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 | PixiesSurfer Rosa1988 4 A.D./Elektra 
 Review by: anonymous See others by this writer 4 A.D. Official Website (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on September 21st 2001
Ah, the Pixies. Positively my favorite band, next to Weezer, Nirvana, Fugazi, and Slint. All personal data aside, the Pixies were, throughout the late '80s and early '90s, sonic innovators, and influenced a whole crapload of bands, some great, some pap. Led by multi-talented (and bi-lingual) singer Black Francis, they opened new doors and broke new ground with their hopelessly unique sound. Okay, introductions, schmintroducti- ons, on to the music. Vamos! "Recorded" by the infamously cranky, perfectionist--dare I say--"woman-hater" Steve Albini, and opening solidly with a bang with the pounding drums of "Bone Machine," Surfer Rosa never seems to let up. Following the male-female vocal harmonies and nonsensical lyrics that make up "Bone Machine" is "Break My Body," which seems to pick up where the superb imagery left off, with lines such as "break my body/hold my bones, hold my bones." As if that weren't merciless enough, you also get to be beaten into submission by the pummeling, full-force drumming of the excellent David Lovering in "Something Against You," which also boasts some of the most distorted, filtered vocals this side of Ministry. Make any predictions yet? Good, cancel them, because you'll eat your words. "Broken Face" comes out of nowhere, with its lead-off schoolgirl falsetto and breaking tidal wave of a verse, which explodes right after you think "huh?" and melts the surprise right away, replacing it with dumb-found awe. "Gigantic" is a great showcase for the lovely Kim Deal, who sings lead, spouting off lines about, I suppose, a penis, and rolls thick-yet-melodic basslines, all holding together more of Black Francis's high-pitched background wails, Joey's psychotic leads, and David's huge wall of drums. "River Euphrates" has to contain one of the most haunting, eerie guitar melodies I have ever heard, cracked vocal harmonies to match, child-like, cryptic lyrics which are genius in context, and yet more precise, robotic drumming by Mr. David Lovering.
Opening a more somber vein is the damn-near-anthem masterpiece, "Where Is My Mind?," possessing haunting background vocals which carry the song through its central melody and a perfect orchestration among the members. "Cactus" pulls all of these moods together, and is minimalism if I've never heard it, with its relentless, machine-like drums and droning palm-muted guitar. "Tony's Theme" casts the band in another fun light, with its comic book-like lyrics and spoken tomfoolery by Kim. "Oh My Golly!" is Spanish AND English-sang, and has some crazy time signatures that seem to conflict with the vocals, beating against them with a stick. "Vamos!" is a song always played live, and was always a favorite among Pixies fans. With its freak-out, whinnying guitars and hyper-speed antics, it is sure to impress. "I'm Amazed" at first appears to be filler, but is filled with still more massive drumming, crazy lead work, and vague lyrics. "Brick Is Red" closes the album on a good note, as expected. It is hard to skip any track here, and the songs all seem to flow into one cohesive whole. A great full-length debut from one of the smartest, ingenuous bands of all time, in my humble opinion. Next to the Beatles, of course. But, I'm sure someone will bitch about this review, so I'll just say it right here: you who actually waste your time, griping, pissing and moaning about what is "punk" and what is not, should really do your research, here. Punk is about staying true to what you believe in, pushing the envelope, redefining, and ultimately setting fire to the foundations of everything tried and traditional. Punk, to me, is not simply what sounds punk to you, because that couldn't be further from the truth of punk rock. Generic "1-2-3-4" punk isn't punk in my eyes. I'm tired of elitist, 13-14 year-old "punks" who attack complete strangers on webforums, and generally think they know it all. And, yes, I respect free speech, but idiocy? Nah, I'll pass on that one. Yes, this is an open forum, but I just wanted to post this, as I know that some little asshole in a Pennywise or Rancid shirt will criticize my musical taste all to hell. I say this: Fuck you. Go home, throw on some NOFX, and cry, cry, cry, because I personally don't give two shits about your ignorant, rat's eye view of what punk rock is all about.
