Monday 11 October 2010

‘Levitate Me’ – Pixies (1987)


“Come on pilgrim,
You know he loves you.”

So it wasn’t bad enough having to share a school with rabid Bros fans. Oh no. I actually had to share a school with the Bros twins Matt and Luke themselves. That’s right. My poor, fey gothic heart was imprisoned in the temple of infantile pop by the ascending pharaohs of the culturally inane. What’s more, they lived at the end of my road. There was no escape.

The Goss boys were a couple of years above me and I can’t say I noticed them at all until they left. By then I was in the lower sixth and their first single had come out ('I Owe You Nothing'). And then they were back, playing the school gym at lunchtime. And then they were everywhere. Now, I can understand the kids in the first year thinking this was all very exciting. But I had classmates who were thrilled simply because they had finally discovered a band before the rest of the world. Oh dear. How to explain to these people that there were far better bands waiting to be be discovered out there. Just turn on the John Peel show. Go to a gig that isn’t being held either at lunchtime or in your school gym. Read a music paper. Please. But no, I was surrounded by people buying multiple signed copies of the first Bros single as an investment for when they hit the big time – yes, Spencer, I’m talking about you. Which is all very fair enough I suppose as those singles probably were worth a fair bit for two weeks in 1988 as Bros-mania swept Saturday morning telly.

Meanwhile, I was hunting down the first Pixies mini-album and wondering who would like to come see My Bloody Valentine with me. And people wondered why I felt so isolated at school. Funnily enough though, I can talk about those bands now and quickly find kindred spirits. Don’t see so many people bonding over Bros.

Spotify linky:

1 comment:

  1. 'Levitate Me' was the first Pixies song I remember hearing. Taped it from their first John Peel seesion and played it over and over.

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