busterkeatonsbriefs yes! Bowie was a genius, receiving such a distinction from him is probably the highest achievement for an artist. And thom yorke is also a huge fan of the pixies.
Gil B that’s an interesting description for Bowie, and may have been true to some extent. He was at least equally a fan as an artist. I think that’s undeniable looking at his career.
@@trembling3674 Another person like that is Damon Albarn. Still constantly consuming new music and adapting like he doesn't have a 30-year long music career under his belt.
@@trembling3674 He loves music, that's for sure, but he's not an artist second. David Bowie is a great artist and that entails knowing what's moving within the medium. Damon Albarn is definitely fan first, artist second, considering alot of his work is just meh
You know how spot on Bowie was when he cites Sonic Youth and the Pixies as the most compelling music of the era. You can listen to either band almost 40 years later and they still amaze.
I like maybe three songs on every Sonic Youth album, but I LOVE those songs. I have never heard a Pixies song I didn't like. But, also I love how he calls them "compelling." They were both so original and did things nobody else really did, so compelling indeed.
Pixies were 90s before the 90s even existed. So insanely ahead of their time because they perfected and personified the sound of that decade IN THE MID TO LATE 80S.
Another correction, wouldn't both work? Your meaning the answer he gave, as in possessed and You're as in Your are. I think either way work, depending upon how you read it..
Big Black, Husker Du, Killdozer, Scratch Acid, Pixies, etc... all 1980s bands, and not before their time -- exactly of their time, for the few who appreciated them. David Bowie comes across like a geezer here, just discovering something 'new' and giving all the credit to one band.
This was Bowie's superpower - he was at heart a music fan with impeccable taste and judgement, always looking for the next evolutionary step in music. He could always spot what was new and important versus what was simply popular.
@@maxdamagus That's a good argument against his infallibility. But Kanye definitely pushed hip-hop into new areas that were so influential then, and so prevalent now, that his work as an artist/alchemist can be overlooked. Bowie was right there to notice. Whereas Bowie himself was such a genius at synthesis and evolution that no one I can think of has quite caught up. There is still nothing like the albums Low or Blackstar that I can point to and say, "Hear that? Total Bowie-vibe!"
Imagine not only being in a band like The Pixies, but then having an artist like David Bowie speak so fondly and passionately about your music. My god.
Bowie was a pop star at heart but he had the most refined and mature taste in music, which explains why he hung out so much with Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, two musicians who have done some really out there stuff. This maturity really shows in his releases as he got older, he was not afraid to age with grace and try new things instead of retreading or trying to recapture something. He was always on the move. Thats why he was the thin white duke, he refused to get fat.
Well, Coke helped him with the slim appearance in the 70s lol. Cigarettes probably for the rest of his life. Although i could never imagine DB ever getting fat!
he didn't 'refuse to get fat' and he did get fat at the end of life.... he was a drug addict, heroin then coke, then a number of things. he finally cleaned up the last couple decades
He might be one of the smartest people of all time. He doesn't only know exactly what he's talking about, he knows how to explain it perfectly. And he does it all with a wicked good sense of humor. -R.I.P Mr Bowie.
When I first heard Nirvarna’s Teen Spirit (which was their first big record) I just assumed it was the Pixies until the vocals kicked in. People say Nirvana changed hard rock forever but it was the Pixies who changed Nirvana.
Nirvana are overrated. The pixies were better and to be honest there was a great alt scene before them. Besides look at Dave Grohl now. A cheesy showbiz twat
Famous story: After laying down the tracks for Teen Spirit the guys in the band were unhappy...they thought it sounded like a Pixies rip off. The producer Butch Vig said no no no let me mix this for you. You aren't hearing what you've done. And of course when it was mixed it was fantastic. But Nirvana was absolutely aware that their hit song fit the Pixies pattern.
I’m not surprised, I always though Teen Spirit sounded a lot like U Mass. if you find the tabs you can even see the similarities! Great minds think alike!
