1. |
No Museums - Suitcase
02:05
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Still drinking in Northridge, the mid-western wizard
He’s the uncle for all good kids, 100 songs in a suitcase
Recorded on cassette, smoke rings in the Snakepit
500 Propeller jackets, 200 songs in a suitcase
And as we go up, we go down
The Fading Captain’s still making a sound
The buzzing one-string and the amp drop, all the magazine cutouts
Witches, moons, and pilots, 300 songs in a suitcase
Airport 5 to Hazzard Hotrods, Circus Devils to Lifeguards
ESP Ohio, 400 songs in a suitcase
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2. |
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Dashed and discouraged, baby, crying on the outside
Loaded up on will and all, but will it come our way?
Great Miami marrow in our bones
You’d think the locals could roll with the hometown gold on display
Creeping and closing in: others’ expectations
But build a catapult and we’ll have found a way
To launch right over the loans, and the slow-down zones
And the big school clones that are lined like a wall in our way
‘Cause what gets held to the ground
Dreams of flight one day
But with trust in the sound
We can stand and with certainty say
We will have our time
We will have our day
“Never mind the naysays!”
Risk it all
Led through the squall
By the siren call, the one we were born to obey
It can’t be denied
You can’t pull away
From the unshakeable drive
To be downstairs, just banging away
We will have our time
Though maybe not today
So we will fix our minds
On when they hang our names
In the hall of small fame
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3. |
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4. |
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Nineteen something and five
Becomes nineteen something and nine
In the blink of an eye
Your hometown is never right for you
When you need a flipped out world
Plug that guitar in and give us hope
Cigarette trick dragon puffing smoke
The riff machine
Unleashed
The riff machine
Set free
From the sandpaper factory
Being famous, it just makes no sense
It’s a terrifying experience
There’s just one way out of lethargy
Crank that stack and give us something to believe
The riff machine
Unleashed
The riff machine
Set free
From the sandpaper factory
Nineteen something and five
Becomes twenty something and nine
In the blink of an eye
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5. |
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“Pollard throws no-hitter” is the headline of today
The raiders all rejoice to be guided by that voice
He always wins at basketball with his soft rock renegades
Beastie Boys and Billy C. lost eleven points to three
And it’s not fair that he’s so good at sports (five eleven nineteen seventy-eight)
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6. |
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I woke up this morning and I felt kinda strange
I had all these great melodies rattling around in my brain
And I don’t know what to do to get ’em outta my head
So I got out my computer and went on WebMD
It did not have the answer as to what’s wrong with me
So I went and saw a doctor, you’ll never believe what he said!
I’ve got the GeeBeeVeeBees and I’ll never be the same
Then he gave me a pamphlet that went on to explain
How a band from Dayton, OH is the only way to ease my pain
I tried to buy up all their albums but the challenge was tough
At first my wife she was supportive, but then she said “Enough!
Their discography’s too large and you’ll never find all of their stuff!”
I can live with this condition it’s really not so bad
At least the clubs are open and the girls are glad
Of all the ailments out there, I guess there are worse ones to have
I’ve got the GeeBeeVeeBees and I knew it all along
Because everywhere I go I keep on humming their songs
Fifty million Robert Pollard fans cannot be wrong
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7. |
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Try to show them all their songs
But it’d it take us all day long
And I know, just a matter of time ‘til combat
No one else has patience for that, I can’t believe
They don’t like them as much as me
Can’t help but think they are insane
When they say they haven’t heard of Alien Lanes
How are they not the laughing stock?
Are they even amplified to rock?
Play them to my baby every night
Do you like that?
She says, “It’s alright”
And I know, I got to stick to my herd
This is what it’s like to be an adult and a nerd
No, I’ll never understand
No, I’ll never understand
Why don’t they like GBV as much as me?
No, I’ll never understand
No, I’ll never understand
Why don’t they like GBV as much as me?
