Pixies: Classic or Dud

Do they need remastering? They sound fine to me.

Or LOL maybe they've fixed that pesky LOUD-quiet-LOUD problem they had by mushing it all out with the louderizer.

i certainly think they're overrated and would much rather listen to a great number of bands, even some who supposedly derived their sound from the "wildly influential" pixies.

i had a passing interest in all their records, fished around for a bit, then left them alone. digestible like coca-cola, thin like water crackers.

i had a passing interest in all their records, fished around for a bit, then left them alone. digestible like coca-cola, thin like water crackers.

Hey, me too! They pretty much define overrated for me. And their concerts border on insulting. I'm not asking for jumping jacks, but could you please try to pretend to be the least bit enthusiastic about what you're doing? No? OK, bye.

: )

nice to hear that you concur, sara x 3

Dunno what yr on about. They were good when I saw them x2.

Massively over-rated rent-a-quirkiness.

Listened to "Monkey Gone To Heaven" for the first time in years the other day, and was suprised at how obvious the dramatic construction appears in retrospect. Almost like it was created from a manual called "Dramatic Affect In Rock Music - A Beginners Guide" by S. Ridgway and P. Murphy.

Dud, then.

Effect.

At the time, they were massively classic, though. And I still really like them for that.

I bow to that excellent comment, Stan.

still classic

Overrated, overplayed, misunderstood - heard Dinosaur Jr. described the other day as a band "influenced by the Pixies". Still classic.

i'd rather listen to frank black's 'cult of ray' than any of the pixies records ('cept for 'surfer rosa') these days. for some reason it's considered awful, but i find it to be one of the better things he's been involved with

i mostly listen to 'trompe le monde' and 'bossanova'. even to this day, little things that i've never noticed will pop out at me. those recordings are really lush and deep, i love they way they are mixed. they just keep giving. i also like the frank black s/t

Cult Of Ray is not considered awful by me, but it's nowhere near any of the Pixies albums.

Trompe Le Monde is great. I like Surfer Rosa, Doolittle & that about equally.

did spencer ever bring one of his 'c80 portable _______ go!' comps in under the 80-minute barrier??

Overburn!!! I've been able to burn CDs up to almost 82 minutes. Alternately, edit out all the silence at the beginning and end of each track. Finally, a couple tracks could be faded out early.

Listened to "Monkey Gone To Heaven" for the first time in years the other day, and was suprised at how obvious the dramatic construction appears in retrospect.

To me the song is purposefully trying to be shallow based on the aesthetic of the lyrics. It's the proto-hipster irony.

Tis why they are absolutely CLASSIC.

...and "massively influential".

"To me the song is purposefully trying to be shallow"

Well, there you go then.

It is indeed shallow for a history of the world in what like 10 lines

I'm so drunk I've pulled out the Pixies. That means I'm really, really drunk. Surfer Rosa with those extra tracks which are my favourite, COME ON PILGRIM RULES. But I got Doolittle too. No one cares.

I'm drunk and I've pulled out Prince tonight. Looks like we're both in the 'P' section at least. Huh.

Fucking goddamn hell I know. And I've got to go back to watching the movie Purple Rain if only Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures would leave me alone instead of leaving me in absolute awe.

But I want this goddamn Time album, whatever they had with Jungle Love, I want that damn thing.

Oh shit I thought this was a Prince thread. I'm so sorry.

hahah, nice one.

there's a Purple Rain thread open so, you know, it happens.

The 33 1/3 book on _Doolittle_ is among the most classic in this series, and serves as a good reminder that the Pixies, were, in fact, classic. There are some songs I consider among their greatest ("Debaser," "Caribou," "I Bleed") that I can imagine other people objecting to, but also lots of perhaps minor but perfect songs like "Manta Ray" which it's really hard for me to imagine _anyone_ not loving.

On the other hand, people who, when you talk about "The Pixies," correct you and say "It's just "Pixies," no "The"" are MASSIVELY DUD.

It's that moment when you realize...you don't have any Pixies on your iPod. You almost want to commit suicide.

I sold Doolittle a few months after getting it on release day because I was so disappointed. I thought it was crap compared to Surfer Rosa. Only a few years later people were starting to call it a classic, and I thought, my god, was that really the best 1989 had to offer? I've grown fonder of them over the years, saw their reunion show, etc. Though I still have to skip through some songs, classic.

I hear Dean Wareham disses them in his book. Anyone read it and can elaborate.

Pixies are Classic.