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hot spit and a paddle. One of the greatest albums in my collection!!! to anybody that wants to buy this album: "nofx rule pixies suck!" nofx rules pixies suck!!!!! Good album, bad review. I'm not taking any shit about being a NOFX fan. I do thoroughly enjoy Fugazi and to a lesser extent Weezer but Slint fucking suck. Punk is whatever the fuck you want it to be. this album is fucking incredible. i bought this about a year ago and fell in love with it. i must've listened to it a million times then i just sort of stopped. i decided to take it out again today, and damn, it's still amazing. i probably like it more now than i ever did. steve albini's production is perfect. it's probably his best work. the production (or lack of) is raw and stripped down without sounding basic and one dimensional. buy this album now if you haven't. great album. i also think this is by far their best. it's the most consistent and albini's production really gives it a raw edge. i, by the way, DO consider this to be punk. it's not your standard punk rock but there are definitely strong punk currents flowing through this album. it's fast, raw, simple, concise and VERY good. check it out. this is a GREAT record...particularly for, but also beyond, it's time. Ummmmmmm...you're a very strange person no offense man...Im sure your in your own scene..but you need to get out more. ha! mission accomplished. love ya guys! to the boywhocried or what ever your dumb ass name is, you sure do make an awful lot of references to cum,dicks,anuses.................guess that about lets us all know what your really into........cause it sure aint punk rock tou all need to shut the fuck up- fathead theboywhocriedangel = most annoying person of all time! well said, jim. thank you. at least THERE'S somebody who knows how i feel... To the boywhocriedangel The pixies are without any doubt, one of the greatest bands ever. surfer rosa was my least favorite album, but the last 3-- doolittle,bossanova,trompe le monded are simply perfect. even hello pilgrim was better. the way i see it, is great art is never truly appreciated till it is all far gone and forgotten about. official disclaimer: I have a question: Why is it that you feel you must defend yourself against the "13-14 year-old "punks" who attack complete strangers on webforums, and generally think they know it all." You just played into their trap. The one you were trying to make a point about. You just turned into one of them you fucking moron! HA, now thats comedy! "cos," whoever you are, you have great taste. however, i never said that the pixies were a punk band. no argument there, but i never said anything about them being punk. no one really knows what "punk" is anymore. so, there it ends. none of us are punk. I love the Pixies. Personally, I think "Bossanova" is better but that's more my personal tastes coming into the equation. Great band. To the boywhocriedangel, are you ok? Did anyone like you growing up? I afraid the answer is probably not. And i can see why, you are the biggest pussy i have ever heard and remember this, (still chuckling repeatedly at the inane, sub-moronic postings on this very page.) they're CALLED capital LETTERS. learn HOW to USE them. i find how all of you people have responded to my comments to be QUITE HILARIOUS. you think it's gonna shut me up? um, no. just the thought of myself "wasting your time," while you're wasting YOUR OWN time typing asinine little comments ON YOUR OWN FREE WILL is very very HUMOROUS. that, fathead, is humor. oh, and to the one who called me a "bloke": the last time i heard, that wasn't an insult. i'm sorry, but i just fail to be offended by being called british slang for a man or "guy." sorry, but at least you tried! do your research before you open your mouth, pal...get the dick out of it while you're at it, too, you fucking anglophile. oh! did i offend you? i'm sorry! ha! now THAT'S funny! To the boywhocriedangel................ Fuckin enough already, do us all a favor and stop wasting our time you fuckin bloke!!!! I really love this album, but the kid who reviewed it really needs to chill out, not just with the last paragraph, but all the shit he's said since, what a moron you look mate. - Brinepacer while i won't be participating in any of your petty little games, i will say this: you refused to acknowledge the humor because, as much as you would hate to admit it, you were TOO STUPID to get it! why did the girl fall out of the swing?.......she din't have any arms!!!!AAAHAHAH! now that my friend, is humor.it's gonna take a lot to offend an asshole like me, but keep trying.