The Pixies or The Smiths?

Nailz · 22-03-2011 12:58AM #1

These past few days I've been having this mental battle with myself over who my definite definite favourite Alt/Indie band is from an extensive list including many great bands from over multiple decades and I managed to wiggle it down to two. And these were the Pixies and The Smiths. Now I've already made my mind up on this one, I'm not going to say who it is but I'm sure I'm okay with my choice.

But I want to see what the outcome would be if I asked the fine folks of the Alt&Indie forum to share their opinion and who is the favourite of the two. Not that it'll effect me if the majority of you chose the the opposite option to mine.

So, the Pixies or The Smiths? Discuss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BQFfjeco7g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLUKdfIrH1U

Android 666 · 22-03-2011 01:05AM

Nailz wrote: »

definite definite favourite Alt/Indie band
So, the Pixies or The Smiths? Discuss.

Neither. It has to be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hugY9CwhfzE

or:

seanybiker · 22-03-2011 01:08AM

Pixies for me. Never got into the Smith's

JerryHandbag · 22-03-2011 01:17AM

The Smiths, but only just. Johnny Marrs guitar playing swings it for me, although I prefer Frank Black as a vocalist.

Nailz · 22-03-2011 01:19AM

Android 666 wrote: »

Neither. It has to be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hugY9CwhfzE

or:

I wasn't asking for other people's favourite Alt/Indie band, just to choose between the two. Your input is valued never the less.

Can a mod a poll to this please, Internet conveniently ****ed up while setting one up, thank you.

Miguel_Sanchez · 22-03-2011 01:24AM

Poll added.

Sardonicat · 22-03-2011 01:25AM

As someone who remembers when these two bands were new, I'm gonna go with The Pixies.

Not really comparable but probably the two most influential bands of the 80s.
The Pixies will always sound fresh, though. The Smiths sound like the 80s to me. Not neccesarily a bad thing, mind.

dx22 · 22-03-2011 01:30AM

Both great but the smiths are one of the definitive bands of all time never mind in the alt/indie genre...imo

rcaz · 22-03-2011 02:26AM

I reckon Pixies... More interesting stuff for me. But for individual musicians that stick out, it's hard to beat Johnny Marr. Morrissey's a bit of a dealbreaker for me.

Sardonicat wrote: »

Not really comparable but probably the two most influential bands of the 80s.

Not to go too far off-topic, but do Talking Heads not count? Way more notable for me.

Kid V · 22-03-2011 03:14AM

My brain says The Smiths but my heart says The Pixies so i guess it has to be The Pixies

Sad Professor · 22-03-2011 03:56AM

The Pixies. I like The Smiths as well, but I don't really listen to them anymore, where as I can still listen to The Pixies as if they were new. They probably just had a bigger influence on me as well.

Android 666 · 22-03-2011 09:07AM

Nailz wrote: »

I wasn't asking for other people's favourite Alt/Indie band, just to choose between the two. Your input is valued never the less.

Can a mod a poll to this please, Internet conveniently ****ed up while setting one up, thank you.

But you hold those bands up as the 2 definite alternative acts which I couldn't agree with. I enjoy both the bands you mentioned to varying degrees but in terms of overall influence I reckon it's going to be the Velvet Underground or the Fall. If I'm going to pick one from those two acts in terms of the influence they had I'd go with probably the Pixies. The Pixies' quiet loud dynamic begat Nirvana which begat a raft of bad copyists... hmm, actually that's not a great legacy.

And the Smiths? The Smiths begat... Belle and Sebestian and ...?

Actually more confused now...

nobby grande · 22-03-2011 12:25PM

Got to be the Pixies for me. Two seminal bands but i like the variation of styles the Pixies incorporated. I also like the fact that it was angry music but not melancholy.
Both bands had great senses of style, humour and originality but the Pixies were more relevant to me than the smiths.

Oink · 22-03-2011 01:56PM

well, if we're ruling out the velvet and looking at the smiths and the pixies, it'll have to be the pixies.

I'm a fan of both, but there's more pixies songs etched in my brain than the smiths'

Monkey gone to Heaven runs in my blood.

Dudess · 22-03-2011 04:55PM

The Smiths, but only by a tiny margin. Both bands were highly original, but The Smiths moreso I think.

deisedude · 22-03-2011 06:03PM

Has to be Pixies for me. Can still remember my first time listening to Doolittle and being blown away

Love the Smiths too though

homerun_homer · 22-03-2011 06:03PM

Pixies. I know their whole back catalogue and listened obsessively for a good while and was very influenced by Joey Santiago's guitar playing.

