Rare Guided by Voices LP Sells on eBay for $6,200

If you need further proof that irony has lost its laff appeal, you might find useful the following informational tidbit, which sent our entire staff into stone-faced disbelief: A copy of Guided by Voices' 1992 album Propeller, whose recording budget was notoriously almost non-existent, has sold on eBay for $6,200. "The LP was from Bob's private collection and he had signed it," explained Brooklyn-based attorney and winning bidder Ed McGowan. "It was a relatively low numbered copy and it has the handwritten lyrics to 'Ergo Space Pig' on the cover. This is not merely a record; it is in all seriousness a bona fide work of art by one of America's most under appreciated masters of the rock/pop form. Also, I have never known the touch of a woman."

Yes, we added that last line (sorry Ed), but six G's for a GBV album? An article in the online zine Sponic-- penned by Propeller-era Guided by Voices member Don Thrasher-- lays out the justification: Each of Propeller's scant 500 copies features a unique, handmade cover. Furthermore, Pollard credits the record with both re-igniting the GBV machine (Bob was mulling over quitting at the time) and steering the band toward its soon-to-be-deified lo-fi phase. Bee Thousand would surface two years later.

"On Propeller you can see the transformation of frustratingly trying to do things in the studio to going to the four-track," Pollard told Sponic. The first half of the album except for one song is all the big studio thing and then it slowly... I don't consider it to be deterioration, but the last part of the album is four-track. Within that album you can see us transform from lame studio band to a lo-fi four-track band. We became part of that phase or genre or whatever it was at the time because of that."

"When people ask how it could be worth that much, I ask them why a painting by de Kooning is worth what it is, or a Barry Bonds baseball for that matter," McGowan concludes. "I think I got a good deal."

For those who'd like to check out some Propeller artwork without dropping a month's (alright, a year's) pay, PropellerGallery.com, maintained by GBV obsessive "Trader" Vic Blankenship, is your spot. For those who'd prefer to enjoy modern-day Guided by Voices in a live concert setting... you're running out of time. As previously reported, the band's farewell tour skids to a half New Year's Eve in Chicago, with several of the remaining dates already sold out as hell. To eBay you go, then; prices are sure to be reasonable. Dates:

11-11 San Diego, CA - Canes
11-12 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre (w/ Brian Jonestown Massacre)
11-13 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11-15 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
11-16 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
11-17 Seattle, WA - Neumos
12-03 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
12-04 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
12-05 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
12-12 Orlando, FL - Beacham Theatre
12-30 Chicago, IL - The Metro
12-31 Chicago, IL - The Metro (w/ The Go)