Inspiration Drills: On the Influence of Guided by Voices and Robert Pollard
by Mike ConklinPage 5 of 7
5. What was the first Guided By Voices record you ever heard? Is it your favorite, or did you grow to like another one more?
Frank Lyon, Keepaway
My first GBV record was Under the Bushes Under the Stars. I don’t really have a favorite record, though I deeply favor everything before Mag Earwhig. I probably hit the zenith of my love for GBV when I got into Alien Lanes in 1999.
Thomas Fekete, Surfer Blood
Alien Lanes was the first. I heard “Game of Pricks” and freaked out. I love every record, but that will always be my favorite.
Andrew Savage, Fergus and Geronimo
The first I ever heard was the “Get Out of My Stations” EP on Siltbreeze. I have a hard time picking a favorite, but that is still definitely up there. I’d say that’s the best 7” and Bee Thousand might be my favorite LP.
Beth Wawerna, Bird of Youth
The first Guided By Voices record I ever heard was Bee Thousand. And it just floored me. It still does. And while I definitely grew to love other GBV records, Bee Thousand will always have a special place in my heart. I had never heard anything like itóthe production, the lyrics, all of itóand it just destroyed me. Itís this perfectly constructed collage made up of these singular, rapturous momentsóbut with just the right amount of snarl, grit and sloppy sentiment to balance things out. It was a very euphoric album for me, and it still is.
Luther Russell, Producer (Holly Miranda, Laura Marling, Sean Lennon)
Ha, I first heard about them because friends of mine in Portland had a Guided By Voices cover band called Giant Bug Village. I didn’t realize at first that they were just doing covers—I just though, “Jesus, these dudes have some amazing songs.” Then it was explained to me that Giant Bug Village was “GBV.” That made me curious. I think the first record I heard was Under the Bushes… though I ended up really liking the few before.
Travis Trevisan
Tape Deck Mountain
I bought Vampire on Titus after reading a feature in SPIN. I was obsessed with Smashing Pumpkins at the time and the article said that
Billy Corgan was a fan of GBV. Boy was in for a shock when I placed
the CD into my Sony boombox. It sounded like my friends got together with a 36 pack of beer and a tascam (I was expecting the perfection of my hi-glossed out Pumpkins). Eventually I found a few gems on the album that blew my alternative radio mindset.
Ezra Feinberg, Citay
The first one I heard was Under the Bushes Under the Stars. I was into it, but I didn’t fall in love with it the way I did with Alien Lanes which still holds up as a work of genius!
Seth Olinsky, Akron/Family
I bought Bee Thousand CD used at the local CD store, TLM, in Williamsport, PA when I was 11. I didn’t really get it. I think I put a song on a mix tape for friends, but they didn’t really get it either. Ten years later I interned for Matador in New York. I photocopied a lot (A LOT) of pictures of Interpol. Matador had a party at the Brooklyn Brewery where GBV gave a tour for contest winners? Still didn’t get it. Ten years later, I was on tour in Ohio somewhere, in the middle of a four-show Ohio run and Bee Thousand came on at a coffee shop and made more sense than anything else. Now I’m obsessed with the record. Only took me 20 years, I guess. Ha! Just listened to it on the plane actually. Amazing sounding!
Emily Ambruso, Grooms
I heard songs off of Bee Thousand first but heard Alien Lanes in its entirety first. Those two are kind of tied for me. They’re the obvious classics, but yeah. Still my favorites.
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