Pixies
Formed: 1986
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Genre: Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Years Active: 1986 - 1993, 2004 -
Meaning of the Name: Selected from the dictionary.
Core Members: Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago, David Lovering
Way of Working: Led by Black Francis
Associated: The Breeders, Frank Black and the Catholics
Essential Releases
Come On Pilgrim
EP (1987)
Early, unpolished EP that introduced the band's frantic surrealism.
Surfer Rosa (1988)
Debut album. More polished yet still a raw sonic assault. Introduced catchier songs and their famed loud-quiet dynamics.
Doolittle (1989)
Breakthrough album with softer edges and religious themes. A classic of indie rock.
Kim Deal joined Pixies as their bassist in 1986. She didn't play, or even own a bass at the time, but was enthusiastic and the only person who responded to the ad. This seemingly innocuous, haphazard beginning, however, contained the seeds of the band's demise: a creative tension born of two headstrong songwriters that ultimately dissolved the group in 1992.
Their short-lived initial run effectively changed the face of alternative rock for a generation. They popularised a quiet-loud song structure (quiet in the verses, loud in the choruses) that was perfectly suited for anthemic music because it demands attention in the chorus.
Tracks such as 'Debaser' (1989) combined lo-fi production and unpredictable punk energy with surreal lyricism and pop melodies to distinguish themselves from the commercial rock of mainstream acts. On the song in question, vocalist Black Francis sings the befuddling lyrics:
"Slicing up eyeballs, I want you to know.... I am un chien Andalusia"
It's unclear whose eyeballs are being sliced up or why. Journalists and US labels didn't know what to make of it, asking themselves the valid question: 'Why would fans enjoy lyrics that don't make sense?' The majority of listeners weren't aware that 'un chien Andalusia' was a garbled take on the Spanish for 'an Andalusian dog', or that the phrase references the film, Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel, 1929).However, awareness of such facts misses the point, as Francis has described himself as a surrealist, a person who deliberately makes the meaning of their work unapparent. As such, Pixies music purposefully defied logic in an embrace of pure feeling. The song's work because of a strong emotional core that connected with an undercurrent in contemporary society: that all was not how it seemed; that something wasn't quite right.
Other surrealists of the time, like the filmmaker David Lynch, found great success by expressing similar sentiments as a critique of '80s America. For example, his film Blue Velvet (1986) begins with a a bloody image of a severed ear on a freshly cut suburban lawn, as if to say that untold secrets lie beneath the civilised veneer of society.
Another key thematic factor in Pixies work is religion. Frontman Charles Thompson IV was raised in an evangelical Christian household and styled his stage persona, Black Francis, as a dark preacher who used Old Testament references to speak the same language as the religious conservatives. In a high-profile hearing before the US Congress in 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) attempted to restrict singers from mentioning subjects from a list of categories known as the 'Filthy Fifteen'. If successful, references to the occult, sex, drugs, and alcohol etc. would have been banned from American music.
Forming in such a political climate, Pixies reminded people of a simple fact: the Bible contained references to the occult, sex, drugs, and alcohol. Their song 'Dead' (1989), for example, references the Old Testament tale of King David and Bathsheba:
"You crazy babe, Bathsheba, I want cha'... We're aping, r*ping, taping, catharsis. You get torn down and I get erected. My blood is working, but my, my heart is dead"
What truly made Pixies interesting, however, was the push and pull between the dark abstraction of Francis and the melodic cool of Kim Deal, who was also the group's backing vocalist: Francis wailed and howled; Kim's enthused voice was, in contrast, optimistic. Working in conjunction with unusual three or six-bar sections, they acted like a musical form of iambic pentameter, creating a jarring unease. On tracks where Deal sings lead, such as 'Gigantic', the dynamic is reversed but intact.As songwriters and vocalists both, Deal and Francis provided an uneasy counterpoint to each other, one masculine, the other feminine, in a way that complemented the quiet-loud dynamics to stunning effect. The thematic tension between undercurrent and surface was replicated in the juxtaposition of their vocals, reflecting the personal and professional unease that came from being forced to spend time together despite their differences.
As in many organisations with two headstrong leaders, the psychological tension manifested physically. Francis, who perceived Deal as co-opting his group for her own purposes, took chagrin and gradually froze her out after a disastrous gig in Germany circa 1991. Exacerbated by the pressures of touring, Francis kicked his guitar at Deal during a live show. Deal, in return, refused to play dates unless she could include her own songs, eventually leaving to focus on her side-project: The Breeders.
It's a sad fact that Pixies found limited success in their native United States despite amassing a devoted audience in the UK and other parts of the world. However, in their short time together they inspired subsequent acts, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins and early Radiohead, to employ the same template in their era-defining songs such as 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' (1991). Sometimes it hurts to be ahead of the curve.
Skills
*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.Emotional Impact
90
Mental Impact
60
Originality
90
Artistry
80
Authenticity
40
Live
90
Production
60
Musicianship
80
Singing
70
Songwriting
90
Danceability
70
Fun
80
Consistency
65
Range
70
Cool
70
Charisma
70
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards
Certifications >>>
- Surfer Rosa - Gold in the USA
- Doolittle - Platinum in the USA & the UK; Gold in France
- Bossanova - Gold in the UK & France
- Trompe le Monde - Gold in France; Silver in the UK
Charts >>>
- Doolittle - 8th in the UK
- Bossanova - 3rd in the UK
- Trompe le Monde - 7th in the UK
- Indie Cindy - 6th in the UK
- Head Carrier - 7th in the UK
- Beneath the Eyrie - 7th in the UK
Critics >>>
- Melody Maker - Surfer Rosa: Best Albums of 1988: 1st
- NME - Surfer Rosa: Best Albums of 1988: 10th
- NME - Doolittle: 100 Best Albums: 2nd
- NME - Doolittle: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2013): 8th
- Pitchfork - Surfer Rosa: Top 100 Albums of the 1980s (2002): 7th
- Pitchfork - Doolittle: Top 100 Albums of the 1980s: 4th
- Slant - Doolittle: Best Albums of the 1980s: 34th
- Sounds - Surfer Rosa: Best Albums of 1988: 1st
