Welcome to my interview with
Stephen Malkmus – lead singer and founder of the classic indie-rock band
Pavement. My favorite bands in 1993 were Pavement, Sebadoh and Sugar. Bob Nastanovich taunted me with a set list written on a small paper plate after Pavement's performance at Lollapalooza in Indianapolis in '95, but didn't hook me up. Who knew that I'd end up playing in a fantasy hoops league with a couple members of the band 13 years later? I'm just glad I didn't get hit with a
rock-filled mud cake while I was standing near the stage.
I was pretty stoked (and surprised) to be invited into Malkmus' league this year. He commissions the league and is one of those guys who will always field a strong fantasy team, regardless of the sport. He's smart, committed, does his research and is active on the waiver wire. Regardless of what else you have going on, those ingredients are the start to a recipe for fantasy success. I'm dealing with some major injury woes and probably don't have the horses to win this thing, but Malkmus' team is coming on, giving him a legitimate shot at a championship.
Our league is of the 12-team, nine-category variety with daily lineups and owners include several more names familiar to the indie-rock masses. I hope to post interviews with Bob, Janet and Joanna from the Jicks, Doug Martsch and a few others throughout the season.
20 questions with Stephen Malkmus1. How long have you played fantasy hoops and how many leagues are you in? Do you also play baseball and football?Stephen Malkmus: Just two hoops leagues that I've been in for about five years or so. The first year we played just five categories – and
Allen Iverson was the king of five-cat!!! I also remember
Brevin Knight being quite the stud in five-cat as well. As for fantasy, I play all three sports. It's a tossup between baseball and B-ball for me. Different fish. Baseball is all about the roto, basketball is all about head-to-head match ups...
Steve Alexander: That might be the first and last time we've heard the words 'Brevin' and 'stud' in the same sentence. Thanks.
2. What is your team name and why? SM: It was initially "Widespread Patrick," but I changed it to "Widespread Perkins" after the season started because one of the other owners in the league displayed some HUGE man-love for
Kendrick Perkins. I think he is in love with him so I gave him something to fantasize about...It's essentially a tribute/reference to the jam band,
Widespread Panic.
3. How do you keep up with your leagues/setting lineups when you're on tour? Has touring ever cost you a championship? SM: Last year (or was it the year before?) I picked up
Ron Artest (after he decided to play again in March) on my laptop while standing in line at the X-ray machine in the security area at the airport. I later found out I beat a guy to Artest by five minutes - that is dedication!!!!!
4. How does your family feel about your fantasy sports addiction? I've been married for 18 years - Once we got the first five fantasy-sports filled years out of the way it was all gravy. SM: My wife gets pissed when I'm on the waiver wire or live scoring on the computer when I'm cooking dinner...but it's better than internet porn, right??? - especially during dinner!
SA: Who are we to say that dinner and internet porn don't mix?
5. You and many of the league members are in Portland. Who is your all-time favorite Trailblazer and why? (mine is Clyde the Glide).SM: Without a doubt--Jeff Lamp. He played for UVA right before I got there. He RULED!
SA: I think I saw Lamp and the Virginia Cavaliers play in the 1981 Sweet Sixteen with Ralph Sampson in Market Square Arena. Lamp was drafted in the first round (15th overall) by the Blazers in 1981.
6. Do you draft with your head or your heart? Is it better to have a bad team full of guys you like to root for, or would you rather own players you don't care about and win at all costs? SM: Heart, within reason. I'm not a fan of guys who get hurt all the time, except
Caron Butler. I don't think I have a (stud) guy on my team I can't root for-- except
Shawn Marion in one league. Fact is there are mostly cool dudes in the NBA. Off the top of my head I'd skip Melo, Baron, Garnett, Artest, Yao, Kobe, Pau, Boozer,
Vince Carter, Marion,
Brad Miller,
Zach Randolph and
Jason Kidd if at all possible. Those cats are not my bag.
7. Who is consistently the savviest owner in our league? Who are the people to beat in this league every year? SM: It's hard to say. Matt Hogan knows his hoops, Billy Slater has a roto mindset, cold - very math. There is a method to Sam Coomes' madness. Joanna Bolme is always in the playoffs, give Dimitri Dziensuwski
LeBron James and he won't screw it up. Maybe Dimitri is the best, but, like Joanna, he's not out to win at all costs - not so busy on the wire, maxing games played, etc. We all have our blind spots, that's for sure.
8. What player did you draft that you're most disappointed with? Will you ever draft him again? SM: I did fine in the early rounds –
Josh Smith,
Al Jefferson,
Rashard Lewis,
Jason Richardson (so-so),
Andris Biedrins,
Ben Gordon,
David Lee – But then I wimped out on the rookie PGs (I sorta decided to punt dimes when they irrationally flew off the board). I guess
Beno Udrih was pretty damn bad in retrospect.
