Ho ho ho… just in time for the holidays, we’re announcing our sixth Buy Early Get Now. This one is for the deluxe, super-expanded edition of Pavement’s fourth album, Brighten The Corners, subtitled Nicene Creedence Ed.. The track listing has changed subtly since we first announced it, so once you’ve signed up to BEGN, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the new and final contents. The album is still scheduled for November 18 December 9 release.

If you’re not familiar with Buy Early Get Now, the premise is simple: preorder the premium-priced Buy Early Get Now version of the album now from us or from a participating retailer, receive your login at buyearlygetnow.com via email (can take 24-48 hours, especially over the weekend) — and you’ll get:

- Oct 10: an instant stream of the album
- Oct 21: bonus track #1
- Nov 4: bonus track #2
- Nov 18 – street date – pick up the album at your store (or get it in the mail) PLUS an exclusive vinyl bonus LP containing an unreleased concert, AS WELL AS a free poster

The vinyl LP is the long-lost Pavement Live, originally scheduled for release in July 1998 and given the Matador catalog number OLE-324 and the Capitol catalog number 95425. Note: Live was originally scheduled to be released on both vinyl and CD, but it will now ONLY be available on vinyl and ONLY available to BEGN #6 customers. For the avoidance of doubt, Brighten itself will only come out on CD and digital album.

Because it will be difficult for us to manufacture just the right amount of bonus LPs, we reserve the right (a) to close BEGN in the few weeks before street date, or (b) ship participants who sign up late their package late. So get your order in as soon as possible so we can make sure you’re taken care of on street date.

Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed. is a double CD set in a die-cut, embossed slipcase with a thick, 62-page perfect-bound book, like the earlier three Pavement deluxe editions. It contains the fully remastered original album, plus B-sides, compilation tracks, studio outtakes and radio sessions. The new sequence is below — note that it now contains 20 UNRELEASED TRACKS of which 8 ARE UNRELEASED SONGS.

Disc One:

1. Stereo
2. Shady Lane / J Vs. S
3. Transport Is Arranged
4. Date w/ IKEA
5. Old to Begin
6. Type Slowly
7. Embassy Row
8. Blue Hawaiian
9. We Are Underused
10. Passat Dream
11. Starlings of the Slipstream
12. Fin
The original BTC album, remastered. Originally released February, 1997.

* 13. Then (The Hexx)
Originally released as the B-side to Spit On A Stranger (OLE-384-7), May, 1999 — but presented here is the unedited full version, as such previously unreleased. It was also originally planned to be the opening track to BTC

• 14. Beautiful as a Butterfly
• 15. Cataracts
Both are unreleased songs. BTC session outtakes.

16. Westie Can Drum
17. Winner of the
* 18. Birds in the Majic Industry
Originally released as B-sides to the promo EP Stereo (OLE-238-2P), January 1997. “Birds…” appears here in its previously unreleased full length vocal version. The original release was an instrumental edited version.

19. Harness Your Hopes
20. Roll with the Wind
Originally released as B-sides to Spit On A Stranger (OLE-384-2), the first single from Pavement’s final album, Terror Twilight. They are included here since both songs (as well as track 13) were recorded and mixed during the BTC sssions in 1996.

Disc Two:

1. Slowly Typed
2. Cherry Area
3. Wanna Mess You Around
4. No Tan Lines
Originally released as the B-sides to Shady Lane (OLE-266-2), June 1997.

* 5. Then (The Hexx)
* 6. Harness Your Hopes
7. The Killing Moon
* 8. Winner of the
BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997. Tracks 5, 6 and 8 are previously unreleased. “The Killing Moon” appeared on the compilation album What’s Up Matador (OLE-163-2), August 1997. It later also appeared on Major Leagues (OLE-398-2), October 1999.

• 9. Embassy Row Psych Intro
Previously unreleased intro. BTC session outtake.

• 10. Nigel
Previously unreleased song. BTC session outtake.

* 11. Chevy (Old to Begin)
* 12. Roll with the Wind (Roxy)
Previously unreleased mixes of BTC session songs. They feature different vocals and overdubs.

13. Oddity (Clean cover)
Originally appeared on God Save The Clean: A Tribute to the Clean, Flying Nun Records (FNCD409), 1997.

14. Type Slowly (live)
Originally appeared on the compilation album Tibetan Freedom Concert, Grand Royal/Capitol (59110), 1997.

