Pixies, The Happening - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction 

Great song choice. Most Pixies review/listens usually use the ol’ tried and true hits they had. Kudos.

Such a fantastic intro song to Pixies. My favorite band, and I have no clue what one song I'd pick for an intro. Maybe Hey or Bone Machine. But The Happening is also a cool choice.

Funny that you picked up the Bossa Nova vibe, That's the name of the album this song is from! Also feel like this is a good jumping off point into more experimental stuff like Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Both of those bands are a bit of work to listen to but I really enjoyed them once I was able to get it and understand it.

You really can’t predict where a Pixies song is going to go.

Such a deep cut to start with. It shows their incredible song writing talent.

It’s about an alien in a ufo in the desert and finally gets to Vegas

Omg The Pixies live was a life changing experience. I'm so lucky to have had the privilege to see them, soooo good! ❤

The band that restored my faith in music 😊

What a fantastic surprise! I love the Pixies. I didn't expect someone to request them this early, but I definitely have no complaints. They truly have their own sound and style. From David Bowie, I recommend Space Oddity for the first song to react.

A little lyrical decoding - the ranch they call number 51 is a reference to Area 51. The story is basically about the singer on a long drive (by the shores of great salt lake, in Nevada), when the "news" saying "they're going to put it down, right on the Vegas Strip - meaning a UFO is landing, and aliens are announcing themselves. The story goes further, saying they were getting interviewed by "a good man whose name was Bill", and he describes how this landmark event made everyone feel (everyone was remembering to forget they had the chills). The song ends with the singer expressing the desire to just go and be a part of this landmark historic event. I know the lyrical angle isn't what Amy is focused on, but I thought, since it's actually an odd story-song, I'd help to open up the song by way of mentioning elements of the story. I always enjoy her reactions to these songs that I've been so familiar with since their release, and this being a favorite Pixies song, I was honestly pleasantly surprised this was her first foray into their world

Great song from an amazing band. They were really good songwriters and they worked extremely hard. I have nothing but good things to say about the Pixies. When they were starting out in Boston I saw many of their early shows playing to ten or twenty people. They were an opening band for those three bands a night rock bars. I’ve had a casusual conversations with all four of them and I remember talking about their song Sam Hill which was perhaps their first single. I thought it was going to break them out, it didn’t but they became quite popular and acclaimed in Boston and the Northeast US but they seemed to hit a ceiling and after a while called it quits. I’ve seen many incredible bands that should have been huge never emerge above the club circuit. The Zulus for instance were a phenomenal live band but many bigger bands didn’t want them to open a show because you can’t go on after their performance and because their style was not easily marketed as it wasn’t genre specific. Same with the Pixies and the replacements and the Wipers and Mission of Burma and many many others. Nirvana finally broke out with that sound and that opened the gates for alt rock commercially but by then most of the earlier pioneers were already gone. Great analysis Amy, I hope the Pixies see this video.

A touch of Brazil in the tight punky drumming, a surf influence in the intro and the harmonies (which are both sweet and dissonant, in a punk way), a garage-rock simplicity in the "power" guitar parts (a bit like The Cramps), an underlying pop heart: nice choice of song, it showcases Pixies' patchwork of elements. Amy did a great job dissecting all these and more (and being spot on about the vibe of the lyrics too)! Other Pixies' songs I'd love to see you analyze are Hey, Monkey gone to heaven or Wave of mutilation.

The Pixies were an incredible band, and their influence cannot be understated. The Happening is from the album Bossanova which you should listen to in its entirety for your own pleasure. Thank you for your excellent commentary. Please react to their song Hey from the album Doolittle. Incidentally, the backing vocals in the chorus are by the bassist Kim Deal who went on to form the band The Breeders.

Oh, PLEASE more Pixies... This was wonderful. Thank you.

Oh, thank you! The Pixies are amazing. I'm so happy to get to more 90's music. No, Amy, you have not yet heard Punk rock. I have been waiting for that, I think it will be hilarious.

