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“Dig for Fire” is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies from their third studio album Bossanova (1990) and was released as a single on November 5, 1990.

Background

“Dig for Fire” was one of the few songs on Bossanova that Francis had written prior to coming into the studio.[1] According to Pixies frontman Black Francis, the song was “a bad Talking Heads imitation.”[2]

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 [Lovering] played on top of it. That was the first time we’d ever used any sample-type sounds on the album.”[1]

Release

“Dig for Fire” was released as the second single from Bossanova (1990) on November 5, 1990.[3] Among the B-sides was a version of Neil Young‘s “Winterlong.”[4] “Dig for Fire” reached number 11 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart[5] 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.[citation needed]

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.[6]

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.[6]

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

Chart (1990–91) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[7] 62
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[8] 11

References

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ “New Singles” (PDF). Music Week. November 3, 1990. p. 37. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  4. ^ Cowan, Andy (6 June 2023). B-Side: A Flipsided History of Pop. SCB Distributors. ISBN 978-1-915316-14-1.
  5. ^ “Pixies – Awards”. allmusic.com. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Mendelssohn, John (15 December 2009). Gigantic: The Story Of Frank Black And The Pixies. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-116-5.
  7. ^ “Search results for “Pixies” | Official Chart“. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  8. ^ “Pixies Chart History (Alternative Airplay)“. Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.