"Everybody who bought a Velvet Underground album formed a band, and I would have to suggest that the same thing applied to the Pixies." This man was a master of expression
I was fascinated by PIXIES sound at a young age ....late elementary school. I grew up listening to Bowie; I've always admired Mick Ronson's layered guitar playing and have collected his records over the past 3 decades. Already had 2 copies of Bowie's entire catalogue from my Mother's and Father's collection from before they were married. When Bossanova came out, I found out that a Woman played bass and I immediately got my hands on a bass guitar ...started an all girls rock band at Catholic high school, auditioned with a PIXIES medley and performed Divine Hammer before getting the boot for lyrics I had yet to overstand. PIXIES brought me to tears each time I saw them live. Opening with the UK Surf Mix of Wave of Mutilation was one of those times. Dancing with my Mom when PIXIES opened for U2 achtung baby tour will ALWAYS be my favorite memory of being with my Mother. RIP to Bannon 🎷 who was an amazing musician and artist and painted my DEATH TO The PIXIES leather when I was 12. Thank you David Bowie.... #HangOntoYourself
it existed long before both bands, but nirvana is the band that arguably made that sort of dynamic a staple in mainstream music they are very blatant about it in a sense, so while it exists ubiquitously almost, it's very obvious in nirvana's music which is why they get the cred (along with being one of the biggest bands of their time)
Radiohead refused to do a show with Pixies because the venue refused to let Pixies be the headliner and Thom Yorke thought that was a huge insult to Pixies talent.
"Mass of screaming flesh" haha sounds like a Pixies song title. Great interview. Dynamics are vital and sadly missing from much of today's rock bands. Check out The Merman if you haven't heard of them. Great 90's surf rock band. Food For Other Fish happens to be my favorite record of theirs.
Pixies were indeed one of the most influential and underrated rock bands ever. And they sounded so international and not typical American. Their music sounds relevant and modern today.
Everyone who bought a Pixies album or a Velvet Underground album started a band, except for me. I listen to both of these bands and haven't started a band yet, much to my chagrin. Anyone up for starting a band?
“Psychotic Beatles”, no better description. Bowie was a clever and articulate man. Right on the money comparing them to the influence of The Velvet Underground. Without Pixies, there would have been no grunge.
Spot on takes. Especially that last part about inspiring you to want to start a band of your own. What’s amazing is that Davis Bowie was basically a middle aged man when the Pixies came out and he was so open minded to be able to understand this newer generation as well as he did. Amazing.
I was blessed to see The Pixies in NYC for the Dolittle tour. Picture 2,000 people pogo dancing for 2 hrs🤗 And yes, Santiago may be the most underated guitarists ever✌
wow a much more eloquent comment, then I would have thought. Would have loved having Bowie as a music critic, he has a very rounded explanation done methodical, which gives away to great understanding. RIP you wonderful legend.
Interesting how he says "Charles" instead of "Frank" - I just ended watching an interview with Kim Deal where she also referred to Frank as Charles ( I know - its his birth name).
What a wonderfully precise, insightful, articulate and of course accurate compliment. When a true professional like David Bowie can complement your band for three minutes that, to put it mildly, is FUCKING AMAZING.
Yo, thank you Bowie for bringing up Santiago. Such an unsung hero. What would the Pixies sound be without his guitar. It's not just texture, Santiago's guitar is often a narrative voice unto itself. He's like the third vocalist, real talk.
Sonic Youth. Sludge in America. Sound band. Dynamics. Obvious verse extremely quiet erupting into a blaze of noise. Juxtaposition. Permutations within different subjects. Understand the affinities if something and have those affinities illuminate something. Charles. Colors. Santiago. Underrated. Texture, Extra ordinary Texture. Mass if screaming flesh. Imposing. Psychotic. UMASS. Harder rock. Format didn’t exist before they came around. Velvet. Underground. Same thing applied to the pixies. Thank you David.
For a legend as big as he is his support for younger acts shows his very kind heart and pure love of music. Pixies, Placebo, Arcade Fire, he turned me to them and i'm sure a lot of people too. Rest in peace Major Tom, your blissful life will be immortalized through the internet for the generations to come.
Gotta love Bowie's assessment of the Pixies. His comments are spot on, and the love affair is shared. I saw them in concert in 1990 and was (still am) a fan even again and again now. Something synergistic about their collective chemistry. It's dark it's raw it's hard and in the mix it's also just plain fun. No other band quite like that, and they're still going strong. Paz is a great addition too!
Thanks for explaining why I love the pixie. I mean that sincerely. He nails it for me. Love the band and always just said. Listen to it and you'll agree.
bowie's taste in music is great! i'm so grateful that in the mid-90s he helped placebo come to the spotlight, choosing them as support act when they didn't even were signed and have a single album out. btw, later they covered where is my mind wonderfully, and also had frank black on stage to sing with them in paris (the performance is on the dvd Soulmates never die)
He went to the high school in my home town (Westport High School). Other kids in school who were in bands called him a "weirdo" and often times, "loser"......I don't hear David Bowie talking about them.
