"Cut Your Hair" | ||||
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Single by Pavement | ||||
from the album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain | ||||
B-side |
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Released | February 1994 (USA) | |||
Recorded | August–September 1993 | |||
Studio | Random Falls Studio (New York City, New York) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:09 | |||
Label | Matador | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Malkmus | |||
Producer(s) | Pavement | |||
Pavement singles chronology | ||||
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"Cut Your Hair" is a song by American rock band Pavement from their second album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. It was written by Pavement songwriter and lead singer Stephen Malkmus. The song snidely attacks the importance of image in the music industry.[ citation needed ] In one verse, Malkmus sarcastically recites a fictitious ad looking for a musician to join a band: "advertising looks and chops a must/ no big hair".
The song was released as a single and became the band's best-selling and most popular song. "Cut Your Hair" obtained strong airplay on U.S. indie and alternative radio stations, reaching the top ten on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart in the spring of 1994, spending 12 weeks on the Alternative Billboard chart. [3]
Both B-sides are included on the reissue Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins . The unlisted B-side track on the 12" version of the single is an instrumental recording of "Rain Ammunition," and has never been reissued.
In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Cut Your Hair" at number 28 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.
The video, released in 1994, is relatively simple, showing the band sitting on a bench at a barber shop, waiting to get their hair cut. Some strange things happen to each band member when they go and sit on the barber's chair:
Each band member has different clothes on when they go back to the bench. After their haircuts, all the band members leave the barbershop very quickly, with Ibold taking a magazine he had been reading.
In an alternate version of the video, a black-and-white TV in the barber shop played a loop of the band acting silly in Malkmus' apartment.
"Cut Your Hair" was featured on the soundtrack to Jackass: Number Two , A Very Brady Sequel , The Ultimate Playlist of Noise , The To Do List , and You, Me and Dupree . It is available as a downloadable track for Guitar Hero 5 .
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA) [5] | 188 |
UK Singles (OCC) [6] | 52 |
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [7] | 10 |
Pavement is an American indie rock band that formed in Stockton, California, in 1989. For most of their career, the group consisted of Stephen Malkmus, Scott Kannberg, Mark Ibold (bass), Steve West (drums), and Bob Nastanovich. Initially conceived as a recording project, the band at first avoided press or live performances, while attracting considerable underground attention with their early releases. Gradually evolving into a more polished band, Pavement recorded five full-length albums and ten EPs over the course of their decade-long career, though they disbanded with some acrimony in 1999 as the members moved on to other projects. In 2010, they undertook a well-received reunion tour, followed by another international tour from 2022 to 2024.
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Pavement, The Hard Quartet, and as a solo artist.
Slanted and Enchanted is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on April 20, 1992 by Matador Records. It is the only Pavement album to feature drummer Gary Young.
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is the second studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on February 14, 1994 by Matador Records. The album saw the band move on towards a more accessible rock sound than that of their more lo-fi debut Slanted and Enchanted and achieve moderate success with the single "Cut Your Hair". The album also saw original drummer Gary Young replaced by Steve West. It was a UK Top 20 hit upon release, although it was not so successful in the US charts.
Wowee Zowee is the third studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on April 11, 1995 by Matador Records. Most of it was recorded at Easley Recording in Memphis, Tennessee, where some members of the band had previously worked on Silver Jews' 1994 album Starlite Walker. The album showcases a more experimental side of the band, marking a return to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the more accessible sound of their 1994 studio album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Its eclectic nature ranges from mellow yet distorted melodies to noise and punk rock, while the lyrics generally explore humorous and cryptic themes. At nearly one hour long, Wowee Zowee is Pavement's longest studio album, filling three sides of a vinyl record. Side four was left blank.
Brighten the Corners is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on February 11, 1997 by Matador Records. The album received very positive reviews from critics.
Terror Twilight is the fifth and final studio album by the American indie rock band Pavement. It was released on June 8, 1999, on Matador Records in the US and Domino Recording Company in the UK.
Slay Tracks: 1933–1969 is the debut EP by American indie rock band Pavement. Pavement—at that time, a duo of just its two founding members Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg (guitar)—recorded Slay Tracks with producer and future member Gary Young (drums) during a four-hour session. Pavement self-released the EP as a 7" vinyl record on the band's own record label Treble Kicker in 1989. The music of Slay Tracks was influenced by indie and punk rock bands such as Swell Maps and The Fall, and many of the lyrics were inspired by life in the band's hometown of Stockton, California.
Watery, Domestic is the fourth EP by American indie rock band Pavement, released on November 25, 1992 through Matador Records. It is the group's final release to feature drummer Gary Young as a member.
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins is a compilation album by Pavement released on October 26, 2004. It contains the band's 1994 album, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, in its entirety, as well as outtakes and other rarities from that era, some of which had previously been unreleased.
Mark Alan Ibold is an American musician. He is best known as the bass guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement, with whom he recorded four studio albums. Following Pavement's initial break-up in 1999, Ibold joined the alternative rock band Sonic Youth from 2006 until their end in 2011.
Major Leagues is the final EP by American indie rock band Pavement. It was released on October 12, 1999, on Matador Records. To date, it is their final release of original material excluding reissues.
"This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy and the second single from their commercially successful third studio album Infinity on High (2007). The song officially debuted on November 21 at the American Music Awards and impacted US radio on December 5. The music was composed by vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump and the lyrics were penned by bassist Pete Wentz, following the band's songwriting approach which first began with some songs on their 2003 album Take This to Your Grave. Production was handled by Neal Avron, who also produced the band's previous From Under the Cork Tree album. Commenting on the band's decision to pick the track as the first single, Wentz said "There may be other songs on the record that would be bigger radio hits, but this one had the right message."
"Gold Soundz" is the second single released from Pavement's 1994 album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. The song did not perform particularly well as a single, failing to chart on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, where their previous single, "Cut Your Hair", peaked at number 10. All the B-sides from both versions of the single are included on the reissue Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins.
"Range Life" is a song by American indie rock band Pavement, the third single from their 1994 album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.
The discography of Pavement, a Stockton, California-based indie rock group, consists of five studio albums, five double-length reissues of the albums, one compilation, ten extended plays, and thirteen singles. This list does not include material performed by members or former members of Pavement that was recorded with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Silver Jews, Preston School of Industry, Free Kitten, The Crust Brothers, or any other associated solo or side projects.
Death Cab for Cutie has released ten studio albums, five extended plays (EPs), a demo tape, a digital album, one live album, thirty-two singles, nine music videos, and two DVDs. Death Cab for Cutie is an American indie rock group from Bellingham, Washington and was formed in 1997 by Ben Gibbard as a side project from Pinwheel. After releasing a demo tape, he added guitarist Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer, and drummer Nathan Good to the band. Death Cab signed to Barsuk Records and released four extended plays (EPs) and four studio albums through the label. The fourth album, Transatlanticism, reached number 97 on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified gold in the United States. The group also issued nine singles and a demo tape through Barsuk.
Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement is a compilation album released by Pavement on March 8, 2010, to coincide with the band's reunion. The title of the compilation references a lyric from the 1994 song "Gold Soundz", which is the first song featured on the compilation.
Summer Babe, also known as Summer Babe (Winter Version), is the debut single by the American indie rock band Pavement.
Pavements is a 2024 American experimental musical biopic concert film directed by Alex Ross Perry. It is a documentary/fiction hybrid film about the American indie band Pavement, incorporating scripted scenes with documentary footage of the band and a musical stage play consisting of songs from their discography. It premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2024.