New Lo-Fi, Same As The Old-Fi.

This week's selections are all low fidelity tracks by various groups not known as Guided by Voices, who are a whole discussion unto themselves. Robert Pollard is responsible for some of the very best and very worst songs I've ever heard. "Very worst" have been the rule and no longer the exception since probably 1997 or so, but he still comes out with a gem once in a while. Unfortunately though, most of his recent albums (6000 have been released in the last 2 weeks) break world records on filler content.

But enough of the insults, as I actually really like a lot of Guided by Voices.

First up, Times New Viking. They're from Columbus, Ohio and play lo-fi pop. For reasons mostly of geography, I'm going to have to assume therefore they just mercilessly ripped off Dayton's own GbV. The song is "DROP-OUT," and it's the most popular track off their most recent album, because I'm unoriginal and lazy.

And then there's Hallelujah the Hills. They're from Boston by way of Vermont. They're one of the better bands from Boston these days (which, I'm sad to say, is no difficult feat for the last, oh, 15 years or so). You can download their newest EP for free at their website, which is pretty solid. http://www.hallelujahthehills.com/. This song is "Wave Backwards to Massachusetts."

And what can you say about Crystal Stilts? Nothing, when you don't know anything about the band. I only heard them for the first time about 2 or 3 weeks ago. However, the song "Crippled Croon" is pretty catchy. I'm not even sure if Crystal Stilts qualify as lo-fi, maybe they're just "fuzzy." Well, too late now.

Finally, Tobin Sprout. I think I have all his albums, putting him in a category with Outrageous Cherry and Vitesse: bands that I own all of their recorded material, which may represent about 75% of their albums sales, because I don't know anyone else who listens to them. In any event, Tobin Sprout used to be in Guided by Voices when they were actually a good band. The song is "Since I...," which is a pretty decent song but far from my favorite, but it was the only one on Imeem and I didn't feel like uploading any of mine, because it would involve walking 4 feet into the other room. As far as I understand, Tobin Sprout is now pretty much a 50-something year old dad from Michigan who occasionally records.

Honestly, when I really think about it, lo-fi as a "sound" is really gimmicky and sort of stupid. When I think about all of the lo-fi songs and groups that I really like, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the fact I can barely hear it and more to do with the fact that the music is actually really catchy. On the other hand, I prefer all the Guided by Voices albums that sound like they were recorded through a tin can in the cabin of a submarine, so maybe there's something to it.

This week's selections are tracks 18 to 21.