Teenager Of The Year

I was voted teenager of the year in 1997. Incredible that I won it really, having only been a teenager for 14 days, but there you go. I remember Scott Kelly being particularly upset by this as he'd been a teenager for longer. He now goes by the username of spackers, so that's the kind of guy he is and shows you that he never stood a chance. Spackers. I mean, come on. Anyway, this album was good.

How this is in the list I'll never know

I LOVE this album cover and title. I also read that Frank Black was legitimately named Teenager of the Year. So I really wanted to love this. I didn’t think I had heard Frank Black before, but I did have in my library his cover of “Sugar Daddy” from the Wig In A Box album celebrating the music from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The Pixies are also a band I feel like I should know but don’t. So I’m jazzed to listen to this… I started off wondering if this was a punk album, but while the influences are strong it’s not that... “(I Want To Live On An) Abstract Plain” and “Calistan” are amazing! The guitar solo is awesome in “The Vanishing Spies”. “Speedy Marie” is fantastic and introduced me to the word ‘romaunt’. This is a smart album! Then comes “Headache” - another incredible song. Wow wow wow! A song about the aqueducts built by Mulholland?! Holy shit! This album is officially off the hook incredible. How many times can I keep saying how great a song is? How many songs are on this album…? A song about ‘pong’?! ‘Pachinko’ and ‘Parcheesi’?! Rhyming ‘potlatch’ with ‘Sasquatch’?! ‘Chateaubriand’ in the lyrics?! Photon powered spacecraft?! The 60s sci fi show The Invaders?! Not to mention I now know the word ‘thalassocracy’! Throw in catchy as hell music and… LOVE LOVE LOVE! You know an album is great when you keep saying ‘oh THIS is the best song on the album’ over and over as you listen. TEENAGER OF THE YEAR has that. It is a fantastic album that I can’t wait to listen to again. So much going on and so much still to discover!

Teenager of the Year is too much long for it's own good. There are songs strewn throughout the album where there are moments that stick long enough to be memorable and where songs can be utterly forgettable. If this were split into two albums, maybe it could be a better overall achievement by Frank Black but, as one whole, it's okay. Favorites: Whatever Happened to Pong?, (I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain, Calistan, Freedom Rock, Fiddle Riddle, Olé Mulholland, I Could Stay Here Forever, Pure Denizens of the Citizens Band.

I had a feeling as soon as I mentioned the hot streak we'd lose it. This isn't bad though. Apparently Frank Black is part of the Pixies, I do like what I've heard from them. Sometimes his singing reminds me of Lou Reed and Mark Kozelek. Many of the songs feel like fragments, but there's a good force of rock driving throughout. This seems like a really creative guy who felt repressed by being in a band, so he's letting it all out in a solo project. I respect that, even though I don't love the final product. There are a few good tracks sprinkled throughout, but as a whole it's nothing too impressive. Favorite tracks: Calistan, Headache, Abstract Plain. Album art: This made me laugh when I saw it last night. It's a cool cover, but what? Why was this big adult man coronated "teenager of the year"? Why is his free hand aimed to roast someone with a "what are thoooose"? 3/5

It was a little bit awful

Fitting that the most popular song on the album is called Headache. Did not like it very much. Not worth a listen to me. 1

There is something really quite special when an album you love but never imagined would make it on the list comes up. And so, here we are, with Frank Black’s second solo album (his first is also pretty good). Unleashed from the now split Pixies (temporarily split, as it turns out) although still working with Joey Santiago who delivers some fine guitar solos, Black indulges his love of space, aliens, conspiracies, sci fi, deserts and his and the water supply to California. Most tracks are short, snappy and punchy, (The Hostess with the Mostest is a nifty slice of diner pie clocking in at 1m 56s) alongside some extended surf rock and ska tracks. At the time, many called this ‘Pixies on the Beach’ and whilst there is light and sunshine here, Black’s oddities and obsession never quite put the listener at ease. But he’s clearly enjoying creating some pop rock tunes, singing not screaming and it makes for a fun, quirky, terrific record.

