"Crackity Jones" is an

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

song by the American 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 ar ...

, and is the ninth track on their 1989 album '' Doolittle''. Written and sung by the band's 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. F ...

, "Crackity Jones" describes a crazed

roommate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dormmate, suitemate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Briti ...

and was inspired by Francis' stay in an apartment block with a "weirdo, psycho, gay roommate" in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

as a student.

Background and lyrics

Black Francis was on a six-month trip to

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ju ...

(the song's lyrics describe a "stinking island" that is "thirty miles by a hundred miles" long) as an exchange student as part of his college degree. He found himself in a squalid high-rise apartment (describing it as a "crazy all-male dormitory"), waiting for his assigned roommate to show up. Francis later described meeting his roommate:Sisario, Ben. Doolittle. Continuum, 2006 (33⅓ series). . p. 102 Francis continued to live with the roommate, but the roommate's rants about

Fred Flintstone Fred Flintstone is the main character of the animated sitcom ''The Flintstones'', which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960 to 1966. Fred is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles Flintston ...

Francis translates "Fred Flintstone" incorrectly in the song—he sings "Paco Picopiedra", whereas the correct Spanish translation is "Pedro Picapiedra" and the voices in his head tested Francis' patience. He returned to Boston after six months to start the Pixies with

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, San ...

. "Crackity Jones" is the fastest and shortest song on ''Doolittle'', at an average 150

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

, and has a distinctly Spanish sound, with a G# and A triads over a C# pedal. The

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

, played by Francis, starts the song with an eighth-note downstroke (typical of punk rock music). Thirty-eight seconds into the song, the second verse accelerates and the rest of the song continues at a similarly fast

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

. The song ends with Francis shouting "You're crazy!".

Notes and references

External links

"Crackity Jones" lyrics
{{authority control Pixies (band) songs 1989 songs Songs written by Black Francis Song recordings produced by Gil Norton