9. Will Tyrus Thomas or Andrea Bargnani ever become reliable fantasy studs? SM: Bargnani has more rope, more hope in Toronto. Hard to get a handle on Chicago's rotation, let alone Tyrus. I'm pulling for Tyrus though - I really want him to make it.
10. What is your dream word to post in a game of Scrabble? Or better yet, do you recall the one you're most proud of? SM: It's still when I spelled "chutzpahs" for a double-double word Bingo! That was deep.
Welcome to my interview with
Stephen Malkmus – lead singer and founder of the classic indie-rock band
Pavement. My favorite bands in 1993 were Pavement, Sebadoh and Sugar. Bob Nastanovich taunted me with a set list written on a small paper plate after Pavement's performance at Lollapalooza in Indianapolis in '95, but didn't hook me up. Who knew that I'd end up playing in a fantasy hoops league with a couple members of the band 13 years later? I'm just glad I didn't get hit with a
rock-filled mud cake while I was standing near the stage.
I was pretty stoked (and surprised) to be invited into Malkmus' league this year. He commissions the league and is one of those guys who will always field a strong fantasy team, regardless of the sport. He's smart, committed, does his research and is active on the waiver wire. Regardless of what else you have going on, those ingredients are the start to a recipe for fantasy success. I'm dealing with some major injury woes and probably don't have the horses to win this thing, but Malkmus' team is coming on, giving him a legitimate shot at a championship.
Our league is of the 12-team, nine-category variety with daily lineups and owners include several more names familiar to the indie-rock masses. I hope to post interviews with Bob, Janet and Joanna from the Jicks, Doug Martsch and a few others throughout the season.
20 questions with Stephen Malkmus1. How long have you played fantasy hoops and how many leagues are you in? Do you also play baseball and football?Stephen Malkmus: Just two hoops leagues that I've been in for about five years or so. The first year we played just five categories – and
Allen Iverson was the king of five-cat!!! I also remember
Brevin Knight being quite the stud in five-cat as well. As for fantasy, I play all three sports. It's a tossup between baseball and B-ball for me. Different fish. Baseball is all about the roto, basketball is all about head-to-head match ups...
Steve Alexander: That might be the first and last time we've heard the words 'Brevin' and 'stud' in the same sentence. Thanks.
2. What is your team name and why? SM: It was initially "Widespread Patrick," but I changed it to "Widespread Perkins" after the season started because one of the other owners in the league displayed some HUGE man-love for
Kendrick Perkins. I think he is in love with him so I gave him something to fantasize about...It's essentially a tribute/reference to the jam band,
Widespread Panic.
3. How do you keep up with your leagues/setting lineups when you're on tour? Has touring ever cost you a championship? SM: Last year (or was it the year before?) I picked up
Ron Artest (after he decided to play again in March) on my laptop while standing in line at the X-ray machine in the security area at the airport. I later found out I beat a guy to Artest by five minutes - that is dedication!!!!!
4. How does your family feel about your fantasy sports addiction? I've been married for 18 years - Once we got the first five fantasy-sports filled years out of the way it was all gravy. SM: My wife gets pissed when I'm on the waiver wire or live scoring on the computer when I'm cooking dinner...but it's better than internet porn, right??? - especially during dinner!
SA: Who are we to say that dinner and internet porn don't mix?
5. You and many of the league members are in Portland. Who is your all-time favorite Trailblazer and why? (mine is Clyde the Glide).SM: Without a doubt--Jeff Lamp. He played for UVA right before I got there. He RULED!
SA: I think I saw Lamp and the Virginia Cavaliers play in the 1981 Sweet Sixteen with Ralph Sampson in Market Square Arena. Lamp was drafted in the first round (15th overall) by the Blazers in 1981.
6. Do you draft with your head or your heart? Is it better to have a bad team full of guys you like to root for, or would you rather own players you don't care about and win at all costs? SM: Heart, within reason. I'm not a fan of guys who get hurt all the time, except
Caron Butler. I don't think I have a (stud) guy on my team I can't root for-- except
Shawn Marion in one league. Fact is there are mostly cool dudes in the NBA. Off the top of my head I'd skip Melo, Baron, Garnett, Artest, Yao, Kobe, Pau, Boozer,
Vince Carter, Marion,
Brad Miller,
Zach Randolph and
Jason Kidd if at all possible. Those cats are not my bag.
7. Who is consistently the savviest owner in our league? Who are the people to beat in this league every year? SM: It's hard to say. Matt Hogan knows his hoops, Billy Slater has a roto mindset, cold - very math. There is a method to Sam Coomes' madness. Joanna Bolme is always in the playoffs, give Dimitri Dziensuwski
LeBron James and he won't screw it up. Maybe Dimitri is the best, but, like Joanna, he's not out to win at all costs - not so busy on the wire, maxing games played, etc. We all have our blind spots, that's for sure.