• 15. Neil Hagerty Meets Jon Spencer in a Non-Alcoholic Bar
• 16. Destroy Mater Dei
* 17. It’s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl (Faust cover)
* 18. Maybe Maybe
Recorded live at KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic, February 25, 1997. Tracks 15 and 16 are previously unreleased songs.

* 19. Date w/ IKEA
* 20. Fin
* 21. Grave Architecture
22. The Classical (The Fall cover)
BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session, August 21, 1997. Tracks 19-21 previously unreleased vresions. “The Classical” appeared on Major Leagues (OL-398-2), October, 1999.

• 23. Space Ghost Theme I
• 24. Space Ghost Theme II
Both are unreleased songs recorded live in the WFNX studios (but not broadcast), Boston, February 12, 1997.

The above track listing contains significant differences from the one previously announced. Like the previous three deluxe Pavement editions, this compilation was curated by Jesper Eklow working with the band.

Buy Early Get Now is easy!

1. Preorder the album from us or from a participating retailer (see list at bottom — and ask your local record store, because more will be signing up).

2. You will be emailed a login and password for buyearlygetnow.com (please allow 24-48 hours, possibly more over weekends)

3. Instant stream of album will be live on buyearlygetnow.com on October 10; get bonus tracks #1 and #2 on October 15 and October 21 respectively

4. On November 18, street date, pick up the double CD plus the bonus vinyl LP and a free poster at the store where you preordered it (or get it mailed to you if you ordered from us or a participating mail order customer)

Remember, the vinyl LP will only be available through Buy Early Get Now, and we will manufacturing to order. That means you should get your order in ASAP to ensure you get yours and get it on time.

The first MP3 will be coming very shortly as part of our digital zipfile promo compilation, Intended Play: Fall 2008. Keep your eyes on the Matablog.

Finally, here is the list of confirmed participating retailers… more to come, and you can just click locations on the map on buyearlygetnow.com to find the nearest one to you:

1-2-3-4 Go! Records – Oakland, CA – 1234gorecords.com
Aboveground Records – Edgarton, MA – myspace.com/abovegroundrecs
Atomic Records – Milwaukee, WI – atomic-records.com
Aural Exploits – Santa Monica, CA – auralexploits.com
Bull City Records – Durham, NC – bullcityrecords.com
Criminal Records – Atlanta, GA – criminal.com
Disconnected Records – San Diego, CA – disconnectedrecords.com
Ear Candy Music – Missoula, MT – earcandymusic.nu
East Coast Music & Video – Greenville, NC – http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=82607784
End Of An Ear – Austin, TX – endofanear.com
Exiled Records – Portland, OR – exiledrecords.com
Good Records – Dallas, TX – goodrecords.com
Grimey’s New & Preloved Music – Nashville, TN – grimeys.com
Guestroom Records – Norman, OK – guestroomrecs.com
Hard Boiled – Chicago, IL – hardboiledrecords.com
Insound – New York, NY – insound.com
Jackpot Records – Portland, OR – jackpotrecords.com
Landlocked – Bloomington, IN – landlockedmusic.com
Laurie’s Planet of Sound – Chicago, IL – lauriesplanetofsound.tripod.com
Lou’s Records – Encinitas, CA – lousrecords.com
LUNA Music – Indianapolis, IN – lunamusic.net
Lunchbox Records – Charlotte, NC – myspace.com/lunchbox_records
Madcity Music – Madison, WI – madcitymusic.net
Mod Lang- El Cerrito, CA – modlang.com
M-Theory – San Diego, CA – mtheorymusic.com
Music Saves – Cleveland, OH – musicsaves.com
Parasol – Urbana, IL – parasol.com
Park Ave. – Orlando, FL – parkavecds.com
Permanent Records – Chicago, IL – permanentrecordschicago.com
Siren Records – Doylestown, PA – sirenrecords.com
Sound Fix – Brooklyn, NY – soundfixrecords.com
Square Records – Akron, OH – squarerecordsakron.com
Tonevendor – Gainesville, FL – tonevendor.com
Treehouse Records – Minneapolis, MN – http://www.geocities.com/jardtv/treehouse.html
Twist & Shout – Denver, CO – twistandshout.com
Vintage Vinyl – St. Louis, MO – vintagevinyl.com
Von’s Records – West Lafayette, IN – vonsrecords.blogspot.com
Waiting Room Records – Normal, IL – myspace.com/waitingroomrecords
Waterloo Records – Austin, TX – waterloorecords.com
Wazoo Records – Ann Arbor, MI – wazoorecs.com
Young Ones – Kutztown, PA – myspace.com/youngones
Zzz Records – Des Moines, IA – zzzrecords.com

