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Closer You Are: The Story of Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices
The authorized biography of Robert Pollard, indie rock icon and founder of the music group Guided By Voices
Robert Pollard has been a staple of the indie rock scene since the early '80s, along with his band Guided By Voices. Pollard was a longtime grade school teacher who toiled endlessly on his music, finding success only after adopting a do-it-yourself approach, relying on lo-fi home recordings for much of his and his band's career. A prolific artist, Pollard continues to churn out album after album, much to the acclaim of critics and his obsessive and devoted fans. But his story has never been faithfully told in its entirety. Until now.
Author Matthew Cutter is a longtime friend of Pollard and, with Pollard's blessing, he's set out to tell the whole, true story of Guided By Voices. Closer You Are is the first book to take an in-depth look at the man behind it all, with interviews conducted by the author with Pollard's friends, family, and bandmates, along with unfettered access to Pollard himself and his extensive archives.
Robert Pollard has had an amazing and seemingly endless career in rock music, but he's also established himself as a consummate artist who works on his own terms. Now fans can at long last learn the full story behind one of America's greatest living songwriters.
Robert Pollard has been a staple of the indie rock scene since the early '80s, along with his band Guided By Voices. Pollard was a longtime grade school teacher who toiled endlessly on his music, finding success only after adopting a do-it-yourself approach, relying on lo-fi home recordings for much of his and his band's career. A prolific artist, Pollard continues to churn out album after album, much to the acclaim of critics and his obsessive and devoted fans. But his story has never been faithfully told in its entirety. Until now.
Author Matthew Cutter is a longtime friend of Pollard and, with Pollard's blessing, he's set out to tell the whole, true story of Guided By Voices. Closer You Are is the first book to take an in-depth look at the man behind it all, with interviews conducted by the author with Pollard's friends, family, and bandmates, along with unfettered access to Pollard himself and his extensive archives.
Robert Pollard has had an amazing and seemingly endless career in rock music, but he's also established himself as a consummate artist who works on his own terms. Now fans can at long last learn the full story behind one of America's greatest living songwriters.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published August 21, 2018
42 people are currently reading
640 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
September 8, 2018
The first half of the book is great, who doesn’t love an underdog story? A mid-west jock grows up making tons of fake album covers for bands that don’t exist. He becomes a married middle-aged teacher with kids who breaks up his basement band with a lawyer and someone that works in sandpaper factory to grow-up. A copy of their last in a run of many albums no one heard sends them to NY where they become the next big thing. He proceeds to churn out actual albums at an astounding pace having released 2,390 songs and counting today.
“But to release that many albums, all of them with their own self-contained concept, with that kind of quality maintained over that span of time? Tell me anyone else who’s ever done that.” (note: I thought Prince reading that quote, but still rare company.)
The second half of the book falls into the trap many music bios understandably do by becoming discography based. With a discography this deep that’s probably really tough for a non-fan. I also would have loved to learn more about the last ten years of Pollards life (which were covered in just a couple pages.)
On personal biases:
I first saw Guided By Voices in ’96, (last show for the classic line-up) feeling like I’d missed out on everything. I proceeded to see them as frequently as my high school budget would allow, nearly always solo as I didn’t know anyone else who dug them. Reading this book brought back tons of memories as it covers the area (my parents live about ten minutes away from Bob), bands (I saw most of the local ones mentioned around this time period and had conversations with quite a few…why didn’t I hitch a ride with Kim Deal when she offered!) and people (Jordan at the waffle house…I was at the Bulls first pre-season game at UD with Rodman that kicked off their 72-10 season) that strong memories are made from.
It wasn’t until moving to Florida for college and seeing shows I realized they were bigger than local heroes. Two days after my graduation in ’04 I saw their second to last show before breaking up. It seemed a fitting end to my childhood…Until they got back together years later and proceeded to start releasing albums at a crazy rate.
Most recently I saw them last month play for over three hours covering fifty songs, rocking harder than ever. I was surrounded by people who’d seen them 6+ times this year, most whom hadn’t seen them prior to a few years ago. One knew every word to every song, crazy when they’re being released under a half dozen different band names. So much for being late to the party in ’96!
“But to release that many albums, all of them with their own self-contained concept, with that kind of quality maintained over that span of time? Tell me anyone else who’s ever done that.” (note: I thought Prince reading that quote, but still rare company.)
