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Going through the reviews on allmusic is quite funny. They keep making comparisons to other albums that directly contradict how they were actually scored. Bee Thousand - "a few years would pass before this band was fully earning the new accolades showered upon it." -9/10 Under the Bushes is a better developed follow up to Alien Lanes (which got 7/10). Under the Bushes is a disappointing transitional album that would be built upon by the next two albums - 6/10 Sunfish Holy Breakfast is a disappointing pseudo-EP of Under the Bushes offcasts - 6/10 Mag Earwhig's songs aren't up to standard and the standout wasn't written by Pollard - 8/10 "Robert Pollard's next experiment in hi-fi record making, Do the Collapse, would prove to be much more successful." Do the Collapse - "their amateurish, homemade guitar pop had become entirely too predictable" - 4/10
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May 9, 2014 05:20
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Ratios and Tendency posted:Going through the reviews on allmusic is quite funny. They keep making comparisons to other albums that directly contradict how they were actually scored. Being a big Pollard fan and reading a bunch of reviews of his stuff is an exercise in insanity. Like 90% of mainstream reviews always seem to devote a large chunk of words to rehashing the same bullet points: - He used to be a teacher! - Wow he's so old! - He's super prolific! - No seriously, he's so prolific! - He should get an editor though.
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May 9, 2014 08:04
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Ratios and Tendency posted:Going through the reviews on allmusic is quite funny. They keep making comparisons to other albums that directly contradict how they were actually scored. That's mainly because 1) Allmusic is terrible, and 2) Allmusic has a tendency to gently caress around with the star ratings on their site periodically without actually bothering to redo the reviews to match up with the new star ratings.
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May 9, 2014 10:38
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PopZeus posted:Being a big Pollard fan and reading a bunch of reviews of his stuff is an exercise in insanity. Like 90% of mainstream reviews always seem to devote a large chunk of words to rehashing the same bullet points: Bob should have written a clause into his record contract where he gets paid whenever someone writes 'by the time you finish this review he's recorded 3 new songs'.
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May 9, 2014 12:57
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Is every review also calling each new album a "return to form"? That seemed to be the popular phrase to use when the first batch of reunion albums came out a few years ago. I received my copy of Cool Planet earlier this week and really enjoyed it. I think it is way better than Motivational Jumpsuit but it sounds much more downbeat for GBV. I am going to give it another spin this weekend, from what I understand it was recorded during the polar vortex and it does seem to have a very cold sound to it. I also get to see them live in two weeks and can't wait. It's been almost two years since they last played here after having done like four shows in a two year span during the first run of this reunionn.
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May 9, 2014 16:44
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Guided by Voices: Robert Pollard is the king of Indie Rock
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May 9, 2014 16:58
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One thing I've noticed about Pollard reviews is that seemingly every record gets one that warns newcomers to "start anywhere else" in his catalog instead.
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May 9, 2014 17:32
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I've been listening to and playing 'Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud' over and over again for about 2 days now. 
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May 11, 2014 09:19
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Ratios and Tendency posted:I've been listening to and playing 'Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud' over and over again for about 2 days now. It's a great song. For your question on the last page, all of the Gillard-era (1997-2004) GBV stuff is really rewarding, I think. If you're digging Raincloud then Isolation Drills is probably a pretty safe bet; it's the most straightforward pop-rock record of the Gillard-era albums and probably the easiest to get into. After taking a while to absorb it all, my two favorites from that period are Universal Truths and Cycles, which is full of huge anthems interspersed with lots of little oddities a la Alien Lanes, and Earthquake Glue which you've already heard and is one of the most consistent-in-tone GBV records, with its prog-influenced style and songwriting (Secret Star!). I don't know how you feel about Earthquake Glue, but if you enjoy that sort of record, I can very highly recommend Circus Devils - Gringo and Robert Pollard - From A Compound Eye. Gringo is a 1970s-influenced acoustic prog/rock thing, with some dark undertones but overall bearing little resemblance to the usual hard rock and dark ambient terrain found on Circus Devils records. From A Compound Eye is a double album (by vinyl LP standards, so it still fits on one CD), with polished songs, some great Pollard-prog moments (Conqueror of the Moon!), and production akin to mid-2000s GBV. I'd say that Bee Thousand pretty much lives in its own little corner of the GBV/Pollard canon, though -- it has its own particular style and I haven't found anything else quite like it in the whole catalog. Propeller is probably the closest match, and is definitely must-have regardless. I feel like the late 80s album Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia might have at least some parallels, though it's a bit hit-or-miss for me. If you want to dive into the rabbit hole of madness and look into Pollard stuff that isn't even officially released, the aborted 1991 album "Back to Saturn X" that was scrapped in favor of releasing Propeller feels kind of like an early prototype of Bee Thousand, with a playful mood, a similarly warped-1960s retro feel with overenthusiastic harmonies, and even an early (slow and eerie) version of Tractor Rape Chain. Crutch Came Slinking, Perch Warble, Sopor Joe, etc. are great tunes. Unfortunately I can't recommend an ideal version of it to seek out since the only copies floating around are just mp3s haphazardly cobbled together from various sources. I have a pet project to put together a decent version of the album, but it's been kind of on hold for a while. Alternately, check out Boston Spaceships - The Planets Are Blasted for a great modern Pollard rock record. esselfortium fucked around with this message at 13:37 on May 13, 2014 |
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May 11, 2014 18:14
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Guided by Voices apparently really likes Rob Corddry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7LRkMYdj7s and in the most Robert Pollard news fashion quote:Guided By Voices Honored With "Beer Thousand" Lager, and It Comes With a Record
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Jun 22, 2014 01:58
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Twee as gently caress posted:Guided by Voices apparently really likes Rob Corddry And Rob Corddry really likes Guided By Voices! (I ran into him once wearing a Boston Spaceships T-shirt and he recognized it and chatted about GBV for a little bit.)
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Jun 22, 2014 02:40
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That's actually a pretty cool story! I mean drat, not even just a random GbV shirt but BS? That's awesome. The only problem I have with that video is that it makes me really yearn for the next childrens hospital season
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Jun 22, 2014 03:09
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Aug 10, 2014 15:47
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OK it's kinda cheating to include all the fake bands from Suitcase!
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Aug 10, 2014 16:57
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Guided by Voices: Robert Pollard is the king of Indie Rock
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Aug 10, 2014 20:24
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PopZeus posted:OK it's kinda cheating to include all the fake bands from Suitcase! I know, but I figure this sums up Pollard very well.
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Aug 11, 2014 00:46
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RIP GBV (Long live side projects!)
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Sep 19, 2014 01:27
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GOD DAMMIT GBV They're perhaps my favorite band, but at least I got to see them twice during their reunion period.
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Sep 19, 2014 05:24
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where is the best place to buy high quality digital downloads for GBV? I usually go to the band's homepage but they seem to only sell CDs and LPs.
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Sep 19, 2014 14:36
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So I kind of think that this breakup is because of some kind of infighting. After all, it was really sudden, they're canceling the rest of their tour, and there's not even going to be a final Electrifying Conclusion. Personally, I think that the whole "Kevin Fennel sells his drums for drug money (?)" incident was a big factor, though from what I've read, Bob started talking about another break up last fall. Oh well.
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Oct 8, 2014 03:00
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