November 18 will see the release of Mark IV in our series of deluxe reissues of the original Pavement albums. Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed. sports the amazing packaging and deep contents that you’ve seen in our previous three deluxe editions. Like the first three editions, released every 2 years since 2000, this package treats Pavement’s fourth album right, with two CDs containing the entire 1997 record, remastered from the original tapes, plus all the B-sides and compilation tracks from that period, and a plethora of unreleased live and studio tracks as enumerated below. The CDs come in an embossed slipcase with a 62-page perfect-bound book containing photos, ephemera, writings and more. (The record will be out on Domino in Europe and Matador everywhere else.)

Matador will be doing a Buy Early Get Now promotion for this record, and the extras will be very special indeed. We‘ll be announcing that shortly have announced that now , so keep your eyes on this space

DISC ONE

Now see the final, much changed track listing.

Original Album (Remastered) – Tracks 1-12

20. Beautiful as a Butterfly – UNRELEASED SONG – BTC SESSIONS OUTTAKE
21. Cataracts – UNRELEASED SONG – BTC SESSIONS OUTTAKE

The first MP3 will be available soon as part of our Fall Intended Play digital zipfile. Again, keep your eyes on this space.

Today is the first day of my 10 date midwest run with Son Ambulance.  Right now I’m sitting at The Old Mattress Factory or The Matt Bar and Grill as it says on my pint glass – eating some fish tacos and looking at 13 different large screen TVs showing baseball and golf.  

This afternoon I visited Antiquarium Records.   I got a used copy of Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House on CD for $4 and I spoke with Chelsea.

JO’C:  How long have you been working here?

Chelsea:  About 3 months.

JO’C:  What did you have for lunch today?

Chelsea:  A bagel.

JO’C:  What’s your favorite place to eat in Omaha?

Chelsea:  Amsterdam Falafel & Kebab on 50th Street.

JO’C:  That’s the 2nd time I’ve gotten a falafel joint recommendation in my 3 times asking this question of record store employees.  Hmm…. 

What’s your favorite local band?

Chelsea:  Box Elders  (Jeremiah of  Box Elders was hanging out behind the counter with his geetar).

JO’C:  What’s your favorite record of 2008 so far?

Chelsea:  Times New Viking!

JO’C:  Yes, I’ve heard of them somewhere.  No, I’m kidding – I love their record too.  To continue the Matador theme we have going here, what is your favorite Matador band of all time?

Chelsea:  Pavement!

JO’C:  Good choice.  

Anything else you’d like to add for the Matablog readers?

Chelsea:  Keep buying records and going to record stores!

JO’C:  Wise words.

I would like to note that this was a charming store with very nice people and lots of vinyl!  When I told Chelsea I was on Matador and what I was there to do, she remarked that she wasn’t cool enough for Matador – that I should wait for the owner to come back because he was cooler.  I just want Chelsea and everyone else to know…that they ARE cool enough for Matador.  Matador loves you.  And so do I.

xox

JO’C

PS. I’ll be doing some myspace blogging about the shows and such on my, uh, myspace page.

Get Fuzzy, so in touch with the cultural zeitgeist (link courtesy Edward Edwards). Conversely, there’s a recent strip where “Garfield” urinates all over a Truman’s Water tee, but we’re having trouble finding it online.

Clearly, we’re living in puritanical times when a man can be placed on the sex offenders registry for merely attempting to have sex with a bicycle.

After all, who amongst us has not gazed longingly at an old Frejus catalog and thought, “I’d hit that”?