8. What player did you draft that you're most disappointed with? Will you ever draft him again? SM: I did fine in the early rounds –
Josh Smith,
Al Jefferson,
Rashard Lewis,
Jason Richardson (so-so),
Andris Biedrins,
Ben Gordon,
David Lee – But then I wimped out on the rookie PGs (I sorta decided to punt dimes when they irrationally flew off the board). I guess
Beno Udrih was pretty damn bad in retrospect.
9. Will Tyrus Thomas or Andrea Bargnani ever become reliable fantasy studs? SM: Bargnani has more rope, more hope in Toronto. Hard to get a handle on Chicago's rotation, let alone Tyrus. I'm pulling for Tyrus though - I really want him to make it.
10. What is your dream word to post in a game of Scrabble? Or better yet, do you recall the one you're most proud of? SM: It's still when I spelled "chutzpahs" for a double-double word Bingo! That was deep.
11. What comes to mind when you see the Rotoworld column entitled "Roundball Stew?" And speaking of Rotoworld, would you classify yourself as a junkie? SM: I check Rotoworld out every day. You all do a KILLER job. As for Roundball Stew, I guess I'm just not a fan of the word "Stew." Other words I'm generally against include husky, moist, and cuddle.
SA: A message-board bonanza discussing the title of Matt Stroup's "Roundball Stew" column took place earlier in the season and Malkmus offered the following snippet. When this thing shows up on a future
Jicks record, I hope Rotoworld gets some props in the liner notes…
Roundball Stu
Thought he could screw
All the tight ends in Frisco
But he couldn't get through
and so on - with something that rhymes with " pee-you" 12. Where does Tyson Chandler's punk move on Joel Przybilla's broken wrist rank in all-time punk moves made by an NBA player? SM: I didn't see it, but I'm pretty sure
Matt Barnes is also capable of such actions. Or he just blows kisses at the Blazer bench. Barnes is the epitome of punk in today's NBA. No more Laimbeers.
13. What song have you not covered yet, but want to? Doug and Built to Spill's cover of MIA's Paper Planes was an impressive effort - my daughters loved it. And Stephen/Jicks' Funk 49 with Blitzen Trapper? That is pure, blissful insanity.SM: My friend suggested "
American Pie" by Don McLean. You must admit, it would be a bit of a conceptual checkmate.
14. What was the first concert you attended and what was the first record you remember owning? SM: Elton John, in the house the Golden State Warriors played in. I saw Pistol Pete play there as well, and Slick Watts with the New Orleans Jazz.
Boogie fever was my first cherished single, or was it
Convoy?
15. What music are you listening to these days?SM:
Crushed Butler. Seriously, this band is sick, and not just because of the
Caron Butler reference.
16. Do you have time for video games? We got a Wii for Christmas and I find myself hitting golf drives at bulls-eyes on island greens at 4 a.m. You feel me? SM: I know its lame, but there is something Zen about Pong.
17. What projects are you working on? What can we look forward to in the next year? SM: Not much - more jams.
18. We've seen bands like Band of Horses and Of Montreal catch some heat for having their songs used in television commercials and now some Iron & Wine fans are groaning because one of Sam Beam's greatest tunes is getting a ton of exposure in the film Twilight. I'm happy these people are making cash and getting noticed for their work, but many people still resent this so-called "selling out," even when it's clearly the road many artists need to take to get paid in today's music industry. Your thoughts on selling songs for commercial use? SM: No problems - to each his own. Gotta put bread on the table, within reason. It's like owning Kobe. Sometimes you gotta do it.
19. What is the best live act going right now? The popular answer seems to be My Morning Jacket, and I tend to agree. SM: No -
Endless Boogie.
20. What is the best thing about living in Portland?SM: Good times roll here. Schools are close to our pad. You can walk around. Pretty scenery. The people.
Stephen's latest album is called
Real Emotional Trash (and is excellent). Pavement's deluxe reissue of
Brighten the Corners is out from Matador and currently available in stores. If you're unfamiliar with Malk's work and Pavement, BTC is a pretty good place to start. However, I'd recommend you just go for it and buy the whole package -
pick up the four-pack from Matador for a discounted price.
My Top 10 Malkmus Songs10. Gardenia – Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks
9. Spit on a Stranger - Pavement
8. Greenlander - Pavement
7. Pink India – Stephen Malkmus
6.
Gold Soundz – Pavement
5. Zurich Is Stained - Pavement
4.
Summer Babe - Pavement
3. Box Elder - Pavement
2. Frontwards - Pavement
1.
Here – Pavement
I should be back in the next few weeks with similar interviews with some of the other folks in the league who were nice enough to answer the same questions.