Wednesday 31 December 2008

Mix Up The Satellite

Taken from "Earthquake Glue" 2003

"Sail fish like a kite when it rolls by.
sad eyes they will grow like a headlight.
mix up the satellites.
wheel of the sunrise,
feel as its rolling by.
save us light,
that gave us night,
save us light,
that gave us night.
mix up the satellites.
wheel of the sunrise,
feel as its rolling by."

The synths in this song remind a little of The Cure and comes from one of Bobs slickest albums "Earthquake Glue". As is usual from this period GBV the Who is also a very strong influence. Nice song.

Tuesday 30 December 2008

Every Word In The World

Taken from "Fiction Man" 2004

"Every word in the world raging silent
Like the spirit of original film
Straight out as the drama and the test
Try to reach you
Stretching out from East to West

Like the endless city
Running from time
Breathing easier in it's place to hide

From seed
From single cell it comes
Not transmutated
Or digressing even from

None of them even matter
Or seem of worth
Of the lost in their microcosmic world

A maze
Shielded
By a mist
Running
Out of time
Evaporating
Raging silent
Like every word
In the world"

I think Robert Pollard must have sung every word in the world by now. This is a gentle acoustic number that has hints of REM and is pure Americana. Fiction Man is oft looked over but I think its the point where Bob's solo work began to mature into its own entity and not just be a repository for GBV outtakes. Lovely stuff.

Gold Hick

Taken from "Alien Lanes" 1995

"All my dumb luck and all my misgivings
I thrust them aside for the dead for the living
I want my vehicle, my saucer-shaped coffin
I'm Mighty Pro-Jet
I'm Baron Von Richtofen"

A 30 second classic! Nuff said.

Tuesday 23 December 2008

Sensational Gravity Boy

Taken from "Crickets" 2007

"Long road black road touch the road
It's a hard road
Spontaneous combustion
Final decision it's the only way
Straight up off from the aggressive rock
Intelligensia
But I feel no pain
From the vacuum that sucks me in

I saw you drifting away
With your car today
With the world rushing by
In the wink of an eye
Move away from the whip
On the reality ship
And the world is a toy
For sensational gravity boy

Words in the important points
Is the assassin
Models just them figurines
Yeah just the ones we chose to keep
Look them over vaguely spacy
He spots them
And he will not change
He is a trooper when it comes to that

I saw you drifting away
With your car today
With the world rushing by
In the wink of an eye
Move away from the whip
On the reality ship
And the world is a toy
For sensational gravity boy"

A tight demo sounding track with a great catchy uplifting chorus. Did this song ever crop up on a "proper" album? well it should. Bob goes under the name Freedom Cruise for this song. Nice. Where does it all come from? Great song.

Sunday 14 December 2008

Circling Motorhead Mountain

Taken from "Ask Them" 1999

"Off the coasts of blackness
There are troops backed up
Smoking their backpacks
Testing the rocks for radio
I suppose
It's a good clean wrestling
A whipped up waiting line
It's a fast exploration
A loving bumber crop of raw power
The new juice"

A cool sampled voice starts the track until the Rock kicks in. This is a fantastic Wig-Stomping track with a simple but cool riff and some good vocals. As usual short and leaving you wanting more. Rock!

Saturday 13 December 2008

Pivotal Film

Taken from "Isolation Drills" 2001

"Pivotal film
Showing cloaks of rubber
Digital relay
Fingers stroking

Like mechanical lover
Critical rooms
Transparent scenes shifting

Pivotal film
Selling out your monkey
Sinful heroes
Stabbing, choking
(They must be joking)

Like mechanical lover
Critical rooms
Transparent scenes shifting

Grotesque and arrogant
Perfect for the experts
Top gold
It's cold in the morning
Where scenesters exit
Into thin air"

Well, I never knew Pivotal was spelt like that? Ive spent most of my life spelling it wrong! Oops. Not that I get to use the word Pivotal much these days. But today I am using it. This is a typical late period GBV affair with good production and big chuffing guitars. Its amazing looking back on this period of Pollard career. It was amazingly polished and professional where his early work was lo-fi and his recent stuff has been a strange sort of Mid-Fi with lots of experimentation. Good song though this. Chunky and has some of the best harmonies in a Pollard song ever.