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.jpg) The Pixies performing in 2024 | |
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| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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ThePixies are an Americanalternative rock band formed inBoston, Massachusetts, in 1986. The original lineup consisted ofBlack Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar),Joey Santiago (lead guitar),Kim Deal (bass, vocals) andDavid Lovering (drums). The Pixies are associated with the 1990salternative rock boom, and draw on elements includingpunk rock andsurf rock. Their music is known for dynamic "loud-quiet-loud" shifts and song structures. Francis is the primary songwriter; his often surreal lyrics cover offbeat subjects such as extraterrestrials, incest, and biblical violence.
The Pixies' debut release was the mini-LPCome On Pilgrim (1987), followed by the albumsSurfer Rosa (1988),Doolittle (1989),Bossanova (1990) andTrompe le Monde (1991). They disbanded in 1993. The Pixies found only modest success in the US, but were more successful in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe. Their alternative rock sound influenced acts such asNirvana,Radiohead,Modest Mouse,the Smashing Pumpkins andWeezer.
The Pixies' popularity grew after their breakup, leading to a 2004 reunion and sold-out world tours. Deal left in 2012, and was replaced withKim Shattuck for their 2013 tour. She was later replaced withPaz Lenchantin, who became a full member in 2016. With Lenchantin, the Pixies recorded the albumsHead Carrier (2016),Beneath the Eyrie (2019) andDoggerel (2022). In 2024, Lenchantin was replaced by Emma Richardson, formerly ofBand of Skulls. The ninth Pixies album,The Night the Zombies Came, was released that year.
GuitaristJoey Santiago and songwriterBlack Francis (born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV) met in 1984 when they lived next to each other while attending theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst.[1] Although Santiago was worried about distractions, he noticed Francis played music and the pair began to jam together.[2] Francis spent six months in Puerto Rico studying Spanish, then returned to Amherst and dropped out of the university.[3][1] Francis and Santiago spent the following year working in a Boston-area warehouse, with Francis composing songs on his acoustic guitar and writing lyrics on the subway.[4]
The pair formed a band in January 1986.[5] Two weeks later, Francis placed an advertisement seeking a bass player who liked both the folk actPeter, Paul and Mary and the alternative rock bandHüsker Dü.[6]Kim Deal was the only person to respond, and arrived at the audition without a bass, as she had never played one before.[7][8] She was invited to join as she liked the songs Francis showed her. She obtained a bass, and the trio started rehearsing in Deal's apartment.[9]
After recruiting Deal, Kim paid for her sister,Kelley Deal, to fly to Boston and audition as a drummer. Though Francis approved, Kelley was not confident in her drumming, and was more interested in playing songs written by Kim; she later joined Kim's band theBreeders.[10] Kim's husband suggested they hireDavid Lovering, whom Kim had met at her wedding reception.[11][12] The group arrived at a name after Santiago selected the word "pixies" randomly from a dictionary, liking how it looked and its definition as "mischievous littleelves".[1] The Pixies moved rehearsals to Lovering's parents' garage in mid-1986[9] and began to play shows at bars in the Boston area.[1]
While the Pixies were playing a concert withThrowing Muses, they were noticed by the producerGary Smith, the manager ofFort Apache Studios.[5] He told them he "could not sleep until you guys are world famous".[13] Funded by Francis' father, the Pixies spent three days recording a 17-track demo at Fort Apache, which would become known as thePurple Tape for its purple cover.[14] Promoter Ken Goes became the Pixies' manager, and he passed the demo toIvo Watts-Russell of the independent record label4AD.[1] Watts-Russell found the Pixies too normal and "too rock 'n' roll", but was persuaded to sign them by his girlfriend.[15]
