View source for Alec Eiffel

{{More citations needed|date=July 2021}}
{{distinguish|Alexandre Gustave Eiffel}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Alec Eiffel
| cover      = Pixies-Alec_Eiffel.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]]
| album      = [[Trompe le Monde]]
| A-side     = Alec Eiffel
| B-side     = {{Unbulleted list|'''American version:'''|"Letter to Memphis" (Instrumental)|"Build High"|"Evil Hearted You"|'''International version:'''|"Motorway to Roswell"|"Planet of Sound" (Live)|"Tame" (Live)}}
| released   = {{Start date|1991}}
| recorded   = 1991
| studio     = *Master Control, [[Burbank, California|Burbank]]
*[[Pacifique Recording Studios|Pacifique]], Burbank
*Studio des dames, Paris
[[Blackwing Studios|Blackwing]], London
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Alternative rock]]
| length     = 2:50
| label      = [[Elektra Records|Elektra]]
| writer     = [[Black Francis]]
| 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 [[United States|American]] [[alternative rock]] band [[Pixies (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 (music)|single]] in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and was their third single from the album.

==Composition==
The song references the French engineer [[Gustave Eiffel|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 {{sic}} a guy who's nice but not very bright."<ref name="titles">{{cite web | url=http://aleceiffel.free.fr/titles.html | title=Pixies Titles/Names | accessdate=2007-02-06 | publisher=Alec Eiffel}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=This is a fan site where quotes have no sources listed.|date=July 2021}}

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.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

==Video==
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.

==Critical reception==
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!"<ref name="titles" /> (Francis is actually singing "'''keeping low''', it don't make no sense", rather than "'''even though'''" which answers Melody Maker's question.){{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| all_writing     = [[Black Francis]], unless otherwise noted
| headline        = French CD single and UK 12"/CD single
| title1          = Alec Eiffel
| length1         = 2:50
| note1           = On the French CD single, tracks one and two are switched.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://aleceiffel.free.fr/eps.html#alec | title=Pixies Discography - EPs and singles | accessdate=2007-02-06 | publisher=Alec Eiffel| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070223102529/http://aleceiffel.free.fr/eps.html| archivedate= 23 February 2007 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref>
| title2          = Motorway to Roswell
| length2         = 4:43
| title3          = [[Planet of Sound]]
| note3           = Live at [[Brixton Academy]], July 26, 1991
| length3         = 2:26
| title4          = Tame
| note4           = Live at Brixton Academy, July 26, 1991
| length4         = 2:27
}}

{{Track listing
| headline        = UK 7" single
| title1          = Alec Eiffel
| length1         = 2:50
| title2          = Motorway to Roswell
| length2         = 4:43
}}

{{Track listing
| headline        = US CD single (1992)
| title1          = Alec Eiffel
| length1         = 2:50
| title2          = Letter to Memphis
| note2           = Instrumental
| length2         = 2:42
| title3          = Build High
| length3         = 1:43
| title4          = Evil Hearted You
| writer4         = [[Graham Gouldman]]
| length4         = 2:37
}}

==Cover versions==
* [[An April March]]'s cover was included on the 1999 tribute album ''[[List of Pixies tribute albums#Pixies Fuckin' Die! (a tribute)|Pixies Fuckin' Die! (a tribute)]]''.
* A cover by [[the Get Up Kids]] was included on the 1999 tribute album ''[[List of Pixies tribute albums#Where Is My Mind? a tribute to The Pixies|Where Is My Mind? a tribute to The Pixies]]'', and later released on their ''[[Eudora (album)|Eudora]]'' album in 2001.
* [[Cameron Brown (musician)|Cameron Brown]]'s cover was released on the 2003 tribute album ''[[List of Pixies tribute albums#hey: A Pixies Tribute|hey: A Pixies Tribute]]''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Pixies}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Songs about occupations]]
[[Category:Songs about Paris]]
[[Category:1991 singles]]
[[Category:Pixies (band) songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Black Francis]]
[[Category:Elektra Records singles]]
[[Category:1991 songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Gil Norton]]
[[Category:Gustave Eiffel]]