I only knew a few of the tracks from this one but it's a very interesting time capsule for early Cure (and indeed alternative music at the time, 1980, as a whole) - the sound is so very sparse and bleak... it's borderline arctic in temperature. They really did tread the fine line between gothic and post-punk even when both were still quite fledgling. I by no means think this is their best output but I can understand why it was chosen for this list. 3.5
Man, if Meet Me In The Morning was replaced with something else, this would be essentially faultless. As it stands, I think to call this one of the best albums ever released is, I don't think, hyperbole. There's just so much genius here. Tangled Up In Blue is one of my favoruite songs of all time. If You See Her... Shelter From The Storm... pretty much everything here is touched by magic, and some of the best songwriting there ever was.
Always have to remind myself where Surfer Rosa ends and Come On Pilgrim begins, as I grew up with the CD of them stuck together like some big, gorgeous amorphous blob. Yes indeed, I love this. Knowing at least all of their first incarnation back catalogue, choosing Surfer Rosa does somewhat betray 1001’s strategy. Perhaps it’s not the best album but it’s absolutely critical for modern alternative music. I believe that pre-Pixies there was nothing like them, which begs the question, short of some kind of spiritual intervention, how did this thing come into being? Quirky, raw yet incredibly accessible, so distinctive stylistically and perhaps over and above everything else, really good fun. Something Against You and Broken Face are my favourites, but of course you also have the immortal Gigantic and Where Is My Mind? I can never put my finger on what made early Pixies so wonderful… Frank Black was so weird, and his songwriting was so unusual, plus the interplay with Kim Deal was so playful yet so effective, and then you have the guitars… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, so distinctive and different. Lastly… I don’t think you had to be there for Surfer Rosa, it’s pretty timeless for me. Interested to know what others unfamiliar with Pixies might think.
I really didn't enjoy the first 3 tracks, then strangely found myself really liking the 4th, and then the 5th was alright too... this is all so very 80's though, like a distillation. I can see people dancing to it in their luminous, floppy-yet-at-the-same-time restrictive gear, and someone with unused keytar swinging it back and forth - lots and lots of hairspray. I'm going to find these guys on Top of the Pops and see how accurate I am. Randomly, every now and again, Green's voice reminds me of a pop version of Game Theory's Scott Miller.
The Flaming Lips. One of those bands that by all accounts I should enjoy but... I really don't. I remember buying this album, probably from some suspect outlet, in Hong Kong on my way back from travelling in 2002. And I really hated it. It seemed twee, strangely derivative and, in general unbelievably naff. Time moves on and tastes do change, but alas upon revisiting this one I can still say without any real compunction... this is still shit.
Ah man, Faith No More have produced some amazing music over the years, and this is certainly one of those watershed moment inclusions... as much as I enjoy a lot of the content here, it's still very much a band finding its feet and style in my opinion. I very much prefer Mike's "grown up" voice too and as opposed to the nasal, whiney stuff. Nonetheless, this has it's place for sure.
Didn't know what to expect from this but it's interesting... not in love with it but glad I listened.
A great example of the genius that was Mark Hollis. Wonderful intelligent pop music, only exceeded by its successor, the Spirit of Eden. 4.5
