#GUIDED BY VOICES

[introspect-la]

OCTOBER 1994 TROCADERO SCHEDULE

[guessimdumb]

Robert Pollard with Doug Gillard - Slick as Snails (1999)

Robert Pollard just keeps going and going, releasing countless LPs. What's the difference between solo albums and Guided By Voices? None, as far as I can tell. This is one of a couple highlights from Speak Kindly of your Volunteer Fire Department. Doug Gillard adds a tasty guitar solo.

[bandcampsnoop]

6/23/25.

I'm not sure why this didn't get a post when it came out. I certainly remember listening to it, and frankly, ANY Fred Thomas project is likely to get a post on the weight of that fact alone.

Idle Ray (Michigan) definitely sounds like Fred Thomas. It's not the 60s/fuzzy/pop of Saturday Looks Good To Me or Mighty Clouds. But it's much more traditionally pop than some of his solo efforts (Fred Thomas, City Center) - in fact, one Bandcamp user said, "Like a classic FT record ran through a Guided By Voices filter".

The band put up a third pressing of the LP (released via Life Like, which is Fred Thomas' label). Originally released in 2021, the Bandcamp page states that this is probably the last pressing of the LP.

[prettyanb]

Hiiii listen to my voice note below on threads. 🤗🤗🥰

[bunnygirlhyacinth]

WATCH ME JUMPSTART AS THE OLD SKIN IS PEELED

SEE AN OPENING AND BUST INTO FIELD

HIDDEN LONGINGS NO LONGER CONCEALED

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Guided By Voices - Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, Ohio, Sept. 2, 1994

Sometime about 30 years ago, I started reading things about Guided By Voices — primarily in Spin Magazine, I think. That's where a 15-year-old had to go for these things back then, kids! Nothing too huge, just a staff mention here, a single review there. Charles Aaron reported: "GBV singer-songwriter Robert Pollard writes jittery, surging, sideways tributes to John/Paul, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Ray Davies, et al, like a teenager in full flush." Sounded enticing!

Then there was Jim Greer, in his A Year In The Life of Rock 'n' Roll column, closing out a long musing on the recently departed Kurt Cobain with this: "I listen a lot these days to 'Exit Flagger' by Guided By Voices, an amazing song written by 37-year-old schoolteacher Robert Pollard in the middle of nowhere, where I live too, like most people, without a whole lot to go on. I quoted part of the lyrics at the beginning of this piece because however Pollard intended the song, it's come to mean a lot more to me since Cobain's death. The song's lyrics end on a tag line after the chorus, which I have never been able to decipher properly. Just before the guitars begin their quick, cathartic crescendo to the fadeout, Pollard can be heard singing either 'Promise to lead you,' or 'Promise to leave you.' Or maybe both. So far it's the closest thing I've come across to a clue in all this mess."

Oddly, Greer would've been able to ask Pollard what those lyrics were very soon; the writer joined GBV as bassist sometime in the summer of '94. He was also engaged to Kim Deal! Jim was leading some kind of indie rock charmed life, it seemed (of course, him and Kim never got married and he didn't last all that long with Pollard and co., but hey).

And what about me?! Well, after reading all of this and more, I finally came across a copy of Bee Thousand that fall at Go-Boy Records in Redondo Beach and took a chance — I don't think I'd heard a note of Guided By Voices yet. And though I was confused at first when I dropped the needle on that bright-red vinyl, by the end I was more or less head over heels. It's hard to re-create in my mind the weird, mysterious beauty of hearing that LP for the first few times, trying to figure out what was going on, but I know it unlocked something. Parallel lines on a slow decline, the story of our lives.

Anyway, here we are 30 years later, and I'm listening to GBV play a typically rowdy hometown show that's packed with Bee Thousand tunes, plus plenty of Alien Lanes tunes (then called Scalping The Guru, as Bob notes), alongside a host of classic numbers that still sound like they've been beamed in from some other, better universe. "Guided By Voices are fucking pussies!" Pollard exclaims bewilderingly in between songs. Hell yeah they are.

[rocksichord]

[otakukitten69]

who up guiding their voices? who up sparkling their horse? who up building their spill? who up nicking their drake?

[musicollage]

Guided By Voices — Strut Of Kings. 2024 : Not On Label.

— There are several reasons why Guided by Voices are one of the most lauded and cultish rock acts of all time, but frontman Robert Pollard’s continued brilliance as a prolific purveyor of songs is what underpins all their success. Despite the continuous shifting of the zeitgeist, the band’s leader and only constant member has always trodden his own path. Their latest album, Strut of Kings, is a resounding display of his supremacy. Don’t get me wrong; on their last outing, Nowhere To Go But Up, the band’s third of 2023, I felt that the formula was getting a touch fatigued. It appeared that Pollard might be slowing down at long last after years of being the most proficient songwriter around. After all, it was his 40th album with the group, a milestone seldom seen in music. However, on Strut of Kings, he emphatically puts any misgivings to bed. This is a collection of 11 songs that range from the punchy, crunching rock that the band first found acclaim with to more expansive epics and even the odd tender moment, an area in which Pollard is also well-versed. While there are many elements that stand out with the first listen, it’s the way that Strut of Kings keeps you on your toes throughout, and its inherently dynamic, eclectic nature has you coming back for more. It’s a sonic odyssey brimming with delights. From the onset to the final notes ringing out, Pollard is on fire. His expressive delivery and grasp of potent melody are the tip of the group’s spear, adding another dimension to his surreal poetry, which includes saluting the humble onion and the odd stark political theme. Elsewhere, the riffs, rhythm section and production are all exceptional, with it clear to this lowly writer that Guided by Voices are not done yet. — Arun Starkey

[musickickztoo]

Robert Pollard *October 31, 1957

[rocknrollflames]

'Someday' Music Video

The Strokes

Featuring Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum

Thank you @jakelinestradlin for reminding me of this. ☺️

@jakelinestradlin @greeneyezblackheart @beebemarie @valupuyhol @elscaptive @prettypersuasion @snakepitgunner @nenynra@slashlover420 @shout-at-the-nightrain @duffsmckagan @duffslut @guns-n-jovi@guns-n-roses-gal @gnr-slvt @hungercityhellhound @he-goes-down @deathyriver @takemetothetopp @dessypanayotova @izzystradlindoesitforme @izzystradliniscute @midnight-alibi @moonage-babe @mycollectionmylife @juliannas-wild-oats @thedeviousdevilxx @lonelyfuckingcat @cel3brity-skin @popcorn-adler @stvnszlr @ride-the-hammett

How many people can I tag? I just wanted to see how many mutuals I can remember. I won't do it again. Swear! It took wayyy too long! If I forgot you then I'm sorry, or I thought you'd hate it, or you're welcome!

[polaroidblog]

[bandcampsnoop]

5/7/25.

I can't believe that either Micah or other friend Andy never turned me onto either Bill Fox or his band The Mice. His music is right up both their alleys.

Fox first appeared in the 1980s as the leader of Cleveland-based band The Mice. Heck, they even split a 7" with Yo La Tengo. The Mice tended more to power pop in the vein of Big Star and fellow Ohioans, Guided By Voices. Scat Records issued a career spanning compilation CD back in 2004.

In the 1990s, Fox embarked on a solo career, and "Shelter from the Smoke" was the debut and the amazing songwriting is still evident while the songs are toned down. Elliott Smith was a fan, and listening to this does bring to mind Smith's work. But, the harmonies are downright Byrdsesque or reminscent of Teenage Fanclub. And, one can't help but think of Bob Dylan and Pete Townshend.

Finally, I can't imagine that Tony Molina hasn't listened to a ton of Bill Fox over the years. Scat Records reissued "Shelter from the Smoke" and "Transit Byzantium". And, Fox just released a new album, "Resonance". It looks like the initial run sold out, but a new shipment is coming in and you can reserve your copy at Eleventh Hour Recording Company.

[gregorygalloway]

Tobin Sprout (28 April 1955)

[rastronomicals]

Guided by Voices

[mdemn]

“so what happened to the dog?” “the don tried to drown her. i broke his nose.”

mafia: definitive edition (dev. hangar 13) / you don't know me (i'm your dog) - guided by voices / i bet on losing dogs - mitski / hermit the frog - marina and the diamonds