New Pixies song

[Brandon Burke]

From Pitckfork (6/15/04):

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'Pixies Release New Track Exclusively Through iTunes'

Cory D. Byrom reports:

Before you start whining about yet another Pixies story, let me kindly point out that it's been two weeks since the last one. Think of how much things have changed in the last two weeks. Reagan died. Ray Charles died. That rash you had finally cleared up. Seriously, the world is a different place now. Plus, the Pixies were barely even mentioned in the news for a solid 12 years, so I think it's acceptable to make up for a little lost time, don't you? So let's get to it-- they've reunited, they've toured, and now, the Pixies have actually released a new song. Let me say that again, slowly. A. New. Pixies. Song.

"Bam Thwok" is available for a mere 99¢ exclusively through iTunes, and has the distinction of being the first song the Pixies have recorded in 13 years. Just think of how much the world has cha... ah, forget it. The track, which was written and sung by Kim Deal, was inspired by a child's art book which Deal found on the street. Apparently, some adorable little tyke wrote this adorable little story about people on another planet loving each other and partying together, and-- lo! and behold!-- the muse spoke.

And so, the band got together at Joey Santiago's studio, arranged and rehearsed the song, then headed into L.A.'s Stagg Street Studios to record the track. Frank Black spoke highly of the session, saying, "'Bam Thwok' is a really good song. Recording it was a nice way for us to break the ice after 12 years. The recording process was very relaxed, and it didn't feel like 12 years had passed." One interesting aspect of the track is that it features a 15-second organ solo recorded by Santiago's father-in-law years ago while he was in the Philippines doing missionary work.

You can expect to hear "Bam Thwok" performed throughout the band's North American tour, which is going down this fall, and perhaps their one date with Lollapalooza, dates for which are thoughtfully reproduced below. Enjoy:

08-17 New York, NY - Randalls Island (Lollapalooza; second day)

09-04 Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheatre

09-06 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival

09-18 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits

09-24 Berkeley, CA- U.C. Berkeley Greek Theater

09-25 Berkeley, CA- U.C. Berkeley Greek Theater

10-13 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre

10-14 Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre

11-11 Minneapolis, MN - Wilkins Auditorium

11-13 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom

11-14 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom

11-15 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom

11-16 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom

11-24 Toronto, ON - Arrow Hall

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[ghost of miles]

Cool! I saw 'em back in 1989 or '90 at Alumni Hall in Bloomington (cripes, I'm gettin' old) and it was a rockin' slamfest. Joey Santiago IMO never got proper respect for his guitar playing.

[.:.impossible]

Hell yeah. We just picked up the Complete B-Sides this weekend. Neither of us had ever heard it, so we got some new songs there... Joey is cool! I agree.

This will be the first song I ever buy off the internet. Monumental.

[Brandon Burke]

Hell yeah. We just picked up the Complete B-Sides this weekend. Neither of us had ever heard it, so we got some new songs there... Joey is cool! I agree.

This will be the first song I ever buy off the internet. Monumental.

I'm a nerd. I already had all of those b-sides because I bought all of the singles. Even better is the BBC Peel stuff (also available now on CD). Some of those performances--I'm thinking especially of "Down to the Well"--are even better than they are on the proper LPs.

Edited June 16, 2004 by Brandon Burke

[dave9199]

I think I got you beat Brandon. I also had all the singles, but when the complete B-sides came out, I sold my singles so I could have them all on one cd and make a little more room for others cds.