I disagree. I love it and never understood why people were disapointed by it. Maybe they expected something less polished but there isn't really a bad song on it and the first 8 are as solid as any of their best work. To me it sounds a lot like what The Breeders would do later except better.
― LeRooLeRoo, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 04:13 (nine years ago) link
I hadn't heard Distance = Rate x Time in decades. That is a doozy! Holy cow
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 04:35 (nine years ago) link
Voted. A Doolittle heavy but Bossanova and Trompe le Monde friendly ballot. One from Surfer Rosa. None from Come on Pilgrim.
― ledge, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 08:32 (nine years ago) link
I love Bossanova so much. It was my first Pixies and I bought it at the same time I got The Bends. You can hear where early Radiohead lifted from it.
Q: Kelley Deal 6000 for the side poll--I assume, nay?
― its a kirt not a skilt (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 11:08 (nine years ago) link
bossnova is fine in isolation but listening to COP thru TLM back to back it was remarkable just how much worse than everything else it is.
― Roberto Spiralli, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 12:44 (nine years ago) link
Trompe le Monde - 9Doolittle - 8 Surfer Rosa - 5
I've only listened to Come On, Pilgrim and Bossanova once each.
― how's life, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 12:55 (nine years ago) link
Giving Bossanova & Trompe le Monde one more listen this afternoon then putting my ballot together tonight. Expecting a lot of Surfer Rosa, a little of Doolittle and one or two from Come On Pilgrim.
― nate woolls, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 12:59 (nine years ago) link
Misheard lyrics that I only just got around to looking up:
Fall on your face in those bad shoesLion-O lockjawTAME!
― how's life, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 13:01 (nine years ago) link
COP 4SR 6D 8B 1TLM 3
pixies b-sides range from bad to mediocre without exception, i don't understand the tremendous appeal they apparently have
― Roberto Spiralli, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 13:24 (nine years ago) link
I like 'Into the White' and the two Neil Young covers a lot but they'd barely make my top 30 Pixies songs.
― Gavin, Leeds, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 14:01 (nine years ago) link
<3 "Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons"
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 14:14 (nine years ago) link
I'm working my way though this based on how much I like these tunes right now, rather than what I liked >20 years ago. So, Debaser, which I loved, probably won't make the cut because I feel like I've heard it faaaaaaaaaar too many times.
― Turtleneck Work Solutions (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 15:10 (nine years ago) link
At least we can all agree Doolitle is the tits, right?
― Moka, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:27 (nine years ago) link
I danced around it for a long time, but I finally made peace with the fact their most popular album (Doolittle) is also their best (Doolittle).
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:28 (nine years ago) link
I think the most popular sales-wise is actually Surfer Rosa but I don't have the actual numbers. Just a wild guess.
― Moka, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:32 (nine years ago) link
Doolittle was a platinum album in the US (1m in sales), and only one of the others—Surfer Rosa—is even gold (500k in sales).
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:35 (nine years ago) link
Did a quick research and no, you're right, Doolitle is the most popular one. Here's the sales figures according to SoundScan in 2004:
Come On Pilgrim: 144,598Surfer Rosa: 458,491Doolittle: 583,564Bossanova: 215,217Trompe Le Monde: 306,697Complete B-Sides: 42,703Live at the BBC: 49,308Death To The Pixies: 146,012Purple Tape: 30,212
Wikipedia actually gives Doolitle over 1,000,000 sales and Surfer over 500,000. Did Doolitle sold almost double that figure in this past decade?
― Moka, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:36 (nine years ago) link
I think SoundScan might have its numbers wrong, though.
― Moka, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:37 (nine years ago) link
Doolittle hit a million in November 1995. Surfer Rosa didn't go gold until April 2005.
http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:40 (nine years ago) link
That link lists that Doolitle hit Gold in 1995, not Platinum. It doesn't certificate it as Platinum yet.
― Moka, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:42 (nine years ago) link
Oh, you're right! I didn't even read all the way across. :D
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:43 (nine years ago) link
Anyhow... your point stands, Doolitle is way more popular than Surfer Rosa. Had no idea.
― Moka, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:45 (nine years ago) link
Bossanova was a momentum killer for them. Strong record, but it didn't take them to the next level commercially.
