Michael Daddino Explains It All Re: GBV

1)What was the album that made you a GBV fan?
2)What was the album that made you realize Rob Pollard would shit in your mouth, take your money and never give it a second thought?
3)What was the album that made you just finally give up?

My answers:
1)Bee Thousand (I caught the video for "I Am A Scientist" when Bob Mould was host of 120 Minutes. Sold!)
2)Rob Pollard's Waved Out. Ironically since I actually kind of like it now.
3)Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department. This is when I realized there would ALWAYS be two good songs but that it didn't matter since I already had too many of his goddamn albums as it was. Just recently I realized the album might be about groupie-banging. I dug Isolation Drills more than anything since '96 but when I heard the randomness on Universal Truth I couldn't even be bothered to buy it (and I thought I'd always at least by the big-deal GBV albums when they came out).

Or full of a seemingly accidental homoeroticism that frankly creeps me out

... cuz I can't think of any examples.

2)What was the album that made you realize Rob Pollard would shit in your mouth, take your money and never give it a second thought?
Nightwalker, "In Shop We Build Electric Chairs"
glenn macdonald at The War Against Silence was OTM when he called this one "an insulting waste of my time."

3)What was the album that made you just finally give up?
Airport 5, "Tower in the Fountain of Sparks"
also finally seeing the band play live on the "Do the Collapse" tour and hearing clips from the Mac McCaughan collab.
I'll keep buying the studio albums for old time's sake.

All that said: I am VERY happy about the forthcoming 32-song greatest-hits album. I still think the greatest-hits I put together for myself a few years ago is better (where the hell are "Smothered In Hugs" and "Uncle Dave" and "Gelatin, Ice Cream, Plum"?) and better-sequenced (who the hell thinks "A Salty Salute" is a better opener than "Over the Neptune"?), but this will do nicely, Bob, this will do nicely.

Vampire on Titus/Propeller the 2 fer 1 on Scat

2)What was the album that made you realize Rob Pollard would shit in your mouth, take your money and never give it a second thought?Mag Earwig!

3)What was the album that made you just finally give up?

Mag Earwhig!

1. Captain's Dead (courtesy of Scat Records)
2. Drinker's Peace (courtesy of Scat Records)
3. Exit Flagger (courtesy of Scat Records)
4. 14 Cheerleader Coldfront (courtesy of Scat Records)
5. Shocker In Gloomtown (courtesy of Scat Records)
6. Non-Absorbing (courtesy of Scat Records)
7. Tractor Rape Chain (courtesy of Scat Records)
8. Hot Freaks (courtesy of Scat Records)
9. Echos Myron (courtesy of Scat Records)
10. I Am A Scientist - SINGLE VERSION (courtesy of Scat Records)
11. A Salty Salute
12. Watch Me Jumpstart
13. Game Of Pricks - ALBUM VERSION
14. Motor Away - ALBUM VERSION
15. Hit
16. My Valuable Hunting Knife - ALBUM VERSION
17. Cut-Out Witch
18. The Official Ironmen Rally Song
19. To Remake The Young Flyer
20. I Am A Tree
21. Bulldog Skin
22. Learning To Hunt
23. Teenage FBI - DEMO VERSION
24. Things I Will Keep (courtesy of TVT Records)
25. Surgical Focus (courtesy of TVT Records)
26. Chasing Heather Crazy (courtesy of TVT Records)
27. Twilight Campfighter (courtesy of TVT Records)
28. Glad Girls (courtesy of TVT Records)
29. Back To The Lake
30. Everywhere With Helicopter
31. My Kind Of Soldier
32. The Best Of Jill Hives

GBV had a number of songs in their mid-period "classic-lineup" era with flamingly obvious phallic imagery ("My Valuable Hunting Knife" is a key offender) or a we're off to war! we're off to tour! we're off to drink drink drink! male-bonding vibe that I'm probably just hypersensitive to because I'm gay. Plus there's his absolutely hysterical...um..."reading" of "At Odds With Doctor Genesis." And the line in...is it "Rhine Jive Click"? "Crowded gymnasiums, no shortage of knock-outs." Dude. DUDE! Listen to yourself! Do you KNOW what you're saying there!?!

