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"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 the "Doolittle" 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.
Rogue Wave recorded a cover of "Debaser" in 2007 for soundtrack of the TV show The OC; it appears on the compilation The OC Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks. A slower, piano-based, live acoustic version (which Zach Rogue prefers to the released version) can also be heard for free at the band's website.
Debaser is featured in the EA video game Skate 3.
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