Anton's rather different TOP 50 favorite records of all time thread - Part 2

No. It was random. I had gotten both posters in the US release.

 

Agree it arguably has the best ONJ pop ever. But it's half ONJ half ELO OST which is not exactly a normal studio album so I decided not to include it, as much as I love Xanadu.

 

Bee Thousand is a great choice. The Matador era for GBV is really special.

 

I never really gave GBV much of a chance, beyond buying Alien Lanes back in '95. I listened to it a few times, and was expecting it to be amazing based on all the praise they were getting at the time. Nothing really grabbed me, and I never bothered to listen to anything else from them. The same was true for Pavement, who everyone else seemed to like, but I just didn't, even live they didn't do anything for me.

Did I pick the wrong GBV album to acquaint myself with them?

 

Maybe lo-fi is not exactly your thing? Did you like anything from the genre? Alien Lanes is a very strong record IMHO though I prefer Bee Thousand by a long shot. Pavement (as well as Sebadoh) needs a certain mood and wasn't exactly an instant hit with me (though I love both bands now).

 

It's not the lo-fi that bothered me, I'm about as far from an audiophile as you'll find on this forum. I loved the sound of the recording, I just didn't care for any of the songs. Of course, this was almost 20 years ago, so I could give them another chance. God knows they are prolific enough that something should appeal to me. Honestly, the only song that I clearly remember is "Always Crush Me", because I put it on a mix tape which I had for a while. Time to revisit GBV I suppose.

 

Are you a Pink Floyd fan by any chance? Always Crush Me has a very-Waters like vocal moment near the end if you know what I mean. Not my favorite GBV song honestly. You never know if someone's songwriting style is up your alley or not but yes, I would revisit GBV if I were you. It doesn't hurt to give such a unique band another chance. If it still not your cup of tea, it's OK, but at least you really tried!

 

Amazing choice Anton. Again, what makes this thread great are your unexpected moves. I loved Bee Thousand when it came out, but somehow I stored it deep in the late 90's. Time to unearth it.

 

Never took the time to check out this group. Just listened to iTune extracts of this album and it's not bad! A nice full-on, wall of guitar sound, fine melodies,… a sort of mix of Pixies, REM, Syd Barrett and Beatles. I prefer the noisy tracks to the softer ones.

 

I can't hear much of Pixies and REM in GBV but yes, you're spot on on Syd Barrett and to the lesser extent the Beatles. Still Pollard's songwriting has it's own unmistakable stamp to it and it his songwriting that to me elevates GBVs well above "nice little band with cool sound" level. To me he kinda belongs amongst the weird one of a kind songwriters/characters like Syd or maybe Roy Wood.

 

Another classic

 

Very interesting thread. There are certain albums on the list that I really love and many that I don't.

 

We need a great writer/director to document the history of record labels like Matador, Creation and 4AD.

 

There is a documentary about Creation Records that came out recently, although I don't know how one might go about seeing it.

 

Not to mention labels like Estrus and Sympathy For The Record Industry.

 

I think 4AD particularly is such a well known and cult label that I would be surprised if there was no documentary on them already.

 

Any views on Bee Thousand Director's Cut?

 

I'd be more in the What camp.

 

Excellent choice with GBV; this thread just gets better and better.

 

GBV never toured much outside America did they? Bit of a shame, really. BT is a great album, I was quite young but I remember seeing I am a Scientist in MTV Brasil a few times.

 

Bee Thousand is a brilliant album although i think Alien Lanes and Under The Bushes are just as good. Pollard just spits out great tunes like a machine.

 

It's free to stream on Hulu, Netflix, Crackle or one of those other streaming services.

 

....and why I'm not surprised?