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:47 (nine years ago) link
Surfer Rosa picked up a lot of cache over time, but it wasn't a landmark record in any way in 1988. Doolittle had MTV video rotation, lots of college radio support and press fawning out the wazoo.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:48 (nine years ago) link
cache=cachet
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:49 (nine years ago) link
I was expecting that the popularity of Where is My Mind through licensing in films, tv and ads would translate in higher sales. I was wrong.
― Moka, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:51 (nine years ago) link
I mean most people only know them because of that song, usually the best-known single is also on the best-selling album, nay?
― Moka, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:52 (nine years ago) link
lol I'm not trying to say it was a bad guess. Surfer Rosa is the Pixies album in the 21st century both in terms of respect and influence. It just wasn't seen as that at the time. (And I happen to still prefer Doolittle regardless.)
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 17:55 (nine years ago) link
Surfer Rosa is the Pixies album in the 21st century in terms of boobs.
― how's life, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 18:04 (nine years ago) link
..I'm not merging things together
I hope the Vamos votes aren't split too much, that song deserves a top 10 place.
― nate woolls, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 18:24 (nine years ago) link
Oh damn, I may have to merge things on a case-by-case basis. I didn't think of there being two album versions of Vamos when I rattled off that declaration.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 18:28 (nine years ago) link
Was is she weird a single from Bossanova? I can't remember.It seems like the closest in terms of style to what came before.
― Hinklepicker, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 18:29 (nine years ago) link
never realized just how awesome that track is until i was listening to tracks for the poll! that and Levitate Me have been in my head for a week now.
― AKA Thermo Thinwall (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 18:41 (nine years ago) link
Front to back (even though, and probably because, there's only 8 tracks), Come On Pilgrim is the most solid Pixies release. All killer, zero filler.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 18:45 (nine years ago) link
Ride the Tiger down the River Euphrates.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 18:47 (nine years ago) link
Brick Is Red is missing from that Wikipedia list upthread, in case anyone's using it to compile their ballot.
― nate woolls, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 20:13 (nine years ago) link
An overlooked Frank Black track, "Bullet". My favorite solo track
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQgV9q6fl1I
― juggulo for the complete klvtz (bendy), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 20:34 (nine years ago) link
I really like Lovely Day, but I can't help feeling the fact he's singing to an alien detracts from it a bit
― Turtleneck Work Solutions (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 20:55 (nine years ago) link
hahaha. i only really started to enjoy TLM when i learned to let that shit go. lovely day was my last cut.
― Roberto Spiralli, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 21:01 (nine years ago) link
Hmmmm. I've just finished ranking them and I have both I Bleed and Dead just outside my top 22 when I assumed they were nailed-on to be in there. Need to think some more...
― Turtleneck Work Solutions (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 21:59 (nine years ago) link
― Moka, Tuesday, October 21, 2014 5:27 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, October 21, 2014 5:28 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
It's the one I listen to the least. In fact, I'm fairly confident none of its tracks are going to make my ballot!
― Welcome To (Turrican), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 22:06 (nine years ago) link
Weirdo.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 October 2014 22:06 (nine years ago) link
I mean, I do think Doolittle is a stronger album than Bossanova, but there's individual tracks on Bossanova that mean more to me than any track from Doolittle.
― Welcome To (Turrican), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 22:08 (nine years ago) link
and Trompe Le Monde is my favourite Pixies record, so...
― Welcome To (Turrican), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 22:09 (nine years ago) link
I wish it were an inclusive poll. I'd love to see how many of us Breeders >>> Pixies these days.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 22:17 (nine years ago) link
19 ballots in, who wants to be lucky #20?
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 22 October 2014 03:30 (nine years ago) link
me!
― AKA Thermo Thinwall (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 04:08 (nine years ago) link
I have tried to research Pixies songs but got sidetracked by The Breeders and now i can't go back.
― Hinklepicker, Wednesday, 22 October 2014 07:26 (nine years ago) link
voted
― Turtleneck Work Solutions (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 09:17 (nine years ago) link
Going to vote. Persuaded by Turtleneck Work Solutions to return to ILX for just this purpose.
― Citizen Smith (Jamie T Smith), Wednesday, 22 October 2014 10:24 (nine years ago) link