The older I get, the less tolerance I have for double albums. Give me a concise 40-45 minute record, with just your best shit. Leave me wanting more, don’t make me want to walk away because you keep rambling. Save the rest for a bonus ep or another standalone record. There are very few double albums that justify being 65-80 minutes long and Teenager of the Year isn’t one of them. There’s probably a great, 5 star, record in here, but there’s too much similar sounding sprawl to make this a concise, enjoyable experience. Let’s be honest, no one needed a Frank Black reggae/dub excursion, which underscores my point about double records: just because you can do something (fill a cd with 80 minutes of music, record a reggae track) doesn’t mean you should. The best parts of this record are when the song structures get a little complex and the instrumentation gets varied (though a lot the synths and keys on this record definitely sound dated). I wouldn’t call them “prog” songs, but they are certainly “prog-like”. Even then, these songs become indistinguishable towards the end. As whole, the album attempts eschew formula with varied stylistic choices, but the songs themselves all follow a very similar formula. 13 or 14 songs into Teenager of the Year, you’ll probably be thinking to yourself, “Ok, I get it already” or “didn’t I hear this song already?”. Then, you’ll realize you still have another 8 or 9 tracks to go.

I really enjoyed this, it was a chaotic mess that reminded me of a more grungy They Might Be Giants at times? Need to look into more Frank Black and The Pixies. "Headache" was the best track, but there were a lot of tracks I was fond of. "Ole Mulholland", "Space is Gonna Do Me Good", "Thalassocracy".

You'd be forgiven for not realizing this is the main dude from the Pixies, when he went by the stage name Black Francis. Apparently this thing came out in May, 1994, but this is my first time ever hearing of it. In fact, my only familiarity with Black Francis/Frank Black's solo work is a great cover he did of The Beach Boys' "Hang On To Your Ego". There's a very good chance that if I had more than 24-hours to sit with this album, it would warrant a beloved 5 rating.

If anyone is familiar with Jeff Tweedy's (Wilco frontman) first band Uncle Tupelo, this album has a few songs that sound just like it and I love them. Never explored the Pixies much further than the hits, and always thought they were just eh. But I was really digging this guys style. Alternative with a slight country influence at times. Made for some earnest songwriting.

Punk, pop, grunge, garage. And even though this is an hourlong album of brief songs, it remains unified. A real breath of fresh air.

I Could Stay Here Forever

Best album I never knew. Opening track must've been a big inspiration for everything Geordie Greep has done. I'm sold.

What a great L.P.

Top shelf

Never ad erd of deez but its qite nice and feels qite of the time.

You’re like wtf is this? Then it grows on you. Is it good you ask? Idk I listen to the whole thing and I’m still puzzled.

Everything is not good, but there are plenty of good songs, some even reminding me of Dire Straits.

So, Frank Black , aka Black Frances, aka Charles Thompson IV is the lead singer of the Pixies! Didn't know that. I enjoyed this and really did get some Dire Straits vibes on a couple songs. References a Wrinkle in Time in Headache, so its got to be good. 4

The CD era really was a terrible time for concise, solid throughout albums, instead opting for throwing everything in the artist could that would fit on a disc, and it leads to albums like Teenager of the Year. Frank Black has some solid ideas here, with that signature feeling of Pixies throughout, but it feels like something is missing. What's missing, of course, is the rest of the band, but also those intricate decisions of what songs were deemed worthy of an album are gone, instead allowing for far too many tracks on an album that could be cut down to 1/3 of its size and be better for it. There's good playing, good song-writing, and strong enough melodies to be found on the whole project, but after an hour it all starts to feel the same, with little to help it stand out.

