“The song opened the door for me and allowed me to play rock music for a living,” GBV frontman Robert Pollard says
It's a fan favorite on Guided By Voices' epic set list, and, now, it's getting a makeover. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Bee Thousand, GBV has re-recorded “I Am a Scientist” on hi-fi. The song drops on streaming Wednesday, and will also be available as a limited-edition seven-inch.
“The song and the album opened the door for me and allowed me to play rock music for a living,” GBV frontman Robert Pollard tells Rolling Stone. “To be able to do what I always wanted to do. And I'm still doing it. I'm still studying and analyzing myself and the world from the perspective of a songwriter.”
According to the Dayton, Ohio, singer-songwriter, the band — guitarist Doug Gillard, drummer Kevin March, bassist Mark Shue, and guitarist Bobby Bare Jr. — recorded an instrumental version of the track a few years back. The seven-inch also includes a re-recording of “Tractor Rape Chain.”
“They're pretty true to the live renditions,” Pollard says. “I wrote 'Scientist' right around the time when we were recording songs for what was then a double album called Instructions to the Rusty Time Machine. It was edited down to Bee Thousand. 'Tractor Rape Chain' was the reworking of a much older song called 'Tell Me.' We used to play it live in the early Eighties.”
GBV most recently released Strut of Kingstheir 17th album since 2017, on June 28.
