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Bam Thwok

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"Bam Thwok"
Song

"Bam Thwok" is a 2004 download-only single by the American alternative rock band Pixies. The song was written and sung by bassist Kim Deal, and released exclusively on the iTunes Music Store on 15 June2004. Upon its release, "Bam Thwok" was a commercial success, debuting at #1 on an early version of the UK Download Chart. The song is the band's first recording since 1991's Trompe le Monde, and as of 2007 is their only original recording since their 2004 reunion.

"Bam Thwok" was originally composed for the children's movie Shrek 2, but was not selected for the final soundtrack. The song's lyrics display a surrealistic and nonsensical nature typical of the band; Deal's inspiration was a discarded child's art book she found on a New York City street. "Bam Thwok"'s major theme is "showing goodwill to everyone." However, it received a mixed fan reception, due in part to an organ solo that appears midway through the song.[1]

Background

Following their 2004 reunion, the Pixies felt that recording a new song would "break the ice" between band members after their acrimonious split in 1993.[2] As the band were announcing dates for their reunion world tour, Dreamworks contacted manager Ken Goes to enquire whether they would be interested in recording a song for the title sequence of Shrek 2. The band agreed, and frontman Black Francis and Deal began composing riffs for a song aimed at children.[3] Deal had been experimenting with a chord progression for a while, and since her band The Breeders were then inactive, she decided to donate her new composition to the Pixies.

The Pixies chose Deal's riff, as it was a "poppier, more kid-friendly thing,"[3] and Francis agreed to let her sing lead vocals and write the new song; significantly, Francis is relegated to backing vocals on the track. Francis' move was meant to warm the previously cold relations between the two — in the last two Pixies studio albums, 1990's Bossanova and 1991's Trompe le Monde, Francis, the band's principal songwriter, had not let Deal contribute any songs or sing lead vocals. This became one of the reasons for the Pixies' 1993 split. However, the two appear to have resolved their differences: Francis has joked in interviews about how he plans to remove as many of her compositions as possible from a possible new album,[4] and he later praised "Bam Thwok," naming it "a really good song."[5]

Recording and release

File:BamThwokiTunes.png
"Bam Thwok" was released on the iTunes Music Store on June 152004. The store, however, records a 9 June release.

The band arranged and rehearsed the song in lead guitarist Joey Santiago's Pro Tools home studio,[3] which he had built for his husband-and-wife band The Martinis. After, in the words of Deal, "working it up a bit in Joe's [Santiago] Pro Tools thing,"[3] "Bam Thwok" was recorded in a Dreamworks-funded demo session. The band travelled to Stagg Street Studios, a studio in Template:City-state, to record the song. Francis later said the recording session "was very relaxed, a nice way to break the ice," and admitted that "it didn't feel like twelve years had passed." The song was mixed at Sound City Studios in late March.[2]

"Bam Thwok" was released on the iTunes Music Store at midnight on June 15, 2004.[2] The Pixies chose to release in that fashion as they were not signed to a major record label; their earlier albums had been released on 4AD and Elektra Records. At the time of "Bam Thwok"'s release, the Pixies' management gave no indication as to whether future releases would be limited to the iTunes Music Store.[5] Additionally, Dreamworks rejected the recording and the song never appeared on the Shrek 2 soundtrack; the Counting Crows' "Accidentally in Love" was chosen for the movie's title sequence.[4][6]

Lyrics and melody

The theme of "Bam Thwok" is, according to Deal, "about loving everyone, showing goodwill to everyone".[2] The lyrics are typically surreal and offbeat; Deal's main inspiration for the song and its title was a discarded art book she found on a New York City street while on tour in the late 1990s.[3] She later described the book:[5] "From the handwriting, you could tell that this book must have belonged to a little kid. This kid had written a short story, a paragraph really, about a party that took place in another universe, about people and monsters that were partying together. That's what provided the inspiration for the lyrics."

The song is structured around a four-beat guitar melody which incorporates major chords throughout. It begins with full instrumentation, over which Santiago layers a short guitar solo. During the first verse, the guitars and bass "drop down", and do not re-emerge until the chorus, which is repeated several times. A fifteen second "carousel-esque" organ solo appears approximately midway through the song. The actual sound clip was performed and recorded by Santiago's father-in-law "many years ago" while he was a missionary in the Philippines.[2]

Reception

"Bam Thwok" debuted at #1 on an early version of the UK Download Chart,[7][8] and was a "top seller across four countries."[9][10] The reception to "Bam Thwok" surprised many critics, who had considered Pixies to be on the edge of mainstream acceptance; for example, the highest-ranked single the Pixies released, "Planet of Sound," reached just #27 on the UK chart.[11] Ken Goes later commented on the success of the download: "By distributing our first song in 13 years exclusively on iTunes, we were able to quickly and inexpensively make it available to millions of fans in the US and Europe. One week after its release, we are thrilled at the response from iTunes users that have helped to make "Bam Thwok" a top seller across four countries."[9][12]

The song did not receive reviews in major music publications, and "Bam Thwok"'s fan reaction was mixed at best, as a new Pixies recording was greatly anticipated. It received positive reviews from some, who commented that they were "just picking up from the last good bit."[13] Others felt the band's new release tarnished their reputation, citing the song's organ solo that "derails the entire thing."[1] Some fans said it was "not the greatest thing they've ever done."[14] Others commented that the new release sounded like "a Breeders record," due in part to Deal's songwriting input.[15] Band members noticed the change in output; David Lovering, the Pixies' drummer, commented that "it's very unlike us. It's a Pixies song but it's still unlike a Pixies song".[16]

Sample

Pixies — "Bam Thwok"
27 seconds (of 2:35). First chorus, short solo by Santiago, and part of second verse.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Listen to Me - Pixies: Bam Thwok". listentome.net. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e "New Pixies Song on iTunes". NME. 2004-06-14. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  3. ^ a b c d e Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 208
  4. ^ a b "Pixies One Fight Away From Finishing New LP, Release Live DVD". MTV Asia. 2005-10-07. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
  5. ^ a b c "Pixies Record New Song". Aversion.com. 2004-06-15. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
  6. ^ "Trivia for Shrek 2 (2004)". Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  7. ^ The UK Download Chart eventually went live on September 1 2004.
  8. ^ Miles, Stuart (2004-06-28). "Official downloads chart to be launched in UK". Pocket-lint. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
  9. ^ a b "Strong Sales for iTunes in Europe". BBC News. 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  10. ^ "Pixies top UK download chart". The Register. 2004-06-28. Retrieved 2006-09-10.
  11. ^ "UK Singles Chart". PolyHex. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  12. ^ "iTunes Music Store in Europe Sells 800,000 Songs in First Week". Apple. 2004-06-23. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  13. ^ "Horhaus: Bam Thwok". Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  14. ^ Harper, Hannah. "Pixies Bam Thwok Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  15. ^ "Everything Old is Slightly Newer Again". Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  16. ^ Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 209
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