the Pixies

This isn't a very neutral or encyclopedic summation of the Pixies or their influence, but it's hard to write objectively about this band, perhaps one of the greatest alt. rock outfits ever to grace a stage, before the genre became just another mass-market joke. Their music captivated not only what remains a fiercely loyal fan base, but a generation of musicians who sought to keep the flame alive when infighting drove the band to split in 1992. Perhaps the bar had been raised too high, because none of their successors, even those who achieved far more mainstream recognition, could quite match the quirky, catchy, enigmatic presence which still exists in those 15+ year-old recordings. Thankfully, the Pixies are alive and well today after reuniting in 2004, though Frank Black was recently quoted as having disavowed any plans to ever record again with the group.