| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 06/11/2024 : 10:01:03
If you haven't heard yet, we do have word directly from management of an announcement that will please every FB solo fan out there... some more than others.
Podcast listeners will be eager to know that it might have a bit more to do with MY favourite FB album than Brian's (which is a close second to be fair).
I know everyone who reads these forums knows what this is about, but for details, we'll see you tomorrow!
 "If we hit this bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate." |
| 24 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 08/17/2024 : 08:03:30
Ok, I can't find the exact interview in my memory. I remember Frank being noticably angry in it. I did find this so far:
https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/interviews/life-to-black-francis
quote:
To add intrigue to it all, both Bluefinger and Svn Fngrs were recorded under the Black Francis moniker. Previously the domain of his tenure with the Pixies, it has understandably raised eyebrows and expectations from fans. So, why resurrect the decades-old alter ego now?
"I guess just to kind of reclaim it or something, y'know? I always have been Black Francis. I mean, Black Francis, Frank Black, who gives a shit, whatever! It's just a name, y'know, but there's the association, of course, with my former band with the Black Francis moniker."
Indeed there is, but those with their hearts set on a future Pixies project should probably avert their eyes now. "The band did a successful reunion tour but that kind of fizzled out," he says before definitively adding, "They're not going to make a record."
It's a statement that will end years of speculation and hope. Even in his words there is a feeling of disassociation already, and it is clear that he doesn't want to elaborate on the reasons why. However, aspersions will no doubt be cast on his temperamental relationship with Pixies bassist Kim Deal. In fact, when The Skinny last spoke to Black in mid-2006, a new Pixies album seemed to be on the cards. Although, perhaps tellingly, he stated that the final decision lay with Deal who, due to other commitments, wasn't interested at the time. It would seem that in the interim a more definitive decision has been made.
However, he is eager to make it clear that this no longer disappoints him. "I'm kind of glad. I've tapped into some kind of new space as a result," he claims. "I can't give the world the Pixies but I'll give them Black Francis, whatever that symbolises. I'm trying to just not fight it. I'm not trying hard at any of this. I'm trying to be really relaxed. I'm just kind of 'using the force'."
Another interesting one here:
https://shepherdexpress.com/music/music-feature/black-francis-weird-anymore/ |
| auxfnx |
Posted - 08/16/2024 : 13:42:14
i feel like the sentiment at the time was (or at least how i remember it) that Pixies not making music was this big elephant in the room, and Frank clearly wanted to make some while Kim didn't, and then he revived the Black Francis name to make that type of music while he couldn't with Pixies. Then of course as soon as Kim left the floodgates opened for Pixies music.
quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
quote:
Originally posted by The Maharal
The ''best album Pixies never made'' thing is so weird. Pointless. Thought it was funny that the main Pixies accounts on Instagram, Facebook, etc. shared it minus that message.
It doesn't make any sense. It wasn't intended to be a Pixies record and doesn't sound anything like a Pixies record or even evoke one in most of the songs. In my mind, at least, it's worlds apart from the Pixies.
I always felt like TOTY was kind of the next step of evolution of the sound Pixies had got to by Trompe. I know there was the self-titled but TOTY somehow feels more like it follows on from Trompe. Maybe because the self titled was made so close to Trompe, even featuring Brackish Boy which was demoed for it. TOTY was definitely a record that could not have been made by Pixies though. |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 08/15/2024 : 07:36:07
Was there not a very candid interview with Frank where he basically said Kim Deal rejected a bunch of the Bluefinger songs so he said fuck it and put that anger and frustration into the music and put it out under Black Francis?
I remember reading this. |
| The Maharal |
Posted - 08/14/2024 : 12:18:24
Yeah I think you are right. I asked him about this on this forum during one of the Q&As and he said only a few riffs and arrangements were taken from wannabe Pixies songs. |
| Brank_Flack |
Posted - 08/14/2024 : 07:58:58
quote:
Originally posted by billgoodman
Bluefinger was considered to be one, right? That's the one Pixies could have made
---------------------------
BF: Mag ik Engels spreken?
I could be wrong, but I think this is forum-based speculation that has taken on a life of its own.
Threshold Apprehension was recorded as a bonus track for the 93-03 compilation (though based on a Pixies-era riff), but he ended up quickly writing and recording an album during those sessions (not demoes for the Pixies).
