POLLSTAL BLOWFISH - ILM Artist Poll #8 - Guided By Voices

http://i.imgur.com/k5aIX.jpg

Rank your top 20 Guided By Voices tracks. If you feel like digging deep and, for some reason, want to include GBV side/solo project tracks or things members have released since the break up of the band, you're free to do so. Really, though...can't you find 20 GBV songs to vote for?

normal scoring: 1:40, 2:36, 3:33, 4:30, 5:28, 6:26, 7:25, 8:24, 9:23, 10:22, 11:21, 12:20, 13:19, 14:18, 15:17, 16:16, 17:15, 18:14, 19:13, 20:12.

Parts 2 and 3, both optional:

2. Include your ranking of Guided By Voices' five best albums.

3. Send a ranked list of your three MOST HATED Guided By Voices tracks, with #1 being most hated. The votes from this ballot won't negatively affect the point totals for tracks -- I'll do a separate "most hated" countdown, probably a Top 10.

Send your ballots to me at johnnyilxfever AT gmail.com, or via ILXmail. Deadline is midnight EDT, September 25th. That's a week from Sunday. If things go according to plan, the "bonus" part of the countdown will take place on Monday September 26th.

Cliffs:
1. Ranked ballot of TWENTY (20) Guided By Voices, etc. tracks
2. Ranked list of FIVE (5) favorite Guided By Voices albums
3. Ranked list of THREE (3) most-hated Guided By Voices tracks
4. Deadline is @ MIDNIGHT SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH
5. Enjoy the copious beer consumption and mic-spinning rock action!

great photo!

Long live Rockathon

Oh yeah, here is the full song list: http://gbvdb.com/tracks.asp?x=1&artistpersonid=&artistpersonids=4&all=true

will be giving lots of points to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qksGCbENelc

and must rep for the vocal melodies throughout:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7KiLRCxt58

da! "Redmen and Their Wives" is one of my faves as well.

guess I'll better start posting my favourite gems. unfortunately most of these aren't on youtube (but are on spotify! spotify has like 99% of Pollard's catalogue), so I'm going to post grooveshark links instead

"When She Turns 50" http://grooveshark.com/s/When+She+Turns+50/2utZjI?src=5 - my definite favourite off of Same Place The Fly Got Smashed. Bob with his acoustic guitar at his most moving.

xp - "Heather" is my lock-on for top 10 and I'm not joking at all

Spotify doesn't have the first Tobin Sprout album for some reason. Tempted to add either "Natural Alarm" or "Gas Daddy Gas" to my ballot.

I've been unnaturally excited about this for weeks.

The poll, not your ballot ;)

Gonna rep hard for the old shit btw, prepare yourselves.

Like, pre-Propellor old shit or pre-Do the Collapse old shit?

The club is open.

will be voting. already know what my no. 1 will be. will obvs need to give some thought to the rest.

Pre-Propeller! In the back of my head I still think of Mag Earwig as "the new one".

Do the Pollapse (haha) is pretty new school, comparatively speaking.

I just chose it as it was their jump to a "major" label...which seems kind of silly in hindsight (although DTC is still my least favorite of their well-known albums).

Yeah, it's not that great. Lots of memories though, and I love the live version of "Dragons Awake" with the "oooh, goddamn" part that's not in the original song.

dtc is definitely the last album of theirs i gave a remote shit about. i still think there are some good new wave-y nuggets on there, but most of their charms didn't really survive the pop glazing.

have a feeling my ballot will be heavily weighted toward propeller/titus/bee/lanes with a few from before and after. like most people, i presume.

That's a shame. You should go back and check out the last two Matador albums (Earthquake Glue and Half Smiles of the Decomposed). Both are really good records. In fact, my #1 is going to come from Half Smiles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeGNJLPL7jo

I probably listen to the last two albums the most

i...WANT to believe

ah fuck i'll go listen to them. what have i got to lose. except for two hours i'd have wasted anyway.

"Huffman Prairie Flying Field" is pretty much the ultimate GBV song, and it's that much better because it's the last song on the last proper album. If that's what you think you heard, then that's what you heard.

the place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOans0JUOTg

the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGYvY2unqVo

Currently reviewing those last few records via Spotify; don't think I'll have time to trawl through all the Suitcase material so please recommend any highlights!

underappreciated tiny little tune from DTC

get aheeeeeeead
before you're deeeeeeeeeeeeeeead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5b3nd0Srlw

i listened to do the collapse last week for the first time in ages, it's not that bad. i don't know if i will do this poll, i own 3 gbv records, and 2-3 pollard side project stuff, kinda don't really feel i know enough of the discography to do it. i do think Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department is better than a lot of official records

super good solo bob, monotonous in my favorite way, gonzo nonsense lyrics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U5BWlCBNS0

this will/would be my no. 1 btw. just in case i forget to vote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ET1I2Dkhhw

oh that has to make the top 20, how can it not?!
so good

that is one version of a perfect rock song to me.

that's my #5

I'll just pick all of Isolation Drills

ooh, first ballot! I'm going to try to figure out finefinemusic's spreadsheet gizmo, but if that fails I've gotten pretty efficient at doing these manually.

the gizmo is more just an explanation of how to use what excel already can do

don't do it manually, really

For your consideration, "Dayton Ohio, 19 Something and Five" from the fanclub only Tonics and Twisted Chasers LP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C6AhgMYiRg

my #6

im not going 2 vote in this cuz i dont really know this band that well but my #1 would be goldheart mountaintop queen directory

but yeah johnny you mostly just have to figure out what a pivot table is. once you do, you just have to format the ballots when you get em

xp

Shocker in Gloomtown is their best tune.

I saw PS Dump Your Boyfriend a couple of times, which is referenced in the tune.

xp

Okay, pivot table is key. Gonna work that out.

if we wait is prob my #1

man if we wait is just in another league

it always makes me think he just discovered a lost early beatles track

I think my #1 is "Sot"... but man, i need to hear a lot of these albums again, albums i don't have... :-(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX-tmC6hLl4

yeah i feel like i need to spend a week with the whole shebang. the only albums i have in full at the moment are b1000 and alien lanes.

I think (like strongo) I will also be focused on the "golden era" of Scat/early-Matador LPs/EPs, in my case, mostly due to laziness. I had no idea how much material they released after 1996!

Ugh. Managed to narrow it down to 21. I'm basically going to have to flip a coin.

Ha! We're already down to a single unanimous track with only three ballots in.

Currently reviewing those last few records via Spotify; don't think I'll have time to trawl through all the Suitcase material so please recommend any highlights!

Not sure if I'll include any of these but here are some good ones from the first Suitcase:

Dorothy's A Planet
Supermarket the Moon
Ha Ha Man
On Short Wave
I Can See It In Your Eyes
Messenger
I'm Cold
Once In A While
Excellent Things
United

Gonna rep for these two, as I'm sure they're overlooked by many (one of them is my #1):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=254k6ThzW0E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5cNgnHUevU

OK, I'm going to try to do this, even though it will be next to impossible if I include solo stuff as well... and I probably only know about 10% of his solo output! Oh but I suppose only GBV era solo stuff is allowed? Please say yes.

Where should ballots be sent to?

Sorry: just saw where.

I think my #1 is "Sot"...

Love that "Green Grow The Rushes" rip at the end! I definitely want to show that all the bleary depresso material on Titus some love.

Not sure if I'll include any of these but here are some good ones from the first Suitcase...

