Choking Tara

Taken from "Mag Earwig!" 1997

"Days into weeks
She rattled my mind
We stayed out all week
And got happy this time
She fills empty space
I kinda need it that way
Crybaby says bye to me
I can't imagine that all our troubles will go away
But I could catch her and break the falls
I could snatch her with breaks and claws
Today when every "fake it"
Decides to make it
They just can't take it away
Shove it, cus I'll just stay
Like an ugly unwanted stray
Don't care what you say"

A short song with lots of different versions. This is the classic album version with echoey vocals. A great song and a must for any Guided By Voices compilation tape. "Days Into Weeks, You Rattled My Mind". You did indeed Bob.

Buzzards and Dreadful Crows

Taken from "Suitcase 1" 2003

"The lifeblood lighthouse flashing
Sixteen chicks remain on watch
The wheels took a rolling in
And they do
Hey oh hey they always do
I'd be disappoint'n'bored if they didn't

Buzzards and dreadful crows
Right on the tip of my nose
They wait like cats and fly out
For the light in my eyes to die out
And it does
Hey it always does
I'd be shocked and appalled if it didn't

Buzzards and dreadful crows
A neccessary evil I suppose
There's something in this deal for everyone
Did you really think you were the only one?"

The Suitcase version of Buzzards that appears in it natural form on "Bee Thousand". This one has more crazy rock vocal histrinoics from Bobs and a bit of screaming. Prefer the original version but its nice to have this little oddity.

The Right Thing

Taken from "From A Compound Eye" 2006

"I CROSSED A MOMENT OF LOVE
TO ENGULF THE MOON THAT HIDES
I WANNA LINE SOMETHING UP
AND I LIKE THE WAY YOU SLIDE
THE RIGHT THING I ALONE DECIDE
FOR YOU AND I

FAST FORWARD TO FROM NOW ON
TO INSIST THE PRICE IS MINE
EXPOSE THE HEART OF IT ALL
WITH MINERS' LUNGS ON EITHER SIDE
THE RIGHT THING I ALONE DECIDE
FOR YOU AND I
CALL IT PRIDE

I AM HIGH
TOO SMALL IN A WAY
I'M HIGH
YOU CRY
AND I DIE
OH
MY, MY, MY"

This song builds from a muffled lo-fi track into a full blown Rock Epic! With a great riff. Its like some of the tracks on Suitcase where you get 2 different versions of the same song in succession. Good song.

Cinnamon Flavored Skulls

Taken from "Suitcase 1" 2003

Lyrics Unknown

Crazy title. Drum sticks click. Lumbering tempo. Lumbering vocals. Shouting. All over quickly, thankfully.

Zarkoff's Coming

Taken from "Suitcase 2" 2005

Lyrics Unknown

Zarkoff. The crazy scientist from Flash Gordon. Wonderfully played by Topol in the Cheesy 1980s Film. This song sounds like it was recorded by a mad man too. Some impassioned shouting in a muffled production. Has its moments, like the single chime of the final note.

Back to Saturn X Radio Report

Taken from "Propeller" 1992

Lyrics Unknown

A collection of snippets from songs from an abondoned project. Many of these songs crop up on "King Shit and The Golden Boys". Hard to comment on a mish-mash and bits of songs. Fun to play spot the song though.

Gold (Demo)

Demo

An early demo version of the "From A Compound Eye" track. Recorded on a cheap deck live by the sounds. You can see the beginnings of this FACE track and how it began to take form. It's Gold Baby.

White Car Creek

Taken from "Tower In The Fountain Of Sparks" 2001

"White as night
Black as day
Birds will sing you yesterday
born in to a colorform
the wave will bring you evermore
spring is here now"

Very 60s. Very Trippy. Very Short. Is that Bob singing? He sounds different. Oooo Phasing.

Like I do

Taken from "Forever Since Breakfast" 1986

"In my life I've seen people rushing painfully
Trying to be happy -- but they're never happy
Pushing to clear a path, hurting without knowing
Like I do, like I do, like I do, like I do

Everybody wanting something, with no regard for anybody at all

Years go by and mistakes are repeated over
Until they're corrected -- but they're never corrected
In my life I've seen people rushing painfully
Like I do, like I do, like I do, like I do

[Everybody wanting something, with no regard for anybody at all]"

Love the bar-music/Spanish guitar intro with signs of how Bob and GBV will come to record a lot of their later work. Lo-Fi with the background overtaking the music at times. A lovely melody.