The second half of the book falls into the trap many music bios understandably do by becoming discography based. With a discography this deep that’s probably really tough for a non-fan. I also would have loved to learn more about the last ten years of Pollards life (which were covered in just a couple pages.)
On personal biases:
I first saw Guided By Voices in ’96, (last show for the classic line-up) feeling like I’d missed out on everything. I proceeded to see them as frequently as my high school budget would allow, nearly always solo as I didn’t know anyone else who dug them. Reading this book brought back tons of memories as it covers the area (my parents live about ten minutes away from Bob), bands (I saw most of the local ones mentioned around this time period and had conversations with quite a few…why didn’t I hitch a ride with Kim Deal when she offered!) and people (Jordan at the waffle house…I was at the Bulls first pre-season game at UD with Rodman that kicked off their 72-10 season) that strong memories are made from.
It wasn’t until moving to Florida for college and seeing shows I realized they were bigger than local heroes. Two days after my graduation in ’04 I saw their second to last show before breaking up. It seemed a fitting end to my childhood…Until they got back together years later and proceeded to start releasing albums at a crazy rate.
Most recently I saw them last month play for over three hours covering fifty songs, rocking harder than ever. I was surrounded by people who’d seen them 6+ times this year, most whom hadn’t seen them prior to a few years ago. One knew every word to every song, crazy when they’re being released under a half dozen different band names. So much for being late to the party in ’96!
September 14, 2018
GBV has been my favorite band since 1994 (although of late they’ve taken a back seat to Wussy, but that’s another story), so this is essential reading. More in-depth and covers more ground than Jim Greer’s book that came out a number of years ago. I don’t think this will appeal much beyond GBV fans, though. There’s not a lot of contextualizing to make it more universal.
It’s an authorized bio, but Pollard definitely didn’t shy away from letting Cutter portray his flaws. Honestly, he comes across as kind of a jerk and a bully in a lot of places. If you’ve followed the band for a long time, it’s not exactly news that Bob is a jock and an alpha male type, with both the positive and negative implications of that. He makes brilliant music, though, and that’s what we’re here for. There’s a lot in here about Bob’s process of making music and recording albums. This is usually where music bios bog down for me, but I enjoyed it here, maybe because I’m way more into GBV than most musicians whose bios I read.
There is some sloppy editing in parts - dropped words, the spelling of a name changes several times over the course of a page. Hopefully if it comes out in paperback that will be fixed.
All in all, a necessary read for GBV/Pollard fans. Probably not so much for the less obsessed.
It’s an authorized bio, but Pollard definitely didn’t shy away from letting Cutter portray his flaws. Honestly, he comes across as kind of a jerk and a bully in a lot of places. If you’ve followed the band for a long time, it’s not exactly news that Bob is a jock and an alpha male type, with both the positive and negative implications of that. He makes brilliant music, though, and that’s what we’re here for. There’s a lot in here about Bob’s process of making music and recording albums. This is usually where music bios bog down for me, but I enjoyed it here, maybe because I’m way more into GBV than most musicians whose bios I read.
There is some sloppy editing in parts - dropped words, the spelling of a name changes several times over the course of a page. Hopefully if it comes out in paperback that will be fixed.
All in all, a necessary read for GBV/Pollard fans. Probably not so much for the less obsessed.
September 3, 2018
This is an expert apprising of the works and processes of Bob Pollard. It's an authorized biography but it does show Pollard's flaws and bad moments. Putting him and his work in the context of life in Cold War Dayton and capturing the theme of Bob's creative output and industry as his way to capture his imaginative dreams from childhood on are both impressive achievements.
Greatly researched and resourced, this should serve as an inspiration to artists and fans alike.
Greatly researched and resourced, this should serve as an inspiration to artists and fans alike.
September 10, 2021
More informative than Jim Greer’s Hunting Accidents, this ably informs us good kids all we could ever hope to know about “Fretless” Dan Toohey. And if you get that reference, this book is for you.
“My tongue that moves slow/a minute before the evil street/ Breath Woman captures a ghost/blurring sweatheads eat noodlestuff/Sit up and beg for slivers of language…”
God bless Uncle Bob. I wear my rune with pride.
