Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement is a 2004 biographical book written by Rob Jovanovic about the 1990s indie rock band Pavement. It was published by Justin, Charles and Company [1] .
The book was reviewed in Stylus Magazine , Publishers Weekly , and The Pitch . [2] [3] [4] In the Pitch, Michael Vennard wrote that "even though the book glosses over the bulk of the band's later existence in favor of focusing on Pavement's development, Perfect Sound Forever is still a quick and enjoyable read for Pavement fans, casual and hardcore alike." [4]
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, with another international tour currently ongoing in 2022 and 2023.
Spiderland is the second and final studio album by the American rock band Slint. It contains six songs played over 40 minutes, and was released by Touch and Go Records on March 27, 1991. Slint's lineup at the time of recording comprised Brian McMahan on vocals and guitar, David Pajo on guitar, Todd Brashear on bass guitar and Britt Walford on drums. Spiderland was engineered by Brian Paulson and recorded over four days in August 1990. The music and vocal melodies were composed throughout the summer of 1990, while lyrics were written in-studio.
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.
Terror Twilight is the fifth and final studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, 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.
Demolition Plot J-7 is the second EP by American indie rock band Pavement, released on June 1, 1990. The EP was the band's first release on Chicago independent label Drag City, and its first release that was not self-issued. Demolition Plot J-7 shared many of the same indie and punk rock influences of Pavement's 1989 debut Slay Tracks: 1933–1969, but also diversified the group's sound by incorporating keyboards.
Perfect Sound Forever may refer to:
Monster Movie is the debut studio album by German rock band Can, released in August 1969 by Music Factory and Liberty Records.
Chutes Too Narrow is the second studio album by American rock band The Shins. Produced by Phil Ek and the band themselves, the album was released on October 21, 2003, through Sub Pop. The album title comes from a lyric in the song "Young Pilgrims". The album was very well received by critics, garnering an overall score of 88/100 on Metacritic. As of August 2008 according to Nielsen SoundScan, they have sold over 393,000 copies to date.
Gary Young is an American musician and music producer best known as the original drummer of the indie rock band Pavement from its inception in 1989 until his departure in 1993.
Westing (By Musket and Sextant) is a compilation of the early EPs and singles by American indie rock band Pavement. It features all the tracks from their first three EPs, Slay Tracks (1933–1969), Demolition Plot J-7, and Perfect Sound Forever, as well as the single mix of "Summer Babe," its B-sides, and two compilation tracks.
Perfect Sound Forever (1991) is the third EP by American indie rock band Pavement. It was released as a 10" on Chicago's Drag City recording label. Its songs were later made available on the Drag City compilation Westing .
Rob Jovanovic is an author, most notable for his 2004 biography about the indie rock band Pavement, Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement. Jovanovic has also penned volumes on Beck, Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers, Nirvana, Big Star, Kate Bush and R.E.M.
Perfect Sound Forever is one of the longest-running online-only music magazines. Along with Michael Goldberg's Addicted to Noise, it is one of the first publications to post recurring, feature-length music journalism online.
Ectoslavia was an American indie rock band formed at the University of Virginia during the mid-1980s. It was composed of pre-Silver Jews, Yo La Tengo, and Pavement members David Berman, James McNew, Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. UVA alumnus Gate Pratt was also a member of the band. The music of Ectoslavia used a great deal of noise and static underneath melodic pop-rock songs, not unlike early Pavement EPs like Perfect Sound Forever and Slay Tracks (1933–1969). Their songs also contained samples of classical music, often directly over sheets of static or noise. In 2015, Nastanovich described Ectoslavia as "unlistenable and, with offensive lyrical passages...it’s discardable."
The discography of Pavement, a Stockton, California-based indie rock group, consists of five studio albums, four double-length reissues, 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.
Harsh 70s Reality is the fourth studio album by The Dead C, released in 1992 by Siltbreeze.
The Dustdevils were a noise rock band which was based in New York City for most of its history. It was active from the 1980s to the mid 1990s, and was among the first artists to be signed to Matador Records. Its members included bassist Mark Ibold, who later joined Pavement and Sonic Youth in 1992 and 2006, respectively. Ibold met the band while working at a restaurant in the East Village and performed on their album Struggling Electric and Chemical. Sasha Frere-Jones also played guitar in the group for a time.
Stephen West is an American musician. From 1993 to 1999 he was the drummer for the indie rock band Pavement appearing on four of their studio albums. Since Pavement broke up, he has also become active as an artist in Rockbridge County, Virginia.