Song of the Week:

“The Best of Jill Hives” by Guided By Voices

Pat Mackenzie, OP Columnist

E.. the almost 20 years that they
were a band, Guided by Voices created
some of the catchiest, most hook-laden
music that has ever been consigned to
tape. Taking a decidedly lo-fi approach
to most of their recordings, GBV were
prolific in creating one-to-three minute
bursts of guitar oriented pop and/or
rock.

I think it was Pete

to his singing style are Pollard’s
characteristically eccentric and hermetic
lyrics: “Paid up weathered and type-
O/ Clad in gladstone watch him go /
Swimming beneath the microscope /
Hello lonely bless the nation.” Rather
than be interested in providing word
arrangements that make ‘sense,’ Pollard
seems to be more interested in strings

 

Townshend that said
something to the effect
that the perfect pop
song should be no
more than two-and-
a-half minutes long

or thereabouts. Not
only did GBV take
that bit of advice to
heart, they also took
the entire sound that
came out of England in
the “60s—particularly
that of bands such as
The Who, The Kinks’
and Creation—and,
well, ripped it off. But

    

 

s Hatchback.

e} Ce
) 4 years after graduation. Contact

   
 

96,000 km ome

 

ximum of

 

of words that on the surface appear
coherent and sound good together but
are simultaneously completely and
purposely obtuse. “I don’t know where
you find your nerve / I don’t know how
you choose your words / Speak the
ones that suit you worse / Keep you
grounded, sad, and cursed / Circle the
ones that come alive / Save them for the

   

best of Jill Hives.”

Who is Jill Hives anyway and what’s
this song about? Answering these
questions is a waste of time. Like so
many pop songs, what’s important isn’t
meaning, but rather the combination of
sounds and words.

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as they say, imitation

is the highest form of
flattery, and GBV’s
homage to ‘60s Britpop
is brilliantly realized

in exquisitely crafted
songs that happily
acknowledge their
influences.

Taken from their
final album Earthquake
Glue, “The Best of
Jill Hives” is a good
summation of what
Guided by Voices was
all about: two guitars,
bass and drums’ and a
singer who affects an
English accent while
singing.

Although
comparatively slower
than other GBV
songs, “Jill Hives”
immediately grabs
the listener with a
hook-driven rhythm
section. Guitars join in
and put down melodic
layers over the easily
danceable beat, but
it is Robert Pollard’s
affected voice that
gives the song a certain
compelling force.
Reminiscent of The
Who’s Roger Daltrey,
Pollard’s vocal delivery
tops off what is already
a perfectly realized pop
song.

Seemingly
adding extra weight

 

 

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