PIXIES Poll: The best track on Surfer Rosa

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Previously:
PIXIES Poll: The best track on Doolittle
PIXIES Poll: The best track on Trompe le Monde
PIXIES Poll: The best track on Come On Pilgrim
PIXIES Poll: The best track on Bossanova
PIXIES Poll: The best track on Complete 'B' Sides

http://i43.tinypic.com/adi3i9.jpg

Poll Results

OptionVotes
"Gigantic" – 3:45 28
"Where Is My Mind?" – 3:53 16
"Bone Machine" – 3:02 13
"River Euphrates" – 2:33 6
"Break My Body" – 2:05 5
"Brick Is Red" – 2:00 4
"Oh My Golly!" – 2:32 3
"Broken Face" – 1:30 3
"Something Against You" – 1:47 3
"Cactus" – 2:16 2
"Vamos" – 4:18 2
"I'm Amazed" – 1:42 1
"Tony's Theme" – 1:52 1


Johnny Fever, Monday, 18 May 2009 00:25 (fourteen years ago) link

Oh please. "Gigantic".

Alex in NYC, Monday, 18 May 2009 00:31 (fourteen years ago) link

You knew I had to get around to this one eventually. It's a lot of people's favorite Pixies album (not necessarily mine). Pretty tough 4-way tie for me, though, between Bone Machine, Break My Body, Gigantic and Where is My Mind.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 18 May 2009 00:32 (fourteen years ago) link

what he said
xpost

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 18 May 2009 00:32 (fourteen years ago) link

For me it's between Gigantic and River Euphrates which is probably more tied to the memories it holds for me than the actual song but it still makes this a tough decision.

Noooo! Cats are not for eating!!! (ENBB), Monday, 18 May 2009 00:33 (fourteen years ago) link

OK fine, Gigantic.

Noooo! Cats are not for eating!!! (ENBB), Monday, 18 May 2009 00:36 (fourteen years ago) link

Gigantic.

kornrulez6969, Monday, 18 May 2009 01:05 (fourteen years ago) link

a big big love.

i go for "Oh My Golly!"

jed_, Monday, 18 May 2009 01:19 (fourteen years ago) link

Granted it's a small sampling thus far, but I never realized "Gigantic" was so universally loved.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 18 May 2009 01:51 (fourteen years ago) link

yeah but the gigantic on their first e.p. is much better if ya ask me. therefore where is my mind.

by the way this was the last great "indie" album ever made imho - there were some decent/good ones afterwards, but basically it was all downhill from here.

</ducks, runs for cover, rapidly puts on flame retardant suit while hiding behind a door with a chair wedged under the doorknob etc etc>

messiahwannabe, Monday, 18 May 2009 05:17 (fourteen years ago) link

where is my mind since i first heard the pixies?

Dr X O'Skeleton, Monday, 18 May 2009 12:04 (fourteen years ago) link

think I might vote bone machine since gigantic and where is my mind won't need my help

Bathtime at the Apollo (G00blar), Monday, 18 May 2009 12:06 (fourteen years ago) link

I was talking to peachy-peach about kissy-kiss
He bought me a soda
He bought me a soda
He bought me a soda and he tried to molest me in the parking lot

Bathtime at the Apollo (G00blar), Monday, 18 May 2009 12:07 (fourteen years ago) link

The frayed color of ice

kingkongvsgodzilla, Monday, 18 May 2009 12:12 (fourteen years ago) link

Shit, too hard. Any one of about 8, but I'll go for Where Is My Mind?

Chris in Belfast, Monday, 18 May 2009 12:15 (fourteen years ago) link

done before:
Surfer Rosa, a poll

Zeno, Monday, 18 May 2009 12:52 (fourteen years ago) link

^^^ unauthorized poll, not part of The Johnny Fever Series®

Johnny Fever, Monday, 18 May 2009 12:55 (fourteen years ago) link

fair enough...

gigantic is overrated and might be my least favourite pixies song.
always wonder why people like it so much.

Zeno, Monday, 18 May 2009 13:01 (fourteen years ago) link

get ready for challops!

"Gigantic" was better when Weezer remade it as "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here."

Johnny Fever, Monday, 18 May 2009 13:06 (fourteen years ago) link

I didn't remember doing the poll, but looking back at my earlier post, I followed the exact same thought process when voting. I guess I have pretty entrenched feelings about this album.

kingkongvsgodzilla, Monday, 18 May 2009 13:06 (fourteen years ago) link

gigantic is pretty yawnsome, where is my mind is pretty awesome, but i always preferred doolittle.

massive dynamic lady (ledge), Monday, 18 May 2009 13:16 (fourteen years ago) link

When these were out I had Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa on either side of a cassette, and thought of them as two sides of the same album; I never really thought about how much more I like Come on Pilgrim. Though of course "Gigantic" is one of the best 3 Pixies songs probably and is a clear winner here. Loved, I think, because it's so majestically simple and strips out from the idea of song every element apart from "Pixiesness," and still flies.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 18 May 2009 13:34 (fourteen years ago) link

Almost went for "Oh My Golly!" but switched to "Vamos" at the last second. "If we get bored....we'll move to cALiForNIAA!" A lot of things could have won this for me really. "Gigantic" obv.

― Doctor Casino, Sunday, November 18, 2007 7:52 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ha, this time I voted for "Oh My Golly!" without a moment's hesitation. By far the most fun to sing without having to know the words.

