Yes, folks, it’s that time again. Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices want more of your time, money, and approval. Considering it is “that time” quite often, it’s no real surprise. However, this doesn’t mean it isn’t as frustrating and mind boggling as usual. Nevertheless, Pollard and the gang are readying another collection of b-sides and scraps, the third in the Suitcase series. Suitecase 3: Up We Go Now is planned for release on November 3rd via Guided By Voices Inc.
Now let’s not go any further without first recognizing Guided By Voices as one of the better indie acts of our time. With the golden Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand, among others, their mark on the indie music scene is undeniable. However, as the days pass, this mark seems to smear and brown. This is not because they have deteriorated, or because the music has gone sour, it’s just that there is simply too much. Robert Pollard is more to blame for this fiasco than the rest of the members, who have laid relatively low since the break-up. Over the past three years, Pollard has released 11 albums, either under his own name or with The Boston Spaceships. That is over 3 albums per year, for those who may have skimmed those numbers. His latest, Elephant Jokes, comes out on the 11th of August and he has a record with the Boston Spaceships slated for release in October. An output like this is like being fed a nice meal through a tube continuously, with 1 minute breaks to breathe, for a week straight. There isn’t even any time to shit! It could be your favorite meal in the world once you begin, but after a while, you stop enjoying it. Take a look at the all music discography pages for GBV, Pollard, and Boston Spaceships for yourselves. Seeing is believing!
“How is there more?” you might be asking? To that, there is no answer, other than the hypothetical explanation that Mr. Robert Pollard is a cyborg, implanted with the genius ability to craft short pop gem after short pop gem and never repeat himself. That has to be the case, given the circumstances of the latest GBV/Pollard related release. Like the two previous Suitcase installments, the third collection will span four discs, totaling in 100 tracks. The first three discs feature jaunts accredited to fake bands, somewhat arbitrarily. The collection’s final disc is composed of acoustic Guided By Voices jamming recorded at various points during 1994 and 1995.
Dear Robert Pollard, slow the FUCK down, before your immense output turns against you and beats you over the head with an acoustic guitar.
In case you care, the tracklist is as follows (via Pitchfork):
Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now Tracklist:
CD1:
01. Mr. Inspection Table: “Building a Castle”
02. Explosion Topic: “Tired of Knocking”
03. The Sobbers: “Together/Apart”
04. Remington Ash: “Away With Driver”
05. Demon Gods of Anger: “Trash Truck”
06. Manners of Flash: “Dropping the Bomb”
07. Remington Ash: “What’s So Safe About You?”
08. Limited Transplitter: “Troppers in the Town”
09. The Stools: “Gas”
10. C. C. Rip: “Watchin’ ‘Em Diggin’ Up the Road”
11. Fate 1 Mile: “Coastal Town”
12. Watts: “Escape From Kama Loka”
13. Ben Franklin Air Bath: “The Annex”
14. Major Cockamamie: “Green Ivory Cross”
15. The Beautiful Orange Lemonade: “Janet Wait”
16. C. C. Rip: “Independent Productions”
17. Jubilant Toy Soldiers: “Thee White Flower”
18. Pilthy May: “Juggernaut Vs. Monolith”
19. The Perfect Noise Club: “Feels Good”
20. Video Bearhunt: “Candy Machine”
21. Dream Reaper: “Air and Also a World”
22. Gel Clay: “Back to the Navy”
23. The Governors: “Speak Like Men”
24. Kelsey Boo Flip: “Hi, I’m Kelsey”
25. Star of Hungry: “No Trash Allowed”
CD2:
01. The Flattering Lights: “Raphael Muzak”
02. Service of a Bullet: “Tear the Ticket in Half”
03. Search: “I’m an Acting Student”
04. The Sums: “I’ll Come (And When It Does It’s Mine)”
05. East Dayton Rock Co.: “Psychlophobia”
06. East Dayton Rock Co.: “Take Me Back”
07. Bruce Smitty Smith: “Sonny the Monster”
08. Pilthy May: “I Share a Rhythm”
09. The Sobbers: “Before My Eyes”
10. Gavin Speaks: “Freedom Rings”
11. Hoof: “Cochise”
12. The Tallywackers: “When’s the Last Time”
13. Remington Ash: “That’s Good”
14. Pig Lucy: “You Gotta Lotta Nerve”
15. Mother’s Day Haircut: “Vagabond Lover”
16. Fate 1 Mile: “Banners”
17. Looker: “100 Colors”
18. Autobahn Damen: “Old Engine Driver”
19. Gel Clay: “Joe”
20. Cubscout Bowling Pins: “Axtual Sectivity”
21. The Working Girls: “Call Me”
22. Demon Gods of Anger: “Believe It”
23. Royal Canadien Mustard: “Class Clown Spots a UFO”
24. Remington Ash: “You You You”
25. 10 Second Coma: “Dibble”
CD3:
01. Bird Shit Mosaic: “Night Ears”
02. The Sobbers: “Amnesia”
03. Blaine Hazel: “Fly Away (Tommy Sez)”
04. Jubilant Toy Soldiers: “Peace and Persecution”
05. The Constant Rushing Forward: “There Are Other Worlds”
06. Knuckles and MacDougal: “It’s the Song”
07. Erotic Zip Codes: “One Drop”
08. Angel and the Alley Oops: “Mainstay”
09. John Shough: “Sixland”
10. Ghetto Tree: “How Bridges Fall”
11. Basic Switches: “A Kind of Love”
12. Naymoan Regas: “Bad Whiskey”
13. Curtis E. Flush: “Naked Believer (I Am)”
14. Heartless Microscopes: “Out of the House”
15. Equal in Coma: “Grow”
16. Psyclops: “Rough Tracks”
17. Gel Clay: “Nothing So Hard”
18. Bumble Gub: “Piss Along You Bird”
19. Gene Autrey’s Psychic: “300 Birds (Quota)”
20. The CD’s: “Fireking Says No Cheating”
21. Hearthrob Johnson Firestone: “Poison Shop”
22. The Worst Santini: “Trader Vic”
23. History of Well Hung Men: “Smothered in Hugs” (4 Track version)
24. Aerial Poop Show: “Dibble 2”
25. Kid Biscuit: “Huffman Prairie Flying Field”
CD4 (all tracks by Guided by Voices):
01. Pluto Is Polluted
02. Aquarian Hovercraft
03. Brand New Star
04. Sea-mint Robots
05. South Rat Observatory
06. The Cinnamon Flavored Skull
07. Porpoise Mitten (Was a Real Good Kitten)
08. Mr. Spoon
09. Hey Mr. Soundman
10. Oh Pie
11. Kotex Moon
12. Bingo Pool Hall of Blood
13. There Goes the King Again
14. Evil Vandalia/Mojo Crow Zenith
15. Cuddling Bozo’s Octopus
16. I Shot a Jezebel
17. After the Quake (Let’s Bake a Cake)
18. P Melts Everything
19. My Dad Is a Motorboat
20. Ugly Ba Ba
21. Hairspray Lies
22. Sawhorse With Big Blue Ears
23. Tough Skin River
24. Cruise
25. Alright