Thanks!

my 20 tunes ended up being kinda boring -- all 1992-1996ish stuff. I like a lot of the later period, but when it comes to favorite stuff, that's the era for me.

another two fine cuts from the first Suitcase:
"Perch Warble" - a rocker with an incredible melody. the false end is a great touch, an excellent trick that enables a merely 1:36 song to gain some extra awesomeness: http://grooveshark.com/s/Perch+Warble/3QLuet?src=5

"My Feet's Trustworthy Exsistance" - another one featuring solely Pollard with his guitar, some of my favourite lyrics (less gibberish, more philosophy) http://grooveshark.com/s/My+Feet+s+Trustworthy+Existance/3QLDQX?src=5

A scan through my GBV collection and uh oh, I'm voting for the songs with drum machines

So it only took four ballots to arrive at no unanimous tracks.

I'm about to send mine but I'm kind of afraid that I forgot something major. I guess I should just send it.

no, i am not ready.

"barricade" is one of my favorite old school longsongs

im not going 2 vote in this cuz i dont really know this band that well but my #1 would be goldheart mountaintop queen directory ― Lamp

I don't know GBV especially well and none of the albums outside of Bee Thousand and The Grifters split have ever clicked with me but I'll try listening to all of them just for this poll. I did that for the Beach Boys poll. Other albums probably won't have songs that click with me so my Bee Thousand picks are gonna be at the top of the list. I'll put Goldheart Moutaintop pretty high.

I think a lot of the non Bee Thousand stuff is neutral sounding and hookless

^^ have you tried Alien Lanes? it sounds like all of power pop compressed into one album, songs are even shorter, are equally good and there's more of them

I believe I have tried that album but I'll be listening to it again over the next couple weeks

pollard straight up lookin like alexander hamilton in that top photo. great poll; been wondering for a while if this would even be possible. excited to send my ballot off. hope nobody actually bothers to include solo/peripheral material.

I voted for one Tobin Sprout solo song, but it was 20th place on my ballot.

yeah i just did GBV proper, no solo/side stuff. things are already overwhelming with just those records! did vote for two tobin tracks.

(that appeared on GBV records)

I'm gonna binge on these over the next week and a half. Hard to believe that my list won't be dominated by 92-96 too though. We'll see.

My ballot:

pre-1992 : 0
92-96 : 13
post-96 : 6
non-GBV : 1

so nothing from Same Place? :( this album is so under-appreciated, so I'm going to rep for it on every step

ballot sent!

i voted for "the hard way" and "pendulum" btw but "mammoth cave" got cut

ALTHOUGH i can heartily recommend both Mammoth Cave and Circus World as tourist destinations :)

I almost picked one from King Shit, although I'm not sure when it was actually recorded. Either way, it didn't make the cut.

"blatant doom trip" is so good too but i didn't have roo

i voted for same place (the album) though!

bottomless hole: rock and roll

rooooom

Or maybe I'll pick all covers.

glad i remembered DO THE EARTH

xp so glad to hear :) I'm sure I'll put "When She Turns 50" on my ballot, "Mammoth Cave", "The Hard Way" and "Pendulum" are under heavy consideration too

One of my favorite GBV subgenres is the "song that sounds like a plane taking off", of which EARFUL O'WAX is a primo example (also a classic gbv longsong):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOtYZbg_8f0

note the takeoff at 2:53

Just a quick pass through all of the GBV I own netted 30 tracks so I don't think I'll be exploring Suitcase or any of the post Universal Truths albums. Nice to have almost all of the GBV catalog on Spotify to slowly digest.

Even if you don't plan to do it for polling purposes, make a point of hearing those final two GBV albums sometime.

yes they're really worth it, some great stuff on them

will probably be voting for both these Earthquake Glue singles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BndAytmV9_g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3taP429rFg

Gah, this is going to be so hard, I know my ballot will be very heavy on tracks from Alien Lanes but other than that I've no idea how it'll look. I'm not a huge fan of the pre-Propeller albums as albums but there are still three or four songs from that era which could make my ballot. There'll be at least one song off Isolation Drills on there too - not sure I'll go for anything later than that.

Is Half Smiles of the Decomposed one of the last two? I listened to that while making dinner last week and it sounded pretty good.

I can't read that GBV slagging thread anymore. I don't count GBV as one of my favorite bands but how can you deny Chasing Heather Crazy or Best of Jill Hives?

Whoa, The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet is actually really cool. Never even heard of it, but just checked it out on spotify.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuM93kbttqY

I still carry a torch for Christian Animation Torch Carriers

Is Half Smiles of the Decomposed one of the last two?

It's the final one.

i do think Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department is better than a lot of official records

YES. Even if you are opposed to including side project albums on your ballot, make an exception for Speak Kindly...!

glad i remembered DO THE EARTH

― tylerw, Thursday, September 15, 2011 3:44 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

That songs is so great! Definitely in my GBV POX.

Seriously, if you haven't heard the last two albums, you need to hear them. All the way through! For me, Half Smiles and Earthquake Glue were so much better than Universal Truths and Isolation Drills because it sounded like the band had a heart again.

I like EG, but ID is in my top 3 GBV albums of all time. Maybe top 2 depending on which day you ask me.

Never could get into half smiles.

Does anyone really really really like Universal Truths? 'Everywhere with Helicopter' is a good song, but I could probably live without the rest.

I like the live version from the box set better than the one on the album too. That album was depressing.

i remember liking the title track? i remember liking all those post TVT recs when they came out, but don't actually remember too much about them in this day and age.

'Everywhere with Helicopter' is a pretty good Husker Du tribute song, certainly beats the shit out of any Foo Fighters tune.

When I saw GBV during the tour for Universal Truths, they started the set by playing the whole album front to back. Ugh.

I saw them on that tour, but thankfully after they'd decided to stop doing that. Only things I remember them playing from that album are Back to the Lake, Cheyenne and Helicopter.

voted! the large-hearted ballot. I love love love this band when they hit just the right spot---so beautiful that I wince---& am totally indifferent o/w. When I post my ballot you'll know what I mean.

I saw them in Chicago in 2001 & they rocked me like fuck & I got very tired! like the rock was exhausting. pollard was like, "fuck it let's do another" & I was like, yeah! except, no! well, ok! but we had seats (balcony at the Metro I think?) so it was ok that the show was like ten hours long. by the end the place had kinda cleared out tbh but the rock did not stop. I think they covered "Baba O'Riley" which just seemed hilarious at the time, cos they were kinda going through the motions sorta? Pollard had some good DeRogatis jokes that night.

whatever you vote just don't forget to consider the best Pink Floyd song they never wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIfK6k7qamw

^
yeaaahhhh that's the business

The Fast Japanese Spin Cycle EP is not on Spotify. Hopefully people won't forget about this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4_2rjFkPcI

Yes! That EP was my introduction to GBV. There aren't many songs better than that EP's version of Dusted. It's just about perfect. If you haven't heard it, you're in for a gigantic treat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwUgou8yaRQ

man, i stopped giving a shit about pollard in general years ago but i think i'm gonna submit a ballot anyway just because i want something from the sunfish holy breakfast ep to place somewhere

all "stopped giving a shit about pollard in general years ago" ballots are WELCOME!

also i heard "PS dump your boyfriend" as "the ex junkie boyfriend" for years and i kinda like my version better

i may just throw their pere ubu cover on my ballot for shits and giggles

Fast Japanese Spin Cycle is incredible -- what is it, 10 minutes? But there's more amazing songwriting there than on most double albums.

Oh man this is going to be so so so so tough. Right now my Pollard playlist on iTunes is composed of 1702 songs. Picking 20 of these is going to be so hard. I think I may self impose a GbV proper only rule for my own sanity.

ok two things

1) you guys are choosing all of my favorite songs -- totally voted for "weed king" because it is another of my favorite kinds of pollard songs: the dirge. love those. circus world is one too, but none are as good as fucking WEED KING.

2) i had no idea what you were talking about with "ps dump your boyfriend" until donna rouge's post. i always thought it was ex-junkie boyfriend too. i can barely even conceive of it the other way, in fact.