Anyone seen the Thomson holiday advert lately ? the piano tune sounds extremely like Where is My Mind

i think it's maxence cyrin's cover? or a cover of his cover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8B1ZNv9m4s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NZdggNUvq0

It's that moment when you realize...you don't have any Pixies on your iPod. You almost want to commit suicide.

I still haven't removed Bimble from my phone or chat contacts. Seems like he never got around to adding the Pixies to his iPod.

I'm sorry -- I was born in 89, Pixies have a handful of amazing songs but largely sound dated. Nirvana was a better actual band, could play better, were better performers, wrote better songs, etc. More than any other band of the era that felt like you "had to be there" for (the Replacements might be my favorite band, and I wasnt fucking even close to being there for it) I don't see it with Pixies. I can't say C or D, but I can say that their catalogue doesn't hold up nearly as well as many other 80s bands. Best band of the late 80s/early 90s Bush-era malaise was Uncle Tupelo, in my opinion, hands down. And it's not even close.

When Come On Pilgrim & Surfer Rosa came out, it was the freshest, most spontaneous and fun thing a lot of people had heard in a long time. It made your heart beat that tiny bit faster when you got slapped in the face by their youthful enthusiasm, even though there were still some obvious influences (Violent Femmes, e.g.) it was fresh and new. So um yeah, you had to be there - you can't describe the impact of something like that accurately 20+ years after the fact.

I can understand that. I just wish I could figure out what that band would be for me, in this music era.

nah fuck that i was born in 88 and i listened to doolittle last night at work and it was soooooo swagged out. dunno at all how it sounds dated.

I first really started listening to The Pixies in the early 00's and it sounded weird and fresh to me then. "Dated" is kind of a strange criticism to throw at these guys imo.

I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89
I'm sorry -- I was born in 89

Hah, I deserve that. Still, there's something about the band that just doesn't really click with me -- maybe I'll give TOTY another spin or something.

Nirvana was a better actual band, could play better, were better performers, wrote better songs, etc.

I stand second to none in Nirvana stanning but as guitarists go Joey Santiago > Kurt Cobain. I mean come on.

I pulled out surfer rosa a few days ago after 2-3 years of not listening to it and was pretty amazed at how fresh it sounded. the pixies had a talent for these sparse arrangements that sounded much larger than they actually were.

answering machine: I saw both of these bands many times not long after you were born and trust me, the Pixies were far better performers and far more diverse musicians, and now that I'm an old fart, they have aged much better as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0almdLf6yn0

the key with surfer rosa is that it's kind of mastered kind of low - because of the soft loud dynamics, I think. you need to turn it UP. listen to vamos with the speakers all the way turnt up. 1000x better than nirvana

Nirvana's angst and guttural crunch sound extremely dated to me, so much so that I haven't actually purposely listened to a song of theirs in at least a decade, while randomly hearing a Pixies song is always welcome. Something about their sense of whimsy; for a respected canonical band, at least 20% of their catalogue is wicked goofy. Also they had Kim Deal, which automatically makes any band better.

I totally went through Pixies fatigue at the time of their first reunion tour, saw them like 3 times during their NYC week, and afterwards couldn't really bear to hear those songs (which were generally all from Pilgrim/Surfer/Doolittle). Which made the "lesser" following albums pop more, and now even songs like "Havalina" and "Blown Away" and esp "Letter To Memphis" really hit me hard, just as much as "Debaser" or "Gigantic." Of all their A+ great songs, I think the relatively minor "Letter To Memphis" might now be my favorite. Or maybe it's "Break My Body." Too many good songs. Even their B-sides were awesome.

For me, they're like the Violent Femmes - not a band you can grow old with. The whiny / shouty vocals, the lyrics about aliens and Mexicans...I don't mind the guitars (though the rhythm section does nothing interesting), but it's the singing that makes it all junior novelty music for me.

Lovering is an awesome drummer, that's insane.

The surreal Dada-ist elements of the music and lyrics is part of what keeps it from sounding dated, imo. It's insane to me that anyone could call this stuff dated and then cite Nirvana as the alternative.

It's also insane to me that anyone was born in 1989.

answering machine, while we're (you're) talking Pixies and Nirvana, how do you rate Husker Du?

I like the Huskers better than both, I only use Nirvana as an example because they'd always talked about ripping off the Pixies' soft-loud-soft dynamic -- Nirvana's just as dated, if not more so. FTR I don't dislike the Pixies at all, I really like a lot of their songs -- was just kind of wondering why they tend to get more recognition than groups like Husker Du or The Mats or whoever from that era.

it's probably because they like un chien andalou and the mats didnt

can't deny they have loads of great guitar riffs. they got more and more cloying as they went along but their songwriting may have gotten better.