We're not sure how surprising this is, exactly, but it seems the late, great indie-rock band Pavement will be reuniting and playing a benefit show at Central Park's SummerStage. It's not until September 2010, so you have plenty of time to find a sitter. But the news still resonates! Word of the reunion appeared on Brooklyn Vegan last night, and a Sept. 21 show has since been confirmed by Pitchfork.
It's easy to be droll about Pavement, a band that made a game of being more droll about itself than anyone else could possibly ever be. But it's also worth remembering just how important and significant Stephen Malkmus and his merry band of travelers were. Their combination of glib "whatever" sensibilities with fiendish devotion to things like underground culture and John Ashbery made for a true epochal world-view. And their songs have been aging uncommonly well.
Stay tuned for more news. (Remember, this is 2010 we're talking about here.) But it seems safe to go ahead and wonder what it'll be like to hear Malkmus storm through "Fight This Generation" on the other side of the fight.