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8. |
Mincer Ray - Recyclable
02:58
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9. |
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In the beginning was a frequency
An unceasing singing eye dog guided by his master’s voice
His master had no choice
But to follow the imaginary band down to the basement
Where Marshall stacks on all four tracks revealed
It was a time of low fidelity
The yearbook pic began to stick the voices to a tune
His master’s voiced was doomed
But to follow the imaginary band down to the rock show
with scissor kicks and broken sticks concealed
And as the voice in mind became revealed
The imaginary band got real
Long before they signed the record deal
The imaginary band was real
Then did the high and mid fidelity
The sunfish under compound in
My airforce devil’s drills
Whatever did the voices will
Was to follow his imaginary band
Out to the spaceship
With every tune a hit that too few knew
And when the voices were the guides revealed
The imaginary band got real
With all the songs inside his head concealed
The imaginary band got real
Long before the voices songs revealed
The imaginary band was real
Long before became a record deal
The imaginary band was real
Long before the songs that we all feel
The imaginary band got real
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10. |
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Send me a line, note: I’m fine
To notify your feelings alone in a great big world
I said alone in a great big world
Facing the grey, now-a-day
So you don’t show them later alone in a great big world
I said alone in a great big world
In the longest run, would you like to stay?
Seems like so much fun, how you’re gonna pay?
Teasing the blade, in the shade
‘Cause you cannot accept being alone in a great big world
I said alone in a great big world…a great big world
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11. |
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The crown prince of the flyover states
Leave your tribute by the door of the garage and get away
Go down, down the street again
Is it a wonder that we do it for ourselves
Uncompromising flawless visions
The crown prince of the flyover states
Is painting a picture that’s grown bigger than its frame
Get out, just to be free again
Is it a wonder that we do it for ourselves
Uncompromising flawless visions
Wright State
From the top of the cathedral
To the mouths of all the people
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12. |
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Have you found your Yoko yet?
Have you seen what she can do
To have her love shine all around you?
You say it hasn’t happened yet, and you feel like such a fool
But then her love will soon surround you
After all the trials that we’ve been through
Do you think I’d still be in love with you
I’m in love with you, it’s true
Have you found your Yoko yet?
Do you think she’s out of reach
And did she take it all for granted?
Chewed you up and spit you out
Like a pit that was a peach
And in the end you felt enchanted
And did she test you on how much you could take
While your miserable heart is about to break
It’s about to break, oh yeah
Have you found your Yoko yet?
Have you seen what she can do
To have her love shine all around you?
You say it hasn’t happened yet, and you feel like such a fool
But then her love will soon astound you
After all the trials that we’ve been through
Do you think I’d still be in love with you
I’m in love with you, it’s true
I do, yeah
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13. |
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35 and giving up
Take all of the songs you wrote
Stick ’em on a record
Then it’s time to give it up
Not asking to be big like Bob
Would like for you to sing along
35 enough’s enough
Time to get a fucking boat
There ain’t nobody listening
When’re you gonna give it up?
