The Pixies are.....
 

Bob Mould certainly liked the Pixies when he wrote "Good Idea" for Sugar on '92's "Copper Blue". So if this Husker Du guy can find them influencial it's obvious a lot of people do. And from reading posts in the music forum it's obvious others find them influencial as well.

This might sound weird to post, but I was thinking WHY were they so influencial? I was music director for a college station (Auburn) from '85 to '87. "Come on Pilgrim" was released right after I graduated and I didn't hear it that year, but I did buy "Doolittle" right when it came out and I loved it. Of course, I went back and bought "Come on... " and "Surfer Rosa". Before I go on let me say that I absolutely LOVE these recordings.

What I'm sometimes confused about is why, other than being a cool band, are they considered so influencial? After being submersed in "alternative" rock for two years and then hearing the Pixies, I didn't find them radically different from some of the other little underground bands I had heard in those days. While they could have influenced what was about to happen when Nirvana blew up big, I feel that MANY bands brought things up to that point.

Anyway, tell me why you think the Pixies were instrumental in the big change.

Nirvana stated that they wished they were the Pixies. The bass line I think from teen spirit is copied off of Gouge Away.

Listen to their last album "Trompe Le Monde". I think it came out a year before Nirvana broke. The sound of that album in particular was a foreshadow of radio for the next few years, where cheap knock-offs and grungey type music prevailed.

I agree atlantamoi. Personally, I see a string of bands throughout the '80s that paved the way for Nirvana. You have Mission of Burma from 79-83 or so, and then the Minutemen and Husker Du taking over from there. And the Meat Puppets as well. With the Pixies, I think they just took the sounds of those bands and tamed them down, made them less shrill, more melodic. I love the Pixies, but I would say that Burma, the Minutemen and Husker Du are all <i>far</i> better bands than the Pixies ever were.

Whew....

Whew indeed....

It also happens to be Dave Grohl's favorite album ever(said it in Guitar Magazine years ago.) The Pixies were influential because their music was poundingly hard, yet melodic....edgy yet poppy at the same time. The quiet then LOUD! dynamics of songs like Debaser were what influenced many.

The only pickseas songs I've heard are MGTH, Where is my mIne, Dig 4 fire, and Rose of Mutilation UK surf mix. I absolutely LOVE these songs and wondered should I get the rest of their CDs?

YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Andalusia y subbacultcha, tell me more than just "Whew"! I know you two like these guys and I was curious to hear from ya'll. I really do like 'em, not slamming the Pixies.
I would guess if you read recored reviews from '88 you might not read that they were the second coming. Not sure. Anyway, I still pull out their discs. "Trompe..." was okay, but it did not surprise me that that was the end.

I think part of the Pixies appeal was they showed you could make great music without glossy production, without a golden-haired lead singer, etc. They helped break the mold for that era, and probably showed the Kurt Cobains of the world they could make raw, edgy music in their bedrooms and still be great.

As to why the Pixies are cited more often than Husker Du et al., well, it's just because they're better. :)

Have any of you picked up the 'new' demo cd? I was wondering if it was worth it.

Only if you're a FANATIC Pixies person. You'd be better off with Come On Pilgrim and the BBC disc, IMO.

As much as I like the Pixies, I thought Black's Teenager Of The Year was better than any of the Pixies albums.

Yes it's good, most of the demos are earlier versions of songs that made it onto later albums, though.

The Pixies are.....
quite frankly were....GODS OF ALL THAT IS HOLY AND RIGHT WITH THE WORLD. :D

In respect to the influential question, well...as stated in a previous post, they are a bands' band. I think those who play (musicians) initailly dig 'em for the catchy hooks and melodies (pardon the vernacular) and then as always happens, attempt to replicate or cover certain tunes. This certainly segues into the inevitable epiphany that Charles Thompson Kitteridge wrote some pretty complex ****. Complex may not actually be the term proper; Weird may be most appropriate, simply different even. Herein lies why I, personally revel in every piece of music they ever recorded. It's unlike anything I've heard before or since. When broken down it's genius. If the greatest form of flattery is mimicry, then when attempting to duplicate their sound, for lack of a better term, one must realize that it's very different from other music, pretty hard to play. I think it is this combination of Joey Santiago & Frank Black that was so bizarre yet still melodic and catchy that turned the heads of fellow muscians first. ie. Influential.

Wow that was a rant.

btw are they american or british?

They're yanks. From the Boston area I believe.