Unlike, say, the author of the Neutral Milk Hotel text, Sisario does not completely take the easy way out. Sure, there is plenty of biographical backstory filling up the Doolittle book, but for the most part, the author keeps his eye on the theoretical aspects of the album. Taking the time to extract meaning from the individual songs in hopes of finding a larger thematic meaning is an ambitious task, and can often times be more frustrating than rewarding, especially when the writer of those songs, in this case Frank Black, is insistent on the fact that the songs themselves have little or no extraneous significance. "There is no point. The point is to experience it, to enjoy it, to be entertained by it." (Sisario quoting Thompson, 4.) In spite of Black's insistence, the author and reader/fan always feel as though he is playing coy. These songs mean something, don't they? They have to.

From the onset, Sisario had the odds stacked against him. The Pixies are a notoriously uncooperative band, not just with reporters but with each other. To that point, there are plenty more cryptically un-helpful lines like the above Black quip, only fleeting interviews with drummer Dave Lovering and guitarist Joey Santiago, and a completely absent Kim Deal. And then there's the expectations. Not just the professional obligations inherent with his job, but the Pixies fanbase is one that is almost as adherently stubborn as the band it supports. The Pixies are probably bigger now than they ever were when they were actually producing music, and now boast an accompanying underground mythology not unlike Star Wars or Lost. Mess up this book, and you're gonna piss off a whole lot of people. The band members themselves probably couldn't be more disinterested with the matter, but then again, they aren't going to buy the book.

What makes the Doolittle book work is that in spite of its in-born shortcomings, is that contrary to his continuously self-deprecating humor, Sisario seemingly knows his way around the recording studio. In addition to the traditional focus on lyrics, the author pays frequent attention to the accompanying musically thematic developments of the tracks. He cares about the technical aspects, but doesn't bore down the reader with numbers the way Dai Griffiths does in the OK Computer book. If there is one shortcoming to Sisario's book, it's that he is sometimes too humble, he never wants to be too authoritative or conclusive, and as a result, he occasionally comes across overtly conscious, if not scared.

Doolittle (the book) does just enough to supplement Doolittle (the album) without totally demystifying or dehumanizing the source material, and Ben Sisario's almost-laugh-out-loud moments balance well with the implicit humor of the album. Thanks to the author's battling of the inherent downfalls of the series, Doolittle finds itself as one of the high water marks of the Thirty Three and a Third series.

Sisario, Ben. Doolittle 33 1/3. The Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc. New York, NY: 2006.