- fathead again, here i am defending my cause. my comment? here: obviously, fathead, you never really THOROUGHLY READ what i had said about 14-year old nofx fans. "calling 14-year olds out for listening to nofx?" no, buddy, that is not what i had said. had you READ INTO my intentions in that last paragraph, your brain might have actually grasped the humor there. what i said wasn't an attack on any fan of nofx or pennywise, it was an EXAMPLE, one of the demographics on this site. i was only "bitching," if you will, about the little know-it-all shits that get on this site and ruin it for everybody, slamming tastes and shooting people down, nofx or pennywise fans or not. i said NO FUCKING WORD about hating nofx, or criticizing "14-year olds for listening to nofx," for that matter. in fact, i myself am a fan of nofx. people like you, who don't read into things, and actually get the facts, shouldn't post messages on what they don't know or didn't understand. bottom line: (GASP!) sarcasm, people, look it up. do you follow me yet? learn to READ BETWEEN THE LINES, and maybe you won't be offended so much. oh, and since when aren't we allowed to bitch? eh? since when did this site become overthrown by a censoring, fascist dictatorship? (i.e. people who are too ignorant to recognize HUMOR), changing from a so-called "open forum" into a silenced institution? you might want to let me know when that happened, because, "holy war" or not, as far as i know, "free speech" still exists in some dank corners in this country. also, i was also a little irritated by the other person who commented on my review with yet another uninformed gripe from a misunderstanding point of view: i did NOT set the pixies on the same plane as nirvana, or weezer, i only listed them in the same category: MY FAVORITE BANDS. was it that hard to understand, too? did i put that in a different-colored font? oh, my bad; you must not have read it right. i'm sorry! Slint rules, but your mindless rambling in the last paragraph has got to go. calling out 14 year olds for listening to NOFx is as stupid as saying only 25 year olds can listen to the pixies.everyone has to start somewhere. come on man, stick to the music.- fathead Another great album... three great reviews this weekend (Quicksand, Leatherface, and now the Pixies)... I'm impressed with this site's viewership. By the bands who are posted about on the news page, I'd think this site was all fatted out. Agh, Black Francis was an egotistical asshole. But I'll admit, the Pixies were ahead of their time, and a great band. Good album, I like Doolittle better though. This is arguably the best album in the universe, and Doolittle is also amazing. I'm a fan of the pixies and i love good old fashioned punk rock like rancid, but pennywise do get boring after a while. To the big ass whiner who reviewed this brilliant album, you are complaining about 13/14 year olds bitching about what is or is not punk, well so are you dumb ass, once again someone wasting my time with crying, enough already!!! oops, I meant to erase the cut and paste from the end of that last post. Hey, I am 28 and I like NOFX. Have since the A1 meats "Dancin in the Dirt" skate video. I also like the Pixies, Nirvana, and Weezer too. i am really sorry for appearing so hostile in the last paragraph of this review. i guess i took my bemoanings a little too far. i apologize if i offended anyone; i guess the point i was trying to make had grown a little stale in the minds of many on this site. I don't care what my grandma says, Pixies rule. I love punk and I love Pixies(the group). I also love Phish. I don't think there's one song by them that I dislike. Except for maybe one track off of the Come on Pilgrim ep, but I forget which one it is. ah well. One of the most informative reviews posted in a long time (from a music standpoint at least), but come on people - can we drop this idiotic "what is punk" filth? No one here is punk, with the possible exception of Scott. The Pixies were an awful band live, but otherwise they were good, a bit too artsy or my tastes, but they were talented and influential. That was an awesome review until the last paragraph... Why so much hostility? Pixies have made some great music, but they've also made some awful music. |
