Where Is My Mind?

"Where Is My Mind?" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, and it is the seventh track on the band's 1988 debut album Surfer Rosa. 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 magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, ranked at No. 493.[1]

For the tribute album named Where Is My Mind? A Tribute to the Pixies, see List of Pixies tribute albums.
"Where Is My Mind?"
Song by Pixies
from the album Surfer Rosa
ReleasedMarch 21, 1988 (1988-03-21)
RecordedNovember 1987
StudioDowntown Recorders, South End, Boston
Genre
Length3:53
LabelRough Trade
Songwriter(s)Black Francis
Producer(s)Steve Albini
Audio sample
Sample of end of 3rd verse and part of chorus
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Where Is My Mind?" on YouTube

Background

The song was written by frontman Black Francis while he attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, inspired by his experiences while scuba diving 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."[2]

Guitarist Joey Santiago 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."[3]

Cultural impact

After being featured in the 1999 film Fight Club (in which the song plays over the final scene), the song gained an even wider audience.[4][5] "Where Is My Mind?" was voted number 29 in the "Hottest 100 of All Time" music poll conducted by Australian radio station Triple J in 2009.[6] Over half a million votes were cast in the poll.

On April 13, 2004, NASA used "Where Is My Mind?" to wake up the team working on the Mars rover, Spirit, in honor of its software transplant.[7]

Criminal Minds 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 version of the song was used in The Tick episode "Where's My Mind."[8]

Mr. Nobody, a film released in 2009 also featured the song.[9] HBO drama The Leftovers featured both the Pixies version and Maxence Cyrin's piano cover in the show's second season. Cyrin's cover of the song has also been featured on Mr. Robot and It's Kind of a Funny Story.[10][11] 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, Big Ass Spider! (version by Storm Large), Knock Knock, Sucker Punch (version by Yoav) and the series Warehouse 13 (version by Allison Scagliotti, episode 3x6).

Australian rock band End of Fashion were criticized for the similarities between the guitar riff from "Where Is My Mind?" and the one used in their 2005 song "O Yeah". 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.[12]

All Elite Wrestling's Orange Cassidy and Best Friends first used "Where Is My Mind?" as their new entrance theme in March 2021. AEW CEO Tony Khan 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.”[13]

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."[14]

A live version of the song recorded at 2004's Coachella was released free through BitTorrent.[15]

In 2023, it was revealed that Francis' remark of the word "stop" at the beginning of the song triggered certain Google phones to switch off their alarms.[16]

Cover versions

Weekly charts
Chart (2013) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[22] 78
Chart (2014) Peak
position
UiSingles (Official Charts Company)[23] 199
Chart (2022) Peak
position
UK Indie (OCC)[24] 17

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] 3× Platinum 240,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[26]
sales since 2009 		Platinum 50,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]
sales since 2004 		Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Rollingstone (2021). "493. The Pixies, 'Where Is My Mind?'. 1988". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  2. Biel, Jean-Michel; Gourraud, Christophe. "Pixies Titles/Names". Alec Eiffel. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  3. Scott, Danny (2022-10-21). "Joey Santiago on his top 5 Pixies guitar performances: "The only rule we had was to try and get away from the 12-bar blues framework. I love the blues, I love AC/DC, but music is allowed to do different things"". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
  4. Greene, Andy (4 January 2013). "Flashback: The Pixies Reunite At Coachella". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  5. Beaumont, Mark (21 September 2016). "Inside The Cult Of Pixies: Why They're More Than Just A Band - NME". NME. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  6. "Countdown | Hottest 100 - Of All Time | triple j". Abc.net.au. 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  7. Colin Fries (2010-04-20). "CHRONOLOGY OF WAKEUP CALLS" (PDF). NASA History Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-20. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  8. "Music from The Tick S1E02". Tunefind.
  9. "Soundtrack Staples: Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind?'". STACK | JB Hi-Fi. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2020-07-25., Criminal Minds, the 4400.
  10. Saraiya, Sonia (29 December 2015). "Best TV of 2015: The best pop-music cues, from "Where Is My Mind" to Fleetwood Mac". Salon. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  11. Sarkar, Samit (1 July 2016). "Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind?' comes to Rock Band 4 next week". Polygon. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  12. Jonathon Miller, rockus.com Archived October 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. Minsker, Evan (March 25, 2021). "Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" Is Orange Cassidy's New AEW Entrance Theme". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  14. Mxy (2022-02-27). "How 'Where Is My Mind' Became Hollywood's Laziest Trope". Cracked.com. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  15. "BitTorrent Bundle - Pixies". BitTorrent Bundles. Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
  16. Thomas, Dallas (2 May 2023). "You can blame this Pixies song for Assistant canceling your alarm". Android Police. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  17. "Review - Where Is My Mind? A Tribute To The Pixies". Orlando Weekly. 1999-10-16. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  18. "AirPods Pro noise cancellation featured in new 'Quiet the Noise' ad". AppleInsider. 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  19. Kaufman, Spencer (2021-04-07). "10-Year-Old Nandi Bushell Gets Pixies' Seal of Approval for Her "Where Is My Mind?" Cover: Watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  20. Kaufman, Gil (2021-11-30). "Kelly Clarkson Takes Pixies' 'Where is My Mind?' to Power Pop Pinnacle on 'Kellyoke'". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  21. Young, James David (2021-07-27). "Touché Amoré, PUP and more team up for punk cover of the Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind?'". NME. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  22. "Pixies – {{{song}}}" (in French). Les classement single.
  23. Zywietz, Tobias. "CLUK Update 22.03.2014 (wk11)". Zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  24. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  25. "Canadian single certifications – Pixies – Where Is My Mind". Music Canada. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  26. "Italian single certifications – Pixies – Where Is My Mind" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 5, 2021. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Where Is My Mind" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  27. "British single certifications – Pixies – Where Is My Mind". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
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