Guided by Voices

Guided by Voices formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1983 under the perpetual leadership of Robert Pollard, a former elementary school teacher who wrote songs at a pace that outran any band's ability to record them. Their lo-fi classic era — Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, and Propeller — was recorded on a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder in basements and bedrooms, producing a sound that was hissy, trebly, and somehow immediately timeless. Pollard has released over 100 albums under various names. The secret to the lo-fi sound, according to guitarist John Petkovic, was simple: Pollard's wife would not allow him to spend money in a real studio.