The Jimmy Bramlett Definitive Guide to the Best 15 Pixies Songs Ever

The Pixies

The other day someone post this link of the 15 best Pixies Songs. They said the best Pixies song is “Debaser”. There were notable songs absent on that list.

So I will rebut with my top 15 list since it’s not subjective or anything. Yeah.

15. “Alec Eiffel” – Trompe Le Monde.

Let’s face it. Trompe Le Monde was a shit album. The band was falling apart at the seams, and you could hear it in this album. This was one of their last gasps, and oddly enough it didn’t fall in line with their soft-loud-soft motif. “Alec Eiffel” is loud and filled with Black Francis’ cryptic lyrics.

But at least we get the payoff of Kim Deal’s saccharine vocals at the outro along with that keyboard riff that I can’t get enough of.

14. “Nimrod’s Son” – Come on Pilgrim.

“You are the son of a motherfucker.” Before Bugs Bunny redefined the term “nimrod” to be an idiot, it used to mean a tyrant. In the Jewish and Muslim traditions, there was a battle between Abraham and Nimrod, a battle between monotheism and polytheism. You can read about all of that here.

The Pixies were the best at reinterpreting the subversive and relatively esoteric biblical in a pop context, usually all in the same song. Here we have Nimrod, a dying man’s thoughts, charges of incest. All of this wrapped in a country-western saga.

13. “Stormy Weather” – Bossanova.

Embedded in an album filled with surf tunes and UFO references comes this hidden gem. The lyrics are simple. “It is time. It is time for stormy weather.” The music sounds simple, just a couple of couple of power chords.

But listen closely you hear dueling guitar parts fighting to make themselves heard. Instead it melds into one Spector-ian wall of sound that makes you want to dance outside during a summer storm.

In my junior year of high school, I loved driving around with this song blaring from my stereo at night. It was an escape, a liberation, a giddiness that we all dream of during adolescence.