Come on pilgrim

Its not been a very good night so far, what with a brand new bout of monday blues around the corner with book in looming. Doesn't help being fed up with not being at the Broken Social Scene gig at the Esplanade happening now. If Feist makes a 'surprise' appearance like their show at the Manning Bar in Sydney, i will break something. Like a social scene. Ha ha. Definitely was a good weekend though, looking forward to the next one(and the next one, and the one after)

Anyway, this post was supposed to be about the awesomeness that is The Pixies. I've been listening to them alot recently, which might explain a few things. I've always known them to be one of those bands, you know those with a legendary status and mystique to them. I knew they were the pioneers of the loud, soft, loud dynamic that can almost be an umbrella term for so much of the late 90's and modern rock music. But i hadn't really taken the time to understand them yet.

At first I found their songs incredibly abrasive, with the erratic guitars and Black Francis's jarring, almost violent, vocal style. But then one day I was listening to Doolittle and something clicked in me. I found their sound more and more melodic and I started appreciating the structures they developed. Often a song sounded like it was about to implode and fall apart, before something pulled it back together gloriously and made the song make sense. A sort of chaotic beauty, if that makes any sense.

Something I like about the Pixies is how each member are kind of different in their styles and deliveries yet together they were perfect in creating their unique sound. David Lovering's intense percussion which defined the tempo changes so prevalent in their songs, Santiago's erratic guitar crunches announcing the desperately triumphant Black Francis screaming home his dystopic lyrics. All the while being held in place by Kim Deal's bass and harmonies. You could see (or hear rather) how they practically inspired a musical revolution.

Of course, I am only scraping the tip of the Pixies iceberg. I have only really listened properly to a couple of records and I haven't even reached the sci-fi space rock and surf rock of Bossanova and Trompe le Monde. Here's a little Pixies starter pack, with a couple of my favourites as well as a few songs by other bands that showcase the trademark influence this Boston band had.

The Pixies - Monkey Gone To Heaven /
Radiohead - My Iron Lung (Live at Glastonbury) /
The Pixies - Bone Machine /
Die! Die! Die! - Sideways Here We Come /
Kings Of Leon - Charmer /
The Pixies - Gouge Away /
The Pixies - Debaser /