Pavement- Summer Babe.

Pavement remains one of my all-time favorite bands.  I first saw them at 1st Avenue on October 4th, 1993 and it remains one of the best shows I have ever seen.  During the show, I think one of my former grade school classmates made her way up on stage to give the band a viking helmet (not Vikings)...which they later talked about in their return on the Wowee Zowee tour. 

I have since seen them at least 10 times around the country and each show has been an experience.  Unfortunately, they broke up after the Terror Twilight tour and went their separate ways.  Lead singer/songwriter Stephen Malkmus is still out there touring with his band the Jicks (they took in a Wolves game earlier this year), and 2nd guitarist Scott Kannenberg is, I believe, still working with his group, the Preston School of Industry  (although, to be honest, I didn't get their last album and their website hasn't been updated since 04). 

Anywho, Pavement put out a string of 3 albums in the 90s (Slanted & Enchanted, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, and Wowee Zowee) that were above and beyond any other group's output during that same period.  (If you count the Silver Jews' American Water, the output becomes even more impressive.)  It's a shame that people paid more attention to Nevermind than Slanted, but...oh well.