I was a kid in the 90s IN LOVE with The Pixies, growing up in So Cal. Wave of Mutilation. - fast and slow version, on repeat, skateboarding with Walkman on :D
This is all there is, there is only one word missing from the end he says "....a band just like that". That 's how it ends, but when I uploaded it here the last word disappeared!
+sfshinz yes he is, i love his articulation and ideas on a band that I love. If someone asks why do you love the pixies its just a feeling you get, an anticpation and then an eruption - its hard to put in words, not for Bowie though who disects them like a biology professor :-)
Have you seen the interview he did with BBC Newsnight around ,99, talking about how the internet was going to change the world, to a bemused presenter. Well worth a watch it's defo on here somewhere.
Rock music is supply and demand. If it's quality or artistic it is coincidental. If a crap band is successful it is because they have something people want and represent their audiences values and desires. Like most Americans I HATED the Pixies during the 80's and 90's because it was arrogant mocking rich kid music. I liked metal because it represented my desires. Now, I hate that music and prefer the Pixies because the social connections no longer apply. Europeans just heard the music and couldn't relate to the social connections.
I grew to hate metal in the late '80s and early '90s because that's all the radio ever played after a while. I went from really enjoying bands like Kiss, Ratt, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, and Quiet Riot to absolutely dreading their next up and coming releases because there are only so many songs I can hear about partying, rocking, being with as many women as possible, and skirting the edge of pedophilia before getting bored. I liked Guns and Roses' Welcome to the Jungle, but the racist lyrics on some of their songs really turned me off. When the Pixies came along I was just happy to hear something that wasn't just "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite" for the thirteenth year running. On a tangent, the aspect of pop that I most liked about the early '80s was that one could hear Kenny Rogers, Ratt, Men at Work, Journey, The Go-gos, Modern English, and Rick Springfield all on one station within the hour without even batting an eye. Since the late '80s everything has been so fragmented. There's a Country station, an R&B station, an Alternative station, a Metal station, etc., etc. The music industry has done its utmost to stifle variety and hold to formulas, and now they wonder why they're in a decline.
NelsonClick Hmmm .. "arrogant rich kid mocking music". Don't think that's how I ( or most) would describe it ;o). If anything, both the music and their visual ascetic ( e.g. lack thereof ;o) are the antithesis of "arrogant rich kid mocking music". The bands that followed Pixies that were heavily influenced by them were largely from anything but that back ground either. So methinks you have the true Pixie audience mis-pegged. I would also agree with "Gayas's" thesis and point that, while the extent to which music INITIALLY sells and is accepted by the broader public is a function of supply and demand as you say ... the degree to which it ascends to art and becomes considered influential over time has nothing to do with those factors. Rather it usually has far more to do with the artist's commitment to a concept and creating something unique. Imitation and derivatives rarely stand the test of time.
I'm a huge pixies fan and I find them extremely underrated. Bowie is one of my 3 or 4 personal untouchable legends. Just found this interview and i cant stop giggling.
Thank You Very Much For This!... I hadn't seen this before, and it is Great! as a wonderful explanation of his perception of them, as had first known on that was a praising appreciator of them as early on as with my real introduction to them (way) back in 1989 which was either around the time of (or perhaps even right upon) first hearing "Here Comes Your Man" by way of its music video on TV, but as I recall it I am thinking that happened to be on right on the heel of them showing an interview clip of him saying that he felt they were the "New Talking Heads" (..."of the Nineties" perhaps)... And then of course he would even go on to cover their song Cactus later as well... Thank You Again! Andy S. in Canada.
The man sure as hell knew how to pay a compliment, didn't he?
+AgentXPQ If David Bowie had ever spoken about me in such terms, I'd have been insufferably smug and pleased with myself for the rest of my life.
ace..so amazing.
Yeah, he had me at 'Psychotic Bealtes'.
Hey its Lev
He was good at critique too, AgentXPQ.
If Bowie says you rock, you rock.
This validates my love of Pixies. Kim Deal rocks.
Totally agree.
How the fuck could you downvote this?
exactly :0
Bowie loved all the same bands that I do .. He had equally endearing words for Arcade Fire.
Even if the band never sold a record, to have David Bowie as a fan would be enough for me to die fulfilled and happy.
Right! No higher praise.
busterkeatonsbriefs yes! Bowie was a genius, receiving such a distinction from him is probably the highest achievement for an artist. And thom yorke is also a huge fan of the pixies.
