Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Studio album by Pavement
Publication (s)	February 14, 1994
Label (s)	Matador Records Big Cat Records
Format (s)	CD , LP , MC
Genre (s)	Indie rock
Title (number)	12
running time	42:16
occupation	Stephen Malkmus - vocals , guitar Scott Kannberg - guitar , vocals Mark Ibold - bass Bob Nastanovich - percussion Steve West - drums , percussion Bryce Goggin - Piano (Track 9)
production	Pavement
Studio (s)	Random Falls Studios, New York City
chronology Slanted and Enchanted (1992) Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Wowee Zowee (1995)
Single releases January 7, 1994 Cut your hair February 14, 1994 Haunt you down June 19, 1994 Gold Soundz January 16, 1995 Range Life

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is the second studio album by the American rock band Pavement and was released in February 1994 on the Matador Records and Big Cat Records labels . Like its predecessor Slanted and Enchanted, the album is considered a milestone in alternative music of the 1990s.

background

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain   DE 77 04/04/1994 (8 weeks)   UK 15th 02/26/1994 (3 weeks)   US 121 03/05/1994 (4 weeks)

Singles

Cut your hair   UK 52 02/12/1994 (1 week) Gold Soundz   UK 83 08/13/1994 (1 week) Range Life   UK 76 01/28/1995 (2 weeks)

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was recorded at Random Falls Studios in New York City between August and September 1993 . Former drummer Gary Young was replaced by Steve West prior to recording. The album title is, according to Stephen Malkmus an allusion to Purple Rain by Prince .

The second album meant for Pavement the move away from the noise rock and lo-fi elements of the predecessor to more pop-heavy rock songs, with the exception of Hit the Plane Down with the distorted vocals of Scott Kannberg. Furthermore, can be found on Crooked Rain echoes of country ( "Range Life"), rock 'n' roll (of an "Everyday" by Buddy Holly reminiscent opener "Silence Kid"), Jazz (the Dave Brubeck -Hommage "5 -4 = Unity ") and the German Krautrock band Can (" Stop Breathin '"). Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg cited 1960s California rock music as inspiration. The song Fillmore Jive refers to the concert building The Fillmore in San Francisco , where many rock bands from this period performed.

Bryce Goggin, who plays Range Life Piano, was also the album's engineer and mixer .

The central photo on the front of the cover is from a 1978 edition of National Geographic . The album cover was designed by Malkmus.

The song Silence Kit is actually called the Silence Kid . However, the title was not correctly printed on the back of the album, which resulted in the spelling of T prevailing.

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was released on February 14, 1994 on the labels Matador Records (USA) and Big Cat Records (Great Britain), distribution in Germany was taken over by Rough Trade Records .

The Single Cut Your Hair is the biggest success of the band and reached # 10 in the Billboard charts for an alternative rhythm songs.

Track list

With the exception of Hit the Plane Down , all songs are written by Stephen Malkmus .

1. Silence Kid - 3:01
2. Elevate Me Later - 2:51
3. Stop Breathin ' - 4:28
4. Cut Your Hair - 3:07
5. Newark Wilder - 3:53
6. Unfair - 2:33
7. Gold Soundz - 2:41
8. 5-4 = Unity - 2:09
9. Range Life - 4:54
10. Heaven Is a Truck - 2:30
11. Hit the Plane Down (Scott Kannberg) - 3:36
12. Fillmore Jive - 6:38

reception

source	rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone
Laut.de
Music Express

Pavement's second album received consistently positive reviews and in retrospect it is still considered one of the most important rock albums of the 1990s.

In the selection of the 500 best albums of all time by Rolling Stone magazine , the album reached number 210 and 128 (German edition). It was also voted # 10 of the 100 best albums of the 1990s. The song Gold Soundz ranks 6th among the 50 best songs of the decade.

Pitchfork voted Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain # 8 on the Top 100 Albums of the Decade. Gold Soundz was even named the best song of the 1990s by Pitchfork.

The New Musical Express ranks the album at number 408 of the 500 best albums of all time. The song Cut Your Hair was ranked 386 of the 500 best songs.

Spin magazine ranked it 44th out of the 300 best albums from 1985 to 2014.

Like its predecessor, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .

