The Pixies in 20 years from now

[AlecEiffel]

I would like to get your opinion on the current and future status of the Pixies in rock history.

The Pixies earned their place in rock book history when they reunited in 2004, 12 years after their break up.

The main group they are likened to is the Velvet Underground. Translation: band that sold few albums but became hugely influential. Pushing the image further: arty and elitist band that every serious rock fan must know but from which the mass barely knows the name. Alternative reference: Sonic Youth.

However, there is another band the Pixies are sometimes compared to. Thom Yorke may have been the first to do it: the Beatles. Provocative variant used by a British journalist in the BBC documentary Gouge: Pixies and Abba are no different! These comparisons add a popularity and huge commercial appeal to the band, despite relatively low commercial success originally and now.

For me there is now doubt that the Velvet comparison is more accurate right now than the Beatles one. But in the next decades?

There are some hints that the future status of the Pixies is not settled yet:
- Their reunion did not gather only people in their 30s and 40s. Most of the audience was very young. As a matter of fact, Pixies albums released 25 years ago are still considered as very fresh. They could as well have been released today.
- The song Where Is My Mind has reached the status of a classic. Other songs may follow in the years to come, more especially if they are covered by commercial artists: Here Comes Your Man, Gigantic, Hey, Velouria...
- The pop sensibility of the Pixies has always been underlined. In the early 90's, Black Francis highlighted his preference for the accessibility of the Beatles over the more intellectual approach of Sonic Youth.
- In the recent years, the Pixies have been subject to numerous high profile re-releases: mini LP replicas in Japan, audiophile rereleases in the US, Minotaur, one of the most luxurious box set ever released so far.

So what do you think?

As a side topic, there is a video that can appeal to both the casual fan who would like to hear a rare Pixies recording (In Heaven sung in German by the Pixies in 1988) and the owners of the Minotaur Limited Edition that wonder about variants of the box set (people are invited to communicate their box color and number at the end of the video).
As I have no right to post a link yet, the video is titled "Pixies RARE In Heaven 1988 live version in German + Minotaur variants & survey" on yt.

[Norman Bates]

I don't consider either comparison relevant. Pixies where nowhere near the Beatles' fame (and therefore, influence), and nowhere near the VU's lack of commercial success or revolutionary approach to music (and therefore, influence).

As to their future status : they'll be remembered as one of the very best 80s/90s rock bands, who influenced the greatest 90s rock band, Nirvana (not my opinion, but how I think it will end up, and actually already is) plus a certain number of other bands.

[Guest]

[Norman Bates]

[AlecEiffel]

I did not want to elaborate on the status of the Pixies before their reunion.

Yes they were very popular. In Europe and in countries under direct British influence. Not in the USA, hence the comparision with the Velvet Underground.

I also think that their early earning of a spot in rock history was a European phenomenon, even stronger in France than most other countries. We, the French, tend of make everything cultural. This is not as much the case in many other countries, where it took more time to go from the band-of-the-day to the band-in-history status. Once again, the eventual recognition of the band in their home country is a key factor. For instance the fact that a new generation of journalists took over via Pitchfork or by replacing the previous generation in US rock magazines.

As far as comparisons with the Velvet or the Beatles, I wanted to avoid the type of fight that is already everywhere, Pixies vs. Nirvana, Pixies vs. Radiohead, Pixies vs. Sonic Youth.

My question is more about what the "official" history will tell, whether this is accurate or not. At the moment, it tends to say that the Pixies directly or indirectly influenced all modern rock since the 90's.

[Guest]

[AlecEiffel]

To add to the difficulty of classifying the Pixies...

They were too alternative to suit the taste of many classic rock fans. They still are. Now the question is: what will be "classic rock" in 20 years from now?

On the other hand, this seems to be forgotten now, but in their heyday the Pixies were far from consensual in the alternative rock community. Too pop-oriented, too successful. There were many claims that they were not a real alternative band while Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Slint, Black Flag or Husker Du were.

I think it is accurate to say that they fit somewhere in-between alternative and classic rock or pop music, only closer to alternative. This has been both an advantage and a drawback. And this is certainly where the innovation of the Pixies mainly stands.

[kramerfan86]

Clearly neither. They are much more popular than the Velvet Underground for sure (they have multiple gold albums for christ's sake) but they clearly are no where close to the Beatles. They are a moderately popular band that had a large influence on 90s music, attempting to make any comparisons beyond that simply doesnt work or make much sense.
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http://www.last.fm/user/kramerfan86

[ScottyBaboon]

The Pixies aren't a band that I listen to. In 20 years they will probably be the same to me as they are now, nothing more than a band that Kurt Cobain was highly into.

[junodog4]