Guided by Voices: Alien Lanes

Guided by Voices: Alien Lanes

1995

Matador Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. A Salty Salute  2. Evil Speakers  3. Watch Me Jumpstart  4. They're Not Witches  5. As We Go Up, We Go Down  6. (I Wanna Be a) Dumbcharger  7. Game of Pricks  8. The Ugly Vision  9. A Good Flying Bird  10. Cigarette Tricks  11. Pimple Zoo  12. Big Chief Chinese Restaurant  13. Closer You Are 14. Auditorium  15. Motor Away  16. Hit  17. My Valuable Hunting Knife  18. Gold Hick  19. King and Caroline  20. Striped White Jets  21. Ex-Supermodel  22. Blimps Go 90   23. Strawdogs  24. Chicken Blows  25. Little Whirl  26. My Son Cool  27. Always Crush Me  28.Alright

DIS-Arm the settlers!

This was the album that turned me into a life-long, record store hunting, empty-walleted GBV junkie. This is why I own about a hundred Robert Pollard albums. This is why I spend my hungover weekend mornings writing obsessively about GBV.  I seriously, stone-face consider this to be one of the greatest albums of all-time by anybody. And the odd (and in retrospect unthinkable) thing about it is, I didn't particularly like this album all that much when I first bought it,

Now, this wasn't the first GBV album I had heard. That would be "Mag Earwig." I loved "Bulldog Skin" but was ambivalent towards the rest of the album. Loved some of it, was "eh" on some of it (but we'll get to that another time). So I listened to "Mag Earwig" for years but didn't particularly feel strongly enough about the band to check out the rest of their material. But one day I was at a Media Play (in Saginaw Michigan! Hyup! Hyup!) and saw their well-stocked GBV section and thought, "Y'know, I  kinda like this band...Maybe I'll check out one of these...Hmmm, this one has the most songs on it...I'll go with this one..."

I took it home and threw it on the stereo and read along with the lyric sheet. After my first listen I thought to myself, "A couple of good songs there. Too bad it sounds so shallow and dinky." A day or two later I spun it again and thought to myself, "Actually, about half of this is pretty great. Too bad it sounds so shallow and dinky." Third listen it began to dawn on me that 90% of it was spectacular and I was fairly used to the sound.

But on that  magic fourth listening my brain had completely rewired itself. Those stumbly drum fills had somehow morphed into laser-lit, Keith Moon cannonades. Those overdriven acoustic guitars on "Always Crush Me" had somehow morphed into an "Eleanor Rigby"-esque string quartet. The ever-present tape hiss was suddenly a vast, mysterious  sea filled with endless, drunken wonders...

I have no idea how many times I've listened to this record. I'd say 700 times wouldn't be an exaggeration. Even 20 years later, just looking at that track listing still makes me all giddy.

I guess if you've never heard it, the best explanation I can offer is that "Alien Lanes" is a 40 minute collage of experimental and dangerously hooky, wonderfully brief pop/rock songs. It somehow recaptures the thrill of hearing rock radio as a kid. Everything is bright and big and sing-songy and wonderful and seemingly inexhaustible. A whole new intoxicating world of sensations you don't quite understand but can't resist being a part of...

 "A Salty Salute" is an inspired opening track. It's simple and doesn't seem like much at first, but it somehow summons the camaraderie I always feel at a GBV show...The aural equivalent of the bottle of booze that always gets passed around, with no regard to burning lip sores... 

By my count at least 15 of the best melodies ever written are housed within this record. "Game of Pricks" and "My Valuable Hunting Knife" still give me big, fat goosebumps. It's staggering to me that these melodies didn't exist prior to this album and there was a point in time when "Game of Pricks" wasn't rattling in my head. And oh, yea. A big shout out to that magic moment when "Autotorium" explodes into  "Motor Away." The whole album is a Side-Two-of-"Abbey Road"-level masterpiece of sequencing, but that particular segue never fails to knock my fat-ass in the dirt. Listening to "Motor Away" without "Auditorium" somehow lessens it. Now, that's sequencing. 

