10 Great (or Strange) Pixies Covers

High Gravity

High Gravity is Paste editor-in-chief Josh Jackson's daily round-up of music, film and culture - and even great (high gravity) beer.

Browse High Gravity

Page 1 of 2

Kings of Leon were the homecoming headliners of Bonnaroo this year. And as much as I dislike almost every one of their most recent hits (“Sex on Fire?,” “Use Somebody?,” seriously?), kudos to the Tennessee boys for covering The Pixies “Where is My Mind” this weekend. All the YouTube videos seem to have been taken down, but you can grab the mp3 via We All Want Someone To Shout For.

It got me thinking of all the great Pixies covers by various artists over the years. Here are 10 of the most interesting:

1. David Bowie covers The Pixies’ “Cactus”
Posted in 2007.

2. OK Go covers The Pixies’ “Wave of Mutilation”
An acoustic version in the studio.

3. The Swell Season covers The Pixies’ “Cactus”
Glen Hansard laughs his way through this one with Marketa Irglova at Coachella in 2008. The duo has also covered Levitate Me.

4. Rogue Wave covers The Pixies’ “Debaser”
From a 2006 show at The Cavern in Dallas. Rogue Wave almost makes it sound sweet.

5. James Blunt covers The Pixies’ “Where is My Mind”
Some Pixies fans nearly imploded when Blunt tackled this one, but it’s certainly my favorite thing Blunt has ever done.