Black Francis

Discovering Kim deal led me to The Pixies



Which i at first hated, i initially didn't like this band but the same guy who introduced me to Nirvana and the Breeders insisted i would love it

And he was right, i started to get their sound then all of the sudden i became a fan in a few weeks, their song catalogue is amazing, it's easier to name a bad song from them than a good one, and i think that's why i started to become a fan of them i consistently liked everything they did which is rare for me.

usually i like alot of bands but i don't like everything they do, a personal exmpl for me are Sonic youth or David bowie, i luv them but i don't like everything they do
There is a part of me that recognises other bands are better than the pixies but they don't speak to me personally as the pixies do

And since i love this band i've analysed in full detail what i luv about them
and much of it is Charles thompson (Black Francis)

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"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

Black Francis (young)

I think there is a distinction in Black Francis (young) AND Frank Black (old),
The pixies were a result of his early compositions which were like abstract poems and snippets made into songs, they were very raw and unrefined but that was the charm of the songs.



But as he got older, he started to change his perspective on music, this is why the pixies now can't recreate the spirit they once had, they're not the same ppl they were.

Now ofc the pixies is not all his doing, Joey added alot to the pixies with his signature style of guitar playing which is loud and f*ckin awesome.. it's as twisted as Francis lyrics and his solos instead of overshadowing the vocals with technical prowess, merge with the vocals to serve the concept of the song better.



And ofc Kim deal brought the melody, Kim has a great sense of melody that added a sweet touch to the pixies, a feminine touch they lacked.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

2 good exmpls of Kim's adding a great bassline is the song 'Hey' and this one 'Mr grieves'



And David lovering is SERIOUSLY an underrated drummer, ppl tend to think good drummers have to be flashy and be charismatic characters not really focusing on what is important which is serving the concept of the song to make it better..

sometimes a simple beat is what the song need, there is no need to show your skills, just let your ego aside and do what is best for the song.

David does that, he knows when to keep it simple and when to elaborate, a song that highlights his style of drumming is 'Allison'



This song is all about precision in the drums, i think it's a good song for aspiring drummers to practice.

All of these dynamics to me made the pixies great, but there is one thing that gets barely mentioned about them, one thing that is crucial to their signature sound.

And this thing is..

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

Their 3 chords timing.

Most bands go by the rule of 4 in their timing.

their chord's length is based on 4 chords, and if they use 3 chords they prolong the 3rd chord in a timing of 4

idk how to explain this in a better way so i apologise but once i started playing the pixies songs i noticed they chopped off one note.

Where most bands go "I, 2, 3, 4," and start the timing all over again the pixies go "1, 2, 3" and start over again, that missing space of the 4th chord is missing creating a different structure, like for exmpl in 'Tame'



This little detail makes the rhythm structure confusing, and it makes singing the song more difficult, cause you also have to rearrange your vocals to the 3 chords timing.

And most of the time that is why they sound so chaotic, that one note that ties the timing together is missing so they make up for it with the vocals and the attitude of the song..

Crackity jones is also 3 chords looped and all attitude

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

After the pixies broke up i followed both Kim and Frank's careers and they've had a respectable one, Frank black keep releasing good albums some better received than others, one that was well received was

'Teenager of the year'






Good album, you can still hear traces of the pixies in his music but you can also hear how he was changing to a different style.

my absolute fav album of his though is

'Dog in the Sand'



this album is REALLY GOOD, it took me awhile to fully get into it because it is basically a country album.
The vocals are smooth very different from how he sang in the pixies, and musically it's perhaps his best Cd, it has sliding guitars, Banjos, pianos, instruments he never used before.

and not just that, the album is consistently good, all the tracks have something that makes them good and different.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

Among all the good tracks in Dog in the sand, my fav has to be 'Bullet'
this song is like a dark pixies country song, almost like Nimrod's son but with a different feel



Another fav of mine is 'The swimmer'
in it he tells the story of some swimmer i forget who but it's inspired by one of those ppl who swim long distances to prove something, my fav part is when he says

"Will you never drown?
Will you learn to use some forgotten part?"



Honestly i could post the whole cd, cause i like i said, every song has something special.

Another good track is 'St francis dam disaster'



i luv the banjo and the guitar on that one.

And lastly, the depressive ballad 'i'll be blue'



This is my go to jam when im depressed, i luv the piano in the song and i really like the chorus of the song.

Few other songs worth mentioning are 'Robert onion' and 'Dog in the sand' which features Joey on the guitar

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

music_phantom13

Just wanted to say, great journal so far man. I'm a pretty big Pixies fan but haven't listened to much of anything by Frank Black before. I almost didn't play the videos from Dog in the Sand as I really don't like country but they are pretty awesome, I should have figured that coming from Frank Black. And I got into a lot of music thanks to skating as well... I'm a bit younger, 24, but back in the day I watched a lot of skate videos that introduced me to all sorts of awesome music since I missed out on most of the good MTV years :/

Black Francis

Me too, especially the 411 videos

even though i don't skate anymore, i still love skating vids and the whole skating culture.



Fact yesterday i was watching that doc about the zephyr skating team. lol

And thnx, im glad you dig the journal and if you like the pixies and Frank black style of music, Give dog in the sand a real shot.
it's honestly among his bestwork and it's a pretty relaxing cd it's not heavy.

Im not a fan of country either but i luv dat cd
Their previous cd with the catholics was more classical rock, i was planning on reviewing it next but honestly Dog in the sand is better.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

Ok, so i did Frank now let's do Kim

since i already covered the breeders, now im gonna cover

The Amps



"The Amps were an American alternative-indie rock group. Formed by Kim Deal in 1995 after her band the Breeders went on hiatus, the group consisted of Deal, vocals and guitars; Luis Lerma, bass; Nate Farley, guitars; and the Breeders' Jim Macpherson, drums. The Breeders' Kelley Deal, Kim's sister, was also briefly involved, but had to leave the band due to drug problems. The group was named when Kim Deal started calling herself Tammy Ampersand for fun, and the band Tammy and the Amps." -wiki

If the breeders sounded like Guided by voices, The amps REALLY sounded like GBV, but still that doesn't take away their originality their sound is different than the breeders, more lo-fi like GBV but it's still alternative Kim deal kinda music (God i love her)

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

their cd 'Pacer' is full of Catchy Kim deal tunes such as









I have a fond memory of this album, i listened to this album simultaneously with the Beach boys Pet sounds album on my 5 hr flight to Wisconsin

They helped me relax cause i was scared going over to live in the USA, especially Wisconsin, i knew nobody there was gonna speak spanish and our cultural customs weren't gonna be the same.

Both albums were a stress reliever of sorts for me that's why i actually prefer the amps over the breeders which are better produced, cause they were there with me at a crucial point in my life.

if you like Kim deal you'll like the Amps, it has her charm but it's just a little different, it's a side band that i think she shoulda pursued more cause they made good music.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A