Aerrow Shapiro’s Record Club – July 2012 – Doolittle by Pixies (1989)
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Twitter: @hourofpowerkssu
Formed in 1986, Pixies consist of Charles Thompson on guitar and lead vocals (who would later be known as Black Francis and later Frank Black), Joey Santiago on guitar, Kim Deal on bass(who would later be known for her band Breeders), and David Lovering on drums. Throughout their career they’ve released a handful of albums, from 1987’s Surfer Rosa to 1991’s Trompe le Monde. Out of all the albums released, the one I’m going to select as this month’s album pick is their 1989 album Doolittle.
For their 1989 album Doolittle, a few singles were released, which included “Monkey Gone to Heaven” (Track 7), “Here Comes Your Man” (Track 5), and the opening track “Debaser” which was released as a single about eight years after the release of this album. For “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, the mid-tempo rocker combines environmental themes in the first two verses with some religious overtones in the choruses and the third verse. While the arrangement emphasizes the bass and drums in the verses, the guitar is prominent in the choruses (although there are some tinges of it in the second verse). In “Here Comes Your Man”, the song provides an upbeat feel with the band sharing the spotlight instrumentally as some cryptic lyrics are sung by Black Francis with Kim singing back-up. In the song “Debaser”, lyrical references to Bunuel’s film Un Chien Andalou are made, set to the sounds of the up-tempo ‘80s college rock they are known for.
In addition to the singles, there are also some other highlights in the album worth checking out. The album’s third track “Wave of Mutilation” provides a full band arrangement with lyrics about driving a car “into the ocean”. In addition, the track “La La Love You” offers lyrics that would be perfect for a love dedication as David Lovering takes the spotlight singing.
In conclusion, this album is worth checking out. If the aforementioned songs are satisfying enough upon listening to them, I recommend the entire album, thus making this as my album pick for July 2012. That about wraps up my article for Aerrow Shapiro’s Record Club. Tune in next time around the first week of the month for another album pick.
Aerrow Shapiro is a KSSU.com DJ who hosts a weekly hour-long alt/indie show called Aerrow Shapiro’s Hour of Power, which (as of the date of the article’s writing) is on a hiatus for the Summer 2012 semester. You can find more info on that show on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/HourOfPowerKSSU) and on Twitter (@hourofpowerkssu).
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