I've been relistening to the whole discography. The jump from Last Splash to Title TK is a pretty big pivot. Last Splash is so layered, dense, and noisy but TTK is very sparse and focused. I suppose a shift makes sense given the decade between them.

Definitely Pod but I love 'em all, even the oddball singles and EPs. The Amon Duul II cover on the last album was a nice touch. Kim Deal is a far more interesting and unpredictable artist than Frank Black.

I’ve wondered if the Amon Düül II was a in-joke because the verse rhythm is essentially “Cannonball”.

matttkkkk wrote: Mon Sep 30, 2024 7:31 am I’ve wondered if the Amon Düül II was a in-joke because the verse rhythm is essentially “Cannonball”.

I'm wondering that too now. Nice spot.

Never gave a fuck about the Pixies but I loved Pod, and saw them play around the time Last Splash came out. They have been one of my favorite bands since then and I don't think they have a bad album.

Saw them last week and I had no idea beforehand that they were playing the first two LPs all the way through. I'm generally not into the whole nostalgia trip and would have been fucking thrilled if they came out and played stuff I'd never heard before. But it was fun, especially because it seemed like they were fresh from relearning some of the songs. Also Last Splash is the one I listen to the least, and it struck me that it's a weirder record than I remembered.

Anyway I can't pick a favorite but long live The Breeders

I'm at the end of my listening journey. Hearing it all in the same week has been really cool. It has given me more respect for All Nerve. I think it has a greater sense of focus, and intention than Mountain Battles (which I liked less than I remembered) and Title TK (which I still find very charming).

Anthony Flack wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2024 4:47 pm It must have seemed like a crazy idea to replace Tanya Donelly with a rank amateur, but crazy like a fox as it turned out.

Kelly is irreplaceable.

I’ve seen the Breeders with another rhythm section. It wasn’t better but it was about as great, just different.

Kelly’s zero vibrato, all the same weight guitar bits would sound very different in the hands of any normal guitar player. A normal player would do a bunch of guitarist shit to the parts and ruin them.

I’ve heard Kim talk about bass playing and her aversion to anything tricky in it. I don’t know if she taught or asked Kelly to play the way she does, but it’s perfect, purpose built for the band.

Yes. But you can see why at the time, Josephine was thinking "WTF?"

If Kim didn't teach Kelley how to play, I don't know who did.

Also Tanya Donelly needed to be doing her own thing. It's hard to imagine the original lineup carrying on long-term.

Anthony Flack wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2024 4:47 pmIt must have seemed like a crazy idea to replace Tanya Donelly with a rank amateur

Strictly speaking, Tanya had replaced Kelley, since the Deals performed as the Breeders in high school.

Awaiting the adjudicators' decision on whether that counts.

It's interesting that what started out as a collaboration between two distinctive and quite different songwriters, plus a distinctive drummer accidentally thrown in, developed into something that's very much Kim's deal. Or maybe it just seems that way because Kim and Kelley are simpatico? I don't know, I'm just a distant observer.

Joey Santiago had already established a strong template for no-wank guitar playing and I think another guitarist could have filled that role if Kim smacked their hands with a wooden spoon a few times. But what surely sealed the deal, and I swear I'm not inviting these damned puns, is the two sisters singing harmony like they do.