Fans of Pavement tend to be absolutists; it’s hard to be ambivalent about the band’s music. Their fans love all of the records, all of the B-sides, all of the demos. They enjoy them drunk or sober, on the road, or on the couch. That level of obsession has something to do with their esoteric tones and the Ferlinghetti sort of lyrics that made front man Stephen Malkmus a star for rock ‘n roll logomaniacs. That level of fan support is also the reason for Quanrantine the Past, a Pavement collection released by Matador Records to coincide with the band’s reunion tour.

There isn’t any previously unreleased material, nor any revealing demos, but a few treats from Pavement’s pre-Matador days, and everything has been re-mastered for audiophiles. It’s not a chronological retrospective, though. Instead, it’s more like a Pavement mixtape with the hits and some surprises, too. The hits include Crooked Rain‘s  “Cut Your Hair,” which was the closest Pavement got to mainstream radio play; “Shady Lane,” from their most accomplished album Brighten the Corners; and “Summer Babe,” from their debut record Slanted and Enchanted. The surprises include “Heaven Is a Truck” from Crooked Rain and “In the Desert a Mouth” from Slanted; surprising because they’re gems for the initiated, not cuts that one would give a newcomer to Pavement’s style. If any of the band’s releases are underrepresented, it is their epic Wowee Zowee and their final release Terror Twilight, though neither is completely ignored.

I’d like to know if this is a release that the band wanted out there as a memoir, as their own reflections on their best work, or if the label simply wanted to cash in on their decision to tour again. The press people say that it’s compiled by the band, and one hopes that it presages new material in the future. Quarantine the Past will certainly generate new fans who might not remember the days when Lollapalooza was worth a damn, and when record stores and college radio were the path of exposure to new indie rock. For longtime fans, Quarantine the Past is a showcase of what we’ve always loved best about the music: the wandering melodies and the subtle shredding are reminders that Pavement isn’t just a descendant of Velvet Underground and Big Star, they are a rock classic in their own right.

(Matador Records, 304 Hudson St. 7th Floor, New York, NY 10013)