(5 for GbV fans/4 for the disbelievers)
“My tongue that moves slow/a minute before the evil street/ Breath Woman captures a ghost/blurring sweatheads eat noodlestuff/Sit up and beg for slivers of language…”
God bless Uncle Bob. I wear my rune with pride.
(5 for GbV fans/4 for the disbelievers)
August 26, 2018
Not sure if this is of interest to people who don't already like GBV, but it has great psychological insights into what makes Pollard tick. Full cooperation from Pollard leads to great anecdotes and archival stuff, too.
September 1, 2018
Viva la Dayton!
September 14, 2018
Wish I could give this more stars but... I’m a huge pollard/gbv but this book is patchy at best. Author Matthew Cutter is good at describing the songs and music, and the story of the band is a good one, but there are only so many “and then they went to the bar/then they got kicked out of the bar” anecdotes I can handle. Details that might make it interesting to a general audience are missing, while fans will not find much new here-although I was curious to find that pollard is a fan of Grimm’s fairy tales, which explains a lot (in his lyrics).
October 11, 2018
A thrilling read for this GbV lifer. My biggest disappointment was that it ended so soon! I was reading on a Kindle and the formatting on there threw me for a loop: I was really looking fwd to spending the last hour that Kindle said I had to read. Little did I know that all the photos, notes, and index info were stuck at the end, so I only had 5 mins left to read! Bummer, but perhaps appropriate for the subject, who has always left me wanting more. I found this to be a good companion piece to Greer's book, there was definitely still some meat left on the bone.
April 14, 2021
As a rejuvenated fan, I just had to read this one. Very well written and informed, beautifully documented and full of anecdotes. Things could have gone a bit more in depth here and there, but on the other hand, the conciseness fits the style of genius Robert Pollard is. In that respect the book follows a lot of stylistic feats (and plenty of references suggest that as well) of GBV!
All right rock 'n' roll!
All right rock 'n' roll!
August 28, 2018
free king spectacular
September 3, 2018
An inspiring, engrossing story of the life moments that have given us some of the best music ever made.
July 4, 2023
“Cult members matched Uncle Bob beer-for-beer (or tried to) and shouted every lyric back at their king, resulting in a surfeit of joy and dearth of recollections. As one longtime fan put it, ‘I really wish I could remember more…other than amazing memories.’”
October 22, 2018
I'm so much of a die hard fan of Pollard & Co, that I used a couple of their titles in my short story collection. Still, I want to give this as much of an impartial view as possible, as I think this is the type of biography that can appeal to anyone who loves a great story of the long messy road to the top-- however you define the top.
America is not really a nurturing place for artists, and Middle America even more so. It's fascinating to see Pollard's existential crisis of grappling with rock star dreams and being a so-called responsible grown up, and the near total lack of support he received along the way to indie rock stardom. How on Earth he persevered so long is beyond me.
Closer You Are is a fantastic warts and all portrait of Dayton's finest and a true testament to never giving up on your dreams. I will say, Initially I found the writer's casual style a bit off-putting. But like some of Guided by Voices more weird songs, the more I read, the more it grew on me. Besides, if you are chronicling the life and times of a band who recorded almost everything themselves and did everything themselves, it makes sense that the book written by an "insider,' would come out. Whereas former band member Jim Greer's "Guided by Voices: A Brief History..." was more polished, "Closer You Are," feels like one of Uncle Bob's friends is telling you. Specifically it is written in the tone of a really good drinking buddy who is just getting started. In other words, it's still objective enough to show you the drama and the costs of staying true to your vision, without being too reverent or coming across as a love letter from a sycophant.
Good stuff.
America is not really a nurturing place for artists, and Middle America even more so. It's fascinating to see Pollard's existential crisis of grappling with rock star dreams and being a so-called responsible grown up, and the near total lack of support he received along the way to indie rock stardom. How on Earth he persevered so long is beyond me.
Closer You Are is a fantastic warts and all portrait of Dayton's finest and a true testament to never giving up on your dreams. I will say, Initially I found the writer's casual style a bit off-putting. But like some of Guided by Voices more weird songs, the more I read, the more it grew on me. Besides, if you are chronicling the life and times of a band who recorded almost everything themselves and did everything themselves, it makes sense that the book written by an "insider,' would come out. Whereas former band member Jim Greer's "Guided by Voices: A Brief History..." was more polished, "Closer You Are," feels like one of Uncle Bob's friends is telling you. Specifically it is written in the tone of a really good drinking buddy who is just getting started. In other words, it's still objective enough to show you the drama and the costs of staying true to your vision, without being too reverent or coming across as a love letter from a sycophant.
