Although quite popular on alternative rock radio in the United States due to heavy airplay of the singles "Monkey Gone to Heaven" and "Here Comes Your Man", they were never widely popular there, but found success in Europe, especially in the UK (where they managed three top 40 singles "Velouria", "Planet of Sound" and a re-release of "Debaser") and Belgium and the Netherlands, where they were heavily broadcasted by alternative public radio.
The band's style of alternative rock music is heavily influenced by punk and surf rock, and while highly melodic, is capable of being tremendously abrasive at the same time. Francis is the Pixies' primary songwriter and singer and has a distinctly desperate, yowling delivery. He has typically written cryptic songs about offbeat subjects, such as UFOs and surrealism. References to mental instability, violent Biblical imagery, and physical injury feature in many of the band's songs.
The group is frequently posited as the immediate forebear of the alternative rock boom of the 1990s, though they disbanded before reaping any of the benefits this might have brought them. Avowed fan Kurt Cobain's acknowledgement of the debt Nirvana owed to the Pixies, along with similar tributes by other alternative bands, ensured that the Pixies' legacy and influence grew substantially in the years following their demise.
In 1993, during an interview with BBC Radio 5, Black Francis announced that the band had split - something he had not told his bandmates. After the interview, he called Santiago, who in turn faxed Deal and Lovering the news the next morning. After the split, Black Francis inverted his stage name to Frank Black and embarked on a successful solo career, while Deal resumed her role in The Breeders with her identical twin sister Kelley. In 2004, the band reunited for a tour - documented in the film loudQUIETloud - and released a new single, "Bam Thwok" that summer. In 2007, Black Francis (now going by that name again) stated in an interview that the reunion was "done" even though the members remain in good terms with each other. In later interviews however, he began to mention that he might be willing to record another Pixies album. Nonetheless, Francis has returned to his solo career and Deal to the Breeders, both of which released albums and toured in 2008. Lovering and Santiago, meanwhile, set up their own project, a band called Everybody.
In order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Doolittle, Pixies launched a tour in October 2009, on which they perform all the album's songs and B-sides. In the autumn of 2011 the "Lost Cities" tour continued the "Doolittle Tour" as they played many venues for the first time.
Bone Machine
Pixies Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're into Japanese fast food
And I drop you off with your Japanese lover
And you're going to the beach all day
You're so pretty when you're unfaithful to me
You so pretty when you're unfaithful to me
You're looking like
You've got some sun
Your blistered lips
Have got a kiss
They taste a bit like everyone
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Your bones got a little machine
You're the bone machine
I was talking to preachy-preach about kissy-kiss
He bought me a soda
He bought me a soda
He bought me a soda and he tried to molest me in the parking lot
Yep, yep yep yep
I think you're pretty
You make me hard
Your island skin
Looks Mexican
Our love is rice and beans and horses lard
Your bones got a little machine
You're the bone machine
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Your bones got a little machine
The song "Bone Machine" by Pixies seems to be about a tumultuous relationship between the singer and a woman named Carol. The singer drops Carol off with her Japanese lover and goes to the beach, where she gets sunburned and blistered lips from kissing other people. The singer observes that Carol is pretty even when she's unfaithful. The refrain, "your bones got a little machine, you're the bone machine," is cryptic, but may refer to Carol's ability to move on quickly from infidelity, or perhaps her manipulation of the singer's emotions.
The second verse introduces another character, "preachy-preach," who buys the singer a soda but then tries to molest them in a parking lot. The singer then compliments Carol's appearance, comparing her "island skin" to a Mexican's and their love to "rice and beans and horse's lard." The song ends with more repetitions of the refrain.
Interpretations of the meaning of "Bone Machine" vary widely. Some see it as a commentary on the objectification of women, while others see it as a meditation on lust and jealousy. In an interview with Rolling Stone, singer Black Francis said the song was inspired by a nightmare he had about a woman with a bone machine inside her.
Line by Line Meaning
This is a song for Carol
The song is dedicated to a woman named Carol
You're into Japanese fast food
You like Japanese fast food
And I drop you off with your Japanese lover
I drop you off with your lover who is Japanese
And you're going to the beach all day
You're spending the entire day at the beach
You're so pretty when you're unfaithful to me
You look beautiful even when you're cheating on me
You so pretty when you're unfaithful to me
You look beautiful even when you're cheating on me (repeated)
You're looking like
You seem to be
You've got some sun
You have a tan
Your blistered lips
Your lips are sunburned
Have got a kiss
They look like they've been kissed
They taste a bit like everyone
Your lips taste like you've been kissing many other people
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Vocalization conveying uncertainty or anxiety
Your bones got a little machine
Your body is like a machine, making you move in a certain way
You're the bone machine
Your entire being is like a machine (repeated)
I was talking to preachy-preach about kissy-kiss
I was discussing love with someone who is overly preachy about it
He bought me a soda
He purchased a drink for me
He bought me a soda
He purchased a drink for me (repeated)
He bought me a soda and he tried to molest me in the parking lot
After buying me a drink, he attempted to sexually assault me in the parking lot
Yep, yep yep yep
Vocalization of affirmation or agreement
I think you're pretty
I find you beautiful
You make me hard
You arouse me sexually
Your island skin
Your skin color resembles that of someone from an island
Looks Mexican
Your skin color reminds me of someone from Mexico
Our love is rice and beans and horses lard
Our relationship is nothing special, just ordinary and mundane
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Vocalization conveying uncertainty or anxiety (repeated)
Your bones got a little machine
Your body is like a machine, making you move in a certain way (repeated)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Charles Thompson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike D
on Nimrod's Son
It’s “shock the people” not chocolate people