I was listening to Doolittle and Surfer Rosa last night and I had an idea. I've heard a lot of people 'round these parts talk about the influence of these two bands. I thought I'd start a thread where these bands can be discussed in relation to one another properly.
So, which band was more influential?
Which band do you enjoy more?
Which band had the better frontman?

I'm going to go with Pixies for all three. They're more my style than Nirvana. Cobain may have been more musically talented, but I like Frank Black. He's really one of a kind.

I'd be shocked to find anyone in here who would pick Nirvana over the Pixies.

Also, Frank Black is an incredible talent. Kurt Cobain had a knack for writing catchy songs, but he was nowhere near as talented as Black.

Well, ericg75, you are officially shocked. I'd take Nirvana. I remember listening to Doolittle and hating it- hating Black's voice, the sound, everything. (Disclaimer: I have never listened to Surfer Rosa.) I know I'm not stating much of an argument, but I guess I'd take Nirvana on all three.

I'm shocked. lol. Surfer Rosa is a great album, but if you didn't like Doolittle (which is probably among my all time favorite albums), I doubt you'd like it.

I've never really listened to Nirvana, and I've only heard Surfer Rosa from the Pixies. I hated everything about it. I thought it was one of the most obnoxious albums I'd ever listened to.

I think Surfer Rosa is a difficult first listen, but ultimately a very rewarding album full of ideas. Like Doolittle, it's so dynamic. I could listen to both albums 1000 times and find something different to like about them every time.

To me they're like the Beatles of the alt-rock scene.

I think that an important fact you have to take into account is that Nirvana was heavily influenced by the Pixies. I mean "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Kurt Cobain called his failed attempt at writing a Pixies song. I would take Pixies for all three and Surfer Rosa while it may be a difficult album(which I love regardless), it's difficult for me to imagine someone hating songs such as "Gigantic" or "Where is my mind?" And I mean people hating Doolittle well I mean I'm flabbergasted. That album is phenomenal. But to each his or her own I guess.

Regarding the previous posts, I knew I'd be in the minority on this one. While I'm not exactly a big Nirvana fan, I just thought Doolittle was unlistenable. With that said, however, I'm sure I'll give Surfer Rosa a spin one day, ericg75.

quote:

Originally posted by purple:
Regarding the previous posts, I knew I'd be in the minority on this one. While I'm not exactly a big Nirvana fan, I just thought Doolittle was unlistenable. With that said, however, I'm sure I'll give Surfer Rosa a spin one day, ericg75.

Like I said, if you found Doolittle unlistenable, I can't imagine you'd enjoy Surfer Rosa very much, since they're really similar in terms of style. You may, however, like Bossanova, which I find to be their most polished album, with more traditional song structures. Personally, I don't like it as well as the others, but you may find it more accessible.

The Pixies would win because Frank Black would kick Cobain's scrawny ass. He's got 50 pounds on him, easy!

As to the real question, i think that the Pixies were the more influential band because there would be no Nirvana without Pixies, ergo the influence that Nirvana did have (and it was considerable, mostly for the worse in my opinion) was due to the Pixies influence.

Which frontman do I like more? Cobain had more personality and that whole 'tortured artist' thing going on, so he's more fun to watch. But Black's easier to see if you're far from the stage.

Which band do I like more? Definately the Pixies, but I'm not ga-ga over them. I really don't like much Nirvana, and I didn't care for it much when it was popular. I like a few songs, but many of them just annoy me because I've heard them SO often. "Come as You Are" drives me nuts.

For me and a lot of people in their early to mid 20s, Nirvana was everything when we were kids. I like Pixies a lot more now though.

As for which was more influential, it sort of depends on how you define 'influential.' Nirvana's influence is widespread, but they mostly inspired crap; I think it's fair to say that Nirvana -> Green Day/Offspring/Silverchair -> Good Charlotte. The Pixies were less popular but their influence begat Nirvana.

But I think Cobain was the better frontman. On the other hand, Nirvana did have Krist Novoselic, probably the dumbest person alive, in their band (ever seen the footage of Nirvana destroying their equipment and Novoselic throws his bass straight up in the air and it comes down on his head and almost knocks him out?).

