Velouria
| "Velouria" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Pixies | ||||
| from the album Bossanova | ||||
| A-side | "Velouria" | |||
| B-side |
"Make Believe" | |||
| Released | July 16, 1990 | |||
| Format | 7", 12", Compact Disc | |||
| Recorded | 1989–1990, Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, California, United States and Hansa Ton, Berlin, Germany | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 3:42 | |||
| Label | 4AD/Elektra | |||
| Writer(s) | Black Francis | |||
| Producer(s) | Gil Norton | |||
| Pixies singles chronology | ||||
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"Velouria" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis. "Velouria" is featured on their album Bossanova, was the first single to be released from it and was the band's first UK Top 40 hit. The song features extensive use of theremin. It featured on the influential 1990 Madchester compilation album Happy Daze.
Lyrics
Unlike many of the band's other songs, the lyrics to "Velouria" are those of a straightforward love song. Black Francis said of the lyrics to the song in an interview with SongFacts, "It's folklore based; the Rosicrucians of 1920s San Jose California had some pretty interesting ideas."[1]
Video
As "Velouria" was climbing up the UK Top 40, the band was offered a spot on Top Of The Pops. However, a BBC rule stated that only singles with videos could be performed on the show. To counter this, a cheap video was made with the band being filmed running down a quarry.[2]
In the video, twenty-three seconds of footage (the time needed for the band members to reach the camera) is slowed in order to last for the duration of the song.[3] However, the effort in filming the video was in vain; Pixies did not play "Velouria" on Top of The Pops while the single was in the charts.[4]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Black Francis, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Velouria" | 3:40 | |
| 2. | "Make Believe" | 1:54 | |
| 3. | "I've Been Waiting for You" | Neil Young | 2:45 |
| 4. | "The Thing" | 1:58 |
Covers
- 1999 – The song was covered by Weezer in the tribute album Where Is My Mind? A Tribute to the Pixies. This version was praised by Black Francis as his favorite cover of a Pixies song.[1]
- 2004 – Black Francis re-recorded a version of "Velouria" with Keith Moliné and Andy Diagram for his album Frank Black Francis.
- 2004 – The Bad Plus covered the song in their album Give.
- 2008 – A cover of the song appeared on Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of the Pixies, part of the Rockabye Baby! series of albums.[5]
References
- Notes
- 1 2 Prato, Greg. "Frank Black Interview". SongFacts. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ↑ Frank & Ganz 2006, p. 140
- ↑ Jean-Michel Biel, Christophe Gourraud. "The Pixies In Video". Retrieved 2006-10-01.
- ↑ Andy Barding (2004-06-07). "The Pixies And Me". Archived from the original on 2006-11-24. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
- ↑ Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of The Pixies at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
- Bibliography
- Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn (2005). Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-312-34007-9.
External links
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