Upon signing with 4AD, eight tracks from the Purple Tape were selected for theCome On Pilgrimmini-LP, the Pixies' first release.[5] Francis drew upon his experiences in Puerto Rico, mostly in the songs "Vamos" and "Isla de Encanta", describing the poverty in Puerto Rico and singing in loose Spanish.[13] The religious lyrics and later albums came from his parents'born-again Christian days in the Pentecostal Church.[13] The critic Heather Phares identified themes such as sexual frustration ("I've Been Tired") and incest ("Nimrod's Son" and "The Holiday Song").[16]
Come On Pilgrim was followed by the Pixies' first full-length album,Surfer Rosa. It was recorded bySteve Albini,[17] completed in two weeks, and released in early 1988.[13]Surfer Rosa gained the Pixies acclaim in Europe; bothMelody Maker andSounds named it their "Album of the Year". American critical response was positive but more muted, a reaction that persisted for much of the Pixies' career.[18]Surfer Rosa was eventuallycertified gold in the US in 2005.[19] The Pixies arrived in England to support Throwing Muses on the European "Sex and Death" tour, beginning at theMean Fiddler in London.[20] The tour also took them to the Netherlands, where the Pixies had already received a significant amount of media attention.[5]
The Pixies signed an American distribution deal with the major record labelElektra.[5] Around this time, they struck up a relationship with the British producerGil Norton. Norton produced their second full album,Doolittle,[21] which was recorded in the last six weeks of 1988.Doolittle had a much cleaner sound compared to the raw sound of their first two releases, largely due to Norton and the production budget ofUS$40,000, which was quadruple that ofSurfer Rosa.[22]Doolittle featured the single "Here Comes Your Man", which biographers Josh Frank and Caryn Ganz describe as an unusually jaunty and pop-like song for the band.[23] "Monkey Gone to Heaven" was popular on alternative rock radio in the US, reached the top 10 on theBillboardModern Rock Tracks,[24] and the single entered the Top 100 in the U.K.[25] LikeSurfer Rosa,Doolittle was acclaimed by fans and music critics alike.[21]Doolittle was their first album to enter into theBillboard 200, peaking at 98.[26] In the UK, the album was a commercial success, reaching number 8 in theAlbums Chart.[27]
AfterDoolittle, the tensions that had been growing between Deal and Francis came to a head (for example, Francis threw a guitar at Deal during a concert inStuttgart),[28] and Deal was almost fired from the band when she refused to play at a concert inFrankfurt.[29] Santiago, in an interview withMojo, described Deal as being "headstrong and want[ing] to include her own songs, to explore her own world" on the band's albums; eventually she accepted that Francis was the singer and had musical control of the band, but after the Frankfurt incident, "they kinda stopped talking".[29] The band became increasingly tired during the post-Doolittle "Fuck or Fight" tour of the United States and fighting among members continued.[21] After the tour's final date in New York City, the band was too exhausted to attend the end-of-tour party the following night and soon announced a hiatus.[5]
During this time, Santiago and Lovering went on vacation[21] while Francis performed a short solo tour,[5] made up of a number of concerts to generate gas money as he traveled across the country.[1] Deal formed a new band,the Breeders, withTanya Donelly ofThrowing Muses and bass playerJosephine Wiggs of Perfect Disaster.[30] Their debut album,Pod, was released in 1990.[30][31]
In 1990, all members of the group except Deal moved to Los Angeles.[32] Lovering stated that he, Santiago, and Francis moved there "because the recording studio was there".[33] Unlike previous recordings, the band had little time to practice beforehand, and Black Francis wrote much of the album in the studio.[34] Featuring the singles "Velouria" and "Dig for Fire",Bossanova reached number 70 in the United States.[35] In contrast, the album peaked at number three in the United Kingdom.[36] Also in 1990, the Pixies released a cover of thePaul Butterfield Blues Band's "Born in Chicago" on the compilation albumRubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary.[37]
