'Propeller' (1992) was a last-ditch effort by Guided By Voices to achieve success. An initial pressing of 500 albums with hand made covers were sent out to gain national attention for the band and it worked. 'Propeller' features some real rock and roll anthems like 'Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox', 'Lethargy', and 'The Quality of Armor'. What I love about 'The Quality of Armor' is that it is an all-out rocker that blends the British invasion, garage rock, and punk rock. It's hard not to to listen to this song in the car and not shout out, "Oh yeah I'm going to drive my car! Oh yeah I'm going to go real far!" Enjoy!
Happy Memorial Day! The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll has spent many Memorial Day weekends listening to various rock and roll 500s on classic rock radio and WOXY, which was the best damn indie station on the planet. In case you need an explanation, the Indianapolis 500 occurs during this holiday in the U.S., so many moons ago someone was wise enough to count down the top 500 rock and roll songs of all time during Memorial Day Weekend.
As a Guided by Voices fan, I would love to develop a Guided By Voices (GBV) 500. Maybe I'll be more motivated next year to attempt that massive blogging feat. Maybe. If I were to choose the #1 song then I would award it to 'Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox'.
The GBV catalog is full of rock gems that are worthy of the #1 spot, but to me it belongs to the opening track from the anthem driven album, Propeller. The first time I heard 'Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox' was at my college apartment in 1994 and it was an incredible rock experience. The G-B-V chant, Kevin Fennell yelling 'Is everybody ready to rock?' and Bob Pollard's reply of 'This song does not rock' hooked me before a single note was played. I had heard nothing like it before and may never hear anything like it again.
My first GBV concert was the infamous Benefit for the Winos show which was at Gilly's in Dayton, Ohio during June 1995. I went to the show with Captain Chemtrail and Ryan Dellwood. We sat through what seemed to be an endless line-up of acts before GBV took the stage around midnight. As they appeared, a chant of G-B-V erupted, and then the band rocked out to 'Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox'. I had died and gone to GBV heaven.
Well, Happy Memorial Day, my GBV true believers. I've embedded the song below. Throw the switch, it's rock and roll time.
