#390 Pixies, 'Surfer Rosa' (1988)

Previously #317

When you think of the most influential artists of the ‘90s, and subsequently the past 30 years, you think of artists such as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, maybe even PJ Harvey. There’s one artist that was a major influence on all of them; Pixies. ‘Surfer Rosa,’ their debut album, one of the most influential rock records of the ‘90s, was released 2 years before the ‘90s even started. Recorded & produced by Steve Albini (sidenote – yesterday I read an interview with Elvis Costello where he calls him the second worst producer he’s ever heard and I’m still laughing about it), who would go on to produce Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ and PJ Harvey’s second album, ‘Rid Of Me,’ both jobs he got thanks to this record.

This album exemplifies Pixies’ “quiet loud” dynamic that they became famous for, a technique that bands such as (yep here they are again) Nirvana and others would go on to use in their own music. ‘Gigantic’ was the only single on release but another song on this record would grow to become the band’s signature song, especially thanks to its use at the end of ‘Fight Club.’ Other songs on this album that I love are ‘Bone Machine,’ ‘Tony’s Theme,’ ‘Vamous (Surfer Rosa),’ and the list goes on. It’s a really terrific record. Albini experimented with including studio banter on this record, which gives an interesting insight into this band and their relationship with each other. The one-sided interchange at the end of ‘Oh My Golly!,’ “I said you fucking die!” remains one of the strangest conversations committed to tape in modern music.

#rs500albums