"Here Comes Your Man" (Pixies)

Even though the Pixies had been around since 1986, I first learned of the band in 1993, around the time "Cannonball" by The Breeders started getting major airplay.  Someone from MTV News had shoved a microphone in Kim Deal's face and asked her if The Breeders' blossoming success meant the Pixies were kaput.  And then I heard Kurt Loder mention that Kurt Cobain had cited Pixies as an influence.  So I began wondering what the heck the band sounded like.
It was 3 more years before I actually heard a Pixies song.  It was on WXYC campus radio at UNC, and it was the track "Here Comes Your Man" from 1989's Doolittle—probably the most poppy, accessible song in the band's catalog.
That's not to say that the song is straight-ahead pop-rock, though.
As with other Pixies songs, it's not obvious what "Here Comes Your Man" is about.  Frontman Charles Thompson IV (a.k.a. Black Francis, a.k.a. Frank Black) is often poetically if not intentionally obscure in his lyrics.  In other words, you can rarely approach a Pixies song like: "This is a song about _____ (love, politics, war, a ham sandwich, etc.)."  The subject matter is generally much quirkier that that.
In a 1989 article from New Musical Express magazine, Black said he wrote the words to "Here Comes Your Man" at age 15 about hobos getting crushed to death when the so-called "big one" hits California.
The only real hint that the song has anything to do with hobos is his use of the word "boxcar."  (Outside there's a boxcar waiting...)  But it's such a smart, vivid word choice; it automatically generates Steinbeckian images of George and Lennie riding the rails.  And then there are vague allusions to the ground shaking and things falling apart, which adds an odd, sci-fi twist to the familiar Dust Bowl-era imagery.  (Definitely not your typical fare for a pop song.)
Regardless of what it's about, the song has a rock-solid groove.  Lead guitarist Joey Santiago's sunny, brain-invading riff paired with Deal's thumping bass and David Lovering's punchy drums provide an upbeat backdrop for Black's distinctive, adenoidal vocals.  
The arrangement reminds me of another favorite track on my list, "You Were on My Mind" by the band We Five.  There's that breezy, California pop feel, but it's undercut by this sense of impending doom in the lyrics.  Personally, I find that sense of tension filtered through pop sensibilities compelling.  It creates intrigue, and it makes me want to revisit these songs, over and over, just to see if anything new unveils itself.