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. 'Released: March 20, 1989. 'Released: June 1, 1989Doolittle is the second studio album by American band, released in April 1989 on. The album's offbeat and dark subject material, featuring references to, violence, and death, contrasts with the clean production sound achieved by the newly hired producer. Doolittle was the Pixies' first international release, with as the album's distributor in the United States and in Canada.Pixies released two singles from Doolittle, ' and ', both of which were chart successes on the US chart for. The album itself reached number eight on the, an unexpected success for the band. In retrospect, album tracks such as ', 'Wave of Mutilation', 'Monkey Gone to Heaven', 'Gouge Away', and 'Hey' are highly acclaimed by critics, while the album, along with debut LP, is often seen as the band's strongest work.Doolittle has continued to sell consistently well in the years since its release, and in 1995 was gold by the.
The album has been cited as inspirational by many alternative artists, while numerous music publications have ranked it as one of the most influential albums ever. A 2003 poll of writers ranked Doolittle as the second-greatest album of all time, placed the album at 227 on its list of ' and ranked it as the fourth best album of the 80s. Contents.Background Following their highly regarded but commercially unsuccessful 1988 album, the band embarked on a European tour with fellow Bostonians, before beginning a tour of North American states. During this time, the group's frontman and principal songwriter, began to write new material for a future album, with songs such as 'Dead', 'Hey', 'Tame', and 'There Goes My Gun' emerging through the course of the year.
Versions of the newly composed songs were recorded during several sessions for 's radio show in 1988, while a live recording of 'Hey' appeared on a free EP circulated with a 1988 edition of. Doolittle 's lyrics contain several biblical references—principal Pixies songwriter Black Francis wanted the album to be operatic like the biblicalIn mid-1988, the Pixies began to record demo sessions while on breaks from touring. The band headed to the Boston Eden Sound, which at the time comprised a small room in the basement of a. They recorded at the studio for a week, in circumstances similar to the previous year's sessions. Francis gave the and upcoming album the provisional title of Whore, though he later claimed his natural father had originally suggested the name. Francis has clarified that he was thinking of the word 'in the more traditional sense. The operatic, biblical sense.
As in the great '. After completing the demo tape, band manager Ken Goes suggested two producers for the album; and American. The band had previously worked with Norton while recording the single version of ' in May 1988. Francis had no preference, although, head of the band's label 4AD, wanted Norton to produce the Pixies' next album. He was hired as producer, with Stasium not even approached for the position.Norton arrived in Boston on October 31, 1988, and first visited Francis' apartment to review the album's demos. The two talked about arrangements, and spent two days intensively analyzing the album's songs. Norton learned to gauge Francis' reaction to changing arrangements, and later observed that the frontman 'doesn't like to do anything twice'.
Norton spent a further two weeks in pre-production to familiarise himself with the Pixies' sound. Recording and production Recording sessions for the album began on October 31, 1988, at in Boston, Massachusetts, at the time a professional 24-track studio. 4AD allowed the Pixies a budget of $40,000, excluding producer's fees. This was a modest sum for a 1980s major label album; however, it quadrupled the amount spent on the band's previous album, Surfer Rosa. Along with Norton, two assistant and two second assistants were assigned to the project.
The sessions lasted three weeks, concluding on November 23, with 'nearly a song a day' being recorded.Production and mixing began on November 28. The band relocated to, a residential studio in, to oversee production and record further tracks. Norton recruited Steve Haigler as, whom he had worked with at.
During production, Haigler and Norton added layers of guitars and vocals to songs, including guitars on ' and double tracking vocals on 'Wave of Mutilation'. During the recordings, Norton advised Francis to alter several songs; a noted example being 'There Goes My Gun' which was originally intended as a much faster -style song.