I REALLY REALLY want/need to see that I Am A Scientist vid. I've never had the honor of being properly introduced.

Their recent tour of the UK saw em sell out the biggest venues of their career. The album got big'n'tasty reviews everywhere.

the vitriol directed towards bob, though, i find hilarious. i don't believe for a second that he's actually releasing this stuff to sucker his listeners, and i don't doubt that he loves the weirder fragments as much as, say, a 'game of pricks'. there are certainly artists who are (or have been) more prolific and at least as inconsistent, and his attitude to his fans has never been one of abject cynicism.

in the end, you pays your money and takes your chance. nobody's forcing anyone to buy all these albums, but there is a demand for them - if that demand should ultimately quench the curiosity of most bob fans before he stops releasing them, then that will be an irony, but remember that something like Suitcase - which i don't listen to as an object often, but which i played in the car on a long drive recently, and which yielded a bunch of great songs along the way - was ultimately only released because there was a very potent demand coming from GBV fandom that wanted to hear the stacks of demos that bob had spoken of often in interviews, to sort through them themselves, like relics in a thriftstore, rather than have Bob polish up what he thought were the choicest objects.

I'd also argue that bob and GBV have been an easy target in 'indie' circles (and especially Pitchfork) since the whole signing-to-TVT deal didn't make them the household names those same indie-circles always predicted they would/could/should be.

Heh. Then I admit I'm honestly surprised! Oh well, off to be an expatriate for him, then. ;-)

Best and weirdest typo in a while (and if not a typo, even better!).

He can't handle the strength of our English beer!

1. Alien Lanes.
2. Not sure, but it was released in 1999, 2000, or 2001. Hard to pinpoint.
3. That late GBV record from last year, on Matador. It wasn't a bad record, actually, but it made me realize that I don't care to keep buying these records. I already own like 10-15 GBV related records and I only need maybe 7 of THOSE....

B1000
AL
UTBUTS
SFHB
etc. etc. vol fire co
those first two Tobin records
the 2nd and 3rd RP solo records.

Where is this website?

I was introduced via homemade compilations, which is without question the ONLY GOOD WAY to really get into the band. You need to look at what Pollard's doing not just as invidual albums, but as a body of work. Only when you notice that he's written at least 100 of the best rock songs you've ever heard does it really sink in that he's a genius. If you're judging the man on a few albums, you're missing the big picture, and missing the beauty of it all.

But to answer the question, the first GBV LP that I purchased was Bee Thousand.

2)What was the album that made you realize Rob Pollard would shit in your mouth, take your money and never give it a second thought?

Well, I don't agree with that view. I think that each project has its own purpose, and not all of them are meant to be perfect. Someone mentioned Nightwalker, and yeah, that album kinda sucks. But I didn't bother buying it. Usually you can tell which ones he's totally behind, and you can skip the tossed-off remainder records. Still, there are a good number of Pollard classics which are the lone good song on an otherwise lousy record. Really good examples that spring to mind would be "Alone Stinking And Unafraid" from the Lexos And The Leapers Ep, or "Submarine Teams" off Kid Marine, or "A Crick Uphill" from the Hold On Hope mini-album. P2P is a Pollard fan's friend.

3)What was the album that made you just finally give up?

Hasn't happened yet, and probably never will. I'm rather forgiving of Bob when he makes a dud record because he makes so many great ones that it's only realistic that he's going to strike out on occasion. I'm not really into Earthquake Glue, and that made me decide to sit out on the current tour, because I need a break from seeing GBV live. I've seen them maybe 12 times now, and I just want the next time I see them to be special, and not something I do just because they are in town.

But the Isolation Drills version blows that recording away, so hey...

And why? Because he's being fair and rational about this.

Go listen to the album without those two songs and tell me it doesn't.

Fire up your p2p, and seek these songs out.

