Why release two albums concurrently this year rather than merging two very good albums' content into one great, unforgettable album?

Good one, David, now we need several more. Frank Black Army, where are you?

(1) "The St. Francis Dam Disaster" (from "Dog in the Sand") is elemental and moving. It feels like a folk song that was written 100 years ago, and I know it's based on a real-life event -- the bursting of a dam north of L.A. in the early years of the 20th century. Can you tell us how you came to write the song?

(2) You've been recording for several years now with a stripped down, live-to-4-track (or is it 2 track?) technique. How does that work? Why do you like it?

Thanks Scott - very interesting.

I just attended a wedding over the weekend where the jukebox was filled with Frank Black and Pixies CDs. I perform what I like to call "Pixies primal scream therapy" in my car when I'm stressed. Why do you think your music strikes such a chord with those of us who were complete music junkies from a very early age? Do you see your music as cathartic, too?

Some of the Pixies songs have violent imagery that are both comforting and frightening. For example "Gouge Away." Do you think of angry things when you write your songs? Is it cathartic to do so.

Also - what if any chance is there of a reunion tour with new Pixies material?

P.s. I love Teenager of the Year

I was lucky enough to run into Frank Black once, and I asked him this one over beers, but it might be interesting to see how he responds in a public forum:

So, uh, how do & did you feel about the whole Nirvana-biting-the-Pixies'-rhymes deal? What do you think they did different with the "Pixies concept" of song construction?

1) All those UFO references ... are the UFOs still a factor?

2) Llano. Did you get that from Mike Davis' "City of Quartz" or find it driving around or? Either way, that's a great goddamned song.

3) You made one of the best-produced, best-sounding records in rock history (Doolittle). Was moving to live recording a way to keep people from demanding another Doolittle?

4) How does it work out, releasing stuff on the Internet? Does it make the crowds bigger when you play live with the Catholics, or help sales of CDs at clubs?

5) The conventional wisdom says everybody who bought a Pixies record started a band. If so, why are there so many crappy bands making records today? (Usual exceptions excepted: Strokes, Hives, White Stripes, all that stuff heralded today.)

6) I love the rootsy stuff you've done in the last couple of years. But some snarky critics say rootsy music is a bad way to go. How dumb are they? And how would you put your recording arc next to, say, Bob Dylan's?

7) I'm typing these goofy questions because my pal Eric is doing a great thing with this Blog Critics site. How useless is it to have a songwriter/musician talk about his/her work?

8) I had a column about crazy UFO stuff in the San Francisco Chronicle last week, and a reader caught me describing Montana cattle killings as a "wave of mutilation." Yet I didn't realize I was quoting a song at the time. Can I sue you for subliminal attacks?

thanks men - you're the coolest!

1) I remember reading an interview recently where you said jokingly that you might ressurect The Pixies if it was just you and Joey Santiago. Everyone knows you have 'mixed' feelings towards Kim Deal, but what if it was just you, Joe and David Lovering with a new bass guitarist. It wouldn't be perfect but I'm sure the patrons would be willing to compromise, and David's opened for you before. So any chance?

2) You gave up the Black Francis trademark scream when you gave up the Pixies. No disrespect, but a few years have passed. Can you still scream it like you hate that bitch?

3) You used the bridge section from the original version of Subbacultcha to make a whole new song on Trompe Le Monde. That kinda strikes me as cheating, were you running out of ideas towards the end?

How do you compose?

Do you sit down with a guitar and say:
"Well, I got to make a song!"
or is the process more natural (you play guitar with no particular ideas and then two chords sounds good and there you go writing a new song)?

In other words, is there place for chance in the process of making a song?

I find that alot of your songs are close to perfection when it comes to number of chords used, number of "odd" beats and part lenghts... stuff that I have alot of problem with in my music.

When you write songs, do you rewrite them and re-arrage them alot before you consider them as finished products?

1)Does the negative reviews of your albums, just because you left the Pixies, effect you in any way?

2)When are you expecting to do your next European tour, and is their any room for Ireland and Scotland in it? Your last gig in Dundee, Scotland was one of the best i've ever been to. Did you pick the venue 'The Doghouse' just because of the Dog connection?

3)Any chance you'll work with Steve Albini or Gil Norton again?

4)What gig has been your favourite to perform? Where/when/etc

5)What was the story with the sleeveless denem shirt you wore at the Irelands Witnness festival? I hope you burned it afterwards.

1)If you could write a song which would make people listen, what would it say and why?

2) Have you met Dvaid lynch? and if so did he like your rendition of "In Heaven".

3)How much would it cost for you to play a Wedding (that doesn't include friends Weddings)

Which is your favorite Powerpuff Girl?

how is it that you, a common pudgy minded whiteman, could write music that makes the common minded pudgy white man want to cry,blahblahblah?thank you for the music.

I worked with you at downtown rceording doolittle.
I want to do your next project!

I recently went to the Frank Black show in subarctic Edmonton (thats in Canada for all you ignorant bastards) and I'm amazed (Sorry I'll try to keep the lyrical references down to a minimum and I promise not to say eh). I really never thought he would tour here and not only did I get to go to the concert, they played tons of Pixies tunes and they played headache, and I got to say hello. Also, he posed for a picture with me and my brother (he's a totally avid fan, he played teenager of the year so much that he came dangerously close to ruining it!) I was planning to blow that picture up to poster size and hang it on the wall so that I can have something to smile about everyday of my tedious 9-5 life. I think that would still bring a smile to my face when I'm 90. Only now am I able to talk about the fact that my pictures didn't turn out even remotely. I am so distraught! [V]
The only thing that makes me laugh is that when I asked Black Francis to pose with us I actually said "Come on Pilgrim" to him. I meet Frank Black and that's what I had to say?
Signed,
Distraught Carolyn