This album is like life - it peaks early This album is like life - it has it's moments, which only exacerbate the disappointments This album is like life - it's too long for it's own good Three lifetimes out of five 👶👨👴

I love the Pixies. I discovered them with Doolittle, and then bought all of their albums thereafter at release. I played and loved them a lot. I even like Trompe le Monde and Bossanova. But when they split, I transferred my affection completely over to Kim Deal and the Breeders. I know I listened to Frank Black's first couple of solo albums (including this one) when they were released but I found little that grabbed me, and easily forgettable. It felt like a fading carbon copy of the Pixies, almost like someone trying to make a record that sounded like a Pixies record. But without the power or biting edge. Frank Black has released a pretty prodigious catalogue of music since then, all of which I have managed to ignore. So, coming back to this album nearly 30 years after release, do I find it any more compelling than I did at the time? It's slightly better than I remember, but I still stand by my initial assessment. Not much that sticks out here, except for Headache which is a pretty good song. I like that the tracks are short and to the point, but with 22 tracks clocking in over an hour, there are more than a few songs that could have been happily left on the cutting room floor. 'Fiddle Riddle' and 'Ole Mulholland' are the first tracks I would cull. On a 1001 list note, I do not understand why this album is on the list but the Breeders 'Last Splash ' is not. It was a much more successful and impactful record both commercially and critically at the time, and, I would argue, has had a much greater lasting influence. Plus, Last Splash is a lot more fun than Teenager of the Year. I find it hard to ascribe this substitution to anything other than chauvinism.

Decent album. Enjoyable. A few different styles. Seemed to be doing impressions of different artists. Spot the Neil Young and New Order.

A lengthy selection of eclectic pieces, none of which particularly stood out to me. There were moments that reminded me of Primus and this is not a good thing. Minus one star for how unnecessarily long it was.

Loved this album. I now have a new album in my rotation

Very good pop album 10/10

Fantastic stuff. I do feel like it does run a little long. Especially compared to how perfect Pixies albums and songs are despite their short length. But I still love it.

Amazing

Never heard of this guy. But maybe it has potential being 1994. Oh yeah, definitely has all the great characteristics of the 90s. Even though I'd never heard this album before the whole thing had a familiarity to it. I bet a lot of these songs were played a lot in the UK. 5 stars.

Secret pixies album! Really loved it all the way through and never knew it existed until today. This is why we slog through the 2s and 3s folks

I've never listened to a solo Frank Black Album before and, goddamn, I loved this.

Absolutely fantastic and unexpected. I missed this album when it came out. An instant favorite for me.

