(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Fri 14 November 2025 2:30, UK
It’s now safe to say that Pavement was among the bands that best characterised the spirit of the 1990s, but frontman Stephen Malkmus still isn’t entirely proud of everything he published under their name.
At the time of its release, the group’s debut album failed to turn too many heads simply because it wasn’t all that accessible. Its follow-up, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, addressed that very issue and, in turn, produced the results they had hoped for. Although it wasn’t exactly a blockbuster hit, the record certainly brought them a lot more attention in the commercial space, setting them up for the widespread success and acclaim they have enjoyed ever since.
Across its 12 cuts, the album boasts multiple tunes that have defined Pavement’s brand of indie rock and also influenced several other acts to follow suit. Among them is a piece titled ‘Silence Kid’, which is among their best-known tunes since it is incredibly memorable, but also because it’s the opening track. Considering it is the first taste of an album specifically designed for broader appeal, anyone would guess that the band had a great deal of confidence in it, except this wasn’t the case with their primary songwriter and singer.
While the album did serve the group well by fulfilling its purpose, Malkmus does have regrets about the aforementioned song. What’s puzzling is that it’s over a minor detail that really doesn’t stand out despite his qualms with it. During an interview with NME, the veteran guitarist expressed his embarrassment over the line, “Ecstasy feels so warm inside ’til five hours later I’m chewin’, screwin’ myself with my hand.” Aside from being rather unnoticeable, he actually sang it right toward the end of the song, and so the chances of people remembering it are really quite low.
After stating that he wasn’t particularly proud of those lyrics, he explained that he was “just speaking for the common man” and “embodying the state of mind and worldview of many young partiers at dawn.” From those comments, it’s tough to make sense of why this was all such a big deal to him, and it ultimately just seems like the line just matters a lot more to him than it does to the average Pavement fan.
Perhaps being that self-critical is what makes him such a great artist, prompting him to give us music that’s still being hailed all these years later. The lyrics in question are actually quite inconspicuous, but then again, they really don’t need to stand out either, since ‘Silence Kid’ is already enough of a distraction due to its incredible sound. Malkmus, however, has the privilege of finding fault in something a lot of his fans would consider flawless.
The criticism he has of the song isn’t what I thought it would be. The vocal delivery has a striking (and intentional) resemblance to Buddy Holly’s ‘Everyday’, which is something that immediately stood out to me the first time I heard it. Although the late legend’s cadence fits really well with the overall atmosphere of Pavement’s sound, it does keep the track from having an identity of its own.
This perhaps would’ve been a more rational regret over the song, but Malkmus doesn’t even seem bothered by that, which makes the entire situation a whole lot funnier.
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