"Where Is My Mind?" is a song by the American

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 mainstream or commerci ...

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 ...

, and it is the seventh track on the band's 1988 debut album ''

Surfer Rosa ''Surfer Rosa'' is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in March 1988 on the British label 4AD. It was produced by Steve Albini. ''Surfer Rosa'' contains many of the elements of Pixies' earlier output, incl ...

''. It is one of the band's signature songs, and has inspired a multitude of covers. The song was featured on the 2021 version of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine's

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

, ranked at No. 493.

Background

The song was written by frontman Black Francis while he attended the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

, inspired by his experiences while

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

in the Caribbean. He later said he had "this very small fish trying to chase me. I don't know why—I don't know too much about fish behavior." Guitarist

Joey Santiago Joseph Alberto Santiago (born June 10, 1965) is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer. Active since 1986, Santiago is best known as the lead guitarist for the American alternative rock band Pixies. After the band's breakup in 1993, Santiag ...

composed the song's guitar line. He recalled of his part, "This was actually the first thing I tried. A lazy potato that instantly sounded strong and hooky."

Cultural impact

After being featured in the 1999 film ''

Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is d ...

'' (in which the song plays over the final scene), the song gained an even wider audience. "Where Is My Mind?" was voted number 29 in the "Hottest 100 of All Time" music poll conducted by Australian radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

in 2009. Over half a million votes were cast in the poll. On April 13, 2004,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

used "Where Is My Mind?" to wake up the team working on the

Mars rover A Mars rover is a motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny pos ...

, ''

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

'', in honor of its software transplant. ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'' featured the song on an episode titled ''Sex, Birth, Death''. A xylophone version of the song was used in episode titled "The Lesson". In 2016 an all-

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifie ...

version of the song was used in The Tick episode "Where's My Mind." '' Mr. Nobody'', a film released in 2009 also featured the song. HBO drama '' The Leftovers'' featured both the Pixies version and

Maxence Cyrin Maxence Cyrin is a French pianist and composer living in Paris. Early life As a child, Cyrin studied classical piano at a conservatory. In his teenage years, he was exposed to new-wave and techno music, greatly influencing his first recording ...

's piano cover in the show's second season. Cyrin's cover of the song has also been featured on ''

Mr. Robot ''Mr. Robot'' is an American drama thriller television series created by Sam Esmail for USA Network. It stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker with social anxiety disorder, clinical depression and dissociati ...

'' and ''

It's Kind of a Funny Story ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' is a 2006 novel by American author Ned Vizzini. The book was inspired by Vizzini's own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004. Ned Vizzini later died by suicide on December 19, 2013. The book recei ...

''. Cyrin's cover was also featured in the "Man Behind The Treasure" promo for the PlayStation 4 game Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Other movies that use the song include ''

Gaz Bar Blues ''Gaz Bar Blues'' is a 2003 Québécois comedy-drama film written and directed by Louis Bélanger. The film is set in 1989 in the outskirts of an unspecified Québécois city. Plot François Brochu (Serge Thériault), named "the boss", is the ow ...

'', ''

Big Ass Spider! ''Big Ass Spider!'' is a 2013 science fiction comedy-action film directed by Mike Mendez. The film tells the story of a bug exterminator, who, with the help of a hospital security guard and the military, battles a giant spider that goes on a ram ...

'' (version by

Storm Large Storm Large (born Susan Storm Large, June 25, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and author. She attracted national attention as a contestant on the CBS reality television show '' Rock Star: Supernova''. For many years solely a rock ...

), '' Knock Knock'', ''

Sucker Punch A sucker punch (American English), also known as a dog shot, coward punch, king hit or one-punch attack ( Australian and New Zealand English) or cold-cock (American English), is a punch made without warning or while the recipient is distracted ...

'' (version by Yoav) and the series '' Warehouse 13'' (version by

Allison Scagliotti Allison Scagliotti (; born September 21, 1990) is an American actress, musician and director, best known for her roles in '' Drake & Josh'', '' Warehouse 13'', and ''Stitchers''. Early life Scagliotti's great-grandparents immigrated to the United ...

, episode 3x6).

End of Fashion End of Fashion are an Australian pop rock band from Perth, Western Australia. The group gained mainstream attention with its 2005 single, " O Yeah", that was voted into eighth position of the "Hottest 100" poll, compiled by Australian youth rad ...

have been criticized for their uncredited copying of the guitar riff from "Where Is My Mind?", for their song " O Yeah". For example, Rockus Online Magazine reviewer Jonathon Miller called the song "disturbingly Pixies-ish" and went on to write:

End of Fashion are having no problem appealing to the 95% of people that haven't heard (and still remember) the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" and have never experienced a truly exciting live show, and if that's what the band is aiming for, then they are a complete success.

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...

Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW All-Atlantic Champion ...

and Best Friends first used "Where Is My Mind?" as their new entrance theme in March 2021. AEW CEO

Tony Khan Antony Rafiq Khan (born October 10, 1982) is an American businessman, promoter, and sports executive. He is known for his involvement in American football, professional wrestling and soccer. He is best known as the founder and co-owner of All E ...

signed a multiyear agreement to use the song and said, “every use of the song in AEW will live in our content library forever in perpetuity.” In a ''Cracked'' article titled "How 'Where Is My Mind' Became Hollywood's Laziest Trope," the repeated use of the song has been criticized as "shorthand for telling you that a character has issues telling the difference between what's real and what isn't—especially if multiple personalities are involved." A live version of the song recorded at 2004's

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

was released free through BitTorrent.

Cover versions

Nada Surf Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). History ...

covered the song on the 1999 Pixies tribute album ''Where Is My Mind?: A Tribute to the Pixies.'' *

Tkay Maidza Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza ( ; born 17 December 1995) is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper. Biography Maidza was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her parents are metallurgists. In 2001, her family moved to Australi ...

's 2021 cover version was used in a 2023 Apple AirPods commercial, as well as the final episode of the Donald Glover limited series ''

Swarm Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving ''en masse'' or migrating in some direction. ...

''. *Preteen Nandi Bushell recorded the song in 2021, earning praise from the Pixies. *

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

covered the song in 2021 on her "Kellyoke" segment. *Members of the punk bands

Touché Amoré Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2007. The band consists of vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Babin. Among other ...

, PUP, Vein.fm, and Twitching Tongues joined wrestler

for a 2021 punk cover. *

Trampled by Turtles Trampled by Turtles is an American bluegrass-influenced folk band from Duluth, Minnesota. They have released ten full albums, three of which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard bluegrass chart. Their fifth release, ''Palomino'', stayed in the ...

covered the song from their 2013 live-album '' Live at First Avenue''.

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

External links

Pixies ''"Where Is My Mind"'' lyrics
{{Authority control Pixies (band) songs 1988 songs Songs written by Black Francis Song recordings produced by Steve Albini