As an added bonus -- note the double-dipping ahead -- two of the tracks, "Jams Run Free" and "Turquoise Boy" come with a Pavement chaser, fashioning a torus knot out of history. When I first heard Slanted and Enchanted on the day of its release back in 1991, my appetite whetted by Simon Reynolds and the Spin feature on promising new bands from the previous winter, I thought, "Sonic Youth + Velvet Underground," an equation that still applies to Stockton's finest, once you sift through all the other influences. Then I saw Pavement open for Sonic Youth at the Warfield, making the similarities between the two bands even more apparent. Later, Kim, John, and I talked to original Pavement drummer Gary Young as he leaned against a chain-link fence in the Tenderloin, just around the corner from the Warfield, after attending a Sonic Youth show. He had already been fired, but didn't know it yet.
At any rate, it makes sense for Sonic Youth to repay the tribute Pavement provided them. But, since they had already done so on Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, the current reference refers to their own referencing of a band that referenced them. It makes my sun-addled head hurt to contemplate. Sure sounds sweet, though. Have a listen to "Jams Run Free" if you want to hear what I mean.