Good stuff.
May 5, 2019
Robert Pollard has always been kind of a mystery to me. I bought my first GBV album in the late 90's, but his prolificacy has always made him feel intimidating. Closer You Are did a great job of removing the myth and focusing on the legend. I still can't get over the fact that he was a 4th grade teacher until he was 36 or 37 - well into GBV and what some would say is the pinnacle of the band, Bee Thousand. He was recording, partying, playing shows on the east coast and showing up to class where he read Grimms fairy tales and worked on his art with his students. There's something about this that is hard for me to rationalize. The sheer number of songs (and the quality of those songs) Pollard has has written has been covered before. He's put out over a hundred albums. Having been to Dayton, OH and knowing what midwestern power drinking can be like, it's hard to comprehend how someone can drink to such excess and not self-destruct. Throughout the book the heavy drinking and rock and roll lifestyle just seemed to be part of the deal. Pollard was portrayed not as a superhuman or a reclusive, brooding genius, but instead as someone who works hard at his craft and appreciates art. He's an everyman, but he's not like anyone else. I'm glad Cutter didn't try to cover every last release, song, and recording session. He touches on everything, but focuses on the music first. Pretty enlightening read and a must for fans of GBV.
February 4, 2019
This book rides a powerhouse trajectory through all the famed GBV moments, including the period when leadman Bob Pollard finally nails together his album Propeller and the world at last learns about Guided by Voices. It's fun as hell to read. It's candy to the GBV fanatic. To me Bob Pollard is one of the greatest artists of our time--his compulsive artistry so strong, his melodies and lyrics issuing forth obsessively over decades, expressing frustrations and longings that I relate to like nothing else in contemporary music. Author Matthew Cutter delivers all of the stories that made the band. At occasional weak moments, the book relies on second-rate language like "expectant grins" and when Pollard, in a downbeat moment, "sat on his bed and hung his curls." But it's a big commercial book, not a piece of art, so I definitely forgive such lapses. James Greer's GBV biography "Hunting Accidents" has better writing, with more inspired, close-up scenes--at the Monument Club, for instance. But Greer is a novelist, so that makes sense. Greer's book, though, is also uneven and has a lot of filler. "Closer You Are" delivers on the long haul of events that create a complete picture of the band. The two books might constitute a twin view of the band's biography. Both are great in their own way.
June 8, 2020
Even though I wish Cutter wouldn't have rushed through everything after the Guided by Voices first break-up, this was still a really enjoyable read for anyone interested in Robert Pollard or GbV. It was really insightful and helped to make sense out of the myriad of lineup changes and backing bands over the years. Pollard's got such an interesting story and I think this book does him justice, though I do hope we get another one someday that treats his 2004 and after work with such great attention and detail.
August 23, 2018
Lots of great material for GBV buffs, but not much to offer the average music fan. I reviewed Closer You Are for The Current.
March 28, 2020
If you're a fan (short for fanatic) of Robert Pollard (short for one of the greatest (Rock) song-writers of our time) then you will love hearing every detail about Bob's world, centered in Dayton Ohio.
I am a fan, and this book has a great flow, so I tore through it.
I am a fan, and this book has a great flow, so I tore through it.
March 20, 2019
incredible story about an incredible band. First buy Bee Thousand and listen to it and if you dont feel it check your pulse. If you do- then read about this incredible journey. Very inspiring.
May 14, 2025
Great narrative of the unlikely rise of GBV.
Consider: Robert Pollard was 38, married, 2 kids, worked as an elementary school teacher. When he was young he became an avid music fan and collector. His creative pursuits were limited to inventing band names and album names, and then designing the album cover for this fictional product. Later he moved on to inventing song titles.
In his 20s he started recording music in his basement with friends. Some records were released in very small quantities. The album “Propeller” was designated as their final record, since they all had real jobs and they couldn’t sell any records.
But then, Propeller reached an influential producer, who called the 38 year old Pollard to express interest.
30 years later GBV is still releasing new music.
