Pixies

USA, 1986–now

Boston band formed in 1986 by Black Francis with Kim Deal. Surfer Rosa and Doolittle built songs on abrupt shifts between quiet verses and loud choruses, a structure widely adopted in 1990s alternative rock.

MusicRoots documents 4 artists who influenced Pixies and 8 artists Pixies influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Pixies?

• The Stooges — The Pixies' loud-quiet dynamics trace back to the Stooges' punk energy.
• Hüsker Dü — Black Francis's founding classified ad asked for a bassist into 'Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary' — the band's own origin document.
• Captain Beefheart — When Black Francis began writing for the Pixies he was, by his own account, 'listening to nothing but Hüsker Dü, Captain Beefheart and Iggy Pop' — Beefheart's fractured blues-surrealism a core source.
• Buddy Holly — Francis cited Buddy Holly as the model for his compressed songwriting — the tight, concise two-minute structures behind the Pixies' loud-quiet dynamic.

Which artists did Pixies influence?

• Nirvana — Cobain admitted that 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was an attempt to write a Pixies song.
• Radiohead — Thom Yorke has named the Pixies a formative influence — their dynamics haunt The Bends-era Radiohead.
• TV on the Radio — The Pixies' loud-quiet art-punk dynamics are part of the alternative-rock lineage behind TV on the Radio's dense, guitar-layered sound.
• The xx — The Pixies' quiet-loud guitar spareness is among the alternative-rock touchstones the xx name behind their skeletal sound.
• Bush — The Pixies' quiet-verse/loud-chorus dynamic — via grunge — underpins Bush's song construction.
• Weezer — The Pixies' quiet-verse/loud-chorus dynamic is the backbone of Weezer's crunchy alt-rock.
• Veruca Salt — The Pixies' loud-quiet dynamics and fuzzed guitars are a clear model for Veruca Salt's alt-rock.
• Placebo — Among Placebo's documented influences, with the Cure, Sonic Youth and Depeche Mode.