Special Feature: When You Lose Your Favorite Band
Day 2- Wished I Was A Giant: Guided by Voices

It happened, dudes, I saw Guided by Voices for the last time ever. It was really incredible. It felt good. It felt right. They played the classics, the unknown classics, and some songs I had never seen them play before. Something I feel like I should mention was that during one of the songs, I can't remember what it was but there was a lyric saying something like "and nobody is feeling it anymore" and then Pollard added in "not even REM." Now, mind you, Pollard is known for his ridiculous band bashing on stage, and no one should really take it seriously. Most of the time I think he is just trying to give the fans something to laugh about and an interesting show. This statement felt much more signifigant to me though. He is usually so flippant and not respectful at all, but that statement represents a feeling of respect and sadness that his old heroes have hit the skids. Probably a reason for ending GBV, even though Pollard won't admit to it, is that he is sick of hearing critics reporting in negatively on new albums and comparing then to their so-called golden period. So, he made a album that he felt really strongly about (this years' Half Smiles of the Decomposed) and got out -- a decision I respect immensely.

What is this golden period that these critics are always going on about, you may ask? Well, we left off right as the golden period was beginning. Guided by Voices had just made their best record to date, Propeller, in which Pollard had planned to end the band after due to lack of interest and pressure from family about the band taking away from his responsibilities. Something weird happened, though, they finally started to get some attention. Some of the 500 copies of Propeller got to some influential people and suddenly a few people had heard of this weird band from Dayton, OH. Matt Sweeney of the band Chavez became a big supporter of the band and tried to find the band a label, because up to this point every record they had made was self released. A small record label, Scat Records, decided to take a show on these already aging rockers (by this time Pollard was already 35 or 36 years old), and then the deluge began. In the next few years Guided by Voices would record hundreds of songs, armed with a new confidence and someone else to pay the bills for the records.

The first Guided by Voices release not on their own dime was The Grand Hour EP. The EP came in early 93 and was the first thing I heard from Guided by Voices, after I found it on 7" in my favorite local music store, Soundsationswhich has the nicest owners, Pete and Lee) and bought it without ever hearing the band. It was alienating and weird. It still sounds really weird. All the short weird blasts, weird noises, songs with other songs ontop, sorta freaked me out. The Grand Hour includes what is possibly the greatest rock'n'roll song of all time "Shocker in Gloomtown," another great one entitled "Break Even," and the first Tobin Sprout only penned song "Off the Floor." GBV started messing around with using 4 tracks and 8 tracks instead of the same old studio process on Propeller and they took this deeper on The Grand Hour. This is the sound of a band really coming into it's own. Another interesting thing about The Grand Hour is how you start to see Robert Pollard's tactic of using parts of songs and lyrics more than once. "Break Even" opens with the first 10 seconds or so of another track, which we later would find out to be "Hot Freaks" that appeared in full on Bee Thousand. Two of the tracknames on The Grand Hour later on become album titles, "Bee Thousand," and "Alien Lanes." This tactic, re-use of titles and sounds, might not work in other context, but with this band and this incredibly prolific songwriter it adds this cohesion to his body of work as a whole. It also lends a little bit of insight into Pollard's creative process, as it makes the albums and songs feel like grand collages made up of cute up words and sounds and ideas, which is a really interesting way of going about making music.

Vampire on Titus quickly followed on the heels of The Grand Hour and was the 1st full length GBV released on Scat Records. The band went all the way with the 4 track vibes and a lot of the album is a little toned down as far as instrumentation. Many songs are guitar and vocals alone, but that is not a bad thing as this album really allowed the band to become comfortable producing their own stuff. This was also around the time that the band's core of Robert Pollard, Jim Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Greg Demos, and Kevin Fennell became more solid as they band started to play live shows towards the end of the year for the first time in about 6 years. A somber album, Vampire on Titus, is really good, but ultimately a stepping stone to what was to come. The entire Propeller album was added on after Vampire on the first pressing of the CD, making it Propeller's debut on CD format.