However, at Norton's advice, Francis slowed down the tempo.Norton's suggestions were not always welcome, and several instances of advice to add verses and increase track length contributed to the front man's building frustration. Eventually, Francis took Norton to a record store, where he handed him a copy of 's, in which most of the songs are about two minutes long. He told Norton, 'If it's good enough for Buddy Holly.' In a interview, Francis later recalled that 'this record is him trying to make us, shall I say, commercial, and us trying to remain somewhat grungy'. Production continued until December 12, 1988, with Norton and Haigler adding extra effects, including to the mix.
The master tapes were then sent for final post-production later that month. 'Monkey Gone to Heaven' is the seventh track from Doolittle. This sample contains the chorus, bridge and start of the second verse.Problems playing these files? See.Doolittle features an eclectic mix of musical styles. While tracks such as 'Tame' and ' are fast and aggressive, and incorporate the band's trademark loud–quiet dynamic, other songs such as 'Silver', 'I Bleed', and 'Here Comes Your Man' reveal a quieter, slower and more melodic temperament. With Doolittle, the band began to incorporate further instruments into their sound; for instance, 'Monkey Gone to Heaven' features two and two.'
Tame' is based on a formula; including 's playing a ' over the main bass progression. 'I Bleed' is melodically simple, and is formed around a single rhythmical repetition. Some songs are influenced by other; while 'Crackity Jones' has a distinctly, and incorporates G ♯ and A triads over a C ♯ pedal, the song's, played by Francis, starts with an eighth-note downstroke typical of music. Lyrics The lyrical themes explored on Doolittle range from the surrealism of ', to the environmental catastrophe of '. Grieves', 'Tame', and 'Hey' share space with the Biblical analogies of 'Dead' and 'Gouge Away'. Black Francis often claimed that Doolittle's lyrics were words which just 'fit together nicely', and that 'the point of the album is to experience it, to enjoy it, to be entertained by it'.
Francis wrote all the material for the album with the exception of 'Silver', which he co-wrote with.The album's opening track 'Debaser' references, a theme that runs throughout the album. 'Debaser' alludes to and 's 1929 surrealist film, and the lyric 'slicing up eyeballs' refers to an early scene in the film. Surrealism heavily influenced Francis in his college years and throughout his career with the Pixies. In 1989, Francis expressed his interest in surrealism and its influence on his songwriting method to by stating 'I got into movies and Surrealism as an escape from reality. To me, Surrealism is totally artificial.
I recently read an interview with the director who said he had ideas and images but that he didn't know exactly what they meant. That's how I write.' Another of the album's main themes is environmental catastrophe. 'Monkey Gone to Heaven' deals with man's destruction of the ocean and 'confusion of man's place in the universe'. As Francis put it: 'On one hand, it's this big organic toilet. Things get flushed and repurified or decomposed and it's this big, dark, mysterious place. It's also a very mythological place where there are octopus's gardens, the, and mermaids.'
'Monkey Gone to Heaven' is concerned with man's relationship to the divine, a theme shared with 'Mr. Grieves'.Two songs on Doolittle are fashioned after Biblical stories: the story of in 'Dead', and and Delilah in 'Gouge Away'. Francis' fascination with Biblical themes can be traced back to his teenage years; when he was twelve, he and his parents joined an evangelical church linked to the. This background was to be an influence in Doolittle, where he referred to being 'six' and being 'seven' in 'Monkey Gone to Heaven'.Other songs explored eccentric subjects, such as in 'Wave of Mutilation', which Francis described as being about 'Japanese businessmen doing murder-suicides with their families because they'd failed in business, and they're driving off a pier into the ocean.' The sea and underwater themes of 'Wave of Mutilation', which also feature in 'Mr. Grieves' and 'Monkey Gone to Heaven', are explorations of one arena for man's death and destruction. Ben Sisario points out that the album begins ('Debaser') and ends ('Gouge Away') with songs about violence being done to eyes.
