Robert Pollard's 20 Best Songs...that are 90 seconds long (or less)

Any of you who are long time subscribers know that roughly one in ten of my newsletters involves Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices in some way. Why? Because it was his story and body of work (well over 100 albums and 3000 songs) that inspired me to write my book Secret Stars: The Greatest Underdogs of the Rock n Roll Era.

Here’s a link for those of you who are curious:

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Stars-Greatest-Underdogs-Rock-ebook/dp/B0BLPB5PHX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=26G45MMTJG84J&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4ze9daQvlJhzXVjKXm-z48JNmBGgcxeVUop4WWm-dPxQjmXxrT0Bf7Wb5FMt6Q0HXprOGEkDaBsBxrvKPWNlTZ5JpDWHThWcNHkTL9b1oWX4Cwyi1W64dmi0vxDT5K6v3qZRcLqRWQpJ1jh52xDyCTHK70KIJC6BEzMyNlk2J7BgDAweHYbzuP2mnKfzZLp5DiPIfoGcmP9SJrX0xbdFGonrRJll0GEstzk-hNuYL0A.OaNd8YcYL2BMUJ_yKgVL8GTc9NPA5j_93M2jGGe5tAc&dib_tag=se&keywords=Secret+Stars+the+greatest+underdogs&qid=1745688210&sprefix=secret+stars+the+greatest+underdogs%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1

I love around 800 of Robert Pollard’s songs, which is admittedly insane. Bob Dylan, one of the most prolific songwriters of all time, doesn’t even have 800 songs. (He has closer to 600.) Granted, Pollard has never written anything as grand as “Like a Rolling Stone” or “Visions of Johanna” or “Tangled Up in Blue.” But that’s at least partly because he’s not that kind of singer/songwriter.

That being said, I can say this with confidence: Robert Pollard has written more insanely great guitar-driven pop songs that are 90 seconds or less than anyone else ever.

Following are his 20 best in chronological order and where you can find them:

Guided by Voices, “How Loft I Am?” (Same Place the Fly Got Smashed, 1990)

Guided by Voices, “Shocker in Gloomtown” (Shocker in Gloomtown EP, 1993)

Guided by Voices, “A Salty Salute” (Alien Lanes, 1995)

Guided by Voices, “An Unmarketed Product” (Do the Collapse, 1999)

Guided by Voices, “Tropical Robots” (Hold on Hope EP, 2000; not available for streaming)

Guided by Voices, “Chain to the Moon” (Class Clown Spots a UFO, 2012)

Guided by Voices, “Good Morning Sir” (Zeppelin Over China, 2019)

Guided by Voices, “Dead Liquor Store,” “Photo Within Range,” “Cohesive Scoops,” and “End it With Light” (Warp and Woof, 2019)

Guided by Voices, “Made Man” and “Margaret Middle School” (Earth Man Blues, 2021)

Robert Pollard, “Children Come On” (Fiction Man, 2004)

Robert Pollard, “I’m a Strong Lion” (From a Compound Eye, 2006)

Robert Pollard, “Whispering Whip” (Normal Happiness, 2006)

Robert Pollard, “Something Strawberry” (Space City Kicks, 2011)

Robert Pollard, “Dr. Time” (Mouseman Cloud, 2012)

Circus Devils, “End of the Swell” (Capsized!, 2011)

Circus Devils, “Honeymoon in Waynesville” (Squeeze the Needle, 2023)

I strongly urge anyone who isn’t already a Pollard/GBV super fan to create a playlist of these songs (that will be less than 30 minutes long) and listen to it over and over again until your head explodes, Scanners-style. The only song you may not instantly love is “Shocker in Gloomtown” because it is more Pollard Punk than Pollard Pop. But it has been covered by none other than the Breeders, is beloved by GBV fans, and was often a part of their live set, so there.

The Club is Open!