But somewhere in the world, far, far from 'Our Price' in Ealing Broadway Centre, these four American kooks were releasing their breakthrough third album, generally considered their best and one of the most important in the history of alternative music.
My Pixies experience is pretty limited - I've got 'Doolittle', a Best of and a few other bits. I'm lucky enough to have seen them live, at Benicassim in 2006 (near the start of their second incarnation which, bizarrely, has lasted longer than their original run). They were tremendous, exhilarating for 60,000 people. The show had to stop for 20 minutes as it was getting a bit dicy down the front and people needed to calm down a bit. At that stage I knew about 15 Pixies songs and they played all of them and they were all awesome.
About half of those were from 'Doolittle' - which I bought soon afterwards. A rattling 15 songs with no pause for breath. It hardly follows the album formula I described in my previous post on the Pernice Brothers, as it puts its biggest number up front - 'Debaser', beloved of the indie disco, which could dwarf a lesser album. In fact, the first half probably contains the stronger, certainly the more well known, songs. The second half is fun, I wouldn't say it sags, but I'd say the album is slightly top-heavy.
To me, the Pixies are a pop band. Their best moments make me feel exhilaration, but I wouldn't say there's anything beyond that for me. They don't move me, sadden me, enrage me, even intrigue me. I know they intrigue some people. Their geeky weirdness, the biblical and surrealist imagery, the dark story-telling, it's all great stuff, I know they meant a lot to people. Frank Black being a chubby, balding rock god is great and, if you will, empowering; the scream of rage, the cry of the outsider, I get all that.
I also hear their influence - whether it's on Nirvana or a pop-punk band like Ash. The quiet-loud dynamic, the surf guitar sound, the heaviness allied to sweet pop tunes, the use of Kim Deal's backing vocals, it's all there.
I don't dismiss them by calling them a pop band - they mastered that thing that a few of the alternative bands who've developed a massive following have managed down the years - being clever while getting the kids to dance. In that sense, their successors are the likes of Blur, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Pavement, dare I say it, even the Killers (without the clever bit ...).
Their best songs sound great, on your headphones, on the radio, everywhere. This album, 'Doolittle', has their cleanest, poppiest production, and I think that really suits them. They've their first album of new material for 20 odd years coming out next week, and I think there's a general sense of "I wish they wouldn't" (including from Kim Deal, who left the band because she didn't want to record new stuff), and early reviews suggest it's all too clean, almost like a Pixies covers band, but, who knows, it's all perception, isn't it? To me, they're a band at their best when they're most "mainstream" (musically not lyrically), most melodic and sweet. I haven't decided if I'll get the new album, but i'm not ruling it out.
My Pixies compilation will be frankly a little disappointing, not far from just being a Best Of.
Debaser
Gigantic
Here Comes Your Man
Where is My Mind?
Tame
Velouria
Crackity Jones
Wave of Mutilation
Monkey Gone to Heaven
Nimrod's Son
Hey
Planet of Sound
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