# Pixies fans! Help me compile a "Best Of" (with some limitations) ASAP! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716 "2004-02-17T21:59:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/1 "2004-02-17T21:59:15Z")
My sister is about to turn 18 and I’ve decided it’s time to get her hooked on the Pixies, so I’m going to put together a “Best Of” CD with some of my favorites on it. The catch is that she’s not really into extremely heavy music, so I’m going to try to avoid their really, really loud stuff. For example, “The Sad Punk” off _Trompe le Monde_ won’t be going on there; it’s probably my favorite Pixies song, but I’m pretty sure it would turn her off. Some songs that will go on it are “Caribou,” “Ana,” “The Navajo Know,” and “Where Is My Mind?” The albums I have to work with are: _Come On Pilgrim Surfer Rosa Doolittle Bossanova Trompe le Monde_ And _The Pixies_, a sort of outtakes thing I picked up. Gimme suggestions! ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/2 "2004-02-17T22:01:17Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] To Cafe Society. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/3 "2004-02-17T22:02:11Z")
Drat. I could have sworn I put this in Cafe Society. Could a Mod please move it? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/4 "2004-02-17T22:04:17Z")
Well, that was fast. Thanks, **Gaudere**. ---
**Author:** ![Ich\_Bin\_s](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ich\_Bin\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ich_Bin_s)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/5 "2004-02-17T22:19:14Z")
I shall nominate my two favorite Pixies songs. **Holiday Song** off _Come on Pilgrim_ **Brick is Red** off _Surfer Rosa_ Aw hell, throw in **La La Love You** off _Doolittle_ too. ---
**Author:** ![Varuna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e99b99/32.png) [@Varuna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Varuna)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/6 "2004-02-17T22:30:33Z")
Your list with my suggestions: “Ana” (_Bossanova_) “The Navajo Know” (_Trompe Le Monde_) “Vamos” (_Surfer Rosa_) “River Euphrates” (_Surfer Rosa_) “U-Mass” (_Trompe Le Monde_) “Here Comes Your Man” (_Bossanova_) “Break My Body” (_Surfer Rosa_) “Bone Machine” (_Surfer Rosa_) “Monkey Gone to Heaven” (_Bossanova_) “Where is My Mind?” (_Surfer Rosa_) “Caribou” (_Come on Pilgrim_) “Debaser” (_Doolittle_) “Gigantic” (_Surfer Rosa_) “I Bleed” (_Doolittle_) ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/7 "2004-02-17T22:41:12Z")
No? OK, in that case: “Nimrod’s Son” “Levitate Me” “Bone Machine” “Gigantic” (Kurt Kobain’s favorite song) “Where is My Mind?” “Oh My Golly” “Wave of Mutilation” (both versions) “Here Comes Your Man” “Monkey Gone to Heaven” “Hey!” “La La Love You” “Mr. Grieves” “Cecilia Ann” “Down to the Well” “Head On” “Letter to Memphis” “U-Mass” and “Palace of the Brine” “Motorway to Roswell” “Distance Equals Rate Times Time” I love just about everything they ever did. You do know they’re getting back together in April, right? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/8 "2004-02-17T22:47:11Z")
You’ll find a lot of poppier tracks on **Bossanova**. Whatever you do, don’t leave out “Is She Weird,” “Velouria,” “Allison,” “Cecilia Ann,” and “Dig for Fire”. You mentioned a collection of outtakes, **The Pixies** … do you mean, **Death To The Pixies**? That’s a 2-disc compilation, of which one disc is live performance. If that’s what you have, check out the live version of “Here Comes Your Man”. Outstanding stuff… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/9 "2004-02-17T23:03:05Z")
I looked up **The Pixies** on a music site. That’s the never-before-released “purple tape” (the collection of demo tracks they recorded in their first studio session over three days in 1987). Sounds like it’d be a good thing to have… ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/10 "2004-02-17T23:15:37Z")
Here Comes Your Man Wave of Mutilation La La Love You Head On (covers count, right?) I Bleed Where Is My Mind ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/11 "2004-02-18T00:05:24Z")
(slight hijack) Day One of the Coachella Music Festival, Indio, CA: The Pixies! Oh yeah, and a little band called Radiohead. We got our tickets last weekend and now the endless wait for May 1st has begun. ---
**Author:** ![Varuna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e99b99/32.png) [@Varuna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Varuna)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/12 "2004-02-18T00:09:55Z")
Coachella’s gonna have some amazing bands: Pixies, Cure, Kraftwerk, Radiohead, Rapture, Wilco, Stereolab, …And you Will Know Us By The Trail of the Dead, Death Cab for Cutie, Q and Not U, Flaming Lips, Air, Bell and Sebastian, Bright Eyes, Cursive, Mogwai, Broken Social Scene, Sleepy Jackson, Prefuse 73, !!!, Pretty Girls Make Graves… Sorry for the hi-jack. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/13 "2004-02-18T00:27:12Z")