Not In My Airforce - "Psychic Pilot Clocks Out," "Get Under It," "Girl Named Captain," "Flat Beauty," "Maggie Turns To Flies"

Waved Out - "Subspace Biographies," "Whiskey Ships," "Waved Out," "Caught Waves Again," "Wrinkled Ghost," "Make Use"

Kid Marine - "Submarine Teams," "Men Who Create Fright"

Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Dept (this is probably one of the top 5 Pollard releases, so pretty much all of it, actually) - "Slick As Snails," "Frequent Weaver Who Burns," "Pop Zeus," "And I Don't (So Now I Do)," "Tight Globes"

Choreographed Man Of War - "I Drove A Tank," "Edison's Memos"

Motel Of Fools - um, "Red Ink Superman," I guess. I don't really like this one.

the GBV Universal Truths & Cycles outtakes minialbum 'The Pipedreams Of Instant Prince Whippit' has one amazing song called "Beg For A Wheelbarrow." Likewise, "A Crick Uphill" is the one great song on the Hold On Hope minialbum.

Those are all of the Pollard 'solo' albums, which are basically GBV albums under a different name. Here's some classics among the lackluster 'side project' records.

Lexos And The Leapers 'Ask Them' - "Alone, Stinking, and Unafraid"

Go Back Snowball (Bob w/ Mac from Superchunk) - "Radical Girl," "Red Hot Halos"

Airport 5 (Bob w/ Tobin Sprout) - "Burns Carpenter, Man Of Science," "Stifled Man Casino"

Assorted great songs scatted on eps and singles:

"Do The Earth" from "I Am A Scientist EP"
"I'm Dirty" from 'Howling Wolf Orchestra - Speed Traps For The Bee Kingdom EP'
"If We Wait" from 'Sunfish Holy Breakfast EP'
"Shocker In Gloomtown" from 'The Grand Hour EP'
"Big School" from 'Static Airplane Jive EP'

I think I have this on tape somewhere!

1)What was the album that made you a GBV fan?

Bee Thousand. I heard it first at Lolla '94, playing on the PA before the Breeders came onstage. It had the eerie familiarity I was trying to get across in my article.

2)What was the album that made you realize Rob Pollard would shit in your mouth, take your money and never give it a second thought?

It's not an EP, but I can't think of a time I've ever felt quite so swindled by a record as I did from Fast Japanese Spin Cycle. Now I think it's another cracked diamond, just like nearly all the others.

3)What was the album that made you just finally give up?

Do the Collapse -- absolutely lifeless.

If it's got any glories, I can't take complete credit for it. It's partly based on a Greil Marcus sentence about The Stooges ("The sound of Chuck Berry's Airmobile -- after thieves stripped it for parts."), plus Mr. Matos's judicious editing was also key.

2. Probably "Plantations of Pale Pink." I'd bought every GBV record up to that point, but I heard it once and thought "I really don't WANT to own this."

Actually, I think it's grand: not only does the record have one of the rock titles EVER, the song it's from ("Subtle Gear Shifting") is a big horrible monstrous and quite effective dirge. Pollard's tunelessness at the beginning of "A Life in Finer Clothing" is PAINFUL, though.

But it's not how I think at all. The lo-fi thing, much as I admire it, is a fairly obvious aesthetic cul-de-sac and it's commendable that Pollard shook things up, only I'm dubious as to how he ended up doing so. It's like how I think Murmur is one of my all-time faves and I do believe something good was lost when Michael Stipe stopped mumbling (though there were plenty of other things to compensate, at least for a while) and yet I'd probably be MAMMOTHLY irritated if they continued to jangle and strum for longer than they did.

You know, when I took a break from writing the essay I passed by a bar and in my GBV-addled mind, I heard something coming from a jukebox, I don't know what (could be Linkin park for all I know) that sounded like a dance music track that Robert Pollard could credibly sing along to. Or intone to. Or do some of his rare white-soul-man moves like he does on the warmly amusing "Jellyfish Reflector" (the song, I mean). Whatever. I'd love him to something different, sure, if you're gonna kill the past, please leave a fiiiine looking corpse. JUST STOP ALL THAT GODDAMN DRONING.

i was introduced also through a mix tape someone made me. the mix was: the official ironmen rally song EP (which was brand new at the time), the "static airplane jive" 7", the split 7" with new radiant storm king, and then the "tigerbomb" EP. a weird way to get into a band but i was hooked. "alien lanes" was the first one i bought however.