One of the best comments I have ever read.
Shut the fuck up
So basically "Mott The Hoople"
David makes more sense talking about the Pixies than most of the rock critics have ever done ... Really pleased to learn that he was/is a fan!
Because hes not talking about it like hes a wine taster
Gil B that’s an interesting description for Bowie, and may have been true to some extent. He was at least equally a fan as an artist. I think that’s undeniable looking at his career.
@@trembling3674 Another person like that is Damon Albarn. Still constantly consuming new music and adapting like he doesn't have a 30-year long music career under his belt.
He covered their song Cactus too.
@@trembling3674 He loves music, that's for sure, but he's not an artist second. David Bowie is a great artist and that entails knowing what's moving within the medium. Damon Albarn is definitely fan first, artist second, considering alot of his work is just meh
david bowie saying that stuff about your band is a life achievement itself. kudos to pixies
Exactly! My life would be fucking made.
@@zoilalulu3798 i hope u r joking
No it s not it s like hitler approving of your baal shit
Agreed dude
@@aminor1950 It's possible you just don't understand or enjoy their music. You don't need to be a dick about it, though.
You know how spot on Bowie was when he cites Sonic Youth and the Pixies as the most compelling music of the era. You can listen to either band almost 40 years later and they still amaze.
💯
Sonic Youth, Pixies, Go-Betweens, and the Smiths were the most exciting 80’s bands for me.
I like maybe three songs on every Sonic Youth album, but I LOVE those songs. I have never heard a Pixies song I didn't like.
But, also I love how he calls them "compelling." They were both so original and did things nobody else really did, so compelling indeed.
Pixies were 90s before the 90s even existed. So insanely ahead of their time because they perfected and personified the sound of that decade IN THE MID TO LATE 80S.
They didn't exist until '86, your point still stands but your years are off.
@@charliericker274 Oh shit, lemme change that. Good looks
Another correction, wouldn't both work? Your meaning the answer he gave, as in possessed and You're as in Your are. I think either way work, depending upon how you read it..
You could say that about Sonic Youth as well
Big Black, Husker Du, Killdozer, Scratch Acid, Pixies, etc... all 1980s bands, and not before their time -- exactly of their time, for the few who appreciated them. David Bowie comes across like a geezer here, just discovering something 'new' and giving all the credit to one band.
This was Bowie's superpower - he was at heart a music fan with impeccable taste and judgement, always looking for the next evolutionary step in music. He could always spot what was new and important versus what was simply popular.
Didn't he big up Kanye West tho.
@@maxdamagus That's a good argument against his infallibility. But Kanye definitely pushed hip-hop into new areas that were so influential then, and so prevalent now, that his work as an artist/alchemist can be overlooked. Bowie was right there to notice.
Whereas Bowie himself was such a genius at synthesis and evolution that no one I can think of has quite caught up. There is still nothing like the albums Low or Blackstar that I can point to and say, "Hear that? Total Bowie-vibe!"
LMFAO. EVERTHING Bowie says here demonstrates that he hasn't a CLUE what he's talking about!. 🤣
@@sunnyjim1355 Care to give us the corrections?
@@sunnyjim1355it's ok to let everybody know you didn't get jack s*** of what the man said, just not this pathetic way.
A moment of silence for the poor souls that have never listened to the Pixies.
Imagine not only being in a band like The Pixies, but then having an artist like David Bowie speak so fondly and passionately about your music. My god.
*God
@@darrendavenport3334 no.
God is not great. Pixies are!
Yes a great feeling for them I'm sure.
LMFAO. EVERTHING Bowie says here demonstrates that he hasn't a CLUE what he's talking about!. 🤣
"The Velvet Underground didn't sell a lot of records but everyone who bought one formed a band." The "someone" who said that was Brian Eno.
they were close too. maybe he didn't feel like mentioning brian's name, he certainly knew him well enough to remember
Who?
Wow, great detail! Cheers!
Brian Eno Rocks!
Rest in peace David.
I can’t believe it’s been four years
The fact that Bowie chooses to cover “cactus” of all songs makes him even cooler. Such a great song.
Daaamn, coming from someone like Bowie. Very, very high praise, and very much deserved.
1. David Bowie speaking on something he knows about and loves...
2. That said subject made me a happier content person.
3. David is delicious.
I'm straight as an arrow. But for Bowie, I'd take one for the team.
Sad to think he was still alive back then, but isn't anymore
Sad how he got ripped off
The Pixies = one of the best bands ever!
