All together now:

"I am quail and quasar
I pick you up on radar
I do my job each day
empties crushed and fired away

But there is nothing worse than
an undetermined person
Can I abuse please
in my subspace biographies?

Da-Da-Da- Da-Da-Da Da-Da-Da DAAAA-DAAAAA"

Just heard that 'Subspace Biographies' could be about the Dennis Cooper novel 'Guide' or inspired by it, at least that is what Pollard allegedly said to someone at Matador. Timewise it's possible, and at least the last two lines quoted above would probably fit. Mr Pollard finds inspiration in all sorts of stuff around him though, and often two or three unrelated things inspire something new, and it's often not so tangible and open to the listener. Well, I've sung along to that song many times, it's one of the very best IMO, so to have this extra layer of meaning is pretty cool. I wasn't even aware that Pollard had read the book, though his music and lyrics feature in it..


(Note:
I bought my first GBV album ("Under the Bushes Under the Stars") shortly after reading 'Guide', and the rest is history... I thought it sounded alright at first, a bit hazy, as if from far away, I liked 'the Official Ironmen Rally Song' on the first listen. Two weeks or so later I played it and realized that a lot of the songs had found their way into my head in a way that was very striking. I soon got obsessed with GBV and started buying their entire catalogue as well as most of the side projects, joined the notorious 'postal blowfish' GBV email fan club (or whatever) and later the equally notorious Disarm The Settlers board (DTS) , met A LOT of great people, got introduced to all sorts of music through the amazing music tastes of fellow fans and went to see a lot of GBV shows in the UK, Europe and the States, some of which were the most euphoric, out-there concert experiences i've ever been lucky enough to witness (and I've seen a lot). It's changed my life, at least a little bit. I was already in my early thirties when i first heard this and maybe a little jaded about music and it made me realize what music can really do. It's really opened my eyes in many ways. I'm maybe a little less enthusiastic these days and I don't love everything equally that comes my way from Dayton, but every once in a while, about once every week I'm still listening to a bootleg or an album and really get into it. )