Doctor Casino, Monday, 18 May 2009 13:46 (fourteen years ago) link

Far and away my favorite Pixies, and "Broken Face" has always been the top track; the way it moves from the hanging sustained note to the full-on crush. If their legacy is the loud-soft thing, that's my favorite example of it. Also, I think the "I got no lips / got no tongue" expresses paralysis and confusion better than "Where is My Mind"

bendy, Monday, 18 May 2009 16:38 (fourteen years ago) link

Gigantic has a boring chorus.

paulhw, Monday, 18 May 2009 18:20 (fourteen years ago) link

I think that the pre-chorus is more boring: "Hey Paul, Hey Paul, Hey Paul, Let's have a ball." If I didn't know that the part where she goes "GI-GAN-TIC! GI-GAN-TIC!" was coming up, I'd turn it off right there.

kingkongvsgodzilla, Monday, 18 May 2009 18:29 (fourteen years ago) link

Bone Machine.

that's not my post, Tuesday, 19 May 2009 05:42 (fourteen years ago) link

second poll of the song/album/band never really seem to work on ILM.

Bee OK, Tuesday, 19 May 2009 05:59 (fourteen years ago) link

srsly this album is all time top 10 for me...

River Euphrates (tho i feel like I should rep for Brick is Red)

even corpse management will be at risk (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 19 May 2009 21:31 (fourteen years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Sunday, 24 May 2009 23:01 (fourteen years ago) link

Gigantic

sonderangerbot, Sunday, 24 May 2009 23:14 (fourteen years ago) link

too lazy to think on it. Gigantic.

phantompenguin, Sunday, 24 May 2009 23:20 (fourteen years ago) link

river euphrates

Vokuhila (latebloomer), Monday, 25 May 2009 02:27 (fourteen years ago) link

maybe broken face

Vokuhila (latebloomer), Monday, 25 May 2009 02:27 (fourteen years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Monday, 25 May 2009 23:01 (fourteen years ago) link

Crap, now I can't remember if I even voted in my own poll. Or what I voted for if I did. I should write this shit down.

Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 04:38 (fourteen years ago) link

Wow, no track left un-voted for!

eight years pass...

Pretty good piece. But is it really “ride the tyre down Ricer Euphrates”? I’ve always heard “tiger” but I guess they don’t float too well and object to being ridden.

startled macropod (MatthewK), Wednesday, 14 March 2018 19:56 (six years ago) link

I've always thought it was tiger too. Let's just pretend it is.

Benson and the Jets (ENBB), Wednesday, 14 March 2018 20:01 (six years ago) link

ugh, RIVER, typing on a phone without glasses

startled macropod (MatthewK), Thursday, 15 March 2018 02:56 (six years ago) link

Always figured it was Tiger because of the name of the other big river in Mesopotamia.

LeRooLeRoo, Thursday, 15 March 2018 05:02 (six years ago) link

four months pass...

I got logged out of Facebook BY Facebook this weekend because sometime in November I commented on a status with a youtube of "I'm Amazed" and the cover image on it was the album cover, boobs and all. Apparently that's a violation of Community Standards.

Ubering With The King (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 8 August 2018 00:40 (five years ago) link

It still bewilders me that boobs are somehow offensive. Like, to whom? Answer's Break My Body tho

albvivertine, Wednesday, 8 August 2018 00:46 (five years ago) link

antisemitism on the hand is ok on fb. how hypocritical!

Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Thursday, 9 August 2018 14:00 (five years ago) link

I had the same thing last weekend after sharing a YouTube of "Oh My Golly" or something last September. They must be on boobwatch.

the Joao looked at Jonny (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 9 August 2018 14:06 (five years ago) link

Many Americans are scared of the female body and have trouble not looking at it as anything but a sexual object.

✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 9 August 2018 14:30 (five years ago) link

This is more specific to FB than general cultural mores. We’re talking about widely available album cover images here

There’s a big ongoing thing w/FB censoring breastfeeding community/instructional pics

empire bro-lesque (morrisp), Thursday, 9 August 2018 14:32 (five years ago) link

For the better part of my teenage years this was my favorite album. Where is My Mind and Gigantic where the initial highlights and I played them until they wore them out. these days Break my body and Cactus are the ones I’m the most fond of.

I prefer Doollitle by a long shot, which I didn’t really listen to until I was in my mid 20s almost a decade later after being in love with this album. Don’t know how to describe it but Surfer Rosa does seem to have a more manic and free form, all songs feel loose and a little bit like controlled chaos in a good way. Doolitle is more traditionally shaped.

✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 9 August 2018 14:41 (five years ago) link

My best friend made a (cassette) copy of Surfer Rosa for me somewhere toward the end of 1989, at the beginning of 9th grade; I probably already knew Doolittle from 120 Minutes play. I don't know if it was by snobby design, but he left off "Where is My Mind?" so that he could fit in a bunch of random Amphetamine Reptile singles and shit. I didn't hear that song until I bought the CD many months later.

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 9 August 2018 15:44 (five years ago) link

he left off "Where is My Mind?" so that he could fit in a bunch of random Amphetamine Reptile singles and shit.

haha, classic teen move

empire bro-lesque (morrisp), Thursday, 9 August 2018 16:02 (five years ago) link


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