Y'know, I never woulda been able to guess what I'd get from a Frank Black solo album. Heck, before this album I didn't even know this album existed — or who Frank Black was, for that matter. For real, I'd known about the Pixies and I at least knew the name Kim Deal, but it turns out I had no idea who Frank Black was. So, learning that this guy fronted the Pixies, I suppose my initial expectation going into this was that, like... It'd be more? And exactly "more" as in "more of the same," but like "a more extreme version; more concentrated." Which, to be clear, I liked the two Pixies albums I heard. I didn't **love** them; I still think I generally enjoy Weird Al's pastiche more, but I did enjoy my time with them. So, there was a small part of me that wasn't really looking forward to hearing a more concentrated Pixies. But goodness me, I never woulda guessed that **this** is what the frontman for the Pixies would've made. Like, it's way popper than I would've guessed. I mean, I suppose this **is** indie rock, whereas I'd always pegged the Pixies as alternative and punk. (And, yeah, genre definitions are loose, so the Pixies are also indie, but you get what I mean, right?) It's catchy stuff. It also reminds me so much of a specific band which, for the life of me, I can't think of the name of, but I know it's one I like, so it's still a good thing anyway. So many key and synth parts I liked, goodness. I think what surprised me most is how much I actually paid attention to the lyrics. I normally don't do that the first time with an album; not even with the Pixies albums. But here, they jus' kinda captivated me. LIke, there's songs about PONG and the aqueduct. I'd never heard the word "aqueduct" outside of a Monty Python. movie. It's just interesting stuff — kinda quirky and specific, which I guess just captures me way more than conventional and broad. But together with the music especially — goodness, it's great stuff. Honestly, I'd be pretty happy to give this thing a 5. It worked for me just that well — and it's a higher rating than I've given to any Pixies album, even. So, hey, good on you, Frankie. And big congrats on that Teenager Of The Year award, by the way. I'unno how **you** got it, but, hey, maybe the judges were working off of "casting for a high school drama" logic. Y'know, I never woulda been able to guess what I'd get from a Frank Black solo album. Heck, before this album I didn't even know this album existed — or who Frank Black was, for that matter. For real, I'd known about the Pixies and I at least knew the name Kim Deal, but it turns out I had no idea who Frank Black was. So, learning that this guy fronted the Pixies, I suppose my initial expectation going into this was that, like... It'd be more? And exactly "more" as in "more of the same," but like "a more extreme version; more concentrated." Which, to be clear, I liked the two Pixies albums I heard. I didn't **love** them; I still think I generally enjoy Weird Al's pastiche more, but I did enjoy my time with them. So, there was a small part of me that wasn't really looking forward to hearing a more concentrated Pixies. But goodness me, I never woulda guessed that **this** is what the frontman for the Pixies would've made. Like, it's way popper than I would've guessed. I mean, I suppose this **is** indie rock, whereas I'd always pegged the Pixies as alternative and punk. (And, yeah, genre definitions are loose, so the Pixies are also indie, but you get what I mean, right?) It's catchy stuff. It also reminds me so much of a specific band which, for the life of me, I can't think of the name of, but I know it's one I like, so it's still a good thing anyway. So many key and synth parts I liked, goodness. I think what surprised me most is how much I actually paid attention to the lyrics. I normally don't do that the first time with an album; not even with the Pixies albums. But here, they jus' kinda captivated me. LIke, there's songs about PONG and the aqueduct. I'd never heard the word "aqueduct" outside of a Monty Python. movie. It's just interesting stuff — kinda quirky and specific, which I guess just captures me way more than conventional and broad. But together with the music especially — goodness, it's great stuff. Honestly, I'd be pretty happy to give this thing a 5. It worked for me just that well — and it's a higher rating than I've given to any Pixies album, even. So, hey, good on you, Frankie. And big congrats on that Teenager Of The Year award, by the way. I'unno how **you** got it, but, hey, maybe the judges were working off of "casting for a high school drama" logic.

I am strangely at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. I can’t explain it; I had some serious doubts, because I’ve been pretty mixed on the Pixies in the past, and a solo album from their lead singer led me to one of two conclusions: either a more cleaned up, commercialized sound that would be palatable and distinctly different from the Pixies, or leaning even harder into the more avantgarde and loose parts of their hard rock sound, so much so that it somehow would loop around into art. By some miracle, this album manages to hit on both of those, and it weaves in and out of those paths so often that they end up blending together. I can give an immense amount of praise to most of the instrumentals here; they’re never really stale until maybe 3/4ths of the way through the album, and even then, there’s a very intentional choice to explore different genres in an effort to try and stay fresh. The effort sort of fails, but also sort of works at the same time; I can’t really describe it, if only because there was some general fatigue due to this album’s length that had me start to falter out by the end. I can give some good praise to his vocals too – he really does come across as a strong vocalist on a lot of these tracks, and it’s distinctly different from his Pixies style, which leaned a lot more into a slower, surfer-y vibe. These feel good to listen to throughout. The only thing I can kinda knock are the lyrics, but even with those, I sort of admire how off-the-wall some of the tracks are in their subject matter; spacecraft being sent to Mars, people who made water more available in California, a hard rock ballad about the 3 Stooges… there’s a lot here. It’s sort of Sufjan Stevens-esque in how varied it all is, and I like how big of a swing it takes. The biggest issue is the runtime and the amount of tracks; for as entertaining and as fast of an hour as this is, it could’ve been cut down by a bit – a few too many tracks start to tread on the same tone and subject matter, even with the experimental genre shifts towards the end. Get this down to like, 18 or even 15 of the best tracks, and you’ve got a pure winner here. As it stands, it’s still good, but it overstays its welcome just a little too long. That’s why I’m at a 4.5, but I enjoyed this too much to knock it down; it deserves a 5, and I’m kinda stunned that it does. It’s a fun album.

