Customer Reviews

Guided by Voices' Bee Thousand (33 1/3)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a mixture of a) the insightful and interesting reflections of those who created and assisted with Bee Thousand, b) well-written and relatable musings from hardcore fans about how they discovered the album and what it means to them, and c) the bloated, pretentious verse of what manifests in my head as Cheers' Diane Chambers rattling off Greil Marc-esque collegiate diatribes about a soulful beer-drinking anthemic record.

For the big fans, the book is fully worth it for points a & (especially) b. My recommendation is to skip the entirety of c.

A very informative book that makes you think about such great songs in a brand new way. The fact that Robert Pollard has not one, but two long essays in the book (one is by Bart J Hooper LLD or something similar, very obviously bob himself) makes this alone worth the price of entry. Add that to the great commentary by Tobin Sprout and a very competent author and you have a perfect celebration of the glory that is Bee Thousand and GBV.

I've read several of these 33 1/3 books, and this one is one of my favorites. Woodworth has stitched together lots of different bits and pieces for the book--listener testimonials, interviews with band members and people in Pollard's group of friends, short analyses of songs, etc. that bump up against each other and put each other in context by putting them in contrast. And much like the songs on Bee THousand, as you read/listen, you begin to realize that all the little disparate components are just parts of a bigger coherent machine. Woodworth has Pollard's aesthetic down, and his is an unique and inspiring approach to writing about music. It got me to bust out the 4 track again anyway...

starbuck couldn't be more wrong. Woodworth's book is a wonderful one because it avoids obvious trappings associated with rock music fandom as well as the temptation to present a dry, step by step history of the making of Bee Thousand. Instead, Woodworth opens the wide angle for a look at creative impulse, and how that's found a home in the person of Robert Pollard. And he does so with beautiful language, unusual commentary from other artists, and a careful scrutiny that ranges from intimate listening to a proper (and necessary) distancing from the subject. Greer's "history" is not a very good history at all, nor is it well written. It does offer a few interesting stories and insights that only an ex-GBVer could offer. But those are rare. Greer's book often bogs down into cheap, tabloidesque tattling (particularly regarding Bob's ex-wife and his brother), and carries with it a smarmy brand of "Hey, I was in the band" sort of insider-ism. The book's final chapter is its most valuable portion, in which Greers asks Pollard about his songs and the subject becomes the creative impulse (hey, there it is again!). Read Woodworth's contribution to the 33 1/3 Series. It's terrific.

I guess, in short I would just say the best parts of this book are: The bits of interviews, say from Thrasher, Fennell, Tobin sprout, Demos...and of course thee best part of the book (in my opinion) is a play by play description of each song and kind of what went into creating this LP, via Bobby! Which really, just puts the purpose of the book into prespective. You know?,...you get the stories from the people involved, or anyone who was around them while it was going on & you have it, simple! There is also a great picture of the Memory Man pedal they used for Hot Freaks and the 4-track they recorded with which are just some neat extras! But I give this book a 3* because there's allot of just, pretentious clammer, I'll say, from the other bits in the book.. kinda like - "How many words can I toss together to make me sound extremely deep and poetic about this astonishing band & novel of epic proportions & peice of art for the ages...blah blah blah.....!"
You know,...I just don't have allot of time for all the extra junk, I guess I will say. The people outside the realm, wanting to get their two cents in or whatever, with run on sentences that have nothing to with anything- It's like being in a bar with a hundred micro beers or whatever and trying to gush about all the different flavors & how great it all is..OR?... just ordering a Budweiser. Sorry for the drinking refrerence...it's a bit cliche i know. I'm sorry for that one. But look, you ask Bob or any of the others some questions...record it on a cassette...re-write it for this book......and your there! Which Marc did...
kinda?
And I must say, I'm not one really for saying negative words about anyones work....I try and stick with the positive points! I think people should do more of that instead of putting people down...ecspecially when people get on these things, like reviews or Blogs or any other computer crumb dummies. So I want to apoligize if it sounds mean. But anyways....
So yeah, I think this book needed to be done. It's worth every penny just for Bobs section alone! If you are a fan...or just want to know a little bit about GBV during this period & or this LP...spend the $9 and enjoy, right?!
The 33 1/3 series is pretty nice. A small book of some info & opinions about some of the really great Albums over time. I have a list still of some others I would like to read from this series.
So I am glad this was done.
I give this a Gold *! (I know, more lame reference's..sorry)