(Update! It has been revealed that the Austin City Limits DVD will come with a CD recording of the show as well!)
Hello all! 2007 is already turning out to be another amazing and prolific year for Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices music. And some brand new information has come to light regarding the release calendar- more specific dates and a newly announced Austin City Limits DVD! So here is the updated info...
Robert Pollard "Relaxation Of The Asshole 2 - Meet The King"(
Rockathon Records. Available now!)
Oh yes they did! This limited edition vinyl only follow up to 2005's legendary (?) stage rant comedy album will soon be hitting your mailboxes. According to Pollard, "the cover is a photo of me lying in a bathtub drinking a beer with a track suit on". More yuk yuks for you motherfucks...
(fake Silverfish Trivia cover courtesy of
DTS and
crunch)
Robert Pollard "Silverfish Trivia" (formerly "Hello Forever" and "Gratification To Concrete")
(
Prom Is Coming Records. April 17, 2007.)
Forget everything you think you know about Silverfish Trivia! Studio sessions with Todd Tobias were completed in June 2006. But apparently Bob was not satisfied and more recording and tracklist fiddling have transformed the former Hello Forever (described as Kid Marine 2) into Silverfish Trivia. And as of January 2007, Bob has gone back and changed the record for a second time into a mini-LP to be released in April on his new vanity label! The 7 track, 22 minute album has been described by Bob as "much more somber and strange" than recent work. And Chris George of
Invert is contributing new string arrangements. The final Silverfish Trivia tracklist is...
Come Outside (string instrumental)
Circle Saw Boys Club
Wickerman Smile
Touched To Be Sure
Waves, Etc.
Cats Love A Parade
Speak In Many Colors (another string instrumental)
...which leaves the following former Silverfish Trivia songs heard on Bob and The Ascended Masters'
Normal Happiness tour in November...
The Killers (previously a
Psycho And The Birds track)
Piss Along You Bird
Met Her At A Seance
Life Of A Wife
Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love
These tracks plus several unknown others (from the original Silverfish Trivia lineup) are either a part of a new and completely different Robert Pollard LP slated for the fall (more details below), two of the Crickets bonus tracks (see below) or part of an EP of leftovers soon to follow that new LP (confused yet?)...
Various "Crickets" - The Best Of The Fading Captain Series(
Fading Captain Series. May 8, 2007.)
This 2 cd 50 track set with booklet will compile the best of the unreal
Fading Captain Series, home of Robert Pollard's solo and side projects for 8 years. And rumor has it that there will be 6 unreleased tracks (including 2 former Silverfish Trivia tracks) to entice the fans who already own the entire run (like me, heh). Sadly, this set will be wrapping up the longstanding Fading Captain Series. But take heart, a new home and new plans are in the works for Bob's more experimental projects- namely, Record Company Records and Prom Is Coming Records run by
Rockathon's own Rich T and Bob himself!
Guided By Voices "Austin City Limits" DVD and CD set(
New West Records. May 15, 2007.)
Recorded on November 9, 2004 while on the Electrifying Conclusion Tour, Guided By Voices took the stage at
PBS's popular Austin City Limits and blew the roof off the dump. And now we all shall witness and hear the entire show from beginning to end- sweet! The setlist was...
Demons Are Real
Pimple Zoo
Everybody Thinks I'm A Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking)
Exit Flagger
Sleep Over Jack
Back To The Lake
Navigating Flood Regions
Window Of My World
Dayton, Ohio-19 Something And 5
Redmen And Their Wives
Girls Of Wild Strawberries
Gold Star For Robot Boy
My Kind Of Soldier
I Am A Tree
My Impression Now
Sad If I Lost It
Do The Earth
Gonna Never Have To Die
Secret Star
The Best Of Jill Hives
Watch Me Jumpstart
Pendulum
Game Of Pricks
Cut-Out Witch
Buzzards And Dreadful Crows
Murder Charge
EncoreFair Touching
Teenage FBI
Glad Girls
Tractor Rape Chain
I Am A Scientist
Echos Myron
As I recall, Navigating Flood Regions was a kick ass highlight of the aired version of the show. Check out a related interview with Robert Pollard
here and a clip of Glad Girls from the show
here. The audio and video presentation on Austin City Limits are top notch and the performance was loose and boozy (very atypical for this straight-laced series). Should be great!
The Takeovers "Bad Football"(
Off Records. June 12, 2007.)
Another pop collaboration with former GBV bassist
Chris Slusarenko. Rumor has it that
Stephen Malkmus, formerly of indie rock legends Pavement will appear. The last Takeovers album
"Turn To Red" is my absolute favorite Pollard project of 2006. So I'm already chomping at the bit. Hoo-hah!
(fake Sgt. Disco cover courtesy of
DTS and upsetter)
Circus Devils "Sgt. Disco"(
Ipecac Recordings. July 24, 2007.)
Not 100% sure what relation this release has to the previously proposed two
Circus Devils albums mentioned once upon a time in
Todd Tobias' MySpace.com page. But one thing is known, Sgt. Disco is coming! Sgt. Disco is the legendary 4th Circus Devils release (it will be the 5th one released, but number 4 was called Five... you get the idea) once denied to exist, now a reality! And its arriving via Greg Werckman's and Mike Patton's (formerly of Faith No More) record label Ipacac. Breaking with tradition, this 32 track double album will see the light of day in July (unlike the previous Circus Devils albums released on Halloween, Bob's birthday).
Robert Pollard "Standard Gargoyle Decisions" (tentative title)(
Merge Records. October 9, 2007.)
As of January 2007, Bob has gone back yet again and changed Silverfish Trivia, making it into a mini-LP to be released in April. So the remaining tracks heard on Bob and The Ascended Masters'
Normal Happiness tour in November as well as several others are now possibly a part of new Robert Pollard LP for the fall! In addition, Pollard has written and is itching to record an additional 28 songs, the best of which will also be a part of this project. The known leftover songs from Silverfish Trivia are...
The Killers (formerly a
Psycho And The Bird's track)
Piss Along You Bird
Met Her At A Seance
Life Of A Wife
Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love
but there are no guarantees that these make the cut, with 28 more new ones in contention, leading us to...
Robert Pollard "Untitled EP"(
Merge Records? Tentative release date fall 2007?)
So this is where leftover b-sides from both the Silverfish Trivia sessions and the not-yet-recorded 28 new LP tracks will go. Tradition holds that b-side collection EPs are released within a few months, if not weeks, of the LP. Lots of new music on the horizon for 2007, kids!
Guided By Voices "Some Drinking Implied 2" DVD(
Rockathon Records. Tentative release date late 2007?)
Hey now! Another home brew Guided By Voices DVD from the folks at Rockathon! Expect to see recent live footage of both GBV and Robert Pollard, never before seen rare clips from Bob and Rich T's personal collection and as many of GBV's TV appearances as they can scrounge up. Sounds perfecto!
(Moon cover courtesy of
the Guided By Voices Database)
Robert Pollard and The Ascended Masters "Moon" - vinyl LP(
Record Company Records. Tentative release date late 2007?)
This version of
Merge's bonus live album will be exactly the same as the CD version, just on vinyl. Always a treat to get stuff on wax and you already know that Moon kicks ass, so its a no brainer.
And that's all we know of... so far!