I'm happy to be proven wrong on this! |
| billgoodman |
Posted - 06/14/2024 : 23:05:06
Bluefinger was considered to be one, right? That's the one Pixies could have made
---------------------------
BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 06/14/2024 : 21:32:30
quote:
Originally posted by The Maharal
The ''best album Pixies never made'' thing is so weird. Pointless. Thought it was funny that the main Pixies accounts on Instagram, Facebook, etc. shared it minus that message.
It doesn't make any sense. It wasn't intended to be a Pixies record and doesn't sound anything like a Pixies record or even evoke one in most of the songs. In my mind, at least, it's worlds apart from the Pixies. |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 06/14/2024 : 06:16:48
quote:
Originally posted by Active Duck
Seems like the people from the facebook group that knew about this in advance are also pretty sure that more dates will be announced.
The 'hidden' news is official but off the record. At this point, it seemed like we were the only ones honoring release schedules and saying what we could or couldn't share at a given time. So I decided I would do it in a way that still respects the on/off record part but coincidentally happens to encode the rest of the information in a way that FB fans in particular would see pretty quickly.
"If we hit this bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate." |
| anazgnos |
Posted - 06/13/2024 : 18:14:09
Obviously the most Los Angeles album should be performed in Los Angeles (and I don't even live on the west coast anymore so I'm not saying this purely out of self-interest), but my pitch is for some kind of special Gila Monster Jamboree type event, off the grid. You buy a ticket and get like scavenger hunt instructions that eventually lead you to an unlisted site high in the St. Franciscquito Canyonland with a tent and a makeshift stage and generator power. Magical Teenager Tour. |
| The Maharal |
Posted - 06/13/2024 : 13:25:24
The ''best album Pixies never made'' thing is so weird. Pointless. Thought it was funny that the main Pixies accounts on Instagram, Facebook, etc. shared it minus that message. |
| Ziggy |
Posted - 06/13/2024 : 00:55:21
quote:
Originally posted by Active Duck
Seems like the people from the facebook group that knew about this in advance are also pretty sure that more dates will be announced.
And the original tease was US tour only and Euro dates less likely. As posted in another thread, US tour announcement doesn't seem far off. |
| Active Duck |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 23:49:20
Seems like the people from the facebook group that knew about this in advance are also pretty sure that more dates will be announced. |
| The Holiday Son |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 23:27:28
Follow what Speedy Dean said... |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 23:01:02
I am very unhappy with this if those are the only two shows he does. I can't afford a plane ticket to another country to see a concert. I hate missing out on this. That album is really important to me. |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 18:22:25
You're welcome matto!
And yes, that is direct from management, I don't know if FB himself used that language though. I'd guess not, doesn't seem like him. Management sent a couple variations of that but all basically the same. Obviously we the "Frank Black" fans aren't the target audience for their marketing effort.
"If we hit this bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate." |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 17:15:10
And yes thank you Dean and the Forum!
Dean, is the language "The best album Pixies never made" from FB (via his people) himself?
Also, does anyone know if Joey might show up on stage for a few songs? |
| matto |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 14:35:27
--- Thank you Dean --- |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 13:49:26
quote:
Originally posted by Ziggy
I think I only actually believe it's happening now it's been posted on this site :)
Haha, thanks Ziggy!
"If we hit this bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate." |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 12:31:56
Thank you Frank Black |
| Ziggy |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 11:21:57
I think I only actually believe it's happening now it's been posted on this site :) |
| Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 08:46:40
A good excuse to go back to London, 29 years after my first FB gig!
++++ |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 06/12/2024 : 07:27:29
Frank Black is delighted to announce two very special shows for 2025,
where he will be performing the ‘Teenager Of The Year’ album in full.
The Teenager Of The Year shows will see Frank Black play the London
Palladium on Thursday 6th February and Paris on Tuesday 4th February.
Nowhere in the press release were further dates mentioned,
on the other hand, they may just want to see if there
really is enough interest to make further shows make sense.
The full press release is below but I speculate that this tour
has already garnered enough interest to have a few more dates
at least in these venues.
Maybe, and this is just wishful thinking on my part, but maybe
Eric Drew Feldman (who will be on bass and keys!) or
Rob Laufer (everything except drums!) will be up for
including a stop in sunny Saskatoon. Though I'd settle for
Calgary or even Cincinatti if I'm being honest.
All that said, it doesn't matter where, if I have to
drive the Pan American highway all the way to
Argentina of fly across the pond to catch this
TOTY tour, I'll do it. It would just be a lot
easier, you know, if they would come to me here in
Saskatoon. :)
Charles hasn't got back to me yet
on if there is anything closer coming for us non-Europeans but
mark my words, as soon as I know something that
I can share with you all, I will do that
no matter how bad my internet connection is or how
giddy I am for this show in general.
