i wanna ask you a question: what is the best song in GBV's Alien Lanes?

yeah "love king and caroline" - great performance on the daily show, too

― terry squad (k3vin k.), Tuesday, July 20, 2010 9:56 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^ too much time on i love terius

― some dude, Tuesday, July 20, 2010 10:20 PM (Yesterday)

hahahaha u_u

haha i always forget about the snoring on 'ex-supermodel' until i listen to it

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Is there a reason why BIG BORING WEDDING is not a choice?

pass the word: the chicks are back etc.

pass the word: it's on 'under the bushes under the stars'

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

sooo nice that "Motor Away" came 1st (tied, but still), I totally didn't see that coming

I hope that this lone vote fot "Cigarette Tricks" wasn't a joke or sth, I honestly love this "song" (probably more like a "hook")

"Motor Away"/"Game of Pricks" tie = poll justice.

If I'm a fanatic about this album, is the deluxe reissue thing worth getting? Like, are there extensive, 33 1/3 style liner notes and shit?

is there a deluxe version of this record?

wasn't there a double vinyl version, with the songs in a weird sequence, all mixed up, or something? Did I dream this? Maybe it was that Bee Tousand that got that treatment...

Bee THousand, I mean

oh yeah that was the bee thousand directors cut.

that's worth it! it's pretty cool.

kind of surprising that matador isn't doing some kind of expanded alien lanes reissue to coincide w/ the reunion tho.

Yeah, they really should. I'd buy that. As I gushed upthread, this is probably one of my most-played albums of all time.

thanks tyler - I'll check out the BT director's cut!

good a place as any to mention that they've launched a digital store w/ some oop stuff, some live shows, etc: https://www.gbvdigital.com

awesome, thanks tyler

!!! thanks !!!!
trying to mete out my excitement about next week's show in chicago

a little excitement every day so i don't go nuts

20 years old

That revelation is shocking in some cases, but Alien Lanes feels exactly as old as it is.

I would've voted "Game of Pricks," I'm pretty sure. Album still slays.

the club is open

"King and Caroline" was robbed. But tie for first place and the next finisher otm.

"Game of Pricks" is the best song GBV ever did, but "Motor Away" is the best song on Alien Lanes. (O paradox)

i suspect i voted for 'little whirl'

i was otm

things are new in brilliant blue
and striped white jets come speeding through ah!
sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-and we must not forget
the sudden pain of perfect greed
and what's expected of this super-breed . . .
for those who dream to touch the sun
and those who run will always run . . .

"post punk x-man parked his forklift
like a billion stars flickering from the grinders wheel"

Blimps go 90
On with the show

I’m not here to drink all the beer
In the house
in the fridge

So I write music for soundtracks now
I write music for soundtracks now
(That's what I wanted to do anyhow)

Oh, this is not to say
We were not the worst we've ever been

Introducing the amazing rocket head!
you know what the deal is, dude

"Chicken Blows" robbed here btw

Anyone reading the new Pollard bio? I'm finding it slow going so far

For me this is one of the Tobin Sprout tracks!

i was walking home one time through a quiet out of the way neighborhood at like 1am and passed a guy on the street with earbuds in who was drunkenly singing along to Motor Away

i knew we've met before

The hellfire is dying around you, my love

longform (7000-word) oral history in anticipation of 25th yr anni on Monday:

https://uproxx.com/indie/guided-by-voices-alien-lanes-oral-history-25th-anniversary/

Sprout: I can remember we were practicing for Propeller and Bob, after the practice, goes, “Okay, this is it. This is my final album, I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.” So the next morning, I get a call from him about 7:30, eight o’clock. He goes, “I got another song, I got to come over.” So he was there in 15 minutes and we went in the basement and we hooked the 4-track up. Bob sat down and showed me the guitar parts and then he played the drums and I set it up so we could do guitars and drums at the same time. So we recorded that and then he threw the vocal on and threw the lead guitar on. It was “Exit Flagger.” It came together in a matter of 20 minutes.

I also liked the parts about Matt Sweeney talking about how he first learned about the band.

...and later on their first NYC show (after a 6 year live show hiatus!) which blew Gerard & Chris away despite the band being incredibly nervous... some of the band had never been to NYC.

And then the Jon Stewart footage, which begins with perhaps the best 2-minute 1-chord rock song ever broadcast on live TV?

okay last snip:

Sprout: Somebody at Matador called and said, “Look, we’re going to have your album mastered tomorrow. Do you want to talk to Bob Ludwig about it?” And I said, “Sure, why not?” So he called or I called him, and I go, “So have you ever done a master from a cassette?” And he said, “Yeah.” Because he did Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen. So it was like, “Oh geez, all right. I guess you can handle it.”

I love the story of Bee Thousand how the Scat guy called Bob up for another album and bobs all “uh the band broke up.. but wait! I can throw something together”

Good stuff, thanks.

Yeah thanks for linking, that's a great article. Liked the story behind the album title!

Exit Flagger!

is Little Whirl too traditional to do well in this poll? not what people come to GBV for?

i guess Motor Away says that's not the case.