Guided By Voices

So I'm putting a bunch of my stuff into storage today, and I needed some good music for " hard workin' ". I ended up settling on what I listen to almost every day, and have for months. Under The Bushes Under The Stars.

There have been few albums in my life that have truly blown my mind. Many have impressed me, but I'm talking about something beyond that. Metallica's Ride The Lightning did it when I was twelve; Slayer's Reign In Blood did a few years later. First Ramones album... My Bloody Valentine - Loveless... Dressy Bessy - Pink Hearts Yellow Moons... maybe a few others, including this one.

It's the best kind of old-fogey rock... kind of sluggish, like they're stuck on a giant couch with their instruments... yet, with the hook-writing ability of people who have seen a lot, heard a lot and done their homework. Sloppy and effortless, yet somehow perfect. It makes me feel very good about being an aging slacker myself.

I got into GBV after hearing Teenage FBI on the radio when I lived out west, so I missed their prime period. I could never have liked Bushes...Stars in 1996. It wouldn't have been "punk" enough. Now, I can identify with it.