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| "Where Is My Mind?" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Pixies | |
| from the album Surfer Rosa | |
| Released | March 21, 1988 |
| Recorded | November 1987 |
| Studio | Downtown Recorders, South End, Boston |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:53 |
| Label | 4AD |
| Songwriter(s) | Black Francis |
| Producer(s) | Steve Albini |
| Audio sample | |
Sample of end of 3rd verse and part of chorus | |
| Music video | |
| "Where Is My Mind?" (Official Lyric Video) on YouTube | |
"Where Is My Mind?" is a song by American alternative rock band Pixies,originally released as the seventh track on their 1988 debut album, Surfer Rosa .
After receiving initial success upon release,the song saw renewed popularity after being featured in the 1999 film Fight Club . It has become the band's signature song and has inspired a multitude of covers while several arrangements of the song have been used in various film,television,and video game soundtracks. The song was ranked at No. 493 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2021 list. [1]
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 said the lyric was sparked by an incident while scuba diving in the Caribbean during his UMass years,recalling a tiny fish persistently following him underwater. [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 arpeggio that instantly sounded strong and hooky." [3]
Producer Steve Albini tracked the song during the Surfer Rosa sessions in late 1987. Albini and the band have described an open,try-it-and-see approach in the studio;Black Francis later called Albini’s attitude “cavalier”in a way that matched the band’s naivety at the time. [4]
To obtain the song’s distinctive ambience on the backing vocals,Albini moved equipment into a tiled bathroom and recorded Kim Deal’s “ooh”parts there to capture natural echo,a technique the group have specifically linked to this track and to “Gigantic.” [5]
Members have also revisited the session details—including arrangement decisions and Albini’s engineering choices—in a 2023 oral-history podcast about the making of Surfer Rosa. [6]
"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. [14]
In the streaming era,the track has continued to accumulate new audiences. In the United Kingdom,it was certified double platinum by the BPI. [15] In January 2025,the band stated that the song had surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. [16] [17]
The song first saw increased popularity after featuring in the 1999 film Fight Club ,in which it plays during the final scene. [18] [19] [20] On April 13,2004,NASA used "Where Is My Mind?" to wake up the team working on the Spirit Mars rover,in honor of its software transplant. [21] Its popularity led to the Pixies' live performance of the song at Coachella in 2004 to be heavily pirated online. [22] In March 2021,the song began being used as the entrance music for professional wrestlers Orange Cassidy and Best Friends after it was licensed by All Elite Wrestling: [23] it was replaced with the Jefferson Starship song "Jane" in 2022 but was restored in 2024. [24] In 2023,the song's opening lyric inadvertently caused certain Android phones to turn off set alarms. [25]
The song featured in the Criminal Minds episode "Sex,Birth,Death",which aired on November 29,2006,[ citation needed ] while a xylophone-only cover of the song was used in the episode "The Lesson",which aired on December 5,2012.[ citation needed ] A cover version by Allison Scagliotti appears in the Warehouse 13 episode "Don't Hate the Player",which aired on August 15,2011.[ citation needed ] An all-kazoo cover of the song was used in The Tick episode "Where's My Mind",which aired on August 25,2017. [26]
The original version of the song also featured in the films Gaz Bar Blues (2003), Mr. Nobody (2009), [27] Knock Knock (2015),and the teaser trailer for Thunderbolts* (2025). [28] Cover versions of the song have also widely been used in film:those by Yoav and Storm Large feature in Sucker Punch (2011) and Big Ass Spider! (2013),respectively. Safari Riot and Grayson Sanders’version of the song is used in Malignant (2021). The song's piano cover by Maxence Cyrin has seen the widest use:it has been featured in the television series The Leftovers (alongside the original version) and Mr. Robot ,in the film It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), [29] [30] and in the "Man Behind The Treasure" promotional material for the video game Uncharted 4:A Thief's End (2016).
The song's widespread use in film and television has been criticized as a narrative trope for informing audiences that characters suffer from multiple personalities or cannot distinguish reality. [31]
| Chart | Peak position | Year |
|---|---|---|
| France (SNEP) [32] | 78 | 2013 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [33] | 199 | 2014 |
| UK Indie (OCC) [34] | 17 | 2022 |
Credits adapted from the Surfer Rosa liner notes and release credits. [35]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada) [36] | 3×Platinum | 240,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI) [37] sales since 2009 | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) [38] | 3×Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) [39] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [40] sales since 2004 | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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