Brighten the Corners

Brighten the Corners is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released in 1997. All songs were written by lead singer Stephen Malkmus, apart from Scott Kannberg's "Date with Ikea" and "Passat Dream". After their last release, Wowee Zowee, Pavement’s drummer, Bob Nastanovich, said of this album, “We were going to go into people’s rooms and brighten their corners with music.”

Brighten the Corners
Studio album by Pavement
Released	February 11, 1997
Recorded	July 15–30, 1996
Studio	Piedmont Triad Studio[1]
Genre	Indie rock
Length	46:10
Label	Matador Records/Capitol Records (original 1997 US release) Matador Records (1999 US reissue) Domino Recording Company (UK) Rough Trade Records (Germany) Flying Nun Records (New Zealand)
Producer	Pavement Bryce Goggin Mitch Easter
Pavement chronology
Pacific Trim (1996) Brighten the Corners (1997) Shady Lane (1997)
Singles from Brighten the Corners
"Stereo" Released: January 27, 1997 "Shady Lane" Released: June 10, 1997

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	A[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B[5]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
NME	6/10[7]
Pitchfork	8.6/10[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
Spin	8/10[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Stephen Malkmus, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Stereo"		3:07
2.	"Shady Lane / J vs. S"		3:50
3.	"Transport Is Arranged"		3:52
4.	"Date w/ IKEA"	Scott Kannberg	2:39
5.	"Old to Begin"		3:22
6.	"Type Slowly"		5:20
7.	"Embassy Row"		3:51
8.	"Blue Hawaiian"		3:33
9.	"We Are Underused"		4:12
10.	"Passat Dream"	Scott Kannberg	3:51
11.	"Starlings of the Slipstream"		3:08
12.	"Fin" (Listed as "Infinite Spark" on non-US pressings)		5:24
Total length:			46:10

Personnel

• Stephen Malkmus – vocals, guitar
• Bob Nastanovich – percussion, vocals
• Scott Kannberg – vocals, guitar
• Steve West – drums, percussion
• Mark Ibold – bass
• Mitch Easter – engineer, mixing
• Bryce Goggin – engineer, mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12]	64
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13]	50
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14]	38
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15]	56
UK Albums (OCC)[16]	27
US Billboard 200[17]	70

Singles

Title	Year	Peak position
		UK [18]
"Stereo"	1997	48
"Shady Lane"		40

Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition

Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition
Compilation album by Pavement
Released	December 9, 2008
Recorded	July 15, 1996 to August 21, 1997
Genre	Indie rock
Length	154:37
Label	Matador
Pavement chronology
Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition (2006) Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition (2008) Live Europaturnén MCMXCVII (2008)

Matador Records released an expanded two-CD edition of the album under the title Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition on December 9, 2008.[19] It contains the band's fourth album, Brighten the Corners (1997), in its entirety, as well as 32 of the band's other songs from that era, 18 of which were previously unreleased. The initial pre-order offer from Matador Records also included the band's previously unreleased live album, Live Europaturnén MCMXCVII, on 12" vinyl.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	92/100[20]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The A.V. Club	B[21]
Blender	[22]
The Boston Phoenix	[23]
Entertainment Weekly	A[24]
Mojo	[25]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[26]
PopMatters	9/10[27]
Q	[28]
Rolling Stone	[29]
Uncut	[30]

Disc one

Brighten the Corners

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"

Brighten The Corners outtakes

13. "And Then (The Hexx)" (Originally released as the b-side to "Spit on a Stranger" (OLE-384-7) in May 1999, but presented here is the unedited full version, previously unreleased. It was initially planned to be the opening track to Brighten the Corners.)
14. "Beautiful as a Butterfly"
15. "Cataracts"

Stereo single

16. "Westie Can Drum"
17. "Winner of the"
18. "Birds in the Majic Industry" (previously unreleased full length vocal version)

Spit on a Stranger single (included here since both were recorded and mixed during Brighten the Corners sessions)

19. "Harness Your Hopes"
20. "Roll with the Wind"

Disc two

Shady Lane single

1. "Slowly Typed"
2. "Cherry Area"
3. "Wanna Mess You Around"
4. "No Tan Lines"

BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997

5. "And Then (The Hexx)" (previously unreleased)
6. "Harness Your Hopes" (previously unreleased)
7. "The Killing Moon" (released on Major Leagues EP)
8. "Winner of the" (previously unreleased)

Brighten The Corners outtakes

9. "Embassy Row Psych Intro" (previously unreleased)
10. "Nigel" (previously unreleased)
11. "Chevy (Old to Begin)" (previously unreleased mix)
12. "Roll with the Wind (Roxy)" (previously unreleased mix)

God Save The Clean: A Tribute to the Clean, Flying Nun Records compilation

13. "Odditty"

Tibetan Freedom Concert compilation

14. "Type Slowly" (live)

KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic, February 25, 1997

15. "Neil Hagerty Meets Jon Spencer in a Non-Alcoholic Bar" (previously unreleased)
16. "Destroy Mater Dei" (previously unreleased)
17. "It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl"
18. "Maybe Maybe"

BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session, August 21, 1997

19. "Date w/ IKEA" (previously unreleased)
20. "Fin" (previously unreleased)
21. "Grave Architecture" (previously unreleased)
22. "The Classical" (released on Major Leagues EP)

WFNX Studios, February 12, 1997

23. "Space Ghost Theme I" (previously unreleased)
24. "Space Ghost Theme II" (previously unreleased)

References

1. "Pavement – Brighten the Corners". Discogs. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Brighten the Corners – Pavement". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
3. Kot, Greg (February 14, 1997). "Pavement: Brighten the Corners (Matador)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
4. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Pavement: Brighten the Corners". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
5. Browne, David (February 21, 1997). "Brighten the Corners". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
6. Cromelin, Richard (February 9, 1997). "Pavement 'Brighten the Corners,' Matador/Capitol". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
7. Moody, Paul (February 8, 1997). "Pavement – Brighten The Corners". NME. Archived from the original on October 12, 2000. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
8. Schreiber, Ryan. "Pavement: Brighten the Corners". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 24, 2001. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
9. Brackett, Nathan (February 20, 1997). "Pavement: Brighten the Corners". Rolling Stone. p. 68.
10. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Pavement". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 624–25. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
11. Sutton, Terri (March 1997). "Pavement: Brighten the Corners". Spin. Vol. 12 no. 12. p. 99. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
12. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
13. "Pavement – Brighten The Corners". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
14. "Pavement – Brighten The Corners". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
15. "Pavement – Brighten The Corners". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
17. "Pavement Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
18. "Chart Log UK: Rodney P. – The Pussycat Dolls". zobbel.de. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
19. Thompson, Paul (23 October 2008). "Pavement's Brighten the Corners Reissue Delayed". Archived from the original on 2008-10-25.
20. "Reviews for Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition by Pavement". Metacritic. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
21. Leibold, Don (December 8, 2008). "Pavement: Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
22. "Pavement: Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". Blender. No. 76. December 2008 – January 2009. p. 67.
23. Lundy, Zeth (December 2, 2008). "Pavement | Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
24. Greenblatt, Leah (December 3, 2008). "Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
25. "Pavement: Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". Mojo. No. 183. February 2009. p. 122.
26. Berman, Stuart (December 10, 2008). "Pavement: Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed.". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
27. Fiander, Matthew (December 7, 2008). "Pavement: Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". PopMatters. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
28. "Pavement: Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". Q. No. 271. February 2009. p. 124.
29. Hoard, Christian (December 11, 2008). "Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
30. "Pavement: Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition". Uncut. No. 141. February 2009. p. 89.