What record changed how I thought about music? I had to think about this question for a while. There are so many records that have influenced me and changed how I feel and think about music. But I want to talk about one that introduced me to the world of underground music. This record I’m sure is on plenty of people’s list of albums that changed what they think about music (haha). The record I’m talking about is Pixies “Doolittle”.
I first heard this record when I was thirteen years old. Up to this point I had been listening to all the “alternative” music that was part of the early 90’s revolution (nirvana, smashing pumpkins, radiohead, beck, pearl jam, etc.). This is when these bands ruled MTV and the radio, back when MTV played music videos and US radio stations weren’t all shit. Then one day at school my friend gave me a cassette copy of “Doolittle” that he had gotten from his older sister, everything in my world changed after that. Up to this point I thought the only place to hear music was the radio or MTV and the only way you could “make it” as a musician was to be a huge rockstar and be on the radio or MTV. I had absolutely no idea that there was this vast ocean of music besides the mainstream and most of the times it was more unique and more interesting then anything happening in the mainstream. This is what “Doolittle” did for me, not only is a lovely record that I still listen to regularly, but it was the bridge that led me to some of my favorite music ever and it made me realize that you didn’t have to be a humongous rock star to make f*cking awesome music.
The record itself is weird. It’s some of the catchiest music, total pop music, but like its like pop music that got left on a deserted island and went crazy in the most beautiful way possible. It never let’s you get too close but it’s endlessly compelling. I don’t know why. I think it’s something about the combination of sounds and with “Doolittle” I think the balance of these sounds and diversity of songs is great. From a total Pop jam “here comes your man” to a the epitome of the whisper/scream song “tame” to the weird sexy “hey” is strange and what the hell is “this monkeys gone to heaven”. I think this diversity has always been a goal with my own music, I don’t like when my songs sound like each other on the same record, I’m sure you could trace that influence back to this record. It’s such a strange ride.
I think some of what makes a record great to me is that I never am able to fully understand it. If you play music and you write music and you record music over time you hear so much of it that not much surprises you. But there are some records that keep surprising you, that’s why you keep coming back to them. There is something about them that you just can’t fathom. For me Pixies “Doolittle” is one of those records.
RickoLus
And here is a short bio: RickoLus is a jack of all trades musical artist from Jacksonville beach, FL. Writing, recording, producing and performing his bedroom experimental indie music in a little Green Shed located in his parents backyard. He has released three albums on the US label Circle Into Square: his debut and ode to his youth “youngster” (2010), his 4-track lo-fi opus “Coyote and Mule” (2012) and the expansive double album concerning his marriage and love “Troubadour” (2013). His most recent release is a five song EP about relationships called “Rivers And Lakes” put out in 2014 on the French label Dora Dorovitch.
foto: RickoLus
