U2 Vs. the Pixies
I actually wrote a very long post on this subject the other day which blogger lost, so I am going to make this a fast one. Let's first go over the basic elements of the bands

Lead Singer: Frank Black Vs. Bono- You have to be kidding. If these two were at a Karaoke competition, Bono's sheer vocal strength would destroy Black. Honestly, Bono's vocal strength on tracks like 'Pride (in the name of love)' or 'Bad' is unmatched by the Black's vocals. I cannot honestly think of one Pixies song where Black stunned me with his vocal abilities. I can name about a million U2 songs where Bono did.
Edge: Bono

Guitar: Even those who don't like Edge or think that his guitar solos or riffs are too 'simple', they will concede that you can tell the instant Edge is playing on the radio. He's distinct, melding blues and ancient Irish guitar strumming techniques. Joey Santiago, on the other hand is another indie rock guitarist, as is Frank Black. Ooooh, surfer tunes. Dick Dale did it best because he invented the genre. Also, standard downstroke barre chords are about as unique as the Boston riff they 'invented' for 'Debaser'. I'll say that using a weird rhythm on 'Digging for Fire' is decent, but not revolutionary. Not that simplicity is bad, but they lacked the interesting chord progressions that Kim Deal had in the Breeders. 'Sides, even U2 haters concede Edge is cool. Can you beat that toque that he wore for 'Numb' video? Nope.
Edge: Edge

Drums: Check out U2's war album and skip to either 'Sunday Bloody..', where Mullens' beat is comparable in complexity to drum n' bass, or 'Two Hearts...' where he basically invented the superfast symbol hitting, or skip to Mofo on Pop, which was a one take effort. That is no joke, since Mullens' effort was considered to be 'electronic drum machines' by idiotic music reviewers. That's effort. Pixies: Standard beats. That's it: nothing really stands out as original drumming
Edge: Mullens (that's whassup).

Bass: Kim Deal is cool, and probably more punk than the rest the Pixies put together. If I were Kim, I probably would have left the Pixies out of boredom, because they had no interesting bass lines or progressions (okay, that's probably too harsh). She only got to bring out the cool lines and high fret work was when she was with the Breeders. Lame*10. Clayton had his moments during the eighties, and the rhythm work on 'mofo' was key.
Edge: Kim 'What's the' Deal.

Lyrics: The Pixies specialized in funny, interesting and free association lyrics which are fine for Beck and talking about a brain spinning in the ocean, but they lack any emotional depth. Black made lyrics to laugh at, but they had no greater message other than nihilism, depression and introspection. Bono, despite his unneeded flamboyance and awkward phrasing ("All that you can't leave behind"? WTF?!) has a wide range of interesting lyrics. We're talking about 25 years of songwriting, encompassing drug addiction, a last call by a man running out of change in hell, a gay son talking to his dad about his inevitable death from AIDS, a conversation between Judas and Jesus, the foreign policy shenanigans in the central america, Billie Holiday, a request for Jesus to rise from the dead....

I'll put it like this: The Joshua Tree could have been published as poetry, while the Pixies...not so much. This is 'Bullet the Blue Sky' on da Tree:

In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses
See the flames higher and higher

That's a powerful lyric...compare this to 'Debaser' by the Pixies, a funny and energetic song...and viewed as *the* song by Pixie lovers (and I don't disassociate myself from this group):

got me a movie
i want you to know
slicing up eyeballs
i want you to know
girlie so groovy
i want you to know
don't know about you
but i am un chien andalusia
wanna grow
up to be
be a debaser, debaser

got me a movie
ha ha ha ho
slicing up eyeballs
ha ha ha ho
girlie so groovie
ha ha ha ho
don't know about you
but i am un chien andalusia

debaser

Is there any comparison? This is a fun, jokey song with a decent delivery..but there is no comparison lyrics wise.
Edge: U2

But look at this way: While U2 was politically revolutionary, the Pixies only motive was to become the next Ramones-to take on the 'decadence' that the Ramones saw in the early seventies, but in the eighties. But what Pixie boosters have to remember, is that U2 was a part of that garage wave. Listen to the early albums or look at footage from the concerts: they were a punk band-and as the clash faded, U2 became the only band that mattered. They took up causes, attacked apartheid in South Africa and militancy in Northern Ireland. Yes, Bono is a bit preachy but he knows it and has a sense of humour about it. The point is, U2 was a part of that initial wave of garage bands, but they evolved past barre chords and limited lyricism to put a string of unparalled albums in terms of quality and sonic dynamism.

The Pixies sat in their comfort zone and stayed there. Which is fine, but they didn't lead a charge against rock decadence...it's like Jesus Jones said:

A women on the radio
Talks about
Revolution
When it already passed her by

The Pixies were leading a battle that had already been won. While Nirvana and the Pixies raged against Duran Duran, INXS and U2, U2 had already moved on and recreated themselves and were on to new sonic pastures by the time the 'revolution' supposedly caught up with them.

****I could go on forever about this, but I'll stop here******...