I like it, stays true and consistent with Frank Black’s vibe.

Lost in brit pop craziness

LOVE IT! Had never heard of this album and had a great time listening. I wish I had been the right age when this came out because it would have been the perfect life soundtrack. Some super hip little musical and metric turns. A few killing solos. Kept catching myself bobbing my head. Good fun!

very very cool

Like the pixies! Not as good but still it has so many hits!

Just the right amount of chaos. I've been sleeping on Frank Black, he did not decline from the Pixies.

This is one of my partner's favourite albums of all time, so I know it well. As she puts it: "It's a collection of nuggets. And their weird charm works on you whether you're in a foul or a happy mood. So you can stop using this app now. Look no further, this is *it*". Her words, not mine. 🙂 Truth be told, being a huge Pixies fan myself, I did buy *Teenager Of The Year* at the time of its release, and I have also enjoyed it for a long time. So I have my own personal compliments to give to this weird and wonderful gallery of post-1950s snapshots put into nineties indie-rock regalia, going from space conquest fantasies to UFO obsessions, or from Atlantis fairy tales to Hollywood conspiracy theories. The American spirit, as seen through a genius distorted lens of folk myths and urban legends... With the inclusion of the previous eponymous solo debut (also exploring those themes through so many memorable tunes), this sophomore LP is thus certainly the other Frank Black offering to select for such a list. And thanks to its whooping 22 tracks, it's also a *gargantuan* offering for sure--in keeping with Mr. Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV's rotound figure. 22 songs sound like a lot, but the album just flies by, really. First because a large quarter of the tracklist is made out of quite short and endearing jittery hectic punk-rock-inspired cuts only a mind like the one of Frank Black could pull off: they're tongue-in-cheek, surreal, very much in the abrasive loony spirit of Pere Ubu (who had Eric Drew Feldman in their ranks at the time, and helped produce this thing), and yet there's always something accessible to them. Half of the other songs in the album encompasses a larger indie-rock / hard-rock / pop-rock spectrum, sometimes acoustic-guitar-based, sometimes electric, with so many great melodies and catchy choruses it becomes a festival of standout tracks: "Abstract Plains", "Calistan", "Freedom Rock", "Two Reelers", "Olé Mulholland', "Pure Denizen of the Citizens Band", "I Could Stay Here Forever", "Headache"... The latter song was a hit in France, by the way, and this unexpected success in my neck of the woods probably explains why Frank Black will play the album in its entirety in Paris next February for the anniversary of its release. But even if I go to that gig and find a way to sneak in backstage, I don't expect Mr. Kittridge to remember me from the time I interviewed him for a local radio station at the end of the nineties--that interview was a bit boring, honestly, and to this day, I still don't really know if the fault was his or mine--just a way to say that if I have those personal recollections of the artist, I don't think they're influencing my positive take on *Teenager Of The Year* almost three decades after... To return to the album, each song from the last 25% of its tracklist seems to explore a different musical genre not directly adjacent to the main bulk of the record. The organ-laden surf-rock overtones of a couple of cuts were not so surprising from the former Pixies, but the mock-reggae song, along with the folk, country-rock and even doo-wop whiffs on a fistful of other cuts were quite unexpected. This is where complainers will bitch and moan about the album's length the most, I guess. I would retort to them in two ways: Frank Black's singular songwriting chops are still very much intact and *very much his* on those deeper cuts, which brings the necessary cohesion to the whole shebang ; and rather than being unnecessary detours, those fun exercises in style sprinkled throughout the record's tracklist give a sense of space and scope that's also necessary for such a project. Because long albums need to *breathe* once in a while, and this is how they can justify their lengths, at least if their twists and turns manage to keep you on your toes... Per Wikipedia, *Teenager Of The Year* was "not originally well-received", but it seems that this lukewarm assessment ended a few years down the line. I do remember a couple of mixed reviews at the time of the album's release, but frankly, I didn't give a rat's ass about them. I knew it was a great and very fun record from one of the most important musicians in its genre / category. Glad other folks seem to concur today. Frank Black might not have been the *real* "teenager of the year 1994" (and he was probably aware of the upcoming backlash / turn of the tides trendwise, hence the ironic title and the goofy artwork). But in retrospect, he does deserve his place on the indie-rock podium of all time. If there's one thing that this app can teach you, it's that yesterday's pageants don't matter that much. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 5. 9.5/10 for more general purposes. Number of albums left to review: 116 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 386 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 226 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 284