Not asking to be big like Bob
Would like for you to sing along
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14. |
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Headache fortress rings
A cloud manager comes in
Total blackout for the mistress
We do not care ’bout Henry Sin
And the hooks are here
And we spit out the gums
But to be honest:
It’s Demos on drums
A stable cuckoo
A nervous brother
In liquor aquariums
We tend to smother
I would die alone
I would be the last
I won’t count the hours
I will die fast
And the hooks are here
And we spit out the gums
But to be honest:
It’s Demos on drums
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15. |
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Pete’s gone missing in Ohio
While Big Daddy’s still making the scene
And Mitch is now a new cover boy
For a defunct smut magazine
Sold at the drive thru
Down on NEEDMORE
At the drive thru
Down on NEEDMORE
Freedom cruisin’
Down on NEEDMORE
Towards the drive thru
Down on NEEDMORE
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16. |
Headicus - Spirits Grow
04:23
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Literal eyes, and the might of the post-punk dead men
Growing in size ’til the speaker pops and round the clock obscurity
Learning to crawl with a lifetime of untangled energy
Breaking the walls into the field they run
They lived in scientific lingo
While underground
Until the spirits moved a mountain
Unleashing sound
Let’s play something that we’ve never played before
Give it accidental tension on the 4
A little late but not delaying
Spirits grow
Let’s go somewhere that we never thought we’d see
The next room’s brighter when you weep to water trees
A little late but not delaying
Spirits grow
Middle ground men take a hot shot at a pop rock community
To the new end of town where masters ascend
So come along and grab the good kids
Gather round like all of us did
We’re an army young and old and strong
They lived in scientific lingo
While underground
Until the spirits moved a mountain
Unleashing sound
Let’s play something that we’ve never played before
Give it accidental tension on the 4
A little late but not delaying
Spirits grow
Let’s go somewhere that we never thought we’d see
The next room’s brighter when you weep to water trees
A little late but not delaying
Spirits grow
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17. |
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Century Cups
Up and up and up and out
Never did we learn what they’re about
Century Cups
So we drank them dry
In the saturated sundown
Climbed out of windows
Find my feet on the ground
Century Cups
Never did we once attempt to stay
With antiquated avalanches
In requisite replays
Hey hey hey
Century cups
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18. |
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Starting to fly, starting to spy the autumn leaves
I’m hung out to dry, scheming to find out how to breathe
Leaving the nest there’s too much freedom and the blue sky can deceive
Behind the veneer the night is so vast it’s hard to know what to believe
Summer hearts are such a drag but summer hurts the least
Mathematical dawn and the infinite songs, we live until we cease
I know that’s a drag but it ain’t the only drag we know
Sad if we lost it, but life ain’t a drink to savor slow
Starting to write, starting to comprehend the lo-fi theme
Pollard stay true, do what you do, remind us to live our dreams
Heading out west, the sky opens up, those red earth memories
Beyond the red line King Shit and his Boys make trebled melodies
Autumn hearts they take the pain and turn it into song
The scientists hold out hope and hope it won’t be long
If that’s a drag, it ain’t the only drag we know
Sad when we lost it, pay our respects
To the Monument Club, let’s go!
Robert Pollard and the Monument Club
Robert Pollard and the Monument Club
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19. |
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Uncle Bob
And Echo
Had a point
Off to business
Rolling rocking the joint
He was playing in my head
It was Uncle Bob
And his brother and a couple of new mothers
3 cheers for Uncle Bob
A bank we’ll rob with a point
Exploding money job
Pampering the visible shakes of Uncle Bob
He wrote me back once
Me too
An Inspirational figure
Uncle Bob
The mystery knob
Where will it turn and what have you learned
From Uncle Bob
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20. |
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Ruby jewels glowing on a darkened stage
The floor is getting restless
Those of us who refuse to act our age
Are getting ready to impress* us
This is not make believe
But neither is it real
A momentary distortion
Of what we think and feel
And if you just understood
You could be here with me…
Cigarettes glowing on a frightened stage
In the still between explosions
*Impressment, colloquially the ‘press gang,’ is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion.
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21. |
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This is not the sun we open for
This is not the song I was hoping for
Maybe all the wrongs were groping for a chance to live again
And if I refuse to shine then I won’t fade away
Now I’m bobbing for a clue
Everybody’s wrong but no one’s sure
Everybody hurts but no one’s sore
Everybody cries on the bathroom floor attempting to be(at) their gods
Now I’m bobbing for a clue
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22. |
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In the story of rock ‘n roll, there are many tales that have been told
Rock n rollers all around, flying high on all that sound
But one man’s story stands tall and proud, sharing songs big and loud
Pass the words, the hits are his and they’re AWESOME!
All the kids say we should “Rock like Pollard”
Mix our riffs with random noises
Maybe we should go on tour, rabble rouse into a blur
And win one for the Captain
Everybody wants to Rock Like Pollard
Most of us fall so short
Riffs are flowing through his veins, sending sound waves to our brains
All the Good Kids Go Insane!