And Tobin Sprout is slaying shit this time around. I love "A Good Flying Bird" and "Little Whirl" is one of the greatest twee-pop head-rushes ever laid to Maxell. Really, every song on the album is good. Even the song where some guy snores through the whole thing kinda rules. Even the song where Pollard bb-bb-bb-bb's his lips with his fingers to emulate the leslie effect works like crazy. If I had to pick one weak spot where my attention span wanders I guess I'd have to choose the lumpy acoustic "The Ugly Vision" but even that's only a minute and a half long...

This gets the nod for my personal favorite Guided by Voices album. And I'd be surprised if anything budges that ranking. Listening to it this time around, it struck me that Pollard has never quite done anything like this since...

Here's the updated GBV ranking:

1. Alien Lanes

2. Bee Thousand

3. Propeller

4. Same Place the Fly Got Smashed

5. King Shit and the Golden Boys

6. Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia

7. Vampire on Titus

8. Sandbox
9. Forever Since Breakfast
10. Devil Between My Toes'

Let's listen to some music...Here's "Blimps Go 90" by GBV...Enjoy...

Guided by Voices: King Shit and the Golden Boys

Guided by Voices: King Shit and the Golden Boys

1995

Scat Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl & Compact Disc

Track Listola: 1. We've Got Airplanes  2. Dust Devil  3. Squirmish Frontal Room  4. Tricyclic Looper  5. Crutch Came Slinking  6. Fantasy Creeps  7. Sopor Joe  8. Crunch Pillow  9. Indian Was an Angel
10. Don't Stop Now  11. Bite 12. Greenface  13. Deathtrot & Warlock Riding a Rooster  14. 2nd Moves to Twin  15. At Odds With Dr. Genesis  16. Please Freeze Me  17. Scissors  18. Postal Blowfish  19. Crocker's Favorite Song

I know this is totally unrelated to GBV but for some reason I can't stop looking at this photograph of Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis. 

It's the fucking weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life. A surreal, bearded snake-man with haunting, red-rimmed eyes. It looks like he's been awake for the last 200 years,, Just smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee...

Alright, now that I've purged myself of that, let's talk about some records...

"King Shit and the Golden Boys" is a bonus disc that came with 1995's "Box" (which reissued the band's first four albums (well, my CD version anyway, I guess the vinyl version also included "Propeller" but I wear a barrel. Remember?)). They did a standalone vinyl reissue  a couple years ago, which is the vinyl version I have. By the way, "Box" is a damn treasure trove. If you ever run across a copy, don't ask questions. Just buy it. Anyway, "King Shit and the Golden Boys" was the awesomely titled bonus disc of miscellaneous outtakes. And man, is there some cool shit hidden in here. This is easily the best of the GBV outtakes collections (most of these came from the "Bee Thousand" sessions so their high quality isn't too surprising) and I enjoy this more than some of their proper albums. 

Highlights: The opening tracks "We've Got Airplanes" and "Dust Devil" are perfect examples of the sweeter, earlier Pre-"Same Place the Fly Got Smashed" GBV. Nice clean rock with appealing melodies. "Crutch Came Slinking" is a perfect little British invasion number with all kinds of ear-catching backing vocals. Seriously, every single backing vocal choice is spot-on. The best track however has got to be Tobin Sprout's towering "Scissors" where he manages all the melody and pop majesty of Phil Spector on a hissy 4-Track, Absolutely in my top 5 Sprout songs. BTW, this kicks off the odd practice of hiding away Tobin's best songs on B-Sides, EP's and outtake collections, which does make digging through the less well-lit corners of the GBV discography rewarding. Also count me as a huge fan of the pretty acoustic ditty "Indian Was an Angel." I'm always a sucker for that lonesome early GBV stuff. 

Familiars: You get to finally hear full versions of the "Bee Thousand" snippets "2nd Moves to Twin" and "At Odds With Dr. Genesis." The former is a joy and it's great to hear that riff play on for awhile for a change, on the other hand I don' think I'll ever get used to "At Odds With Dr,. Genesis" not cutting off after the "Now heeeere's the Plaahhhhhnnnnn..."  We also get full versions of the "Back to Saturn X Radio Report" snippets "Fantasy Creeps" and "Sopor Joe." Those sloooowed down vocals on "Sopor Joe" always make me laugh. There's an early acoustic version of "Don't Stop Now," that's notable for featuring the world's buzziest guitar string and an acoustic track called "Crocker's Favorite Song" that later is reworked into (gasp!) "Class Clown Spots a UFO." Eff yea! We also get an early version of "Postal Blowfish" that I actually prefer to the later version, which has always sounded a bit light to me. That awesome stop-and-start riff has some real heft to it here. 