Awesome album

Great solo album

Lead singer of Pixies!!! I could hear it now that I realize that. Sir Rockaby and Fiddle Riddle are great songs.

Pixies minus a few, still good

This album is so consistantly strong. Every single song is great, even if the album seems to go on longer than it should, I can't think of any song I'd be okay with cutting. Love this album. Also, I didn't expect Frank Black to look like that, his voice made me think of some super skinny guy with bronze skin lol

Hadn’t listened to this in ages and I sang along to it.

This is really great. Reminds me a lot of the Pixies (because he was the singer), but a bit different. On consecutive songs ‘Superabound’ and ‘Big Red’, his vocals remind me of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, respectively, but with far different music and more of a Pixies sound. Something about this album that I like in music is it switching between songs quickly. There are still some that get to shine, but it has a nice energy to it. The end

Top, didn't know Frank Black is Pixies front man!

One of my favorite new-to-me albums I've gotten on this list. Sometimes double albums can feel like a drag, but this one could've kept going and I wouldn't have been upset. I enjoyed every last song, zero skips on this album for me. There are times where a song sounds like it's going to be a generic pop/indie song, but then he puts his own little twists in there that make it utterly unique and just plain cool. It's a super fun album, but it always maintains a little edge to it which I just love. I've been a Pixies fan for a very long time and am ashamed that I haven't listened to Frank Black's records sooner. I'm going on a short road trip next weekend and already can't wait to play this during my drive. Perfect spring time drive music. Finding albums like this makes this whole experience so worthwhile.

loved!

great thalassocracy (i wanna live on an) abstract plain calistan the vanishing spies speedy marie headache freedom rock fiddle riddle ole mulholland the hostess with the mostest superabound big red space is gonna do me good white noise maker pure denizen of the citizens band bad, wicked world

Weird stuff. Loved it.

I felt like I was in the 90’s

inesperadamente incrível! cheio de camadas, super fun!

Eu tinha tentado ouvir com a Flora, sem prestar muita atenção, mas não deu, foi incômodo. Tentando novamente, agora com atenção e acompanhando as letras.... Uau. Tem melodias deliciosas e tem bastante mudanças. Foi muito bom ficar esperando para ver como ele iria trabalhar com a voz, cada verso era uma surpresa!! O toque punk de algumas é lovely.

Song: Headache This is the second coincidence of the project—the Pixies today and their lead singer today. This isn't the type of music I usually listen to, but something about it just really hit me. I really enjoyed this song, the lyrics, the instrumentals (that keyboard, for some reason). I would absolutely listen to that again.

Another album that I already know well and love . It’s been a minute tho and I’m overdo for a visit. Some great recommendations here Thankyu

This album is good but long. Frank’s voice sounds as good as a Pixies album here, and it feels like he made a Pixies album under his own name. What a genius. 5/5 Fav: “Calistan”, “Headache”, “Whatever Happened to Pong?” Least Fav: None

One of the very best albums of all time. Amazing songs. Wonderful delivery. Great artist. As near perfection as you can get. Immediate, punchy, weird, a high octane window into the quirky world of Frank Black/Black Francis.

