Velouria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Velouria"
Pixies-Velouria.gif
Single by Pixies
from the album Bossanova
A-side"Velouria"
B-side
ReleasedJuly 16, 1990 (1990-07-16)
7", 12", Compact Disc
Recorded1989–1990, Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, California, United States and Hansa Ton, Berlin, Germany
GenreAlternative rock
Length3:42
Label4AD/Elektra
Songwriter(s)Black Francis
Producer(s)Gil Norton
Pixies singles chronology
"Here Comes Your Man"
(1989) 		"Velouria"
(1990) 		"Dig for Fire"
(1990)

"Velouria" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis. "Velouria" was released as a single in July 1990 and was the band's first UK Top 40 hit. It was included as the third track on their album Bossanova released a month later. The song features extensive use of theremin. It featured on the influential 1990 Madchester compilation album Happy Daze.

Lyrics[]

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, 23 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]

In media[]

"Velouria" is played in the AMC show Halt and Catch Fire during season 3, episode 9, 'NIM'.[5]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Black Francis, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Velouria" 3:40
2."Make Believe" 1:54
3."I've Been Waiting for You"Neil Young2:45
4."The Thing" 1:58

Covers[]

Charts[]

Chart (1990) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[7] 28
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[8] 4

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Prato, Greg (March 11, 2015). "Frank Black Interview". SongFacts. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  2. ^ Josh Frank; Caryn Ganz (2005). Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies. Virgin Books. p. 140. ISBN 0-312-34007-9.
  3. ^ Jean-Michel Biel, Christophe Gourraud. "The Pixies in Video". Retrieved October 1, 2006.
  4. ^ Andy Barding (June 7, 2004). "The Pixies and Me". Archived from the original on November 24, 2006. Retrieved October 17, 2006.
  5. ^ https://blog.tunefind.com/2017/10/halt-and-catch-fire-yvette-metoyer-pixies-velouria/
  6. ^ Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of The Pixies at AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  7. ^ "Pixies: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Pixies Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
Sources
  • 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[]

Retrieved from ""