The band continued to tour and releasedTrompe le Monde in 1991, their final album before their break-up. The album included "U-Mass", which has been described as being about college apathy,[38] and featured a guitar riff written years earlier at the University of Massachusetts before Francis and Santiago dropped out.[38] The album also featured a cover of "Head On" bythe Jesus and Mary Chain.[39] Also that year, the band contributed a cover of "I Can't Forget" to theLeonard Cohentribute albumI'm Your Fan,[40] and began an international tour on which they played stadiums in Europe and smaller venues in the United States. In 1992, they supportedU2 on the lucrative US leg of theirZoo TV Tour.[41] Their final performance took place on April 25, 1992 at theCommodore Ballroom in Vancouver, British Columbia.[42] Tensions rose among band members, and they went on sabbatical and focused on separate projects.[41]
In early 1993, Francis announced in an interview withBBC Radio 5 that the Pixies were finished, without telling the other members of the band. He offered no explanation at the time.[5] He later called Santiago and notified Deal and Lovering viafax.[43]
After the breakup, the members embarked on separate projects. Black Francis renamed himself Frank Black,[44] and released several solo albums, including a string of releases withFrank Black and the Catholics.[45] Deal returned to the Breeders and released several albums, including a hit single, "Cannonball", from the platinum-sellingLast Splash in 1993.[30] She also formedthe Amps, who released one album.[46]
Santiago played lead guitar on a number of Frank Black albums[47][48][49] and other artists' albums.[50][51] He wrote music for the television showUndeclared and theme music for the filmCrime and Punishment in Suburbia.[52] He formedthe Martinis with his wife, Linda Mallari, and released the albumSmitten in 2004.[52] In 2004, he also played lead guitar on the albumStatecraft by the novelist and musicianCharles Douglas.[53] Lovering became a magician and performed a style of magic he called "scientific phenomenalism".[54] He was temporarily a member of the Martinis, and later drummed with the bandCracker.[54][55]
4AD and Elektra Records continued to release Pixies material: the best-of albumDeath to the Pixies (1997),[56] the Peel-session compilationPixies at the BBC (1998),[57] and theComplete 'B' Sides compilation (2001).[58] In 2002, material from the Pixies' original 17-track demo tape was released as an EP,Pixies, onCooking Vinyl in the U.K.[59] andSpinART Records in the U.S.;[60] Black has also used these labels to release solo work[61][62] and albums with the Catholics.[45][63] Their song "Where is My Mind" was played during the climax of the movieFight Club in 1999, introducing the song to a new generation of fans.[64]
In the years following the Pixies' breakup, Black dismissed rumors of a reunion,[1][38][65] but incorporated an increasing number of Pixies songs in his sets with the Catholics,[66] and occasionally included Santiago in his solo work and Lovering's magic show as an opening act to concerts.[1] In 2003, a series of phone calls among band members resulted in some low-key rehearsals, and soon the decision to reunite.[1] By February 2004, a full tour was announced,[67] and tickets for nearly all the initial tour dates sold out within minutes.[68]
The Pixies played their first reunion concert on April 13, 2004, at the Fine Line Music Cafe inMinneapolis, Minnesota.[69] A warm-up tour through the U.S. and Canada (in which all dates were recorded and released as individual limited-edition CDs) was followed by an appearance at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[5][70] The band toured Europe in the spring and summer of 2004, beginning on 26 May inReykjavík and concluding on 22 August inChelmsford.[71] The group won the Act-of-the-Year award in the 2004Boston Music Awards.[72] The 2004 reunion tour grossed over $14 million in ticket sales.[73]Pitchfork would later credit the band for ushering in "the indie-icon reunion-tour circuit ... a long overdue opportunity to play for the sort of massive crowds that their famous fans—Nirvana,Radiohead, andWeezer among them—had built on their influence."[74]
In June 2004, the band released a new song, "Bam Thwok" exclusively on theiTunes Music Store; it reached number one in theUK Official Download Chart.[75] 4AD releasedWave of Mutilation: The Best of Pixies, along with a companion DVD,Pixies.[76] The band also contributed a rendition of "Ain't That Pretty at All" to theWarren Zevon tribute albumEnjoy Every Sandwich.[77]In 2005, the Pixies made appearances at festivals includingLollapalooza,[78] "T on the Fringe",[79] and theNewport Folk Festival.[80] They continued to make appearances throughout 2006 and 2007,[81][82] culminating in their first shows in Australia.[83] Francis suggested that a new Pixies studio album was possible[84][85][86] but unlikely,[87] the main obstacle being Deal's reluctance.[88][89]
