By: Robert Pollard with Doug Gillard Appears on: Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department “Life Is Beautiful” has a guitar melody that’s really fun to play and built around an open string drone technique. The fourth and third strings will ring open on the D and G notes, respectively, while the note on the […]
Category: tab
Apology In Advance
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Earthquake Glue Earthquake Glue is a Guided By Voices album that I’ve always loved, and yet some of its songs took longer for me to realize their greatness. When it was first released, the obvious hits to me were “I’ll Replace You With Machines,” “The Best Of Jill Hives,” […]
Hammer In Your Eyes
By: Robert Pollard Appears on: From a Compound Eye I have a theory about several of the songs on From A Compound Eye. The songs in question are “Hammer In Your Eyes,” “Kick Me And Cancel,” and “I’m A Widow,” and the theory is that Robert Pollard sat down with his guitar and wrote the main […]
I Think A Telescope
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Please Be Honest “I Think A Telescope” finds Robert Pollard deftly plucking a series of single notes on his acoustic guitar’s strings during one of the gentler moments on Please Be Honest. He alternates between a fretted note on one string and an open note on the string above, culminating in […]
Roofer’s Union Fight Song
By: Robert Pollard Appears on: Not In My Airforce Over on the GBV Guitar Facebook Page, I asked if anyone had any requests they’d like to see tabbed out on this site, and someone named “Roofer’s Union Fight Song” from the Robert Pollard solo album, Not In My Airforce. I’ve always loved this song, so I […]
Burning Flag Birthday Suit
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Under The Bushes Under The Stars “Burning Flag Birthday Suit” uses a bit of the Floating Chord Shapes technique, with Pollard moving an open D chord shape up and down the guitar neck for some parts, and doing the same with an open G5 chord later in the song. […]
Your Cricket Is Rather Unique
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Sweating The Plague It’s hardly unusual for a member of Guided By Voices other than Robert Pollard to handle vocal duties for a song or two. Tobin Sprout performed vocals for the many songs he contributed to the band during his time, and Nick Mitchell sang his own tunes on […]
You Own The Night
By: Guided By Voices Appears on: Zeppelin Over China The first single from the upcoming Guided By Voices double LP, Zeppelin Over China, is titled “You Own The Night,” and it’s a full-on Pollardian suite of a tune, complete with various pieces of music stitched together as a sonic collage and an undeniable hook of a chorus. […]
Run Son Run
By: Robert Pollard Appears on: Fiction Man “Run Son Run,” the opening track on Robert Pollard’s Fiction Man, has that wonderful gritty feeling that permeates so much of the production of this album. I think that’s what makes it a favorite of mine; there’s such a dirty sound to it that complements these songs so […]
Come On Baby Grace
By: Boston Spaceships Appears on: Our Cubehouse Still Rocks When a rock song requires some hefty guitar muscle, Doug Gillard is the man to call upon. His massive guitar tone can easily fill multiple arenas, so for “Come On Baby Grace” on Our Cubehouse Still Rocks, Boston Spaceships summoned this past and present Guided By Voices […]