' covers another offbeat subject; Francis' roommate in his student exchange trip to, who he described as a 'weird psycho gay roommate'.Doolittle also references more ostensibly conventional subjects. 'La La Love You', sung by the band's drummer, is a —though with its 'first base, second base, third base, home run' break, it's been referred to as 'a dig at the very idea of a love song'. Francis gave it to Lovering as a song to sing, 'like a thing'; Lovering at first refused to sing, but Norton said that soon he was unable to 'get him away from the microphone'. As well as lead vocals on 'La La Love You', Lovering played on 'Silver', with Deal playing slide guitar; this arrangement did not occur again.Packaging and title. 'As Loud As Hell' by, from the Doolittle cover booklet.
The image references lyrics in 'I Bleed'.Doolittle was the first album where, the Pixies' cover photographer, and, the band's cover artist, had access to the lyrics. According to Larbalestier, this 'made a fundamental difference'.The surrealist and abstract images throughout the album booklet are linked to the album's content. 'Gouge Away' is represented by a picture of a spoon containing hair, laid across a woman's; a direct pictorial representation of heroin, with the spoon and the hair being horses. 'I Bleed' is referenced with the image 'As Loud As Hell'; the image shows 'a ringing bell', with a set of teeth; this references the line 'it shakes my teeth'.
'Walking with the Crustaceans' is a visual representation of the lyrics to 'Wave of Mutilation'. Larbalestier later commented that he was interested in 'early Surrealist stuff' at this time.During the recording sessions, Whore was discarded as a potential album title, after Oliver changed the cover artwork idea to a monkey and halo cover. Francis later explained his rationale for the move:I thought people were going to think I was some kind of anti-Catholic or that I'd been raised Catholic and trying to get into this Catholic naughty-boy stuff. A monkey with a halo, calling it Whore, that would bring all kinds of shit that wouldn't be true.
So I said I'd change the title.Francis then named the album Doolittle, from the 'Mr. Grieves' lyric 'Pray for a man in the middle / One that talks like Doolittle'. Release In the months following Surfer Rosa, the Pixies' management fielded calls from a number of labels. Scout Peter Lubin first saw the band in October 1988, when they opened for. He immediately sought to convince the band to sign to his label.
Pixies contracted to Elektra Records during a UK spring tour in 1989. Elektra followed by releasing a live promotional album, which contained two songs from their forthcoming album, 'Debaser' and 'Gouge Away', along with a selection of earlier material.However Elektra had not yet attained distribution rights to the band's forthcoming album.
4AD, then a small British independent record label, held worldwide distribution rights to the Pixies, but did not have access to distribution outside of the United Kingdom; the band had had to import all its previous records from Europe. The Pixies' management sought international distribution; and while negotiations with Elektra and other record companies began in the third quarter of 1988, they were only completed just two weeks before Doolittle's release on April 2, 1989. Had already secured Canadian distribution rights by that time.Doolittle was released in the United Kingdom on April 17, 1989, and in the United States the following day. Throughout the States, helped by ' status, retail displays were constructed for the record, and ', the first single from the album, was released to for inclusion on playlists. Doolittle 's chart performance in the United States was unremarkable; the album entered the at number 171.
However, with the help of -play of 'Monkey Gone to Heaven', Doolittle eventually rose to number 98 and spent two weeks in the Top 100. In Britain, the record reached number eight on the.
This chart placing was an unexpected success for the band as their previous two records, and Surfer Rosa, had failed to reach as high on the British charts.In June 1989, 4AD released 'Here Comes Your Man' as the album's second single. It reached number three on the US chart and number 56 in the.
It was not the last single from the album: in 1997, 'Debaser' was released as a single to promote the compilation.Reissues To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album, 4AD announced that a deluxe edition of the album, titled Doolittle 25, was to be released January 12, 2015, containing unreleased B-sides, demos, and two full.On December 9, 2016, a limited version of the album was released containing a 5.1 mix of the album performed by Kevin Vanbergen and a high definition stereo mix performed. Reception Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRating10/1010/10B+Following its release, Doolittle sold steadily in America, and broke sales of 100,000 after six months. By early 1992, while the band were supporting on their, the album was selling 1,500 copies per week.
