RE-SCORE: Guided By Voices: Let's Go Eat the Factory (2012)

TOTAL SCORE: 56, AVG: 2.67

I recently made a GBV-related playlist on Google Play Music that was about 900 songs, where I simply chose any song that I liked at least a little bit. As I listen to the playlist (which is awesome by the way) I've definitely noticed that there is a big difference between songs I like, and songs that I really like, and that I was going about this whole project the wrong way. Sort of. This blog was going to end up generating that 900 song playlist, and even though there is a purpose to have that playlist, I now think it is important to categorize the songs into different levels of awesome...

So as I try to reboot this blog (again), I thought I'd start with re-scoring GBV's triumphant 2012 return Let's Go Eat the Factory prior to moving on to a whole bunch of album's that came after. I'll re-visit past post's as well, but I need to start somewhere. Going forward I'll put the album's tracks in the following categories, and points can be used to put a score on an album: 

• Among Bob's Best: These are the hits, and the cream of the crop! (6 points)
• Gems: Great songs that belong on any GBV-related playlist (5 points)
• Almost-Gems: The best of the rest. (4 points)
• They're Good: Not a gem, but it probably is a gem to somebody. I would still like to hear it once in a while. (3 points)
• They're OK: Not likely to make a playlist, but it isn't a bad song by any means. (2 points)
• Could Live Without: Not a toss-off, but I can get by without hearing it ever again. (1 points)
• Toss-Offs & Throwaways: There is usually a couple of these on an album. (0 points)

In my previous post on this album, 10 of the album's 21 songs made the playlist. In the aforementioned Google Play Music playlist I made, 16 of the songs were on it. That might be because the album has grown on me (it has), but I think I was including more of the "Good" and "OK" tracks that wouldn't have made my blog listing. So here is the new ranking:

Among Bob's Best
07 The Unsinkable Fats Domino

Gems
12 Waves

Almost Gems
01 Laundry and Lasers
03 Doughnut for a Snowman
06 God Loves Us
14 Chocolate Boy
21 We Won't Apologize for the Human Race

They're Good
04 Spiderfighter
05 Hang Mr. Kite
10 Imperial Racehorsing
11 How I Met My Mother
13 My Europa

They're OK
02 The Head
08 Who Invented the Sun
17 Cyclone Utilities (Remember Your Birthday)
18 Old Bones

Could Live Without
16 Either Nelson
20 The Room Taking Shape

Toss-Offs & Throwaways
09 The Big Hat and Toy Show
15 The Things That Never Need
19 Go Rolling Home

By looking at this album this way, it is easy to see why I always felt that it is really good in general, but I had trouble including most tracks in my playlist under my older ranking system. I wouldn't rank anything as Bob's best, but there is something to like about most tracks on Let's Go Eat the Factory.

Given the scoring above, the album would get 56 points total (and an average of 2.67).