1,626,168 plays (266,647 listeners)
“Debaser” is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, and is the first song on their 1989 album Doolittle. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and was produced by Gil Norton during Doolittle’s recording sessions.
“Debaser” was later released as a single in 1997 to promote the Death to the Pixies compilation. The single appeared in three forms: live, studio and demo.
The lyrics are based on a French surrealist film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí called Un chien andalou. The film notoriously opens with 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.” According to Black Francis:
I wish Buñuel was still alive. He made this film about nothing in particular. The title itself is a nonsense. With my stupid, pseudo-scholar, naive, enthusiast, avant-garde-ish, amateurish way to watch Un chien andalou (twice), I thought: ‘Yeah, I will make a song about it.’ “Un chien andalou”… It sounds too French, so I will sing “un chien andalusia”, it sounds good, no?’
The title “Debaser” references the fact that Un chien andalou debases morality and standards of art, according to Black Francis. In the earliest version of the song, the line “un chien andalusia” was originally “Shed, Appolonia!”—a reference to the co-star in the Prince film Purple Rain.
“Debaser” was later released as a single in 1997 to promote the Death to the Pixies compilation. The single appeared in three forms: live, studio and demo.
The lyrics are based on a French surrealist film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí called Un chien andalou. The film notoriously opens with 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.” According to Black Francis:
I wish Buñuel was still alive. He made this film about nothing in particular. The title itself is a nonsense. With my stupid, pseudo-scholar, naive, enthusiast, avant-garde-ish, amateurish way to watch Un chien andalou (twice), I thought: ‘Yeah, I will make a song about it.’ “Un chien andalou”… It sounds too French, so I will sing “un chien andalusia”, it sounds good, no?’
The title “Debaser” references the fact that Un chien andalou debases morality and standards of art, according to Black Francis. In the earliest version of the song, the line “un chien andalusia” was originally “Shed, Appolonia!”—a reference to the co-star in the Prince film Purple Rain.
Video
Added by Jeremy95
Pixies Debaser Live
Share Video
See 15 more
Related Tracks
-
Tame (1:55)
Pixies -
Wave of Mutilation (2:04)
Pixies -
Teen Age Riot (6:57)
Sonic Youth -
Cut Your Hair (3:05)
Pavement -
Cannonball (3:33)
The Breeders -
Kool Thing (4:06)
Sonic Youth
Albums featuring this track
-
Doolittle
PixiesBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital $7.77
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $22.44
- eBay Search
-
Death to the Pixies
PixiesBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $96.48
- eBay Search
-
2004-04-24: Spokane, WA, USA (disc 2)
PixiesBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
2004-04-21: Victoria, BC, Canada (disc 1)
PixiesBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Shouts
-
LowPulp wrote:
nothing like a song about slicing up your balls
-
ooooompa wrote:
GIRL YOU'RE SO GROOVY AH HA HA HO! this shit's off glass.
-
scrubblecat wrote:
best band forever!
-
djnonplus wrote:
Frank Black gradually gets a bit more insane with every second that goes by in this track, its fantastic.
-
serotone9 wrote:
We need a new language to describe how great this song is.
-
keithster12 wrote:
Frank Black!
-
LowPulp wrote:
fucking fantastic
-
vinicorrea wrote:
AAAAAHHHHH HA HA HA HOOOOOOOOO!!!!
-
dontmakemeatrgt wrote:
Probably one of the best album openers of all time.
-
Steris wrote:
slicin' up my balls whoawhoawhoawhoa
-
brighterorange wrote:
One of the best ever.
-
Ackibear wrote:
Great shit.
-
djnonplus wrote:
SLICIN UP EYEBALLS WOAHWOAHUHOH
-
vx_GASMAN wrote:
SHIT i could lose ya
-
gfunkj wrote:
Pretty sure I could listen to this all day every day for at least 2 years
-
Last_On_Bleach wrote:
the contrast between the dude loosing his mind and the lady's calm is amazing sorry that im a pixies noob
-
NigelE8992 wrote:
pop? what the fuck?
-
woodear wrote:
i am un chien andalusia
-
ewgumz wrote:
best pop song of the past 20 years
-
PhamilyJules wrote:
Ever wanted to watch a ukulele cover of Debaser played by a Japanese man in his car? Well, here you go. It's equally frightening and entertaining... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sycwq_nBmfs
Listeners
-
TommyTheLion
Listening now
-
2bitter-being6
Listening now
-
laguba09
Listening now
-
cinemagirl
Top Listener
-
TurquoiseBlanke
Top Listener
-
jordan10la
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
videokitty, aposen, lynchlaw5 and 3 other people loved Pixies – Debaser. 3 hours ago
-
Gravitation92 added Debaser to the playlist Livet og sånt rot. yesterday evening
-
snarfyboy, obsessed_nl, waski and 6 other people loved Pixies – Debaser. yesterday evening
-
chasekb added Debaser to the playlist chasekb mix 1. Sunday evening
-
lizzielozza tagged Debaser with ‘fave guitar tunes’. Sunday evening
-
elismarchioni added Debaser to elismarchioni’s library. Sunday afternoon
-
elismarchioni added Debaser to the playlist ♫ Zorro Volante. Sunday afternoon
-
oanamaria84 and Sea_Prince loved Pixies – Debaser. Sunday afternoon
-
brianm2 tagged Debaser with ‘the bristol 1991-1993’. Sunday afternoon
-
kornazwierzak added Debaser to her Loved Tracks. Sunday morning
Related Journals
-
Top Five Album Openers (inspired by Hornby)
by WillNewt |
18 Dec 2009 | 1 comment
-
yes, this was the best way to spend my last night at home.
by Alia612 |
29 Nov 2009 | 1 comment
-
The Pixies – 20th Anniversary Doolittle Tour – Glasgow SECC - 03-10-09 – Support -…
by harkyb |
9 Nov 2009 | Add comment
