| "Velouria" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Pixies | ||||
| from the album Bossanova | ||||
| A-side | "Velouria" | |||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | July 16, 1990 7", 12", Compact Disc | |||
| Recorded | 1989–1990, Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, California, United States and Hansa Ton, Berlin, Germany | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 3:42 | |||
| Label | 4AD/Elektra | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Black Francis | |||
| Producer(s) | Gil Norton | |||
| Pixies singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Velouria" | 3:40 | |
| 2. | "Make Believe" | 1:54 | |
| 3. | "I've Been Waiting for You" | Neil Young | 2:45 |
| 4. | "The Thing" | 1:58 |
Covers
- 1999 – The song was covered by Weezer in the tribute album Where Is My Mind? A Tribute to the Pixies. This version was praised by Black Francis as his favorite cover of a Pixies song.[1]
- 2004 – Black Francis re-recorded a version of "Velouria" with Keith Moliné and Andy Diagram for his album Frank Black Francis.
- 2004 – The Bad Plus covered the song in their album Give.
- 2008 – A cover of the song appeared on Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of the Pixies, part of the Rockabye Baby! series of albums.[6]
Charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[7] | 28 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[8] | 4 |
References
- ^ a b Prato, Greg (March 11, 2015). "Frank Black Interview". SongFacts. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jean-Michel Biel, Christophe Gourraud. "The Pixies in Video". Retrieved October 1, 2006.
- ^ Andy Barding (June 7, 2004). "The Pixies and Me". Archived from the original on November 24, 2006. Retrieved October 17, 2006.
- ^ https://blog.tunefind.com/2017/10/halt-and-catch-fire-yvette-metoyer-pixies-velouria/
- ^ Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of The Pixies at AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
- ^ "Pixies: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "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
- Velouria at AllMusic
- "videos – 'Velouria'". 4AD.
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics