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Originally posted by DoginLeSand

^Or were... I'll start.

BF would have to be the heart of the band, with Joey no doubt being the soul of the Pixies and the songs. It's just not a Pixies song without him.

May or may not be obvious, though I'm starting to realize how ridiculously relevant Joey has been to the band, just now. I haven't really given it a lot of thought before - rather thought of his guitar work as just really cool.

Joseph Santiago is God.

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Originally posted by Stevio10

I agree, not to diminish the role of Kim Deal or David Lovering but without the combination and interplay of BF/Joey there is no Pixies.

While musical influences do not determine your own sound, it certainly forms a large part of 'who' you want to be and what you want to sound like.

With Joey and BF, you can tell their musical influences were very important in forming their sound, especially in the early stages of the band.

It isn't a huge surprise to hear them mention bands like The Velvet Underground, The Ventures, The Beatles to name a few.

When it comes to Kim and Dave, their influences appear to be less integral to the overall sound with Dave mentioning Rush as a major influence and Kim mentioning artists such as Rod Stewart and Whitesnake.

Im in no way saying that their influences are limited to the artists mentioned or that their roles in the band are not important - they are, and are very competent - but when it comes to the identity of sound, Joey and BF pretty much paved the way - in my view atleast.

Certainly when they all came together it created this magical fusion of noise, energy and harmony where the sum of the parts are often bigger than the individual components.

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Originally posted by Fissile

quote:

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Originally posted by DoginLeSand

^Or were... I'll start.

BF would have to be the heart of the band, with Joey no doubt being the soul of the Pixies and the songs. It's just not a Pixies song without him.

May or may not be obvious, though I'm starting to realize how ridiculously relevant Joey has been to the band, just now. I haven't really given it a lot of thought before - rather thought of his guitar work as just really cool.

Joseph Santiago is God.

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When interviewed for the documentary, Gouge, David Bowie said some very nice things about Santiago. I don't think he mentioned Kim at all.

The core of the Pixies are Thompson and Santiago. I also like David, he's a decent drummer, and a good-natured doofus. It's obvious that Kim was divisive from the start. She was contemptuous of the guys from the beginning, and especially of Thompson.

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Originally posted by sdon

At first, what I most liked was the contrast between the voices, growly and silky. I agree with Albini that Kim Deal has the best female rock voice ever, and it always worked magic whatever the band (Sonic Youth's Little Trouble Girl, This Mortal Coil's Me and My Sister). Then I started to appreciate the contrast and interplay between the guitars. I would say the soul of the pixies is in this duality both Joey and Kim had with Charles.

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"Aristophanes! (gong sounds)"

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Originally posted by McDutchie

I pretty much agree with most others here.

BF is the drive. He just does what he always does, whether solo or not: he writes songs and works hard.

Joey is the brakes and the spice. He rejects stuff he doesn't like. He also adds that special Pixies flavour to the songs he does like.

So they are the bicameral heart of the band. Losing any of the two others is more like losing a limb than a heart attack. Paz makes for a very decent prosthetic. (Which is how they treat her. She still isn't "official".)

By the way, Joey also rejects people he doesn't like. BF and Kim Shattuck clearly like each other, they really hit it on in those few joint solo trials they did. But that extraverted personality must have been grating on Joey. Then she jumped off the stage to shake some fans' hands. I saw the video. BF was looking on and smiling, he didn't seem to mind. It must have been Joey who used that as a convenient excuse to get rid.

As much as yet another change of lineup upset me at the time, in hindsight I have to admit it was the right decision. Paz is a much better fit.

So, while BF provides the material, there's really only one guy who is ultimately in charge of the Pixies, and it ain't BF, it's Joey. This is probably even more true now than it was in the past.

Of course, the above speculation is worth what you paid for it.

There's one other thing. Kim Deal was the band's stage personality. Without her, it barely has any, and that is certainly being missed.

Then again, anyone else notice Joey has been smiling all the time since Paz joined?

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Originally posted by McDutchie

Then again, anyone else notice Joey has been smiling all the time since Paz joined?

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