by Joseph King

Created on: May 05, 2009

Growing up in the neo-punk era of alternative music which owes its roots to the likes of Sonic Youth and the Pixies, I was determined to obtain and listen to what is regarded as one of the most classic and impressionable auditory works in the history of the genre, the album Surfer Rosa by the Pixies. Bands from Nirvana to the Smashing Pumpkins to OK GO have listed this album as a profound influence on their music, so I went on listening with the highest of expectations. Like many ridiculously high expectations, the real thing fell short.

By no means is it a bad album. Like Nirvana or the Pumpkins, I was expecting a Nevermind or Siamese Dream style classic, but in the end, Surfer Rosa felt a little too raw, with a few tracks upon relistening, I was dreading to even give a second chance. However, I did find it inspiring and in that has the means to live up to those expectations. The punk grinds and grooves, the shear attitude of the music was enough to pulsate the blood in my veins and urge me to clench my guitar and bust out in anger or malice or pain or love. On the whole the album is like an NBA prospect who has all the tools to be a superstar, flashes of greatness, but lacks the experience to be one of the best.

The track that stands out the most for me is "Where is My Mind," famous for being the ending song during the building collapse scene in the movie Fight Club. It was a song I had loved years before I ever considered this album. It almost feels too good for it. Out of this mess of punk chatter and harsh riffs comes a masterpiece of a song, rising in the middle, the peak moment anteceding the decrescending decline of quality thereafter. I enjoy the tracks "Gigantic" and "Break My Body" very much, and songs like "Tony's Theme" and "Cactus" are the types of songs you always enjoy on albums and regret that people who stick to their itunes and radio singles miss on a regular basis.

So in conclusion, I do enjoy the album, respect it, and see the genius in it, but it does fall short of expectations. My personal review neither confirms nor denies its place in music history, but I am certain its legacy will remain in tact. It is a must-have for the punk and alternative-enthused individuals and a must-listen for any music historian, just to say "I get it." Whatever mysterious attachment forms to Surfer Rosa lies beneath the aestheticly obscure nature of the sound and crosses that line between song and music. It is an album I will both question and cherish on until eternity.

Learn more about this author, Joseph King.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.