Al Pacino And what, exactly, does Joy Division have to do with this video?
Kobbe They were also a great band. That's what the comment was about
Bowie was a pop star at heart but he had the most refined and mature taste in music, which explains why he hung out so much with Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, two musicians who have done some really out there stuff. This maturity really shows in his releases as he got older, he was not afraid to age with grace and try new things instead of retreading or trying to recapture something. He was always on the move. Thats why he was the thin white duke, he refused to get fat.
Well, Coke helped him with the slim appearance in the 70s lol. Cigarettes probably for the rest of his life. Although i could never imagine DB ever getting fat!
he didn't 'refuse to get fat' and he did get fat at the end of life.... he was a drug addict, heroin then coke, then a number of things. he finally cleaned up the last couple decades
He might be one of the smartest people of all time. He doesn't only know exactly what he's talking about, he knows how to explain it perfectly. And he does it all with a wicked good sense of humor. -R.I.P Mr Bowie.
Very much
His Tin Machine band was very cool!
Without Pixies there would have been no 90's grunge. For that, I am forever grateful for this amazing band. Great music and awesome live as well.
They definitely ignited the 90s
Psychotic Beatles is the Pixies. Perfectly said, David.
I came to the comments for this, calling them the Psychotic Beatles is the absolute best description possible.
Both the Beatles an the pixies are great but they're nothing like each other
They are “psychotic Beatles”
Maybe they were “psychotoc beatle” at the minute ..Bowoie’s second
But he was one rhousand before that comment
When I first heard Nirvarna’s Teen Spirit (which was their first big record) I just assumed it was the Pixies until the vocals kicked in. People say Nirvana changed hard rock forever but it was the Pixies who changed Nirvana.
tombassman You’re absolutely right there.
Nirvana are overrated. The pixies were better and to be honest there was a great alt scene before them. Besides look at Dave Grohl now. A cheesy showbiz twat
Famous story: After laying down the tracks for Teen Spirit the guys in the band were unhappy...they thought it sounded like a Pixies rip off. The producer Butch Vig said no no no let me mix this for you. You aren't hearing what you've done. And of course when it was mixed it was fantastic. But Nirvana was absolutely aware that their hit song fit the Pixies pattern.
I’m not surprised, I always though Teen Spirit sounded a lot like U Mass. if you find the tabs you can even see the similarities! Great minds think alike!
And we all know Butch Vig has worked with The Pixies' prior to working with Nirvana
"Everybody who bought a Velvet Underground album formed a band, and I would have to suggest that the same thing applied to the Pixies."
This man was a master of expression
"velvet underground sold 10.000 records but everyone who bought it formed a band"
If David Bowie likes your music, you have it made!
Yes!! The Pixies opened my eyes to music at the age of 6...I'm 25 now. "A psychotic Beatles". Perfectly put by David Bowie. Wow. Thanks!!!!
Sam O'd im embarrassed to say i didnt find out about them til i was 23. Im 36 now and they are my favorite band
I was fascinated by PIXIES sound at a young age ....late elementary school. I grew up listening to Bowie; I've always admired Mick Ronson's layered guitar playing and have collected his records over the past 3 decades.
Already had 2 copies of Bowie's entire catalogue from my Mother's and Father's collection from before they were married.
When Bossanova came out, I found out that a Woman played bass and I immediately got my hands on a bass guitar ...started an all girls rock band at Catholic high school, auditioned with a PIXIES medley and performed Divine Hammer before getting the boot for lyrics I had yet to overstand.
PIXIES brought me to tears each time I saw them live.
Opening with the UK Surf Mix of Wave of Mutilation was one of those times. Dancing with my Mom when PIXIES opened for U2 achtung baby tour will ALWAYS be my favorite memory of being with my Mother.
RIP to Bannon 🎷 who was an amazing musician and artist and painted my DEATH TO The PIXIES leather when I was 12.
Thank you David Bowie.... #HangOntoYourself
Bowie even covered a Pixies song: "Cactus", from "Heathen" (2002).
+Guilherme Eddino i remember seeing him play cactus on a late show one night. flipped my shit. it was super rad
Gui Porto one of their best I always thought.
He also covered "Debaser" from "Doolittle"
Not to mention how Tin Machine (Bowie's 1988-1992 hard rock-cum-proto-grunge band) owes a lot of their sound to the Pixies.
Yeeeeeeaaaa he even spelled his name at the end of the song
Bowie was so insightful. Without the Pixies there would have been no Nirvana. Huge band.