This is class! Like the Pixies meets Rocket from the Crypt, with great melodies and catchy little hooks. I didnt connect the name to Pixies to begin with, and I’m not sure why Ive never listened to Frank Black’s solo stuff given Ive been a longtime fan of Pixies. It is long, but bar a couple of tracks they are all excellent. And it doesnt really outstay its welcome especially given there’s over 20 tracks on this. Will be back.

When this was good it was brilliant, particularly when it was more punky which was the case for the first few songs. Reminded me of Weezer and I thought this album would be exactly what I always wanted from the Pixies. For the album as a whole there was a lot of pixies-sounding tracks, which while still great didn't stand up to the heavier stuff for me. Album was a little bloated too, could have trimmed about 25% of just okay tracks to end up with a better album. Saying all this, some class songs on this, 4.5.

Superchulo.

Superchulo.

I loved this, which was unexpected.

6 stars. This was my bible, my shield, my parents, and my best friend. A lot of Pixies fans couldn't bridge the gap between that band and this (and his first solo one, for that matter), but it all made sense to me. Where I think a lot of his musical ideas fell into ruts as time went on, this is one where every song and every diversion in every song was still paying off big time. 10 stars. This was way cooler than anything on the radio - we were swimming in a real sea of shit with the copy-of-a-copy grunge and mass-produced R&B. This was the only album with songs about video games, going to malls, visits from aliens, and The Three Stooges - sung with all the passion of Celine Dion singing about the power of love or whatever. A million stars.

There are so many odd things here that I've loved for almost 30 years. TIL that Two Reelers is about The Three Stooges. What an odd dude.

Superchulo

had pretty low expectations for this because 1, I forgot who Frank Black was (frontman of Pixies), and 2, the album cover, title, and seeing that it was a 90s alternative album, I was expecting some mediocre grunge-metal so glad that this is actually fucking fantastic although now that I know who Frank Black is, it makes sense that the guy who wrote the songs for Surfer Rosa and Doolittle would write an album like this - 10/10

Ondanks dat ik het idee heb dat ome Frank graag de mensen ook een beetje wil irriteren kan ik z'n muziek altijd heel goed hebben. Album is een tikkeltje aan de lange kant (ruim een uur), maar blijft best interessant. Ik geef een hele lichte 5 sterren. Ik vind het te goed voor 4, maar de andere 5 sterren albums zijn vrijwel allemaal nog net iets beter.

this rips, can always use more heyday pixies

((Totally new for me. Excellent and different. a relief it isn't crap. This is a wretched list)) Adventurous? ...you like it non-standard sometimes? Or maybe you are bored and need something edgier to meet your mood ? Take one of these then. It might work.... Excellently chaotic music, suited well to almost any mood, but perhaps best suited driving top down along Mulholland at some crepuscular dawn after an all night pool party, half open Hawaiian shirt, RayBans and a 52mm girth Cuban between the lips. Haven't you heard of this band? Me either. He played with the Pixies. This description from Wikipedia makes help to make sense of what is going on, and why the guitar sounds are pressing familiar buttons you can't put you're finger on: "His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of Pixies to a more measured and melodic style in his solo career.[4] His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, UFOs, and biblical violence, along with science fiction and surf culture.[5] His use of atypical meter signatures, loud–quiet dynamics, and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording during his time with the Catholics, give him a distinct style within alternative rock.[6] Source: Wikipedia, obviously.

Looks like we have Pixies here before Pixies. And as with that band, I really liked Black Francis' album. Very diverse, you can never know what is going to happen next in the song. Just a very solid record, I'm actually surprised I haven't heard about it more. Over 20 songs with many diamonds in there, I'm looking forward to listen to them more often.

Absolutely love this album. I have no idea how many times I've listen to this. So happy to see it on the list!

I love Frank Black/Black Francis/Pixies/etc. While his solo stuff is a little more hit and miss compared to some of the Pixies pre-breakup albums, this is probably my favorite of his solo albums and I really love it.