In any case, here is the full press release,
jam packed with a little bit of the
untold history recording the album in
Los Angeles and how Teenager of the
Year came to be despite forest fires and more.
I can't tell you how excited I am!
- Dean
The full press release is below:
Frank Black is delighted to announce two very special shows for 2025, where he will be performing the ‘Teenager Of The Year’ album in full.
The Teenager Of The Year shows will see Frank Black play Le Trianon in Paris on Tuesday 4th February and the London Palladium on Thursday 6th February.
“Sometime in the early 80s, I'd have to look up the date, I matriculated high school. This school held an awards banquet for some of the departing students at the school. I received an award called the TEENAGER OF THE YEAR award; my brother received the same award the following year. Our award was a 50 dollar credit for textbooks, a TEENAGER OF THE YEAR medallion (my mother still has this), and also the banquet hall dinner, soup to nuts. My brother and I had no complaint about the award (it was given for being all-around-good-guy as best as we could determine). But for such a grand title to be given as TEENAGER OF THE YEAR, I felt the glory had not been amplified enough.
In 1993, I was doing “solo recording” sessions with Eric Drew Feldman in Los Angeles. We had settled on a core band with Nick Vincent and Lyle Workman, occasionally augmented by Joey Santiago and Moris Tepper. Though we had to change studios numerous times for actual forest fires and earthquakes, the whole process was such an addictive musical buffet that Eric and I couldn't stop. We did some vocals at a studio rumored to be owned by Sergio Mendes; in the control room was a wall of television screens broadcasting the brush fire which crept toward us. We eventually evacuated to someplace else. We never met Sergio but we saw him perform a few weeks later when we vacated to Las Vegas after the Northridge earthquake, which had trapped the TEENAGER OF THE YEAR tapes in a studio vault for some time. Our zeal plus empathy from our financiers, they safely observing our travails from London, was enough to keep the money flowing until Eric and I relented and declared “Consummatum est”.
We tried to make it grand. 22 in 62. I called it TEENAGER OF THE YEAR. It is 30 years old now, and the original band will perform the record at various venues in early 2025. 4AD has remastered the LP for a fresh printing. Enjoy.” Black Francis 2024 Meredith, New Hampshire.
Originally released in May 1994, Teenager of the Year, is now widely regarded as the defining statement of his solo career and the best album the Pixies never made.
Pitchfork placed Teenager Of The Year in their Top 100 albums of the 90’s saying “beneath its veneer lie the moments brilliant enough to rival any of the Pixies’ 1990’s work, and Black’s greatest lyrical achievement.” The album is also included in the book “ 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die”, while The Quietus in 2014 said “Teenager Of The Year feels like a lost Pixies album in the way Ram feels like a lost Beatles album. It’s colossal, it teems with innovation.”
Watch the video for the single Headache from Teenager Of The Year here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytQhL0-3FtM&list=OLAK5uy_mvpaoFO7q5gJqXNN4uSnDfi7_MvcWZIMU
“Initially it was a 14-song album. It was mixed. Eric Idle was staying nearby. He kept telling me to change the songs around. Al (Clay)had to run off and go to his next project. We weren’t completely happy with what we had. The solution: record more songs. Eight more were born. Whole shebang was remixed by David Bianco. The day before we were to start the remix, the 1994 Northridge earthquake occurred. Charles, Jean (Charles’ first wife) and I escaped to Las Vegas, ate many shrimp cocktails, and we saw Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’99 perform. Sergio was especially good. After about five days we returned to the mixing studio and the deed was done.” Eric Drew Feldman.*
The new re-mastered version of Teenager Of The Year will be released by 4AD later this year.
Along with Frank Black, the band for the tour features Eric Drew Feldman, Lyle Workman and Nick Vincent who originally appeared on the Teenager Of the Year album.
The band is:
Frank Black on guitar and vocals
Eric Drew Feldman on bass and keys
Lyle Workman on guitar
Nick Vincent on drums
Rob Laufer - keys, bass and guitar
Tickets for the Teenager Of The Year shows are available from 10am CET Friday 14th June here: https://blackfranc.is
The full Teenager Of The Year dates are:
February
04th Paris, France Le Trianon
06th London, UK The Palladium
"If we hit this bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate." |
| Sprite |
Posted - 06/11/2024 : 13:49:16
Hee, hee I feel like a kid who's just heard the ice cream van on their birthday. |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 06/11/2024 : 11:14:12
Thanks Dean, looking forward to hearing more. |
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