As luck would have it, one day after former Matador warehouse workhorse Mark Ibold was profiled by New York Magazine, the following item appeared over at Badminton Stamps (link swiped from Baseball Think Factory)

For their "21st century" encore, Sonic Youth was joined by their new touring member, bassist Mark Ibold. You may remember the lovable Ibold from his days with Pavement. Sonic Youth and Pavement. Very impressive. In fact, it may even be the coolest the two band turn known to man. While Ron Wood's tenure in The Faces and The Rolling Stones is impressive, for straight indie cred Jerry Harrison's membership in The Modern Lovers and The Talking Heads has long been considered untouchable. In fact, some have claimed his record was as unbreakable as the baseball home run records of yore. And like the imminent crumbling of the round trip titles held by Ruth and Aaron, there can be only one explanation for Ibold's triumphant challenge to Harrison's glory: steroids. That's right; Mark Ibold, the chubby charmster himself, is doping. We all know how tempting, and accessible, steroids are to bassists just a wee bit past their youthful glory days. These musical warriors thirst for greatness, a thirst that can only be quenched with the succor of sweet, sweet 'roid juice. Plus there's no better way to bulk up your rock and roll credibility than by shooting drugs into your ass.

Ahem. Having loitered in the dressing rooms of both Sonic Youth and Pavement on more than one occasion, I can vouch for Mr. Ibold's All Natural status.  But as far as "coolest two band turn known to man" is concerned, where's the love for the Dustdevils? Free Kitten? Wall Drug?  Much the way Barry Bonds' detractors manage to gloss over his days as arguably the game's best all-around player while a svelte member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I truly believe Mark is getting a similar raw deal in this instance. 

SM + Bob Nastanovich, performing a little something called "Trigger Cut", Pitchfork Fest, Sunday, 7/16.

Spiral Stairs, J.G. Ballard, unavailable for comment.

http://www.wow-out.com

That is the official Wow Out! web site.  It says just about everything Gerard says below but in a flashy-interactive do up.  Bookmark it because unlike Sony Music Exec profiles on MySpace, this URL: will deliver as promised.

(BBspot link thanks to Idolator)

As a second installment of Matador's pre-order program (dubbed "Buy Early, Get Now"), we steam full speed ahead with three fan-pandering Pavement gems: a super rare live show, poster, and a very limited 7".

'Wow Out' is simple. When a customer pre-orders "Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition" from a participating store, they will receive information and a unique code via email to download an entire live Pavement show. On November 7th, customers will receive a super limited 7" with previously unreleased versions of "Blackout" and "Extradition" and a ridiculously awesome poster along with their super enhanced edition of Pavement's classic oeuvre.The Download : The download is a show recorded on April 24, 1994 at The Palace in Los Angeles. The set finds the band introducing new songs that eventually made their way on to 'Wowee'. It is a superb recording and according to our exhaustive research, this show is superrare, even among the most ardent of Pavement tape traders and archivists (though if you'd like to challenge this claim, please, knock yourself out)

Pavement at The Palace on April 24, 1994:
Box Elder
Range Life
Brinx Job
Brink of the Clouds
Unfair
Easily Fooled
Best Friend's Arm
She Believes
Silent Kid
Black Out
Summer Babe
Elevate Me Later
Heckler Spray
In the Mouth a Desert
Fight This Generation
Debris Slide

encore:
Two States
Stop Breathing

The Poster :

Remember in the last page of every MAD magazine they had a 'mad fold-in'?  Same idea here only it's a 22" x 28" poster with original artwork by Steve Keene.  All posters will be folded to ensure easy shipping.

The 7":

To make sure we're not becoming too digital, lucky customers will also get a "Wow Out"-only 7" with never before released versions of "Black Out" (a-side) and "Extradition" (b-side). According to Stephen, this version of "Black Out" (which is not the album recording) was recorded around the time 'Crooked Rain' came out. It was originally intended for a compilation curated by Thurston Moore, but that never materialized. Matador's vault plunderers found it on a reel of final mixes from the Random Falls sessions in NYC from early 1994. "Extradition" is a version with different vocals and a slightly different mix from the album version.

The download will be available to the customer within days of purchase and the 7" will ship with the customer's copy of "Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition".

We'll have a complete list of participating stores very, very soon. Until then, if you're a retailer and you'd like to take part, please write us at buyearlygetnow@matadorrecords.com.

Not one, but two mp3s are posted on the website in connection with Pavement's upcoming deluxe release "Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition." The first, for those new to Pavement, is "Rattled By The Rush," the first single off the album way back when, newly remastered and sounding better than ever.

