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Splitsville

Great bands come and go at quite regular intervals. We all herald the new rise of great talent, but when the inevitable split comes along due to "artistic differences", it's often a bitch picking up the pieces. SPLITSVILLE! talks about three unique talents of the 1990s, PAVEMENT, BEN FOLDS FIVE, and THE AFGHAN WHIGS. Read on about their legacies, and find out what the future possibly holds.

Tekst: Norbert Pek

Publicatiedatum: 01 maart 2001

In 'High Fidelity', main character Rob Fleming is always making Top Five lists and is especially occupied with the one about his worst break-ups. That one was about the women in his life, but he just as well could have made a list containing the worst break-ups from his favourite bands. For me, there recently have been three break-ups that would have easily made it onto my list. First Pavement, some months later Ben Folds Five, and just recently the Afghan Whigs. Of course, a lot of people will keep on playing their records, but still it is sad. Time to bring an ode to these three bands, about why they still are so special: the striking lyrics, the fuss about the last albums, and a look into the future that may shed some light in this darkness.

P A V E M E N T

Why so special? Compare a Pavement song to the Leaning Tower of Pisa: very oblique, but it will never fall, and people like it because it doesnÕt stand straight. Pavement sound playful and clattering, they've had influence on a lot of bands through the years, and there were even some obvious Pavement rip-offs, to the point of not even being flattering anymore. Their 1992 debut album 'Slanted and Enchanted' gained a lot of appreciation by both press and audience. With the subsequent release of 'Crooked Rain Crooked Rain' two years later they had already acquired a leading role in the underground music scene. They never went mainsteam, despite successes of singles like 'Cut Your Hair' and 'Range Life' (with the video in which singer Stephen Malkmus walks backwards through the crowd at the Dutch Lowlands festival). Some years later they even had a modest English Top 40 hit single with 'Shady Lane', after some promotion by Blur's Damon Albarn, who referred to Pavement as the biggest influence on their self-titled album. Pavement kept on making albums ('Wowee Zowee' and 'Brighten the Corners') and kept on giving energetic live concerts with unconditional bouncers like 'Stereo', 'Unfair', and 'Summer Babe'. After their final album 'Terror Twilight' there were some rumours about the band getting ready to quit; rumours that were initially denied (like during their last concert in the Netherlands), but eventually confirmed (and that was only after repeated inquiries by the press and the news that frontman Stephen Malkmus was actually working on a solo album).

Lyrics? Extraordinary for sure. Just like the Guided By Voices lyrics, they seem very unbalanced, and you can't imagine how anyone can sort the words in this cryptic way. Is he singing about something, or is it just nonsense (Ever really listened to the words on e.g. 'Cut Your Hair' or 'Blue Hawaiian'?). The most famous lines are the attack on the Smashing Pumpkins because Pavement blamed them for being kicked out of the Lollapalooza tour. From 'Range Life': "Out on tour with Smashing Pumpkins/Nature kids, and they don't have no function/I don't understand what they mean/And I don't really give a fuck." Take that, Billy.

The last album? 'Terror Twilight' was the most tidy and decent album Pavement ever made. Not everyone was very pleased about it. Maybe it was time for the band to do something different, time to take off the cuffs they felt tightening during the last years. The album contains some nice ballads like opening track 'Spit on a Stranger' and 'Major Leagues', the second single. The first single in Europe was 'Carrot Rope', with a low-budget video, as the band members jumped around in yellow raincoats and climbed on roofs. A striking example of the indifference they always seem to express. Still, 'Terror Twilight' wasn't the best thing they ever did. But that is of course compared to classics like previous records 'Crooked Rain Crooked Rain' and 'Brighten The Corners'.

Sing along? Well, Stephen Malkmus will keep on singing for sure. Together with his leading band the Jicks, he just released his first untitled solo album, which is a good sign for the future. The striking voice will obviously make you think of Pavement forever, but this is really a Stephen Malkmus product. The song 'Jennifer and the Ess-dog' is brillant to start with. He had already given some solo shows some years ago, and let's hope he will keep on doing that. Really someone we can't miss in the music scene.

B E N  F O L D S  F I V E

Why so special? Well, first of all, they were with three people, not five. And they used the piano instead of the guitar, played very energetically by Ben Folds himself. The other members were bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jesse. Their self-titled debut album can be considered as one of the best debuts ever, with the funny 'Underground' as a teaser of the rules in the underground music scene. And, with 'The Last Polka' and 'Julianne', there were some instruments that surely must have been crushed during the making of the piano-banging and clattering sounds. The record also had very fragile songs like 'Alice Childress' and the beautiful 'Best Imitation of Myself'. In between the songs you could hear some band members talk or scream in the studio, something that hardly returned on the later albums. The real commercial succes came with 'Whatever and Ever Amen' and their biggest hit so far: 'Brick'. But the funniest song on the album was 'Song for the Dumped', about a break-up, with the refrain "give me my money back you bitch". After the release of a rarities collection ('Naked Baby Photos'), BFF came with their most mature album ever: 'The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner', which also turned out to be their last album. Still the Ben Folds Five format: some up-tempo, some ballads, and some songs in between. At the end of 2000, they decided to quit because the band members lived too far from each other and couldn't come together anymore. This was hinted at on 'Don't Change Your Plans: "All I know is I got to be/Where my heart says I ought to be/It often makes no sense/In fact I never understand these things I feel."

