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” in 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 Kings, their 17th album since 2017, on June 28.
