King of Arthur Avenue

When taking a random spin through Robert Pollard and Guided by Voices songs, I'm usually drawn to those that rock and/or offer some musical quirks. Yet a long listening session leaves me longing for tracks like "King of Arthur Avenue," a song that is little more than Pollard and a guitar for most of its run time, but which offers just enough of a melody that it keeps my attention and allows for a short mental rest before the manic hooks return.

Musically, there isn't much here until the end, when drums and electric guitar arrive to kickstart things. Before that, Pollard strums and sings of the King. Curious about the geography at play here, I mapped Dayton's Arthur Avenue on Google Maps, then sought the distance between there and Pollard's famed Titus Avenue. It's about a four minute drive, a mile give or take, and so clearly puts the two streets within the same general neighborhood. It's safe to guess, then, that the King of Arthur Avenue may be a rival to the Vampire on Titus.

The lyrics seem to bear that out. "Just after the tin can laughter dies down, I will hoist my vulgar flag everywhere you are," he sings, seemingly claiming victory over an opponent. Later, he declares himself "a leopard leaping out into your life, crashing your nerve." He ends with the fairly mean spirited, "The world will be better when you fall, you will recall," which feels like a slap at the King to be sure. The guitar and drums emphasize the point, making the song a great lead in to the next rave up on the playlist.