Pavement – Hecklers Choice: Big Gums And Heavy Lifters. A Pavement Collection

The greatness of Pavement – their blend of sentimentality and humour, the effortless pop brilliance of their slacker indie rock, their status as defining godparents of the genre – simply cannot be distilled into a few paragraphs. When I think of indie rock in its purest form, I think of Pavement; when I want to feel relaxed and sensitive at the same time, I listen to Pavement; when I recall the best concert experiences of my life, Pavement in Bremen comes to mind. We are dealing here with one of the greatest bands of all time.

The new best-of compilation Hecklers Choice: Big Gums and Heavy Lifters works well as an entry point into the Pavement catalogue and – length aside (38 minutes) – would also function as a thoroughly satisfying concert setlist. Why, however, there is not a single song from Wowee Zowee included is hard to comprehend – after all, it is their best album. Still, the breadth of this legendary band becomes clear: with »Major Leagues«, the compilation includes the most beautiful song from their underrated final record Terror Twilight; highlights such as »Summer Babe (Winter Version)« capture their balance between chaotic noise and bittersweet accessibility; and »Gold Soundz« will forever remain the finest song of the 1990s. Frontman Stephen Malkmus is a poet of the most agreeable kind.

Anyone who has not yet fully inhaled Pavement’s music should not call themselves an indie rock fan. That may sound harsh – but it’s true.