"Gigantic" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, co-written by bassist Kim Deal and Frank Black, and sung by Kim Deal. The song appeared on their album, Surfer Rosa, released in 1988. "Gigantic" was released as the band's first single later that year.

The song's instantly recognizable bassline, humorous lyrics, and catchy chorus have made it one of the Pixies' biggest hits and a crowd favorite at concerts, often played as the encore.^[1] The melody line comes from Deal's simple but effective bass playing - the same bassline is repeated throughout the song.

"Gigantic" never achieved a ranking on any major charts and was their only release from Surfer Rosa. However, it was a fairly successful first hit for the Pixies and maintains radio play to this day. The single version of the song appeared on the Pixies' recent best-of compilation, Wave of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies.

In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Gigantic" at number 38 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.

Lyrics and melody

According to Deal, the main inspiration for the song was the film "Crimes of the Heart", in which a married woman falls in love with a black teenager^[2] and the song "Gigantic" is credited to Mrs John Murphy (Kim Deal's pseudonym at the time of Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa and an ironic feminist joke).

The song's voyeuristic lyrics mostly revolve around a woman's observation of an attractive black man making love to another woman, culminating in the oddly light-hearted but sexual chorus: "Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic / A big, big love". Francis later commented on the title of the song and the chorus (in the music magazine SELECT), saying:^[2]

"A good chord progression, very Lou Reed influenced. I'd had the word 'gigantic' in my mind just because the chord progression seemed very big to me."

The melody, particularly at the beginning, differs between the album and EP version.

Single

The song was re-recorded soon after the release of Surfer Rosa, with a slightly altered arrangement and production from Gil Norton for release as the band's first single in 1988. The single also featured a new version of "River Euphrates", from the same album. Further included were a live version of "Vamos" (a song that appeared on both the Pixies' first EP, Come on Pilgrim and their first LP Surfer Rosa) and a live cover of the song "In Heaven", the "Lady in the Radiator" song from the David Lynch movie Eraserhead, both recorded at the Town and Country Club in London, England. The single was released in the United Kingdom on 4AD as a 12-inch vinyl and on CD. The CD version was re-issued in 1999. (No version of this single was ever released in the United States.)

Single track listing

"Gigantic" (new version)
"River Euphrates" (new version)
"Vamos" (live)
"In Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator Song)" (live)

Covers

The Philadelphia based alternative rock band The Low Road covered "Gigantic" on their 1996 album Fidelity.^[3] The California ska punk band Reel Big Fish produced a better known cover of "Gigantic" for 1999's Where Is My Mind?: A Tribute to the Pixies. Reel Big Fish chose to break away from their traditional sound for this cover, producing a very poppy, highly produced dance track sounding nothing like the original song and because of its unexpected but appealing sound, Reel Big Fish's cover remains one of the most popular and widely distributed Pixies covers. Other bands such as Belle & Sebastian, The Frames, Pavement, Big Digits, The Katies, and The Hippos have also covered the song.^[2]

The song was parodied by Self on the album Feels Like Breakin' Shit with a track titled "Titanic". The chorus mimics "Gigantic" with "Titanic, Titanic, Titanic / A big, big boat".^[4]

Sample

Notes and references

^ Pixies Set Lists. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
^ ^a ^b ^c Pixies/Debaser - Gigantic. Retrieved on 2006-09-06.
^ The Low Road. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
^ SELFies: Songs & Lyrics: Titanic. Retrieved on 2006-09-06.

External links

Pixies
Black Francis \| Kim Deal \| Joey Santiago \| Dave Lovering
Discography
Studio albums and EPs: Come on Pilgrim (EP) \| Surfer Rosa \| Doolittle \| Bossanova \| Trompe le Monde
Compilation and live albums: Complete 'B' Sides \| Death to the Pixies \| Pixies at the BBC \| Pixies (The Purple Tape) \| Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies
Singles: "Gigantic" \| "Monkey Gone to Heaven" \| "Here Comes Your Man" \| "Velouria" \| "Dig for Fire" \| "Planet of Sound" \| "Alec Eiffel" \| "Head On" \| "Debaser" \| "Bam Thwok"
Related articles
The Breeders \| Frank Black and the Catholics \| The Amps \| The Martinis \| Tributes to the Pixies

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