I’ll be honest with myself and say that I could have just as easily put any Guided By Voices song here and spent the rest of the post gushing with the same intensity. GBV are one of my all time favorite bands, and I’m one of those people who will stick up for the songs that even hardened fans of the band regard as sub-par. Just, you know, putting that out there. Anyway, now let’s get to the song: I’m going to link to the video on Vimeo this time, because it’s awesome and really should be seen in high quality.

The song starts with a piano and guitar intro that would surprise the pants off of a GBV fan who has only ever heard the “classic era” albums (ie. Propeller, Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes), but this type of thing was beginning to feel at home during the group’s later era. Then there are verses and choruses and things that songs usually have, including some excellent guitar work by Doug Gillard. But, as you may have guessed, that isn’t why I picked this song for this week.

Actually, the entire reason I picked this song only lasts for about 25 seconds, and comes in the final part of the song. Go. Look at the video; listen to the song. If you don’t know what 25 seconds I’m talking about, then you either have never heard of Guided By Voices before, or you have and you aren’t a fan. (Here’s a hint: the piano riff from the beginning makes a second appearance).

Those little treasures, those little nuggets of perfection buried within their songs are exactly what makes GBV such a satisfying (and for some, frustrating) band to listen to. To me, the rest of the song could be garbage, and those few seconds would still make the whole song entirely worth it.