Wow! I didn't think you would get to the Pixies this early in the journey...

I love the Pixies, been a fan for 30 years and they have lots of influence on modern music. Also, a great analysis. I would love to hear "Wave of Mutilation" on harp!❤

Great introduction to the Pixies Amy. If you like this then you've gotta get into Talking Heads. They are strange cousins in many ways. Both bands use eclectic sonic colour palettes, yet they never stop feeling like real humans, playing real instruments, in a real and emotional world.

Pulling on my heart strings with a pixie reaction .. so many others you could have done but i'm happy just the same !!! Black Francis is my hero.

Hurrah for the Pixies and your reaction Amy! I hope to hear you analyze more of their songs as they are one of my absolute all time favourite bands. Monkey Gone to Heaven would be an obvious next choice (probably their most famous song), No 13 Baby is a personal favourite, Nimrod's Son is a biblical epic like no other... Such a unique combination of raw power, cathartic screams, speed, dynamics, supreme melodic beauty, wonderfully weird and evocative lyrics. They're till touring and making albums but their initial run with Kim Deal in the line up is where the real magic lies. Frank Black also has many interesting solo albums and Kim Deal founded the Breeders, another great band. They, together with Throwing Muses and others are part of a specific American scene of the late 80s/early 90s represented well on a rather famous UK label: 4AD... 4AD was special, because it was curated strictly with quality in mind by founder Ivo Watts-Russell, this goes for the whole presentation (album covers etc).

Love this band. 👽

That was two voices. Black Francis (vocals/guitar) and Kim Deal (Bass)

Monkey Gone To Heaven is my favorite Pixies song. I enjoy your enthusiasm for learning. I enjoy your channel. Thanks.

Great reaction (as always). Pixies were, as you read, a hugely influential band and you should definitely do more songs by them in order to firmly get a feeling of their sound. For other songs I suggest one or more of the following (in chronological order): - Where Is My Mind (from debut album Surfer Rosa) - Gigantic (from Surfer Rosa; one of the few songs NOT written by frontman Black Francis and certainly one of their most iconic songs) - Hey (from their most famous album, Doolittle) - Wave Of Mutilation (Doolittle) - No. 13 Baby (Doolittle) - Gouge Away (Doolittle) - Is She Weird (Bossanova - from which "The Happening" was also from) - Hang Wire (Bossanova) - Alec Eiffel (Trompe Le Monde) - Motorway To Roswell (Trompe Le Monde) The band split up after Trompe Le Monde (1991) but reunited again many years later and have released new albums since 2014. Most Pixies fans (me included), however, believe their first run to be the "real" Pixies and so I haven't included any suggestions from their latter period.

Just saw the Pixies a few weeks ago and they were stunning as usual. I love the author wanting to determine more of the Pixie's style but the remarkable thing is that although you can always tell a Pixie's song almost every song holds unanticipated surprises that you didn't see coming. Loved this author's analysis.

I want to say as a songwriter without much theory background, your musical investigations of rock tracks are fascinating and illuminating. I really appreciate them. So thank you. The Happening is not a track I'd pick for a first-time Pixies listener. It's a bit of a deep cut for sure. I would suggest their song Bone Machine to give you a better idea of their classic sound and song structure that influenced so many alternative rock bands in the 1990s. Bone Machine has some interesting rhythmic interplays you might also enjoy on a musical level. But they have so many hits, you can probably close your eyes and throw a dart at any song off Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, or Come On Pilgrim and find something interesting and exciting (Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde are good too, but more uneven and start to diverge in sound from the "classic" earlier albums). Also, you mentioned not having heard any David Bowie yet. Are you in for a ride! His musical pantheon from the early 1970s to his death a few years ago is vast, chameleon-like, and always dynamic and engaging.

This was great thanks again for your thoughtful *thoughts* 🙂

love the band and the song, thanks for that :)

My favorite band!!! Yay!!! Another wonderful job Amy!!!

