Re: Guided by Voices/Robert Pollard
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 2:12 pm
The Records That Changed My Life – Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices
From Spin September 22, 2004
From Spin September 22, 2004
The place for all things HeAthens
http://www.threedimesdown.com/forum/
http://www.threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8763
Indeed! Been enjoying this and dipping my toes in here and there whenever I find the time for it. (Missing my daily commute to work with 45 min to an hour of "useless time" which was my main way of taking in music these days prior to covid. Home office situation with 4 people in the house is not ideal)dime in the gutter wrote:this thread delivers massively.
well done.
Thanks, fellas. With such a massive, sprawling catalog, GBV/Robert Pollard is an intimidating and confusing artist to get into. I hope this thread helps with that process for those who have ever thought of taking the plunge. He has always championed the 4 ‘Ps’ of rock and roll - pop, psych, prog & punk. Some of his material is way out there and inaccessible, but a good amount of it is brilliant. His ability to take such a wide range of influences and distill them down to his own ragged brand of music is truly amazing. I am very late to the party, but it has been a rewarding experience immersing myself in the weird and wonderful world of Robert Pollard.RolanK wrote:Indeed! Been enjoying this and dipping my toes in here and there whenever I find the time for it. (Missing my daily commute to work with 45 min to an hour of "useless time" which was my main way of taking in music these days prior to covid. Home office situation with 4 people in the house is not ideal)dime in the gutter wrote:this thread delivers massively.
well done.
Wait, what? I thought that was poppers, psilocybin, PBR, and poontang.cortez the killer wrote: He has always championed the 4 ‘Ps’ of rock and roll - pop, psych, prog & punk.
Had to look up the second 'P', but I think you might trump Pollard on this one, Flea.Flea wrote:Wait, what? I thought that was poppers, psilocybin, PBR, and poontang.cortez the killer wrote: He has always championed the 4 ‘Ps’ of rock and roll - pop, psych, prog & punk.
The majority of the album was recorded in a professional studio, save for three tracks that were recorded in Pollard’s new home studio, The Public Hi-Fi Balloon. Those three tracks are some of the lowest fidelity to appear on a GBV record. While the previous two reunion albums were strong and cohesive, this one is a bit of an uneven affair. It has a handful of strong tracks, but the album has a disjointed feel and contains what feels like a bit of filler. This is surprising in that this is the first GBV reunion void of song fragments or snippets. Some of the frustration and stagnation detailed above appears to have bled into the creation of English Little League, with the reunion hitting its first significant speed bump.The Guided By Voices project, as any fan knows, both requires and rewards effortful listening, and lazybones who dismiss the volume of Pollard's output as (basically) impossible misunderstand the care with which he assembles his dreamscapes. Whiny types will thus be dismayed to learn that Pollard has recently installed a studio in his house (first fruits can be found on "A Burning Glass," among others here), the better to transform his oneiric musings to immediate art, but converts to the clubhouse will be overcome—some will in fact faint—at the news. The plan at present is to release three Guided By Voices albums per year until the end of time, but in the world according to Robert Pollard, "plans" does not mean what it means to you and me. "Plans" to him are moving ideas caught momentarily in stasis, and subject as often to revision as to fruition. Which is to say only that you never know what the future will bring, only what the past has brought, and the past has now brought you the fourth Guided By Voices album in little more than a year. You should probably buy someone a drink to celebrate. You should definitely celebrate.
Life is short. Guided By Voices is long.
Thanks, Jack! Appreciate the feedback.Jack Flash wrote:I too have been following and loving these write-ups, Cortez. I haven’t paid much attention to the post-reunion stuff because there’s been so much of it and most of what I have heard hasn’t grabbed me much. Plus Half Smiles felt like such a perfect swan song to me that it seems a shame to pile on so many releases after it. But I checked out The Bears for Lunch today and it really is great. Strong UTBUTS vibes. So looking forward to the forthcoming reviews to see what else I may have overlooked among the recent releases...
...though I’m still a little pissed that Picture Me Big Time only got a 7. Come the fuck on! That’s a motherfucking 10 if I ever heard one.
The final one was recorded at Cyberteknics in Dayton, Ohio during the 2013-14 polar vortex that gripped Ohio. With Kevin Fennell out of the band, Pollard turned to Kevin March who was behind the kit on the previous lineup's final two albums, Earthquake Glue and Half Smiles of the Decomposed. With the addition of March’s powerful drumming abilities, they are turned up more in the mix on Cool Planet. This is a wise decision as he brings the kind of propulsive energy to the songs that Keith Moon once provided for Pollard’s rock heroes, The Who. The remainder of the band was what remained of the classic lineup. With the exception of Tobin Sprout’s songs, which he recorded in his home studio like he did with all the reunion albums, this was the first of the reunion LPs to be recorded in just one studio location. Bob had the songs already written and ready to go. The band did a few rehearsals and then banged out Cool Planet in two days. While the previous record was primarily an upbeat, party-like power pop affair, this one shows greater sonic diversity, with a more melancholic vibe than its predecessor. Upon its release, Cool Planet received mixed reviews. Personally, I think it is a very strong final statement from the classic lineup. There is little to no fat on the record and it delivers some all-time classic GBV anthems. I feel like this one failed to register with most casual Pollard/GBV fans (the fanatics eat up anything Bob releases), but it is another strong second-half entry into the band’s ever-growing catalog.Look what Guided By Voices have done for the world since reforming in 2010. Six high-quality full-length albums in less than four years. And that’s not counting EPs, singles, tours, or solo records. If the sorry state of the present day indie-, alt- or just plain rock landscape is the disease, Guided By Voices is the cure! Do not take in moderation.