With out the sonic youth their WOULDNT be no pixies and no nirvana
This shows just how intelligent he was
And a nice fella
Smart guy
Thank you Teg.
Being high and being smart are much more costly related than your owners in govt want you to know
R.I.P Mr. Bowie cheers to your great taste in music and marvelous covers of
Pixies songs.
his hair
It's... It's... wow
So fucking jealous of Bowie's hair.
Yes. It looks so soft☺
So nice
And thats why pixies isnt nirvana. Bad looks. Poor fucking world
Very distracting in all its loveliness
It’s AWESOME hearing Bowie pay homage to The Pixies. You know you ROCK when David Bowie speaks that highly of you!
What a true musical genius. Such passion for bands and sounds, he really knew his stuff x
Radiohead also used the Pixies dynamics in their first album, specially in "Creep".
Gui Porto listen to my Iron Lung. It was very inspired by the Pixies song Caribu
Everyone has ever since especially through the nineties
And Nirvana too
it existed long before both bands, but nirvana is the band that arguably made that sort of dynamic a staple in mainstream music
they are very blatant about it in a sense, so while it exists ubiquitously almost, it's very obvious in nirvana's music which is why they get the cred (along with being one of the biggest bands of their time)
Radiohead refused to do a show with Pixies because the venue refused to let Pixies be the headliner and Thom Yorke thought that was a huge insult to Pixies talent.
Love it that Bowie shows - by recognizing the Pixies - that he is a regular ordinary bloke, not a supernatural icon
Well, he's a musical genius and shows that here but also shows that he didn't let it go to his head.
Hmm I wouldn't say "ordinary" because he was passionate by art, and ordinary people don't care to that degree.
His acknowledgement and appreciation for The Pixies is more greater than being inducted to the R n R Hall of Fame
"Mass of screaming flesh" haha sounds like a Pixies song title. Great interview. Dynamics are vital and sadly missing from much of today's rock bands. Check out The Merman if you haven't heard of them. Great 90's surf rock band. Food For Other Fish happens to be my favorite record of theirs.
Silent Echos Alright, I'll check 'em out.
I had a beer with Santiago once. Really great person, very humble.
Pixies were indeed one of the most influential and underrated rock bands ever. And they sounded so international and not typical American. Their music sounds relevant and modern today.
Everyone who bought a Pixies album or a Velvet Underground album started a band, except for me. I listen to both of these bands and haven't started a band yet, much to my chagrin. Anyone up for starting a band?
yea I am
+Devin “Christopher” Gray Did you guys start the band? I'm genuinely interested.
Add the Replacements for a real trifecta.
Okay...
Whoa, I posted this so long ago I don't even remember posting it.
Don't do drugs kids.
A dream it would be to have Bowie compliment your music.
YES! Beautiful Bowie has a super good taste😍
“Psychotic Beatles”, no better description. Bowie was a clever and articulate man. Right on the money comparing them to the influence of The Velvet Underground. Without Pixies, there would have been no grunge.
Didn't know Bowie was a Sonic Youth fan. Awesome, I feel vindicated.
+mrovantes Yeah he's huge on Sonic Youth. They joined him on stage for his 50th birthday :)
+mrovantes Bowie's a fan of almost anything good. He recognizes greatness from miles away.
+mrovantes he knew what good music is ;)
+mrovantes Why wouldn't he have been? He was a musical genius! And musical geniuses usually like good music, I would imagine!
Bowie was Great because he listen to everything, too many people live inside a type of music...in a box!😎
Bowie's word is fucking gospel!
damn straight. ziggy does not fuck around
big ass carla
Spot on takes. Especially that last part about inspiring you to want to start a band of your own.
What’s amazing is that Davis Bowie was basically a middle aged man when the Pixies came out and he was so open minded to be able to understand this newer generation as well as he did. Amazing.
Respect for D.B. He is truly insightful.
Reason #73 why David Bowie was so great.
so articulate, intelligent, and charismatic.
Long live the memory of David Bowie.
xoxo The Clarences
Gosh, eloquent, intelligent and quality people in pop music... I miss them so much!
Rest in piece. Bowie speaks the truth.
Hopefully he's resting in peace and not pieces..
I was blessed to see The Pixies in NYC for the Dolittle tour. Picture 2,000 people pogo dancing for 2 hrs🤗 And yes, Santiago may be the most underated guitarists ever✌
Number 13 baby proved that!!
wow a much more eloquent comment, then I would have thought. Would have loved having Bowie as a music critic, he has a very rounded explanation done methodical, which gives away to great understanding. RIP you wonderful legend.