I love your study and analysis of this great song

The Pixies! Yes!! More, please. Lots to dive into. Amy, that top is super stylish. Very nice! :)

I just stumbled upon your channel and adore your approach at taking time to listen to these songs of my youth(Pixies, Jane's Addiction, etc.). Your videos are kind of addictive. Keep listening to this good music. You may wind up with tattoos and black t-shirt before you know it. Haha Thank you

One of the favourite tracks of a favourite band of mine. This is from the Bossanova album. Great call!

Interesting choice to start with The Happening. Not a bad song at all, but certainly not one that stands out in my mind when someone mentions the Pixies. Still, I'm glad you're listening to them. I found them in High School and they are one of the few bands that I still revisit periodically from that time in my life. Maybe try something from Surfer Rosa or Doolittle for your next listen.

Thanks for reminding me the best Hypnotic coda of all times ! ; )

Love your videos ❤ from spain

I would have never thought to suggest the Pixies or "the happening" as the introduction to them. Interesting. But there are definitely songs I love that I think Amy would cringe at as a first listen.

Cactus or Hey, next please!!

This is from probably the most accessible of their 1st 3 albums. I'd be interested to see what you make of something like Debaser, or pretty much anything from Surfer Rosa

As a man who puts great lyrics very high on my list of things I require in the music I listen to, I always have a caveat that goes "But sometimes I love a totally nonsensical song or lyric, that as long as it seems very important to the writer and sung passionately I love it." And with that, I say "JEFREY WITH ONE F JEFREY! JEFREY WITH ONE F JEFREY! ONE F!"

I don't have the album on hand right now, so I can't check the song-by-song credits, but it is quite possible that Kim Deal was also singing during the higher/softer parts.

David Bowie...SPACE ODDITY!!!! Another great reaction, Amy.

This song puts me in a trance everytime I crank it up. The chorus is just mesmerizing.

I saw the Pixies for the first time in 1989 when they opened up for Love & Rockets! I've seen them 8x over the past 30 years. They put on a fabulous show and sound amazing live. Silver is my favorite ❤

Great stuff!

First i was wishing you picked a song i know but i do know and love this song, just forgot the name, excellent video

The Pixies have a very wide spectrum of sounds and dynamics but you will always identify them. They can sound very groovy, very scratchy, very harsh and chaotic, very childish, very beautiful, cool, funny, raw... it is great for their albums are a journey. I can imagine for classical ears it's not always nice and beautiful but it's an experience and the songs are special and I guess even for classical listeners inspiring. I love the pixies a lot. When I was a youth I was getting so much out of the songs and got a lot of inspirations - fantastic band.

Such an interesting pick for your Pixies introduction. However, it actually seems to me like a great choice to go with a bit of a deeper cut like this, rather than what would be the usual. This is one that didn’t really catch me when I first heard it, but it ended up growing on me a lot. By the way, before 1998, if you asked the “ranchers” about “Paradise Ranch”, they would refuse to officially acknowledge its existence (even if you provided photos of it). 😉

I very much enjoyed this reaction to a really good song from a very good and influential late 80s and early 90s band. You can hear some elements of punk in this one, with that influence being even stronger in some of their other songs. I think punk is one key genres that you haven't touched on much yet. It would be useful for you to hear from some of those bands that helped establish this genre, such as The Clash and The Sex Pistols. That way you will start to notice those elements in bands like the Pixies, who use elements of punk in their alternative rock sound. Good job by Amy in noticing the bossanova rhythm in the drums, which is probably no accident on their part since Bossanova is the name of the album this song is on.

Awesome! I wondered if you would ever get to The Pixies. They are one of my fav. bands. They helped me survive the 1980's! lol Cheers.

Seeing the Pixies here makes me very happy. I'm actually surprised at the song choice (I would've guessed their "hit" Where is My Mind, or maybe Hey), but I honestly don't know what I would've chosen as a first Pixies song for Amy.