Feathering Clueless (The Exotic Freebird)

Taken from "Tower In The Fountain Of Sparks" 2001

"The heavens convened
awfully well to do
feathering clueless if it were up to you
would you even care?
Or would you be aware
of the weatherman
stone with fruit
the twinkling housewife
she is, I swear
in despair
feathering clueless
look at the things
look up the things
look up the things
and I swear in no time
I will be
awfully well to do
if it were up to you
would you even care?"

A classic Pollard introduction to this song from Airport 5. Very poppy much in the vein of "Dayton, Ohio-19 Something And 5" with a hint of melancholy. Nice.

Beauty Of The Draft

Taken from "Blues and Boogie Shoes" 2006

Lyrics Unknown

Another fantastic Keene Brothers song. Full of verve and melody. Bob just sounds so happy and lost in the song with the Keene Brothers. I really hope there will be a new Keene Brothers album as this album rates as one of the best Bob albums in the whole in his career. Wonderful stuff.

Youth Leagues

Taken from "Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love" 2007

"I'M SITTING OUT - YOU'RE CALLING OUT FOR BALL
WELL I CAME OUT - MAYBE I SHOULD STAY
MISS THE GAME - NEVER HAD YOUR HANDS
DON'T MISS YOUR GAME - I NEVER WAS A FAN

LOOK NOW - SPITTIN' OUT YOUR MIND
I'M SITTIN' OUT - I'LL NEVER BE YOUR KIND
SITTIN' OUT - I'LL NEVER CROSS THAT LINE
SITTIN' OUT - I'VE NEVER PAID NO MIND
SITTIN' OUT - I'VE NEVER PAID NO MIND

LOOK AND TELL - HOW I MISSED THAT WORLD
PROUD ONES PLAY WITH NO WORRY
GOOD LUCK TO YOUR HEART
NO OPTIONS WITHSTAND DEVOUTNESS
RED STREAMERS RUN
WHERE BOYS STILL FIGHT WITH THEIR MIGHT
OUR CHANCE MAY DIE TONIGHT
MAKING HOME LIFE GLOOMY

EVERY DREAM THAT YOU'LL NEVER KNOW
EVERY UNDYING OPTIMIST
LOOKS IN YOUR HEART
THE GAMES ON YOUR MIND IMPRESSED
WHERE REASONS DIE BUT DESIRE REMAINS ALL THE WAY
BELIE INTUITION
THEY RUN OUT OF GAS AND THEY BURN A LOT
HAPPENS TO MOST BUT THEU LEARN A LOT
'TIL THEY'RE DEAD
NO MORE SAID
SAVE GOODNIGHT"

A chirpy little song from "Coast to Coast Carpet Of Love" with a joyful spirit, drums and some good vocal by Bob. The drums and guitar are great and the song almost turns into "Duelling Banjos" midway. I like this song.

Red Hot Halos

Taken from "Calling Zero" 2002

"And sometimes
When it's "Look out below"
The people move too slow
Sometimes the people move too slow
Sometimes

They see and care
And sometimes wear
Red Hot Halos

And other times
When we get back
Everyone's sleeping until next time

They see and care
And sometimes wear
Red Hot Halos"

A very tuneful song by Bob and Mac. The Go Back Snowball album is overlooked or maligned by some fans but I quite like the simplcity of it all. Some good songs on here and this is an interesting one. Nice mixture of strummed guitar and keyboard. Nice.

The Tumblers

Take from "Devil Between My Toes" 1987

"sleephouse - not a sound - the world outside large sky-
losing ground - no words inside
lost hope brings not the tired eyes
one mistake - two mistake
don't mistake your mistake for my mistake
house pet chasing birds across
the earth big ground fading now - scope, span, girth"

Scope, Span, Girth. The sign of things to come. An early GBV song with a very gentle vocal and a "tumbling" drumbeat. Very pleasant. The Sound of drifting off to sleep.

