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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
 Posted - 04/06/2009 : 16:25:09
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Decider.
Kicked in the taco: A chronological history
of Frank Black’s weird lyrical obsessions
More than 20 years of incest, spacemen, and Celtic folk heroes
Charles Thompson
What part of "Uriah hit the crapper" don't you understand?
By Leonard Pierce April 6, 2009
The artist formerly and currently known as Black
Francis has always said that he lived too good a
life to write mopey, downbeat confessional
lyrics. Instead, he has often substituted a hip-
pocket surrealism, liberally sprinkled with sex and
science fiction. Listening to his records in order, from
the Pixies' Come On Pilgrim to last year’s Svn
Fngrs mini-album, is like running into a friend you only
see once a year, and all he talks about is whatever crazy
shit he’s been into since you last met. In honor of the fast ‘n’
bulbous ex-Pixies frontman's 44th birthday (and the
Mohawk's Pixies Hoot Night
celebration) [UPDATE: As of today, the Pixies Hoot
Night has been canceled.], Decider presents all the crazy
shit that Charles Thompson has been into since 1987.
Come On Pilgrim (Pixies, 1987)
Lyrical themes: Having sex with a close relative
(“Nimrod’s Son," “The Holiday Song”); speaking Spanish
poorly (“Vamos," “Isla De Encanta”); getting messed up
by religion (“Caribou," “Levitate Me”).
Say whaaat?: “And while we’re at it, baby, why don’t
you tell me one of your biggest fears? / I said, ‘Losing my
penis to a whore with disease.'”
Surfer Rosa (Pixies, 1988)
Lyrical themes: Fractures (“Broken Face," “Break My
Body”); speaking Spanish poorly (“Vamos” again, “Oh
My Golly!”); the male sex organ (“Gigantic," “Something
Against You”).
Say whaaat?: “Sittin’ here wishin’ on a cement floor /
Just wishin’ that I had just somethin’ you wore / Bloody
your hands on a cactus tree / Wipe it on your dress and
send it to me.”
Doolittle (Pixies, 1989)
Lyrical themes: Prostitutes (“Tame," “Hey!”); eye
injury motifs (“Debaser," “Gouge Away”); getting messed
up by religion (“Dead," “Monkey Gone to Heaven”).
Say whaaat?: “Black tear fallin’ on my lazy queen / She
got a tattooed tit that say, ‘No. 13.'”
Bossanova (Pixies, 1990)
Lyrical themes: Outer space (“Blown Away,"
“Allison”); aliens (“The Happening," “Velouria”); herd
animals (“Ana," “All Over the World”).
Say whaaat?: “Your heart is rip shit / Your mouth is
everywhere / I’m lying in it.”
Trompe Le Monde (Pixies, 1991)
Lyrical themes: Outer space (“Trompe Le Monde,"
“Planet Of Sound”); science (“Alec Eiffel," “Distance
Equals Rate Times Time”); neurotic animals (“Palace Of
The Brine," “Bird Dream Of The Olympus Mons”).
Say whaaat?: “Oh, kiss me cunt and kiss me cock / Oh,
kiss the world / Oh, kiss the sky / Oh, kiss my ass / Oh,
let it rock.”
Frank Black (Frank Black, 1993)
Lyrical themes: Time travel (“Los Angeles," “Czar”);
aliens (“Adda Lee," “Parry The Wind High, Low”);
college towns (“Old Black Dawning," “Ten Percenter”).
Say whaaat?: “He had to learn Spanish (oh yeah) / He
was a walking fish (oh yeah) / He was feeling so
brackish / Between Norwegian and English.”
Teenager Of The Year (Frank Black, 1994)
Lyrical themes: Outdated 1970s pop culture
(“Whatever Happened To Pong?”, “Pure Denizen Of The
Citizens Band”); Southern California (“Calistan," “Olé
Mulholland”); dimensional travel (“(I Want To Live On
An) Abstract Plain," “Headache”).
Say whaaat?: “I’m literally deaf down here / From
your canned philosoph’ / Softly, can you hear me /
Through the sucking of your quaff?”
The Cult Of Ray (Frank Black, 1996)
Lyrical themes: Violence involving Middle Eastern
immigrants (“Kicked In The Taco," “The Last Stand Of
Shazeb Andleeb”); outdated 1980s pop culture (“Punk
Rock City," “Dance War”); getting messed up by religion
(“Jesus Was Right," “The Creature Crawling”).
Say whaaat?: “And as he opened up my mind so friend
and battered / I heard his words so very fine, so high
above this constant dripping chatter / Young sharks
feeding on the scrapple / And upstarts on your Adam’s
apple.”
Frank Black And The Catholics (Frank Black
And The Catholics, 1998)
Lyrical Themes: Bad breakups (“Solid Gold," “Do
You Feel Bad About It?”); traveling to exotic locations
(“Back To Rome," “King And Queen Of Siam”); getting
messed up by religion (“All My Ghosts”, “Steak ‘N’
Sabre”).
Say Whaaat?: “No Paris, no Nepal, no Barstow /
Won’t be none of them at all / No Congo, no Kish or
Kishangargh, no Memphis / It doesn’t matter who you
are.”
Pistolero (Frank Black And The Catholics, 1999)
Lyrical themes: Trains (“I Switched You," “I Love
Your Brain”); mythology (“So Hard To Make Things
Out," “I Think I’m Starting To Lose It”); unusual crafts
projects ("Western Star," "85 Weeks").
Say whaaat?: “Alone with the Beast and my skull
choppers / Now I’m just a name dropper / And I’m bust
in these deep slumber weeds / Stone was in me.”
