So, Guided By Voices have packed it in. Bob Pollard's band has been honored by the Mayors of Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, L.A., Bloomington, Indiana, and Newport, Kentucky with "Guided By Voices Day."

What do you think of this now-defunct rock and roll juggernaut? I've never followed them to any serious degree (I only own ONE of the box sets, f'rinstance!) and I only have some of the records, but I admire the man's chutzpah and his prolific nature. Not that we've seen the last of him...he's got a COMEDY record of sorts coming out, made up of the stage banter between GBV songs.

Personally, I'm a Bee Thousand man. I think it's a near perfect lo-fi pop record. But Alien Lanes is pretty good, too. I think "Teenage FBI," off of the Ric Ocasek-produced Do the Collapse would be a strong contender for my favorite single of the 1990's.

I can't really comment on their (rather vast) catalogue, considering I only own their "Best Of". It's a fun listen, though, and I plan to buy some of their proper albums, if I can find them (most record stores I know of only have the albums from the last three or so years, maybe from Earthquake Glue and onwards).

Who else thinks that "Echos Myron" is a really excellent song?

Edit: Uh, considering Earthquake Glue is their second-to-last album (just looked it up on All Music Guide), I'm sure that most stores have a few earlier albums than that. I doubt I'll ever find Bee Thousand on store shelves, though.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Biggles:


Who else thinks that "Echos Myron" is a really excellent song?

---

Like a great, lost British Invasion track, to be sure. Awesome choice, Biggles.

I'm not sure what US indie stuff makes it down under, Biggles. They shifted from small indies to bigger ones in 1999, which might mean you won't have much luck finding that stuff down there. There's a "Director's Cut" version of Bee Thousand available on vinyl, which includes a coupon to buy the otherwise unavailable Director's Cut version CD. But I'm sure you could score a copy of most of the early stuff from the 'Net.

The REALLY early stuff was compiled into a box whose name escapes me. It includes the 6 records (including a rarities collection) that preceded Bee Thousand.

In an interview, Pollard says he sold a vinyl copy of the first record (Propeller) on Ebay for $6200. WOW!

A followup: the box set I own is called Hardcore UFOs and features a version (sequenced differently from the version released on its own) of the greatest hits, plus 4 more music discs (a singles comp, an unreleased comp, a live disc and the first ep's first appearance on CD) and a DVD.

The other box I mentioned is simply called Box and features their 80's records.

There's a third box called Suitcase which compiles rarities and other ephemera.

"Echos Myron" is excellent, but I think "Tractor Rape Chain" is better.

GBV's okay, but their music is kinda homogenous. I've tried several times, but I can not listen to Alien Lanes all the way through. I just don't have the endurance.

I'm in agreement with you about listening to the records in their entireity (with the exception of Bee Thousand) but I listened to the hits disc today and I found, after 80 minutes, I wanted MORE!!! A collection of the best of GBV is really a good thing. And there are tracks from the later records (which I don't own) that are great..."Things I Will Keep" and "Surgical Focus" from Do the Collapse, "Chasing Heather Crazy" and "Glad Girls" from Isolation Drills and "Back to the Lake" from Universal Truths and Cycles are all really great songs.

They get compared to The Who a whole lot, but listening to them all day today made me come up with a new comparison: a lo-fi Cheap Trick. That's a good thing, in my book.

I have the last three GBV albums, and I could come up with 20 songs from those alone for a Greatest Of Album, but I never considered Cheap Trick. The Who is a given, but Peter Gabriel's vocals seem more akin to Pollard's vocal chords, but his guitar and songwriting are pure Pete Townsend.

quote:

---

Originally posted by philosopherEric:

I'm not sure what US indie stuff makes it down under, Biggles. They shifted from small indies to bigger ones in 1999, which might mean you won't have much luck finding that stuff down there. There's a "Director's Cut" version of Bee Thousand available on vinyl, which includes a coupon to buy the otherwise unavailable Director's Cut version CD. But I'm sure you could score a copy of most of the early stuff from the 'Net.

