Soooo... in synergy with the recent Pavement reunion tour, there's this "Greatest Hits" thing coming out. Selected and sequenced by the band, it includes all of their singles plus several album tracks (and a cut from the No Alternative comp that's puzzlingly referred to in promotional materials as "super obscure"). The price is right ($8.50 CD, $10 FLAC, $12 double LP), but I'm not so sure there was a niche screaming out to be filled by this thing. Like fellow lo-fiers Guided by Voices, Pavement was a band that made relatively cohesive and even albums, making specific track selections seem arbitrary. Add to that the fact that they only cut 5 proper LPs, and I'm not sure they're begging to be anthologized. All of those albums are still in print, cheap, and recently remastered, and it seems to me that those predisposed to like the band will likely have them already. On the other hand, this is a pretty decent tracklisting (although I don't know how you don't start a Pavement retrospective with "Trigger Cut/Wounded Kite at :17"... and no "Rattled by the Rush"?) and some of the EP tracks might be harder to track down, on vinyl at least. What do you guys think? Anyone planning on picking this one up?

1. Gold Soundz (off of the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain LP)
2. Frontwards (off of the Watery, Domestic EP)
3. Mellow Jazz Docent (off of the Perfect Sound Forever EP)
4. Stereo (off of the Brighten the Corners LP)
5. In The Mouth A Desert (off of the Slanted & Enchanted LP)
6. Two States (off of the Slanted & Enchanted LP)
7. Cut Your Hair (off of the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain LP)
8. Shady Lane / J Vs. S (off of the Brighten the Corners LP)
9. Here (off of the Slanted & Enchanted LP)
10. Unfair (off of the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain LP)
11. Grounded (off of the Wowee Zowee)
12. Summer Babe (Winter Version) (off of the Slanted & Enchanted LP)
13. Range Life (off of the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain LP)
14. Date w/ IKEA (off of the Brighten the Corners LP)
15. Debris Slide (off of the Perfect Sound Forever EP)
16. Shoot The Singer (1 Sick Verse) (off of the Watery, Domestic EP)
17. Spit On A Stranger (off of the Terror Twilight LP)
18. Heaven Is a Truck (off of the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain LP)
19. Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17 (off of the Slanted & Enchanted LP)
20. Embassy Row (off of the Brighten the Corners LP)
21. Box Elder (off of the Slay Tracks 1933-1969 EP)
22. Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence (from the No Alternative compilation)
23. Fight This Generation (off of the Wowee Zowee)



~Rae