The Smiths I love but don't know if I've listened to an album fully outside of the greatest hits and various songs. Johnny Marr's guitar work is amazing to boot.

sink · 22-03-2011 06:08PM

I don't want to choose, I like them both. :rolleyes:

Feckit, the smiths.

rainbowtrout · 22-03-2011 06:12PM

Listened to both incessantly as a teenager and probably liked them equally back then, but for me the Pixies have stood the test of time far better, I still listen to the Pixies all the time, it's more a now and again thing with the Smiths although I still like them.

Gillington · 22-03-2011 06:25PM

The pixies have stood the test of time imo and their music doesnt sound outdated.I'll always throw on a bit of The Smiths now and then though so I'll have to go for them

cinnamon girl · 22-03-2011 06:31PM

I was 14 when the Smiths' first album came out and I was the hugest Smiths fan at the time...worshipped them in the way that only a teenage girl can do

and I liked the Pixies too later on, but not in the same way.

But in my middle age

I prefer the Pixies. Although I still do like the Smiths, they just don't hold that same meaning for me anymore.

I admit that this may have to do with my increasing dislike for Morrissey as a person, as well as never having liked his solo works. Then again I didn't like Frank Black's either!

flyswatter · 22-03-2011 06:55PM

There's very little between them but if I had to choose I'd say The Smiths.

Morrissey is a bit better as a lyricist and Marr is just a phenomenal musician.

Dont be at yourself · 22-03-2011 06:59PM

Pixies, for sure. Loud-quiet-loud aside, they have such an amazing and diverse catalogue. Their albums, b-sides, live stuff are all top-notch.

I discovered them as a teen and thought I was the only person in the world who had heard them. A few years they reformed and suddenly were the hottest band on the planet.

colster · 22-03-2011 07:04PM

Pixies.. no contest (for me anyway)

RichieC · 22-03-2011 10:52PM

Both, but the smiths if I had to choose.

SilverScreen · 22-03-2011 11:30PM

It was really, really, REALLY difficult to choose between the two but in the end I chose The Smiths. I find myself listening to The Smiths more than the Pixies nowdays, their music has a deeper and more melancholic feel to it than the Pixies and that's something I really look for in music recently. I feel like I can relate to The Smiths a bit more than the Pixies nowdays. I still love the Pixies and always will, they were my gateway to the american indie/alternative rock scene of the late 80's/early-90's and I thank them for that.

arsenallegend · 23-03-2011 01:04AM

The smiths for me, they looked cooler for a start. The had the greatest guitarist and Frontman duo ever and Just for This Charming Man alone they are one of my top bands ever. The Pixies were great no doubt. But they only had two great albums while the Smiths never released a dud record.

Two great bandsof the 80's left of this list were The go betweens and The Stone roses (that was a album that changed things)

Mr.Whippie · 23-03-2011 06:09AM

gotta be pixies for me, I dont know love the smiths but pixies always fill me with child like excitement everytime they come on where as smiths remind me of teenage bad days...its raining and your current has'nt rang and dad wants you to clean your room but your lazy and spotted

flyswatter · 23-03-2011 11:17AM

Thinking about this more now I think the Smiths were more gifted musically but I think the Pixies make me feel happier. The Smiths are probably the most miserable band in history.

You just have to look at the titles of the songs and listen to the lyrics.

SilverScreen · 23-03-2011 02:08PM

flyswatter wrote: »

Thinking about this more now I think the Smiths were more gifted musically but I think the Pixies make me feel happier. The Smiths are probably the most miserable band in history.

You just have to look at the titles of the songs and listen to the lyrics.

I wouldn't say that they're the most miserable band in history, I've listened to far more miserable bands, but they can be very miserable at times. They can also be quite humorous and witty though.

JerryHandbag · 23-03-2011 03:44PM

flyswatter wrote: »

Thinking about this more now I think the Smiths were more gifted musically but I think the Pixies make me feel happier. The Smiths are probably the most miserable band in history.

You just have to look at the titles of the songs and listen to the lyrics.

Yeah but its a combination of dark lyrics and very poppy upbeat melodies, thats why I love The Smiths.

"Girlfriend In A Coma" - I take your point about the song titles/lyrics being quite depressing but that song just makes me wanna get up and dance!

The Pixies or The Smiths?

Which do you prefer? 125 votes

Comments