Chicken Blows

Taken from "Alien Lanes" 1995

"Chicken blows
I suppose we could have a girl or a boy
And I see what you mean
I'm not here to drink all the beer
In the fridge (oh, la la la)
In the room (oh)
In the house
In the place (oh, la la la)
That we both (oh)
So love
Can you sink to the depths (lots of "oh"ing)
I don't know
I don't even care
And our lives slip away
In the end we will probably reach
All the way (oh, la la la)
To the walls (oh)
over there
Have you flown? (oh, la la la)
Our courage (oh)
Is only a taste
And I'll get paid (ooh, ooh)
If you'll get laid (ooh, ooh)
It's our parade (ooh, ooh)"

Love this song. The wobbly vocals. The delicate Guitars. The clunks and atmosphere. The "oh, la la la" backing vocals. The saddest sounding song in the the world. What are Chicken Blows? A Classic.

Nerve Gas

Taken from "Suitcase 2" 2005

Lyrics Unknown

Strum, Strum, Strum. Wobbly Vocals. Strum, Strum, Strum. A throwaway scribble of a song.

Surgeon Is Complete

Taken from "Mist King Urth" 2003

"My scenic meter
Where she gets tender
A few from her hand
As far as a flame thrower gets

Chasing black fingers
Legs and flowers
Hands won't sleep

Kink fooles people
They have not seen
Nor have they bridged
Any woolly temples
Any rocking formations
Not that I know of

Take it out now
Take it out now
Heal me!"

A really meaty funky Rock Guitar begins the Lifeguards song. Nice to see Bob doing some proper Rock style music with a good groove. Love the treacle like sticks in this song too. Then it goes Weird. He couldn’t resist the strange psychedelic bit in the middle. Good song.

Amazed

Taken from "Electric Chairs: Professional Music By Nightwalker" 1999

Lyrics Unknown

Back to the wobbly world of Nightwalker. This is a very odd album. So Lo-Fi it almost hurts. As a whole its a big mess of semi-improvised doodlings. Much like Phantom Tollbooth its a tough album to sit through in one listening but strangely when broken down into individual tracks there is a the odd tune hidden in there and I am Amazed that "Amazed" sounds much better in isolation. Odd that.

Janus Pan

Taken from "Beard of Lightening" 2003

"JANUS PAN
A RIGHTEOUS LIFE IS WAITING
A GENTLE HEART’S CONDITIONS
A PROGRAMMED TRIED
BUT COULDN’T LET GO
OF THE OLD MAN’S PLAN
TO WALK ALONE
HE SAID "YOU HAVE NO
ONE TO HOLD YOUR HAND
WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH
THE GATES OF JANUS PAN"

JANUS PAN WALKS ALONE
JANUS PAN WALKS ALONE
JANUS PAN WALKS ALONE"

A usual proggy jazz fuelled Phantom Tollbooth track with slightly disconcerting rhythms and melodies. Its a nice change from the usual Bob sound but I find it hard to get my head round the changing tempos and the "all over the place" guitar parts. I think I prefer these PT tracks in isolation. Listening to Beard of Lightening as a whole is too much like hard work.

Christian Animation Torch Carriers

Taken from "Universal Truths and Cycles" 2002

"Sometimes her mother will work with her
But There's nothing wrong with her
There's nothing wrong with her
There's nothing wrong

So such is life that it writes itself
Trying to right itself
But There's nothing wrong with it
There's nothing wrong

And every single day without much to say
These apparitions raise a toast to their kind

The people who are these things
Are not afraid with you
And caring must go with the wisdom
Of their selections

Never can touch their sign language
So is the cost of sound barriers
Even as though she's still searching
For a cloud with a silver lining
We pray for her
She's burning slow
Out on a mission's light

Christian animation torch carriers
This is a shallow hole but faith makes it safe
Hiding inside a grave with no sound
No witness to see
With or without you

Christian animation torch carriers
However will you learn their sign language
However will you try to hide
Within their eyes?
Within them in life?"

A spooky sounding start to this classic later period GBV. The main song is a choppy staccato style that would later become prevalent in his Solo work. Some nice keyboards and a good song with a Kick-Ass Chorus. The song eventually builds to a great swirling climax. Great stuff.

