So i decided to pop in Wowee Zowee to get my work day moving. I fucking heart this album. And then it occured to me, I think the most pavementy sounding song of all the pavement songs is rattled by the rush, which is awesome. So it's not necessarily to say that Rattled by the Rush is the best song, but the song the most exemplifies the pavement sound. If you have better suggestions, do share.

I'm going with "Shady Lane" or "Summer Babe (Winter Version)"

I think you it the nail on the head pretty much. I thought at first that it should be Summer Babe or something else lo-fi off the 1st album; but really they didn't do the lo-fi thing very long. Rattled by the Rush could be put on the Voyager to explain Pavement to the Universe.

It would sound lo-fi coming off a space-broadcast anyway.

this is a very comforting image, i like the idea of broadcasting pavement from the voyager.

I don't think it's that simple. To me, there are two Pavement sounds, and they are determined by the presence or absence of Gary Young.

"Rattled" is very representative of the post-Young sound, but I think songs like "Summer Babe" are much more representative of the other period and don't sound much like "Rattled" at all. Each are equally pavementy, though.

i know it's not them most pavementy of the pavement songs, but "conduit for sale" is what always comes to mind for me when i think of them.

I would probably go with "Shady Lane" due to the whimsical lyrics and a sound that is smart and simple. To me, that is the essence of Pavement.

Shady Lane = streets are paved with gold...pavement.

box elder, conduit for sale, type slowly

can't stand rattled by the rush

Box Elder, def.

I vote Summer Babe.

Freeze
Don't move
You've been chosen as an extra
In the movie adaptation
Of the sequel to...
Your life

Summer Babe is the song representative of the Pavement I really like. Rattled by the Rush is the song representative of the bulk of the Pavement catalog which I find to be hit or miss.

"Perfect Depth" epitomized the very best things about this band.

I dunno, tough to confine it to one "representative" track, given the changes and variety the band put out from Box Elder through The Hexx.

Yeah.

Still, I could go with "Gold Soundz" or "In the Mouth a Desert" as being pretty broadly representative. "Rattled by the Rush" is fairly "typical", I guess, and specific to Pavement, but probably not the best example of their sound.

I didn't realized people held such hostility for "rattled by the rush". I've always thought that it was one of those perfect songs that doesn't try too hard, is certainly not perfect, and doesn't sound like anything else.
Don't get me wrong, I think pavement had a lot of great songs, plenty of which are mentioned here, and I also realize that the band changed a great deal over the course of its career. If one looks at the totality of what they did and has to distill it into one song, i feel like that's the exact ethos of rattled by the rush. Granted, for those that really didn't get down with post-westing pavement, i understand that you wouldn't agree with me.

Yeah, I about spit out my bartles and james when "rattled by la rush" was pushed as the lead single in the spring of '05. I was way big on "grounded" at the time (still am). Of course, I think WZ is all about "side 2."

this is their most blatently Fall song.

thank you. this is still my favorite pavement album and everyone looks at me like i has three heads when i say it.

i am about to listen to the fall for the first time now thanks to that girl

i forget the name of it, but there is a Fall song that sounds exactly the same as "conduit for sale"

it'll freak you out.

is it called "balmy" or whatever she sent me?

The most Pavementy Pavement song is 'Transport Is Arranged'.