Heard this jangly tune before. But, in the beginning, it didn’t really strike me. And in my personal experiences, most of Pixies’ stuff have the same stories: slow at first then I was hooked. Today, I was incidentally exposed again to “Greens and Blues” via NPR Tiny Desk Concert on YouTube. It hit me hard. Such a beautiful bittersweet goodbye song.
Frontman Black Francis stated, “It was my attempt to come up with another song that would musically, emotionally and psychologically sit in the same place that ‘Gigantic’ has sat. Not that I could ever replace that song: you write songs and they come out the way they come out. ‘Greens and Blues’ fills the emotional niche that ‘Gigantic’ occupied, another show-closer. I think the lyric alludes to that, the fact that it’s the end of the night, the end of something. And a separation if you will. So I guess it’s kind of a goodbye song, or really more of a ‘good night’ song.”
The song itself is included in Pixies fifth studio album, Indie Cindy, released in April 2014. It was the band’s first album since 1991’s Trompe le Monde, and the first Pixies album not to feature bassist Kim Deal.
Bob Bolen wrote that Pixies’ performance in 2014 was the largest crowd they’ve ever assembled for a Tiny Desk Concert. “You may miss Kim Deal on bass for all the good reasons one might miss Kim Deal, but Paz Lenchantin rhythmically fits in well, and was a treat to hear (albeit quietly) on violin,” continued Bolen.
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Cover photo via Slicing Up Eyeballs.
