It’s no shame to be Guided By Voices

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 | 9:14 a.m.

In my college days, I often made long road trips to see my favorite bands.

Today, as the Sun's music writer, I generally get my fill of live music without leaving town. Most acts eventually gravitate to Las Vegas, and I'm usually content waiting until they do.

But next week, I'll be driving to San Diego and Los Angeles for the sole purpose of catching two shows by a great band calling it quits at the end of the year: Guided By Voices.

Never heard of them? You're not alone, though the Dayton, Ohio, outfit has been releasing records, tapes and CDs at a breakneck pace since the mid-1980s.

While frontman Robert Pollard has been a superstar on the indie-rock scene for ages, Guided By Voices (or GBV for short) has never made inroads into the music mainstream. And that's just fine with their loyal fanbase, myself included.

Those who have spent years listening to Pollard -- and the rotating cast of characters with which he surrounds himself -- are proud to have borne witness to one of rock's most underappreciated treasures.

Pollard is a wonder onstage. The elementary school teacher-turned-singer chain smokes, pounds back beers and insists on performing mighty leg kicks that occasionally send him to the hospital.

Fun as all that is, however, songwriting is Pollard's principal strength. In under two decades, the prolific composer has released close to 1,000 songs in an almost constant avalanche of LPs, EPs, singles, compilations and boxed sets.

The old joke goes: "Bob Pollard can write five songs every time he goes to the toilet. And three of them are good."

That's the key, obviously. Releasing a mountain of material only means something if a high percentage of it is memorable, and in Pollard's case that's certainly true.

Check out any of Guided By Voices' full-length albums for proof. Even the least successful are still chock full of wonderful power-pop ditties, songs you'll find yourself singing in the shower after just a few spins.

Ask most GBV diehards, and they'll tell you the band's most essential disc is 1994's "Bee Thousand." It's hard to argue with that, but I've always found the follow-up, 1995's "Alien Lanes" equally deserving of accolades.

Some of the 41-minute album's 28 tracks are fully realized songs; others are just snippets or ideas. But together, they all fit together quite naturally, creating one of the most interesting sonic pallets you'll ever encounter.

Tunes such as "My Valuable Hunting Knife," "Motor Away" and "Game of Pricks" are so catchy, they practically beg for widespread acceptance.

But Pollard's famously lo-fi technique -- "Alien Lanes" was recorded on a basement four-track machine -- helped keep GBV underground, thankfully.

Artist: Guided By Voices.

Title: "Alien Lanes."

Year of release: 1995 (Matador Records).

Tracklisting: "A Salty Salute," "Evil Speakers," "Watch Me Jumpstart," "They're Not Witches," "As We Go Up, We Go Down," "(I Wanna Be a) Dumbcharger," "Game of Pricks," "The Ugly Vision," "A Good Flying Bird," "Cigarette Tricks," "Pimple Zoo," "Big Chief Chinese Restaurant," "Closer You Are," "Auditorium," "Motor Away," "Hit," "My Valuable Hunting Knife," "Gold Hick," "King and Caroline," "Striped White Jets," "Ex-Supermodel," "Blimps Go 90," "Strawdogs," "Chicken Blows," "Little Whirl," "My Son Cool," "Always Crush Me," "Alright."