Alec Eiffel should not be confused with Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.
| Alec Eiffel | |
| Cover: | Pixies-Alec_Eiffel.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Pixies |
| Album: | Trompe le Monde |
| A-Side: | Alec Eiffel |
| Recorded: | 1991 |
| Studio: |
Blackwing, London |
| Genre: | Alternative rock |
| Length: | 2:50 |
| Label: | Elektra |
| Producer: | Gil Norton |
| Prev Title: | Planet of Sound |
| Prev Year: | 1991 |
| Next Title: | Letter to Memphis |
| Next Year: | 1991 |
"Alec Eiffel" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, from their 1991 album Trompe le Monde. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis, produced by Gil Norton and recorded during the album's recording sessions. "Alec Eiffel" was released as a single in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and was their third single from the album.
The song references the French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty; Francis thought it was a "fascinating subject" to compose a song about. Francis also mentioned another meaning of the song: "Because of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, but also because it's funny: in Australia, you often say 'It's a smart Alec' for a guy who's nice but not very bright."[1]
Australians generally use the word to describe someone who is speaking out of turn, often in a way that makes them appear more intelligent than the person or group they are addressing. In Britain and the United States, a "smart Alec" is the exact opposite of Francis' description: someone who is intelligent, but mean or sarcastic.
The song's video features the band playing in a wind-tunnel, a reference to the "pioneer of aerodynamics", with physics formulae in the background.
The British magazine Melody Maker later commented on Francis' songwriting technique and the song itself: "According to Charles, the song started with Eiffel, then he started to [sic] singing the words "Eiffel, rifle, trifle", and suddenly 'everything fell into place'. It's not certain whether lines like 'little Eiffel stands in the archway, even though it doesn't make no sense' are an observation of the lunacy of the architecture or the song itself, which features a Sixties' -style zither!" (Francis is actually singing "keeping low, it don't make no sense", rather than "even though" which answers Melody Maker's question.)