Thirty years ago today, Pixies dropped a bomb with the release of Doolittle.
The fledgling band out of Boston had already established itself on the college rock circuit on the back of relentless touring and a powerful Steve Albini–produced debut, Surfer Rosa. But with the release of their second album Doolittle, Pixies elevated themselves from just another indie band on the scene into one of the most important and influential acts of the late 1980s.
Honing their soft-loud sonic dynamics with whip-smart songwriting and warring personalities within the group (most notably, frontman Black Francis and bassist Kim Deal), Doolittle was a laser-focused and game-changing statement.
The album got a sizable boost by way of MTV’s 120 Minutes, where the video for the Doolittle single “Monkey Gone to Heaven” was shown in heavy rotation, beaming the band’s caustic-but-melodic sound to the heartland of America. Watch it below.
The album’s influence is vast. Kurt Cobain famously stated that Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was the result of “trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies.”
Today, it was revealed that thirty years after its original release—April 17, 1989, in the UK, April 18, 1989 in the US—Doolittle has officially been certified platinum in recognition of one million albums sold.
As they ready their yet-to-be-titled seventh album for later this year (as well as an accompanying podcast), Pixies’ Boston-hometown iconic record store chain Newbury Comics has revealed a limited-edition exclusive vinyl pressing of Doolittle to be released on July 12. The album will be available pressed on three different kinds of vinyl art—pinwheel, splatter, and swirl—each design chosen by Newbury Comics staff members. See the splatter vinyl above. Only one thousand copies of each version will be available, resulting in a mere three thousand copies in all.
The records can be only be purchased at an actual Newbury Comics store or online. Preorders are available now here.
