"Cactus" is a song by the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Pixies, and is the eighth track on their 1988 album Surfer Rosa

Surfer Rosa

Like Come On Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa displays a mix of musical styles; pop guitar songs such as "Broken Face", "Break My Body", and "Brick Is Red" are featured alongside slower, more melodic tracks exemplified by "Where Is My Mind?". The album includes heavier material, and prominently features the...

. It was written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis and produced by Steve Albini

Steve Albini

Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...

.

"Pixies"

Between the second verse and chorus of "Cactus," the band and the studio members can be heard spelling out "Pixies." John Murphy, then-husband of bassist Kim Deal

Kim Deal

Kimberley Ann Deal is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the bassist of the alternative rock band the Pixies and the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Breeders. Deal first joined the Pixies in January 1986 as the band's bassist, adopting the stage name Mrs...

, later commented on the interlude: "You can hear them spelling 'Pixies' in the break, which T. Rex

T. Rex (band)

T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...

 did in one of their songs ["The Groover"], 'T-R-E-X,' and they were copying it. I was against it, I was like, 'No way I'm not doing it,' because that's so trite. And I'm the only one that didn't do it. Steve [Albini

Steve Albini

Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...

] went along with it and liked it. So I'm the only one that never got on the records [...] Anybody that was in the studio could have gone in there and done it."

Cover versions

David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 recorded a version of the song for his Heathen album in 2002. This version features D-A-V-I-D spelled in the break. Bowie performed the song live on his 2002 Heathen Tour

Heathen Tour

The David Bowie Heathen Tour was a 2002 concert tour in support of the album, Heathen, and was also notable for the performances of all songs from the 1977 Low album.-History:...

concerts and the A Reality Tour

A Reality Tour

A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the Reality album. The tour commenced on 7 October 2003 at the Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealand and Australia for the first time since the 1987 Glass...

. A 2003 live version is found on the A Reality Tour

A Reality Tour (film)

A Reality Tour is a DVD released in 2004 of David Bowie's performance at Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland in 2003 during the Reality Tour.-Repertoire:...

DVD.

Katsen recorded a version of Cactus for their album It Hertz!, which was released in 2009.

Black Francis re-recorded the song and released it on his 2004 album Frank Black Francis.

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...

 have played it live once but stopped after a few seconds because lead singer, Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl

David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...

, couldn't remember the whole song.

Glen Hansard

Glen Hansard

Glen Hansard is the Academy Award–winning principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist for Irish group The Frames and one half of folk rock duo, The Swell Season...

 and The Frames

The Frames

The Frames are an Irish band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene. The group has released six albums...

 played it live in M-klub on 25 October, 2001.

The Daylight Savings and Loan covered the song at a Pixies tribute show in Philadelphia, PA on 15 October, 2006.

External links

• "Cactus" at Last.fm
  Last.fm
  Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
  
  
• "Cactus" at Google Music