Welcome to Pavement Month – Strange Currencies

In one of the first articles for Strange Currencies, I professed my love of R.E.M.. I’ve since doubled down on the claim that they are my favorite band, and half of the time, I believe this to be true. If there’s any close challenger, it’s Pavement. I’m not alone in this. Virtually the entire Strange Currencies staff holds the group – formed in Stockton, California in the late eighties by childhood friends, Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg – in their upper echelon of bands and artists.

Pavement has made a few appearances on the site before, including several entries in the A Century of Song project. The group was also the subject of one of our most spirited – but conceptually flimsy – installments of the In the Wilderness feature. In the case of the latter, I think we just really had a desire to talk about Pavement in a semi-structured manner. Well, nearly two years later, we’re going all in.

This is only the second time that a “theme month” will focus on a single band, and the first since our initial month-long subject, The Beatles. In that sense, Pavement has some big shoes to fill, and though expectations were never something that the band seemed all that interested in during their decade-long run, I think they’ll acquit themselves just fine. The timing makes sense as well, as this is an exciting time to be a Pavement fan. First, April will see the completion of a reissue series that began twenty years ago, as the group’s final album – 1999’s Terror Twilight – will be released in an expanded deluxe edition. More importantly, the band has scheduled its first shows since a brief reunion tour in 2010.

Throughout March, Strange Currencies will dive deep into the catalog of this much-loved group, and take occasional detours to explore their solo projects, side gigs, influences, and lasting impact. Whether you’re a novice, a casual fan, or a Pavement devotee, I think you’ll find plenty to enjoy in our coverage.