A year or so ago a friend asked me to make him a Pavement greatest hits mix. “Gimme their best songs,” Mr. Friendly said. Three discs and 60 songs later, I knew I was still shortchanging both my friend and the band. Best. Band. Ever. (Not. Named. The. Beatles.) So when Matador Records announced that their recently reunited flagship band was going to issue a greatest hits record with a “surprising tracklist,” I was intrigued. And then I saw the tracklist. Hmm. Strange selections. But this is Pavement, a strange band.

Before I dig into the 23-song set, I feel the need to mention a few other things. One: the band will soon complete their reissue series with a big, shiny Terror Twilight offering. Extras galore. Two: Matador just released the band’s catalog on budget-priced LP. Awesome news. Three: The reunion and hits disc surely means that we won’t be hearing any of those two-dozen-or-so new Malkmus and the Jicks studio recordings anytime soon. Biggest bummer ever. Big enough that, dare I say it, screw this cash-in reunion crapola!

But whatever. Five guys in the band and only one of them making any real money = reunion time. This always happens, and Malkmus is a good guy for throwing his old pals (and fans) a bone. One more year with Pavement? Sure. Fine. Kick it off with the greatest greatest hits disc ever.

Let’s do the tally: five cuts from their classic debut, Slanted and Enchanted; two songs from their Watery, Domestic EP; five songs from their most popular record, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain; two songs from their weirdo cult classic, Wowee Zowee; four songs form their most-hyped (and most accessible) record, Brighten the Corners; one cut from their swan song, Terror Twilight (their only non-classic studio record); one compilation cut; and four songs from the band’s early EP collection, Westing (By Musket and Sextant). Not too bad. But for a band known for their b-sides and EPs, Quarantine won’t come close to representing the band’s best material. Kind of a bummer, considering Matador could very easily issue a convincing “best of” Pavement record full of only b-sides.

But I’m a super fan, full of super fan gripes. The truth is that you won’t find a better '90s-era pop/indie/hipster/college rock disc on the planet. When one of my super fan friends heard the news of a Pavement hits disc, he texted me: “don’t they already have five of those?” Touche, lover. Another friend joked that they could pick their worst songs, put ’em on a disc and still have a better “best of” than almost any band from the '90s. Agreed. That’s how good Pavement was.

But do you need a hits disc from these slackers? Well, the cover art is pretty great and I’m sure there will be an essay or something by Rob Sheffield. But if you already have the studio albums, then, no, I suppose you don’t need Quarantine. This disc is made for the four Pavement members who need a paycheck. This disc is made for the new fans who will see the reunion shows and get caught up in the hype of the festival sets. The question now becomes, will these new fans’ heads pop off after hearing “Gold Soundz,” “Stereo,” “Shady Lane,” “Summer Babe,” “Range Life,” “Box Elder,” “Trigger Cut” and so on for the first time all in one spin? The question now becomes, will the band be able to play these shows with even half of the authenticity they had the first time around. Impossible.

Who cares. Buy the disc - Bob Nastanovich needs some track money and an extra Pavement disc on the shelf can‘t possibly be a bad thing.