"Head On" is a song written by

Jim Reid James McLeish Reid (born 29 December 1961) is a Scottish singer/songwriter and the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid in 1983. Career The Jes ...

and William Reid of the Scottish

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

the Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they rele ...

. It was originally recorded for the group's 1989 album '' Automatic'' and was released as a single in November 1989.

Background

In the UK, it was released in seven different formats, including four 7" singles. One 7" single was released per week, and one of them included a cardboard box to house the full set. The single reached #57 in the UK. In the US, it was broadcast a lot on Alternative radio, so it reached #2 on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

chart which listed the most played songs on college radios. In Australia, the single peaked at #102 on the

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

singles chart. The song has been covered by several other groups, most notably the American alternative rock band

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

on their fourth studio album, '' Trompe Le Monde''. The melody and lyrics of the chorus are also quoted by

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...

in "Slave," the fourth song from the ''Sooty'' tape of her self-produced Girly-Sound tapes.

Musical style

Denise Sullivan of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the song as "blueprint

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

in the tradition of

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

/ New Order." The song relies on a synth bass and a drum machine, latter of which provides a pop-influenced new wave beat. While the song lacks the layers of

guitar feedback Audio feedback (also known as acoustic feedback, simply as feedback) is a positive feedback situation which may occur when an acoustic path exists between an audio input (for example, a microphone or guitar pickup) and an audio output (for examp ...

of the band's previous works, it features a "1950s-style riff," provided by William Reid. The song's style was also compared to the sound of the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

Track listing

All tracks written by

and William Reid, except where noted. ;7" (NEG42) # "Head On" - 4:11 # "In The Black" - 2:59 ;7" (NEG42XB) # "Head On" - 4:11 # "Terminal Beach" - 2:25 ;7" (NEG42Y) # "Head On" - 4:11 # "Deviant Slice" - 3:00 ;7" (NEG42Z) # "Head On" - 4:11 # "I'm Glad I Never" (

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

) - 1:31 ;12" (NEG42TE) # "Head On" - 4:11 # "In The Black" - 2:59 # "Terminal Beach" - 2:25 ;CD3 (NEG42CD) # "Head On" - 4:11 # "In The Black" - 2:59 # "Drop (Acoustic Remix)" - 1:52 # "Break Me Down" - 2:29 ;Cassette (NEG42C) # "Head On" - 4:11 # "In The Black" - 2:59

Personnel

The Jesus and Mary Chain

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mus ...

, producer * William Reid - guitar, synthesizer, drum programming, producer

Additional personnel

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

("Head On", "Drop")

Charts

Pixies version

"Head On" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

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 ...

band

for their 1991 album '' Trompe le Monde''. Pixies' version 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 1991. The band chose to cover the song because Pixies 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 ...

liked the song.

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo arti ...

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ( ...

commented, "He ranciswasn't that hip when it came to modern music. He heard 'Head On' and just loved it. The Pixies were a strange band."

Music video

By 1991, Pixies refused to film

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s for their singles. After a long debate with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

, their record company in the United States, the band relented and agreed to film a video, as long as the song was done completely live. Peter Lubin, the A&R representative of Elektra at the time, later explained the situation:Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 157 Lubin then came up with the idea for the video. Twelve cameras would be placed, "dividing" each band member into three blocks. Frontman

was happy with this idea, so

Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most suc ...

was then hired to produce the video.Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 158 After the video had been filmed, Elektra invited the "whole decision-making team from

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

" to view it. The video was added to MTV's rotation, later receiving the "Breakthrough Video" award.

Pixies' track listing

All songs written by

, except where otherwise noted. #"Head On" (Single Mix) (Jim Reid and William Reid) – 2:20 #"

Planet of Sound "Planet of Sound" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, from their 1991 album '' Trompe le Monde''. It was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and produced by Gil Norton during the album's recording sessions. "Planet of Sou ...

" (Live at

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

, 26 July 1991) – 2:26 #"Tame" (Live at Brixton Academy, 26 July 1991) – 2:27 #"

Debaser "Debaser" is a song by American alternative rock band Pixies, and is the first song on their 1989 album '' Doolittle''. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and was produced by Gil Norton during ''Doolittles recording sess ...

" (Live in Chicago, 9 August 1989) – 2:41

Charts

References

*Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. " Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies." Virgin Books, 2005. .

External links

"Head On" lyrics"Head On"
at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

"Head On" at Google Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Head On (Song) 1989 singles 1991 singles Pixies (band) songs The Jesus and Mary Chain songs Elektra Records singles Songs written by Jim Reid Songs written by William Reid (musician) 1989 songs Blanco y Negro Records singles Post-punk songs Song recordings produced by Gil Norton Music videos directed by Howard Greenhalgh