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| "Alec Eiffel" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byPixies | ||||
| from the albumTrompe le Monde | ||||
| A-side | "Alec Eiffel" | |||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 1991 (1991) | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Studio | Blackwing, London | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Songwriter | Black Francis | |||
| Producer | Gil Norton | |||
| Pixies singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Alec Eiffel" is a song by theAmericanalternative rock bandPixies, from their 1991 albumTrompe le Monde. The song was written and sung by frontmanBlack Francis, produced byGil Norton and recorded during the album's recording sessions. "Alec Eiffel" was released as asingle in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and was their third single from the album.
The song references the French engineerAlexandre Gustave Eiffel, who designed theEiffel Tower and theStatue of Liberty; Francis thought it was a "fascinating subject" to compose a song about. Francis also mentioned another meaning of the song: "Because of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, but also because it's funny: in Australia, you often say 'It's a smart Alec' for [sic] a guy who's nice but not very bright."[1][better source needed]
Australians generally use the word to describe someone who is speaking out of turn, often in a way that makes them appear more intelligent than the person or group they are addressing. In Britain and the United States, a "smart Alec" is the exact opposite of Francis' description: someone who is intelligent, but mean or sarcastic.[citation needed]
The song's video features the band playing in a wind-tunnel, a reference to the "pioneer of aerodynamics", with physics formulae in the background.
The British magazineMelody Maker later commented on Francis' songwriting technique and the song itself: "According to Charles, the song started with Eiffel, then he started to [sic] singing the words "Eiffel, rifle, trifle", and suddenly 'everything fell into place'. It's not certain whether lines like 'little Eiffel stands in the archway, even though it doesn't make no sense' are an observation of the lunacy of the architecture or the song itself, which features a Sixties' -style zither!"[1] (Francis is actually singing "keeping low, it don't make no sense", rather than "even though" which answers Melody Maker's question.)[citation needed]
All tracks are written byBlack Francis, unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alec Eiffel" (On the French CD single, tracks one and two are switched.[2]) | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Motorway to Roswell" | 4:43 |
| 3. | "Planet of Sound" (Live atBrixton Academy, July 26, 1991) | 2:26 |
| 4. | "Tame" (Live at Brixton Academy, July 26, 1991) | 2:27 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alec Eiffel" | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Motorway to Roswell" | 4:43 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alec Eiffel" | 2:50 | |
| 2. | "Letter to Memphis" (Instrumental) | 2:42 | |
| 3. | "Build High" | 1:43 | |
| 4. | "Evil Hearted You" | Graham Gouldman | 2:37 |
| Studio albums | |
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| Singles | |
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| Related articles | |
