Featured Artist for September 7: The Pixies

This week's featured artist on Up All Night is the iconic and influential band The Pixies. Formed in 1986 in Boston, the band consisted of Black Francis (Charles Thompson IV), Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Lovering. The Pixies released an EP and four studio albums between 1987-1991 and toured extensively during the same period. Over their brief 7-year career, culminating in an acrimonious breakup in 1993, and an on-again, off-again, on-again reunion period beginning in 2004, the band cemented their legendary reputation among fans and critics alike.

Despite their short span as a group and their relatively small discography, The Pixies remain a seminal artistic influence from the post-punk period, inspiring praise from such diverse artists as Kurt Cobain, David Bowie, U2, Radiohead and Weezer. Their unique sound, which featured equal parts sublime melodies and shrieking distortion, was the defining musical style on college radio airwaves and is credited with launching the grunge era.

The week's show will highlight the band's evolution and their impressive development as artists over the span of a few short years. If you have any songs in particular you feel illustrate The Pixies' contribution to the late 80s and early 90s musical scene, feel free to suggest them in the comment area below.

Thanks and enjoy the show!