She Wants To Know

Taken from "Forever Since Breakfast" 1986

"She wants to know which way the wind blows
And which way to go, I'm never gonna tell her
And she wants to know why I'm been hiding myself out on the road alone
Where no one knows my number

She wants to know why I can't take it slow
And why I can't settle down, but I'm never gonna burn out
She wants to know why I've been lyin' to myself -- playing a loser's game
Fightin' a losin' battle

Far away, that's where I'll be
Shine a light down hard on me

[She wants to know which way the wind blows
And which way to go, I'm never gonna tell her
And she wants to know why I'm been hiding myself out on the road alone
Where no one knows my number]

[Far away, that's where I'll be
Shine a light down hard on me
Down hard on me
Down hard on me]"

An ancient blast from the formative days of Guided By Voices with a very REM sounding track. The chime of the guitars and melody could come straight from an IRS REM album. Good song though and showed the early potential of this band I have become to love.

Hit

Taken from "Alien Lanes" 1995

"This is called "the coming of age"
Coming into town with the giggling faggots
Starting blizzards and other weird weather patterns
We participate in the shit
Now that's a hit
Now that's a hit!"

Twenty odd seconds of anti-hit song. Manages to pack in more melody than most 3 minute pop songs. One of the old fashioned Guided By Voices snippet classics that really endeared me to the band.

Bow Before Your Champion

Taken from "Pinball Mars" 2004

Lyrics Unknown

A small swirly track with scratching and repetition. I would imagine this song on drugs would be a total mind-f*ck.

Summer Is Set

Taken from "Sgt.Disco" 2007

"I crumbled
Through open star ways
Into the arms
Of a heartless widow

She stamped me as PERFECT TARGET
"Right on the side would be perfect", I said

For now I know my position
In her atmosphere of pure Herzog
And much better yet
Summer is set

For mouse games and tattoos
Somewhere in the Catskills
Summer is set

I can’t get my hands out of the icebox
Until they pass the litmus test
On her acid base

Competition in an arm’s length race

Perchance my final peccadillo
An avalanche of mumbo jumbo
Crashing down like Inno Mostro

Taken me lower into the labyrinths
Of a twisted child’s erector set

I have become the perfect pet
In the autumn of my life
And I’ll remember the sun
And all the shadows on the run
Did not apply to me
When I was young"

Very interesting instrumentation here. Love the keyboards and drums. Yet again a Circus Devils song that is not dark and brooding. This song almost builds to an Arcade Fire like blast of Organ. I like this song despite its changes in tempo and melody throughout. "In the Autumn of My Life..." crushing.

Come Outside

Taken from "Silverfish Trivia" 2007

Instrumental

A short instrumental string piece that starts of the great Silverfish Trivia EP. A big departure from the usual Pollard stuff and really good to see Bob putting something different from just "Indie-Rock" on his releases. This and "Speak In Many Colors" bookend the Trivia EP perfectly.

Tight Globes

Taken from "Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department" 1999

"Blonde machine in yellow spacecar
zip your legs in smooth rubber
You pass me and harass me
#1 is on the run

I saw you outta my cave
you didn’t see me
you never see me

Ugliest affairs in print
jumbled societies’ children
where’d you pop in?

Blonde machine....

All the glands that you shoot through
tight globes
international she goes out
fresh from the sweat factory I’m in love tonight -
perhaps we’ll be best friends for a week"

Another GBV classic in both Recorded and Live format. A song full of invention, chord changes and tempo changes but manages to hang together perfectly. Good stuff indeed. "Tight Globes"? Is he referring to a lovely pair of breasts? lol. Classic.

Fair Touching

Taken from "Ask Them" 1999

"Under the iron shop
The farewell ladies wink
Always promising no one to crush them
Always pockerfaced before bingo
Does it snap or just happen?
But a queen's prize awaits
She might rub her legs
But a queen's prize awaits
Currently fabulous
And perhaps at last the song that you sing
will have meaning"

The Original version that later crops up on Isolation Drills and is a definate Live favourite. This version is slighlty more shrill and less produced but is still a superb Guided By Voices song (though it does have a very REMish sound to it). Only GBV can create that feeling of joy of chiming guitars and languid bass. A great and classic GBV song.