Lyrics? Quite a contrast. Sometimes so very funny and sometimes so very personal. Especially the personal lyrics are very honest and recognizable: "I feel like a quote out of context/Witholding the rest/So I can be for you/What you want to see" on 'The Best Imitation of Myself', "Saw you last night/Dance by the light of the moon/Stars in your eyes/Free from the life that you knew" on 'Magic', and "I don't believe in God so I can't be saved/All alone as I've learned to be In this mess I have made" on 'Mess'. And like Michael Stipe, Folds is singing it with a lot of straightforward emotion in his voice. But there's light in this darkness. Like the song 'One Angry Dwarf and 2000 Solemn Faces', in which he gets back at the people who teased him at school when he was young, telling them he is big now, and they are nothing at all ("If you really wanna see me/Check the papers and the TV") or one of the latest singles 'Army' ("Well I thought about the Army?Dad said 'Son, you're fucking high'"). The lyrics really add something to the music.

The last album? Fans from the beginning started to shout that the album was overcomposed and the crazy thing they liked so much completely disappeared. My guess is they should have listened better, because it's the best thing BFF has ever done. The songs are more bombastic and very mature. They really perfectioned and finished the songs. But it is known that this kind of composing can raise a lot of protest (hello Blur, Guided By Voices, dEUS, and Caesar). 'The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner' is a dignified way to end a beautiful musical career.

Sing along? The end of Ben Folds Five isn't the end of Ben Folds himself. In 1998, he already released his first solo album 'Volume 1' under the name of Fear Of Pop. Not a large success, though. The album contained a song with the voice of Mr. William Shatner AKA Captain Kirk. Not something you hear every day. And right now he is working on a new solo album. We'll keep you informed on KindaMuzik.

T H E  A F G H A N  W H I G S

Why so special? The other albums are very good as well, but their 1993 release 'Gentlemen' just had something special. It was a personal look into the life and problems of singer Greg Dulli. Sometimes a bit too personal, he proclaimed, but it was just the thing that made this guitar band different from all the others. Dulli screams his soul out, on the album and on stage, and 'Gentlemen' was also the guarantee for a lot of overwhelming live shows at a lot of major festivals. They even scored some underground hits with songs like 'Gentlemen' and 'Debonair'. The album before that ('Congregation') had already been a forerunner of what could be expected within a few years with 'Conjure Me' and 'Miles Iz Ded on It', and the last one was only the bonus track. But after 'Gentlemen', the Whigs could never make it to the level they had already reached. 'Black Love' was a dark album indeed. Less personal, also according to Dulli, but still very intense. Their latest album '1965' went on where 'Black Love' had already reached out for: the integration of soul and r&b in the songs. The music became more erotic and mysterious. But after 14 years and six albums, the Afghan Whigs have disbanded. Greg Dulli says that the geographical distance, which for so long kept the band fresh, began to work against them. Dulli lives in Los Angeles, bassist John Curley and drummer Michael Horrigan in Cincinnati, and guitarist Rick McCollum in Minneapolis.

Lyrics? Let's just stick to the 'Gentlemen' album, because this is really the one where the lyrics pop out. Greg Dulli said that he sometimes felt naked on stage singing these things for a large audience. Like the song 'Debonair' about his conscience: "And it don't bleed/And it don't breathe/It's locked its jaws/And now its swallowing/It's in our heart/It's in our head/It's in our love baby/It's in our bed." Sometimes he sees himself as the victim, sometimes he's the offender. But to understand the impact of these lyrics you have to listen to it yourelf. Let's finish with the adament introduction Dulli gives about himself in 'Be Sweet': "Ladies let me tell you about myself/ I've got a dick for a brain and my brain is gonna sell my ass to you/Now I'm OK, but in time I'll find out I'm stuck/'Cause she wants love and I still want to fuck", developing into one of the best guitar solos ever.

The last album? A lot of people missed the guitar version of the Afghan Whigs on the last album '1965'. It was more soul and r&b than guitar music. There was even a constant returning female voice to give it an extra dimension. The live shows weren't as crowded as in the heyday of the Whigs, and the sale of the album wasn't the success they hoped for. Still, it wasn't a bad album at all. On the contrary: It was quite original. But it is hard to do that after something as legendary as 'Gentlemen'.

Sing along? Greg Dulli has had a side project for some years, the Twilight Singers, and last year they released the surprising album 'Twilight As Played by the Twilight Singers', showing us there is life after the Whigs for sure. But unfortunately only Dulli has announced his intention to continue making records. He is currently recording the follow up to the Twilight Singers' debut album.

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