There comes a time in every person’s life when he or she must ask the question: What is a Jick?
Well, anyone who was at the Stephen Malkmus show this past weekend in Portland would know that the Jicks are the name of Malkmus’ new band. His old band, you may recall, was a little indie-rock outfit named Pavement — but you sure wouldn’t have known it from watching the show.
Not only was there absolutely no reference to the former kings of slacker-rock, but Malkmus and the Jicks played nary a Pavement song throughout the course of the evening. This was a bit of a surprise, as Malkmus has only one solo album under his belt (last year’s absolutely phenomenal “Stephen Malkmus”) and it seemed natural for the guy to pad out his set with a few classics from years past.
To top this off, the Jicks played only five songs from “Stephen Malkmus”! So here’s the scoreboard: About 20 songs played, five old solo songs and no Pavement.
This left the unbelievably receptive crowd (you could have heard a pin drop in the Crystal Ballroom) to witness the debut of about 15 new songs that Malkmus promised would be released in the fall.
Ordinarily, I’d be pretty disappointed if the singer from one of my favorite bands of all time spent the vast majority of a concert playing unfamiliar tunes. However, I’d like to go on record here and state that the new material was absolutely thrilling. Every song managed to be catchy, well-played, emotional, and sported Malkmus’ trademark sense of humor. Surprisingly, nearly every tune sported an extended instrumental section in the middle. Even more surprisingly, I learned that ol’ Steve sure can shred.

Simply put, a Jicks show is good rock ‘n’ roll.
Speaking of good rock ‘n’ roll, Weezer sure has been busy the past few months, juggling a world tour with the simultaneous recording of their fourth album, “Maladroit,” the follow-up to last year’s highly successful “Green Album.” In fact, Internet-savvy Weezer fans have been in heaven for the past few months, as the band has been posting mp3s of its latest creations on its Web site, asking fans for feedback and suggestions.
Unfortunately, the evil goons at Weezer’s record company seem to have a problem with such benevolence and have forced the band to shut down the audio section of the site. In fact, a statement on the site reveals that “now it seems that Interscope wants to claim ownership and take possession of the Maladroit master tapes that Weezer created, produced and paid for independent of any record company aid. It’s going to be difficult for them to turn over the tapes which they worked so hard on.”
Fans of any type of good music should be in ecstatic shock over the lineup of next month’s Coachella festival in Indio, California. Spread out over April 27 and 28, the festival features a jaw-dropping array of artists, most notably Bjork, Oasis, the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, Foo Fighters, Cake, and the Strokes. And that’s just the headliners. I’m personally most excited for lesser-known fare, such as the Charlatans UK, the Mars Volta, Cornershop, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Mos Def. The list goes on and on, people.
The one drawback to the Coachella festival is that it costs about $125 to get in for the two days, but I’m telling you, if I have to donate a kidney or two to make it happen, I’ll die a happy death.
Finally, last week I reported that Eddie Vedder has been sporting a mohawk. Well, it’s come to my attention this week that Billy Corgan now has a sizable mustache (in addition to his always-shaved head). I don’t know what has gotten into alternative-icons of the 1990s lately, but if I see Scott Weiland with dreadlocks then I’ll venture to say that the apocalypse can’t be far off. Have a super spring break.