"Alec Eiffel" is a song by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Pixies, from their 1991 album ''

Trompe le Monde ''Trompe le Monde'' is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 23, 1991 on 4AD in the United Kingdom and on September 24, 1991 on Elektra Records in the United States. Recorded in Burbank, Cali ...

''. The song was written and sung by frontman

Black Francis Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Fo ...

, produced by Gil Norton and recorded during the album's recording sessions. "Alec Eiffel" was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in France, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was their third single from the album.

Composition

The song references the French engineer

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

, who designed the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

and the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

; Francis thought it was a "fascinating subject" to compose a song about. Francis also mentioned another meaning of the song: "Because of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, but also because it's funny: in Australia, you often say 'It's a smart Alec' for a guy who's nice but not very bright." Australians generally use the word to describe someone who is speaking out of turn, often in a way that makes them appear more intelligent than the person or group they are addressing. In Britain and the United States, a "smart Alec" is the exact opposite of Francis' description: someone who is intelligent, but mean or sarcastic.

Video

The song's video features the band playing in a wind-tunnel, a reference to the "pioneer of aerodynamics", with physics formulae in the background.

Critical reception

The British magazine ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' later commented on Francis' songwriting technique and the song itself: "According to Charles, the song started with Eiffel, then he started to icsinging the words "Eiffel, rifle, trifle", and suddenly 'everything fell into place'. It's not certain whether lines like 'little Eiffel stands in the archway, even though it doesn't make no sense' are an observation of the lunacy of the architecture or the song itself, which features a Sixties' -style zither!" (Francis is actually singing "keeping low, it don't make no sense", rather than "even though" which answers Melody Maker's question.)

Track listing

Cover versions

An April March An April March was a Canadian alternative rock band formed in Kitchener, Ontario, in 1989. The band's last incarnation consisted of singer/guitarist Danella Hocevar, guitarist Chris Perry and drummer Michael Klüg. The band "An April March" is n ...

's cover was included on the 1999 tribute album '' Pixies Fuckin' Die! (a tribute)''. * A cover by

the Get Up Kids The Get Up Kids are an American rock band from Olathe, Kansas. Formed in 1995, the band was a major player in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the " second wave" of emo music. Their second album ''Something to Write Home About' ...

was included on the 1999 tribute album '' Where Is My Mind? a tribute to The Pixies'', and later released on their '' Eudora'' album in 2001. * Cameron Brown's cover was released on the 2003 tribute album '' hey: A Pixies Tribute''.

References

{{authority control Songs about occupations Songs about Paris 1991 singles Pixies (band) songs Songs written by Black Francis Elektra Records singles 1991 songs Song recordings produced by Gil Norton