9 ballots atm, including abanana's ballot that only contains three "most hated" tracks.

another thing, so i guess that is three things -- in "captain's dead" i always thought the line was "the woman, she has fled" and i've been singing along that way for someteen years but apparently it's "the war machine". i had no idea.

i think i am coming across as way more hyper and annoying than i really am* in this thread, but gbv has meant a lot to me over the years. i am an uncasual fan.

*maybe i really am this hyper and annoying all the time, but y'all are getting a particularly strong dose of my magic here

I don't know if I can do this. I'm at 62 tracks after my first run through and I'm not including any side projects or solo records.

I'd like to see something from the Hold On Hope EP sneak into the countdown. Maybe Fly Into Ashes or Tropical Robots...

Thanks everyone for those 'recent' videos - I haven't really paid attention to GBV in the last ten years.

A few personal favorites:

The very beautiful and mysterious 'Indian Fables', also from Fast Japanese Spin Cycle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4gK3g9iKzw

'The Key Losers':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emIlqw1xMjE

And my number one (will be very sad if this won't end up in the top 20): 'Blimps Go 90':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4KIlCYyDdw

3. Ranked list of THREE (3) most-hated Guided By Voices tracks

This is actually more difficult than choosing the 20 best, esp. since he started shitting out that Suitcase shite

i really hate that track on Alien Lanes with the snoring.

it makes me lol.

I will be submitting although advance warning it will probably be 50% UTBUTS

Working my way down from a master list of 45 tracks. Gonna be tough for sure.

Meanwhile, this happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvZGU-5W2zs

I actually saw that title come across at work yesterday, but I imagined it was a coincidence. Ha!

the key losers! that one is great. i remember them playing it the first time i saw them in 1995, and being so pissed off that it wasn't on their next album (or their next or their next or their next). my friend had made a (terrible quality) tape of that show and we listened to it over and over again. can't remember when tonics & twisted chasers finally emerged, but i was glad that track was included.

key losers is also on the b-sides & singles disc of the matador box. forgot the title of that disc but for a long time it was my favorite gbv to listen to. finks, my thoughts are a gas and especiall he's the uncle are some of their very best mid 90's songs imo

i really hate that track on Alien Lanes with the snoring.
this is actually one of the best tracks here (the BRIDGE! one of the most powerful reminescenses of Pachebel's Canon ever)

Really like that "My Impression Now" song (cool melodic bassline). Thanks

(xp to myself) I don't think I'm even going to send a list of most hated songs. the thing is, I find myself unable to hate on any of Robert's recordings, because his persona makes up for every lacks: sketchiness, below-demo sound quality overabundance of absurdity, etc. I just can't have on even the most ridiculous parts of Suitcases ("Independent Productions", wtf? I can't call it a "demo", does it capture the pure moment of inventing a melody? check by yrself http://grooveshark.com/s/Independent+Productions/2Nq3F0?src=5 ), I just take it as a part of the show

i really hate that track on Alien Lanes with the snoring.
this is actually one of the best tracks here (the BRIDGE! one of the most powerful reminescenses of Pachebel's Canon ever)

This one is going to turn out to be like Stairway to Heaven: On both the most hated tracks and the top 20.

I keep telling people that 'The Brides Have Hit Glass' is GBV's 'Ten Years Gone' but nobody believes me.

i should clarify: i really hate the snoring on that Alien Lanes track.

in other words, It's the Snoring, Not the Song.

I keep telling people that 'The Brides Have Hit Glass' is GBV's 'Ten Years Gone' but nobody believes me.

Made my 20.

xp yeah, I see, the snoring might be off-putting, but GOD what a melody lies underneath! It's actually a strong contender for my top 5 (not joking at all)

key losers is also on the b-sides & singles disc of the matador box

and it was on the tigerbomb ep included with my copy of UTBUTS

i remember reading that he put the sound of (jim greer?) snoring because he thought the song was too 'pretty' otherwise or something to that effect

and it was on the tigerbomb ep included with my copy of UTBUTS
ha, did not know that. such a wild n woolly discography. i have the tigerbomb EP but key losers is not on it!

I don't think I'm even going to send a list of most hated songs. the thing is, I find myself unable to hate on any of Robert's recordings, because his persona makes up for every lacks: sketchiness, below-demo sound quality overabundance of absurdity, etc.

Here's a nice old one that might get lost otherwise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9qbDiP9kjU
Will probably end up somewhere between 20 and 15 on my list.

xp if that's the real origin of that sound, then it's certainly the best and the most desirable possible

meanwhile I recommend you to check this little one out - "Janet Wait" off of the third Suitcase http://grooveshark.com/s/Janet+Wait/2Nq3q7?src=5 where drunk-ass sings some kind of a love song to the titular girl. gorgeous in that unique, GBV way (kudos to Paul Thompson of P4K for pointing this one out on his review)

another overlooked one from the early albums that i absolutely love is 'long distance man' from sandbox. so beatles

another semi deep cut - sensational gravity boy! tho i think i like the "freedom cruise" version w/ the deal sisters the best.

XXXP: Oh yeah, the snoring song. I only like it because it leads up to 'Blimps Go 90':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4KIlCYyDdw
(I'll take any chance I can get this week to pimp tha Blimp)

I don't think I'm even going to send a list of most hated songs. the thing is, I find myself unable to hate on any of Robert's recordings, because his persona makes up for every lacks: sketchiness, below-demo sound quality overabundance of absurdity, etc.

So not OTM. I suppose it's inevitable that this is going to turn out the ultimate fanboy poll with everybody trying to outdo each other in voting for the most obscure things they can - well, rest assured I won't be doing that, I'll be voting for all the most famous songs... uh, not quite true, there's at least three solo Bob tracks in my top 10!

just a little bump... 10 ballots in at this point.

Anyone have a status update of that Soderbergh directed Cleopatra musical in 3-D starring Catherine Zeta Jones, with all Guided by Voices songs? I guess maybe that project got shelved for one reason or another -- or maybe for all of them.

Yeah, I was going to say that I read that and immediately thought of Norm MacDonald on Weekend Update: "Steven Soderbergh's 3-D Cleopatra musical with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Guided by Voices has been cancelled because...it was a 3-D Cleopatra musical with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Guided by Voices."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sjiJtyKOtg

So not OTM.

well it's just how I feel, mate. I cant bring myself to hate on songs that are mostly quite brief and do not annoyingly try to take my attention

I suppose it's inevitable that this is going to turn out the ultimate fanboy poll with everybody trying to outdo each other in voting for the most obscure things they can

hope things don't finally go that way, I'm not going to vote for songs solely because they're "obscure"

meanwhile, I uploaded two of my first Suitcase favs to Youtube, for your listening pleasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0bKqEe0LAI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdCBwljrLyI

pretty sure the Cleopatra thing has wound up as one of those 10000 things that Soderbergh "lined up" but will never actually do.

Can I take a moment to encourage others to vote? It's not going to take you long since it's not hard to think of 20 awesome GBV songs. No one is going to scrutinize your choices; allow yourself to be guided by voices. Sorry, I mean Guided by Joyces.

I'm going to vote, but this will mostly be a learning experience for. There's three GBV albums I love to death, but I never tapped into the vast reservoir of all the other albums. And I want you to point me to all the great songs I have not yet heard.

for me

I'm making a list. Just going through iTunes, I pulled out 41 songs on my first cut through all GBV/RP songs.

Kudos Jeff! I'm glad you've come around.
LBI have you listened to any of the recommendations so far?

Not yet Amanda, not had the time yet, but I will listen to all the youtubes and links posted!

Ok when you do, report back in brief about what you liked and a few words about why. Easier to direct that way!

