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"Dig for Fire"
Single by Pixies
from the album Bossanova
B-side	"Velvety Instrumental Version" "Winterlong" "Santo"
Released	October 29, 1990 (1990-10-29)
Recorded	1989 – 1990
Studio	Cherokee, Hollywood Hansa, Berlin
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	2:51
Label	4AD/Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Black Francis
Producer(s)	Gil Norton, Chris Sheldon
Pixies singles chronology
"Velouria" (1990) "Dig for Fire" (1990) "Planet of Sound" (1991)
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"Dig for Fire" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies. The song appeared on their 1990 album Bossanova, and was released as a single in October 1990.

Background

"Dig for Fire" was one of the few songs on Bossanova that Francis had written prior to coming into the studio. According to Pixies frontman Black Francis, the song was "a bad Talking Heads imitation."

Producer Gil Norton said of the song, "'Dig for Fire' was the first time we used a drum machine. The bass drum on that is a drum machine and Dave played on top of it. That was the first time we'd ever used any sample-type sounds on the album.

Release

"Dig for Fire" was released as the second single from Bossanova. Among the B-sides was a version of Neil Young's "Winterlong." "Dig for Fire" reached number 11 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 62 in the UK.

The single version of "Dig for Fire" is mixed differently from the album version and also contains some overdubs.

Music video

The song was promoted with a music video that also featured another Bossanova track, the brief "Allison", a tribute to jazz musician Mose Allison. The combination of the two songs was a compromise, as Elektra wanted a video for "Dig for Fire," while Francis, in calling the song a "bad Talking Heads imitation," pushed for "Allison" instead.

The video featured the band riding in motorcycle sidecars during "Dig for Fire," only to cut to the band performing "Allison" live on the field of Amsterdam's Olympisch Stadion.

Track listing

All songs written by Black Francis, except where otherwise noted.

1. "Dig for Fire" – 2:51
2. "Velvety Instrumental Version" – 2:04
3. "Winterlong" (Neil Young) – 3:07
4. "Santo" – 2:16

Charts

References

1. ^ Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn (1 April 2007). Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4299-0443-8.
2. Stern, Perry. "Surf's Up." Music Express, October 1990. http://aleceiffel.free.fr/surf.html (transcript) (accessed March 10, 2013)
3. Cowan, Andy (6 June 2023). B-Side: A Flipsided History of Pop. SCB Distributors. ISBN 978-1-915316-14-1.
4. "Pixies - Awards". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
5. ^ Mendelssohn, John (15 December 2009). Gigantic: The Story Of Frank Black And The Pixies. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-116-5.
6. "Pixies: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
7. "Pixies Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.

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• Elektra Records singles
• 4AD singles
• 1990 songs
• Song recordings produced by Chris Sheldon
• Song recordings produced by Gil Norton
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