June Salutes You, Robert Pollard #2!

Hey Folks, here's part two of my three part series on Robert Pollard. I'm already late, and I don't have the energy to do the track by track commentary. Instead, I've just tried to jot down the relevant info for you, just in case you want to do some further investigating. Disc One in this series was one of the most downloaded comps here at Burn and Shine last year, so if you haven't yet checked it out please do.

Before we get to the new comp, though, I've got a little added bonus this year. I've finally converted an old NPR story that I had recorded on cassette, and I thought I'd share it here. It probably dates from about 1995. The sound quality is not great: I'm pretty sure that my original copy was a second or third generation recording. It was also my first time using the Audacity software to covert the recording to mp3. Still, it is well worth a listen if you are at all interested in Pollard's back story. It really gives you a great overview in under seven minutes! I used to put this at the beginning of primer tapes when I was trying to covert my friends to the brilliance of Guided by Voices. Check it out:



Okay, onto the new comp. Same rules as last year. Nothing off of Bee Thousand or the The Best of Guided by Voices compilation released on Matador Records in 2003, and very little from the 21st century (nothing recorded post-2002 on this one). I'm not a huge fan of Pollard's recent work, but if you'd like to sample some of the newer stuff, my friend and blogger People are Leaving, has put together a couple of good comps recently which would fill in the gaps: Boston Spaceships Collection and Best of Robert Pollard 2006-2009.

Happy Listening!

Your Trail is Quite a Puzzle – A Robert Pollard Primer (Disc 2)

01. “Deaf Ears” by Guided by Voices, originally released on “The Official Ironmen Rally Song” single, 1996.

02. “Wondering Boy Poet (Piano Version)” by Clinton Killingsworth, originally released on Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft, 2000 (recorded circa 1993).

03. “Eureka Signs” by Guided by Voices, originally released on Universal Truths and Cycles, 2002.

04. “They’re Not Witches” by Guided Voices, originally released on Alien Lanes, 1995.

05. “As We Go Up, We Go Down” by Guided Voices, originally released on Alien Lanes, 1995.

06. “Jane of the Waking Universe” by Guided Voices, originally released on Mag Earwhig! 1997.

07. “Your Name is Wild” by Guided Voices, originally released on Under the Bushes Under the Stars, 1996.

08. “Flat Beauty” by Robert Pollard, originally released on Not in My Air Force, 1996.

09. “Now To War” by Guided Voices, originally released on Mag Earwhig! 1997.

10. “Choking Tara (Creamy Version)” by Guided Voices, originally released on Everything is Nice: The Matador 10th Anniversary, 1999 (originally recorded circa 1997).

11. “The Terrible Two” by Styles We Paid For, originally released on Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft, 2000 (originally recorded 1993).

12. “Child” by Leon Lemans, originally released on Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow, 2005 (recorded circa 2002).

13. “Top Chick Silver Chord” by Guided Voices, originally released on Tonics and Twisted Chasers, 1996.

14. “In Previous Trials (Stingy Queens)” by Guided Voices, originally found on the fan-made rarity compilation, 30 Songs, 2004 (recorded circa 1995).

15. “Stifled Man Casino” by Airport 5, originally released on Tower in the Fountain of Sparks. 2001.

16. “There Are Other Worlds” by The Constant Going Forward, originally released on Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now, 2009 (originally recorded for the film The United States of Leland circa 2001).

17. “Long Distance Now” by Guided Voices, originally released on Sandbox, 1987.

18. “Captain’s Dead” by Guided Voices, originally released on Devil Between My Toes, 1987.

19. “Wrecking Now” by Guided Voices, originally released on Do the Collapse, 1999.

20. “Like I Do” by Guided Voices, originally released on Forever Since Breakfast EP, 1986.

21. “Class Clown Spots a UFO” by Royal Canadien Mustard, originally released on Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now, 2009 (recorded circa 1988).

22. “Red Gas Circle” by Guided Voices, originally released on Propeller, 1992.