Pixies. I have never really liked Nirvana too much. I'm not a huge Pixies fan either, but I definitely like them better than Nirvana. They're better live, too.

quote:

Originally posted by philosopherEric:
The Pixies would win because Frank Black would kick Cobain's scrawny ass. He's got 50 pounds on him, easy!

Yeah, but Kurt's packin' heat.

In 1989 I was 22 and still putting in a few hours a week at the record store in addition to working in radio. I'd been at that store longer than most of the other folks and despite the fact that we were pretty much contemporaries in terms of age, I was the resident jazz and classical guy so my ears were pretty much elswhere at the time. When Dolittle came out, it caused a pretty big stir around the store, but it never much did anything for me.

Two years later, I had left the store, but still hung out a lot shopping for music. I remember hearing Nevermind just before it broke and feeling pretty indifferent about them as well.

The years have certainly revealed how much I missed both at the time and I find both their importance and influence undeniable, yet I still don't much care for either. Just a couple of weeks ago a friend urged me to revisit Doolittle, which I did dutifully, but it still left me indifferent.

I watch today's up-and-coming artists with great interest and wonder what's getting past me now that I'll look back on a decade or more from now with the same feelings.

Now Playing: "Baby Workout" The Dovells The Best of the Dovells: Cameo Parkway 1961-1965

My computer's screwed up, so I won't be posting much for awhile. I'm at work but don't really have any time. I'll just say that I loved the Pixies and thought all their albums were in the Top Five of their respective years, with Doolittle being my absolute fave. Then, Nirvana's Nevermind and In Utero came out, and they also made my top lists, although I probably thought a tad less of them than most critics, and I like In Utero slightly more. The Pixies spoke to my heart and soul more than Nirvana, but I have a warm spot for each still.

I tried and tried to like Nirvana but other than a few songs, I never could. They're not bad, just nothing special to me. As for the Pixies, I was a late comer to their music, not sure how I missed them the first time around (but that made buying their back catalogue via used cds all the more fun). I enjoy the fun and vitality of their music and am always finding something new when replaying a Pixies album.

I really liked Nirvana, but their music (in general) was not timeless. They were extremely talented, but there music was almost… too catchy. It rocked, but didn’t have a great depth to it, in my opinion. I tried listening to In Utero the other day… and it was all lost on me. I think it was music for teenagers, at that time, and the fond musical liberation memories outweigh the reality of it all.

The Pixies covered a lot more ground in their songs and, as a result, are more listenable today. Alec Eiffel still rocks my world… and Tame makes me want to build a time machine and go back to see these guys live.

quote:

Originally posted by Cody K.:
The Pixies covered a lot more ground in their songs and, as a result, are more listenable today. Alec Eiffel still rocks my world… and Tame makes me want to build a time machine and go back to see these guys live.

You might not have to -- any news yet on whether they're really coming out with a new album next year?

I would sum it up as the following:

Nirvana has had more of a direct influence on the popular(what they play on the radio) "alternative" music of today.

The Pixies have had more influence on the indie bands of today as well as those who followed them in the 90s, including Nirvana.

Personally, I prefer the Pixies because their songs are more lighthearted and fun. Nirvana comes across more consistently angry and depressed. Also, the Pixies had the mix of male and female vocals which brought an added dimension.

Which band was more influential? I would say Nirvana, hands down. I'd say their music reached more people, affected the state of music at the time more, and influenced more bands than did the Pixies.

Which band do I enjoy more? Nirvana, easily. Although I do really like Dolittle a lot. And I like the most of what the Pixies have done. But the Pixies weren't as hard hitting imo, they didn't speak to me the way Nirvana did. Nirvana's music offended, set the music world on their heals and revitalized alternative/indie music/original music. They openned the door and made it alright for bands to express themselves again. They broke the mold and did it with such force and skill.

Which band had the better frontman? Well, that's pretty subjective. But obviously i'm partial to Nirvana and it was a sad day when Kurt Cobain foolishly and selfishly ended his life.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dark Lord of the Sith,

I'd agree with hudson that Nirvana is definitely more influential as far as today's scene goes, but as far as creativity and imagination, the Pixies would win just because of their off beat vocal section and their extremely graphic and sometimes shocking lyrics.

However, I'd say that as for which band I prefer to listen to, it's a tie, because I think both bands sound great in their own right.