Song · The Pixies
“Dig for Fire” by The Pixies
From the album Bossanova (1990)
“Dig for Fire” by The Pixies appears on 14 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1990 and 2022. It was first released in 1990 on the album Bossanova. Its best result is #49 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1990. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #163 alternative song of 1990 and #1,903 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (PixiesOfficial). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Dig for Fire" is a Bossanova cut from 1990, and Black Francis had it written before the Pixies ever got into the studio, which makes it an exception on that record. He called it a bad Talking Heads imitation, and you can hear what he means: a coolly funky, loping groove, Joey Santiago's guitar picking out wiry little figures, Kim Deal's bass steady and sly, Francis and Deal singing together.
Gil Norton produced, and it was the first time the band used a drum machine: a programmed kick with Dave Lovering playing on top of it. It went out as the album's second single that November, in a different mix with overdubs, backed by a cover of Neil Young's "Winterlong", and it reached number 11 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. The video doubled up with the short Bossanova track "Allison", a nod to Mose Allison.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 62 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990 | 107 |
| 1990 | 49 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1990 | 50 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1037 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 706 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2007 | 1205 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 1055 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 970 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 886 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 862 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 866 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 854 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2019 | 621 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2021 | 684 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 535 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
Also listed as: Dig For Fire.
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