Angry Pillows (Gone Away)

[Editor's note: I have taken down Angry Pillows, which is not as much fun as it sounds. I hope you enjoyed it while it was there.]

Another track from the (possibly) first ever recorded Guided By Voices qua Guided By Voices non-release Pissing In The Canal (1983). This one’s called “Angry Pillows (Gone Away),” and if it sounds like it was recorded underwater, well, maybe it was. To me it sounds like someone had an EQ preset called “river flange” and pushed it really hard all the way through the song, which furthermore exhibits weird panning effects, especially on the drums, a side effect of the sonic magic trick I pulled in transforming the track from left-channel mono to what I suppose you could call Beatles stereo. For reasons that would be even more tedious to explain than to read.

Instead of further explication, then, those of you currently undergoing Guided By Voices withdrawal (signs of which include but are not limited to unchained melody and unslakable thirst) following the conclusion of the year-long reunion tour can now satisfy your sugar cravings with one of the sweetest melodies Robert “Bob” Pollard ever wrote and never used.

A side note: there are some cynics, or better say skeptics, who don’t believe the end of the reunion tour is the end of the end of the reunion tour. Let me quickly and cruelly disabuse you of your hopes. It is the end of the reunion tour. But at the risk of breaching several implied (though not expressed) contracts, there are more things Guided By Voices can do than reunion tours. Like the protagonist of “Matter Eater Lad,” GBV could construct a factory just to see how it tasted. For instance.

For now: enjoy the past, and look forward to the future.