“No, not me, I’m an island of such great complexity…”
Not sure what’s brought this one on. Was bumming around on my guitar the other day, suddently started playing Shady Lane. “What the hell,” I thought, and just did a straight run-through of it. I still knew every word, which I definitely wasn’t expecting It just came so naturally. I’m nowhere near Pavement‘s biggest fan – was too young to get into them during their 90s peak, and only got into them in my mid-to-late teens. But Shady Lane? That was my jam. Always has been. Always will be. I think this video has something to do with it.
This was my introduction to the weirdness of Pavement. There’s Stephen Malkmus singing without a head. There’s some ghosts in the bathroom. There’s a guy riding a bike with a mask covering his mouth. There’s a slideshow of some random shots of a dude with his truck and an airport. If you’re looking for continuity and plot, I’d advise looking away from this one. For what it’s worth, though, the video is pretty much perfect for the song – it’s a beautiful mess of stuff that doesn’t quite make sense. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
Yes, We've Got a Video! 