Interesting how he says "Charles" instead of "Frank" - I just ended watching an interview with Kim Deal where she also referred to Frank as Charles ( I know - its his birth name).
Thanks for explaining it. I was so confused by the Charles thing.
Geez, I've been pouring over the comments trying to figure out who this "charles" guy is.
Everyone who knew them at the time called him Charles, not Black Francis.
What a wonderfully precise, insightful, articulate and of course accurate compliment.
When a true professional like David Bowie can complement your band for three minutes that, to put it mildly, is FUCKING AMAZING.
No one was as descriptive as Bowie. He knew how to describe exactly what he was talking about so effortlessly.
I love how he is just a fan.
Yo, thank you Bowie for bringing up Santiago. Such an unsung hero. What would the Pixies sound be without his guitar. It's not just texture, Santiago's guitar is often a narrative voice unto itself. He's like the third vocalist, real talk.
Sonic Youth. Sludge in America. Sound band. Dynamics. Obvious verse extremely quiet erupting into a blaze of noise. Juxtaposition. Permutations within different subjects. Understand the affinities if something and have those affinities illuminate something. Charles. Colors. Santiago. Underrated. Texture, Extra ordinary Texture. Mass if screaming flesh. Imposing. Psychotic. UMASS. Harder rock. Format didn’t exist before they came around. Velvet. Underground. Same thing applied to the pixies. Thank you David.
For a legend as big as he is his support for younger acts shows his very kind heart and pure love of music. Pixies, Placebo, Arcade Fire, he turned me to them and i'm sure a lot of people too. Rest in peace Major Tom, your blissful life will be immortalized through the internet for the generations to come.
One life was not enough to contain and fulfill all that was David Bowie.
My hero talking about my favourite band
david bowie was always ahead of the curve be it on the pixies or the future of the internet hes a visionary and an icon
This is a great interview-thanks for putting it up.
RIP David - we miss you
When Bowie even mentions your band, that's it right there.
Bowie's always right on every subject he talks about ... Very precise, very accurate, very smart ...
"just the most compelling music outside of Sonic Youth" OMFG I LOVE THIS MAN
Just to listen Bowie speaking with passion. Made my day, listening this in 2019... Still cant believe he is gone :(
Gotta love Bowie's assessment of the Pixies. His comments are spot on, and the love affair is shared. I saw them in concert in 1990 and was (still am) a fan even again and again now. Something synergistic about their collective chemistry. It's dark it's raw it's hard and in the mix it's also just plain fun. No other band quite like that, and they're still going strong. Paz is a great addition too!
I love this. Their understanding of affinities.
Thanks for explaining why I love the pixie. I mean that sincerely. He nails it for me. Love the band and always just said. Listen to it and you'll agree.
I've always LOVED the sordid details in the lyrics of songs such as I've Been Tired. Finely detailed comments from Bowie.
bowie's taste in music is great! i'm so grateful that in the mid-90s he helped placebo come to the spotlight, choosing them as support act when they didn't even were signed and have a single album out. btw, later they covered where is my mind wonderfully, and also had frank black on stage to sing with them in paris (the performance is on the dvd Soulmates never die)
Here you are listening to an intellectual and an art critic at his best.
He went to the high school in my home town (Westport High School). Other kids in school who were in bands called him a "weirdo" and often times, "loser"......I don't hear David Bowie talking about them.
same as it ever was brother. you'll never be understood in high school unless you're a true mediocre sellout of a kid
thanks for uploading this Marianna!
never seen it before!
i love this man to bits!!! ♥
Bowie is so great, how aware he was of the musical movements and styles of each time, such an interesting and cool person
We all miss him and long for his music... but his flawless intellect when it comes to describing or critiquing something is simply mindblowing.
OMG, if I was in a band and BOWIE liked me?! Heaven! Paradise! What a compliment!
How can you not absolutely fucking love Bowie. Incredibly probing and genuine in his consideration of all things.
I was a kid in the 90s IN LOVE with The Pixies, growing up in So Cal. Wave of Mutilation. - fast and slow version, on repeat, skateboarding with Walkman on :D
This is all there is, there is only one word missing from the end he says "....a band just like that". That 's how it ends, but when I uploaded it here the last word disappeared!
Bowie's a clever sod, innit?
+sfshinz Innit. In it. Outtit. Onnit.