Consider: Robert Pollard was 38, married, 2 kids, worked as an elementary school teacher. When he was young he became an avid music fan and collector. His creative pursuits were limited to inventing band names and album names, and then designing the album cover for this fictional product. Later he moved on to inventing song titles.
In his 20s he started recording music in his basement with friends. Some records were released in very small quantities. The album “Propeller” was designated as their final record, since they all had real jobs and they couldn’t sell any records.
But then, Propeller reached an influential producer, who called the 38 year old Pollard to express interest.
30 years later GBV is still releasing new music.
May 21, 2024
For a rock bio, this book ain't bad. None of that spiraling down featured in so many books of this ilk. In fact, refreshingly, Robert Pollard spirals up : from a knuckleheaded beer swilling jock to king of the underground, a rock and roll genius who cannot stop creating brilliant art year after year after year. It's almost uplifting. Almost - because the horror stories are here: horrors of life on the road; interpersonal horrors (tension in the band, man!) and record company horrors (not too bad though). All in all, it's a good summation of Pollard's life and work and does a good job of conveying how he and his cohorts make his art, where it comes from, his process. Of course, this book is only for fans, but damn, who else would read such a book?
April 23, 2020
‘Education is not the filling of a pot but the lighting of a fire.’ –W.B. Yeats
"I am an incurable, and nothing else behaves like me" - Robert Pollard
For those disillusioend from the 1960s, who believe it failed to change the world..I say look no further than the generations who inhaled the anthems of the Beatles, the Byrds, the Who, the Kinks, the Stones, and the Velvets. Robert Pollard, ringleader of the legendary indie rock band Guided by Voices, not only took from rock n'roll mythology, he made his own. Like midwestern romantics The Replacements, the music of GBV is invested in the narrative of great escape. Making something of oneself. Being real. Being great.
Guided By Voices run in the 90s (notably from 1992 - 1996) are some of the most exhiliarting, charming, vulnerable and inspiring music I return to. Escapes from domesticity and adult obligations are littered across his music. One of my favorite set of lines is from "Motor Away"
"When you motor away beyond the once-red lips
When you free yourself from the chance of a lifetime
You can be anyone they told you to"
And it's not just the lyrics, or the playful delivery to the the singing. The lo-fi music reflects the limited budget realities as much as it does their inventiveness playing in the medium. Their critically acclaimed "Bee Thousand" is often discussed as an unheralded Beatles album..if made in the basement of of a suburban Dayton Ohio home with some hooligans. Lyrics are snips of fantasy, make-believe and inspired thoughts...which feel like an extension of Pollard's performer as an educator and rebelliousness as an artist.
Cutter writes about the burgeoning indie rock scene of the early 90s, and the perfect conditions that allowed Pollard and band to throw away the scripts of normal adults, and live out their rock and roll fantasy. The effects of overlay their dramatic ascension as indie darlings and legendary rock shows. Cutter also details the negative toll the toll took on the band: substance abuse, divorces, anger problems and creative integrity struggles.
Overall, i recommend the book as a huge fan of Guided By Voices. I'm not sure if the book would appeal outside of GBV fans, but it is a classic story of growing young and wiley. Dreams can come when we make them realities. And maybe most importantly if you trust yourself, you'll never have to compromise.
Favorite GBV songs
1. Unleashed Large Hearted Boy
2. Echoes Myron
3. Qualtiy of Armor
4. Motor Away
5. Man Called Aerodynamics
6. Gleemer
7. I Am a Tree
8. Blimps Go 90
9. I am a Scientist
10. Choking Tara
"I am an incurable, and nothing else behaves like me" - Robert Pollard
For those disillusioend from the 1960s, who believe it failed to change the world..I say look no further than the generations who inhaled the anthems of the Beatles, the Byrds, the Who, the Kinks, the Stones, and the Velvets. Robert Pollard, ringleader of the legendary indie rock band Guided by Voices, not only took from rock n'roll mythology, he made his own. Like midwestern romantics The Replacements, the music of GBV is invested in the narrative of great escape. Making something of oneself. Being real. Being great.