The middle of 1993, two years after the band's last album, saw sales average 1,200 copies per week. Doolittle was gold by the in 1995. Ten years after the breakup, Doolittle was still selling between 500 and 1,000 copies a week; the reunion tour saw sales creep back up to 1,200 copies per week. At the end of 2005, best estimates put total sales in America at between 800,000 and one million copies. As of 2015, sales in the United States have exceeded 834,000 copies, according to.Reaction to Doolittle was positive in general, with the album garnering praise from several major music publications. Writer Edwin Pouncey commented that 'the songs on Doolittle have the power to make you literally jump out of your skin with excitement'.
Critic Peter Kane said that Doolittle 's 'carefully structured noise and straightforward rhythmic insistence makes perfect sense'. Tim Rolston of praised Doolittle as 'a scintillating rock'n'roll album' and the Pixies' 'finest half-hour so far'. Several other publications ran positive reviews of the album, including the British music weekly, the, and the. 's of wrote, 'They're in love and they don't know why—with rock and roll, which is heartening in a time when so many college dropouts have lost touch with the verities'. However, he concluded that 'getting famous too fast could ruin them', while suggesting the lyrics reflect somewhat of a disconnection with 'the outside world'.Some reviewers were more critical. Said that 'Gil Norton's toy theatre production makes a drama out of what should have been a crisis'.
Ran a hundred-word review of the album, including critic Joe Levy's comment 'the insanity less surreal and more silly, and the songs themselves more like songs and less like adventures'. Rolling Stone, reviewing the album in July 1989, gave the album three and a half stars. Doolittle appeared on several end-of-year 'Best Album' lists; both Rolling Stone and The Village Voice placed the album tenth, and independent music magazines Sounds and Melody Maker both ranked the album as the second-best of the year. NME also ranked the album highly, placing it fourth in their end-of-year list.
Legacy The sudden loud to quiet dynamic present on Doolittle, most notably in 'Tame', has been very influential on. After writing ', both and of thought: 'this really sounds like the Pixies.
People are really going to nail us for this.' Producer Gil Norton usually receives much credit for the album's dynamic, and is sought by bands seeking a similar sound. Guitarist described Doolittle as less raw than Surfer Rosa but 'more listenable' and 'Here Comes Your Man' as a 'classic pop record'. Fellow alternative musician was 'in awe' of 'I Bleed' and 'Tame', and described Francis' writing as 'amazing'. The album was also included in the book.
Band relationships During the recording of Doolittle, tensions between Francis and Deal became visible to band members and the production team. Bickering and standoffs between the two marred the recording sessions and led to increased stress among the band members. John Murphy, Deal's husband at the time, later recalled that with Doolittle it 'went from just all fun to work'. Exhaustion from touring and from releasing three records in two years contributed to the friction. This culminated at the end of the US post- Doolittle 'Fuck or Fight' tour, where they were too tired to attend the end-of-tour party. Soon afterwards, the band announced that they were taking a break.After they reconvened in 1990, Francis began to limit Deal's contributions to the band.
He wrote and sang all the original material on the Pixies' two subsequent albums; 1990's and 1991's (both produced by Norton and mixed by Haigler). This breakdown in the relationship between Deal and Francis, first apparent during the recording of Doolittle, ultimately led to the band's breakup in late 1992 and early 1993. Accolades A range of music magazines have since acclaimed Doolittle as one of the quintessential alternative rock albums of the 1980s.
Rolling Stone, reviewing Doolittle again in 2002, gave the album a maximum score of five stars, remarking that it laid the 'groundwork for Nineties rock'. Doolittle has received a number of international accolades and is consistently noted as one of the best albums of the 1980s in any genre.The information regarding accolades attributed to Doolittle is taken from AcclaimedMusic.net.
PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRankIrelandTop 100 Albums200634JuiceAustraliaThe 50 Best Albums of All Time19972UK100 Best Albums20032PanoramaNorwayThe 30 Best Albums of the Year 19USTop 100 Albums of the 1980s20024UKUltimate Music Collection2005.US100 Greatest Albums, 19536USBest Albums of the 1980s201234(.) designates unordered lists. Track listing All tracks were written by, except where noted.No.TitleWriter(s)Length1.' Wave of Mutilation'2:044.' I Bleed'2:345.' La La Love You'2:4311.' 13 Baby'3:5112.'
There Goes My Gun'1:4913.' Gouge Away'2:45Total length:38:38Doolittle 25 bonus discs Disc 2 – B-Sides & Peel SessionsNo.TitleLength1.' Dead' (Peel Session 9 October 1988)3:182.' Tame' (Peel Session 9 October 1988 (Previously unreleased))1:583.' There Goes My Gun' (Peel Session 9 October 1988)2:184.'
Manta Ray' (Peel Session 9 October 1988)1:495.' Into the White' (Peel Session 16 April 1989 (Previously unreleased))4:116.' Wave of Mutilation' (Peel Session 16 April 1989)2:317.' Down to the Well' (Peel Session 16 April 1989)2:148.' Manta Ray' (Monkey Gone to Heaven B-side)2:049.' Weird at My School' (Monkey Gone to Heaven B-side)1:5810.'
Dancing The Manta Ray' (Monkey Gone to Heaven B-side)2:1411.' Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)' (Here Comes Your Man B-side)3:0212.'
Into the White' (Here Comes Your Man B-side)4:4313.' Bailey's Walk' (Here Comes Your Man B-side)2:24Disc 3 – DemosNo.TitleLength1.' Tame' (previously unreleased)2:013.' Wave of Mutilation' (first demo; previously unreleased)2:044.'
I Bleed' (previously unreleased)1:465.' Here Comes Your Man' (1986 demo)3:076.' Dead' (previously unreleased)1:357.' Monkey Gone to Heaven' (previously unreleased)2:528.'
Grieves' (previously unreleased)1:429.' Crackity Jones' (previously unreleased)1:2110.' La La Love You' (previously unreleased)2:0811.'
13 Baby – VIVA LA LOMA RICA' (first demo; previously unreleased)2:1712.' There Goes My Gun' (previously unreleased)1:2913.'
Hey' (first demo; previously unreleased)3:2214.' Silver' (previously unreleased)2:1115.' Gouge Away' (previously unreleased)1:4216.' My Manta Ray Is All Right' (previously unreleased)2:0317.' Santo' (Dig For Fire B-side)2:1718.'
Weird at My School' (first demo; previously unreleased)1:5319.' Wave of Mutilation' (previously unreleased)1:0320.' 13 Baby'3:0721.' Debaser' (first demo; previously unreleased)3:3722.'
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Ebert, Roger (2000-04-16). Retrieved 2007-03-19. Sisario, 2006. 26. Sisario, 2006. 96.
Spitz, Marc. 'Life to the Pixies'.
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Retrieved 16 April 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.Works cited. Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. Virgin Books, 2005. Sisario, Ben.
Doolittle 33⅓. Continuum, 2006.External links Wikiquote has quotations related to:. at (streamed copy where licensed).
at. at Music.
Get It At I’m not sure if the word “maturation” applies to the Pixies and their 2nd release, Doolittle. If by maturing you mean becoming more honest or sincere then no, this band is too “hip” for that. Yet, there is something about their sophomore album that makes it sound more serious than their debut. Perhaps it’s the several normal sounding songs, no more pointless dialogues like You.in’ Die!
Or perhaps it’s that this album rocks a little bit more and has some real aggression in spots, unlike the complete goof-off manner of Surfer Rosa. However, one big difference from it’s former is that it has no filler. 15 tracks, none which take themselves too seriously, none which taunt the listener with elitist inaccessibility, and all that have something to say. However, one thing hasn’t changed about these college rockers: the lyrics. Slicing up eyeballs, Girlie so groovy goes the verse of the first track, Debaser. The album opener is referring to the 1920s movie “Un Chien Andalou.” The movie was directed by a group of artists going against what made a movie. It had no script, narrative, or proper actors.