The second, "Heckler Spray/In The Mouth Of A Desert," isn't even on the release! It comes from Pavement's long-lost live album (OLE 170) which will be available as a bonus download to anyone who participates in the Wow-Out pre-order promotion. The performance is from a Pavement show at the Palace in Hollywood on April 24, 1994, and the entire 17 song show will be available to the Wowed-Out, along with a 7" of unreleased takes, and a Mad Magazine-inspired folding poster.

Full details of how you can Wow-Out will be up shortly, along with participating retailers, but for now check out the downloads on Pavement's music page.

The September News Report has been posted. Regular blog readers may find some stuff they already know, but there’s plenty of new tidbits as well.

Not since Mo Levy had John Lennon round to the barn for some beers has a record label been nearly as vault-plundering as Matador’s treatment of Pavement’s classic oeuvre. Well, I suppose Mystic and Cog Sinister come to mind, but as neither have blogs (or crack art deparments), I’ll leave them out of the discussion.

In the rich tradition of our mega-deluxxxe reissues of ‘Slanted & Enchanted’ and ‘Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain’, we’re pleased to announce the November 7 re-release of Pavement’s widely misunderstood 3rd album, ‘Wowee Zowee’, henceforth entitled, ‘Wowee Zowee : Sordid Sentinels Edition’

the full track listing :

Disc 1
01 We Dance
02 Rattled by the Rush
03 Black Out
04 Brinx Job
05 Grounded
06 Serpentine Pad
07 Motion Suggests Itself
08 Father to a Sister Of Thought
09 Extradition
10 Best Friend’s Arm
11 Grave Architecture
12 AT & T
13 Flux = Rad
14 Fight This Generation
15 Kennel District
16 Pueblo
17 Half a Canyon
18 Western Homes
19 Sordid [previously unreleased Wowee Zowee session outtake]
20 Brink of the Clouds [Rattled by the Rush b-side]
21 False Skorpion [Rattled by the Rush b-side]
22 Easily Fooled [Rattled by the Rush b-side]
23 Kris Kraft [Father to a Sister of Thought b-side]
24 Mussle Rock [Father to a Sister of Thought b-side]
25 Give It a Day [Pacific Trim EP]
26 Gangsters & Pranksters [Pacific Trim EP]
27 Saganaw [Pacific Trim EP]
28 I Love Perth [Pacific Trim EP]
29 Sentinel [previously unreleased Wowee Zowee session outtake]

Disc 2
01 Sensitive Euro Man [I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack]
02 Stray Fire [previously unreleased Wowee Zowee session outtake]
03 Fight This Generation [recorded March 3, 1994 at Hilversum, Holland]
04 Easily Fooled [recorded March 3, 1994 at Hilversum, Holland]
05 Soul Food [Wowee Zowee jam session w/Doug Easley on piano]
06 It’s a Hectic World [from Homage to Descendents tribute album]
07 Kris Kraft [BBC in-studio; Steve Lamacq Evening Session, March 15, 1995]
08 Golden Boys/Serpentine Pad [BBC in-studio; Steve Lamacq Evening Session, March 15, 1995]
09 Painted Soldiers [BBC in-studio; Steve Lamacq Evening Session, March 15, 1995]
10 I Love Perth [BBC in-studio; Steve Lamacq Evening Session, March 15, 1995]
11 Dancing With the Elders [from Medusa Cyclone/Pavement split 7"]
12 Half a Canyon [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
13 Best Friend’s Arm [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
14 Brink of the Clouds/Candylad [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
15 Unfair [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
16 Eaily Fooled [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
17 Heaven Is a Truck [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
18 Box Elder [live; Wireless JJJ Radio, Australia, July 7, 1994]
19 No More Kings [from Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks comp]
20 Painted Soldiers [from Kids in the Hall in Brain Candy soundtrack]
21 We Dance (alternate mix) [previously unreleased Wowee Zowee session outtake]

The sort of lavish, jaw-dropping packaging that you’ve come to expect from our previous Pavement reissues? We’re on it. Cryptic hints of a band reunion that may or may not occur this decade? You can get them somewhere else, we’re not trading in such conjecture. But there’s more than enough meat to chew on here, and I for one am looking forward to a nifty trip down memory lane to the day in 1996 when Larry Clark suggested (with a straight face) that Tom Surgal “should be put in jail” for the “Rattled By The Rush” video.

Tom of course, had the last laugh. He wasn’t the one who directed “Bully”.