Guided By Voices run in the 90s (notably from 1992 - 1996) are some of the most exhiliarting, charming, vulnerable and inspiring music I return to. Escapes from domesticity and adult obligations are littered across his music. One of my favorite set of lines is from "Motor Away"
"When you motor away beyond the once-red lips
When you free yourself from the chance of a lifetime
You can be anyone they told you to"
And it's not just the lyrics, or the playful delivery to the the singing. The lo-fi music reflects the limited budget realities as much as it does their inventiveness playing in the medium. Their critically acclaimed "Bee Thousand" is often discussed as an unheralded Beatles album..if made in the basement of of a suburban Dayton Ohio home with some hooligans. Lyrics are snips of fantasy, make-believe and inspired thoughts...which feel like an extension of Pollard's performer as an educator and rebelliousness as an artist.
Cutter writes about the burgeoning indie rock scene of the early 90s, and the perfect conditions that allowed Pollard and band to throw away the scripts of normal adults, and live out their rock and roll fantasy. The effects of overlay their dramatic ascension as indie darlings and legendary rock shows. Cutter also details the negative toll the toll took on the band: substance abuse, divorces, anger problems and creative integrity struggles.
Overall, i recommend the book as a huge fan of Guided By Voices. I'm not sure if the book would appeal outside of GBV fans, but it is a classic story of growing young and wiley. Dreams can come when we make them realities. And maybe most importantly if you trust yourself, you'll never have to compromise.
Favorite GBV songs
1. Unleashed Large Hearted Boy
2. Echoes Myron
3. Qualtiy of Armor
4. Motor Away
5. Man Called Aerodynamics
6. Gleemer
7. I Am a Tree
8. Blimps Go 90
9. I am a Scientist
10. Choking Tara
August 16, 2019
This is a fascinating book about a fascinating/ maddening band and about as good as any book can be on the subject whilst also being approved by the main subject. Pollard doesn’t come out of it squeaky clean, and comes out as controlling, mercurial and contradictory at times but, honestly, one listen to a Guided By Voices album would tell you that of the man behind them
What’s most interesting is how Pollard stacks up against the other obsessively prolific cult musicians of our time - the two similarities are Mark E Smith of the Fall (dictatorial, constantly changing line ups, creating records from dischord, ludicrously prolific, likes his beer) and the Representative from Corwood Industries, Jandek/ Sterling Smith. Pollard is actually far closer to Jandek, which is the the most interesting takeaway. I mean, not that any of us can ever truly know Jandek’s methods, but he shares with Pollard a sense of the entire output over the years as the actual work in question, not the records themselves as individual units. There’s a shared sense of a world that makes sense only fully in the head of the creator, a feeling that the records all share a unified vision in some way. Smith was always at the whim of whatever lineup of The Fall he had created, almost conducting them to create the vague visions he had for the music
Pollard’s greatest gift, and it’s one the book captures brilliantly, is that he understands on an almost visceral level that art doesn’t just pop into your brain fully formed. Not everyone is Brian Wilson with his teenage symphonies to God. Pollard creates his music by feeling around sensations and tones and treating it almost as the musical equivalent of the collages he makes. It’s a genuinely empowering call to appreciate the power of finding your own way to create your own artistic path and it’s one I will cherish for a long, long time
What’s most interesting is how Pollard stacks up against the other obsessively prolific cult musicians of our time - the two similarities are Mark E Smith of the Fall (dictatorial, constantly changing line ups, creating records from dischord, ludicrously prolific, likes his beer) and the Representative from Corwood Industries, Jandek/ Sterling Smith. Pollard is actually far closer to Jandek, which is the the most interesting takeaway. I mean, not that any of us can ever truly know Jandek’s methods, but he shares with Pollard a sense of the entire output over the years as the actual work in question, not the records themselves as individual units. There’s a shared sense of a world that makes sense only fully in the head of the creator, a feeling that the records all share a unified vision in some way. Smith was always at the whim of whatever lineup of The Fall he had created, almost conducting them to create the vague visions he had for the music
Pollard’s greatest gift, and it’s one the book captures brilliantly, is that he understands on an almost visceral level that art doesn’t just pop into your brain fully formed. Not everyone is Brian Wilson with his teenage symphonies to God. Pollard creates his music by feeling around sensations and tones and treating it almost as the musical equivalent of the collages he makes. It’s a genuinely empowering call to appreciate the power of finding your own way to create your own artistic path and it’s one I will cherish for a long, long time
January 12, 2019
Silly lyric quotes used in the narrative as easter eggs aside it’s a mostly solid rock bio, and certainly a must-read for recovering (like myself) or current Pollard obsessive compulsives. Most of the backstory will be familiar to those described above, so I was mostly curious to read about the lead up to, and subsequent ending of, the ‘classic lineup’, which is only given a cursory handful of pages. And for all the nitty-gritty given to interpersonal relationships between band members from GBV’s conception up until “Mag Earwhig!” why does the author then drop that aspect of the story entirely by the time we get to the quote, un-quote last album?
