I completely support Bob in all his GBV'ness and more. He is writing simple, dirty pop songs at a time when musicians are over-thinking their approach. I, for one, find Bob Pollard EXTREMELY refreshing and quite addictive. There, my two cents.
IGshr*e

Do my eyes deceive me, or did I just read a smidgen of Sigur Ros hating in there?

I halfway agree with you (about Pollard, that is), but there are a couple counter-arguments that beg mentioning:

1) Even if you disqualify half of Bob's songs, he'd still count as pretty damn prolific by today's standards. (Transpose him to the mid '60s, maybe not so much.)
2) If comprehensibility is an issue, the Cocteau Twins are screwed.

Justin , have you created even one hit song? You appear to have written "a" weak newcomer post to TIG.

His job is making songs. That in and of itself is pretty neat. I think that you should consider yourself anti art. Pick on someone your own size. You deserve not to stand among giants. You don't even have a cool Imaginary nickname.

Hot Freaks is amazing......albeit ridiculous. No strike that....it is only amazing. I'm a thigh man too. And I want to go to the red wing.

Garvey

dude. that was [awesome].

Dude, you miss the point. His magnetic-poetry-lyric songs used to be inspired genius. Albums like Bee Thousand were full of them, one after another, with chord changes (no, not just three chords) and melodies that stuck in your craw. Even the tossed-off EPs were inspired. Now, the "hits" are few and far between. And he seems unable to edit himself anymore, with albums largely full of filler, something I had a hard time imagining ever happening in the earlier era. But his lyrics have always been semi-nonsensical. If you think "Hot Freaks" is bad Pollard and the problem is the lyrics, you never really got it.

I agree with Greg F., and even Pollard was capable of writing straightforward and sometimes emotionally wrenching lyrics. A great example from the TVT years would be "The Brides Have Hit Glass", about his disintegrating marriage. "Your Name is Wild" and even "Game Of Pricks" were fairly personal. The main problem with him now, as Greg stated, is that he has no quality control. Too bad, but at least we have a helluva lot of great music from him.

Apparently my sarcasm is laid on too thickly for Garvey. I wasn't aware that I needed to write a hit song or have a "cool" imaginary nickname in order to have an opinion. Besides, I think you must have skipped the first half of the article where I said I'm a fan of GBV.

Didn't you know, Justin "imaginary" Koeppen, that all sarcastic statements must be followed with a ;) ?

;)

Crap. You're right Liz, I forgot my bag of smirkies.

When you rip a legend, you're gonna get push back.
IGshr*e

I had no idea dissing Bob Pollard would hit such a nerve. Who should I do next? Jeff Tweedy? Stephen Malkmus? Frank Black?

Whatever you do - don't touch Mark Kozelek. That dude's fans write the scariest hate mail.

Animal Collective. Bring it. (Now I'm going to catch some crap for that one!)

If you take on Jeff Tweedy or Animal Collective, Justin, I have your back. :-)

Justin, when the basis of your post is that Robert Pollard is too prolific (something continually mentioned by his critics for at least the last 10 years), people are going to respond.

Is your next piece on the sky being blue or water being wet? ;)

Liz, I wouldn't go near Mark Kozelek, he's the reason I survived 2004. But yeah, Animal Collective could use a good snarking, I think.

Snark Animal Collective if you will. They only make amazing records, their sound constantly evolving and improving.
IGshr*e

Don't touch Malkmus.
Some things are sacred.

Bob's not a mess, doesn't drink scotch and is so worth the time it would take to get to know the albums you referred to
Both albums have awesome, intense, gorgeous works on them.
this guy is doing some of the best work of his life and the critics are insane to not notice. just listen to when we were slaves from coast to coast. that's an achievement. the ONLY thing you are correct about is that it's hard for YOU to review such works.
the people who review Bob's records should look at them as what they are, works of an artist. i for one am extremely grateful that I am alive during his lifetime to experience these works as they come out and his live show. I encourage you to delve into his experience, it's worth the investment.
He has actually enriched my life with his art. I can't say that about Malkmus, Black, or Tweedy. But to each his own.

Justin, you're an idiot.

Justin, don't get me wrong, but, you're an idiot.

I can sometimes understand why people would bash Pollard,
they are wrong, but I can understand it.

So funny you used two examples (Hot Freaks and Cigarette Tricks) from the two records he is mostly known for, Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes. Critics didn't know how much superlatives they had to use to show that they were the guys who would take the uninitiated and stupid public out of their sorry condition and into the world of good music.
After they had sucked out Pollard/GBV for their own status, they went on writing rave reviews about the Strokes or whatever. Making good music is not the point, you have to be new and relevant. The last 10 years has seen great Pollard records (Universal Truths, Turn to Red, From a Compound Eye, Sgt. Disco are all classics), but it does not matter. The reviewers already wrote enough on Bob.