+sfshinz yes he is, i love his articulation and ideas on a band that I love. If someone asks why do you love the pixies its just a feeling you get, an anticpation and then an eruption - its hard to put in words, not for Bowie though who disects them like a biology professor :-)
The person that made this phrase is a bit mad, innit?
There ain't half been some clever bastards...
Have you seen the interview he did with BBC Newsnight around ,99, talking about how the internet was going to change the world, to a bemused presenter. Well worth a watch it's defo on here somewhere.
I like how he just casually throws Sonic Youth in there
RIP David Bowie. You were truly one of a kind and had great taste.
He comes across as very intelligent here
David Bowie is fucking awesome.
assmane999 He is very intelligent
Hugh Jass Well, that explains it then
Smartest man in showbiz all time is SPACEFACE.
+assmane999 Its fucking David Bowie douche.
jeez. who needs a reason to live on after receiving such praise.
I absolutely love love love this!!! Thank you sooooo much!!
I so much love your music from the first second i Heard it, and then having Mr. Bowie talk about how great you are. Im speechless
bowies word is the law
Rock music is supply and demand. If it's quality or artistic it is coincidental. If a crap band is successful it is because they have something people want and represent their audiences values and desires. Like most Americans I HATED the Pixies during the 80's and 90's because it was arrogant mocking rich kid music. I liked metal because it represented my desires. Now, I hate that music and prefer the Pixies because the social connections no longer apply. Europeans just heard the music and couldn't relate to the social connections.
I grew to hate metal in the late '80s and early '90s because that's all the radio ever played after a while. I went from really enjoying bands like Kiss, Ratt, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, and Quiet Riot to absolutely dreading their next up and coming releases because there are only so many songs I can hear about partying, rocking, being with as many women as possible, and skirting the edge of pedophilia before getting bored. I liked Guns and Roses' Welcome to the Jungle, but the racist lyrics on some of their songs really turned me off. When the Pixies came along I was just happy to hear something that wasn't just "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite" for the thirteenth year running.
On a tangent, the aspect of pop that I most liked about the early '80s was that one could hear Kenny Rogers, Ratt, Men at Work, Journey, The Go-gos, Modern English, and Rick Springfield all on one station within the hour without even batting an eye. Since the late '80s everything has been so fragmented. There's a Country station, an R&B station, an Alternative station, a Metal station, etc., etc. The music industry has done its utmost to stifle variety and hold to formulas, and now they wonder why they're in a decline.
NelsonClick Hmmm .. "arrogant rich kid mocking music". Don't think that's how I ( or most) would describe it ;o). If anything, both the music and their visual ascetic ( e.g. lack thereof ;o) are the antithesis of "arrogant rich kid mocking music". The bands that followed Pixies that were heavily influenced by them were largely from anything but that back ground either. So methinks you have the true Pixie audience mis-pegged.
I would also agree with "Gayas's" thesis and point that, while the extent to which music INITIALLY sells and is accepted by the broader public is a function of supply and demand as you say ... the degree to which it ascends to art and becomes considered influential over time has nothing to do with those factors. Rather it usually has far more to do with the artist's commitment to a concept and creating something unique. Imitation and derivatives rarely stand the test of time.
I'm a huge pixies fan and I find them extremely underrated. Bowie is one of my 3 or 4 personal untouchable legends. Just found this interview and i cant stop giggling.
One of the greatest talking about one of the greatest music's group....we miss you Bowie....
Beautiful man....
Black Francis scratching his head, wondering how the f#&* he's gonna frame this to put on a wall. But JC, what an honour!!!
oh, he knew. this had already been said directly by then.
Thank You Very Much For This!... I hadn't seen this before, and it is Great! as a wonderful explanation of his perception of them, as had first known on that was a praising appreciator of them as early on as with my real introduction to them (way) back in 1989 which was either around the time of (or perhaps even right upon) first hearing "Here Comes Your Man" by way of its music video on TV, but as I recall it I am thinking that happened to be on right on the heel of them showing an interview clip of him saying that he felt they were the "New Talking Heads" (..."of the Nineties" perhaps)... And then of course he would even go on to cover their song Cactus later as well... Thank You Again! Andy S. in Canada.
bowie... i love you!!!!!! you've been one of my idols forever and now you're talkin bout my favorite band the same kinda way i understand them
Are there any more interviews like this where he talks about bands? I've always been interested in music Bowie likes
Bowie could even rock a prison shirt. Let that sink in.
David Bowie has such a knack for musical dynamics
Thank you so much for posting it !