From page 302 (17 pages before the book ends):
“The band itself seethed with innumerable petty resentments and unresolved conflicts.”
We are never told what those conflicts were, or why Chris Susarenko’s admittance to the band caused so much alleged discord. Or why Todd Tobias “vanished” from the band, which is why Susarenko ended up there in the first place. Or why in 2016 a guitar player was fired on stage during a show. We get deep details on some things (mostly pre-reunion), then scant details on others, which are glossed over using juicy quotes like the one above.
And the shoehorned Robert Pollard/Geppetto, his songs/Pinocchio metaphor sprinkled throughout felt like some sophomore English Major trying to be literary.
So, yeah, I don’t know. It’s fine. The subject matter makes up for the author’s shortcomings.
From page 302 (17 pages before the book ends):
“The band itself seethed with innumerable petty resentments and unresolved conflicts.”
We are never told what those conflicts were, or why Chris Susarenko’s admittance to the band caused so much alleged discord. Or why Todd Tobias “vanished” from the band, which is why Susarenko ended up there in the first place. Or why in 2016 a guitar player was fired on stage during a show. We get deep details on some things (mostly pre-reunion), then scant details on others, which are glossed over using juicy quotes like the one above.
And the shoehorned Robert Pollard/Geppetto, his songs/Pinocchio metaphor sprinkled throughout felt like some sophomore English Major trying to be literary.
So, yeah, I don’t know. It’s fine. The subject matter makes up for the author’s shortcomings.
May 28, 2020
Robert Pollard is tied with Neil Young as my favorite rock songwriter and performer, so I'm a particularly receptive audience for this biography of Pollard and his band Guided By Voices. Once past the chapters about Pollard's childhood, adolescence, and formative musical years, the book probably won't be of much interest to readers who don't share my fanatical appreciation of the music, but I was pretty enthralled. Though an authorized biography written by a friend of Pollard's, the book is much less hagiographic than ex-GBV member Jim Greer's 2004 biography of the band, with Cutter presenting a more balanced view of Pollard's winning qualities and his character flaws. Pollard is an unusual combination of alpha male extrovert jock, Midwestern blue-collar average Joe, record-collecting music obsessive, madly prolific bedroom songwriter, charismatic live frontman, and collage-making sensitive weirdo artist-poet, with all the contradictory personality traits one would expect from this blend. Cutter's book is entertaining and illuminating for the Pollard fan, with my only real gripes being his tortured running metaphor of Pollard as Geppetto and an overly rushed sprint through the 2010s after the wealth of detail given to other eras.
September 16, 2021
NOTE: I'm the idiot that prefers "Isolation Drills" to that of "Bee Thousand." And I don't particularity care for "Alien Lanes" like so many of you unwashed throngs, so please, please take this book review with a grain of salt.
This all being said, the book was always fine and oftentimes enjoyable. It certainly got me to listen to quite a few of the albums that I had previously passed on, especially based upon the author's own observations and enthusiasm, and it did remind me as to how dirty I felt at the time when the number one GBV rock critic ended up playing bass in said collective for that extended period. And the book did a decent job intoning, although not specifically stating, how and why a certain musician would love to be a part of the Guided By Voices "gang" for an extended duration, but not forever.
OF NOTE: I started one too many sentences with "and" back there.
OF NOTE: I worked at a music store for a while... so I did end up with that Kit Kat Acoustic Break promotional CD.
OF NOTE: I'm probably a bigger fan of music/musician biographies than I am of GBV, and this thing was worth the money and the time.
This all being said, the book was always fine and oftentimes enjoyable. It certainly got me to listen to quite a few of the albums that I had previously passed on, especially based upon the author's own observations and enthusiasm, and it did remind me as to how dirty I felt at the time when the number one GBV rock critic ended up playing bass in said collective for that extended period. And the book did a decent job intoning, although not specifically stating, how and why a certain musician would love to be a part of the Guided By Voices "gang" for an extended duration, but not forever.