There's a lot to like here. Relatively few weak moments and I'll never forget the fun of that first look behind the GBV curtain...

Here's the updated GBV ranking:

1. Bee Thousand

2. Propeller

3. Same Place the Fly Got Smashed

4. King Shit and the Golden Boys

5. Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia

6. Vampire on Titus

7. Sandbox
8. Forever Since Breakfast
9. Devil Between My Toes

Fuck ranking shit. Let's rock out for a bit. Here's "Scissors" by Guided by Voices...Enjoy...

Guided by Voices: Bee Thousand

Guided by Voices: Bee Thousand

1994

Scat Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl and Compact Disc

Track Listerine (gargle): 1. Hardcore UFO's  2. Buzzards and Dreadful Crows  3. Tractor Rape Chain  4. The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory  5. Hot Freaks  6. Smothered in Hugs  7. Yours to Keep  8. Echos Myron  9. Gold Star for Robot Boy  10. Awful Bliss  11. Mincer Ray  12. A Big Fan of the Pigpen  13. Queen of Cans and Jars  14. Her Psychology Today  15. Kicker of Elves  16. Ester's Day  17. Demons Are Real  18. I Am a Scientist  19. Peep-Hole  20. You're Not an Airplane




True Story (not that it's fantastically unbelievable or anything): When I first got this album I put it on and about a song or two in, my girlfriend calls. I turn it down slightly and let the album continue to play in the background. We talk for awhile and then she notices I'm not speaking anymore. 
"Hello? Hello? Are you still there?" she asks worriedly. 

"I'm sorry," I reply (awestruck). "I'm listening to the most fucking incredible song I've ever heard..."

The most incredible fucking song I'd ever heard? It was "Echos Myron." Just a magnificent beast of a British Invasion pop song. Its hooks reached across the room and right through my conversation, grabbed my ears and demanded, "STOP EVERYTHING! LISTEN TO ME!!!" (By the way. "Echos Myron" isn't "Echos Myron" to me without "Yours to Keep" attached to it. I never listen to them separate. That moment when "Yours to Keep"s  mournful acoustic picking is pounced by "Echos Myron"'s celebratory opening chords is a magic moment. It just makes the unbridled joy pop that much more. )

When asked what the best GBV album is, most fans will point to ":Bee Thousand." It's probably not my personal favorite, but it's pretty damn close. Here are some of the reasons that "Bee Thousand" resonates with  me:

The locale. Dayton, Ohio 19-something and 4. As someone who grew up in the midwest (in the ashes of the fallen automobile industry) this unexpected setting is endlessly appealing. Lyrically (and often musically) "Bee Thousand" scans to me as being derived from the "psychedelic" era.  Far-out, seemingly nonsensical imagery that nonetheless follows an internal logic and inventing a poetry all its own. Psychedelia (as a musical form (not necessarily pharmaceutically speaking)) works best when juxtaposed against reality. When it offers a view of the world as it is and also helpfully provides a key for escape. Most often psychedelic lyrics were based in a reality that seems alien to me (the tea parties and pictures of the Queen in British psychedelia, the grimey, politicized Haight Street aesthetic of San Francisco psychedelia, the dangerous, shot-gun infested backwoods of Texas psychedelia) but here was fantastic imagery set in an utterly un-fantastic place. (Note: As much as I hear large amounts of psychedelia in these lyrics, there's also the unmistakable presence of bone-dry, post-psych prog.. The sort of profound fantasy nonsense you'd find in a Yes or ELP record. Another reason I love this album). 

The melodies and song-construction are also immensely appealing to me. I remember looking at those Beatles Anthology albums on a shelf at the record store and my mind entertained the thought, "What if these are all outtakes or demos of songs I'd never heard..." My mind reeled at the thought of all the treasures that could be contained within. Where you could rummage through fragments of unfinished greatness. But then I turned the cover over and saw a bunch of different takes of "Strawberry Fields" (still, nothing to scoff at, mind you). Well, "Bee Thousand" is that album I was imagining! I swear to you there are so many songs here that are indeed worthy of the supposedly untouchable icons of rock past...My initial dig through it was like finding a brilliant bootleg of lost Beatles, Who and Yes songs that was only known by a  secret society of tape traders. All covered in beautiful, authentic tape hiss...The fact that "I Am a Scientist" and "Gold Star for Robot Boy" aren't well-known radio staples isn't due to any the band's shortcomings, but the eroded (and stale) taste of the radio-listening pubic...

