| "Cactus" | |
|---|---|
| Song byPixies | |
| from the albumSurfer Rosa | |
| Released | March 21, 1988 (1988-03-21) |
| Recorded | November 1987 |
| Studio | Downtown Recorders,South End, Boston |
| Genre | Alternative rock |
| Length | 2:16 |
| Label | 4AD |
| Songwriter | Black Francis |
| Producer | Steve Albini |
"Cactus" is a song by theAmericanalternative rock bandPixies, and is the eighth track on their 1988 albumSurfer Rosa. It was written and sung by the band'sfrontmanBlack Francis and engineered bySteve Albini.
Between the second verse and chorus of "Cactus," the band and the studio members can be heard spelling out "Pixies." Bass guitaristKim Deal (then credited as 'Mrs John Murphy' in the sleeve notes of the album), later commented on the interlude: "You can hear them spelling 'Pixies' in the break, whichT. Rex did in one of their songs ["The Groover"], 'T-R-E-X,' and they were copying it. I was against it, I was like, 'No way, I'm not doing it,' because that's so trite. And I'm the only one that didn't do it. Steve [Albini] went along with it and liked it. So I'm the only one that never got on the records [...] Anybody that was in the studio could have gone in there and done it."[1]
David Bowie recorded a version of the song for hisHeathen album in 2002. This version features D-A-V-I-D spelled in the break. Bowie performed the song live on his 2002Heathen Tour concerts and theA Reality Tour. A November 2003 live performance is included on theA Reality Tour DVD, as well as theA Reality Tour album. The Pixies played the song at a Bowie tribute concert in 2016, as a Bowie cover.
Black Francis re-recorded the song and released it on his 2004 albumFrank Black Francis.
Glen Hansard andThe Frames played it live in M-klub on 25 October 2001.
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