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release ofDoolittle, the Pixies launched a tour in October 2009 where they performed the album track-for-track, including the associatedB-sides.[90] The tour began in Europe,[90] continued in the United States in November,[91] with the South American and Australian tour following in March 2010, then New Zealand, and more European dates in spring 2010,[92][93] and back to North America in 2010.[94][95]
In October 2012, shortly after the Pixies began recording new material, Deal left the band.[96] Her departure was announced in June 2013.[97] Two weeks later, the band released a new song, "Bagboy", as a free download via the Pixies' website. It features Jeremy Dubs of Bunnies and formerly of the Bennies on vocals in place of Deal.[98] In 2023, Santiago said Deal was not in contact with her former bandmates and was "living her own life".[99]
On July 1, 2013, the Pixies announced the addition of theMuffs andPandoras guitarist and vocalistKim Shattuck to replace Deal for their 2013 European tour.[100][101][102] On September 3, 2013, the Pixies released an EP of new songs,EP1. On November 29, 2013, Shattuck announced that she had been dismissed from the band.[97][103] In December 2013, it was announced that theEntrance Band andA Perfect Circle bassistPaz Lenchantin was joining the Pixies for the 2014 tour.[104] Lenchantin said she had been a "die-hard" Pixies fan as a teenager and that Black was the greatest artist she had worked with.[105] The Pixies releasedEP2 on January 3, 2014, supported by the single "Blue Eyed Hexe".EP3 was released on March 24. All the EPs were only available as downloads and limited-edition vinyl.[citation needed] The three EPs were collected as the first Pixies album in over two decades,Indie Cindy, in April 2014.[106][107] In 2015, the Pixies toured in support ofRobert Plant for a series of dates across North America.[108]
In July 2016, the Pixies announced that Lenchantin had become a permanent member, and that their sixth album,Head Carrier, would be released on September 30, 2016.[109] Their seventh album,Beneath the Eyrie, was released on September 13, 2019, with the lead single, "On Graveyard Hill".[110] The Pixies released a podcast,It's a Pixies Podcast, documenting the recording of the album.[111] The Pixies released a non-album single, "Human Crime", in March 2022.[112] They released their eighth studio album,Doggerel, with the single "There's a Moon On" on September 30 via BMG.[113][114]
On 4 March 2024, the Pixies announced that Lenchantin had left "to concentrate on her own projects".[105] In a statement toRolling Stone, Lenchantin said that the choice was not hers and that her "departure [was] a bit of a surprise to [her] as it is to many".[105] She was replaced on the following tour by Emma Richardson, formerly ofBand of Skulls.[105] The tour celebrated the Pixies' third and fourth albums,Bossanova (1990) andTrompe le Monde (1991), with Francis describing it as "delightful".[115] In June, the Pixies released the single "You're So Impatient", Richardson's first studio credit with the band.[116]
On October 25, 2024, the Pixies released their ninth full-length studio album,The Night the Zombies Came, produced byTom Dalgety, who also worked on their previous three studio albums.[115] Regarding the title, Francis said: "It's not like I wrote a bunch of songs about zombies or that we tried to make the album sound scary or anything like that. 'Zombie' is just an associative word. You can do with it what you like. And it's not a concept record, but that word kept popping up in the lyrics. When I combed through all the other lyrics for a title, they just sounded corny as shit. The only thing that made sense wasThe Night the Zombies Came. And I was like, 'You know what? That's a pretty good title. I'd go see that movie.'"[115] The album was preceded by the singles "You're So Impatient", "Chicken", "Oyster Beds" and "Motoroller".[117]
The Pixies incorporate elements ofsurf rock andpunk rock, with an emphasis on contrasting volume dynamics.Spin described them as "surf music-meets-Stooges spikiness and oft-imitated stop/start and quiet/loud dynamics".[118] Writing forThe Guardian,Laura Barton described their music as "an unorthodox marriage of surf music and punk rock ... characterized by Black's bristling lyrics and hackle-raising caterwaul, Deal's whispered harmonies and waspy basslines, Joey Santiago's fragile guitar, and the persistent flush of David Lovering's drums."[41]