Is V79 a regular w/ a new username? I can't keep track anymore.

Also listen to Same Place the Fly Got Smashed.

I will, promise! :)

(xp none that I know about)
and yeah, everybody should take a listen to Same Place! it's such an unfairly underrated one. here's my favourite ballad from this album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipAAt0q3aw0

I'm voting but I have so much left to listen to (also I found those first few albums are a bit of a chore to listen to but maybe they grow on you)--I'm one of those who only knows Bee Thou and Alien Lanes and Greatest Hits, so I'll probably be handing in my ballot the day it's due

Glen Campbell knows where the cowboy lies

If you only know Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, you need to listen to PROPELLER.

Thanks, some lady--I am going chronologically (except I skipped ahead to Vampire on Titus which I LOVE) and am on Self-Inflicted now....looking forward to Propeller

The golden run of '92-'96 will get most of my votes.
Need to get down to this on a non schooler and imbibe heavily. Or perhaps do it tonight and ring in sick

Bob should feel mighty proud at the fact of Glen Campbell covering Hold On Hope. It's a good version too. Maybe not in the same league as Lineman but c'mon. Excellent stuff

Earthquake Glue is really good, huh? Wish I had investigated sooner.

Seriously considering totally redundant votes for "Chicken Blows" and "Back To Saturn X Radio Report."

Yr Chicken Blows would not be alone

^ vote

Allright, sent my ballot. Here's the breakdown:

1989: 1
1990: 1
1993: 3
1994: 4
1995: 5
1996: 4
1999: 1
2002: 1

Submitted for your approval.....Indian Was an Angel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4U01RpkgIg

love that yelp at the beginning :)

We're cookin' now! The #1 has over 200 points.

No hurry, folks. Voting is open through Sunday until midnight. Really hoping we get 30 ballots tho.

how many do you have right now, mr. fever?

12.

without jinxing it, you'll def hit 30. i would imagine this poll has alot of people doing alot of listening to the mountain of stuff they never got around to, as I am.

here is a song for which I would like to rep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onvh4Tgaqw4

i'm finding that there is a fine line between an appropriate level of drunkenness for voting and perhaps a less coherent level. what is bob's (most frequent) beer? high life?

also i fear that intense ppl will become annoyed because my pix will probably be exclusively from only like six records

also i never saw gbv! somehow it never worked out and it was always like oh they'll be back in a few months anyway (see also luna). and then they weren't and i couldn't afford it anyway.

Bob used to drink Rolling Rock iirc but who didn't back in the day? I drank a lot of Rolling Rock.

Also I saw Luna once and they were super DUPER boring but I realize maybe I was just not in the right mood.

Also? Vote for what u love. I believe that.

I believe Rolling Rock is what they drink in The Deer Hunter--my friends and I would try to order it when we were under the film's sway around '79 or so.

I still drink Rolling Rock when I feel like drinking beer if I can find it. Seems to be less well stocked these days.

Bob and the band are Budweiser men iirc. I read that they got an undeserved rep for favoring Rolling Rock because that beer was what clubs/venues wanted to give them and word spread around.

Also, whining about only having 12 ballots in got me 4 more ballots. I guess I should do that once a day?

that only works once or twice cause only hardcore fans can be guilted

True.

i was stunned to discover that anyone outside of pennsylvania had heard of rolling rock! it had a pretty good schtick -- arnold palmer, the glass-lined tanks of old latrobe, 33 -- but was otherwise not a beer of notability (unlike, say iron city lol).

anyway, they got bought out by anheuser-busch five years ago and it would seem that any bottles you find these days are . . . not fresh

ha this poll just showed up on pollard's facebook feed. are we about to be deluged w/ chants of "GBV! GBV! GBV!"

oh shii

Yikes.

103 lurker ballots by morning

G!B!V!

G!B!V!

G!B!V!

― some lady (La Lechera), Tuesday, September 13, 2011 8:51 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark

Oh man. Okay, if you're an ilxor voting from this point forward, please be sure to include your username somewhere in your ballot email so I know you're not just wandering in from some dark corner of the internets.

:: runs to check pending registrations ::

voted.

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/7958/gbve.jpg

lol

I mentioned this on Postal Blowfish, the original GBV fan list that's still going... maybe I shouldn't have done that? Anyway, this is my first post since having to re register, ugh, and I sent in my vote yesterday.

may I also offer this, the first GBV song I fell in love with all these years ago and still one of my favourites:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cqmcINr4JKA"; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

probably not a big deal. only one comment thus far: "I hope "Hey Aardvark" places somewhere in there."
maybe!

The idea of a bunch of Pollard zealots descending en masse on the board is scary

Guys, I need to again reiterate how hard this is for me. I will be voting, but I doubt I'll get my ballot in before the weekend.

the def. used to drink rolling rock when I first started seeing them. now budweiser and tequila.

I will vote in this but it will take me awhile!

In all the GBV shows I've been to, I've been impressed by the drinking. Impressed by how many times I'd have to take a bathroom break if I drank that much on stage. They were good at holding it.

otm

Particularly considering their age, eh?

Adult diapers.

Those mic twirls are to distact you from the peeing.

'Hit' will definitely be in there for me.
It's shorter, slower and more tuneful than DRI's 'Slit My wrists' for example

A 25 sec song will make your list??

I'm not surprised at all, I seriously consider "Cigarette Tricks", I just happen to love this briefest of the brief cuts

My #1 has been locked in since before this poll even started. Its the song that introduced me to GbV via a CMJ sampler way back in the day.

Ha! I think "Squirmish Frontal Room" was the first GBV track I ever heard because of that cd too (assuming that's the track you're talking about...1995?)

Nope, not that one. CMJ New Music Monthly - Volume 33, May 1996 actually.

If you want my #1 vote spoilered you can google that.

Ah, fair enough. That's likewise a very good song.

Yeah, its probably not the greatest GbV song ever, but it holds such a special place in my heart.

If this is the topic we're on, the first GBV song I ever heard was "My Valuable Hunting Knife". Actually, not sure I remember how.

I think "Squirmish Frontal Room" was on the May 1995 sampler because of the GBV Box on Scat, but I liked it and went out and got Alien Lanes. I was a goner (and mad collector) at that point.

I think mine was the 1st track off bee thousand.

mine too. i did not know what to think. can't really remember why i bought that record now -- maybe a review in spin or something? but i really did not know what to expect.

My first was 'Matter Eater Lad'. Think I bought the 'Clown Prince' ep cos I was too stingy to buy an album without hearing them first. Thought it was a bit shit tbh, so I didn't bother buy anything else of their's for ages after that.

My first was song 1 on Bee Thousand as well. Seemingly a common experience. Good song, though I wasn't hooked until later in the album, like song 3 ...

"Teenage FBI" for me, on the radio. Bought Do the Collapse and enjoyed it, then bought Bee Thousand and fell in love.

Teenage FBI is a good song. Under appreciated.

^^^ OTM

I can't help but view people with skepticism when they dismiss the TVT era as completley worthless.

I think mine was the 1st track off bee thousand.

― Jeff, Tuesday, September 20, 2011 3:13 PM (59 minutes ago) Bookmark

Mine too. A girl upstairs in the dorm loaned it to me and I was sold immediately and permanently, for better or worse. My friend and I drove to a record store 2 hours away to get the Scat box set when it came out. (He got something else, I was going for that) I remember making a last minute decision at the counter to get vinyl and I have cherished the crap out of that thing ever since. I even sold my record player at one point, but I never sold that.

I'm 50/50 on the TVT era. Isolation Drills is a great record; Do the Collapse far less great (though it does have the big studio version of Teenage FBI).

