The Savage Animal 05.27.09: First Impressions of The Pixies

Posted by Mikey MiGo on 05.27.2009

In this week’s edition of The Savage Animal, 411’s Mikey MiGo takes on the four studio albums of the Pixies. Are they as great as the critics and hipsters claim or just another cult 90’s band? We’ll find that out, check in on the final Nine Inch Nails tour with details on the Eric De La Cruz/“Help Out and Hang Out” cause , and rant and ramble about wrestling and movies.



There's a lot going on and we're low on time this week. I'll just get right into it…

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE PIXIES
Are they as great as the critics and hipsters say?Over the past few months I've been throwing out this "First Impressions" series. Basically, I find a band that I know is respected but was just never on my radar or part of my music collection. It's always fun to find new bands and to give them a fair chance. The first two, "Simon and Garfunkel" and "The Smiths", were pretty damn good. I picked up a hand full of tracks that are now in my rotation and can now speak informed about their musical stylings, songs, etc.

This week, I'm going with the Pixies. I have a friend who keeps suggesting I check them out for this series so why not? It's only four studio albums so what do I have to lose? I know the Pixies have TONS of B-Sides, an EP, covers, and other randomness not included on their four studio albums. I'll check that out in the future. Today is just focused on their four studio albums. If a band's studio album can't hold up in getting a general feel and taste for their music then they're probably not worth checking out to begin with.


Surfer Rosa (1988)
The 411:"Bone Machine" starts off the CD and it instantly reminds me of a grunge version of a Talking Heads song. I mean that in a good way. It's catchy, eccentric, and the lyrics are pretty "out there". We flow right into "Break My Body", which is again, catchy and "out there". "Something Against You" sounds a bit more "punkish". If the rest is like this, then it's going to be a long few hours. I know it's the other way around, but to me, "Broken Face" sounds like Jack While covering a Mindless Self Indulgence song. "Gigantic" is sung by Kim Deal and it sounds pretty good. It's where I'm starting to understand the musical influence Pixies had on bands like Nirvana. The song structure is a bit more "dirty pop" and so far it's my favorite song on the CD. "River Euphrates" sounds like twenty songs by Modest Mouse. Now we're at "Where Is My Mind". This is easily the song that I'm most used to and comfortable with. I've heard it a million times after rewatching "Fight Club" and then being given the track by the same friend who convinced me to go with "The Pixies" this week. Within the context of the album and not having listened to it in a long time, I can remember easily why the song was so cool back then. "Cactus" is familiar because of Bowie's cover/slight revision.


Doolittle (1989)
The 411:The album starts off with "Debaser", a song that I've heard a lot in the past. I didn't pay much attention to it before. I consider this my first real listen. It's much more enjoyable in a focused environment for the first real listen. A lot of the early 90's bands credit the second song "Tame" as a huge influence. I can see that easily. The quiet then loud, then quiet then loud dynamic of it sounds like a lot of the early grunge songs that are rocked on classic rock stations these days(how crazy is that?). It's off to a great start with "Wave of Mutliation" and "I Bleed" following. Both tracks are very solid. This album sounds a lot more polished than the first, but it's really cool to hear the evolution of the Pixie's sound. I can easily understand the praise and respect the band gets. "Here Comes Your Man" is another song I've heard before. I don't know why, but I thought it was a cover. It has an old school vibe to it that predates the old school vibe of the Pixies. Great song, nonetheless. Two tracks later, we come to the second single off this album in "Monkey Gone to Heaven". I'd of thought that since it's a single that I'd of heard it before, but I can't really recall it. It's a really cool surreal track. I'm not quite sure because the songs keep flying at me, but it might be my favorite thus far on this album. I know the guitar riff from "La La Love You" from somewhere. Or at least it's one of those songs that you hear for the first time and feel like you already know. "No. 13 Baby" just rocks. It's probably the hardest I've head banged while listening to their music. Jumping to "Hey". I know this song now because of its use in "Zack and Miri Makes a Porno". I was enjoying the scene and the music when the Pixie fan-friend of mine points out that it's the Pixies. I didn't know the song title, but I knew it instantly when I heard it. It's an awesome track and I'm surprised it wasn't a huge single. The album closes with "Gouge Away". It's a bad ass track. It makes the Nirvana thing A LOT more obvious.


