You're At It

This is an odd way to start an album that is otherwise full of pretty catchy garage rock. It's a plodding song with average hooks, sounding like some sort of early to mid-'90s Touch and Go act (Tar, I'm looking at you). But it does have two things going for it: a great line and a guitar solo by Stephen Malkmus. Yes, artistic purity aside, Robert Pollard wants to sell records, so why not make sure Mr. Malkmus' name is fairly prominent on the back cover and that the song on which he appears leads off the album?

Oh, and that line? In an otherwise bland lyric, Pollard drops this: "This form of suicide’s not quick enough, what else ya got?" Worried you'll miss it? Don't be. He's knows a good thing when he writes it, and he repeats it again and again, with more fervor, as the song comes to a close.

Malkmus' solo is a fine bit of noodling, though nothing about it shouts "Pavementi!" to these ears. All told, it's a decent tune that might have been better buried somewhere on side 2.