Yeah its definitely a mixed bag, but I remember how I used to run into people who were all, "all the TVT stuff sucks because it isn't lo-fi" and I just wanted to rmde. There's some great songs in that period. I like the Hold on Hope EP.

i thought the quality went a bit downhill around mag earwig -- still some great songs, just not at the same level of inspiration as 93-96. production on do the collapse has always bugged me. then again, after that run of records, there wasn't anywhere to go but down. i think it was "speak kindly" that brought me around again.

I really like Liquid Indian, Surgical Focus (aka Searching for Vultures), and Unmarketed Product. DTC is underappreciated for sheer poppitude, I think. Isolation Drills I never liked that much, but I was going through a country phase at the time and it sounded too slick for me. I might like it better now. Hold on Hope EP is great!!

This song is one of the classic "wait the whole song for one beautiful moment" GBV songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IUYZjr2pMM

for me

I also have STRONG positive memories of DTC because that was the show I attended with an extremely appealing/attractive/smart young gbv fan who is now Mr Lechera. <3 <3 <3
If it weren't for that show, I might not have demanded that he give me his number.

ballot submitted. 16 from "classic" era gbv albums, two from classic era eps, one from guided by verde era, one from pollard solo.

my near-misses, songs #21-27, in no particular order: teenage fbi, hey aardvark, love is stronger than witchcraft, big school, crutch came slinking, matter eater lad, vibrations in the woods. a couple of 'em, namely teenage fbi and big school, are songs i love marred by recordings that are a bit of a mess. though if i had remembered the "wish in one hand" version of teenage fbi before this very second, that probably would have made my top 20. definitely would've, in fact. dear johnny fever, can you please make teenage fbi (wish in one hand version) my #20 song, and drop my current #20 song off the list? pretty please? thanks!

i submitted two most-hated tracks, and they're both from my favorite album, which is perhaps why i hate them all the more.

This thread has inspired me to listen more closely to post-GBV Bob for some reason. The Boston Spaceships albums really are great though I still haven't heard the latest one. Digging Mars Classroom as well...

can you please make teenage fbi (wish in one hand version) my #20 song, and drop my current #20 song off the list? pretty please? thanks!

Can and will.

depends - what was #20?

thanks johnny! the former #20 was "a good flying bird," which remains pretty damn great.

NO! reverse decision plz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9l8nv90N4o

By the way, the o.g. 7" version of Teenage FBI is the version I'll be posting for its placing in the countdown (assuming it places, that is...(of course it will)).

^not so fond of reason xxp

can i just vote for "awful bliss" in all 20 spots?

Since we're talking about Tobin songs atm, plz show this nugget some love ppl!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxCZ0m15_E4

love that clip of tobin doing bird! that one was always better live than on record, methinks. i still stand by tobin. my fave member of the band. which is barely represented anywhere on my list. but still.

Status update: 24 ballots cast so far, 155 different tracks voted for. The #1 has appeared somewhere on 71% of all ballots cast.

if it's not echos myron i will eat a nacho hat

XP I think I had about 5 Tobin tracks on my ballot. I didn't find it appropriate to include anything solo, otherwise 'Hermit Stew' would have been top 10.

Having problems finalising my list, every time I come back to this thread someone mentions a track I'd forgotten

No Tobin tracks on my ballot, if I do the MOST HATED they will all be Tobin. Really can't stand "It's Like Soul Man"! idk maybe it's just his wimpy voice that i can't get past.

http://www.jamesgreer.net/2011/09/21/guided-by-voices-new-album/

My ballot was pretty close to the Human Amusements tracklisting. For all his musical tourettes, Pollard knew pretty keenly which were his best songs.

xp Well shit! One of the reasons I wanted to do GBV was because the catalog of material had a pretty specific end date (even if, yes, we were including solo stuff). Now this poll won't be truly comprehensive!

That said, YAY NEW ALBUM OMG

Who plays the violin/strings on some of that earlier stuff (like Weedking)? I had never really heard a lot of it, and was kind of surprised to hear it.

There are violins on "Weedking"? Greg Demos played a bit of violin... not sure how well.

Don't forget this heavenly violin riff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4KIlCYyDdw

I think that is Greg Demos

For all his musical tourettes, Pollard knew pretty keenly which were his best songs.
the greatest hits thing on that box set is pretty good -- but i actually think that pollard's greatest (ok, one of his greatest) skills is sequencing. like, the first side of bee thousand is one of the greatest first sides of all time in terms of track order/transitions/rise/fall/etc. same with alien lanes, things like fast japanese spin cycle. the guy knows how to order his songs so that they fit perfectly. no mean feat when you've got billions of songs to choose from. so the greatest hits, great as they are, are made greater by how he places them together on the actual albums.

great! how many times can i say great! greatest greater great!

tracklisting for the new album:
Let's Go Eat the Factory:

01 Laundry and Lasers
02 The Head
03 Doughnut for a Snowman
04 Spiderfighter
05 Hang Mr. Kite
06 God Loves Us
07 The Unsinkable Fats Domino
08 Who Invented the Sun
09 The Big Hat and Toy Show
10 Imperial Racehorsing
11 How I Met My Mother
12 Waves
13 My Europa
14 Chocolate Boy
15 The Things That Never Need
16 Either Nelson
17 Cyclone Utilities (Remember Your Birthday)
18 Old Bones
19 Go Rolling Home
20 The Room Taking Shape
21 We Won't Apologize for the Human Race

Cyclone Utilities (Remember Your Birthday)

This sounds like Bob trolling the world.

goddammit, this is gonna rule so hard! but honestly speaking, "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" sounds like someone trying to hard to imitate Bob's titling style

Either Nelson
Echoes Myron

I knew this was coming, I could feel it in my [stellar astronomy word][animal name][common noun].

No Tobin tracks on my ballot, if I do the MOST HATED they will all be Tobin.

http://imgur.com/B3QyV

http://i.imgur.com/B3QyV.jpg

can i vote for auditorium->motor away as one song

Surely that Jim Greer song will win MOST HATED, what was Bob thinking?

The Sandbox album has not aged well.

my ballot had nothing post-UTBUTS on it tbh

or, wait, is mag earwhig! after UTBUTS? i can't even keep their chronology straight anymore

UTBUTS in 96, Mag Earwhig in 97.

The highs on Mag Earwhig! are very high. "I Am A Tree"! "Bulldog Skin"! "Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane"!

love jane of the waking universe, maybe my fave thing on ME. isn't jane a "classic" lineup recording? at least tobin's on it...

& yeah, the hating tobin sprout's songs thing -- for real? that is crazy.

I don't know Sprout's songs from others---I tend to prefer the more Who-ish songs & generally skip the crackly or drony songs, which can make the albums tough going for me.

new album is oing to rock SO HARD.
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/304995_10150295839487951_9042192950_7984167_1616082927_n.jpg

Bob, would you and living praise choir lead us into God Be The Glory?

Has this been mentioned?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U5BWlCBNS0

yeah that's a classic. one that ended up being a regular on GBV live setlists, right?
waved out has some other really good tunes too.

That's going to be in my Top 20. Best 1978 Wire song since uh Wire in 1978.

ehhh, that sounds like a less melodic rewrite of "Quality of Armor"

Well it's nothing like it but other than that...

Anyway, that's in my Top 20 too so I obviously like that sound!

lol, looks like there are 2 new GBV albums
May 22 - Guided By Voices "Class Clown Spots A UFO"

woah, where did you find this info? "Class Clown Spots a UFO" is a song on Suitcase 3 btw (no, I haven't heard it, just recognize the title)

I mentioned Subspace Biographies but it was a long time ago, like a whole week :)

The Sandbox album has not aged well.

― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, September 21, 2011 11:13 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

I disagree! Maybe the production sounds like shit, but try to imagine someone else singing the songs -- they're still quality pop rock songs! I totally LOVE "Barricade" because it's epic and "be a clown, be a man, be all you can be" has always seemed like a good motto and "Common Rebels" starts off pretty bad, but totally soars at the end, vocally and musically.

There is a lot of Bob having fun with SINGING on Sandbox, and I like that a lot.

Your naked enthusiasm is full of win!

new album info is coming from pollard's facebook page. also says there's a new solo album in the spring as well.

TMI GBV: one time in college I listened to Propeller on headphones and sang into my portable cassette recorder so I would know what I sounded like singing Propeller.

Verdict: not good, but lots of heart

I sang at full blast, with maximum zeal

ha, do you still have the tape? rockathon records wants to put it out.

god no, but i can do it again anytime

I'm sure some talented ilxor could lay a wicked beat under that tape.

i wouldn't have brought it up, but it's weird how clear my memory of doing this remains after all this time. i was on summer break and staying in my parents' house. i remember screaming FREEDOM CAKE, QUICK TO BAKE and bonking my head on the gabled ceiling.

This is impossible. Been stuck on 22 for two hours. It was down to 21 but then rose to about 32.

Jeff was correct ^ 'Hit' had to be dropped early on

Wondering if I can sneak Theory of Broken Circles in there somewhere.

Ooh if I stopped taking ballots right now I think it would be an amazing top 50! But I guess if more people want to vote, I won't stand in the way.

I voted late this afternoon, so I hope I contribute to Johnny's amazing top 50.

Devil Between My Toes: 1
Sandbox: 1
Same Place The Fly Got Smashed: 1
Propeller: 2
King Shit & The Golden Boys: 1
Vampire On Titus: 1
Bee Thousand: 4
Fast Japanese Spin Cycle EP: 2
Alien Lanes: 3
Under The Bushes Under The Stars: 1
Tonics & Twisted Chasers: 1
Do The Collapse: 1
Isolation Drills: 1

Yours is the most recent ballot received and plugged into the spreadsheet.

Nice! I hope my #1 has a respectable showing.

I hope at least one more person voted for Secret Star. There are SO MANY GOOD LITTLE PARTS, and it starts off kinda boring, but does not end boring. The "man of energy" part reminds me of my dog, "know your conjurer" is yet another awesome Pollard collocation, the "wish for you to fall/burn/return" almost makes me cry.

LOVE this song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZIi97N5sFM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL6E19A342AF5F3048

OTM everything you said about "Secret Star", rest of the album leaves me cold however. I've decided to drop the idea of having Bob solo tracks in my top 20, which is looking really kinda boring and underwhelming, i hated my Beach Boys top 20 too!

I voted Underwater Explosions in my top 20. I meant to vote for Little Lines. But I got my midpaced big rock chuggers mixed up. Never mind. Mistakes and randomness are in the spirit of GBV.

Has Pollard/GBV ever covered this song? There is a part in the second verse at 1:23 that sounds identical to a GBV song but I can't quite figure out which one (all of them?). I know this is not a AC original, but I would like to hear Pollard sing it anyway why because it is awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_nyNy9oAVo

(btw that is hello hooray a la alice cooper)

Not according to the GBVDB, http://gbvdb.com/tracks.asp?x=1&artistpersonid=&artistpersonids=4&cover=true

Love that song

Wouldn't it be a great cover? Speaking of covers...
(pardon the xpost from facebook but it's awesome)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FqhOQLD3t0

xxp lol, and I have thought for like a week now that GBVDB was down for some reason. turns out that the whole time I've been trying to get to the site using http://www.gbvdb.com/ instead of http://gbvdb.com/

So I was sitting in a boring mtg yesterday when a friend fwded me the Pfork article about the new album and I so badly wanted to jump up and high-kick while shouting "FUCK YEAH".

I think that would've been an appropriate response. If your colleagues didn't understand it, fuck em.

My ballot is done, I'm just going to let it season for a couple days before I submit. My guess is that it will be fairly consensus but I'm actually not really sure what the consensus on GBV is.

Demons are Real will probably win.

And why not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5coiDE7_9Y

Feeling it.

Great chords in that song

Bowiesque

Such enthusiastic singing!

Ok up to this point I have avoided listening to Alien Lanes or Bee Thousand because they rile me up WAY TOO MUCH and I also like to save the big hits for when I need them, which is not right now. But unfortunately, I just listened to that song 3x.

The thing is, you haven't really seen me flip out itt yet. It gets worse. I am controlling myself a little bit still.

is it too close to a ban to ask for a fan-created rarity compilation? just found out about this one http://gbvdb.com/album.asp?albumid=2167 and damn, looks interesting. most of that stuff remains officially unreleased as of today. google doesn't seem to help me at all >:(

Try searching for "Guided by Voices 30 Songs" in google blog search. Certainly seems to be pretty popular with bloggers, I see it get posted fairly often.

One litmus test for the consensus-ness of my ballot is that fully half of it is on the GBV greatest hits album that I just learned 5 minutes ago existed.

I was worried about my ballot looking too much like that too, but, y'know, screw it, its a really well compiled hits disc.

that whole box was a good purchase imo

Yes, well worth the nearly two hours I stood in line to purchase it at Borders. Long story, but I had a gift card to use, it was the only copy they had, and it was two days after Christmas so there was a hella ridiculous line.

What box is this?

This one.

Hardcore UFOs on Matador 2003

best of
matador oop singles, b-sides, etc,
previously unreleased
unreleased LIVE 95-2002 (this is omg must have btw)
forever since breakfast
dvd of watch me jumpstart

Oh yeah. At the risk of annoying everyone, I got that in a car boot sale (American equivalent?) for £5 (American equivalent?). What a happy day that was!

Great score! I'd say the American equivalent would be like $2.50 at a garage sale.

High five for striking the motherlode. I love when that happens.

And in the UK! Have we talked about the book yet? Who else has read the book?

Are you talking about A Brief History? Or the 33 1/3 on Bee Thousand? Or another I'm not aware of?

Have never seen the book. The Jim Greer thing?

Brief History -- I haven't read the 33 1/3 because I, well, I dunno. For some reason I continue to resist the focus on that album when there is so much more to appreciate.

Yes, the Jim Greer thing. It's really really good and gives you an idea of the early days that I think is missing from the general narrative about GBV.

Bee Thousand works so well as an album. So well that I rarely listen to it anymore. I mostly just put a ton of songs on random or listen to comps/dj mixes these days. Bee Thousand songs don't sound as good to me out of context.

Always look for it, but doesn't seem to have made it across the Atlantic, at least not in sufficient numbers (xp)

The GBV song that gives me the biggest jumpstart is "Wished I Was A Giant". When that comes on, I can't help but yell along with the hooting at the end. I have no idea what the song "means" but to me it means release.

I'd venture to guess that 90% of all GBV songs don't mean anything at all.

Like, the best GBV songs have particular phrases you can shout along to while listening and those phrases sound great when shouted (or sung)...but they're absolutely nonsensical.

That is part of what I love so much about them.

i HATE that jim greer book, ugh. such a smarmy tone and boring, "insider" bullshit

It's never quite as poignant as when everyone's shouting along together at a show -- and tbh I don't get drunk (like DRUNK) very much and I don't think I've ever been drunk at a GBV show. I have been drunk at home and singing to GBV and made my neighbor come upstairs on account of the noise though :-/

xp wow, ok we all have our opinions.

I will be plowing through all the suggestions on this thread this weekend before voting, but wanted to rep for what to me is one of their very best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Q_XHYV_AY

I could listen to this song non-stop for days and two weeks.

Also unsuspected GBV addition on Propeller: guitar solos.

Just sent mine in. It was really hard to get down to 20.

xpost the live album in the Hardcore UFOs box was in my ballot for top 5 GBV albums ...