---

Well, you can find some obscure records around here, if you're lucky. I saw a copy of Slint's Spiderland in my record store of choice a little while ago, which was fairly limited-run, to my knowledge. If worst comes to worst, there's always Amazon.

Also, I read an article about that copy of Propeller. $6200 would have to be up there with a lot of the Beatles' first-edition albums or singles.

I am seriously excited about THIS.

the one thing that I have disliked about most of RP's recent output is the Todd Tobias input (he's been almost exclusively a part of all recent Pollard related releases). This should sound like the old classic Bobby P.

p.s. I know GbV put out a couple of albums on TVT, but could someone please move this to the indie thread?

Jeez, I had no idea how indifferent Metacritic users were to Guided by Voices-- my absolute favorte band of the last 30 years. Anyway, spurred by the "Short Songs" thread, I made the following compilation:

Guided by Voices – 1:30 – 2:00

01. “Queen of Cans and Jars” from Bee Thousand
02. “My Valuable Hunting Knife” from Alien Lanes
03. “Hardcore UFOs” from Bee Thousand
04. “Sister I Need Wine” from Isolation Drills
05. “As We Go Up, We Go Down” from Alien Lanes
06. “Deaf Ears” from The Official Ironmen Rally Song EP
07. “Melted Pat” from Get Out of My Stations EP
08. “Trendspotter Acrobat” from Sunfish Holy Breakfast EP
09. “Little Whirl” from Alien Lanes
10. “Unleashed! The Large-Hearted Boy” from Propeller
11. “You’re the Special” from Delicious Pie & Thank You For Calling
12. “Liar’s Tale” from Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia
13. “Pendulum” from Same Place the Fly Got Smashed
14. “Mushroom Art” from Do the Collapse
15. “Don’t Stop Now (Original Version)” from King Shit and the Golden Boys
16. “#2 in the Model Home Series” from Vampire on Titus
17. “Stabbing a Star” from Sunfish Holy Breakfast EP
18. “Optional Bases Opposed” from Tonics & Twisted Chasers
19. “Atom Eyes” from Under the Bushes Under the Stars
20. “Blimps Go 90” from Alien Lanes
21. “Hot Freaks” from Bee Thousand
22. “Gold Star for Robot Boy” from Bee Thousand
23. “Teenage FBI (Original Version)” from Wish in One Hand EP
24. “Always Crush Me” from Alien Lanes
25. “Closer You Are” from Alien Lanes
26. “The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory” from Bee Thousand
27. “Dayton, Ohio – 19 Something and 5” from Tonics & Twisted Chasers
28. “Scissors” from King Shit and the Golden Boys
29. “Buzzards and Dreadful Crows” from Bee Thousand
30. “Non-Absorbing” from Vampire on Titus
31. “Captain’s Dead” from Devil Between My Toes
32. “My Son Cool” from Alien Lanes
33. “Can’t Hear the Revolution” from Mag Earwhig!
34. “Discussing Walace Chambers” from Devil Between My Toes
35. “Scalding Creek” from Get Out of My Stations EP
36. “Idiot Princess” from Hold On Hope EP
37. “The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet” from The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet Mini LP
38. “Club Molluska” from Same Place the Fly Got Smashed
39. “He’s the Uncle” from Superchunk Split 7”
40. “King and Caroline” from Alien Lanes
41. “Shot On Posters” from Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia
42. “Back to Saturn X Radio Report” from Propeller
43. “Rhine Jive Click” from Under the Bushes Under the Stars
44. “Game of Pricks” from Alien Lanes
45. “Drinker’s Peace” from Same Place the Fly Got Smashed
46. “14 Cheerleader Coldfront” from Propeller

They have so many GREAT songs under two minutes, I decided to make two comps. This is the first. Stay tuned for the really short songs compilation.

