"U-Mass" is a song about the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Black Francis met Joey Santiago before dropping out to form Pixies. In a 2001 interview, Santiago recalled that the original guitar riff was written while they were still enrolled. The song is thought to be about college apathy and Black Francis' frustrations with the school. Fans have also remarked that the song's main riff and chorus sections sound quite similar to Nirvana's "Nevermind" album, this makes sense as Cobain was a Pixies fan.