Fantastic! The Pixies and Frank Black carved such a unique recipe that was and still is incredibly influential! I'd love to see how you would analyze Frank Black's "Los Angeles". Please also consider Radiohead (Paranoid Android), The Police (Every Little Thing She Does is Magic), Jim Croce (Time in a Bottle), The Cure (Just Like Heaven), Faith No More (Midlife Crisis), Bee Gees (How Deep is Your Love), Sting (Shape of My Heart), and Fugazi (Waiting Room) would be an interesting intro to creative punk rock/post-hardcore.

A welcome selection of a deeper cut from the typical Pixies reactions. Doolittle is great, but Bossanova is a gem. I enjoyed watching this broken down.

Great reaction as always! Some weekend reactions (2-3 songs) with Bowie and with Radiohead (and Dylan) would thus be suitable and also appreciated. And perhaps also a punk-weekend with for ex Clash and Sex Pistols. To get a glimpse and a scratch the surface of those huge musical treasure chests 😃🍀✨

I love this Pixies song every time I listen to it!

Now that you've heard the Pixies, you'll have to listen to The Breeders and their song Cannonball. 😊

I am the man I am today because of my obsession with Pixies.

Interesting first song to hear by the Pixies. They have so much greatness to choose from.

Makes sense to be here, since they were talking "all across the Amy band" :)

For all their punk influences, sonically textural complexity and songwriting originality, Pixies always had that sixties air about them. Amy, you mentioned bossa nova. Also, check out Manfred Mann's tune Do Wah Diddy Diddy. I am pretty sure that at least someone in the Pixies likes it.

Fun breakdown

You are gifted

I loved the video

The were their own genre, which describes the biggest influence on Frank Black, which is Tom Waits when he released “Swordfish Trombones,” the album that blew Black’s mind and encouraged him to do whatever he wanted, the world be damned.

The whole Doolittle album is a masterclass👍

Radiohead- Paranoid Android is a great song. David Bowie- Ashes to Ashes is a good song to start with, though there are hundreds of Bowie songs, you really could start anywhere.

You haven't heard any Bowie or Radiohead. You are in for a treat when you get to those. Can't wait for you to hear Paranoid Android.

My favourite Pixies's song!!!!!!

Love this track

Some more Pixies songs you might be interested in. Gigantic Dig For Fire Trompe Le Monde Break My Body Debaser

One of my fav songs

I am so chuffed Vlad and you chose this song rather than the obvious hits! ❤

The song is about an alien visitation in Las Vegas, landing on the Strip. And the hypnotic outtro is about everyone being drawn to that event - almost like a pilgrimage. The thing about the Pixies, for me, is how they use all four members and their instruments in such a meaningful, impactful way (and this includes the voice as an instrument). No one is just making up the numbers or providing a backing texture - they're all an integral and unmistakable part of the sound of the song. Not many bands do it like that. And the other thing is the almost tongue-in-cheek irreverence of the lyrics. He's definitely storytelling throughout, but it's such a strange blend of history, mysticism, dream and actual story that it takes on a very surreal character. All these things combine to make the Pixies the most unique and creative band of their era, and probably one that will last forever.

you totally got it!

Bossanova is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Pixies. It was released on August 13, 1990

