loudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies

This is like one of those longitudinal sociology studies. See Frank at 20 something - see Kim at 20 something - now see Frank at 41 etcetera.

It seemed like during the reunion tour and all the way through the film that no band member had any real insights about what was going on. Perhaps some things are better felt than over analyzed.

It was clear that lots of audiences really liked the reunion tour and that there is some "magic pixie dust" around the band. Even if it still seems a bit mysterious to outsiders.

Music appears to be one of the few areas where you can relaunch a (product) band if they were ahead of their time / out of sync as Pixies seemed to be first time round.

I enjoyed being able to check the phenomenon that was Pixies and see how things have changed / what might be different.

I did see someone asking why there were no obvious outside commentators (pro & con) for the band. In my view that is what wikipedia and the web are good for and some of that can go on a DVD as a side bar.

I think this film was good because it allowed us to get a glimpse into the music and the band without talking the subject to death.

If you didn't know about the pixies, this isn't your chance to find out more and that's a good thing. Why? Well if you didn't discover their greatness on your own, which is the only way you could do it back in the day really, this film will not convince you of that, only being a fan of their music will.

This review is not directed at anyone in particular's review on this film but, you're COMPLETELY missing the point if you watch this film with your arms folded, in order to be proved that this was and still is a great band in Alternative music's history. You want to know more about them? Well, that's what the internet is for and you can research any information you want.

A completely necessary viewing by any Pixies fan. Lots of live footage. Candid remarks and statements by the band and in particular the band member's own views on it's later meltdown. And I love the end when they show some home movies of the band in slow motion, it looks like when they were on tour for Doolittle in 1989. The DVD contains footage not seen on TV like Kim Deal and Frank Black visiting Sigur Ros in their studio in Iceland.

The film kicks off with a quote from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, about his famous song, Smells Like Teen Spirit: "I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies." As a tribute documentary, loudQUIETloud goes on to explore the Pixies strange career and provide some clues to why they have been so influential.

The Pixies established themselves musically with deep contrasts, not just in volume (as the title suggests) but by combining many strange elements, melodic and abrasive, and cryptic lyrics - they are almost like a David Lynch rock experience (one of their songs is a cover from a song in Lynch's early Eraserhead). What made them extraordinary is that they disbanded just as they approached critical acclaim (within six years) and didn't reap the benefits of their popularity until they re-formed nearly twelve years later - at which point this movie begins.

Tickets for their 2004 reunion tour sold out in four minutes, but the band members are no longer young. As the film develops we see some have families with small children, but they all have outside interests, musical or otherwise, and 'being the Pixies' is hardly something they identify with beyond a sense of responsibility to make sure the live performances go well. The detachment is so great that a struggling interviewer, asking an innocuous question about whether they will make another album, is nonplussed that the band really haven't considered the question one way or the other.

Lead singer Frank Black ('Black Francis') is a bulky, almost intimidating figure with a shaven head, so it's something of a revelation to see him doing positive affirmations before bed, telling himself, "I am a nice person, people like me . . ." Bassist Kim Deal looks with surprise at the blisters on her fingers after the first concert - Frank reassures her they'll get better in about a week. Both of them continue working on their own material while on tour, Kim for the Breeders and Frank on his solo work. The band seem to accept that it is not in their natures to talk to each other much, even when they are getting on fine, but they seem more mature than the days of early acrimony where one or the other would unilaterally make public announcements of the band's imminent break-up.

The sound and camera-work throughout is first rate, so if you like the Pixies even a little bit, this is a rare opportunity to experience them at their best. For those who have never heard of them, you might recall the song, 'Where Is My Mind?' as the exit music to the film Fight Club, or sections from their records 'Gigantic' and 'Hang Wire in the United States of Leland. For fans, the song listing taken from the credits includes: Where is My Mind, Hey, Here Comes Your Man, U-Mass, Caribou, Gouge Away, Nimrod's Son, In Heaven, Wave of Mutilation, Something Against You, Bone Machine, Cactus, Vamos, Monkey Gone to Heaven and also the Breeders song Iris.

Anyone who is even a casual fan of the Pixies (or is it just Pixies?) has got to see this great little film. It's fun and entertaining and really enjoyable. It's all about the Pixies and you will learn a lot from it too.

Even if you think you already know everything there is to know about them you will still enjoy this film (then again, if that's the case you've probably seen it already, haven't you?). It's all about the music. Highly recommend for Pixies fans.

I've been a Pixies music fan for years, but I never really knew much about the individual members. All I knew is that they inexplicably dropped off the face of the earth one day, and reappeared recently as middled aged people.

This documentary makes it quite clear what happened. The individual band members are fragile, sensitive, flawed people, who made unbelievably unique and magical music when they were together. Unfortunately their fragility made it impossible for them to deal with their success.

This film could have very easily taken the TV-style doc route with music industry producer and "expert" interviews, instead it just follows the band members around during their 2004 reunion tour. By showing Charles, Kim, Joe and Dave engaging in mundane everyday activities, we come to know them better than from any lecture delivered by a music "expert".

Despite the fact that they never achieved any great commercial success during their heyday, the string of recent sold out tour dates proves that their music had a profound effect on millions of people worldwide.

The Pixies now have a second chance to achieve the financial success that eluded them the first time around. Very few people in this life get a second chance at anything. I hope that they can achieve their financial goals, as well as finding the inner peace that they lacked in their younger years.

I highly recommend this film to Pixie fans, new and old alike.