PLAY

In a very real sense, this Disc Of The Day is random. Not in the bastardised ‘yoof’ understanding of the word (currently translating as ‘unlikely’, or ‘weird’) but in the sense that whenever my iPod is set to ‘shuffle’ it always seems to favour the Pixies’ paradigm-shifting second album. That a seemingly rational piece of hardware should have begun to share my entirely emotional connection to this record seems extraordinary (unless you believe in something like Cosmic Ordering, then it’s probably to be expected) but then, this is a record that changed our view of how hard rock could sound and a generation of bands from Nirvana and beyond would ape it’s quiet/loud dynamic and economic delivery. Following the raw power of 1988’s Albini produced Surfer Rosa, Doolittle was a relatively sophisticated sonic big sister who benefited from both the disciplined technical assistance of Gil Norton and from the fact that Black Francis was enjoying an unsurpassed creative purple patch and a briefly fizzing personal chemistry with bassist/singer Kim Deal. The taut thrills of songs like Dead and Tame, or grand theatrics on Debaser or Monkey Gone To Heaven sound brilliant in isolation (ie. on shuffle) but together they make a unique, unsurpassed whole. One that brims with ideas and cryptic lyrical kinks: violence, longing and most favoured by my Nano, the carnal creepyness of Number 13 Baby (“Six foot girl gonna sweat when she dig”). Perhaps technology really is evolving?

Take from: Mojo