Why Thom Yorke “lost sleep for a month” over accidental Pixies feud
Whereas Pixies became one of the most influential alternative rock bands of the 1980s, Radiohead led the late 1990s, maintaining their reign into the 21st century. However, Radiohead wouldn’t be the band we know and love without Pixies and their pioneering approach to creating music.
Pixies’ hard/soft, loud/quiet dynamic was a significant source of inspiration for countless bands that came shortly after, such as Nirvana. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Kurt Cobain explained how ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was inspired by the band. “I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band — or at least in a Pixies cover band.”
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke was also deeply inspired by Pixies’ music, even stating that the band’s 1989 album Doolittle “changed my life“. The influence of Pixies’ blend of loud and quiet is apparent in many Radiohead songs, helping them to create hits that cemented them as one of the most successful alternative rock bands of all time.
Even when Radiohead were riding massive waves of success in the early 2000s, following the release of modern masterpieces like OK Computer and Kid A, they still worshipped Pixies, who had broken up in 1993. Therefore, in 2004, Yorke was rather shocked to discover that Radiohead would be headlining Coachella, with Pixies playing before them.
After years of absence, Pixies’ Coachella set would be one of their first after reuniting in 2003. Yorke didn’t feel deserving enough to play after one of his favourite bands, stating that he didn’t want to headline if Pixies were below them. In the documentary Gouge, it was stated that Yorke said, “No! That’s not right. The Pixies opening for us is like The Beatles opening for us, I won’t allow it, there’s no way we can follow the Pixies.”
Somehow, Yorke’s comments were misconstrued, which caused him to lose “sleep for a month.” He explained (via The Irish Examiner), “By the end of that, we’d completely lost interest and lost confidence. Part of the nail in the coffin for me, personally, was going on after the fucking Pixies. It’s like going on after the Beatles.”
He added, “It was a massive big deal, and I really, really, really didn’t want to do it. It was an odd situation as well because I think the Pixies misread it. They thought it was because we didn’t like them. I lost sleep for a month.”
Luckily, Pixies don’t seem to have any hard feelings against Radiohead. In an interview with NME, when pressed to guess the festival that Radiohead initially refused to headline because of them, Pixies’ lead vocalist Black Francis couldn’t remember the name. Radiohead did headline Coachella in the end, performing an impressive set with many tracks taken from their then-newest album, Hail to the Thief.
Francis said, “That was nice of Radiohead, but they certainly didn’t owe it to us in any way. They’ve done quite well for themselves, so they didn’t need our help! But I appreciate the compliment.”
