Stephen Malkmus

As the leader of Pavement, Stephen Malkmus cut a distinctive figure in the 1990s, capturing a good measure of the decade's slacker zeitgeist. Apart from Pavement, Malkmus retained many of these qualities -- there was no mistaking his California drawl, nor his winding guitar solos -- but he took formal chances with the records he released under his own name, beginning with his eponymous solo debut in 2001. Almost simultaneously he formed a supporting band called the Jicks, an outfit that allowed him to indulge in his jam band fantasies both on-stage and on record. The Jicks wer...