Where is my Mind:
A Tribute to the Pixies
Various Artists
Originally appeared in Amplifier magazine, October/November 1999
Are the Pixies still relevent in this hip-hop, "La Vida Loca" world? Apparently so. Within the past two years, a double-album greatest hits package and a BBC live disc have surfaced. That's a lot of material for a band that hasn't been together in nearly seven years. And now fifteen bands have dusted off the Pixies tunes they were probably flailing away at on their first guitars in their garages when they were 14. And that's what the majority of the album sounds like -- with added production value to take off the rough edges. Lord knows if you're covering the Pixies, you want to be smooth. Nada Surf takes on the title track, giving a sufficiently ethereal, but one-note quality. Samiam, Eve 6, and Superdrag sleepwalk through "Here Comes Your Man," "Allison," and "Wave of Mutilation," respectively. Most bands can manage the bluster, but none of the charm the Pixies captured in their gut-bustin', screamin' guitar heyday. And a few bands actually seem to have something against the Pixies. Reel Big Fish turn "Gigantic" into a dance groove the kids on MTV's The Grind would be embarassed to shake their asses to.
The redeeming tracks are the ones where the bands show a true appreciation for the material, or at least a healthy respect for the band they're covering. Weezer produces a beautiful "Velouria," striking on a sound that allows them to claim the tune for their own while still paying tribute to the original. The Siren Six! swagger through a horn-driven version of "The Holiday Song." Braid and Teen Heroes work their Pixies history into "Trompe Le Monde" and "Manta Ray," respectively, quoting other Pixies songs, and even some of the between-tracks dialogue from Surfer Rosa. Only a handful of these tracks make the Pixies's music sound as vital as it still seems to be.
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