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23. |
Oddsock - Epiphany
03:41
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How far are you willing to go?
How far are you willing to take it?
You’re such a lazy so and so and nobody thinks you’re going to make it
Imitating the Fading Captain now
How much were you willing to show?
How long were you willing to fake it?
You’re always saying I don’t know, you have to buy it if you break it
Imitating the Fading Captain now
And where do we go from here? The future seems so unclear
We might find a better life, launch our own satellite
Epiphany, please come to me, help me to see
Epiphany, inspire me, make me believe
How far are you willing to go?
How far are you willing to take it?
You’re such a lazy so and so, and nobody thought that you could ever make it
Imitating the Fading Captain now
And where do we go from here? The future seems so unclear
We might find a better life, launch our own satellite
But where to we go from here? The truth is resounding clear
There must be a better way, there might be a price to pay
But where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here?
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24. |
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You are a giant
I guess wishes come true
We are compliant
All of us hot freaks wanna be you
Come all you glad girls and you robot boys
Take your gold stars and love the lo-fi noise
The club is open, it’s the golden rule
We’re finally here, and shit yeah it’s cool
We’re finally here, and shit yeah it’s cool
Cardinals in jars
Freedom quite sinful you
Send Christmas cards
Father, sergeant, we’re all in Bob’s crew
Join in the fight and grab your space gun
Vote for me, dummy, it’s a vote for fun
The club is open, it’s the golden rule
We’re finally here, and shit yeah it’s cool
So lend me your ear, and don’t be a fool
We’re finally here, and shit yeah it’s cool
Or something like that…
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25. |
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He’s on beer-colored vinyl
His salty salutes are never final
He’s a Nightwalker in the day
He can’t drive on Alien Lanes
And the pricks, they have no games
But he can still “Motor Away”
Because Robert Pollard, he could take
Crumbs right off your birthday cake
And turn them into something you could hum
He is Guided By Voices
A Circus Devil with many choices
His Hazzard Hotrod never runs out of gas
He’s my Faulty Superhero
And Ricked Wicky’s Calling Zero
His Boston Spaceship just crashed
But Robert Pollard, he could take
Crumbs right off your birthday cake
And turn them into something you could hum
Yeah, Robert Pollard’s melodies
They mean a lot to you and me
Let’s just hope that he is never done
Here it comes, Space Gun
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26. |
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It’s like breathing, it’s so easy
Like doing nothing at all
Until you start to think
Then everything starts to fall apart
It’s like eating at the table
With your family all around
Until you hear the sound of the voice that you don’t want around
Life, life, life writes itself
If you let it, life writes itself
It’s like sleeping under blankets
In the silence in the dark
But if you think too much then it all begins to fall apart
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27. |
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“Military School Dance Dismissal” really hits me in the feels, makes me reel, takes me back to a day in my youth, when I, a military school cadet myself, was tasked with the planning, smooth execution, and dismissal of a dance. It’s remarkable how the lyrics of his songs can mean different things to anyone who hears them. They’re just obscure enough. Is that what makes it art? “Legendary Breakfast Code” can make me hungry, and when I hear “Motor Away” I want to drive, and singing along drunkenly to “Hold on Hope” I feel lucky and happy just being alive. It’s remarkable how the lyrics of his songs can mean different things to anyone who hears them. They’re just obscure enough. Is that what makes it art? What do you visualize when you hear “Kicker of Elves”? Do you see Putin or Trump or some ogre, or do you see yourself? Until I found out that Titus was an Avenue in Dayton, I saw it as a mountain with a vampire’s castle at the top. It’s amazing how the lyrics of his songs can mean different things to anyone who hears them. They’re just obscure enough. Is that what makes it art?
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A Fan's Guided By Voices Podcast Dayton, Ohio
Self-Inflicted Aural Nostalgia: A Fan's Guided By Voices Podcast spent all of 2018 taking an in-depth look at every GBV record, starting with their 1987 debut.
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