"Wednesday night at the Hollywood Palladium, in the first of three concerts there, the Pixies kicked off a U.S. tour commemorating the 20th anniversary of their 1989 college-rock classic "Doolittle." So what did the band open with? A string of obscure B-sides that even bassist Kim Deal admitted she had trouble remembering. Proudly noisy and unapologetically arty, the Pixies kept mainstream success at arm's length during their original run, which ended acrimoniously in 1993 after a stint opening arena shows for U2. Yet thanks in part to postmortem praise from the likes of Kurt Cobain (who famously called "Smells Like Teen Spirit" his attempt to replicate the Pixies' sound), the band's reputation grew over the next decade, and in 2004 members reunited to the delight of old and new fans alike. At the Palladium, where the celeb-studded audience included Benicio Del Toro, Chloë Sevigny and that guy who played the nefarious gang boss in "The Crow," the Pixies demonstrated how little age has softened their signature idiosyncrasies: sudden dynamic shifts, unexpected Latin flourishes, frontman Black Francis' lyrical fixation on the creepy and the surreal. (Before Francis and his bandmates took the stage, they screened Luis Buñuel's 1929 short film "Un Chien Andalou," one of the singer's subjects in "Doolittle's" first track, "Debaser.")" - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"What once sounded feral and primitive came off as crafty and assured, particularly during "Wave of Mutilation," a perfect union of melody and fuzz, and "Hey," which swung harder and more nimbly than it does on "Doolittle." No argument with experience here; more of the countless indie bands the Pixies have influenced should consider learning how to play their instruments. Yet it wasn't always clear Wednesday if anything other than collective nostalgia was driving the Pixies. Francis especially seemed oddly detached from the proceedings, even as he roared his way through a furious take on "Tame." Of course, scholarly detachment has more or less been Francis' default mode since he and guitarist Joey Santiago formed the band at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His version of the rock-'n'-roll frontman is as much an interrogation of that role as it is a fulfillment of it. Whether or not that stance will provide enough fuel for a new studio album, which members of the band have mentioned recording next year, is an open question. For now, their fortysomething spirit smells fine." - RAPatton

oh, hell, yeah... but "Wave of Mutilation" as anything but feral? i'll have to hear this... - Brent

"I am un chien! Andalusia..." - Brent

you know, i love the pixies, but the version of teen spirit that came out was so slick i could barely hear the resemblence to the two bands. it wasnt until butch vig's mix came out on the box set a few years ago that i really got it... - Terry O'Fee

i need to hear that, too! *rubs hands in music-loving glee* - Brent

http://www.youtube.com/watch... the quality on youtube isnt so great, but hear those drums! and the ending the guitar bit drags on, - Terry O'Fee

i hear it. you know, i like dave grohl a lot, especially the work he did with nirvana... but i sometimes think he built a career around the first 20 seconds of Surfer Rosa. - Brent

http://www.youtube.com/watch... - Brent

i think dave's a better drummer than he is in the fooies. i love his first two albums but after colour and the shape, i kinda got bored with them... - Terry O'Fee

http://www.youtube.com/watch... i love this version more than the album version :) - Terry O'Fee

nice! you know that "rowring" they do on the chorus? i still find myself doing that when i'm in certain moods. :) - Brent

my fave "row" comes from a metal song - "biotech is godzilla" max just comes out with this "godzilla... ROOOOW" it's so cheesy you gotta laugh - Terry O'Fee

LOL - Brent

Terry - That version of River Euphrates is amazing. - Kurt Starnes

isn't it?? they did that with a few of their singles, re-record the song completely. wish bands still did that occasionally today... :) - Terry O'Fee

where is the good "feral surrealism" in today's music? can anyone point me in the right direction? - Brent

bowie did an awesome cover of cactus which challenges the original. 'yall have heard it, haven't you?? - Terry O'Fee

nope. love. that. song. in fact, i have an idea for a cabaret piece, involving that number... and i can only imagine what Bowie would do with it. :) - Brent

http://www.youtube.com/watch... - Terry O'Fee

loveitloveit. but im a huge bowie fan too, and maybe a little biased. (note - bowie is a HUGE pixies fan. he appeared in one of those pixies behind the scenes documentaries a few years back talking about how much he loves their work) - Terry O'Fee

i'd love to see it, too. i heard that he was disappointed when he'd heard they'd broken up... i can imagine bowie invited his friends over to whatever palace he was living in, popped the cd on and said, "Listen to this!" as "Debaser" kicked in... - Brent

i dont think it's hard to find.. they showed it on australian tv one night before one of the reunion concerts. i had a copy of it somewhere ... - Terry O'Fee

bowie's pretty switched on. he's one of the few oldies ;) still around that still really gets into new music, unlike the rest who think rock and roll died the moment lennon did .... - Terry O'Fee

please don't get me wrong... though I'm "of an age", there is a LOT of contemporary music out that I love. but there was a ballz out glee in the surreal, with that primal nuttiness, that the pixies have/had that i have difficulty finding in any bands out now... I'm thinking maybe Liars? - Brent

when i said oldies, i meant established artists around his age that doesnt think rock is dead. i mean look at the rest of them, the stones, macca, ac/dc they all love talking about chuck berry and the greats but close their minds as soon as its a new band. sure, there's a hell of a lot of shit out there today but a lot of good stuff if you search too.. - Terry O'Fee

ah. i misunderstood. sorry. - Brent

if memory serves, david byrne tries to stay connected, too... not like bowie, though - Brent

and though he's not as old, mick marrs keeps popping up all over the place. lol - Brent

byre, he's more 80s though, isnt he?? - Terry O'Fee

70s - 80s, i believe... that new york thing... - Brent

yup. formed in 1974... Talking Heads, that is. Not David Byrne. :) - Brent

well i know the 80s music sounds more dated, but they're a little more switched on. look at gabriel for example.. :P - Terry O'Fee

i quite liked the "Real World" run that Gabriel had for a while, there... but now? don't know where he is. - Brent

http://www.youtube.com/watch... love this song he did with deep forest.. he's a little crazy :P - Terry O'Fee

that was a great video. never heard the song before... quite trippy, too... i swear i saw gabriel in the flames, a few times, lol - Brent