Debaser was on the album Doolittle (released in ‘89) but the single didn’t come out until 97.  We’re still including it on Pound Note because of it’s place in alternative rock history. It’s still a typical Pixies low overhead video, but a little better than Monkey Gone to Heaven.

WATN? After that reunion tour, hopefully not planning on touring again.

Trivia: This song popped up in an EA Sports video game.

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For those of you that still think Nirvana was the original voice of the 90’s, I give you the Pixies. Curt Cobain once admitted that he was trying to copy the Pixies with Smells Like Teen Spirit.  You can judge for yourself, but I would argue much of the “Seattle Grunge” sound was aped from the Minneapolis scene bands like Pixies and Soul Asylum.  At any rate, this video isn’t much to look at and the lyrics sound like a bad acid trip, but this band influenced a lot of the punk and alternative music recorded in the last 20 years.

WATN? They did a reunion tour recently that sounded awful.

Trivia? Their lead singer changed his name to Black Francis. I guess you kind of have to go into rock music with a name like that.

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The Hooters released their album of the eighties on this date in 1989. I’ve always felt this band was horribly underrated. Although they had other songs that were bigger hits (and we will get to them, Ket), this song is one of my favs. It’s a tune that dates back to the civil war that they remade and added lyrics that were relevant at the time (including a reference to Tienanmen Square). Sixties folk icons Peter, Paul, and Mary sing back up on the song.

WATN? The Hooters are still going strong, after a six year hiatus from 1995 to 2001. Mostly successful in Europe, they released another studio album (Time Stand Still) in 2007.

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The Cure is one of a number of annoying bands that have blocked embedding on their YouTube videos. But we managed to grab this live version of Just Like Heaven from the 1989 VMA’s for our Saturday Night Concert Cuts. Seriously people, if you’re a band who’s heyday was in the 80’s, you could do with the publicity. Tell your lawyers to lighten up and let bloggers embed your videos!

Anyway, this is a pretty good song that’s unusually upbeat for a goth rock band. I tried to go goth once, but I didn’t own enough black.

WATN? The Cure are releasing a new album later this month.

Trivia: Robert Smith of The Cure battled Barbara Streisand in a classic South Park episode.

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This is what happens when special needs kids are given a mic and a dream. On October 10, 1989, Biz Markie released what would be inspiration for William Hung about 15 years later. The video got significant airplay on MTV. I’m not sure if it was schadenfreude for how bad he was or sympathy because they thought this might be the rap version of the Special Olympics. At any rate, the video probably single handedly caused the explosion of Gangsta Rap as a generation of rappers struggled to overcome the ridiculous image this song brought to the genre.

WATN? Opening for Chris Rock on the No Apologies tour. Riding in the Short Tour Bus.

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This video gets a 5 guitar rating if for no other reason than inspiring our logo:

Watching this video and watching Westerberg thrash his guitar makes you feel like you’re at a real Replacements show.  No frills. Just good music.

WATN? Paul Westerberg is still doing the solo thing, but the Replacements have been broken up since 1991. Deluxe editions of the early albums were released this year.

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