Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

2. TelevisionMarquee Moon

I got this when we were already started, it was when I raided the album closet of Elektra. It’s one of the albums where it was, "Yeah, I gotta have this one". Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd traded off rhythm and lead, it’d be like their version of ‘Dueling Banjos’! They took turns and there’s all these different elements to it.

That probably seeped in to [his and Black Francis’ playing] on ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven’ through osmosis. We didn’t mean it and it was just lucky. We just figure stuff out. Charles [Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, aka Black Francis] just leaves me alone when I’m doing my guitars. He would say "’Pixify’ it", it’s when the Pixies really become the Pixies. I’m just quoting him! It’s kind of true in a little way. Of course it would be, that’s the job, that’s a lead guitarist’s job, and Charles’ job is to make Pixies songs and all that stuff. The guitar happens to be front and centre of the mix. They would even say it, "Now it’s Joey’s turn", and Charles would say: "Ah, now it’s the Pixies."

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