'I Love That Record' - The Late ‘80s Album Dave Grohl Thinks Is ‘Perfect’

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has named the album that he feels is a "perfect record," while sitting in with his bandmates for a recent interview on BBC Radio 6 Music. His choice actually came from the late '80s, his formative years before his career blew up in the early '90s with Nirvana. In addition, his Foo Fighters bandmates Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett also shared their own suggestions for perfect records as well.

What Album Did Dave Grohl Choose As His 'Perfect Record'?

When posed with the question, Grohl gave it some thought before offering, "I have a lot of records that I think are perfect records, but one that comes to mind is Pixies, Surfer Rosa."

"I love that record so much for a lot of reasons. One, that it was produced by the almighty Steve Albini. And it was maybe the first album to become popular and showcase his incredible engineering sonic technique," shared Grohl.

Speaking about the band and their dynamic, he then added, "Charles [Thompson, aka Black Francis], the singer of the Pixies, was an amazing lyricist. His lyrics were just .... they kind of teetered back and forth from abstract to intellectual to things that just sounded so absurd, almost like dumb in a way."

READ MORE: 10 Nearly Perfect '80s Rock Albums (+ The One Song That Must Go)

"His voice, and Kim Deal the bassist, their two voices together it was just such a wonderful blend. And it was unusual at the time," he continued, "They really did sort of coin this specific dynamic and the simplicity of it was really powerful. So that record I've probably listened to 10,000 times and I still love it. I could still listen to it every day."

About Pixies' Surfer Rosa

Pixies' Surfer Rosa was the alt-rock band's debut studio album, produced by Steve Albini and issued by the 4AD label in March 1988. It followed their debut mini-album Come On, Pilgrim. At the time, airplay was mostly limited to college rock radio and the lone single from the album was "Gigantic."

While it failed to chart stateside, over time the record found its audience. It's made frequent appearances on critics' and music magazines' "best of" lists and the song "Where Is My Mind" got some extra attention after its inclusion in the '90s film Fight Club.

Despite its lack of initial sales, the album has gone on to be certified gold in the U.S.

Pixies, "Where Is My Mind?"

What Did Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett Pick for Their Perfect Records?

In video shared by BBC Radio 6 Music, both Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett got in on the discussion. Smear had a little trouble picking just one, first sharing, 'I'm gonna have to go with Abbey Road by The Beatles. Boring, but for me a perfect record." He then added, "Maybe, Never Mind the Bollocks [by the Sex Pistols]. Maybe it's a tie?"

As for Shiflett, he stumped his bandmates with his pick. "I'm gonna go with something newer that I've been listening to a lot lately and that's that Stephen Wilson Jr. record," shared the guitarist. "There's a bunch of songs on it that are just so good. That guy is such a good songwriter, such a great lyricist, a really kind of unusual guitar player, really good guitar player and plays nylon strings. Rips on it. The record's called Son of Dad. My favorite song, it's hard to pick only one, but I think I would go with 'Grief Is Only Love.' Great song."

Stephen Wilson, Jr., "Grief Is Only Love"

Below, check out the best college rock albums for each year since 1976.