"Range Life" is a song by American indie rock band Pavement, the third single from their 1994 album '' Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain''.

Music and lyrics

Music critic Jake Kennedy of ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'' described the song as
countrified
" and said it was "lyrically as direct as the band ever got." The song attracted attention with controversial lyrics that seemed to mock alternative rock superstars the

Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...

and the

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

; Pumpkins frontman

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alter ...

expressed his displeasure in magazine interviews, while songwriter

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Joseph Malkmus ( ; born May 30, 1966) is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Pavement, The ...

maintained that his words had been misinterpreted and no insult was intended. Regardless, Pavement, which was due to tour for

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

in 1994, got kicked out when the Smashing Pumpkins, the headlining act, threatened to cancel their dates if Pavement performed. Pavement would eventually play Lollapalooza the next year. An early 1993 demo of the song did not feature the controversial verse; guitarist Spiral Stairs recalled in 2004 that when Malkmus first revealed these new lyrics to his bandmates at the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

recording sessions for '' Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'', "we almost lost our lunch from laughing so much."Kannberg, Scott writing as Spiral tairs "Pavementi Mach III... we finally made our "Hotel California"!" (Memoir signed "Spiral, Seattle, WA, August, 2004.") Liner notes from '' Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins'', pages 49-50. New York City: Matador Records, 2004.

Reception and legacy

The single was not commercially released in the United States. It was issued by the band's UK label at the time,

Big Cat Records Big Cat Records is a British independent record label. It launched around 1990 and originally specialized in industrial and noise-rock releases. Big Cat operated a US office in New York City for a few years. Integrated with V2 Records in 1996 ...

. Both B-sides are outtakes from the ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' sessions and are included on the 2004 deluxe reissue of that album. This song was one of many to be included in the group's greatest hits album '' Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement''.

Track listing

Europe release

US promo

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles Pavement (band) songs 1993 songs Songs written by Stephen Malkmus Alternative country songs Country rock songs