23. “Fly into Ashes by Guided Voices, originally released on Hold on Hope EP, 2000.

24. “If We Wait” by Guided Voices, originally released on Sunfish Holy Breakfast EP, 1996.

25. “Paper Girl” by Guided Voices, originally released on Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostagia, 1989.

Total Time: 57:06

Download it here: Your Trail is Quite a Puzzle: A Robert Pollard Primer (Disc Two)

June Salutes You, Robert Pollard!

Okay, I apologize for not putting out a compilation in May. With the High School Tennis season in full gear, I just did not have time to put anything together. The good news is that I've decided to make June Robert Pollard month. Perhaps not as extensive as Power Pop Month, but I will be sharing several compilations with you over the next few weeks and all of my posts will be related to Mr. Pollard.

Just a couple of quick notes about the compilation. I've made dozens of Guided by Voices comps for people over the years. This is the first time I've ever put together a compilation of just Pollard tracks from throughout his career (well, pretty much). This primer assumes two things. Number one, you already own Bee Thousand. My second favorite album of all time BTW, and if you own it and don't think the world of it, then these primers are probably not going to change your mind. Second, it assumes you own The Best of Guided by Voices, as I have not duplicated any of the tracks here. Finally, for those of you with a pretty good grasp on the Robert Pollard discography, there will still probably be something on these comps which will interest you, so read through the tracklistings and see for yourself if they're worth your time. Speaking of time, I won't waste any more of your's today. On to the first in a series of three Robert Pollard compilations.

Happy Listening!


Your Trail is Quite a Puzzle: A Robert Pollard Primer – Disc 1:

01. “Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox” by Guided by Voices from Propeller (1992). Starting with the canned “G-B-V” chant and Pollard’s sarcastic statement: “This song does not Rock”, OtN/MGF is probably my favorite Guided by Voices album opener.

02. “Carnival at the Morning Star School” by Guided by Voices from 30 Songs (Ca. 1992). A fantastic song that was on the fan assembled bootleg, 30 Songs, but didn’t actually get an official release until 2009, when it made it’s appearance on Suitcase 3.

03. “Do Something Real” by Robert Pollard from Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department (1999). Released a few months after Guided by Voices’ first major label album, Do the Collapse, Speak Kindly, which was not marred by Ric Ocasek’s production, is far superior to the TVT long player.

04. “Dayton, Ohio – 19 Something and 5” by Guided by Voices from Tonics and Twisted Chasers (1997). T&TC was originally a vinyl-only, fanclub release. It has since been released on CD, and I think it is still available. It’s just Tobin and Bob, and I believe that it’s the most under-rated release in the GbV discography.

05. “Liar’s Tale” by Guided by Voices from Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (1989). This to me is one of the shining examples of Pollard’s brilliance. Not much going on, but good god what a song! It’s a shame that it was not included in the GbV Best-of compilation. This is a top five Pollard track for me.

06. “Jar of Cardinals” by Guided by Voices from Vampire on Titus (1993). It took me awhile to fall in love with the album VoT. I fell in love with this nugget instantaneously.

07. “Lonely Town” by Sucko from Suitcase 2 [Disc 7] (ca. 1987). Again, just a simple little tune that did not make it’s way onto a proper album. It did manage to make the second box set of unreleased stuff from the Pollard vaults.

08. “Blimps Go 90” by Guided by Voices from Alien Lanes (1995). AL is my third favorite GbV long player. It might have the best batch of songs of any of the albums. This is one of many shining moments on the disc.

09. “I Am Decided” by Timid Virus from Suitcase 2 [Disc 6] (ca. 1996). A song given to Kim Deal, who recorded a version of it with the Amps.

10. “Get Under It” by Robert Pollard from Not In My Airforce (1996). From RP’s debut solo album. Still my favorite Pollard solo album, by the way.

11. “People Are Leaving” by Robert Pollard from Waved Out (1998). A hauntingly beautiful song, from Pollard’s second solo album on Matador Records.

