Moving ahead with A Year In December. Today, I talk about something by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks.
I saw Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks live this year. Malkmus had lost his voice and croaked his way through songs that were not Pavement songs. He mentioned that it was embarrassing but he’d travelled all the way here so he didn’t want to back out. I wonder if he thinks differently in retrospect. My favourite song off 2018’s Sparkle is ‘Bike Lane.’ It’s got a groovy bass riff, a memorable line, a shiny, shimmering rainbow of a chord progression. It’s got political undertones, taking a stance on one of several cases involving the vague unnecessary misuse of police force. So’s to say that it could’ve been a more forceful rendition in a more energetic performance. Yet, for me, and for many others, it was Stephen Malkmus. I gave him a pass.
Joel Mak 