I also love the confidence they exude on this album. The big opener "Hardcore UFO's" is plagued by guitars dropping out but does anybody go back and punch them in? Fuck no. Why should they?!?! Because it's awesome as is. And after a couple of listens you can't imagine the song without the fuck-ups. And the years of obscurity make a song like "I Am a Scientist" work. There's a real sense of accomplishment there. You can tell Bob knew he was good and when other people started to realize it too, he decided  to do a casual slum-dunk, just to let us know he knows. The other moment where you hear this is on the "Shit yea it's cool..." line in "Echos Myron." 

Bottom line, if you still have a sense of wonder about the colorful world of rock n' roll, you're going to love this record. If thumbing through countless unknown, bizarre and fantastic album covers still gives you a thrill, you're going to love this record. If you treasure the moment when an unexpectedly great rock song comes out of nowhere and slaps you across the head, you're going to love this record. I love the living fuck out of this record. 

Here's the up-to-date ranking. No surprise, "Bee Thousand" goes to the top of the list. The best album they'd made to this point:

1. Bee Thousand

2. Propeller

3. Same Place the Fly Got Smashed

4. Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia

5. Vampire on Titus

6. Sandbox
7. Forever Since Breakfast
8. Devil Between My Toes

Let's listen to some music. Here's "Queen of Cans and Jars" by Guided by Voices. Enjoy...

Guided by Voices: Fast Japanese Spin Cycle

Guided by Voices: Fast Japanese Spin Cycle

1994

Engine Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing:1 . 3rd World Birdwatching  2. My Impression Now  3. Volcano Divers  4. Snowman  5. Indian Fables  6. Marchers in Orange  7. Dusted  8. Kisses to the Crying Cooks



Maybe my favorite GBV album cover. The hesher in the Bart Simpson shirt. The Iron Maiden backpatch. The cucumber killer whale on the back cover. It's just a masterpiece. Can we hang this thing in the Louvre already? For some reason it perfectly matches the Alternate-Reality version of the Midwest that plays out in my mind whenever I listen to the band...

This is also one of my favorite GBV EP's. 8 songs in 10 minutes. This was the first time we'd seen GBV resort to song recycling, which might have left the initial impression their reserves weren't as infinite as we had once thought, however our worries proved to be needless,... Of the re-recordings, I'd argue that "Kisses to the Crying Cooks" probably wasn't essential (it's just a breezy, truncated version of "Over the Neptune") but the re-recordings of "Marchers in Orange" and especially "Dusted" were revelatory to me. I never noticed what a tight, moody rocker "Dusted" was until I heard it freed from the murk of "Vampire on Titus." And the concertina (or whatever it was) arrangement of "Marchers in Orange" didn't really do the song any favors. But it too sounds great all spiffed up. 

The big one here though is the "Shocker in Gloomtown"-level rock anthem "My Impression Now." This didn't make the greatest hits album? Listening to it, it strikes me there was really no denying how brilliant the band was at this point. They were tossing off masterpieces left and right and the quality of the material released during this era was staggering..."My Impression Now" just happened to be that month's installment.

I'm missing a few singles/EP's from around this time...Here is the list of stuff that's remained elusive to me:

I do not have Static Airplane Jive (which is another of my favorite EPs, but since I eat boiled boots for dinner, I do not own a copy...)

(I'm always on the lookout though. "Big School" and "Gelatin, Ice Cream, Plum..." are my jams for sure...

I've also never been able to score a copy of "Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer." I don't think this was quite up to the level of "Static Airplane Jive" or "Fast Japanese Spin Cycle" but for chrissakes, it's got "Matter Eater Lad" and "Johnny Appleseed" on it. To be honest, "Johnny Appleseed" never really knocked me out until I heard it live where the song suddenly gained a spiritual glow...

