FLASHBACK: Pixies 'Doolittle'

I just did something very very embarrassing. This is either the funniest thing I've posted on PURPLE SNEAKERS or the most embarrassing. I can't decide. 

I decided the best way to prove I have the necessary cred to tackle PIXIES' magnum opus, Doolittle, was to share with the world a Tumblr selfie from at least three years ago where I have proudly donned a shirt on which the album cover appears (PROOF: I have long hair now). Truth bomb: I still wear it now.

And I still listen to this album when I'm meant to be studying. No doubt our lovely editor may decide this is inappropriate and use a picture of the band in question. But pictures of the band are fraught with difficulty- you either get one of them now (OLD. THEY'RE SO OLD), or one where they're hip and it's the late '80s/early '90s and Black Francis (i.e. Frank Black) is already bald. So whatever, we all take selfies, let's just move on.

Now this is my favourite- because I started listening to it as an hormonal ninth grader and those feelings stick with you. It's the dynamics of soft, winding verses juxtaposed to explosive choruses, the ultimate release of pent-up emotions.  Admittedly it's hard to pick a favourite album from a band who released 4 albums in as many years (1988-1991), each of which was fucking great, but this album could be repackaged as a "Greatest Hits" album and few people would complain ('Where's the song from Fight Club? wah wah wah').

Doolittle, their second album, released in 1989, is a dish best served LOUD and in its entirety. I would go through each song and give you a memory of listening to it but that would be far too time-consuming and I might get distracted and let you down and I couldn't bear to do that to you. I'm trying to do the textured and inspirational sound justice; I'm not making a scrapbook.

We start off with 'Debaser.' The day I danced to that song in Oxford Arts Factory was a damn good day. Because it immediately gives the album a sense of momentum , combining Francis' warble with Kim Deal's sweet backing vocals plus a punk chord progression and wailing lead guitar from Joey Santiago.

We continue along on the Pixies train through 'Tame' and 'Wave of Mutilation,' to 'I Bleed' which continues with Deal's haunting backing vocals and Francis' wailing choruses, letting you unburden yourself of all your teenage angst (it's not about menstruation, but 15 year old me sure thought it was). You've then got singles 'Here Comes Your Man' with its pop riff, and 'Monkey's Gone to Heaven' which The Bloodhound Gang were clearly fond of. They're very easy to listen to, with fewer changes in tempo and a little less yelling. After all, 'If man is five, then the Devil is six, and God is seven.' 

Now to the sweet end of the album. I've always had a soft spot for 'La La Love You.' Drummer David Lovering takes over vox for this sweet little love song comprised entirely of whistling, and the line 'All I'm saying, pretty baby, la-la-love you, don't mean maybe.' And all the way to the end and 'Gouge Away' providing a fitting, dynamic end.

It's an album that seamlessly mixes genres, from almost Western soundscapes to sweet pop songs, and angst-ridden alternative jams. The talent each band member possesses was given a chance to shine as the album meanders along the punk road least trodden. It's energetic, raw and very very clever.

In the eyes of the writers at NME, Doolittle is the second greatest album of all time. You can see why. After all, the album has inspired more musicians than you can count, like Nirvana, The Dandy Warhols and Pavement.

Words by Hannah Story.

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