Alec Eiffel Alec Eiffel "Alec Eiffel" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, and is the third track on 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 in France, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was their third single from the album. The song references the French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty; Francis thought it was a "fascinating subject" to compose a
Gustave Eiffel designed by Charles Garnier, later among the most prominent critics of the Tower. The dome, with a diameter of , was the largest in the world when built and used an ingenious bearing device: rather than running on wheels or rollers, it was supported by a ring-shaped hollow girder floating in a circular trough containing a solution of magnesium chloride in water. This had been patented by Eiffel in 1881. The design of the Eiffel Tower was originated by Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, who had discussed ideas for a centrepiece for the 1889 Exposition Universelle. In May 1884 Koechlin,