Pavement: Slow Century

I'm a Pavement fan. They were one of my very favourite bands of the 1990s. This double DVD package is a tribute and a testament to one of the greatest alternative rock bands of the last twenty years. It includes Lance Bangs documentary on the band, plus all their videos, commentaries by the band, and by the directors, who include Bangs and Spike "Being John Malkovich" Jonze, and special guests Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth. There are also two live gigs, one recorded in Seattle, the other in Manchester, both from 1999 not long before the band disbanded. Altogether it makes a fabulous memento for Pavement fans. Whether a disinterested non-fan will enjoy it anywhere near as much as one of the converted is very difficult for me to judge. I think they will probably enjoy the music but as they don't know the personalities of the band maybe it'll get a bit tedious, I don't know. But it's a moot point, this is obviously aimed at fans, and they will love it, as it is one of the better music DVDs available on the market. Bangs' documentary is consistently interesting, and follows the band from its obscure indie beginnings in the late 80s until its demise around ten years later. Pavement's working life as a band coincided with the mainstream explosion of alternative rock in the early to mid 1990s, spearheaded by Nirvana. Pavement themselves, though they had, and continue to have, a large cult following never really crossed over into MTV/Top 40 land, but neither did Sebadoh, Royal Trux, Dinosaur Jr. or Godfathers of the American indie scene Sonic Youth. Some of these bands still exist, some don't, but their music is out there waiting to be discovered by generations to come, just like previous music fans have rediscovered The Velvet Underground, Big Star, Television, Wire, The Buzzcocks and Pere Ubu, to name a few. Every now and again the mainstream pop audience flirts with the underground, then forgets about it, but these kinds of bands are ALWAYS there, and always will be. I hope that some young kid dissatisfied with the blandness and cynical marketing of mainstream pop and rock will stumble across 'The Slow Century' and discover Pavement's amazing debut album 'Slanted And Enchanted' (recently re-released), and then maybe explore some of the bands influences and inspirations, like those named above, or The Fall or Echo and The Bunnymen (who they cover on the live disc) or their pals The 3Ds. Maybe I'm just dreaming... Anyway, this is a fantastic DVD. An essential purchase to anyone who is remotely interested in the band, and also highly recommended to anyone exploring the history and roots of alternative rock, especially those who have recently had their ears opened by The Strokes, The White Stripes, BRMC et al.

Slow Century is about Pavement. You should probably own every album(or its equivalent in EPs and imports or whatever) before attempting to successfully appreciate Slow Century. As a documentary intended for hardcore Pavement fans, I couldn't imagine anyone other than a fan reading this and consequently shelling out twenty-five to take it home anyway. And so I am going to highly recommend it. The documentary creates a pitch perfect representation of everything i remember about the early nineties indie darlings. Lance Bangs, spawn of Spike Jonze, who busies himself almost exclusively with rockumentaries like this one, works efficiently, compiling the little footage of the band (the surviving recordings are akin to the era, mostly low-fi and awkwardly shot). The resulting material is merely filtered through with maximum production and minimal narration, relying mostly on band member anecdotes and interviews. An altogether solid documentary, Slow Century brings back the indie scene nostalgia and ironic, slacker sincerity unique to Pavement. The segments with Malkmus in a sauna discussing Gary Young's propensity to throw things, are by themselves fascinating to any fan. The DVD version is two discs; the documentary, all thirteen music videos (some with alternate-versions) and selected footage of two live performances (Manchester and Seattle).

I love Pavement. They are absolutely one of my favorite bands. This DVD, though, is just simply awful. The videos are good to have, and for that I'm grateful. But the documentary is so boring and shot so poorly. The live concert sound is terrible and doesn't do Pavement justice at all.

I'm also not a big fan of back-in-the-day documentaries, I guess. I like seeing things as they unfold, not watch people reminisce about the past. This band, more than any other, deserves better.

Rate this TEN for Pavement, and MINUS ONE for the documentary. Hence, a four.

This is an easy picture to critique. It's not well shot. It's not well edited. And on DVD, it's difficult to navigate the menu.

That said, this is essential viewing for anyone interested in alternative rock. Pavement was the quintessential slacker band, bar none. SLOW CENTURY captures them in all their unadorned glory, boldly sacrificing tuning and practice for their special brand of magic. The live shows are somewhat chaotic as a result, but anyone familiar with the band would expect no less.

Of course, you also get a collection of Pavement music videos, which offer unpretentious fun, start to finish.

In an era of antiseptic rock and American Idol posturing, these guys are the real thing.