I Love 1989: Pixies & 3rd Bass

I Love 1989: Pixies & 3rd Bass

From Album Nerds by Album Nerds

March 16, 2026 · 52 min · Episode 329

About this episode

The episode explores the music of 1989, focusing on the albums 'Doolittle' by Pixies and 'The Cactus Al/Bum' by 3rd Bass.

Don and Dude crash headfirst into 1989’s alternative basements and hip hop boomboxes, where quiet loud guitar nightmares share airspace with sample stacked punchline barrages and label side eye. One of us dives into a twisted surf rock carnival that helped teach the 90s how to go loud quiet loud, while the other rides a brainy, boom bap Def Jam debut packed with Beastie Boys disses, Hammer threats, and the first appearance of a future underground legend. The Albums Pixies – Doolittle (1989) Pixies turn their Boston art punk chaos into a tightly wound alt rock statement, mixing sugar sweet hooks, violent surrealism, and that now classic quiet loud dynamic. "Debaser," "Monkey Gone to Heaven," and "Wave of Mutilation" spin eyeball slicing cinema, environmental dread, and surf rock murder suicide into songs that feel like pop songs and panic attacks at the same time. 3rd Bass – The Cactus Al/Bum (1989) MC Serch, Prime Minister Pete Nice, and DJ Richie Rich plant a Def Jam flag with dense golden era beats and back and forth verses that blend jokes, battle bars, and real talk about New York and hip hop credibility. From "Sons of 3rd Bass" and its anti Beastie mission statement to "The…

People in this episode

Hosts: Don, Dude

Topics covered

  • 1989 music
  • alternative rock
  • hip hop
  • album review
  • Pixies
  • 3rd Bass

Keywords

  • 1989
  • Pixies
  • 3rd Bass
  • Doolittle
  • The Cactus Al/Bum
  • alternative rock
  • hip hop

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Doolittle, The Cactus Al/Bum, With Heaven on Top

More episodes of Album Nerds

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Album Nerds podcast page.