My Favorite Pixies Songs/Album

People who like the Pixies all have an opinion on which album was best. It usually revolves around which album they first heard.

I have a unique perspective on this topic because, prior to January of 2010 I never listened to the Pixies. I was vaguely aware that they existed and I think I knew that they did Here Comes Your Man and maybe I'd heard a few other songs like Ana and Dig for Fire and I don't know what else. My introduction to them was not a certain album, but their greatest hits record Wave of Mutiliation which was quickly followed by intense study (around March/April 2010) of the combo version of Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. It was a long while before I acquired and listened to Doolittle, Bossanova, and Trompe le Monde. I am aware of 89 songs that the Pixies put to tape and I now (October 2011) know how to play about 50 or so of these...maybe more like 55 though I only have 50 memorized.

So what are my favorites? It is a complicated question...because my history with these songs is of learning to play them...not of just listening for fun. So my feelings about each song have to do with how hard it was to learn, whether I feel like I've mastered it, whether I feel like the band plays it well, and whether I get nervous and worried about messing up when we play them live. So I have two lists...the ones I think I like to listen to and the ones I think I like to play.

To Listen To:
Debaser (Doolittle)
Dig for Fire (Bossanova)
Nimrod’s Son (Come On Pilgrim)
I’m Amazed (Surfer Rosa)
Something Against You (Surfer Rosa)
La La Love You (Doolittle)
There Goes My Gun (Doolittle)
Wave of Mutilation (Doolittle)
Allison (Bossanova)
Build High (B side)
Head On (Trompe)
Bam Thwok (Single)
Palace of the Brine(Trompe)
River Uphrates(Surfer Rosa)
Alec Eiffel(Trompe)
Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons (Trompe)
Letter to Memphis (Trompe)
Manta Ray (B side)
Weird at My School (B side)
Winterlong (Cover)
Ain't That Pretty At All (cover)

To Play:
Break My Body (Surfer Rosa)
Wave of Mutilation (Doolittle)
Letter to Memphis (Trompe)
Dead (Doolittle)
Build High (B side)
La La Love You (Doolittle)
Here Comes Your Man (Doolittle)

Which album is best? Gun to my head I would have said Surfer Rosa and then maybe Doolittle. I would have said my least favorites were Trompe and Bossanova. But looking at my favorite songs...
Come On=1
Surfer =3
Doolittle =4
Boss = 2
Trompe =5
B side/single/cover =6

So that's confusing data. I definitely feel like I am more familiar with Come On, Surfer, and Doolittle. But look at that 5 for Trompe. Huh.

All this said...a better question is probably which songs DON'T I like, because I like almost all of them. I can say that my least favorite is The Navajo Know. It just sucks. I'm also not a big fan of U-Mass (hated it from moment I heard it). There are a bunch of songs that are hard for me to play and so that colors my opinion...and a pile that I'm just not that familiar with, like much of Bossanova and some of the B-sides. And when I say "not that familiar with" I mean I've only heard them 100 times and not 10,000 times...and that I get them mixed up.