The Pixies - Doolittle

(4AD, 1989)

Why you should own it…I’ll make it brief and contextual.

By Anita Papsmear

Why should you own this CD? Because it’s one of the best CDs of all time. If you own it, you know that. If you don’t, shut your fucking mouth, get your bus pass, go to the nearest cool place, and buy it. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, you aren’t done yet! Go home, unwrap the fucker, and put it in the player (we are doing this old school). Press play and turn it up (still keeping your pie hole shut). Listen to the entire CD—start to finish. It may challenge you here and there, just stick with it. I dare you to not hum to a harmony, tap a foot to a bass line, bang your head on something hard to the beat of the fine drumming, or make some sort of sound to a guitar riff. Like any masterpiece, it just gets better the more you soak it in.

If you have ever dismissed The Pixies because you heard “Here Comes Your Man” a long time ago and figured you knew what they were all about, you figured wrong. Although “Here Comes Your Man” is still one of the catchiest little ditties out there, The Pixies have mastered the complexities of a varied musical palette. Hailing from Boston (fucking GREAT town), these folks met and started playing music in 1986. From diverse backgrounds came an eclectic sound—much different than what was coming out of people’s radios at that time (and at the time, radio was pretty much all we had; although MTV DID play music back then—not enough bands like The Pixies though). With lyrics as equally dark and strange as they were humorous, there was something truly different about this band.

Got me a movie

I want you to know

Slicing up eyeballs

I want you to know

Girlie so groovy

I want you to know

Don’t know about you

But I’m un chien andalusia

(lyrics from “Debaser”)

Front man, Frank Black (aka Black Francis—not to be confused with Serious Black, Potter fans), wielding his guitar and his voice as weapons, matched with the soothing, upbeat harmonies and bass of Kim Deal (stage name Mrs. John Murphy), Joey Santiago’s infectious and meticulous guitar, and Dave Lovering’s on-point drumming. They comprised a foursome that really couldn’t work with one of them missing. This band is the epitome of punk rock—just a bit more modern sounding. From whimsical, honey-laden melodies to more hard-core rock rhythms, sometimes the biggest challenge is to try to figure out the lyrics. One of my favorite things about this band is their ability to take a single word or a simple phrase and, just by the way it is sung, give the song its own unique personality. A simple, “Yoo hoo,” “La La,” or “Hey”—you know it’s a Pixie with something to say!

Hey

Been trying to meet you

Hey

Must be a devil between us

Or whores in my head

Whores at my door

Whores in my bed

But hey

Where

Have you

Been

(lyrics from “Hey”)

I had the extreme pleasure of meeting this band on a few different occasions. The first was when they opened for The Cure (also on the bill Love & Rockets and Shelleyan Orphan) at the old Fiddler’s Green in Denver, Colorado. It was September of 1989 and Doolittle had been out for just a little while. Most people were still unfamiliar with The Pixies, so fortunately they were doing some press (I was DJing & VJing at the time). After their interview, we decided to take The Pixies to a food fair that was going on. Kim was waiting on a call from her sister (no cell phones in those days), so she declined (but did request we bring her back something chocolate—which we did). Our producer Doug McVehil (hollah) took Frank out to do some other things and my friend and I took Dave and Joey to the fair. We ate some good food, talked a lot about music and traveling, and had a great time. Dave and I both had siblings that went to MIT in Boston. A short while after the Fiddler’s show, the Pixies returned to Denver. Although it was very apparent their fame had been sent into hyper-drive, their spirits were high and they seemed genuinely excited about it all (and a little exhausted too!). My cousin had caught their live show (two weeks prior to this second Denver show) at Toad’s Place in Connecticut. He wore only a diaper. He stood in the front row, right in front of Kim, and screamed the entire night. I had to ask her if she remembered such a sight at Toad’s. She laughed and said she did remember the “diaper guy.” She wasn’t sure if he was having fun or just what was going on. I assured her that he was having ALOT of fun—he was so excited to see them. It’s hard not to love Kim. My few encounters with her were utterly charming. At this second show in D-town, she was anxious to know if we could see her glitter nail polish from the stage. Sadly, no.

Got hair in a girl

that flows to her bones

and a comb in her pocket

if the wind gets blown

stripes on her eyes when she walks slow

but her face falls down

when she go, go, go

black tear falling on my lazy queen

gotta tattooed tit say number 13

(lyrics from “Number 13”)

Anywho, back to Doolittle. This is not The Pixies’ first full-length album. It is their second and a masterpiece that should be in any serious music collection. Once you fall for Doolittle, move directly on to Surfer Rosa. Some would argue that Surfer Rosa is their best. I could agree to that too…I love both. Surfer Rosa includes the Come On Pigrim EP as well—two for the price of one! Steve Albini (Big Black) put his midas spin on this disc and it is equally as great, with tunes like “Broken Face,” “Bone Machine,” “Vamos,” and “Tony’s Theme.” My favorite Pixies’ moments are when Frank and Kim are echoing each other, playing with the lyrics in their own individual ways, but somehow magically flowing together.

Of course, these days Frank has a solid solo career. He is a prolific talent and I am never disappointed with any of his releases. He can go from sugary to seething in one sentence; his exuberance for his craft is evident. Kim went on to form The Breeders with Tanya Donnelly (Throwing Muses/Belly) and Kelley Deal (Kim’s twin sis, who later joined the band), and there’s some great stuff there. Joey played lead guitar on some of Frank’s solo CDs, and then later formed his own band with wife, Linda Mallari, called The Martinis. Joey has also composed music for TV commercials. Dave has kept himself busy with a couple things—he’s a multi-talented dude. In addition to having drummed with several other acts (The Martinis, Cracker, Nitzer Ebb, and Tanya Donelly), he also pursued a magic career as The Scientific Phenomenalist, performing scientific and physics-based experiments on stage. Although The Pixies broke up in 1993 (actually, 1992 but they didn’t tell anyone for awhile), when they reunited in 2004, Dave returned as their drummer.

So, whether you are new to The Pixies or have never heard much of their work, I hope I’ve convinced you to pick up some CDs and listen. If not, you suck! Just kidding! Hugs!

All I’m saying pretty baby

la la love you don’t mean maybe

all I’m saying pretty baby

first base

second base

third base

home run

(lyrics from “La La Love You”)

Doolittle & Surfer Rosa both get 5 out of 5 smears!