The only commonality between Nirvana and the Pixies, according to Joey Santiago
Much has been made of Pixies‘ indelible influence on Kurt Cobain. Borrowing the Pixies’ ‘quiet verse loud chorus’ approach to songwriting, Blank Frank’s presence can indeed be felt on Nirvana’s massive-selling follow-up Nevermind in 1991.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 1994, Cobain made his adoration clear: “I have to admit,” he said, “When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band — or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.” Confessing to “rip-off” when writing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, it’s hard to argue against Pixies’ blueprint all over Nevermind‘s lead single.
Kurt Cobain’s favourite artists have become popular lore due to his ‘50 favourite albums‘ diary entry, published in 2002. While listing venerable, standard entries from Sex Pistols, Black Flag, and Iggy and the Stooges, his love for simple songcraft points to inclusions from Mazzy Star and REM. Aside from Wipers’ impressive triple-whammy selection, notable inclusions also include Pixies’ Surfer Rosa and Meet the Beatles!, the Fab Four’s iteration of With the Beatles.
“Everyone talks about Kurt’s love affair with … the whole punk scene, but he was also a huge Beatles fan, and the more time we spent together, the more obvious their influence on his songwriting became,” Nevermind producer Butch Vig revealed to NME. It was no secret that Cobain was a lifelong, diehard Beatles nut. Stories of Meet the Beatles! played for three hours on repeat to write Bleach‘s ‘About a Girl’, the album’s hooky pop piece atypical to the record’s otherwise lo-fi punk, and even ‘In My Life’ played at his funeral.
Cobain shed further light during an interview with Rolling Stone in the 1990s: “John Lennon was definitely my favourite Beatle, hands down,” he said. “I don’t know who wrote what parts of what Beatles songs, but Paul McCartney embarrasses me. Lennon was obviously disturbed (laughs). So I could relate to that. And from the books I’ve read – and I’m so sceptical of anything I read, especially in rock books – I just felt really sorry for him. To be locked up in that apartment. Although he was totally in love with Yoko and his child, his life was a prison.”
There’s a debate to be had about how much sympathy Lennon deserves. His treatment of former wife Cynthia Powell and their son together, Julian Lennon, paints a complicated picture in contrast with later revolutionary peacenik posturing, but Cobain’s makes clear a deep fascination with The Beatles and their lore.
In a recent interview with Irish Independent, Pixies’ guitarist Joey Santiago responded to Pixies’ possible influence on Kurt Cobain: “I don’t know (laughs). But I know we have one thing in common – he was a Beatles fan. That’s a great way to start any kind of musical endeavour, to love the Beatles. I had the pleasure of meeting Ringo. The biggest misconception people have about the Pixies is that we’re like a punk band. People think we’re punky. And we’re far from it.”
There’s no truer statement. The Beatles for so many serve as a gateway, with artists from across all ages and backgrounds sourcing their pivot to music from their first exposure to the Lennon-McCartney songbook.
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