To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album Bee Thousand, Guided by Voices are releasing a 7″ featuring new hi-fi versions of two of its most popular songs. You may have already heard the new version of “I Am a Scientist,” and now here is the flipside, “Tractor Rape Chain.”
A song that draws a metaphor between a failed relationship and the parallel lines an industrial rapeseed harvester makes on the fields, the song has remained a constant in GBV sets since the ’90s. (It’s just behind “Game of Pricks” and “I Am a Scientist” as their most-played songs in their concert archives.) The difference between the original and this new version isn’t as dramatic as “I Am a Scientist,” but the added oomph the band’s current lineup brings to it sounds fantastic (the drums benefit the most from this redux).
“It’s the 30th anniversary of Bee Thousand and we thought it would be a nice little nugget for our fans,” says bandleader Robert Pollard. “It’s pretty true to the live versions of what we play now. Those two songs are crowd favorites.”
Bob and the rest of GBV play Heedfest in Dayton, OH on Friday and play Raleigh’s Hopscotch Fest the weekend after that, with Texas and California shows happening later in the fall. All dates are listed below.
Guided by Voices – 2024 Tour Dates
Aug 30 Fri – Heedfest 12 @ 6:30pm – Dayton, OH
Sep 6 Fri – The Broadberry @ 8:00pm – Dazy – Richmond, VA
Sep 7 Sat – Hopscotch Music Festival 2024 @ 12:00am – Raleigh, NC
Sep 27 Fri – August Hall @ 7:30pm – The Reds, Pinks and Purples – San Francisco, CA
Sep 28 Sat – The Bellwether @ 8:00pm – Tony Molina – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 25 Fri – Mohawk Austin @ 8:00pm – Cast of Thousands – Austin, TX
Oct 26 Sat – Ferris Wheelers Backyard and BBQ @ 6:00pm – Will Johnson – Dallas, TX