Song · The Pixies
“Bone Machine” by The Pixies
From the album Surfer Rosa (1988)
“Bone Machine” by The Pixies appears on 5 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1988 and 2024. It was first released in 1988 on the album Surfer Rosa. Its best result is #45 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1988. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #233 alternative song of 1988 and #5,948 alternative song of all time.
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Surfer Rosa arrived in 1988 with Steve Albini producing and engineering, and "Bone Machine" catches the Pixies at their rawest and strangest. Black Francis wrote it and sings it, trading electric guitar lines with Joey Santiago, while Kim Deal holds down the bass and floats her backing vocals against his yelp. Dave Lovering's drums hit like thrown furniture, and the song keeps lurching between menace and a sour, sweet pop hook that Deal's voice makes almost tender. It's the sound of a band that already knew exactly how ugly and how pretty it could get in the same few bars.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 98 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1988 | 107 |
| 1988 | 45 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1988 | 50 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 333 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) | 500 |
| 2019 | 448 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2024 | 84 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
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