“Despite all the ambiguity, the album is an American classic, rich in hooks and melodies that can only come from a relaxed generation of musicians who don't take themselves too seriously. Each track symbolizes sunshine and fun. The album still warms the heart today and gains in importance with every run in the CD player. "

- Jake Kennedy

"Unrivaled, perfect pop, including the brilliant songs" Cut Your Hair "," Gold Soundz "and" Range Life "."

- Andrew Stone

"I was 14 when Crooked Rain came out. And modern rock radio, at least in Philadelphia, was playing weirder, cooler '90s stuff on the air, which is where I heard “Cut Your Hair” for the first time. I just thought that song was cool. It's by no means my favorite song on the record, especially now. But the album as a whole didn't hit me right away; with every listen, though, it got better and better. I was heavy into skateboarding at the time, and “Range Life” was my favorite song. And I should say before that point Smashing Pumpkins were one of my favorite bands, but when Malkmus name-checked them on that song, of course I switched over to their side. "Stop Breathin '" is another favorite of mine; it's just so jangly and melodic. It truly was a classic rock record. "

- Kurt Vile

Controversies about "Range Life"

There was controversy because of the last verse of the song Range Life , in which the lyric self is unflattering about the bands Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots . Stephen Malkmus emphasized that the text was rather ironic and not denigrating or even intended as a diss ; Nevertheless, Billy Corgan , singer of the Smashing Pumpkins, commented negatively on the lines and Pavement in general before a festival in Brazil at which both bands played, criticizing the band's reunion tour as a “sell-out” and “betrayal ". It wasn't until 2018 that Corgan declared that he no longer had any grudges against Malkmus.

The relevant stanza in its wording:

"Out on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins
Nature kids, I they don't have no function
I don't understand what they mean
And I could really give a fuck

The Stone Temple Pilots , they're elegant bachelors
They're foxy to me are they foxy to you?
I will agree they deserve absolutely nothing
Nothing more than me "

- Pavement: Range Life (Stephen Malkmus)

LA's Desert Origins

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins
Compilation album by Pavement
Publication (s)	October 26, 2004
admission	August 1993 - February 26, 1994
Label (s)	Matador Records Domino Records
Format (s)	CD
Title (number)	49
running time	158: 01
production	Pavement , Mike Hawkes, Jesper Eklow, Mark Ohe
chronology Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe (2002) Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition (2006)

source	rating
Rolling Stone
Spin
Pitchfork Media

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins   US 164 11/13/2004 (1 week)

In October 2004, Matador and Domino Records released an extended new edition on 2 CDs called Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins , which in addition to the album also includes the B-sides of the single releases, additional songs, demo recordings , alternative takes and a concert recording from the show by radio host John Peel . The bonus CD also contains test recordings of the songs Flux = Rad , Kennel District , Grounded and Pueblo , which were released as finished versions on the successor Wowee Zowee .

LA's Desert Origins was the second new release of a Pavement album with bonus material after Luxe & Reduxe and was received very positively, with Rolling Stone , Spin and Pitchfork Media awarding the highest rating.

Disc 1: Back to the Gold Soundz (Phantom Power Parables)

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

1. Silence Kid - 3:00

2. Elevate Me Later - 2:51

3. Stop Breathin ' - 4:27

4. Cut Your Hair - 3:06

5. Newark Wilder - 3:53

6. Unfair - 2:33

7. Gold Soundz - 2:39

8. 5-4 = Unity - 2:09

9. Range Life - 4:54

10. Heaven Is a Truck - 2:30

11. Hit the Plane Down - 3:36

12. Fillmore Jive - 6:38

Cut Your Hair (B sides)

13. Camera ( Mike Mills , Bill Berry , Peter Buck , Michael Stipe ) - 3:45

14. Starlings - 2:51

Range Life (B sides)

15. Raft - 3:34

16. Coolin 'by Sound - 2:50

Gold Soundz (B sides)

17. Kneeling Bus - 1:33

18. Strings of Nashville - 3:46

19. Exit Theory - 1:00

Gold Soundz Austral-NZ French Micronesia 94 Tour EP

20. 5-4 vocal - 2:08

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Bonus 7 ″

21. Jam Kids - 4:54

22. Haunt You Down - 4:51

No alternative compilation

23. Unseen Power of the Picket Fence - 3:51

Hey Drag City! Compilation

24. Nail Clinic - 2:25

Disc 2: After the Glow (Where Eagles Dare)

Demo recordings 1993: Louder Than You Think in Stockton, California

1. All My Friends - 5:12 am

2. Soiled Little Filly - 2:08

3. Range Life - 4:11

4. Stop Breathing - 3:54

5. Ell Ess Two (aka Loretta's Scars II / Elevate Me Later ) - 2:44

6. Flux = Rad - 2:11

7. Bad Version of War - 3:27

8. Same Way of Saying - 4:35

Recorded August and September 1993, Random Falls Studios, New York City

9. Hands Off the Bayou - 2:43

10. Heaven is a Truck (Egg Shell) - 2:20

11. Grounded - 3:35

12. Kennel District - 3:24 am

13. Pueblo (Beach Boys) - 3:47

14. Fucking Righteous - 2:47

15. Colorado - 1:13

16. Dark Ages - 2:39

17. Flood Victim - 1:17

18. JMC Retro - 0:52

19. Rug Council - 3:05

20. Strings of Nashville (instrumental) - 3:50

21. Instrumental - 3:40

John Peel Session (February 26, 1994)

22. Brink of the Clouds - 3:48

23. Tartar Martyr - 3:13

24. Pueblo Domain - 4:18

25. The Sutcliffe Catering Song - 3:22

Web links

• Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain on Discogs
• Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain on Rate Your Music

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pavement ( Memento of the original from October 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at intro.de, accessed on October 7, 2017 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Chart sources: Germany ( Memento of the original from February 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , US charts 
3. ↑ Pavement in the Official UK Charts (English)
4. ↑ ^{a b} The Oral History Of Pavement's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain on stereogum.com (accessed March 23, 2018)
5. ↑ US rock star Stephen Malkmus talks Krautrock on dw.com (accessed April 3, 2018)
6. ↑ Pavement's Most Perfect Album 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain on rollingstone.com (accessed March 23, 2018)
7. ↑ ^{a b} Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Liner Notes) on discogs.com (accessed February 16, 2019)
8. ↑ Silence Kid / Silence Kit on genius.com (accessed April 3, 2018)
9. ↑ Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography on musicvf.com (accessed April 8, 2018)
10. ^ Review Allmusic
11. ↑ Review by Matt Diehl on rollingstone.com (accessed March 22, 2018)
12. ↑ Review by Hannes Huß on laut.de (accessed on March 26, 2019)
13. ↑ Review by Frank Sawatzki on musikexpress.de (inactive) (accessed on March 22, 2018)
14. ↑ 500 Greatest albums of all time (Rolling Stone)
15. ↑ p. 23 in the corresponding special issue of the print edition
16. ↑ 100 Best Albums of the Nineties on rollingstone.com, accessed October 7, 2017
17. ↑ 50 Best Songs of the Nineties on rollingstone.com (accessed March 22, 2018)
18. ↑ Top 100 albums of the 1990s (Pitchfork Media)
19. ↑ The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 20-01 (Pitchfork Media)
20. ↑ The 500 greatest albums of all time on nme.com, accessed October 7, 2017
21. ↑ The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time on nme.com (accessed March 22, 2018)
22. ↑ The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014) on spin.com (accessed July 31, 2019)
23. ↑ Dimery, Robert (ed.): 1001 albums - music you should hear before life is over, 8th edition, Edition Olms Zürich 2015, p. 725.
24. ^ Buckley, Peter (ed.): Rock Rough Guide, 2nd edition, Verlag JB Metzler Stuttgart / Weimar 2004, p. 590.
25. ↑ Pavement's 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain' at 25: Kurt Vile, Dr. Dog & More on Its Impact on billboard.com (accessed February 16, 2019)
26. ↑ Billy Corgan brands Pavement 'sell-outs' on theguardian.com (accessed April 8, 2018)
27. ↑ Billy Corgan ends feud with Stephen Malkmus; Pavement opening on Smashing Pumpkins tour on brooklynvegan.com (accessed April 8, 2018)
28. ↑ Review by Pat Blashill (2004) on rollingstone.com, accessed October 7, 2017
29. ^ Review by Will Hermes, in: Spin 12/2004, pp. 115/116.
30. ^ Review Pitchfork Media