"Monkey Gone to Heaven"

Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven (1989)

Rock me Joe!



Everything about this song is a blueprint for the 90s alternative rock scene. Black Francis, originally Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, and at one time known as Frank Black, wrote the song out of concern for the environment. But it also includes references to Hebrew numerology that he admittedly didn't really research all that much. It also contains quiet parts and shouted heavy parts, crunchy grunge style distorted guitars, a spoken word section, a chorus sung in harmony, short guitar solos, and Kim Deal on bass. It even has a small string section of violins and cellos that would eventually be seen in late alternative tracks. The "plinking" sound during the chorus is Deal using a guitar pick on the open strings of a piano.