Entertainment

Lightning In a Bottle, Pixies' Style

by Kristie Rohwedder

Do you recognize the song that plays as a human successfully catches lightning in a jar in that commercial for the 2016 Acura ILX? Perhaps you can't quite place where or why you know it? Look no further, for I have your answer right here: It's an orchestral cover of Pixies hit “Where Is My Mind,” aka the song that queues up at the end of Fight Club when—WARNING: I’m about to spoil what happens in the very last scene of a 15-year-old movie — the narrator (Edward Norton) and Marla Singer (Helena Bonham-Carter) clasp hands and stare out the window as the surrounding skyline explodes and collapses.

"Where Is My Mind" appears on the Pixies’ 1988 debut album Surfer Rosa, and it's arguably the iconic alternative band's most well-known track. (And thanks to that Apple ad that ran last year, I think "Gigantic" might've climbed its way to the number two slot.) The song's been featured in approximately ten million (rough estimate) movies, commercials, and TV shows. Additionally, approximately ten million (again, rough estimate) different artists have put their own spin on “Where Is My Mind”. Remember when M.I.A. sampled the track for the chorus of her song “20 Dollar”? AUGH that jam is so good.

So, who’s behind this chamber musicification of “Where Is My Mind”? The Pixies! Er, sort of. According to the Acura YouTube page, the band's lead guitarist Joey Santiago recorded the orchestral version for Acura.

Here's the band performing the song at Coachella back in 2004:

And while we're here, here's the last scene of Fight Club:

Aaaaand here's the ad:

The jar of lightning and the human sit in a parked Acura. The jar of lightning turns to look at the human. "You met me at a very strange time in my life," the jar of lightning says. The human blinks a few times, picks up the jar of lightning, unscrews the lid, and releases the lightning into the car. There's a giant burst of light. The screen fades to black.

Image: Acura/YouTube