OK, the playlist as of now: Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons Ana Caribou Where Is My Mind? La La Love You Is She Weird? Velouria Down to the Well Hey Head-On Here Comes Your Man Gigantic Wave of Mutilation Palace of the Brine River Euphrates Alison Holiday Song The Happening Stormy Weather Havalina The Navajo Know Now, keep in mind this isn’t supposed to be “The Pixies’ Greatest Hits”; this has to be a subtle bit of psychological manipulation. I’m trying to convert a _Sigur Ros fan_ to the Pixies. I feel confident it can be done, but it’s going to be tricky. That’s why I’m starting with “Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons”: It’s got that huge, echoey kind of sound that fans of Sigur Ros (Enigma, Dead Can Dance, etc.) love. And I’m relying heavily on tracks from _Bossanova_, since it’s got more pop to it than most of the others. I’ll keep tweaking this lineup tonight, then probably go ahead and burn it and pop it in the mail tomorrow (sister’s birthday is Saturday). Keep suggestions coming! ---
**Author:** ![Varuna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e99b99/32.png) [@Varuna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Varuna)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/14 "2004-02-18T00:40:27Z")
Heh, Sigur Ros and Pixies are two of my favorite bands. I’ve compiled your playlist onto winamp and I’ll see how it works out for me. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/15 "2004-02-18T05:46:08Z")
I think the version of “Gigantic” on _Surfer Rosa_ is good, but I kinda like the version on _Death To The Pixies_ better. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/16 "2004-02-18T22:28:36Z")
And everyone has left off my second favorite Pixies song(behind Where is my mind?) _Into the White_. Ah, I can’t remember which album that’s off of. Maybe that’s the problem. I’m just glad to have the version on Death to the Pixies. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/17 "2004-02-18T22:53:33Z")
**beckwall** , we’ll expect a full report on the festival in Cafe Society the first week of May, for those of us who can’t get to California! ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/18 "2004-02-19T05:12:40Z")
Full Coachella lineup: **Saturday** Radiohead The Pixies Kraftwerk Wilco The (International) Noise Conspiracy Sparta Desert Sessions Laurent Garnier Hieroglyphics The Rapture Stereolab Future Sound of London And you will know us by The Trail of Dead Peretz Death Cab for Cutie Kinky LCD Soundsystem Living Legends Seb Fontaine Sander Kleinenberg The Black Keys The Sounds Howie Day Junior Senior Mark Farina Moving Units Sahara Hotnights Electric Six The Stills 22-20’s Da Lata Juana Molina Phantom Planet Mindless Self Indulgence Dios Q and not U Stellastarr\* Savath & Savalas Erase Errata The Section Quartet DJ Icon **Sunday** The Cure The Flaming Lips Air Belle & Sebastian Basement Jaxx Paul Van Dyk Bright Eyes Atmosphere Thursday BRMC Cursive Le Tigre The Crystal Method Dizzee Rascal Ferry Corsten Adam Freeland Mogwai Ash 2many Dj’s Muse Sidestepper Danger Mouse Donald Glaude Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra The Thrills Elefant Richard Fearless Broken Social Scene Thelonious Monster The Sleepy Jackson Prefuse 73 !!! Pretty Girls Make Graves The Cooper Temple Clause Sage Francis Eyedea & Abilities T. Raumschmiere The Killers Home Town Hero The Section Quartet ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/19 "2004-02-19T08:39:13Z")
I don’t think I made the cut, but it’s okay since I broke the rules anyway. See, my take is that whenever I try to make a mix tape/CD for someone that’s tailored to what I think are their tastes, it always backfires. I end up with the stuff that’s not quite the soul of the band, or worse yet, novelty songs. The Pixies are especially prone to this, since, for example, “Here Comes Your Man” shows up on _every_ Pixies compilation, but it’s not like most of their music, which is why it took me a while to appreciate them. (A similar rule is that _every_ Pixies compilation has to end with “The Navajo Know” or “Havalina.”) So I think I’d be doing anybody a disservice by making a Pixies compilation that doesn’t include “Vamos,” for example. Also, I don’t know who Sigur Ros is/are. My best-of Pixies playlist, which I’m listening to _right now!_ and I’m not 100% convinced of the ordering yet, but it’s pretty good: Cecilia Ann Dig for Fire Cactus I Bleed Holiday Song Alison Gigantic Isla de Encanta Caribou Tame Here Comes Your Man Tony’s Theme Planet of Sound Velouria Oh My Golly! Vamos Lovely Day Havalina Head On Monkey Gone to Heaven Gouge Away U-Mass Levitate Me The Navajo Know ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pixies-fans-help-me-compile-a-best-of-with-some-limitations-asap/229716/20 "2004-02-19T23:51:42Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions, folks! The final playlist is the same as the one I posted above; I love some of those transitions, like from “Hey” to “Head On.” > [@SolGrundy](#): > > “Here Comes Your Man” shows up on every Pixies compilation \… (A similar rule is that every Pixies compilation has to end with “The Navajo Know” or “Havalina.”) Guilty on both counts. Heck, I ended with “The Navajo Know” _and_ “Havalina.” By the way, I told my sister I’m sending this to her, and, since I remember how it took me a couple of tries to get what’s so cool about the Pixies, I got her to agree to listen to it all the way through at least three times. When I first heard them, I couldn’t stand them; it was a couple years later before I caught on and became the rabid fan I am now. So I figure three thorough listens (and of course the boundless respect she has for her big brother) ought to do the trick. Thanks for everyone’s input!