Today's ear X-tacy: Pixies "Debaser"

Louisville Public Media | By John Timmons

Published April 18, 2023 at 5:00 AM EDT

Today's ear X-tacy features a classic track or deep-cut from the Alternative era every weekday at 10:10.

The Pixies sure have been getting a lot of love here lately. Well why not?

This week in 1989 they released their second studio album, Doolittle.

The lyrics of the lead track “Debaser” are based on a surrealist film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí called Un Chien Andalou. The film includes a scene in which a woman's eye is slit by a razor, which is referenced in the song lyric "Slicin' up eyeballs/I want you to know."

The Pixies were said to have been one of Kurt Cobain's main influences. Cobain said that when writing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" he was trying to imitate "Debaser" musically and lyrically.

Music

John Timmons

John is the mid-morning host on WFPK. Email John at jtimmons@lpm.org

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