“Dead” by The Pixies

"Dead" comes from Doolittle, the second Pixies album, which 4AD released on April 17, 1989. Black Francis wrote it alone and sings it, playing electric guitar alongside Joey Santiago, who adds backing vocals, while Kim Deal plays bass and David Lovering drums. Gil Norton produced it and engineered with Matt Lane, and Steve Haigler mixed.

The album was the band's breakthrough, an instant hit with critics and album of the year for both Melody Maker and Sounds. Its trick was the quiet-loud lurch, verses built low on Deal's bass and Lovering's drums until distorted guitars blow the roof off, and Francis filled it with oddball lyrics steeped in surreal imagery, biblical violence, torture and death. Kurt Cobain said it was one of his favorite records.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.