Another EP, Static Airplane Jive, quickly followed and is a bit forgettable, but even GBV's forgettable releases contain at least one or two amazing songs. Then, the bomb dropped.

Bee Thousand was released on June 20, 1994. Man, I can't believe I didn't have a tenth anniversary party this year. There should be parties thrown every year to celebrate this album. It's just simply genius. It IS my favorite album of all time. With near 100 songs considered for this album, it must have been magic or some diving force that led Pollard to pare it down to the 20 songs that are just flat out perfect for this album. It wouldn't be the same if any of the 20 songs weren't on this album. The album is sadly triumphant, thrashy yet warm, and full of amazing songs. I bought this album in late 94, and I liked it, but it really didn't click with me until 96, strangely enough. Even though there are a few songs on the album that I may not like on their own, they work so well on this album. All of the ideas and songs on this album seem to be developed to their exact potential, whether that be creating the absolute greatest pop song of all time in "Echos Myron," the intensely insane "Her Psychology Today," or the wonderfully quirky "Kicker of Elves." Pollard's lyrics are a strange combination of sincere interpersonal analysis and observation mixed with somewhat surreal wordplay.

Tractor Rape Chain - "why is it every time i think about you/something that you have said or implied makes me doubt you/then i look into your cynical eyes and i know it/as if it never meant anything to me/parallel lines on a slow decline - tractor rape chain/better yet, let's all get wet on the tractor rape chain/speed up, slow down, go all around in the end"

Tobin Sprout also steps up to the plate on this album with four really good songs as well. Tobin's songwriting was played up a little to much in the mid 90s as a lot of Lennon/McCartney relationship between Pollard and Sprout, but it was always much for like Pollard was both Lennon and McCartney and Sprout was Harrison. Sprout wrote some good songs, but the Pollard great song to Sprout great song was always like eight to one. Please don't get me wrong, I really enjoy Tobin and he has even released some killer solo material.

The album, released on Scat, was met with gobs of praise, and it was doing really well. So well that Guided by Voices was offered a deal with big time indie label Matador records. Matador re-issued Bee Thousand and signed onto release their next few albums. This was a huge step for the band. They weren't unknown school teachers, auto workers, painters from Dayton, Ohio anymore. Guided by Voices was now one of the most talked about bands in indie rock. Back to Bee Thousand, though, let me just say 20 songs, 36 minutes, 1 perfect album.

Three more EPs: Get Out of My Stations, Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer, and Fast Japanese Spin Cycle all were also released in 1994. Each of them have some gems on them. Fast Japanese Spin Cycle is the best of the three, and it really stands up with the best of their releases.

How could they follow up Bee Thousand, an album that was being universally accepted? How could they come back with something with something that would keep the public interested?? "Easy," replied Bob Pollard, he of course had a truck load of songs, and had a new album ready for released in less than a year. It was Alien Lanes that followed up Bee Thousand, and somehow they came back with an album that was as well received as their breakthrough album. Some people even think Alien Lanes is better than Bee Thousand, and I would definitely put it in the same class. It is a more spastic, hyperactive, short attention span album as it is chock full of 30 second songs of odd blasts. There are also an equal amount of fully developed pop gems on the album. It is an exciting listen to say the least. The 28 songs go by so quickly and each song leaves you wondering what is going to come next. Having so many great songs like "Motor Away," "My Valuable Hunting Knife," "A Salty Salute," and "Game of Pricks" and so many more it makes for a classic.

By this team Guided by Voices had started touring heavily again, including a stint on the 2nd stage at Lollapalooza. The band was becoming known for their excellent live shows and a cult following was starting to develop. They had created two of the best records of the 90s in everyone's opinion. Guided by Voices was one of the biggest names in indie rock. Would they come back with another classic? What could they do from here? Guided by Voices was about to enter a hard period full of changes, but for now they were without a doubt The Greatest Band of All Time.

Stay tuned up next: Under The Bushes Under The Stars, Mag Earwhig, and the solo career begins.

*note: even more mp3s today. all the mp3s are in chronological order. i tried to give you full passages from Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes to give you a feel for those albums. enjoy. Also, don't be scared many of the songs are very short.