[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "The Videography of Pixies"
01.18.12
BY MIKEY MIGO
Every few weeks I take some time out to check out a band’s entire videography. A lot of band’s videos are disposable and forgotten, but there are some really good and artistic video collections out there. I’ve seen some really good bands have some really subpar videographies and I’ve seen some really shitty bands have a good collection of videos.
In May of 2009, I listened to the discography of the alt rock iconic band Pixies as part of the “First Impressions” series. It was decent enough, but in the past year and a half I’ve not really connected with their material. I get why they’re popular and for sure I respect them. I’m happy to have listened to their work to expand my musical lexicon. A song or two has made its way into my normal rotation, but it just wasn’t for me.
That said, I still don’t think I remember ANY of their music videos. They have a good amount of them, but I can’t think of any instances I’ve crossed paths with one. I’m sure I’ll watch and one or more will hit and I’ll be all “Oh! I DO remember this!”… but who knows.
Let’s check out the videos of the Pixies…
”Monkey Gone to Heaven”
Album: ”Doolittle”
Year: 1989
It’s a slow motion black and white video. It shows the band performing in slow motion and then in I guess real time. Nothing too much happens here. The video fits the song’s lo-fi attitude pretty well. There’s really not much going, but I like the flow and the direction of the video fair enough. There’s a flash of color about a minute and a half in that’s surprising. It’s a cool low budget video. Rating: 7.0
”Here Comes Your Man”
Album: ”Doolittle”
Year: 1989
I expected videos to look more like this. The whole colorful post-80’s/early-90’s playful irony. This video reminds me of a lot of old videos. This video could have been an REM video and I think it might have been. It’s sneaky like that. It has the same “roaming camera” feel as “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, but it’s a bit less abstract. Rating: 6.5
”Velouria”
Album: ”Bossanova”
Year: 1990
It starts with the band going down some rocks in slow motion. A few minutes in…. the same thing. The band is slowly making their way towards the camera. Eventually they get to the camera and go past it. This ends up being the ENTIRE video. This video was “so indie”. Whatever. Sometimes “art” just sucks. This video feels like it’s being artsy in a seriously pretentious way. It’s like one of those old Andy Warhol movies except… it’s NOT an old Andy Warhol movie. Rating: 3.0
”Dig for Fire/Allison”
Album: ”Bossanova”
Year: 1990
A two for one video! We start off with shots of getting dressed and ready. It’s a neat collection of camera angles and well crafted shots. This leads to some washed out shots of people riding motorcycles. Eventually the band gets to a place where they have to walk up stairs and then into a stadium in Amsterdam where “Allison” is performed. That was a pretty cool idea. I’ll give them that. This was “art” that you could say was ahead of its time. Rating: 8.0
”Alec Eiffel”
Album: ”Trompe le Monde”
Year: 1991
The band plays with shades on as heavy wind blows at them. The gravitational pull of this video is really cool. THAT is one sentence I’ve never typed before. That right there get’s them a few bonus points. It’s still a very “dated” video. It feels like an early 90’s video, but it’s a good one. Rating: 7.0
”Head On”
Album: ”Trompe le Monde”
Year: 1991
This “Jesus and Mary Chain” cover is pretty cool. The band is them playing in an isolated room. It’s shot really nicely though. It’s got a black ground and a darker look. It’s calmer and doesn’t have too many crazy shots. The magic here is the editing. Featuring the band in those weird cuts and squares ins really cool. I’ve never seem a video like this before, but it’s pretty creative. THIS is the type of video I was expecting from the Pixies this whole time. I liked this video a lot. For an early 90’s video is innovative as hell. Rating: 8.5
”Debaser”
Album: ”Doolittle”
Year: 1997
The album was released damn near 10 years before this video so it’s a little weird. This is considered the last “official video” of the Pixie’s videography. You can tell this video was made a little more recent. It has better editing and has a “grunge” look. It takes a lot of old performance footage and mixes it in with some creative cuts and editing. I like it though. It’s a well done video for one of the band’s absolute best tracks. Rating: 8.0
VERDICT
I’m not going to lie. I was let down with this collection of videos. There are a few gems hidden here, but for the most part it was a pretty bland videography. A lot of them standing around and playing while the camera does the magic or sometimes lack there of. For a band that people consistently consider one of the most influential bands in indie, grunge, and art rock I expected more. I thought there would be more innovation and more creative video ideas. At one point it’s like they’re trying REALLY hard to be “unique” and their videos almost seemed like pretentious “fuck you’s” to “the man” or something. I LOVE art and love when artists take chances, but there are some really groan-worthy moments here. I did like a few videos and will remember those. The rest will be forgotten by the time this column is posted.
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