2)What was the album that made you realize Rob Pollard would shit in your mouth, take your money and never give it a second thought?

i lost interest in the band after "mag earwhig" for it was never the same to me without sprout and those guys. the first record i bought by them that i was really disappointed by was that "plantations of pale pink" 7".

3)What was the album that made you just finally give up?

i've never actually listened to "do the collapse" or "isolation drills". "universal truths" wasn't hard to listen to but i don't have much desire to listen to it again. i stand by the material from "propeller" to "under the bushes" as being one of the greatest runs of genius by any rock band ever, and i'm really excited about the forthcoming box set on matador, even if it just serves to tie up loose ends for me.

"fast japanese spin cycle" may be my single favorite GbV release. i always said that if "vampire on titus" were an EP it would have been their best release, no question; "fjsc" takes several songs from "vampire" and re-records them, improving them in some cases. plus you have "indian fables", the most perfect unfinished fragment i've ever heard from the lips of bob pollard.

i stand by the last line of my old do the collapse review if you care to read it. but maybe not the rest of it cuz the rest of it is pretty dumb. (since i've been spending so much time on ilm/ile my mention of trucker hats and pabst blue ribbon in 1999 is glaring to me.)

Kid Marine - "Submarine Teams," "Men Who Create Fright"

This is one I almost agree with. I actually like that whole album, but the songs don't sound too good if you pull them off individually. "Men Who Create Fright" might be the only one that does.

Choreographed Man Of War - "I Drove A Tank," "Edison's Memos"

I'd take off "I Drove a Tank" and mention "7th Level Shutdown" instead. It's pretty.

Motel Of Fools - um, "Red Ink Superman," I guess. I don't really like this one.

Someone already mentioned "Harrison Adams". That's a great pop song. I also like "Captain Black".

the GBV Universal Truths & Cycles outtakes minialbum 'The Pipedreams Of Instant Prince Whippit' has one amazing song called "Beg For A Wheelbarrow."

I'd mention "Dig Through My Window" too, but I can't argue with "Beg for a Wheelbarrow".

Airport 5 (Bob w/ Tobin Sprout) - "Burns Carpenter, Man Of Science," "Stifled Man Casino"

That album is a disappointment, but the song one really stands out for me is "War & Wedding". It's beautiful. It sounds like a Stephin Merritt song (Get Lost, "Umbrellas of London"-ish).

Cap'n Bob as the Rainer Werner Fassbinder of indie rock - an enduring image, no?

"Submarine Teams" and "I Drove A Tank" are better live, man. They are staples of the GBV setlist.

If I was going to make a top ten Pollard/GBV list, Waved Out is easily on the list, maybe in the top five.

I'm a certifiable GBV junky, but somehow completely missed the Do The Collapse era, so, that's what i'll have to call my falling out.

Same Place the Fly Got Smashed rules.

Airport 5 was stink.

Lexo and the Leapers proved Pollard could make a bar band sound "Bob" - and i love it.

I can't believe i anticipated Go Back Snowball for so long; and for what?

But i'll be damned if Earthquake Glue doesn't come-off solid.

Ultimately, I know you have to do some sifting but i still wish i had EVERYTHING he's released.

Is this actually true? It was pretty busy in London but the audience was a bit dead (but that's London for you). I saw them in Glasgow a few days before and it really was not busy at all and it was a pretty small venue - mind you, that's Glasgow for you! Of course, people in Glasgow are so hipper-than-thou they probably wouldn't be seen dead at a GBV gig now and are all sitting at home playing "Tales of Topographic Oceans" and raving about Gentle Giant.

I completely agree with this statement. I like it better than everything but Bee Thousand and a couple singles. It's got this Fleetwood Mac sunkissed vibe going on that is just irresistible.

Todd Tobias records the music and then Pollard figures out a way to sing songs over it. On that album he leaves almost half them (out of 28 tracks) as instrumentals.