12. “Not Behind the Fighter Jet” by Guided by Voices from Mag Earwhig! (1997). ME! Often gets a bad rap. The beginning of the brief Guided by Verde period. A true transition album, it’s the first GbV record that sounds better as you turn up the volume.

13. “The Ascended Master’s Groshop” by Guided by Voices from Hardcore UFOs: Demons and Painkillers (1997). A B-Side to the great Doug Gillard live staple, “I Am a Tree”. This one is co-written by Tobin Sprout and I’ll bet my life that’s his lovely piano part.

14. “Scissors and the Clay Ox (In)” by Too Proud To Practice from Suitcase [Disc 3] (ca. 1990). According the GBVDB, this is from an aborted album from 1990 titled Back To Saturn X. With all the Robert Pollard product that is available, it boggles the mind how many projects were actually scrapped.

15. “Zoom” by Robert Pollard from Zoom EP (2005). The newest song featured on this compilation. I’ll be honest, I’m not big on very much Pollard music post-2001, but this is Bob at his poppiest.

16. “United” by Ben Zing from Suitcase [Disc 4] (1988). Again this is the kind of throwaway that Pollard-freaks like me can’t get enough of. Pretty sing-along chorus—it makes me weep.

17. “Time Machines” by Lexo & the Leapers from Ask Them EP (1999). An oft neglected release in the ridiculously vast Pollard discography. Pound for pound, it might be the best EP he has released.

18. “Coastal Town” from Suitcase 3 [Disc 9] (ca. 198?). An early, and much slower version of what would become “Closer You Are” from Alien Lanes. Melancholy Bob at his finest.

19. “Sister I Need Wine” by Guided by Voices from Isolation Drills (2001). Though I don’t love ID as much as I did upon its release, it still holds up pretty well. There are a number of gems on it, and I never tire of this one.

20. “A Crick Uphill” by Guided by Voices from Hold On Hope EP (2000). The HoH EP that came out a few months after GbV’s major label debut, Do the Collapse, is a much stronger affair than that album.

21. “The Winter Cows” by Guided by Voices from Sunfish Holy Breakfast EP (1996). I remember being slightly embarrassed buying this record when it came out. I was a little worried too, had Pollard gone hippie? One spin on the turntable, and I knew all was well.

22. “She Wants to Know” by Guided by Voices from Forever Since Breakfast EP (1986). Early GbV owes a lot to the jangly, guitar pop of early R.E.M. This is a great example of that.

23. “Underwater Explosions” by Guided by Voices from Under the Bushes, Under the Stars (1996). The last three songs on this comp are all from the same recording sessions. This one actually made it on a proper album.

24. “Bunco Men” by Elf God from Suitcase [Disc 1] (ca. 1996). This one, however, did not. I can still remember this song coming on the first time I heard Suitcase, and just being stunned. I later found out it was recorded for UtBUtS, but did not make the cut!!

25. “Bright Paper Werewolves” by Guided by Voices from Under the Bushes, Under the Stars (1996). Understated Pollard at his very best. It’s criminal that songs this good don’t get any attention, save from uber-fanboys like me.

Total Time: 58:35

Download it here: Your Trail is Quite a Puzzle: A Robert Pollard Primer – Disc 1

Merge Records Turns 20 This Year!

Happy B-day Merge, I hope you'll be around for another twenty! In celebration of this momentous occasion, Merge is releasing a series of compilations this year via their website and they've also decided to have a little contest. Anyone can submit their own 20 song compilation of Merge artists, and if your comp gets picked (at random) you win some cool stuff. Details here: Make Your Own Score! I decided to make, but not submit, my comp and post it here. So here is my Score 20:

01. Spoon, "Sister Jack" (Piano Demo) from the bonus disc of 2005's Gimme Fiction. Personally, I think this version slays the album version by a mile. (1:44)

02. Camera Obscura, "Happy New Year" from Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi, 2002. It's hard not to love these Scottish popsters. (4:03)