Bossanova (1990)
The 411: The album kicks off with "Cecilia Ann", a grungy surf rock instrumental. It's has a pretty big epic feel, which is an awesome way to kick off an album. The next track is "Rock Music", which is a very harsh rock track. It's like a heavy metal song with melody. The third track, "Velouria" was released as a single. It has a very commercial/radio friendly sound to it, but it still maintains an edge. "Allison" is only a minute-seventeen, but it gets the job done. "Is She Weird" is really solid and I like it more than the "Velouria" single. It's got a more interesting arrangement and a truly good groove to it. "All Over The World" is a five and a half minute long rock out. "Dig For Fire" is another single from the album. It's a good track, but it dates itself with the "1990 vibe" for sure as in a lot of the other stuff seems more timeless. "Down to the Well" is another track that I'm surprised I've not heard before. "The Happening" kicks off with an interesting and addicting groove and jumps into one of the best tracks of the Pixies I've heard. The album finished up with a nice mellow track in "Havalina". I might actually like this album more than the critically acclaimed first two releases of the band.


Trompe le Monde (1991)
The 411: We open with the mellow title track. Interesting to those who don't know, "Trompe le Monde" translates to "Fool the World". The second song, "Planet of Sound" sounds different than anything else in their catalog. Frank's lyrical delivery reminds me of recent Trent Reznor work, mainly "Not So Pretty Now". Obviously, that means I like it. "Alex Eiffel" is about the guy who designed the Eiffel Tower, which is an interesting topic for a pretty good song. "Head On" was a single from the album and has the dated "early 90's" sound going for it. Skipping ahead to "Palace of The Brine". It's only a minute and a half long, but it's a good tune. Why do most of the songs of the Pixies I like end up being way too short? "Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons" is the next track that stands out to me. It's a down tempo song that you can't help but nod your head to. "Space (I Believe In)" sounds like a trippy mesh up of all the Pixie styles and tricks into one song. The albums ends with a truly cool song in "The Navajo Know". I love the way it fizzles out. The album is more aggressive and seemingly more experimental than their other stuff. I'd actually rank the albums backwards in personal preference with the last being the best.



The Verdict:
Four studio albums and two and half hours later, I can honestly give an particularly drained, but fair and educated opinion on the Pixies. The Pixies feel like the evolutionary step between "Talking Heads" and "Nirvana". For someone who happens to love both "Talking Heads" and "Nirvana", it's good stuff. That broad generalization covers a lot of turf, but doesn't even come close to quite sum up the music I listened to today by The Pixies. There's a wealthy hand full of songs that will end up making my playlists, mix CDs, and make it into my lexicon of music. The tracks that were chosen as singles sound dated to me, but the other majority has a lot of great qualities. I like what I heard for the most part, but I'm not quite sure how much the ENTIRE catalog has in terms of relistenablity for me. I'll definitely give the albums another listen in the future, but I can't say that'll happen as often as my favorite bands, including the ones who they inspired.

I'm open to ideas. I'd like to stick with older bands with only four to six LPs. Any more and the column would probably have to be split up. I'm not going to dedicate THAT much time to a new band off the bat. Any less would be too little to feel like a complete column.

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RANDOM VIDEO(s) OF THE WEEK
"WAVE GOODBYE 1989-2009"/NINJA TOUR TRACKER
2 DAYS TILL NINE INCH NAILS!
Friday night I get the pleasure of seeing Nine Inch Nails perform on the last tour in Chicago, IL. My anticipation is pretty big and my expectations are probably higher for this concert than any show I've ever gone to.

The tour stuff is great. Trent's utilizing tweeter and the iphone application like a mad man and everyone is informed on things and the community is thriving more than ever right now. There's been people talking back and forth with Trent trying to get backstage on their phones. One guy almost shaved his head just prior to his upcoming wedding just to get backstage. Trent let him in back just because he made the offer. There was another situation where a picture was posted of someone and you had to find them and say a password to get passes. Sadly, I have no iphone access to be able to keep track of these things this Friday.

One cool thing that Trent did was set up a "HELP OUT AND HANG OUT" donation drive for every stop on the tour. The whole point is to raise money for Eric De La Cruz's heart transplant. For $300 you get in early for the sound checks and get a hug/handshake meet and greet with Trent and the boys. For $1000 you get all the above, get to eat dinner with the band at the catering area of the venue, and pretty much have access to the backstage area for the entire show(minus Jane's Addiction's performance). This is assuming you ALREADY have a ticket, if not the $1000 option will cost you $1200. This is a DREAM for Nine Inch Nail fans. I know for a fact that if I had the $300 or even $1000 that I'd gladly donate it for this cause and the experience offered in return.

