Stephen Malkmus, L.A. Guns Team Up for Split Single
Matador Records are set to launch a new 7-inch single subscription series with a split single featuring label mainstay Stephen Malkmus and hair-metal lifers L.A. Guns. The series, titled Singles Going Home Alone, will include six vinyl-only singles released over the course of 2012, available for $45 in the United States through Matador’s online store. Future installments will feature the Austin, Texas band OBN III and New York City rockers the Men.
The Malkmus/L.A. Guns single, due out on January 17th, will feature the artists covering each other’s songs, with Malkmus and his band the Jicks playing their version of “Wheels of Fire” and L.A. Guns performing “Gorgeous George,” a number from Malkmus’ latest album, Mirror Traffic. The unlikely pairing came about when the former Pavement frontman briefly considered titling his new record L.A. Guns, but backed out to avoid legal issues and general confusion.
Clearly, there were no hard feelings on the part of L.A. Guns, whose frontman Tracii Guns recently told MTV Hive that he was pretty fond of Pavement back in the Nineties. “Their silly-ass song ‘Cut Your Hair,’ that came out in ’93 or ’94, and I had already cut my hair in 1990,” says Guns. “So when that song came out, I just laughed at it all the time. I thought it was that kind of rebellious, Revenge of the Nerds-type thing that all those guys were doing back then.”