EDIT: Total Disc Time = 1:19:22

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Maximum Jack,

Welcome to MJ's GbV Blog!

Okay, I realize no one else cares, but I'm going to keep posting stuff here in the hope that some future Metacric patron will stumble upon this and smile.

A few words about the above compilation. I went through quite an obsessive Robert Pollard fascination period (probably 1994-2001), so I've got pretty much every note the guy has ever released (sometimes in multiple formats). I had been toying with the idea of downloading every song into one Robert Pollard-specific iPod. So the "Short Song" thread spurred me to get going on this project. So far I've downloaded all the proper GbV albums, eps, singles and rarities compilations (including a few boots I have that have yet to see proper release). I have not downloaded either of the two Suitcase Box Sets, because I lump those in with Pollard-solo material. So far I've got 481 songs (1006 MB, 17:52:14). Of those, 202 songs are 120 seconds or less! 91 songs are between 1:30 and 2:00, so I could easily make another disc-- though it wouldn't be quite as listenable. I listened to my comp a couple of times through yesterday after agonizing over the final track sequencing. It really flows well and makes for quite a fantastic overview of the entire GbV catalog.

I'm a huge GBV fan as well. You're missing out on some great stuff if you don't have the suitcases though. No short-song-GBV compilation is complete without Wondering Boy Poet.

Also, you need the live version of Unleashed, that appeared as a b-side on some single or other, as it's much better than the Propeller version

Favourite GBV album? Mine is Under The Bushes Under The Stars. Unlike every other GBV release, there isn't a single track on there I could junk.

That first Suitcase is riddled with gems, "Wondering Boy Poet" (1:08) is definitely one of my faves. Other great songs from that compilation which will find there way onto some future Sub-2-minute, Pollardie Mix:

"Flesh Ears From June" (1:59)
"Little Jimmy the Giant" (1:53)
"The Terrible Two" (1:43)
"Messenger" (1:55)
"Sing it Out" (1:12)
"Long Way to Run" (1:38)
"Carnival at the Morning Star School" (1:05)
"Trying to Make it Work Again" (1:04)

I'm not quite as familiar with the second suitcase as it came out when my love for Pollard was on the wan.

One of my friends (who knows what a GbV completist I am) sent me a copy of:

3 Dream Bag - Memory Garden (2007)

It's pretty interesting if you like lo-fi, Beatles-esque indie-rock. It features Greg Demos (who was the greatest performing bassist to ever lend his talents to GbV) and Don Thrasher (who played drums in various early incarnations of GbV and Swearing at Motorists).

Check out their My Space Page, if'n yer interested.

MJ, since you seem to know a lot about Pollard and Guided by Voices, I need to ask: how do you take Guided by Voices and Pollard? I mean, once you own Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, and you really like what you hear, where do you go? As you said, Robert Pollard has made over 800 songs in ten years. What album do I get next and where do I go with from there?

IMO, you can't go wrong with these (if you don't mind the lo-fi aesthetic):

1) Bee Thousand
2) Propeller (if you can find the version of Vampire on Titus/Propeller twofer, get it!)
3) Alien Lanes
4) Under the Bushes Under the Stars
5) Vampire on Titus

Once you've digested any of the above, you'll know whether or not you'll want to take the plunge on the rest of the early stuff.

Now, if you're hung up on production try these:

1) Do the Collapse (yes, produced by and IMO ruined by Ric Ocasek-- I say ruined because I remember hearing this in demo form for months before the final version came out and I was extremely disappointed. I did, however, grow to love it.)
2) Isolation Drills (produced by Rob Schnapf)
3) Mag Earwig (actually this is sort of a bridge record between their lo-fi and hi-fi years)

Their last three albums (Universal Truths and Cycles, Earthquake Glue, and Half Smiles of the Decomposed) had their moments too, but I would reccomend them only if you really like any of the above. The same would be true for the early years, because the only way to get that stuff is by shelling out for the box set which compiles the first four albums and a disc of early rarities.

