Review of the Pixies "loud Quiet Loud" on DVD

One of the most important bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s was the Pixies. Influencing future bands like Nirvana and Weezer, the Pixies have been forgotten by many young music fans because of their lack of commercial success. It is not mystifying why the Pixies were unable to grab the commercial brass ring that so many other bands were able to grasp in the 1990s. Aside from the four band members' lack of contact with the press, the Pixies did not create the commercial claptrap that drivers and teenagers here on Top 40 stations around the country. The Pixies sound was more nuanced and required fans to listen to entire live shows or albums to grasp the full picture of their musical genius. While many concert DVDs give short shrift to the context in which music is created, the recently released film loud Quietloud deals not only with the Pixies' 2004 reunion tour but the context in which the band came back together.

Lead singer Frank Blank ended the band in 1992 with an abrupt message to his band mates that shocked outsiders. By watching loud Quiet loud, however, people should be able to gain critical distance from the apparently acrimonious relationship between the band members that made headlines in music magazines at the time. Directors Steven Cantor and Matthew Galkin do an impeccable job of combining personal interviews, behind the scenes shots, and concert footage in a detached view of a unique reunion tour. While Cantor, Galkin, and others seem to judge the Pixies as independent satellites who come together for tour dates, I see their interactions as more than just the small talk they lament in the DVD's liner notes. Frank Black and others confront drummer Dave Lovering about his drug use while on their way to a gig, with Dave eventually seeking professional assistance. While others may see their conversations as brief and impersonal, I saw them as the short hand used by people who know each other too well to use full sentences and long discourse.

While the perspective of critics and the directors toward the Pixies may not agree with me, the film's approach to the reunion concert is exquisite. Cantor and Galkin put the reunion tour in context by catching up with all four band members. Kim Deal has gone on to some success with The Breeders, Frank Black went onto mixed solo success, Dave Lovering found it difficult to find work after the Pixies, and Joey Santiago mixed work with family. While many reunion films leave the intermittent period between breakup and reunion to the further research of the viewer, loud Quiet loud makes it an integral part of the film. The extensive concert footage will please viewers who are fans of live music generally and of the Pixies specifically, with a wide range of songs to wet the musical palette. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Kim Deal meets a Pixies fan outside of a Chicago venue who became a fan after reading a novel whose main character is a big Pixies fan. The devotion of this Pixies fan alone shows the strength of the Pixies' appeal twelve years after their breakup.

For DVD fans, there is about a half hour of extra scenes that did not make the final cut. While these extras are interesting and illuminating, the scattered topics and material covered would have been too disorganized for such a well-constructed film. However, several bits in the deleted scenes are interesting for those who want to learn more about the members of the band. An interview with Kim Deal where she talks about home life and living in Ohio shows an interesting side to the typically reclusive musician. The entire DVD, the final cut and deleted scenes, does the service of showing the mixture of business and art in the music business today. The Pixies, a cult favorite that has reached many music fans without them knowing it, are shown in loud Quiet loud dealing with these tensions in their own way.