a tribute to Guided By Voices (1983-2004)

In the 1980 book ‘Off The Wall’, Calvin Tomkins recounts the period in the fifties during which Robert Rauschenberg was developing his early combines and assemblages and describes Rauschenberg producing as many as 50 new works a day. There is a beauty about prolific, sustained periods of fertile high-octane creativity.

Between 1983-2004 Dayton band Guided By Voices produced between 60-80 LPs (depending on the discography and solo projects). In August 2004, they will release their final LP entitled half smiles of the decomposed. For those unfamiliar with GBV, a good place to start is John Wenzel’s 2-part history of the band in issue 18 of SPONIC.

In tribute to the band, full smiles of the deceased is a collection of sixty-eight favourite GBV riffs, snippets, beats, moments, echoes and throwaway lines, capturing Robert Pollard’s recurring references to personal conflict and war and his pacy flow of melodies from the basement.

The good bits from the good bits and added bits from The Ministry of Defence, Phil Collins, Gavin Bryars, King Tubby and Alan Dunn.

“It seems like every song of yours is real short but that’s the good part. In many bands you know, you’ve got a long song, and then there’s a good part here and a good part there. And Guided By Voices songs are just, they are the good part, and then it’s over” (Liz Clayton interviewing Robert Pollard, Wind Up Toy Magazine, April 1994)

Modern Forces For The Modern World (Ministry of Defence CD 1999), my son my secretary and my country, King Tubby - Soundboy Massage, blimps go 90, a proud and booming industry (the super 8 beat), everyday, crux (the table tennis beat), I am a tree meets I am a scientist with fireworks, Turin Brakes - Christine (recurring relationship), turbo boy (2 parts), speeded-up finger tapping

2. bee thousand (10.06)

still worth nothing, trap soul door, ambergris, basic recording of The Mojave Collective live at The 27 Club in Wallasey, sabotage, driving in the us of a, excerpts from BBC show on 1960’s experimental music, 2-3-3-3-2-3-2-2-3, total exposure, hold on hope, things I will keep (intro - reversed), bulldog skin (intro - reversed), choking tara, little lines, now to war, fourteen cheerleader coldfront, ergo space pig (drums), the best of jill hives, cut out witch

3. alien lanes (06.52)

airshow 88, when she turns 50, excerpts from untitled horoscopes CD, cold war watersports (new super 8 beat and air release), old battery (die hard), fantasy creeps, indian was an angel, ex-supermodel, big trouble (+ live table tennis)

4. box (09.35)

stifled man casino, new hiss + echo, H-O-M-E, Siouxsie & The Banshees – Christine, Auld Lang Syne (backwards), don’t stop now, hold on to yesterday, bug house, I can see it in your eyes, let’s go to war, long way to run, background vocals from Getting Started With Word 97 (BVG CD, 1997), glad girls, more Modern Forces For The Modern World, everywhere with helicopter, cheyenne, wire greyhound, BLOW soundtrack (Christine), climbing new stairs

5. motor away (06.50)

raphael, John Carpenter - Halloween, let’s ride, small hearted boy (large), scissors and the clay ox (in) + mouse clicks, squeaky – demons are real + new squeaks, seven strokes (to heaven’s edge), Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight, harbouring exiles + car crash

6. full smiles of the deceased (09.22)

Flamingo 50 – Science + Nature, an unmarked product, echo’s myron, gold star for robot boy, the chase, do they teach you the chase? she was the happiest, chief barrel belly, to remake the young flyer, typewriter and spoken word from Titanic - An Interactive Journey (Europress CD, 1998), my valuable hunting knife, Phill Niblock – For Hurdy Gurdy And Voice, rocking now, Tom Jones - What’s New Pussycat, tractor rape chain, a salty salute , no more moon (sitar), bad and rare, dorothy’s a planet, key losers + machine guns, More Than A Feeling (Classic Rock - Symphonic Arrangements Of 19 Monster Rock Anthems, K-TEL CD 1995), Gavin Bryars - Titanic, you’re not an aeroplane ... as the band goes down

All tracks re-recorded on MiniDV and imported to Final Cut Pro and Premiere before mixing. Cover image from CD brought back from Iraq (thanks Mark). Cheers to Roger Hill for playing a CANTaudio track (everything you hope from...) on PMS, Radio Merseyside, 12 April 2004. full smiles includes working files for future CANTaudio productions, namely the character Christine and the story of the Titanic.. ‘turboy boy’ on sleeve should read ‘turbo boy’. Edition is 13, not 14. Cover font - I am monomer. Booklet font - Accidental Presidency...