The Hardcore UFOs box is a lot to digest for the uninitiated. I totally believe that it was aimed at diehard fans and not meant as an intro to GbV. Still there is some amazing stuff on there that you can't find anywhere else-- and it has the "Watch Me Jumpstart" DVD, which makes for a fine intro documentary on the Classic period band.

Hope that helps.

Also, RE: Pollard solo.

I would rank three of his albums pretty high up on my list of favorite records.

1) Not in My Airforce (1996) - This to me is right up there with with the best stuff GbV ever released)
2) Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department (1999) - This one is probably my favorite Pollard related album post-Under the Bushes, which was the last album that featured the classic lineup.
3) Choreographed Man of War (2001) - Released the same year as Isolation Drills. At the time I liked the GbV album more, but I think this album has aged better-- and is really quite exceptional.

Max Jack,
I've never known a lot of their catalog but I like what I've heard. I like songs like Game of Pricks and especially Chasing Heather Crazy, songs that are fast, uptempo, etc. Maybe you could suggest 5 to 10 songs that are similar to those. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by besttasteinmusicever:
Max Jack,
I've never known a lot of their catalog but I like what I've heard. I like songs like Game of Pricks and especially Chasing Heather Crazy, songs that are fast, uptempo, etc. Maybe you could suggest 5 to 10 songs that are similar to those. Thanks.

That's the side of Pollard I enjoy the best. Here are five songs you might want to check out:

"Choking Tara [Creamy Version]" (2:15) - Originally released on Matador's Everything is Nice 10th Anniversary Anthology. Now it is available on the Hardcore UFOs Box Set. The original version of the song is from Mag Earwhig! and is also very lovely, but it is almost a full minute shorter and a little less . . . well . . . creamy.

"Your Name is Wild" (2:01) - Originally released on the fantastic Under the Bushes Under the Stars LP. I've got a live recording of this where Pollard says "That should be our next single" right as the song finishes. It should have been.

"Fly Into Ashes" (2:15) - Only available on CD via the "Hold On Hope" EP (There were various versions of this EP, the best being the Australian U.S. Version which compiled most the B-sides from this period). How Pollard and Ric Ocasek decided to leave this amazing song off of Do the Collapse, I'll never know.

"The Best of Jill Hives" (2:42) - From 2003's Earthquake Glue. Not one of my favorite GbV albums, but this song is sublime and probably one of my 10 favorite songs ever penned by Bobby Pop.

"My Valuable Hunting Knife" (2:00) OR "My Valuable Hunting Knife [7" Version]" (2:26) - Either version of this song is fantastic. The first version is on Alien Lanes and is the better known version. The second, was originally on their vinyl only, Tigerbomb EP, although it is now available via the Hardocore UFOs Box. On the 7" version, they slow it down somewhat, and add handclaps. Really quite marvelous in either incarnation.

EDIT: I just realized that I had my "Hold On Hope" EPs mixed up. It was the American version which compiled the extra b-sides, not the Australian. Also, I've got to run now, but I'll do another list of five songs which showcase Pollard's more "rawk" side-- as these five tend to be poppier.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Maximum Jack,

quote:

Originally posted by Maximum Jack:
3) Mag Earwig (actually this is sort of a bridge record between their lo-fi and hi-fi years)

Mag Earwig was the first GVB album I bought (although Under The Bushes... was the first one I heard). For the reason you stated above, I think it's a strong album in the GBV catalog. Bob was still at a point where he could almost do no wrong, but they got to a point recording-wise where it didn't sound like they were recording with a cheap 4-track in a basement.

It's got some terrific tunes on it, including "Bulldog Skin", "I Am A Tree", "Learning To Hunt", "Choking Tara", and "Jane of the Waking Universe".