The song’s verse replicates a scene from the movie where a man is forced to slice the eyeballs out of a girl’s sockets (how lovely!). The song itself is about Black, after seeing this movie, wanting to live by it. He saw it as a movie that brought down the quality of the cinematic industry in general, and he too wanted to be the “Debaser” of the music industry.
Despite this abstract song theme, the music is quite upbeat and fun. Consisting of an anthemic bass line, roaring guitar leads, and Black screaming out nonsense, it, in a sense, is the perfect album opener and sets the tone for the rest of the album. As I mentioned above, Doolittle set the standard for aggression in this new alternative genre. Tame is probably the Pixies’ most aggressive song. Actually it’s more about its transitions than aggressiveness, consisting of a quiet verse and then a chorus screaming YOU’RE TAAAAAAAME. Transitions like these are what influenced latter day Grunge/ Alternative artists. The bridge also contains heavy breathing and a girl squealing Uh Huh, Uh Huh; very primal.
This, according to Black, is supposed to be a “sexual representation” and is violently portrayed. This goes on until he goes back to repeat his brutal screams of TAAAAAAAAME.
Wave of Mutilation, despite its name, seems to be a harmless surf rock tune. However the lyrics are dark, inspired by an incident when a Japanese businessman committed suicide by driving off a bridge into the ocean, with both his kids and wife inside. It’s a very sinister theme, but the music anything but. Starting with a foot stomping, chain-saw buzzing riff, and then Black refraining You think I’m dead, but I sail away on a Wave of Mutilation I Bleed starts off with a slightly distorted bass line, adds hip/hop like drum beat, then a very low-key guitar lead. The music drops off, except the bass and Black harmonizes with Kim singing As loud as hell, a ringing bell.
The harmonizing is incredibly uneven, but it suits the track, which itself is uneven. The whole song consists of this bizarre harmonizing, including a bridge where Black is struggling to scream as his voice is overpowered by an almost-whispering woman. The next song is quite the opposite, containing Black and Deal’s best vocal performance. Here Comes Your Man is a simple pop tune, which at first glance appears to be a love song (but is actually about an atomic bomb). However, it’s executed so well, it could have very well been done by The Beatles!
If you disagree, listen to the You’ll never wait so long bridge and tell me your opinion (which I could honestly care less about haha). The abrasive Dead, similar to I Bleed, is filled with out of tune guitar bends, replicating the sound of a siren, with Black’s vocals sounding like he’s shouting them through a megaphone. However, the chorus sounds like your typical power pop song. It's weird how many songs on here are dealing with violence, pain, and death - and yet how they treat these subjects as if they were all locked inside a dollhouse. When listening to the tracks mentioned above, I occasionally wonder if these guys were just parodying Goth-rock. Indeed, there are several elements of parody in Doolittle, but it would be wrong to reduce it to pure parody.
Pixies Doolittle 25
Besides, they occasionally bust out a normal-sounding song in this midst of craziness. Monkey Gone to Heaven, which is the closest thing on here to a ballad, is an emotional and deep song.
The title explains the theme of the song itself. The music creates an atmosphere as being depressing/ woeful, however how can it with such an immature subject? Well, the emotion that is put into those lines This monkey’s gone to Heaven paired with the backing cellos and melody makes up for it. Another highlight of this song is the bridge where the music drops off and Black whispers, If man is five, then the devil is six. Then he begins to scream If the devil is six, then God is seven!