Bashing Bob in 2009 is a little bit too late, but nonetheless funny. I had to laugh a few times. Now let's return to our jobs.

Jop wrote: "I can sometimes understand why people would bash Pollard,
they are wrong, but I can understand it."

I also can understand. It is because they are idiots.

Too bad Justin, you're missing out on beautiful music. And also, I think you are being a bit narrow-minded on music, because music always should be a free form of art in my opinion, without restrictions. I'm wondering what kind of music you listen to.

justin you are totally missing the point.

pollard at times could use an editor, but there is nothing wrong with being prolific. when he submitted bee thousand it was fifty tracks which the fella at scat records cut back to a sweet twenty. plenty of those deleted tracks were ace, but he made the right move. bob's biggest problem these days has more to do with production and the lack of such an editor. having a band again, the boston spaceships, has sharpened things up. and if you saw them live you'd know just how sharp many of the new songs are. but it has always been about melody with pollard. i think his images can be banal, but they can also be beautiful, surreal, and insightful. as far as song length goes, do you really care if a song flies by or lasts ten minutes when the 20 second song stuffs enough ideas and pleasing hooks for three songs into it. not to mention pollard's delivery which is such an important aspect of singing; at his best he invests absurdities with real emotion and conveys meaning through his execution.

and i'd give my eye teeth to write any of these lyrics: i am a scientist; people are leaving; hardcore ufo's; sister i need wine; big boring wedding; motor away; people are leaving; the brides have hit glass; learning to hunt to name but a few.

I'll start by admitting I'm a fan of Guided by Voices, their shitcan rusty 4-track lofi era as well as their "professional" production era.

That's was your downfall right there. That statement right there is like saying I admit Im not gay but touched a dick or two. I find it funny that all so called "music critics" never really enjoy the music they are supposed to be listening to or love. But it also figures that a bunch of seattle college radio losers would have the nerve to even approach something as genius as Bob is. I mean it's just nasty if you dont like something dont even go there, write something that makes me want to hear what you like not trash something you have no idea about. If I wanted to read ridiculous diatribes I could just read "Rolling Stone or better yet "Spin".

By the way Malkmus has'nt done anything of significance since Pavement. Vampire Weekend are the shittiest band I've ever heard and Sub Flop has gone the way of The Grateful Dead. I think it's about time someone pulled another Cobain to put Seattle back on the map.

The central argument of this article seems to be that we should eliminate art that we do not understand, and that artists who make art which is obscure, simple, and abundant, should stop. If Pollard has done something that a two-year old child could do, that's a huge plus to anyone who values the artistic impulse. As the (infamously prolific) Picasso said, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. " To me, Pollard is someone who's figured that out.

Bob has redefined songwriting - who says a song should be 3 minutes, verse chorus verse chorus - how about 30 seconds of a flash in time - a thought worth recording. should people only write novels, and forget about short stories? Maybe that is him being an editor???!!! I have spent the last 4 years being a Bob fan, and it has enriched my life in soooo many ways! There is always something more to discover and get into. I too, feel so lucky to have been able to see him live in my lifetime, and to experience the loads of artistic output he gives us.

I do not respect people who write reviews like this. I would rather hear from a music lover who can tell me about something new - that will add to my life. Why waste your energy dissing someone's art work? Tell me about something I'll love....

the main message of this post (as the writer pointed out) is tongue in cheek. The dude loves GBV and RP - he's just spouting off about how much material there is out there.

if you're going to get angry about something that someone has written, at least know what they are saying (especially when they spell it out for you a la comment #7).

this is not an anti-GBV post. don't get your valuable hunting knife panties all twisted.

Tongue-in-cheek AND very revealing of my irony-impaired, thin-skinned, good intentions, wow. I was thinking about this article (after I'd posted, of course), and then I started to think...waaiiit a minute...especially after that TRC postscript..... I feel like an idiot, I can't believe I missed the entire point. (And no, I didn't read the comments earlier.) Maybe my sense has been blunted by too many Pitchfork reviews. Well, I guess I needed that, now I'd like to retract my earlier, very earnest comment, and say, thank you!

It's all lies Chris, D.T.A. (Dont Trust Anybody) even if it was sarcasm, You dont go around saying you want to slap Bob or any person for that matter, plus the scribbling on a pizza box. Yeah right, This whole article was a jab and a perfect waste of good criticism.

for me, Bee thousand is like one of the books in the 90's pop bible. A few chapters after Slanted and Enchanted and There's nothing wrong with Love, but before Lonesome Crowded West. Comparing any of those songwriters (malkmus,martsch, and brock) more recent output to pollard, I would say he fares quite well. But can you compare any of these bands/writers work from the early mid-90's to the stuff they are putting out in 2009? Still a fun read with valid points. loved some of the comments.

p.s. tractor rape chain kicks fuckin ass!!!!