OF NOTE: I started one too many sentences with "and" back there.
OF NOTE: I worked at a music store for a while... so I did end up with that Kit Kat Acoustic Break promotional CD.
OF NOTE: I'm probably a bigger fan of music/musician biographies than I am of GBV, and this thing was worth the money and the time.
November 27, 2021
Robert Pollard certainly led an interesting life, blossoming later than many - perhaps most - of his contemporaries. This biography was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I would recommend it to any fan of Guided By Voices, old or new. The events contained therein range from mundane to tragic to hilarious and fun, giving insight not only into the lives of the multitudinous band members but to the trials and tribulations of becoming a "breakthrough" band in a time period of rapid change within the music industry. That being said, their place in rock history is an unusual one, and not without tremendous and prolific effort did they earn their spot as the "kings of lo-fi".
The only downside to this book is that, while in the first section it serves as a more intimate depiction of Pollard's personal life, it becomes significantly more focused on the discography of the band and less so about Robert or his bandmates' lives, covering the last 10 years or so in only a short section of the book. I would have enjoyed a bit more exposition but understandably the emphasis lies in what are widely considered to be the most prominent periods in the band's career.
All in all, a good read.
The only downside to this book is that, while in the first section it serves as a more intimate depiction of Pollard's personal life, it becomes significantly more focused on the discography of the band and less so about Robert or his bandmates' lives, covering the last 10 years or so in only a short section of the book. I would have enjoyed a bit more exposition but understandably the emphasis lies in what are widely considered to be the most prominent periods in the band's career.
All in all, a good read.
November 19, 2019
For starters I am a big GBV fan. I was ecstatic to get a copy and be able to delve into one of the more curious rock minds in the past 30 plus years. That being said the little glints into Pollards work method and ethic were not enough to keep me utterly interested. It was overly peppered with what I felt were non essential stories of what the band was drinking or how much they consumed. I get it that their tag as a "drinking" band is valid but it felt like it was around every corner and I could not escape another story of recording or a particular show followed by a half page of describing inebriation. Really not a bad book for the history of a quintessential DIY rock band, Pollard is a sphinx and a phoenix wrapped in one and this book does give great insight into a deeply layered man and his art.
July 24, 2019
yes I gave this 5 stars because i loved reading every glorious word of it. Still I must warn you I'm a GBV fan and like most GBV fans I'm kind of obsessed. So this book was written for the obsessed fan with details that breakdown each album released often describing most of the songs individually.
This is great for a fan like me, but not for everyone. Which is sad because there is a lot about Bob's story that is amazing and inspiring. I remember reading where he was in his life in 1993 I was amazed. He was completely ready to be done with music and become "normal" this blew me away as I read it because I knew it was all about to change so much. This man that tried so hard to break into the rock world finally did when he wasn't trying at all. A great story.
This is great for a fan like me, but not for everyone. Which is sad because there is a lot about Bob's story that is amazing and inspiring. I remember reading where he was in his life in 1993 I was amazed. He was completely ready to be done with music and become "normal" this blew me away as I read it because I knew it was all about to change so much. This man that tried so hard to break into the rock world finally did when he wasn't trying at all. A great story.
March 18, 2020
Gets the job done, but a bit too hagiographic. Every name-checked song seems to be "amazing". The first half is better, the struggling artist beginnings. The author seems to gloss over the "Bob needs an editor" theme, especially from the last 10 years.
I wished the author had ponied up a personal Top 10 (20?) Bob albums list, or cross-referenced fierce online debate. Maybe a top 30 setlist, just to start bar fights. Sure, I could look up all that stuff myself, but take a personal stand, Matthew. Everyone can agree on Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Propeller, and Mag Earwig! as top tier, but then the discussion gets interesting.
I wished the author had ponied up a personal Top 10 (20?) Bob albums list, or cross-referenced fierce online debate. Maybe a top 30 setlist, just to start bar fights. Sure, I could look up all that stuff myself, but take a personal stand, Matthew. Everyone can agree on Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Propeller, and Mag Earwig! as top tier, but then the discussion gets interesting.
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