Album: Isolation Drills
Year: 2001
While Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes are always going to be sentimental favorites, the Guided by Voices album that would probably be seen as their best by any normal person would be 2001’s stellar Isolation Drills.
Starting off with the ringing roaring “Fair Touching,” Isolation Drills is where the big guitars of Mag Earwhig! meets the production values of Do The Collapse meets the crazy ass pop smarts of Alien Lanes.
And it has “Glad Girls,” perhaps the most joyous-sounding song Robert Pollard has ever recorded, where over skyward-reaching guitars and ex-Breeder Jim MacPherson’s relentless double-time drums, Pollard declares:
Hey, glad girls
Only want to get you high
Hey, glad girls
Only want to get you high
Hey, glad girls
Only want to get you high
And just in case you think that Pollard is giving you a warning because they only wanna get you high, well, just like The Who song that no doubt help to inspire “Glad Girls,” Pollard’s seen the kids, and guess what?
And they’re alright
And they’re alright
And they’re alright
And they’re alright
Look. While I’ll admit that because of the low-fi or because it’s hard to know where to start, or because of Pollard’s tendency to be non-linear with his lyrics, or because of the fake English accent in which he sings, maybe Guided by Voices ain’t for everyone.
Except for this song. I can’t imagine anyone who loves rock ‘n’ roll hearing “Glad Girls” and not falling straight in love with it.
Official Video for “Glad Girls”