Bee Thousand makes perfect sense for Continuum's famous 331/3 series. The breakthrough album for Guided by Voices undoubtedly has an appropriate stature, as it exemplified a certain style of lo-fi, DIY aesthetic that's still influential. Moreover, Robert Pollard's elliptical lyrics and layered, yet quasi-improvisational melodies would seem to profit from a handy introduction. Everyone I know who listens to Guided ... Read moreby Voices was introduced to their music by some knowledgeable friend, a role which Marc Woodworth ably takes up in his short book. What's more interesting about Bee Thousand, though, is the way it both embraces and complicates the nostalgia permeating the entire 331/3 series. Simultaneously a mythologizing and d demythologizing book, Bee Thousand demonstrates yet again the power of Faulkner's claim that ‘the past isn't even past.' ...Woodworth's book should help listeners of any age find joy in such oddities as "Hardcore UFOs," "a dairy creamer explicitly laid out as a fruitcake," and the "kicker of elves." More generally, anyone interested in DIY-type bands should find the bands narratives relevant.
popmatters.com
Much like the album it chronicles, Marc Woodworth’s book on Guided by Voices’ Bee Thousand feels lo-fi, as though it was written in a suburban Ohio garage and cobbled together from spare parts: insightful analysis of themes and lyrics, thoughtful musings on the actual experience of listening, punchy riffs on Robert Pollard’s rock-hero stage presence, lengthy oral-history narratives by band members and unrelated listeners. This barely processed quality—raw, weird, rambling, direct—not only mirrors that of its subject, but also complements it by emphasizing the glorious spontaneity of the record.
Stephen M. Deusner
Pitchfork
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