On its own, I'd probably be pissed off about it. Charging THAT much seems unfair to the long time fans who don't have the extra cash in this economic crisis we're in. Yeah, I'm talking about myself. Everyone wants to meet their rockstar idols. I'm sure I'm no different than those who can't afford it. But on the flip side, if the financially stable fans are charitable-thinking or not, this cause is one that you can't help but support. Even if you're not going to a show, can't afford the $300/$1000 price tag, or even if you're still reading and don't like NIN's music; it's worth donating what you can.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

As I gear up for Friday, here's a few videos from YouTube that are helping me ease into this show.

Check out the awesomeness:

"Now I'm Nothing/Terrible Lie" by Nine Inch Nails Live (5/20/09 in Irvine, CA)

The 411:The awesome part of this is that he's performing "Now I'm Nothing". For those who aren't completely obsessed with NIN, it's a track that Trent wrote back in the day and used as the intro to "Terrible Lie". Sadly, it's never seen the "light of day" (pun intended) on any official release.


"Suck" by Nine Inch Nails Live (5/21/09 in Santa Barbara, CA)

The 411: This is one of my favorite NIN song. I really don't have any other reason than that. "suprefan" did an awesome job with shooting this and the band didn't do half bad either.

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RANDOM MOVIE REVIEW IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"S. DARKO"
STARRING DAVEIGH CHASEI've read some horrible reviews for this "Donny Darko" sequel so I was reluctant to watch this. The original/first wasn't THAT great a movie after watching it recently. I loved it when it came out, but I was also heavy into drugs and liked a lot of random "trippy" things. I still like "trippy" shit, but despite it being well done… it was just bland and felt like it dragged out for a looong time. So with my new found "meh" towards "Donny Darko" I wasn't exactly too enthusiastic about watching this DVD. In fact, it's sat on my shelf for a while now without even being opened. Nonetheless, I watched it this past week. I can HONESTLY say it's not as bad as the reviews. It's got the same tone and charm of the first one, but at the same time, the same overly drawn out and overly "trippy" feel to it. Instead of "suck a fuck" like the first, this has a "God's farts smell like marshmallow peeps". That's a horrible line, but dammit I smirked. The movie is saved by Daveigh Chase. She was Donny's little sister in the first one and has grown up to become a very cool adult. At first I was a little taken back because she seemed to be like a trashier version of Juno, but quickly you see more of dimension to her character and performance. For what it was, a Direct to DVD sequel, it's not bad at all. I might even of liked it more than the original, but I'll need another ten years to REALLY know. On the bright side, I now know to keep a look out for Daveigh Chase. C+ movie for sure. If you get a chance, watch it, but don't feel left out if you don't get to.

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WRESTLING WITH PILLOWS
Looking Out From the Inside.I could of read the results and bullshitted my way through commenting on the show. Even on paper, I could tell you that the Kofi/Matt/Regal Three Way would be the best match of the show. I'm not saying it was perfect because I hear some spots were blown, but just on paper it's obvious. I read people gripping about the NBA stuff, but what the hell did you expect? After all the media masturbation over the current events did you expect Vince to NOT overplay it for all it's worth? If you're bothered by it, lighten up. Maybe you should find a new hobby because no matter how many great matches and storylines we DO get, this sort of sideshow will ALWAYS happen.

I wish I'd of seen RAW over the TNA PPV. I actually watched a good portion of it with friends and I was bored out of my mind. The ONLY thing that got my attention was Beer Money Inc. I had predetermined thoughts of "these guys gotta suck" going into it. That was an unfair judgment as they impressed the hell out of me. They work really good together and have some good and creative tag moves and chemistry. Sadly, other than that… it sucked very badly. I can't seem to understand how someone could praise TNA over WWE. TNA's not like offensively bad, but it just feels like a watered down WCW. I tried to be open minded, I had no ill will going in, and I honestly wanted to enjoy the three hours of PPV. I didn't. I've seen better shows in small halls in Chicago for $10 a pop.

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CHECK THIS OUT! [CHEAP PLUGS]
Things I do while not writing this column.

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That's all for this week. Next week, I'll be digging deep into my personal life and I'll try to explain why I love music so much. (Here's a hint: The ENTIRE column will be about Nine Inch Nails.) Until then… Have a Great Week!