Portal:Record production/FA on display/37

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 * "Bam Thwok" is a 2004 download-only single by the American alternative rock band the Pixies. Written and sung by bassist Kim Deal, the song was released exclusively through the iTunes Store on June 15, 2004. Upon its release, "Bam Thwok" was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the very first release of the UK Download Chart. The song was the band's first recording since Trompe le Monde (1991).

Originally composed for the film Shrek 2, "Bam Thwok" was not selected for the final soundtrack. The song's lyrics display a surrealistic and nonsensical nature typical of the band; Deal's inspiration was a discarded child's art book she found on a New York City street. "Bam Thwok"'s major theme is "showing goodwill to everyone."

Background
Following their 2004 reunion, the Pixies felt that recording a new song would "break the ice" between band members after their acrimonious split in 1993. As the band were announcing dates for their reunion world tour, DreamWorks contacted manager Ken Goes to enquire whether they would be interested in recording a song for the title sequence of Shrek 2. The band agreed, and frontman Black Francis and Deal began composing riffs for a song aimed at children. Deal had been experimenting with a chord progression for a while, and since her band The Breeders were then inactive, she decided to donate her new composition to the Pixies.

The Pixies chose Deal's riff, as it was a "poppier, more kid-friendly thing," and Francis agreed to let her sing lead vocals and write the new song; significantly, Francis is relegated to backing vocals on the track. Francis' move was meant to warm the previously cold relations between the two—in the previous two Pixies studio albums, Bossanova (1990) and Trompe le Monde (1991), Francis, the band's principal songwriter, had not let Deal contribute any songs or sing lead vocals. This became one of the reasons for the Pixies' 1993 split. However, the two appeared at the time to have resolved their differences: Francis praised "Bam Thwok," as "a really good song." despite joking in interviews about how he planned to remove as many of her compositions as possible from a hypothetical new album. However, Deal eventually left the band in June 2013, before the release of the band's next album, Indie Cindy. (more...)
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