Wow this was fantastic. I’d heard Calistan before but there were so many bops. He managed to keep his craziness while also churning out some really catchy stuff. Lot of heft here. Secures the 5.

Very impressed! What a great surprise!

Because of Pixies

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I love that Charles Thompson IV took his initial stage name of Black Francis and flipped it to Frank Black as he set off on his solo career. But as a big Pixies fan who never listened to Black's solo work, I started "Teenager of the Year" with unreasonable expectations. I liked a few songs on the first half of this double album, but somehow I got to track 10, "Two Reelers," before I got the Pixies feel I was hoping for. Then I really liked most of the rest of the album. And I kept thinking, what was going on with the first half - were there just too many songs that should have been cut from an overstuffed album? So I had to give it another listen. And not only is the first half better than I initially gave it credit for, but the whole album is fantastic. You're gonna have some misses among 22 tracks, but the overall quality and variety while still maintaining much more Black Francis-ness than I first gave it credit for is a joy. The Pixies were never a big commercial hit, and Black's solo stuff even less so. But this album definitely deserved to be held among the best of its time. Though I'm sure part of the problem was that this came out in 1994, a year with an absolute glut of completely amazing rock music. It's probably generational, but for me it might be rock's greatest year.

Love Frank, Love This

Un clasico

4.5/5. Very consistent for so many songs. Can definitely see it influencing Toadies, POTUS, etc.

Loved it. Loved the Pixies.

One of my top 20 albums of all time.

Love this album overall. Freedom Rock lives in my head rent free.

I like Pixies. I like Frank Black. I See FB and I upvote

awesome!! Pixies

What lovely off the beaten path subversive alt pop

Decent listen.

Retro punk. Got some DK feel on the first 2 tracks. The rest is very frank black/pixies, which is a good thing

This one surprised me! I really enjoyed it! Album starts out guns a blazing..then takes a very nice turn and is quite different and dynamic throughout…Good listen! Need to go back and listen to more Pixies! Good stuff!

El letic and melodic. Definitely was suprised how much I enjoyed this 22 song collection.

Very familiar with this one and always a fan of the Pixies and Frank Black's other projects. This is my favorite of his solo albums. But it's a shame that the Breeders are nowhere to be found in this list. At least I don't think they are. 4/5 Album 51/1001

Before listening to this the only frame of reference I had for frank black is a line from a bloodhound gang song. But I'm glad to know more. This dude has it. Super catchy but feels like it has alot to say. And an hour flew by. Very happy listening.

Teenager of the Year is sprawling, strange, and stuffed with ideas in the best way possible. Frank Black throws genre rules out the window, hopping between punk, surf rock, college radio pop, and spacey weirdness, all held together by his unmistakable voice and offbeat charm. It’s an album that feels like flipping through a brilliantly unhinged comic book, with standout tracks like Headache, I Want to Live on an Abstract Plain, and Thalassocracy showcasing both his pop instincts and his knack for the bizarre. It’s not always easy to follow.22 tracks is a lot, and not everything lands. but even the weaker moments have a certain eccentric appeal. The sheer range of styles and tones on display is impressive, and somehow it never completely falls apart. It’s messy, creative, and packed with personality, exactly what you’d want from a post-Pixies solo record.

It was pretty good. A little chaotic sounding sometimes!

A lot to like here in the realm of kinetic and (only somewhat) eclectic but thoroughly off-kilter indie-rock world. It's Pixies-oriented – with a larky, tossed-off feel, if not fully Pixies-centric. The heart of the records is the run of "Calistan" and "Vanishing Spies" and “Speedy Marie” and “Headache." "Superabound" and “Big Red” are also good. On the one hand, this should be better know. On the other, it does go on too long, with 22 tracks practically inviting unevenness (very Pixies-like) with several disposable cuts late on underscoring that less would have been more (as it so often in pop music). An as fun as the overall ride is, generally, it lands fairly close to "for fans only" territory.