Their music incorporates extreme dynamic shifts, with Francis saying in 1991 that there are "...two basic components of rock music ... the dreamy side and the rockin' side. It's always been either sweaty or laid back and cool. We do try to be dynamic, but it's dumbo dynamics, because we don't know how to do anything else. We can play loud or quiet—that's it."[119]
The Pixies are influenced by a range of artists and genres; each member came from a different musical background. When he first started writing songs for the Pixies, Francis says he was listening to nothing butHüsker Dü,Captain Beefheart, andIggy Pop;[120] whilst in the run up to recordingCome On Pilgrim he listened toR.E.M.'sMurmur a lot, which he described as "hugely influential" to his songwriting.[121] During the making ofDoolittle he listened heavily to theBeatles'White Album.[122] He has citedBuddy Holly as a model for his compressed songwriting.[123] Francis did not discoverpunk rock until he was 16, saying "it was good I didn't listen to these hip records". As a child, he listened mainly to 1960s songs, religious music andEmerson Lake and Palmer and theTalking Heads, who he says "weren't punk either".[124]
Santiago listened to 1970s and 1980s punk (e.g.Black Flag), as well asDavid Bowie[13] andT. Rex.[125] Guitarists who influenced him includeJimi Hendrix,Les Paul,Wes Montgomery,Lou Reed[126] andGeorge Harrison.[127] Deal's musical background was folk music andcountry; she had formed a country-folk band with her sister in her teenage years, and played covers of artists such asthe Everly Brothers andHank Williams.[41] Other artists Deal listened to includedXTC,Gang of Four andElvis Costello.[128] Lovering is a fan of the bandRush.[41]
Film has influenced the Pixies; Francis cites surrealist filmsEraserhead andUn chien andalou (as mentioned in "Debaser") as influences.[13] He has said he "didn't have the patience to sit around reading Surrealist novels", but found it easier to watch twenty-minute films.[129]
Most of the Pixies' songs are composed and sung by Francis. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine has described Francis's writing as containing "bizarre, fragmented lyrics about space, religion, sex, mutilation, and pop culture".[5] Biblical violence is a theme ofDoolittle's "Dead" and "Gouge Away";[1][130] Francis told aMelody Maker interviewer, "It's all those characters in theOld Testament. I'm obsessed with them. Why it comes out so much I don't know."[131] He has describedCome On Pilgrim's "Caribou" as being about reincarnation,[1] and extraterrestrial themes appear in a number of songs onBossanova.[1]
Deal co-wroteDoolittle's "Silver" with Francis,[132] and they share lead harmony vocals on the track.[14] She also co-wrote and sang lead vocals onSurfer Rosa's "Gigantic",[10][133] and wrote the 2004 single "Bam Thwok".[128][134] She was credited as Mrs. John Murphy on "Gigantic"[133]—at the time she was married, and she used this name as an ironicfeminist joke.[131] She also sang lead vocals on the song "Into the White" and theNeil Young cover "Winterlong", both B-sides.[58]
Lovering sang lead vocals onDoolittle's "La La Love You"[132] and the B-side "Make Believe".[58] Lenchantin made her lead vocal debut onHead Carrier's "All I Think About Now".[135] She also provided lead vocals on "Los Surfers Muertos", from 2019'sBeneath The Eyrie and the 2020 September single "Hear Me Out".[citation needed]
The Pixies' first album,Surfer Rosa, is certified gold, whileDoolittle is certified platinum, selling over 1 million copies. The band influenced a number of musicians associated with the alternative rock boom of the 1990s.[136][137] Gary Smith, who producedCome On Pilgrim, said in 1997:[137]
I've heard it said aboutthe Velvet Underground that while not a lot of people bought their albums, everyone who did started a band. I think this is largely true about the Pixies as well. Charles' secret weapon turned out to be not so secret and, sooner or later, all sorts of bands were exploiting the same strategy of wide dynamics. It became a kind of new pop formula and, within a short while, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was charging up the charts and even the members of Nirvana said later that it sounded for all the world like a Pixies song.
