Rock Clip of the Week - Pavement, Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence

Wow! What a week! Pavement, the '90s slacker indie rocker band from Stockton, CA and parts East, are reforming! The band is confirmed for three (!) shows in NYC's Central Park a year from now, according to Pitchfork reports, as well as a world tour that's getting planned. Pavement fans around the world must be shitting their pants in excitement.

Pavement guitarist Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg told Rolling Stone:"It’s not gonna be like Echo and the Bunnymen, where they don’t talk to each other, yet they tour every year. I flew in to see them do Ocean Rain at Radio City last year, and it was good, but it wasn’t the same, you know? I don’t think we’ll be that way. We’re not still trying to flog a record or anything. It’ll probably feel like we’re just starting again. It’ll be fun to play these songs."

I sorta missed the Pavement boat - I was in Europe until about '97 and never saw 'em live. And then got deep into Guided By Voices (very, very, very deep). But I have at least four Pavement CDs, including the Slanted deluxe reissue and I love singing some of their classics (Cut Your Hair, Major League, Range Life, etc.). But as my NYC pals would attest, I never connected mentally with Pavement songs. But maybe it's time for a revisit this weekend.

So here's the Waved Rumor Rock Clip of the Week - Pavement doing that cool song from the fine 1993 compilation CD "No Alternative" CD - Unseen Power of the Picket Fence. Follow along with the lyrics. They're all about REM.



"Some bands I like to name check,
And one of them is REM,
Classic songs with a long history
Southern boys just like you and me.
R - E - M
Flashback to 1983,
Chronic Town was their first EP
Later on came Reckoning
Finster's art, and titles to match:
South Central Rain, Don't Go Back To Rockville,
Harbourcoat, Pretty Persuasion,
You were born to be a camera,
Time After Time was my least favourite song,
Time After Time was my least favourite song.
The singer, he had long hair
And the drummer he knew restrait.
And the bass man he had all the right moves
And the guitar player was no saint.
So lets go way back to the ancient times
When there were no 50 states,

And on a hill there stands Sherman
Sherman and his mates.
And they're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia
G-G-G-G-Georgia
They're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia,
marching through Georgia
G-G-G-G-Georgia
and there stands REM

(Aye Sir, Aye Sir, Aye Sir they're coming, Aye Sir, move those wagons, Aye
Sir, Artillery's in place Sir, Aye Sir, Aye Sir, hide it, hide it, Aye
Sir, run, run.)"