Gigantic

The driving bass melody in Gigantic is the heart of the song. It's a simple line, but it repeats throughout the entire piece, creating a solid and recognizable foundation. It is Kim Deal who takes the lead vocals on this track, delivering a performance that is said to have been inspired by the film Crimes of the Heart, where a married woman is attracted to a younger man. The lyrics, which describe the observation of an intimate scene, culminate in a catchy and direct chorus: "Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic / A big, big love". Curiously, in the credits, Kim Deal appears under the pseudonym Mrs John Murphy, a detail that is said to have been a feminist joke related to her then-husband.

Recorded for the album Surfer Rosa, released in 1988, Gigantic was chosen to be Pixies' first single the following year. Although it didn't reach the major sales charts, it received a reasonably successful reception for a debut release. 4AD executive Ivo Watts-Russell was looking for something that could be played on the radio, so he asked producer Gil Norton to work on Gigantic. Norton, a fan of the band, made adjustments to the mix and minor modifications to the arrangements, without drastically altering the essence of the original recording by Steve Albini. As part of the single's release, live versions of "Vamos" and "In Heaven (The Lady in the Radiator song)" were included, the latter from David Lynch's film Eraserhead, both recorded at the Town and Country Club in London. The single version was also included in the 2004 compilation Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies.