10 Terrible Songs That Ruined Otherwise Flawless Albums
9. Guided By Voices Her Psychology Today (On Bee Thousand)
https://youtu.be/A7puvDIBBUM Some may say that the sexually simple Hot Freaks is the weak point of GBVs 1994 lo-fi classic, but the misguided swagger and self-confidence guides the flow of the other opening tracks well enough. This song, which would work better split into three different songs placed elsewhere on the album, brings the momentum of Bee Thousand to a halt. Its something of a riff on a Post-Punk sound, but bookended by a drum loop on one end and a sitar-inflected verse on the other. The drastic difference between the three sections feels rushed and incomplete - certainly something that Guided by Voices is familiar with, but the strength of their greatest albums allows these incomplete tracks to hide behind the bigger songs. The stretch of songs between "A Good Flying Bird" and "Closer You Are" on Alien Lanes, their greatest album, showcases their abilities to sequence their throwaway tracks in a manner that enhances the songs as much as possible. They usually can string along their more segmented songs to serve as an effective technique for the album in question's best possible flow. But "Her Psychology Today" is a gaping hole in the middle of Bee Thousand.