C or D : Guided By Voices.

(and throw in not in my airforce and waved out if going for an all-time fiver)

carnival boy too, yeah?

I'd throw in Propeller an Vampire on Titus.

same, plus the siltbreeze etc eps

https://i.imgur.com/sYyPlf4.jpeg

anyone else as into Suitcase 1 as me? I was probably at the peak of my GBV fandom when it dropped and played it incessantly at the time, to me it’s like 4 more weird propeller/titus type albums!

Yeah, same place the fly got smashed, king shit, battery …. I made a mixtape of the best tunes and took it with me on a summer trip in 95…

Sounds like you’re referring to the original box set — Suitcase was the box set of material from that era that didn’t make it onto an album iirc?

Oh right. Yes I am talking about the box set…

Suitcase was where I drew the line with GBV extra stuff, I assumed it would be lesser material. You’re telling me there’s Propeller/Titus quality music there? Might need to hunt it down.

Titus doesn’t get enough love.

I had a signed copy of Suitcase 1; can’t remember if I sold it or not. Strong stuff but … I’m covered with the early/mid 90s albums/EPs

https://i.imgur.com/fTprXWk.png
This thing?

lol, I forgot that's the one where he made up a different band name for each song.

There were four Suitcase boxes? Geez.

yeah i mean im certainly overselling it but it is way better than anything pre-propeller imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JvOTU6qGlM

I love some of the pre-Propellor stuff but the Suitcase is solid, if patchy (like all pre-Alien Lanes GBV tbh). They definitely tailed off as they went along - I remember purchasing the second one at the height of my GBV obsession and it contributing in no small way to the cooling of said ardour, and I heard from other die-hards that by the fourth volume Bob was actually sourcing tracks from fan-made bootlegs of his demos, like you could hear they were the same mp3 source.

what's patchy about Bee Thousand???

Ha! For me Alien Lanes is their first truly all-killer-no-filler jam tho I know this is an unpopular opinion (also I owned Jellyfish Reflector before B000, and always preferred the live versions of those songs) (gonna pull JR off the rack now, in fact)

fourth is cool because it has early embryonic versions of hardcore ufos and echoes Myron with different lyrics

Alien Lanes is their first truly all-killer-no-filler jam

I concur, Stevie

same

My experience with Alien Lanes was similar to Ween's Quebec. It was the first album I got by the band and it was just... okay. Years later I tried a different album (B1000 & Mollusk) that knocked my socks off. Got a bunch of their albums and realized that the first CD I bought was in fact the best and I was a fool for not realizing it initially.

Some bands need a lot of data points to make sense.

My first was the CD of VOT/Propellor, and I totally dug it because I'd been a PG-era Genesis fans in my preteens and was ready for a group where you had to sort the gems from the garbage - like, I was fine that I felt inclined to skip every other GBV track, because the gems were so so worth it. But AL was my second purchase, day of release, and it just kicked my ass because it seemed like EVERY song was a gem. What a heady rush - I still remember that feeling of instant love for it.

Bee Thousand>>>>>>>>>>Alien Lanes

My slightly controversial take is that UTBUTS > Alien Lanes > B1000. But this is largely due to UTBUTS being the first GbV album I bought.

Same.

same again.

I think the common thread here is that the first GBV album you hear blows you away and the second one is a bit less earthshaking.

Alien Lanes is where I started (which is why it remains my favorite GBV)

I sort of got that "first GBV album" experience twice, since Human Amusements at Hourly Rates was my first, and Bee Thousand my second. And yeah, if I had to keep any two...

There’s no best, only favorite. I’m just as happy listening to the pre-B1000 albums (Sabdbox in particular but I like them all) as I am Alien Lanes but I wasn’t very into the Isolation Drills era but I did like Earthquake Glue.

Oops SANDBOX

Oops SANDBOX

My first one was actually B1000 but I agree with ranking above.

once more with feeling

My experience is kind of weird because I actually saw them play in Glasgow in 1995 but didn't hear any of their albums until somebody lent me B1000, Mag Earwhig and Do The Collapse, which must have been 2001?

I think the common thread here is that the first GBV album you hear blows you away and the second one is a bit less earthshaking.

ah, but that wasn't it for me. prop/vot tuned me in to their sound, but AL let me know I was in the presence of incomparable genius. UTBUTS was also a banger! Mag Earwhig had its moments, I found DTC a bit alienating overall (but a number of the songs still haunt me), LOVED Isolation Drills, classic sad divorce record, and from there my ardour cooled somewhat. Big props to Not In My Airforce and Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Dept (is that the title??), both masterpieces.

I think Bee Thousand is the better album-qua-album, but the singles from Alien Lanes remain some of my GBV faves.

bee thousand is more fantastical/magical… alien lanes is more earthy and bar/bedroom and yeah I think the songwriting is slightly stronger/more developed. But now I feel terrible for saying something not superlative about B1000

I like every song on B1000 so I don't why it's not all killer no filler

I think Tobin has more songs on B1000 iirc

there's that pretty interesting b1000 directors cut. it's cool to hear the tracks before the Pro Tools editing (thats actually true).

I gave Suitcase Season 1 Disc 1 a try the other day and I remembered why I thought it was just alright at the time. And Tobin's own Demos and Outtakes collection which I think is much better (though to be fair, Suitcase doesn't have demos of actually released songs.... right?)

the first suitcase has versions of “buzzards and dreadful crows” and “damn good mr jam” (the ones excerpted on “back to Saturn x”) and an incredible full band version of “spring tigers”. And a solo piano “wondering boy poet”.

Having just heard "Jump" by Van Halen I've realized where the title of the following silly little song comes from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-quhEvBzElk

I think my favorite song title of his is “the who vs porky the pig”

Always liked "Much Better Mr. Buckles".

now that would be a poll— best gbv song title

otm

happy 25th to do the collapse

Awww that makes me so happy. That’s the album they were touring when I met my boo and now it has been 25 years!! ❤️🥰 I gave him my number so we could go to the show together!!

Nice story
Terrible album