Guided By Voices/Robert Pollard.

Hello Hello

Tanner (The Truth) actually started a GBV thread long ago (of course, he and I were the only participants), though I can't find it now (does this search function ever work?), and I don't think it's been used for close to a year now.

My GBV adventure began probably about 1993.  I subscribed to Spin Magazine, and read a little blurb about them, not much else.  A little while later in Tower Records (RIP), I found an EP of theirs called "Japanese Spin Cycle", and bought it just because I was curious.  I think it just preceded the landmark "Bee Thousand" album, but I missed all that hubbub because I didn't really like this EP that much to follow them further.  It's about 10 minutes long with 8 songs, and only a couple of them really sounded good.

Fast forward a couple of years, circa 1996,   The album "Under the Bushes Under the Stars" came out, and -- get this -- my local "alternative rock" station played one of the songs on the air, called "Look at Them".  I thought it was a cool song so I went and got the album.  It was much better than the EP, but I still wasn't fully converted into a fan.

The next album "Mag Earwhig" came out, and I got into that one a lot more.  I guess I liked the more conventional rock sound it had (I loved "Bulldog Skin").   I lent it to a friend, and he was impressed enough to go out and buy "Bee Thousand", which he then lent to me.  Then was I converted?  No, not yet.   I thought Bee Thousand was kind of a drag, actually.  I love it now, though.

But then my friend lent me "BOX".  I remember my job at the time had me going to an office about a one hour drive away, for a couple of weeks.  I had a 120-minute cassette containing 4 of the 5 discs of "BOX" (yes, it all fit except for one or two songs).  I listened to that tape every day in the car on that drive and I was totally hooked on it.  Hard to even explain why (I did have some herbal assistance for the ride home, though), but to this day it's my favorite stuff of theirs.

Eventually I started buying up all their albums, even the cumbersome "Suitcase" 4 disc set of 100 unreleased tracks.  Although, each successive album after "Mag Earwhig" seemed to impress me less and less.  I much preferred the early stuff up to and including "Alien Lanes".  There are exceptions of course; I play in a band and "Glad Girls" is one of the first songs we learned, and we still play it today.

So right now I've got every GBV studio album (incl 1 vinyl), several EPs, and about 4 Pollard solo albums, 2 Boston Spaceships, 1 Circus Devils, and a partridge in a pear tree.  I like the latest GBV releases quite a lot, too.


Edited by HolyMoly - January 19 2013 at 12:10

^ The street date was today but I had preordered through Rockathon Records so I got it a good week early.  They have really made a wonderful comeback recently, 5 news singles go on sale at the start of February through Rockathon, I suggest you order through them because they will all ship immediately whereas you get the one-by-one throughout the month otherwise.

I've got way too much GBV and Pollard related stuff, I've probably got every GBV album, every Pollard solo album, every Boston Spaceships album, every Circus Devils album as well as assorted side-projects here and there.

I get dizzy just thinking about it.

just noticed alot of stuff on amazon US is ridculously cheap compared to UK site.........thanks to you two for puttng up album covers in the "what you listening to " section it has respurned my love of GBV/ robert pollard......going t listento some right now

Hey Felix, thanks for signing up!  Cool that the UK has a special event just for GBV/Pollard, I wasn't aware that they had that many fans outside the US.   The thought of GBV karaoke sounds fun.  I'll bet you there's at least one geezer every year that pulls his hamstring from trying to do a "Pollard high-kick" move.

Stick around.

hi topper....i'm just down the road near oxford.........ya i adore GBV.......but i didnt know they are not that well known in UK.....liked them now for about 18 years.......but only just rediscovered them again

Ady Cardiac wrote: hi topper....i'm just down the road near oxford.........ya i adore GBV.......but i didnt know they are not that well known in UK.....liked them now for about 18 years.......but only just rediscovered them again

 
Hey Mate,
  
Yeah, just down the road. Cool. Let me know if you ever want to grab a pint or catch a gig. I used to hang in Oxford quite a bit. I remember the Bullingdon Arms and Far from the Madding Crowd Pub. 
  
I also was into GBV on the 90's but, for whatever reason, stopped buying their newer releases and sort of fell behind. Just a few years ago I got back into them and really glad I did. To be honest I am listening to a lot of 90's music and bands I was into. For instance Dinosaur Jr. Loved them in to 90's and they have released two great albums in the last few years that are great. In fact, I was debating whether or not to go see them in Feb. What debate?? LOL!! So anyway, I l am listening to Sebadoh, Yo La Tengo, Pavement, Fugazi, Neutral Milk Hotel, Teenage Fanclub.
  
It's not all 90's though. Some of the "Newer" bands I like are TV on The Radio, Grizzly Bear, Sea Wolf, War on Drugs, and Real Estate. Pretty cool bands in my opinion.  
 
Cool man...And I agree with whoever said "Bee Thousand" was in their top 20. Definitely.   
 
Take care.

HolyMoly wrote: Yo La Tengo and Pavement are two more of my very favorites from the 1990s.  And Yo La Tengo just seems to get better and better.  Still need to get their brand new one. Fugazi's hard to beat, too.  I kind of lost track of them after their first 3 albums but just recently caught myself up. Sebadoh's a band I only got into in the last couple of years, but they're very cool too.

saying of pavement i've been fortunate to see them twice......once in the mid '90's in oxford and then again at ATP festival a few years ago.....both great gigs......got eveything pavement have done includeing some rare singles.....yeah was a bit of a grunger and still do lovr bands like mudhoney, tad , nirvana......pretty much anything on 4AD label......fugazi.........then again love alot of brit stuff like the fall and the the.......i could go on and on......

I never got to see Pavement, but then again, I didn't really like them until just a few years ago when they clicked with me big time.  In a way, I was fortunate to get into them so late, just as the deluxe 2 disc versions of their albums were getting released.  There's some amazing stuff in those "bonus tracks", including a full early show at Brixton Academy.

As for Malkmus solo, I really love the "Real Emotional Trash" album, just some amazing guitar work on that one.

I saw Fugazi in 1990 I believe, touring on their "Repeater" album.  Incredible show.  The opening band was just 2 guys with acoustic guitars, sitting on stools singing low key songs.  Someone told me one of them used to be in Dinosaur Jr.  I didn't know it at the time, but it turned out to be Sebadoh.  I think it was just Jason and Lou, no Eric.  I didn't get into them until much much later, but it was cool to have seen them that early, even though I don't really remember it much.

Topper mentioned the Jesus Lizard too.  Wow, now there's a band.  I saw them around the same time as the Fugazi show, opening for Sonic Youth ("Goo" tour).  I didn't know anything about Jesus Lizard at the time, but boy I sure remember that show.  David Yow is one intense guy.   I helped hold him up at he leaned way off the front of the stage, sweating, growling, and screaming, looking like he was trying to hurt himself.   It took me several years to pick up one of their albums, but I was an instant fan then, and have them all now.

I see this becoming the long awaited Indie Rock thread. 


Edited by HolyMoly - January 28 2013 at 06:55