I've begun listening to all the GBV albums. There is no way I'll have time for the solo/side project stuff.

I've discovered that the 'small speakers' preset on my ipod gives a warm fuzzy sound on my neutral sounding headphones. I'm relistening to Alien Lanes with this discovery.

I'd venture to guess that 90% of all GBV songs don't mean anything at all.

― Johnny Fever

I'm not super familiar with the lyrics at this point but I'd venture to say that there is a lot more meaning than 10%. A lot of that meaning is disguised in metaphor (some metaphors may only be decipherable by people who can find a way inside the writer's mind). There is also a lot of seperate ideas that get collaged together in one song.

"The closer you are, the quicker it hits you"

^I'd wager to say that that is an absolutely brilliant lyric

oh, there are so many, explicitly laid out like a fruitcake

God free the pilgrims
Laid out in sunday clothes

drunk really is the best way to enjoy this band, even though i didn't drink at the height of my fandom

Just sent mine in. It was really hard to get down to 20.

― righteousmaelstrom, Thursday, September 22, 2011 12:55 PM

Hey, would it be a pain to send that again in plain text? I don't seem to be able to open the file for some reason.

On its way, Johnny.

If this is the topic we're on, the first GBV song I ever heard was "My Valuable Hunting Knife". Actually, not sure I remember how.

Been trying to figure this out. I think it was probably "Wished I Was a Giant" since Vampire On Titus was the first album of theirs I got. Then I saw em in St. Louis on the tour for Bee Thousand (Scat Records "Insects of Rock" tour with Cobra Verde and Prisonshake) and bought Bee Thousand at the show.

Mine's gone too Johnny.

Similar to dmr above. Had to choose "Wished I was a Giant". First GBV i heard. Indebted to Tim from the legendary Ajax Records for that. Cheers Tim

first i heard of them was the "bulldog skin" video on 120 minutes

Tractor and salty were horrible omissions. Eeek

Speaking of lyrics: I read somewhere that 'Always Crush Me' is written from the point of view of an insect.

Soz to be a bore but the live version of "a good flying bird" by Sprout is just so. Lovely

Name any band who get's near GBV these days. Forget the fact that they are about to dominate the world again.
Who else is there?

For all the Tobin haters, a late lobby for this one I almost forgot about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM3tZIagviE

Like, the best GBV songs have particular phrases you can shout along to while listening and those phrases sound great when shouted (or sung)...but they're absolutely nonsensical.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, September 22, 2011 10:50 AM (10 hours ago)

I always think of GBV as a very knowing take on Outsider Art, from the home taper/DIY aesthetic to the kinds of cracked imagery in the lyrics (cf. "Demons Are Real" and "Queen of Cans and Jars" to name only two). When I was a kid, someone briefly was leaving on our doorstep these sort of creepy, insane homemade cassette recordings with elaborate drawings on the paper inserts and the lyrics were like GBV but not as good!

How "aware" were Pollard/GbV?

I know they reference The Who, Wire, REM, Beatles all over the place... but then Pollard namedrops psyche-garagers Cat Butt in the lyrics of "Pendulum" (SPTFGS, 1990) who was way more niche at the time. I think their late 90s career verged way more into the crafted classic rock and away from fringe experimentation, but did they have a period of hipster awareness in the late 80s?

dodging invisible rays is my fav tobin for sure

i listened to the Human Amusements comp this week trying to see if i liked enough songs to throw together a ballot, just couldn't do it. like "I Am A Tree" more than any Pollard song, somebody vote for that for me.

Dodging Invisible Rays might well be the best Tobin, I still can't get behind it. I'm sure it's just his pissy weak voice, even the instrumentation seems to be dialled back so as not to overwhelm it. Would like to hear it with some beefier guitars and Pollard singing. Or Teenage Fanclub.

Shit! I missed Gleemer(Fertile Jim)! Was that A Sprout?

just sent my list. any love for don't stop now? love that song.

Don't Stop Now is a great song, definitely will be loved I think.

33 ballots now! (though I still haven't added in the latest five, so no stat clues at the moment)

Johnny, I will be submitting one! Just trying to listen to as much as possible to see if I have been sleeping on anything. I am afraid my ballot is shaping up to be what it would have been without all the homework, but still fun to trawl through the excess. Really looking forward to the results.

I think "Cryptic Shapes" is an excellent Tobin track. The whole song chugs along like gentle driving music. The chorus tugs at the heartstrings by hitting that magic chord right around the top peak of the range of natural notes that I embody

man, i didn't even realize that such a thing as a "Tobin hater" existed. what a world.

1712 - 14 cover versions - according to this - http://www.gbvdb.com/tracks.asp Damn this is hard - it doesn't help that I've listened to bee thousand, like 6 times this week.

Just sent my ballot in. For the record, it has 5 songs from outside the '92-'96 period

Submitted. I'm 100% correct.

I'm assuming the due date means end of the weekend, Sunday midnight. I'm making a last push to get through as much as I can...

Crap, I won't have time enough to go through all the suggestions :-/

Yeah, when Sunday turns to Monday. xp

Mr. Fever, what's your revised guesstimate of how many ballots you think you're going to get now that you've flown past 30?

Just pick twenty ffs.They have about 14,500 to chose from. Takes 20 mins. Deliberate after. Like I did

I'm up to 15 picks. Deep cuts seem to be few and far between, this is one of those polls I'll probably be most in line with the consensus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxCXXAIfT-8

Unless you've got the answers
Don't patronize the mountain men

Mr. Fever, what's your revised guesstimate of how many ballots you think you're going to get now that you've flown past 30?

Dunno really. The facebook post didn't really seem to make a big difference, though a few may have snuck in. Strongo still hasn't voted, and a couple other regs in this thread haven't either. I don't mind last-minute ballots. I'm only doing worsts and albums on Monday, so I can add in actual tracks votes over the day on Monday at a leisurely pace.

I couldn't do worst. I mean there are probably 150 sings that qualify, but I can't be bothered to seek them out.

Wait, Hold on Hope. That's a horrible song.

Most people haven't submitted worsts. It will probably be a very small list.

What's wrong with Hold on Hope? If it was a one off then yes, maybe awful. But it was Pollard. shit Johnny just realised i need to rank them. Doing it now.Right now. apologies. I can't even do simple instructions

So it's okay with you then if I don't use your re-ranked list? Because your first ballot was already tallied into the spreadsheet.

38 ballots now, y'all. About 19 hours left to vote.

Johnny. As I said it's fine. Thank you

For me "most hated" does not equal "worst" at all -- just that I am either tired of or generally not fond of those songs. Not the same! I would never have voted for "worst".

Johnny. Just had another look. Hand on heart, my original was pretty damn close. Just had a re - listen or with a couple of cold ones, to one or two of the strategic tracks

my external hd with all my music just died so i will now construct a last-minute ballot from memory without listening to the songs

I'm poorly but want to try and construct a last-minute ballot as well

sent mine now

just sent my ballot too, there's no point in sitting over it for too long. it's heavily AL-loaded and (I guess) challop-free

sent to your gmail

wowee! 45 ballots now (and counting?)

loving 'redmen and their wives' so much today. what a song!

This song will never ever chart, but I still think it's pretty far out and a decent 5 minute jam for a bunch of 1987 nobodies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7qkymXU30g

oh, I placed just the next track ("Dog's Out" is next, right?) on my pre-elimination ballot, tho it got pushed out of the top 20

"3 year old man" (which is kind of forgettable) is next, then "dog's out"

Just sent my ballot. Was really busy this week so I didn't get to delve in as much as I'd hoped to, but my favorites remain pretty consistent with these guys. Can't wait to see results!

we have come to drag days
we escape them sometimes
and the feeling is different, more intensified

totally voted for "drag days" <3 "fidgety hearts"

we will turn aroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuund

Hope my ballot made it. Can't be online much to see. Really looking forward to the results!