It creates a beautiful climax to end the track. Grieves starts with a reggae-like guitar picking. Hope everything is all right Black says with an evil snicker. It starts off slow, relaxed and slowly builds up energy until Black starts asking frantically Do you have another opinion? This song represents an insane man, who is grieving over someone’s death but is trying to hide it, explaining Black’s almost defensive attitude. Crackity Jones is the fastest/ most schizophrenic rocker on the album. It begins with a speedy guitar riff and Black introducing our character.
Then a snare fill leads into the chorus with Black rapidly screaming the title of the track. This song is so incredibly fast and short, it could almost be qualified as filler (gasp). However, it couldn’t be considering how different it is from the other tracks. The purpose of Doolittle is to prove that the Pixies can master any genre, no matter how absurd the presentation is. Next comes, La La Love You, which is even more straightforward - composed of great melody - with a wonderful electric guitar line lifting it up and lyrics that only betray irony when they go First base, Second base, third base, homerun! It’s also hilarious to hear it start of with such a foot-stomping drum intro with Francis shouting Shake your butt! And then turn into a sappy-dappy love song.
13 Baby is anything than its previous track. The uneven guitar bends are enough to make one grind their teeth, and his squealing is even more repulsive. The song even becomes “dirtier” as you hear Black sneer Got a tattooed tit, say number 13. However there is a piece of melody as demonstrated by the outro solo that is, needless to say, one of the finest uses of delay ever. There Goes My Gun begins with Francis shouting YOU HOE! Pretty different from the sappy-dappy La La Love You, eh?
This leads into roaring guitars and Black refraining There goes my gun. I can’t go into much detail about this surf-rocker, but it introduces the idea of the next track very well. Hey is yet another emotional song, like Monkey Gone to Heaven.
However, there is one huge difference between the two; the emotion put into this song is SINCERE. Though the lyrics could be considered crude (whores are common subjects), the despair that Black puts into the line We’re chained is one of the most “real” things I’ve ever heard.
You can feel his struggle, how desperate he really is. The guitar work is also beautiful, fading in and out of solos. This track is an overlooked gem, and could be the best on the album. Silver is also a very emotional song, but it’s doesn’t deal with grieving or despair, it represents loss of hope. It creates a depressing view of slavery, and is mimicking slave songs. In this land of strangers there are dangers sings Kim in a high-pitched voice. The powerful hit of the tom creates an echo, almost that of a cave, keeping a steady beat.
Pixies Doolittle Discogs
The music is slow and lifeless, unlike any of the tracks on here. There isn’t even life in Kim’s voice, who sounds like she’s about to break down into tears. Gouge Away is a great closing track; filled with transitions and previous sounds used throughout the album.
It starts with a bass and drum rhythm section with Black saying softly You can gouge away. Guitar feedback comes into play and then he climaxes screaming with the little energy he has left. The guitar from the chorus keeps repeating until the last chord is played to end the album. Overall, Doolittle is a monster of an album, breaking the boundaries of music as we knew it. However, people criticize it for being a “nonsense” album. “Their music had no real message,” some critics might analyze.
However, the important thing to realize is that you CAN’T analyze it; it’s impressionism. When you hear a song like Monkey Gone to Heaven, you can’t try to analyze it and make a message out of it.
Pixies Doolittle Shirt
Don’t ask yourself, “What does the monkey represent? Why is the monkey going to heaven? Is the monkey a commentary on the issue of the constantly evolving disputes over religion?” The answer is NO, the Pixies didn’t set out to have a message or start a revolution; they merely set out to make music for people to enjoy. Which brings me back full circle to the question at the beginning of the review – why does Doolittle sound more mature? Because it tackles more mature matters.
There’s an unspoken idea underlying each song. Sure the ideas might be nonsense or immature, but when I listen to this, I don’t feel like I’m listening to a “parody” or a “nonsense” album. It’s actually pretty “serious.” It’s a hilarious, ironic, self-mocking, post-modernist, serious album. Yeah, they're kind of as rare as a breed of white rhinoceros, but they do exist, and Doolittle is one of them. Hey, why do you think it gets a “classic” status? For the halo around the monkey's head?