ok, enough of the acoustic guitar...the natives were getting restless, and i'm off to the big ROCK show tonight anyway, so here's a dose of that. Robert Pollard has written literally thousands of songs. or at least he's recorded and released at least a thousand...according to my computer, i've got 1498 songs accredited to Guided By Voices, and that doesn't count the myriad side projects and solo records Bobs done (though it does count some live shows where there is overlap). he had the notorious (and accurate) quote:
'i can write songs while i take a sh!t, and three of 'em will be good'
the man is prolific, no doubt, and while GBV will get their own SotD honors at some point, Bob's still churning out great stuff even after folding that band at the very end of '04 (Bob IS guided by voices anyway).
so what's the music like, you ask? take equal parts Who, Beatles, and Gabriel-era Genesis, mix in surface noise and lo-fi aesthetics, add in some Red Krayola mischief, and you are part way there. he's written some insanely catchy songs, and other stuff which makes you wonder what the hell he's doing recording that crap. still, though, it's very clear to me that aside from the occasional pebbles in the road, Pollard's one of the best songwriters ever. seriously.
here's one from his 1st solo record, Not In My Airforce
Flat Beauty
'i can write songs while i take a sh!t, and three of 'em will be good'
the man is prolific, no doubt, and while GBV will get their own SotD honors at some point, Bob's still churning out great stuff even after folding that band at the very end of '04 (Bob IS guided by voices anyway).
so what's the music like, you ask? take equal parts Who, Beatles, and Gabriel-era Genesis, mix in surface noise and lo-fi aesthetics, add in some Red Krayola mischief, and you are part way there. he's written some insanely catchy songs, and other stuff which makes you wonder what the hell he's doing recording that crap. still, though, it's very clear to me that aside from the occasional pebbles in the road, Pollard's one of the best songwriters ever. seriously.
here's one from his 1st solo record, Not In My Airforce
Flat Beauty
