http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005 by the authors Tue, 10 May 2005 15:38:46 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/12/05/191404.php#comment-150642 Wow, a new type of annoying Spambot, ain't technology great? 150642@blogcritics.org Tue, 10 May 2005 15:38:46 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/12/05/191404.php#comment-102598 It was great seeing all the kids five-ten years younger than me singing along to songs that even I wasn't old enough to remember when they were written. The coolest addition to the setlist from the two nights I went was "Head On," their cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain song. I've never heard it sound so good and it was probably the highlight of both nights for me, in addition to the usual songs everyone loves. I love the original Jesus and Mary Chain song, but their live version blew it away and gave it teeth. Playing that song demonstrates the respect the Pixies have for their audience, digging deep to play a song they didn't play last year in their first warm-up to this tour and kicking the shit out of a song that was just average and almost forgettable as a cover when they first recorded it on album. The Black Francis screams and growls never sounded so good as on that chorus, which is almost too beautiful and optimistic -- "makes you wanna feel, makes you wanna blow the stars from the sky" -- to fit in the surreal world of the Pixies, yet finally did in a completely unexpected and surprising way. I hope a lot of the other fans in the audience tonight echoed those lyrics: "And the way I feel tonight / I could die and I wouldn't mind ..." There will never be a band smarter or cooler than the Pixies -- writing songs about Samson and Delilah; having one of your biggest hits be a reference to the surrealist cinema of Bunuel; the haunting, driving melodies of "Where is My Mind?" and "Caribou"; any fan could go on and on. And it's great to see them finally able to enjoy their legacy and the great music they made. They're far enough (a decade) removed from the disappointment over their breakup and the relative lack of commercial success that always hung over their heads: "the band that SHOULD have been Nirvana." And with that distance, I think the culture has finally come around to recognize the Pixies' role in creating alternative rock. They were truly ahead of their time and I think America's just now catching up to the Pixies. Yeah, the "goodnight Kim, Charles" bit was cute. Olsen: steal these last two comments for your next MSNBC piece :) I give you permission. Yes, I know they're that good. I kid, I kid .... That is all. 102598@blogcritics.org Fri, 10 Dec 2004 04:19:10 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/12/05/191404.php#comment-101953 I saw the Pixies in montreal on november 27th. Wow. Just..Wow.. It was amazing. The opening bands, The Marble Index and The Datsuns were meh to me. The pixies though..Wow.. Black only said one thing to us "Bitchin' crowd." and that was all he had to say cause it kicked so much ass. The crowd was basically the same as you described.. The only thing I didn't like was when some chick with stilleto heels was crowd surfing and nearly poked my eyes out :) 101953@blogcritics.org Mon, 6 Dec 2004 00:12:48 EST