Pitchfork

It's hard to imagine what to say about Pixies that wasn't already said during the band's recent reunion victory lap. The solo career of Pixies frontman-- Black Francis with the band, Frank Black as a solo artist, and Charles Thompson to his mother-- doesn't suffer from the same over-familiarity. Like one of his heroes, Jonathan Richman, Black the solo performer has largely shuffled off the burden of being a "seminal" band's former leader, releasing no-frills albums every couple of years with little fanfare. It didn't start out that way, though: Black's 1994 double-album Teenager of the Year, in particular, teased us with echoes of the Pixies' heady pop brilliance, though it didn't get its due at the time. Next week, the Cooking Vinyl label will release a 2xCD collection of Black's solo highlights called Frank Black 93-03.

In this 1995 Chicago cable-TV interview, Black talks about his influences, touring, and being a solo artist. "I am my own scene," he memorably (and accurately) asserts-- but he also assures us it's OK if you only buy three albums a year and listen to Bon Jovi. "The whole cool thing... it's all baloney," he says. In between such banter, Black performs solo rarity "Jumping Beans"-- which he describes as a cross between They Might Be Giants and the Violent Femmes-- and Richman tribute "The Man Who Was Too Loud", which later appeared on 1998's Frank Black & the Catholics.

Frank Black: "Jumping Beans" and "The Man Who Was Too Loud" (live, solo acoustic)

Back in those days, not only did MTV play music, it even provided at least a modest stage for indie rock. Matt Pinfield-era 120 Minutes was Pixies-friendly territory, and not only because the VJ sorta looked liked Black. In this 1994 performance, Black and his band casually make awesome with three Teenager of the Year tunes, "Whatever Happened to Pong?", "Thalassocracy", and "(I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain".

Frank Black: "Pong", "Thalassocracy", and "Abstract Plain" (live)

When Black isn't reaping his overdue rewards with the reunited Pixies, he has continued to perform as a solo artist. This video from a November 2006 performance at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Ore., gives a flavor of his recent solo tour. Once you get past a few seconds of darkness, you can see Black giving an intense, solo acoustic performance of "Manitoba", from 2003's Show Me Your Tears. Compared to the Pixies, this is practically Leonard Cohen: Over heart-tugging strums, Black proclaims, "I have seen the face of God." Um, some in the audience might say the same, guy.

Frank Black: "Manitoba" (live, acoustic)