Dog In The Sand (Frank Black And The
Catholics, 2001)
Lyrical themes: Substance abuse (“Blast Off," “I’ll Be
Blue”); homicidal Spanish-speaking animals
(“Hermaphroditos," “Llano Del Rio”); reluctant
supervillains (“St. Francis Dam Disaster," “Bullet”).
Say whaaat?: “Robert, can you find your way? / Show
me the way to come / Zugzwang got me in a way / Under
my opposing thumb.”
Black Letter Days (Frank Black And The
Catholics, 2002)
Lyrical themes: Substance abuse (“True Blue," “Jet
Black River”); Southern California (“California Bound,"
“End Of Miles”); damaged women with unusual names
(“Valentine And Garuda," “The Farewell Bend”).
Say whaaat?: “From the water jumped a bloody hand /
Needing desperately a host / When I saw the bald bell-
ringers / Well, I knew then that you were toast .”
Devil’s Workshop (Frank Black And The
Catholics, 2002)
Lyrical themes: Deadly and/or seductive cats
(“Velvety," “His Kingly Cave”); reluctant travelers (“Out
Of State," “Are You Headed My Way?”); despoiled
priests (“Bartholomew," “Heloise”).
Say whaaat?: “As you climb out of the top of some
truck limousine / Still filming your scene / You’re
talking way too loud / But there is nothing to exchange.”
Show Me Your Tears (Frank Black And The
Catholics, 2003)
Lyrical themes: Bad breakups (“Horrible Day,"
“Goodbye Lorraine”); unrequited lust (“Nadine," “Massif
Centrale”); traveling very quickly to distant locations
(“My Favorite Kiss," “This Old Heartache”).
Say whaaat?: “Did you know three days I tried to wake
myself? / But no / My flesh had turned to snow / And I
thought that I had died.”
Honeycomb(Frank Black, 2005)
Lyrical themes: Women with aquatic powers (“Selkie
Bride," “Strange Goodbye”); alcoholism (“Another
Velvet Nightmare," “My Life Is In Storage”); self-
declared monarchs (“Go Find Your Saint," “Sunday
Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day”).
Say whaaat?: “Mama killed a pumpkin / She thought it
was a sweet / She put it on the table / But it was still
meat.”
Fast Man Raider Man (Frank Black, 2006)
Lyrical themes: Human sacrifice (“Johnny
Barleycorn," “You Can’t Crucify Yourself”); mentally ill
women (“If Your Poison Gets You," “Wanderlust”);
underwater shenanigans (“Down To You," “My Terrible
Ways”).
Say whaaat?: “See his eyes turn to stained glass / head
to toe in a black roadkill / Here I am for your judgment /
When the paint grows darker still.”
Bluefinger (Black Francis, 2007)
Lyrical themes: Deceased Dutch
painter/musician/celebrity Herman Brood (all songs).
Say whaaat?: This entire album is a rock opera about
the life of deceased Dutch painter/musician/celebrity
Herman Brood.
Svn Fngrs (Black Francis, 2008)
Lyrical themes: Celtic folk heroes (“Seven Fingers,"
“When They Come to Murder Me”); sex (“The Seus,"
“Garbage Heap”); unusual musical instruments (“I Sent
Away," “The Tale Of Lonesome Fetter”).
Say whaaat?: “I am the last in line that started with
who? / With John Von Neumann? / If it’s at the end of
time, so be it / But hey, hey, it was Truman who set me
free.” |
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kfs
= Cult of Ray =
USA
889 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2009 : 06:46:43
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| How can you NOT love this music???? |
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Mickey
- FB Fan -
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2009 : 08:38:44
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It's cool that this article exists, but I disagree with it on many interpretations.
-Mickey |
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Sam
= Cult of Ray =
Ireland
514 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2009 : 03:53:17
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I agree KFS, he seems to have got the wrong end of the stick with alot of themes. Substance abuse in True Blue - would like that explained. Also strange female names in Farewell bend? Can only presume he thought Pacoima is a female name. So a few corrections needed but reading some of the snippets of lyrics is pretty inspiring.
I really hope BF goes back to the L.A themed stuff, Teenager and Black letter days stuff blows my mind. |
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joe FITZ of molly BANG
= Cult of Ray =
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2010 : 09:26:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Mickey
It's cool that this article exists, but I disagree with it on many interpretations.
-Mickey
i concur, the newer the album the more of a stretch the theories of his themes seem to be. at least he isn't just a pixies fan.
________________________________
my band: www.myspace.com/mollybang
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Mickey
- FB Fan -
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 07:45:52
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Even if you aren't a devoted enough fan to know the story behind "Strange Goodbye", it's pretty clear what it's generally about.
-Mickey |
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Grotesque
= Cult of Ray =
France
777 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 09:52:42
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| Strange goodbye is about Lee and a pretty girl named Nancy. |
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trobrianders
> Teenager of the Year <
Papua New Guinea
3302 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 11:47:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Mickey
Even if you aren't a devoted enough fan to know the story behind "Strange Goodbye", it's pretty clear what it's generally about.
-Mickey
About E.T. and Eliott right?
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Ed is the hoo hoo |
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Mickey
- FB Fan -
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2010 : 10:50:33
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That was a strange goodbye.
-Mickey |
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joe FITZ of molly BANG
= Cult of Ray =
USA
349 Posts |
Posted - 04/08/2010 : 04:48:27
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can someone make a music video of that and post it on here? i will mail you 20 bucks.
________________________________
my band: www.myspace.com/mollybang
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A chronological history of Frank's lyrics.
