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Thread: Pixies!

  1. #1
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    Pixies!

    What are your views on this motley crew?

    My hipster friends all loved the Pixies a, uh, quarter century ago. I never caught the fever at the time, but I just got their "sell out" DVD from the 2004 reunion tour. I admit it is quite enjoyable.

    Instrumentally the Pixies are rudimentary at best, probably worse than my own college band. Compared to proggers, the drummer is laughably bad: he can't keep the beat, is often late or early with fills, etc. But you know given the quirky edge of the songs, one might actually make the argument that it is exactly what the material requires.

    But, unlike my college band, they had vision and good songwriting. Almost every song has a great riff or hook that sticks in your head. And they obviously mean a lot to a lot of people, judging by the hordes who attended this show in France, and were singing along to every tune. What exactly is a "debaser" anyway? Sounds illicit somehow but who knows??

    Are the Pixies the greatest thing ever? Not to me. But they were a band who knew their limits and seemed to do very well within them.

  2. #2
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    My favorites are Trompe le Monde and doolittle. Surfer Rosa has some moments.
    Saw their reunion doolittle album tour with Mew opening. Good show.

    Not the greatest thing ever. But when the moment is right they fit me pretty well.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
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  3. #3
    Bossanova is the deal.

    Was on vacation in Arizona and had to play Havalina.

  4. #4
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    I was initially turned on to this band in the nineties by my brother who is a big fan of alternative stuff. He is or was maybe as into alternative and what used to be called "college rock" as I am into prog. These days I think his taste is more eclectic and mostly just goes to the concerts his wife approves of (ie mostly classic rock).

    Doolittle is very good. It's often considered their best but I prefer Surfer Rosa which I think is one of the best alternative rock albums of all time. Catchy melodies and just a really fun yet under rated band.
    Last edited by Digital_Man; 12-06-2014 at 12:16 PM.
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    I really tried with them, but just could not get into it.

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    The Pixies are one of those bands that everyone is supposed to remember how great they were back in the day.

    Oddly, as far as I know I have never heard them, only seen the name.

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    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    The Pixies are one of those bands that everyone is supposed to remember how great they were back in the day.

    Oddly, as far as I know I have never heard them, only seen the name.
    They are under-rated for sure even though they are also very influential even influencing Nirvana. I don't however consider them an essential band(especially not for prog fans)unless you are really into alternative. I know about them(and like them)mainly because like I said before my brother was a fan and I just happen to think they were a good band. Not being played to death on the radio(like say the Red Hot chilipeppers)helps a lot too though.
    Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Blah_Blah_Woof_Woof View Post
    Bossanova is the deal.
    I thought Kim was the Deal.
    "Always ready with the ray of sunshine"

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    Quote Originally Posted by Digital_Man View Post
    They are under-rated for sure even though they are also very influential even influencing Nirvana. I don't however consider them an essential band(especially not for prog fans)unless you are really into alternative. I know about them(and like them)mainly because like I said before my brother was a fan and I just happen to think they were a good band. Not being played to death on the radio(like say the Red Hot chilipeppers)helps a lot too though.
    I agree that the Pixies music has benefitted from a lack of overexposure, at least here in the USA. I recently also tried a Nirvana DVD, and while the rock star power is definitely there, I was a little sick of the material due to 1990s overexposure. As for the Pixies, except for Debaser, Wave of Mutilation, Planet of Sound and Here Comes Your Man, I don't recall hearing any of the other songs back in the day. Even though, like I said above, a lot of my friends were big fans back then. Of course, I was probably too busy trying to turn them all on to ABWH! You can imagine how successful that was...

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    Member bigjohnwayne's Avatar
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    Big Pixies fan here. It probably helps being an emotionally brutal New Englander.

    Perhaps due to Black Francis/Frank Black's irrepressible strangeness I never get sick of this band.




    I mean, look at this video. It looks like he needs an exorcism. And that crowd looks like its about to go outside and start flipping over every car they see for miles.


    I like Doolittle, Come on Pilgrim, and Surfer Rosa best.

    Also the first two Frank Black albums are a must if you like Trompe le Monde. I'd argue they are better.

    Kim Deal's work with the breeders is great too. Their album Last Splash is in every used bin in the world--everyone bought it for that single "Cannonball" and then was horrified to find out the rest of the album was utterly bizarre.

    It's a great album though

  11. #11
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    I like how everyone in the audience is jumping up and down. You never see that at a prog show. I wonder how many people jumping up and down it takes for everyone to start jumping up and down. We could have a little psychological experiment at a Pixies show.
    Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)

  12. #12
    Member bigjohnwayne's Avatar
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    The only prog song that would get me jumping up and down is Mad Man Moon from Trick of the Tail, natch

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    Quote Originally Posted by Digital_Man View Post
    I like how everyone in the audience is jumping up and down. You never see that at a prog show. I wonder how many people jumping up and down it takes for everyone to start jumping up and down. We could have a little psychological experiment at a Pixies show.
    ... an exception to every rule!


  14. #14
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    ^ You got me there.
    Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)

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    Absolutely love Pixies.

    Top 10 band all-time for me!!!

    Doolittle is perfection.
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  16. #16
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    I was just watching the Patriots/Colts blowout and I heard a familiar song.
    Acura is using a string ensemble version of "Where is My Mind" from Surfer Rosa for a commercial.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

  17. #17
    I didn't hear them until 1991, the year they broke up. I like Doolittle a lot. I do think that they weren't that album-centric and that I could possibly put together a 60-minute comp of my favorite Pixies songs and be very happy with just that.

  18. #18
    They were huge in my country back in the day. Saw them live, two or three times but I never got into them.
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  19. #19
    I adore them, one of my favourite bands of all time and I go to them for a blast of alternative noise frequently. They were arguably a lot bigger over here in the UK back in the day, and I saw them on many a tour. Surfer Rosa and Doolittle are the best, Bossanova isn't far behind. Trompe Le Monde was getting more towards commercial, but that cover of Head On was fun (prefer the Marychain's original though).

    I went to the Doolittle reunion tour at Brixton Academy, the scene of many a raucous night the first time around, they were still great. I also saw them at an outdoor festival on that tour, where the younger audience was intrigued but bemused.

    I haven't picked up or heard their album from last year, the absence of Kim Deal makes it less Pixies for me. Has anybody heard it?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sunlight Caller View Post
    I adore them, one of my favourite bands of all time and I go to them for a blast of alternative noise frequently. They were arguably a lot bigger over here in the UK back in the day, and I saw them on many a tour. Surfer Rosa and Doolittle are the best, Bossanova isn't far behind. Trompe Le Monde was getting more towards commercial, but that cover of Head On was fun (prefer the Marychain's original though).

    I went to the Doolittle reunion tour at Brixton Academy, the scene of many a raucous night the first time around, they were still great. I also saw them at an outdoor festival on that tour, where the younger audience was intrigued but bemused.

    I haven't picked up or heard their album from last year, the absence of Kim Deal makes it less Pixies for me. Has anybody heard it?
    The critics were pretty harsh with the Pixies latest effort, Indie Cindy. Although I understand that it's not Doolittle or Trompe Le Monde it's still a very solid record. Being a huge YES and PIXIES fan I can't help but wonder how much of the negativity was a "No Kim, No Pixies" kind of deal (pun intended.)
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