You Can’t Repair A Lightbulb

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks “Forever 28”

The past few Malkmus albums have been heavy on perspective and sage advice, but the songs on Mirror Traffic are more cranky and restless. He still drops a bit of wisdom here and there – “no one is your perfect fit, I do not believe in that shit” – but he quickly undermines his pragmatism by admitting that he’s a contrary buzzkill who can’t help but spoil any good time. “Forever 28” is a perky, upbeat number about being snarky and miserable, but it’s not making that out to be a virtue. The chorus, which is much bigger and more soaring than what you’d normally get from this guy, cautions that “it just might hurt.” It, in this case, is having the generosity of spirit to be open to possibility and not slipping into the comforts of being jaded and negative. And it really can be a comfort – the path of least resistance. This song is pretty sympathetic to that, but it’s still trying to shake out of familiar patterns.

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