Yesterday’s Manic Monday selection featured a heavy band that occasionally flirted with alternative elements, whereas today’s offering comes from a band that was alternative to the core, but often injected a healthy dose of frantic/noisy intensity into their sound on a regular basis. Talking about the Pixies of course, who were one of the first bands of their era to successfully fuse those two disparate ideas into something truly original, concocting a sound in the late 80s that would effectively establish the blueprint for the subsequent alternative-rock explosion to come in the following decade.
Indeed, they practically wrote the book on the loud/quiet/loud dynamic, which is on full display in this thrilling live performance from VPRO Studios in 1988. Granted, this is Surfer Rosa era Pixies, so the rawness and energy on display here is palpable, and it’s all executed with their trademarked brand of eccentricity that was nearing it’s peak at the time. Pretty killer performance (with an interesting/insightful interview snippet added into the mix for good measure).