Goddamn. I've never even heard the GBV/Grifters split. And that kills me...Oh, well. That's part of following Bob,. You can't own everything. You can blow paychecks trying though...

I also can never find the '94 "I Am a Scientist" EP. One of my best friends owns it and I'm always so fucking envious of it whenever I hang out at his house. He won't trade it or sell it to me either and I love him for it..."Do the Earth" rules the universe...For some reason I have an inexplicable fondness for the messy-as-hell acoustic ditty "Curse of the Black Ass Buffalo." Something about it draws me in.... 

There are probably some other releases I missed, but these are the big ones...Okay, it's time to get to the utterly arbitrary rankings...Here are the GBV singles and 10-minute-ish EP's ranked in order of my personal preference (and these are subject to change. All it takes is one random, drunken night when The Freedom Cruise 7-inch suddenly changes my life):

1. Fast Japanese Spin Cycle
2. The Grand Hour
3. Get Out of My Stations
4. The Freedom Cruise/Nightwalker Split

It's Saturday Night. Right? Why are we sitting around staring blankly at a computer monitor? We should be firing up the stereo, hoisting a few cold 'uns and blasting GBV until the neighbors start banging on the walls...

(gratuitous beer clip-art)

Let's get this started..."My Impression Now." GBV. Happy weekend everybody...Thanks for overlooking the typos...

Guided by Voices: The Freedom Cruise/Nightwalker Split 7"

Guided by Voices: The Freedom Cruise/Nightwalker split 7"

1994

Simple Solution Records

Format I Own it on: Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Cruise 2. Lucifer's Aching Revolver



Another 1994 release. This appears to be a split EP by two of Pollard's side projects, The Freedom Cruise and Nightwalker. But the sticker on it says GBV, so I decided to file it under GBV...If I remember my Guided by Voices lore correctly, this is Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout getting together for some far out shit...

I have the blue jukebox edition that comes with the big, drilled hole and the jukebox sticker. Man, I hope this record really ended up on a jukebox somewhere. I'm hoping somebody somewhere puts his $0.50 in and hits what he thinks is Night Ranger and Nightwalker comes on instead...

The single is especially sludgy and ugly. "Cruise" is a trudging grind-rocker that sounds like it could have been taken from the "Same Place the Fly Got Smashed" sessions. You can find a much more melodic version of this on "Suitcase" one...Great song when you're in the mood for something dark and unpleasant....

The Nightwalker side takes things even further. A stitched together Frankenstein's monster consisting of amps feeding back and getting turned up and down, sandwiched in between different recordings of the same song. It's like the band is trying to  to turn "Lethargy" into "Good Vibrations." Definitely not for everybody but I sure as hell enjoy it a lot...

Casual fans (if there are any) should probably skip this but this really is one of the more enjoyable of Pollard's "difficult" releases. I think its brevity really helps. 

Alright, let's get to the rankings...Here are the GBV singles and 10-minute-ish EP's ranked so far:

1. The Grand Hour
2. Get Out of My Stations
3. The Freedom Cruise/Nightwalker Split

"The Freedom Cruise/Nightwalker" split is fun but nowhere near the quality of the other two EP's we've covered so far...

I would post a song frrm this for you to listen to, but no one's posted it online yet. I don't really have a way to do it so I guess we're just gonna have to sit in silence...

Guided by Voices: Get Out of My Stations

Guided by Voices: Get Out of My Stations

1994

Siltbreeze Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Scalding Creek  2. Mobile  3. Melted Pat  4. Queen of Second Guessing  5. Dusty Bushworms  6. Spring Tiger  7. Blue Moon Fruit  8. Motor Away  9. Hot Freaks  10. Weed King  11. Postal Blowfish



I don't know if I'm really reviewing these EP's in order...GBV released 10 million EP's in 1994 on a hundred different labels. I wasn't buying them at the time and they all say 1994 so I don't have any context or personal memories attached...

But yea, another "Bee Thousand" era EP. This time we have 7 songs in 12 minutes. I have the CD reissue that adds 4 live bonus tracks. How do the live bonus tracks sound?. A bit rough but they have their charm. And you don't listen to GBV albums for high- fidelity, audiophile recordings. 

The gentle acoustic strum of "Scalding Creek" isn't an outlier either. This entire EP is a bit more laid back than usual.There are a couple of rockers but it's the more shimmering laid back stuff like "Scalding Creek" that really makes an impression.