03. Neutral Milk Hotel, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" from the album of the same name, 1998. Arguably the most lauded album in the entire Merge catalog. Jeff Mangum has never issued a follow up, and thus the cult of NMH (for better or worse) was born. (3:22)

04. Portastatic (featuring Georgia and Ira of Yo La Tengo), "St. Elmo's Fire" by from the Scrapbook EP, 1995. A fantastic cover of Brian Eno's gem, by one of the founders of Merge, Mac McCaughan. (3:33)

05. Butterglory, "Carmen Cross" from Rat Tat Tat, 1997. Terrible band name, I agree, but a great little band nonetheless. They started out as Pavement copyists, albeit with a little more pop sensibility, but by this, their final album, they had really found their own voice. (3:46)

06. The Rosebuds, "You Better Get Ready" from The Rosebuds Unwind EP, 2005. I never really know what to expect from the Rosebuds, from disco influenced dance-athons to mid-tempo ballads to flat out rockers-- this one falls in the last camp--but they are always interesting. (2:07)

07. Caribou, "Hello Hammerheads" from The Milk of Human Kindness, 2005. This was the first album I heard by the artist formerly known as Manitoba. I was hooked by this sparingly, beautiful tune. (2:46)

08. Lambchop, "It's Not Alright" from What Another Man Spills, 1998. Another cover, this time Kurt Wagner tackles Dump (Yo La Tengo's James McNew's side project). (3:26)

09. Conor Oberst, "Sausalito" from Conor Oberst, 2008. Picking up where Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning left off, Oberst convincingly puts out a country record. (3:10)

10. The 6ths (feat. Lou Barlow), "In the City in the Rain" from Wasps' Nest, 1995. Stephin Merritt is one of the most celebrated of Merge's alumni, here I chose the Lou Barlow sung gem from one of his various side projects. (3:43)

11. Teenage Fanclub, "It's All in My Mind" from Man-Made, 2005. From their first, and so far only, release on Merge. Come back guys! (3:45)

12. Polvo, "Vibracobra" from Cor-Crane Secret, 1992. This band were tagged, maybe a little unfairly, as "math rock". I never really understood that genre, but I always loved Polvo. (4:47)

13. Crooked Fingers, "New Drink for the Old Drunk" from Crooked Fingers, 2000. After the Archers of Loaf dissolved in 1998, Eric Bachmann put out a couple of interesting solo records as Barry Black. Nothing on those records prepared me for the brilliance of his next project, Crooked Fingers. This is from their debut. (3:53)

14. Versus, "You'll Be Sorry" from Hurrah, 2000. By the time I bought this, my first, Versus record, they had been putting out albums for six years. This was their first for Merge and sadly their swan song-- still one of my favorite albums of the decade. (4:40)

15. Richard Buckner, "Town" from Meadow, 2006. Apparently, Merge is in the process of doing some Richard Buckner reissues due out later this year. Hopefully that means a new album soon. (4:09)

16. The Ladybug Transistor, "The Places You'll Call Home" from The Ladybug Transistor, 2003. Sasha sings on this lovely little Ladybug Transistor track. (4:04)

17. The Beatnik Filmstars, "Wrong" from In Hospitalable, 1997. The British answer to the American lo-fi scene of the early/mid 90's. (2:38)

18. The Essex Green, "Don't Know Why (You Stay)" from Cannibal Sea, 2006. One of my favorite psychedelic, indie-pop bands of the current decade-- though I'm not sure what they're up to these days as this was their last release. (3:27)

19. M. Ward, "Outta My Head" from Transfiguration of Vincent, 2003. I'll admit, I really didn't like this record when I first heard it back in '03. I listened to it again not too long ago (mainly because I liked the She & Him record so much), and it absolutely floored me. I don't know what I was thinking the first time around. His new one comes out next Tuesday (Feb. 17th)! (2:52)

20. Superchunk, "Slack Motherfucker" from Tossing Seeds (Singles 89-91), 1992. How else could I have possibly ended this tribute? (2:54)

Total Time: 1:09:39

Download it here: Score 20 - A Merge Records Tribute