If this was genuinely your first listen it was very insightful. ❤

This band consistently received high acclaim by people close to music, the critics/journalists, other musicians and people working in the music industry. I particularly like their lyrics, quirky provocative, poetically mysterious and so so expressive of mindsets of the 1990's youth. Their music, at times, I find to be experimental and different for the sake of being experimental and different. A bit pretentious in that way, not always musical. I like this song, I like the energy, the good recording, musically quirky in just the right proportion and what the lyrics express to me. Amy, I don't, in my comments ever urge you to cover a particular artist because it happens to be one of my favorites. When your channel was new and rock music was new to you I urged you/Vlad to cover different songs by an artist that you had already chosen but not which artist to cover next. I am now going to make an exception and urge you to an artist you mentioned twice in this video with some defensive language, I acknowledge ahead. After more than a year into this wonderful channel isn't it time that you look into an artist who trend sett'd the industry, was a trend setter for the social lives of youth the world over for more than 4 decades, an artist who's portfolio of music has a breadth and is vast at a level unparalleled by any other. David Bowie (can you ask Vlad the correct pronunciation of his stage name) WAS NOT INFLUENCED BY THE PIXIES, HE INFLUENCED THE PIXIES. Bowie himself would oppose this statement and, in fact, has said that The Pixies impressed him and influenced him. In honor he has covered a Pixies song (they should feel honored) and early on in The Pixies career, Bowie has mentioned them and promoted them publicly when he was aware of the weight of his statements. I can very clearly hear Bowie influence in their music and The Pixies's music clearly became better once Bowie involved himself in their album productions. David Bowie did not make music for music's sake, he didn't even want to be a music star, he wanted to be an actor (and he was), David Bowie made music as one part of a social expression, acting, fashion, immersion into culture, story telling and socialization, helping other artists of all sorts of disciplines and giving cause to his own life were all part of his persuasion. With each era change or album he brought movement in the music and art world, giving countless people their inspiration to enter the world of expression themselves and to follow. David Bowie's music is not rock music (some songs are) but rather a form of pop music that was always innovative, daring and reaching, yet extremely accessible and commercially viable. Amy, please consult with Vlad, Is it time that you look into an artist of this kind of acclaim?

No imagine the concert crowd moving in sinc bopping up and down with five or six kids crowd surfing in perfect unison with the sound. It was really incredible how the kids reacted to the sound

Love to hear Pixies on this channel! I wouldn't say this particular song is terribly representative of their style though. Most of their classic songs are shorter and less bluesy than this. I'd like to see reactions to I Bleed, Hey, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Debaser, Ana, or Alec Eiffel!

They played this on this cuttent bossanova and tlm tour. Brilliant.

Mahler also used that semitone thing to great effect in "Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n". It's the crying of a parent whose children have died.

Would love to see you cover Blue Oyster Cult, and The Cars.

Love to hear your thoughts on Pixies, “All I Think About Now.”

You alluded to Loud Quiet Loud, which was a signature element of the Pixies. It was literally the name of a documentary that followed them on their first reunion tour.

My favorite pixies song

I was scrolling your reviews to see if you ever reviewed a song called Zombie by The Cranberries. It's relevant to current events in another part of the world. I would like to write more but I don't want to influence your take on the song. I found this rewiew, so here I am.

It's my first time visiting this channel. Jane Hathaway critiquing Pixies. Very cool. And it's only Thursday.

You probably *shouldn't* listen to David Bowie until you've had some pop music history. Bowie's Berlin period was a high point, and roughly a zillion things were contextual to produce Bowie's work then and after that time. What Bowie took from Connie Plank and what he did with it are great artistic achievements.

Another call for the song "Travel" by The Gathering, the TG25 live version. "I wish you knew your music was to stay forever".

What The Beatles did for rock in the 60's Pixies did for rock in the 90's. Almost.

If you enjoy deep dives into concept albums, The Dear Hunter is a band that is in my opinion is second to none…when it comes to concept albums. Your hubby will have some major homework to do to introduce you to their deep “Acts” and “color” albums.

awesome! now you must listen to bone machine, gouge away and monkey gone to heaven!

The sound is perfect. Listen to Gouge away. I think that song inspired Nirvana. Kim deal is also singing

nice as always you need to listen to some punkrock the clash ,sex pistols, damned and for 60s like punkrock the ramones and othwise maybe king crimson wich is symphonic rock best regards and thx from me

I imagine you might get this question quite a bit, but have you ever considered doing something on classical music as well? I really really enjoy you discovering (and pulling apart) music I have known for years, but learning something from your domain, so to speak, would be terrific too (I'm sure you'd find amazing stuff to present).

Just how many songs did Frank write about aliens?

My favorite track from, you guessed it, the Bossanova album. Say hello to bending notes by Joey Santiago.

Pixies ❤

Please listen to Sonic Youth. There are very few reactions to their music and I would be interested in your musical interpretation.

Well...this song is from their album album Bossanova...