I've listened to King Diamond, Venom, Puke Cross, Mortifying Anal Death, Blasphemous Ass Church, etc. etc. etc but only one piece of music has genuinely frightened me. Only once have I jumped and yelled, "Holy Fuck!" And that one time occurred on the opening track of this EP. I was blasting the nice, gentle campfire sing-along"Scalding Creek," smiling and gently swaying back and forth when suddenly Greg Demos or somebody drunkenly trips over the amp in the middle of the song and an ear-destroying "SPROIIINNNNNNGGGG!!!!!" of the crashing reverb spring made me jump 50 feet in the air. One of the most unexpected moments in rock history. It doesn't happen on the beat like you'd expect it...It just comes out of nowhere...(Note: Now that I think about it, I've also been frightened by any song with a police siren that comes on while I'm driving)....

Best Songs: "Dusty Bushworms" and "Spring Tiger." Especially "Spring Tiger" which has a staccato "Oh, Oh" melody that has a way of insidiously worming its way deep into your brain. It's just a fantastic song, possessing a swirling, low-key splendor.  Also don't miss the boppy British Invasion wonder "Melted Pat."

Least favorites: Nothing too egregious here. I could really take or leave "Mobile" or "Blue Moon Fruit." "Blue Moon Fruit" has the distinction of being the only GBV song I can't seem to remember. I can look at any GBV release and hum the melody to every song except this one. Listening back to it that's not too surprising. It's mostly some loud, unsteady drums with Bob singing an incomprehensible,  reverb-heavy, country-ish melody. 

Biggest WTF Moment: "The Queen of Second Guessing." Pollard runs his vocals through a wah pedal and the results are fucking hilarious! When I first heard this I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe and had to keep repeating the song. Chances are, if you're ever hanging out listening to music with me you're eventually going to hear me play this song two or three times in a row...Man! Y'know what it sounds like? Exactly like that Eric Idle Transformer!

Alright, let's get to the GBV singles and 10-minute EP rankings. I think I'm going to have to put "Get Our of My Stations" one centimeter below "The Grand Hour." I think "Get Out of My Stations" has a lot more high points than "The Grand Hour" but the "Grand Hour's" single high point just so happens to be "Shocker in Gloomtown," so it's getting the nod...

1. The Grand Hour
2. Get Out of My Stations

Okay, let's listen to some music...Here's "Spring Tiger" by Guided by Voices...Enjoy...

Guided by Voices: The Grand Hour

Guided by Voices: The Grand Hour

1993

Scat Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Dusk

Track Listing: 1. I'll Get Over It   2. Shocker in Gloomtown  3. Alien Lanes  4. Off the Floor  5. Break Even  6. Bee Thousand


Grand it is, but it's certainly not an hour. Quick little 10-minute EP that's vital to the GBV discography due to the ass-flattening awesomeness of "Shocker in Gloomtown" which is a flawless little pop-rock song. The perfect GBV sugar-rock rush with one of Pollard's greatest lyrics:

 "So, now tell me how the hell did we miss it? He bared his ass for all to see, and no one got to kiss it..." 

A lot of fans claim "Shocker in Gloomtown" is the only reason to buy this, but although the rest of the songs may be a bit slight, it's a super interesting release...It works as a teaser trailer of the upcoming couple years...There's a greazy, other-worldly rocker called "Alien Lanes" and a song called "Bee Thousand" (which seriously sounds like something the Who might have pulled off circa "A Quick One" or  "Sell Out"). "Off the Floor" even kicks off with "Hot Freak"'s gloomy little riff...Fun stuff for Pollard enthusiasts. Sure nothing outside of "Shocker in Gloomtown" will probably make it onto your own personal GBV best-of, but it's a lot of fun...

Oh, yea. the ranking. Y'know, I might have to separate these 10-minute or less EP's into their own category..."Forever Since Breakfast" was easier, since it was almost as long as a standard GBV album, but I can't really rank a 10-minute EP against a 35-minute album...It's just not fair. So singles and 10-minute EP's are going in their own category...So here's the official ranking:

1. The Grand Hour

There. That was easy. Now let's listen to some music. Here's "Shocker in Gloomtown" by GBV...Enjoy...