Equus: Pavement - Here (17 January 1993)

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I have to confess that I was torn over whether to include Here here*. I  thought the verses were terrific, constructed as they are from a gorgeous lo-fi melody, but whenever Stephen Malkmus strayed away from them, I became less certain. Ultimately, I recognised that Here is one of the greatest songs I've heard about disappointment. It starts by being rooted in the personal with  Malkmus singing about being dressed for success, though that very quickly flips into him being all dressed up with nowhere to go. From dashed professional hopes, the track glides through romantic disappointment and a host of other anti-climaxes which are represented by analogies and imagery which seemed strained to me when I first heard them i.e. portraits of minions and slaves etc. But increasingly, I saw in their monotonous lives, in the unsold Spanish candles and final quarters fruitlessly spent, the metaphors for dashed dreams, wasted opportunities, tomorrows which never come and a need to make the best out of bad circumstances. With typical contrarianism, Malkmus declares at the end of the track that this is the best time, perhaps indicating that the default position of humanity is “mustn’t grumble.”

*I’ve clearly been doing this blog long enough now to lazily contradict myself given that 5 years ago, 

I called Here as the standout track on Slanted and Enchanted.

Lyrics copyright of their authors.

Video courtesy of I.Zurutuza.