The Pixies are credited with popularizing the extreme dynamics and stop-start timing that would become widespread in alternative rock. Their songs typically feature hushed, restrained verses, and explosive, wailing choruses.[38]
Artists including David Bowie,Matt Noveskey,Radiohead,PJ Harvey,U2,Nirvana,the Strokes,Alice in Chains,Arcade Fire,Pavement,Everclear,Kings of Leon andMatthew Good have cited admiration of the Pixies.[21][138][139]Bono of U2, said the Pixies had made "just about the most compelling music of the entire 80s" and were one of the greatest American bands.[138] Radiohead'sThom Yorke said that the Pixies "changed [his] life".[137]
Kurt Cobain cited the band as an influence on Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which he admitted was a conscious attempt to co-opt the Pixies' style. In a January 1994 interview withRolling Stone, he said, "I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it [smiles]. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band—or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard."[137][140] Cobain citedSurfer Rosa as one of his main musical influences, and particularly admired the album's natural and powerful drum sounds, which were a result of Steve Albini's work on the record. Albini later produced Nirvana's 1993In Utero at the request of Cobain.[141]
Other bands and artists who have cited the Pixies as an influence includeWeezer,[142]Gavin Rossdale ofBush,[143]Snow Patrol,[144]Slowdive,[145]OK Go,[146]Eve 6,[147]Thrice,[148]Better Than Ezra,[149]Toadies,[150]Ash,[151]Ride,[152]Veruca Salt,[153]Sleeper,[154]Lemuria,[155] andTreepeople.[156]
No music videos were released fromCome On Pilgrim orSurfer Rosa. FromDoolittle onwards, the following videos were made: "Monkey Gone To Heaven", "Here Comes Your Man", "Velouria", "Dig For Fire", "Allison", "Alec Eiffel", "Head On", and "Debaser";[157] these were later released on the 2004 DVDPixies.[157] The videos for "Here Comes Your Man" and "Allison" were also released onThe Complete 'B' Sides.[58]
ByBossanova, the band had developed a severe aversion to recording music videos, and Francis refused tolip-sync to them.[158] For example, in the "Here Comes Your Man" video, both Black and Deal open their mouths wide instead of mouthing their lyrics.[159] According to their record label, this became one of the reasons that Pixies never achieved major coverage onMTV.[158] WithBossanova's release, 4AD hoped to have the Pixies chosen to perform their single "Velouria" on the BBC'sTop of the Pops.[160] To this end, the band was pressured into producing a video for the song, and made one cheaply with the band members filmed running down a quarry, shown in slow motion.[158][161] The group was ultimately not given a spot on the show.[161][162]
The 90-minute documentaryloudQUIETloud: a film about the Pixies was directed bySteven Cantor andMatthew Galkin and released in 2006. The film documents their 2004 reunion and tour, and covers the years after the break-up.[163] In addition toPixies andLoudQUIETloud, four other Pixies DVDs were released between 2004 and 2006, all featuring concert performances:Live at the Town and Country Club 1988,[164]The Pixies—Sell Out,[138]The Pixies Acoustic: Live in Newport,[165] andThe Pixies Club Date: Live at the Paradise in Boston.[166]
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'Basically our favorite bands were poured into it,' states singer/songwriter/guitaristGary Lightbody. 'At the time we were under the influence of American rock — the Pixies,Dinosaur Jr.,Soundgarden...'
Yes, I think when we started writing forBlue Colour Of The Sky we had a few focused influences. DefinitelyPurple Rain, and definitely The Pixies.
Jawbreaker was defiantly a really big influence.Green Day was a big influence.Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, early on for sure. Early on, California punk music and then we got into the Pixies,indie rock from there.
Better Than Ezra's foundation, we first started being influenced byR.E.M., the Pixies,the Smiths, then we just became more distorted, you know, that typical '90s sound.
...as time went on our music became increasingly influenced by US bands such asHole,Nirvana and, most especially, the Pixies.
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