via//chicago

via//chicago@random: Guided by Voices - "Can't Hear The Revolution"

Considering the hundreds, literally many hundreds, of Guided by Voices and Robert Pollard related material I have on my iTunes it isn't surprising that these guys show up quite often when I switch over to "shuffle" mode. Which isn't a bad thing at all, in fact I think its a really nice way to dive into the huge, huge GvB catalog. Hearing even the brief songs and sketches such as this out of their original context quite often leads to new takes on stuff you've heard many times before. I always thought this was a great way to kick off Mag Earwhig, it serves as almost a statement of intent for Pollard's brand of lo-fi rock. Thanks to both his often on-the-cheap recording techniques and to the general lack of attention by the mainstream rock critics, GbV music was quite often a revolution that couldn't be heard. But it was most definitely there, for those that wanted to dig for it. What amazes me about this track is that more than half of this tracks one minute and thirty-six seconds is taken up by dissonant whines and white noise hums, but that titular hook still manages to get wedged in your brain. This is precisely why Pollard is such a rock and roll genius.

Guided by Voices - "Can't Hear The Revolution" (taken from Mag Earwhig!)