Pixies: They've gone a bit Blue Peter

The word "fun". It's like a coded cry for help, isn't it?

With the late-April release of Indie Cindy, the first new Pixies studio album in more than 20 years, the band, along with legendary graphic designer Vaughan Oliver, is calling upon the Pixies’ artistic community to participate in a fun contest where art and music converge.

You have Vaughan Oliver. Why would you invite amateur input? "Hey, we've got Duke Ellington offering to do something for the new record, so we thought we'd get some people to send in cassette tapes of them playing piano and he could choose the best one, albeit one which will fall quite short of his piano playing."

Pixies - Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering - are looking for committed fans and artists to create a unique Pixies-inspired design measuring 11” X 17” (279mm x 432mm) that utilizes Pixies logos and the "Indie Cindy” album title - everything else can be a product of the artist’s creativity and ingenuity. All submissions will be personally judged by the three Pixies band members and by Vaughan Oliver, who has designed all Pixies artwork over the band’s career. The winning designer will receive a cash prize of $500 and an autographed copy of the winning design. The design itself will be used as a limited-edition, commemorative lithograph print that will be offered as a bonus item with the purchase of the band’s new album at independent music stores.

"Hello? Is that the guy whose record shop is struggling in the face of an onslaught from digital music shops? We've got a plan to offer something special to tempt customers onto your street. Yeah, does sound good, doesn't it? What? Well, you know Vaughan Oliver? Yeah, you do? Right, well, he's going to choose a fan drawing for you to give away exclusively. Hello?"

"We love the idea that people make our music their own,” said Pixies Black Francis, “that they have their own interpretation of the lyrics and the songs’ meanings. So, we’re really excited to see what the artists in our fan base come up with in terms of visuals, how they ‘SEE’ our music."

That's how the press release renders "see". I don't know why, but I'm sure it's fun.

Kim Deal issued her own press statement, saying simply "you see? Do you understand now?"