makes it not depressing.

DB: From his voice do you think that he’s a depressed person?

JH: I wouldn’t even venture to say.

WO: He’s most depressed right after playback.

DB: It probably depends on how much sex he gets. If he has an active sex life, he’s probably not depressed. If he doesn’t have any sex life at all, he is.

JG: Why do you say that?

WO: He’s, like, 320 pounds.

DB: I bet that piano player has a good sex life. This is what Rollins should be doing - if Rollins went the Barry White route.

Page & Plant “Most High” (Atlantic)

SM: This could be a Soundgarden remix. Oh, this is the new Led Zeppelin album. I’ve heard this on the radio. It’s the single.

WO: It starts just like “Rid of Me.”

SM: He’s going for that religious, trancendental, Indian thing.

DB: It doesn’t seem like he’s saying to the women - like he used to with basically every syllable - “Fuck me. I’m going to fuck you.” He seems like he’s being just as passionate and soulful, but I’m picking up some Middle Eastern influences. A little Zen, possibly a little Tao.

SM: There’s going to be a world-music bit coming up now soon. It’s a weird pipe.

DB: Bagpipes, harmonium. I like that they’re making this weird instrument the lead, because normally you wouldn’t want it to play that long.

SM: Snakecharmer. They’re definately into referring to their old work. They sort of stopped at “In Through the Out Door” and didn’t try to make something different.

JH: It could be Jane’s Addiction.

DB: The production of that first Jane’s Addiction album reminds me of this.

WO: It’s Albini.

SM: I think it sounds good, though.

DB: It sounded a lot like “Kashmir.”

The Scene Is Now, “Grenadine” (from Object Lessons: Songs About Products) (Inconspicuous)

JH: It’s making me happy.

DB: It’s like childrens’ music but for adults, to make them feel young and childish.

SM: I thought that was Frank Black.

DB: He’s doing a better job now singing. I’ve got to give it a thumbs-up.

WO: Thumbs down here

SM: It gets points for weird time changes.

DB: I don’t know anything about that stuff.

SM: The vocals kind of bothered me.

Girls Against Boys, “Vogue Thing” (DGC)

SM: This is Girls Against Boys. I heard them on the radio too. It’s kind of like Cop Shoot Cop.

DB: That wasn’t going anywhere. That reminded me of artificial breast implants: They looked good but they felt really bad.

WO: As opposed to real breast implants?

The Hangovers, “I Hate You” (Kill Rock Stars)

DB: This reminds me of that comedian Judy Tenuta - a Lilith tour Judy Tenuta.

SM: I can’t deal with her voice.

WO: Is this Victoria Williams

Tony: It’s Gina Birch (from the Raincoats) and her new band.

DB: You know what offended me about that song? She doesn’t know what makes people feel good, and the worst part is she doesn’t give a damn about what makes people feel good. She was there to impress you with what she’s doing.

WO: Exactly. She grew up in a scene, and it’s like a job.

DB: I hate negative people - she was so negative. Ugh. The music was so gross and selfish and English.

SM: I don’t think she thought it was. I think she thought it was really happy. For where she came from, that was happy.

Bill Fox, “Song for a Drunken Nightingale” (Spinart)

DB: Is this a four-track in the 90’s in someone’s room or a studio in the 60’s?

SM: It’s probably Elliot Smith. It could be Dump. Is it Dump?

WO: Veto, veto, veto. We’re hearing song after song that’s no fun to listen to. Music is a time art, and as we’re progressing through time, we have to be achieving a climax, and we’re not.

SM: That’s fine. I like that. That was like Jim Croce. That sounded good.

The Fleshtones, “Don’t Be a Dropout” (from James Bond tribute Super Bad @ 65) (Zero Hour)

DB: Sounds like the Clash.

JH: Sounds like the Stones, man.

DB: The Clash sounded like the Stones.

SM: “Taking Care of Business.”

JH: Is it Graham Parker?

DB: Arto Lindsay?

Add N to X, “Sound of Accelerating Concrete” (Mute)

DB: Shit. I feel like i’m inside of Tron. Anyone feel like killing themselves?

SM: Another day at the Mercedes factory.

DB: This is the sound of them banging out tire wells. They know how to push all the wrong buttons.