So why is Pixies’ Bossanova on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
The odd thing about Bossanova for me is that while I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include a single “Top 10” favorite Pixies song for me, it’s still incredible and consistently pleasing (All Music’s Heather Phares says Bossanova sounds like an album from a “Martian bar band,” which is really fun) and therefore fully merits this esteemed “slot,” sitting roughly within the top one-third at #335 of the best 1,000 albums ever.
That being said, “Rock Music” and “Allison” are fantastic songs, easily Top 20 Pixies song, let’s say (if anyone’s counting or cares?). The pair are great bookends for the band’s rangy and deeply influential sound, with “Rock Music” representing the Pixies at their screechy alt rock/noise rock best, while “Allison” showcases how melodic and gorgeous they can be while still maintaining an offbeat and eclectic edge.
“Ana” is a sweet, relatively low-key affair, and includes the kind of guitar work from Frank Black that I absolutely adore.
And “Havalina” is a strange, striking, and pretty number, a perfect closer for an album that is all of those things.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with Pixies’ Bossanova
Okay, so while I didn’t go through the full exercise of compiling my Top 10 favorite Pixies songs in order, I pulled five songs that would easily be on that Top 10 list, not necessarily in order. Pardon my laziness here, if you’ll please, and blame the fact that I’m working an east coast schedule while living in Seattle these days!
- “Oh My Golly!” – it’s really the later Frank Black solo acoustic version of this one that sold me on it, but every version is great
- “Here Comes Your Man” – this is just as classic as Pixies gets, pure and gorgeous
- “River Euphrates” – a glorious assault of exuberant sound, love it endlessly
- “No 13 Baby” – strange and rocking and all kinds of wonderful
- “U-Mass” – one of the all-time great guitar hooks. It’s educational!
Some stats & info about Pixies – Bossanova
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Alternative Rock, College Rock, Punk Bands, Boston Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Bossanova released? 1990
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #335 out of 1,000
Pixies’ Bossanova on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Pixies’ Bossanova that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
From distant star to this here bar, the me, the you, where are we now?
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.