Neil Bacharackers

Carlos Santana Moss

lol, sorry, wrong thread

haha

okay everybody...voting closes in about 3.5 hours. Currently we have 49 ballots (which far exceeds my original expectations, so thank you!)

just voted

here's two honorable mentions that didn't make it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uwCemSQMbM

^^^^ best Pollard side project track, imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIC2mqWerR0

^^^^ b-side on the I Am a Scientist 7"

100 minutes left to vote.

sent

been meaning to do this for 10 days and have failed

i'll be the guy saying 'oh man if i had voted, 'i am a(n) _____' would totally have won'

You've still got a little over an hour. Go fer it!

it's on the way, give me til 12:20 and I'll make sure I'll listen to all the youtubes and #1 picks on this thread

POLLS ARE CLOSED!

Got 52 ballots in the end. I'll be doing the top 10 albums/releases tomorrow and starting the tracks countdown on Tuesday.

The "most hated/least favorite" tracks thing kind of fell apart, because there's no discernible consensus on what those tracks might be. Worked great for Zeppelin, but not so much here.

xp Soz dude, I'm gonna be a hardnose on this one.

polls closed? I've been listening to hundreds of GBV songs all week

sent. missing 3 tracks

I've been listening to hundreds of GBV songs all week

Well then you'll be really primed to follow the countdown. Unfortunately, 52 people found some time to set aside within the 10 days that voting was open and actually submit their ballots.

sorry dude. i only made it to 15 tracks. are you serious you are closed now? remember that the miles davis poll has 3 months of voting...

I guess I just didn't think you'd be such a dick about this?

I know that I've taken a lot of heat on ILX lately because of my stance on a particular issue
and I know that my picks are almost all Bee1000 and Alien Lanes - which probably seems appalling to a hxc GBV fan
but it's your poll Johnny Fever and if you want to be a real dick about the time than it's your call

and I'm sorry if I write how I feel

I don't know about your stance on a particular issue (?), but I really truly closed the voting at midnight so I could work on the actual behind-the-scenes stuff involved in rolling out a countdown and still maybe get a little sleep tonight before work tomorrow. If I went back in and added a couple ballots now (sorry Mr. Shasta), I'd have to stay up later and be sleepier at work. So yeah, voting closed at midnight edt.

I'd of thought you'd just start the counting tomorrow so you could get some sleep tonight

bah, I give up on these polls. I guess I'm lucky to have caught the LZ one in time. I think I'm gonna bow out of the remaining ones. Too much work and life interfering with my interwebz.

It's my fault that my list came in 10 minutes late but I'd never be the kind of person that would turn down a few dedicated ILXors if they were a tiny bit late. ILX is supposed to be a vacation away from work

If these artist poll deadlines are gonna be treated as stringently as work deadlines then I bow out of the remaining ones as well. I invested too much time into this poll to see it all go to waste

What's the big deal guys? A deadline is a deadline and there's really no point in setting one if the person running the poll isn't going to stick to it. I am thankful to Johnny for taking the time to do this and am looking forward to tomorrow's results.

What's the big deal about adding a few numbers to a running tally? Its elementary school math

I believe in leeway for bros. Especially since I put quite an effort into listening to all the GBV albums. But apparently Johnny Fever has a strict anti-bro policy because there is no way that those extra 10 minutes are going to throw off the start of a results countdown because the countdown doesn't have an exact start time. If the results started ten minutes later no one would notice

I'm not gonna argue about this anymore. It's my fault that it's late and JF has the right to be a stickler. But never in a million years would I cut off people for sending in their ballots within one hour past the deadline. It just seems like a real low-bro move. I couldn't do that someone

Weeping salt tears for Lorax here

shut the fuck up lorax

you vote for this one, cap'n?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQxlYWXjn9Q

surely you mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6fhnHu6d6I

i'm partial to this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK2F1NdAxp4

Lorax, stop complaining. A deadline is a deadline. Looking forward to the countdown!

the 5 most rated gbv songs via youtube:
1.game of pricks
2.i am a scientist
3.hold on hope
4.my valuable hunting knife
5. glad girls

most viewd:
1.a am a scientist
2.teenage fbi
3.hunting knife
4.hold on hope
5.glad girls

"Girl Named Captain" was in my Top 20 till I decided to ditch any solo stuff and go 100% GBV

If these artist poll deadlines are gonna be treated as stringently as work deadlines then I bow out of the remaining ones as well.

man I love the logic of this. "woah, woah, woah, announced deadlines will be HELD TO? Fuck you guys, I'm out of here."

Never go to a meeting you can't loudly saunter into late I guess

Yeah, I don't really see how 10 days isn't enough time to type a list of your 20 favorites. I think it took me just about 20 minutes, then I let it sit for a day, then I sent it. It's not in the spirit of GBV to agonize over something to the point where it doesn't get done.

I want to frame that last sentence and put it up somewhere LL <3

(although I could regret that when I do the Kate Bush poll in a couple of weeks ~ who does agonize over things ;) )

My computer's trackpad became totally inoperable yesterday afternoon so I missed the deadline...my list was shaping up to be pretty PROP-BT-AL heavy anyways

LORAX'S VOTE CONCEALMENT WAS AN INSIDE JOB.

Can't wait for the countdown today.

Watched the DVD of the "final" show in Chicago 2004...really enjoyable. As stated above, that man can drink. Was surprised by the lukewarm reception for Tobin Sprout's appaearance unless there's some kind of backstory there. Also, what gives with RP's constant refrain of how all the bands got "jealous" of GBV--can someone fill us in briefly on the intraband tensions?

Every person running one of these polls will have different ideas about deadline strictness, so "if these artist poll deadlines are gonna be treated as stringently as work deadlines..." is whiny bullshit and a very big "IF". Obviously some dude didn't get the hard-deadline memo because he held things open for another day on Timbaland iirc.

I invested too much time into this poll to see it all go to waste.

Then post your ballot and quit putting a run in ILX's stockings.

btw, POLLSTAL BLOWFISH - ILM Artist Poll #8 - Guided By Voices - ReSuLtS!!!

It's not in the spirit of GBV to agonize over something to the point where it doesn't get done.

― some lady (La Lechera)

Yeah but I think GBV would of sacrificed a few guitar picks for their fans even if it wasn't on schedule.

Maybe I'm wrong about this. Maybe GBV and their biggest fans are more Type-A than I can possibly imagine.

I'm really sorry that I made such a stink about this. I'll shut the fuck up now. I probably deserve to be excluded from this poll because I made a big deal about the way I feel. If I had rushed my results 10 minutes earlier I could of avoided hurt feelings all together. And it's my fault that I'm the type of person that lets drawn out perfectionist behavior leak into my list making.

Sorry Johnny

Let it go Lorax. Johnny is running the poll. He set a deadline, probably linked to his personal schedule of work and obligations and trying to free time to do this for us. Holding a grudge for the initiator of this poll sticking to his own deadline is not a good look.

I probably deserve to be excluded from this poll because I made a big deal about the way I feel.

You don't deserve to be excluded because of your feelings, you are excluded because you were too late.

If I had rushed my results 10 minutes earlier I could of avoided hurt feelings all together.

Yes.

And it's my fault that I'm the type of person that lets drawn out perfectionist behavior leak into my list making.

If you started your drawn out perfectionist behavior 11 minutes earlier this wouldn't have happened.

Let it go.

I said I was sorry. I'm trying to let it go. You're not helping

A perfect way to let it go would be to follow the results thread and not keep rehashing the past here in this one.

will gladly lock this one if you want, JF

That'd be cool of you.