Imagine, if you will, a world without The Pixies -- a world where the collective evolution of popular rock music has been stagnant since the late 1980s. Forget the grunge movement or flannel -- they were never cool. The local radio station, MTV and your iPod are still playing suburban hair bands, à la Bon Jovi, all hours of the day. Sound exciting?
Fortunately, the music world is a better place, thanks to a University of Massachusetts dropout and his friends.
Many of us hadn't taken our first steps when Black Francis formed The Pixies in 1986. Now, 20 years later, their sound influences just about every guitar-based band from Death Cab for Cutie to Radiohead.
During their brief recording career, The Pixies released an EP and four landmark full-length albums before breaking up in 1993. Most fans consider Surfer Rosa and Doolittle the strongest releases, and the band found minor hits with "Here Comes Your Man" and "Wave of Mutilation."
In retrospect, The Pixies are credited as the first band to bring indie-rock to the mainstream, though they never saw the commercial success of their immediate followers like Nirvana. The Pixies occupy an awkward niche in the music world, often name-checked more than listened to.
Unlike other influential bands, The Pixies have aged well in the shadow of their influence. The opening drum beat to "Bone Machine" still sounds like it might break your stereo, Black Francis' gut-wrenching yelps on "Debaser" still send chills down the spine and the fat guitar riff on "U-Mass" still rocks harder than Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ever did.
With their music so ingrained in the fabric of the current indie-rock scene, the prospect of a Pixies reunion seemed just right. Last year, The Pixies made the dreams of longtime fans come true when they reconvened for an indefinite tour under the banner, "The Pixies Sellout." But what originally appeared to be a series of one-off performances slowly formed into a full-fledged reunion.
Glowing reviews and unanimous critical praise have only spurred the band onto bigger things. October sees the release of a DVD showcasing their initial reunion tour dates, and substantial rumors put The Pixies in the studio recording another album. The focus, however, still remains their phenomenal, charged live show. The band has taken great care to breathe new life into its back catalogue and please old fans while winning new converts nightly.
Nearly 12 years since their breakup, the legend that is The Pixies continues to grow. It's not often that bands get a second shot at success, but this college dropout and his friends, with a newly rejuvenated audience, are ready to take that chance.
The Pixies play the Charlottesville Pavilion tonight at 7:30 p.m. (gates at 6.) Lake Trout and Army of Me open. Tickets run $37.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
