Nirvana. Radiohead. Smashing Pumpkins. These are all iconic bands brought to mind when the term “modern alternative rock” comes up. They might differ slightly in their sounds, but they are all inspired by the same band that came before them: Pixies. Pixies (formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts), didn’t have a long career, but their impact on the modern rock genre is huge and everlasting.
Their hit “Where is My Mind?” has been covered continuously and has also been featured in a plethora of commercials and movies, the most popular being at the end of the 1999 movie Fight Club. Its appearance in Fight Club skyrocketed the song, but most people only know “Where is My Mind?” and not all of the other great work Pixies has done. Their work is weird, interpretive, and different from what you might think of when you hear “80’s rock bands.”
Kurt Cobain (late Nirvana frontman) once said, “I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies” when talking about how he made one of the greatest hits of all time, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” He was heavily influenced by Pixies and admired their work. The “loud-quiet-loud” song dynamic that Pixies originated in their sound has also been a model for rock bands that emerged after them. Nirvana most famously copied that dynamic on 1991’s Nevermind, the most recognized example being “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” but it can be heard even in today’s bands.
Pixies’ discography is playful and unique. The lyrics have deeper and more sophisticated meanings than what it looks like at first glance. The environmental crisis is just one topic they explore in a hit off of their 1989 album Doolittle, “Monkey Gone to Heaven”. It may seem like a random song with empty meaning, but if you listen closely it talks about pollution and the future of the earth if man-made problems continue to worsen. This was in 1989. Over college radio.
World and political issues are things that are still sung about in rock today. Political rock is even a genre. You might not have noticed it then, but Pixies were doing that in the late 1980s. On the other hand, some of their songs really do mean nothing, using rhyming words or made-up stories to fill a song.
Their music is pure rock and always inspires a good mood. They will keep you moving, and give you different lyrics than what you see mainstream. Bands don’t need to be mainstream to be influential, and Pixies proved that. Their influence is more popular than they are, and they probably inspired your favorite modern mainstream or underground rock band. There is no one else like them out there, even the bands they influenced, so the only way to experience their sound is to listen to them. So go listen to the Pixies.