“Absolutely necessary”: the band David Bowie thought deserved more support
It’s easier than ever before to make music, but it seems harder than ever before to make it in music. Technological advancements and the streaming era have allowed artists to record, share and promote music from the comfort of their own homes without needing to attract the attention and investment of a label. But streaming sites pay pennies, and touring is becoming more and more inaccessible in a way David Bowie foresaw over two decades ago.
The era of the art rock icon long predated Spotify and SoundCloud – Bowie found his start through fairly traditional means. Attracting label attention with enduringly unique tracks like ‘Space Oddity’, he put out albums with the likes of Mercury and RCA, inventing personas and earning radio play and chart places along the way. But, true to his innovative artistry, Bowie also admired artists who took a different route.
He was particularly enthusiastic about Pixies, the Boston-born alt-rock band who gave us genre classics like ‘Where Is My Mind?’ and ‘Here Comes Your Man’. Though they are now considered amongst the most influential guitar bands of that era, they have gathered much of their acclaim and admiration retroactively through hindsight and their influence on other artists.
Like many great songwriters, Black Francis was ahead of his time while fronting the Pixies. He penned songs about taboo topics that would never make the radio, concocting driving guitars and soundscapes that alternated between loud and quiet to surround them. Though their off-putting lyrics and strange instrumentation would put some listeners off, Bowie was drawn to their boundary-pushing artistry.
“I thought they were absolutely necessary,” the singer stated in an interview, “A very, very important band.” Beyond penning some of the most unique songs to grace the alternative guitar realm, Pixies influenced everyone from Bowie to Nirvana to PJ Harvey, artists who would garner much more success than they ever did during their seven-year existence.
“They were never played on American radio,” Bowie explained, in a trend he saw as not limited to the Pixies, “they never sold any albums, and they broke up.” He went on to suggest that he could see the same phenomenon happening to the likes of Grandaddy and Mercury Rev – the “creative, really inventive artists” who, failing to find mainstream success or support, are forced to throw the towel in.
It’s over two decades since Bowie commented on the state of the industry, yet his comments still stand true. Though the industry has shifted with the introduction of streaming, those real artistic innovators are still going unsupported. While avenues such as BBC Introducing have made radio play slightly easier to obtain, DIY artists, and even those who do manage to secure label backing, are still struggling financially.
Musicians in the early days of their careers aren’t receiving the support that will push them to the next level, that will allow them to make a living out of their craft and to grow to the level of selling out stadiums and headlining festivals. If the landscape doesn’t shift to support these artists, we may lose the next Pixies to more recycled, radio-friendly music.
If we want more all-consuming artists like Bowie, more non-conformists like Pixies, and more sonic experimenters like Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips, we need to nurture them while we still can.
