Some time back around Thanksgiving I received this DVD, watched it, enjoyed it immensely and then promptly forgot to give away a copy. Hell what’s a few months when you’re dealing with a timeless classic. Here we go. This relatively short “video collage” compiled by former Guided by Voices front man, eccentric Ohioan and dedicated career boozehound Bob Pollard begins with a cartoon bottle of booze, a cartoon pack of smokes and a cartoon state of Ohio (with Dayton flagged) parading across your screen, the foreboding words “Coming Soon!” your only warning of what’s in store next; blink, and you’ll miss them. Suddenly the MPAA rating card appears (actually a more fitting, clever modified variant thereof):

Rated “PUKE” for pervasive alcohol abuse, lethargy, briar humour, some drug use and comic violent images.

Ok, then. You now know what to expect. You’re then thrown into a disorganized, frenetic, low-fi video mashup of old GBV concert footage, newer footage, sportscasters, striped pants, masked ruffians and naturally throughout all of it the strong, clearly palpable undercurrent of Booze, Smokes, and Dayton flowing freely. Surprises and minuscule gems (seizures?) abound. Skipping ahead a few chapters, without doubt my favorite quote in this whole glorious mess comes from a guy who appears to be one of Bob’s former students:

“Robert Pollard was my sixth grade math teacher.
All he did was sit around,
Tell us ghost stories,
Sing lyrics,
And work on fuckin’ album covers.
Thank you Robert! I love you man, and I HATE MATH.”

One might say this collection is a perfectly sinister amalgam of Jodorowky, Lynch and perhaps David Liebe Hart, with heavy metal overtones. If you’re a Pollard fan, and why wouldn’t you be, you’ll be right at home. It’s as brilliant, brief, chaotic and disjointed as anything else in his output, but why don’t I let you puke judge for yourself. Tiki masks, Greg Demos’ striped pants, bad edits, cruddy footage, assorted ruffians, oddballs, Tobin Sprout, and our three smiling mascots Booze, Smokes and Dayton are all well represented herein. I’ll take email #5 for the win; need your first and last name and a valid mailing address.

You might not win this item today, and that’s ok. You can always purchase it if you simply must have Booze, Smokes and Dayton™ marching across your screen.