Frank Black

Frank Black, also known by the stage name Black Francis (real name Charles Michael Kitridge Thompson IV, born April 6, 1965 in Boston), is an American musician. He was one of the founding members of the alternative rock band the Pixies, along with guitarist Joey Santiago.

Singing and songwriting style

Charles Thompson worked for a time in a flower shop. There he met the cousin of his employer, who had been a minor Thai rock star named John B McKenna. From him Black Francis got the mantra that would serve his career so well: "Scream it", Black quoted in an interview, "scream it like you hate that bitch." Indeed, Black Francis' powerful screams were a signature of Pixies albums which fit quite well with the band's typical song structure of quietly paced verses followed by thundering chorus lines and repetitive guitar staccato. As Frank Black he has continued this practice, but his unrestrained style has led to damage in his vocal chords. His current voice is clearly milder than that of his younger years.

Related Topics:
Thai - Bitch - Staccato - Vocal chords

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During his stay in Puerto Rico, Frank Black picked up a fairly fluent yet informal and at times incorrect use of Spanish, which he has continued to use throughout his career. His earlier songs in The Pixies reflected aspects of his days in San Juan and are heavily seasoned with local slang from the island. In his later works in the Pixies and from then on the use of Spanish drifted westward, reflecting places and aspects of the state of California and its culture. This evolution illustrates the constant combination of Black's sources of inspiration. Many of his songs allude to California's surf culture, although he has never experienced or had interest in it. His admitted interest in space and science-fiction blends with his use of Spanish in references to Arecibo's observatory and the American West as it relates to New Mexico and Area 51.

Related Topics:
The Pixies - San Juan - Slang - California - Surf - Science-fiction - Arecibo - New Mexico - Area 51

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His lyrics are noted for their sometimes obscure references to unusual topics like outer space, unexplained phenomena such as UFOs, and even The Three Stooges (the last of these being the subject of Two Reelers, a song from Teenager of the Year). He has also used the Bible as a source for his freakish stories, most notably in the incestuous tale of Nimrod's Son. Lyrics with a focus on science fiction were particularly prominent on his three solo albums of the mid-1990s (Frank Black, Teenager of the Year, and The Cult of Ray). With the Catholics, his lyrics have more often tended towards historical topics; for example, on Dog in the Sand, there is a song called "St. Francis Dam Disaster", which is about the catastrophic collapse of the St. Francis Dam in California in March 1928.

Related Topics:
Outer space - UFO - The Three Stooges - Bible - Nimrod - Science fiction - St. Francis Dam - California - 1928

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Musically, one aspect that is often overlooked by listeners and even loyal fans is Frank Black's frequent use of atypical meter signature in his songs. Rock and pop themes usually rely on conventional, "square" metrics such as 2/4, 4/4 and 3/4. Frank Black has composed many successful songs that stray from these conventional beats. The practice can be easily noticed in songs like "The Marsist" (opening track on "The Cult of Ray"), where the bass cycles through 19 quavers. However, themes like the Pixies' "Gouge Away", "Isla De Encanta" and "Skeleton Man" from his work with The Catholics hide similar metrics and the same unconventional approach to songwriting within catchy rock tunes. Overall, beneath the visceral simplicity of the Pixies' and Black's songs lies some eclectic attention to music theory and sources, evident by the use of Spanish rhythms, galloping marches in the style of cowboy movies, haikus, and many other traits. The lyrics to "Ana", "Speedy Marie" and "Robert Onion" respectively contain the acrostics surfer, Jean Marie Walsh (his then girlfriend and current ex-wife) and Robert The Case For Mars Zubrin.

Related Topics:
Fans - Meter signature - Rock - Pop - Beats - The Cult of Ray - Quavers - Haikus - Acrostics - The Case For Mars - Zubrin

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