Editing Guided by Voices (section)

=== Major label records (1997–2001) ===
Pollard formed a new incarnation of Guided by Voices with members of [[Cleveland]] group [[Cobra Verde (band)|Cobra Verde]] in 1997. The following album ''[[Mag Earwhig!]]'', combined a new hard-rocking swagger with classic lo-fi fragments and one track, "[[Jane of the Waking Universe]]", that featured the classic lineup for one last time.  However, after another year of rigorous touring, the "Guided by Verde" lineup split in late 1997 following Pollard's announcement in an interview that he intended to work with other musicians on the next Guided by Voices project.

Cobra Verde's [[Doug Gillard]] was tapped for yet another new Guided by Voices lineup in 1998, which also included "classic"-era bassist [[Greg Demos]], former [[The Breeders|Breeders]] drummer [[Jim Macpherson]], and eventually, former [[The Amps|Amps]]/Breeders guitarist [[The Amps|Nate Farley]]. Departing from Matador, this lineup (without Farley) worked with producer [[Ric Ocasek]] to create what was intended to be Guided by Voices' [[major label]] debut.  Initially produced for [[Capitol Records]], ''[[Do the Collapse]]'' was repeatedly delayed and finally released in mid-1999 on pseudo-indie label [[TVT Records|TVT]].  (In the UK it was released on [[Creation Records]]). Featuring a slick, heavily processed sound previously foreign to GBV albums, ''Do the Collapse'' failed to garner radio airplay, and was for the most part greeted with mixed reviews.

Through touring heavily throughout 1999 and 2000, Guided by Voices' live act became legendary, with shows often stretching past the three-hour mark, and populated by an endless stream of new and classic songs, Pollard solo tracks, impromptu covers of [[The Who]], [[David Bowie]] and [[The Rolling Stones]], all accompanied by continuous alcohol consumption.  In addition to multiple swings through the United States and Europe, 2000 saw the band's first and only visits to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. 2000 was capped with the release of the massive ''[[Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft|Suitcase]]'', a four-disc, 100-song trawl through three decades worth of Pollard's enormous reserve of unreleased material. (Three more box sets of unreleased songs, ''[[Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow|Suitcase 2]]'', ''[[Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now|Suitcase 3]]'' and  ''[[Suitcase 4: Captain Kangaroo Won The War|Suitcase 4]]'' released in October 2005, November 2009 and November 2015 respectively.)

2001's ''[[Isolation Drills]]'' was recorded with [[Rob Schnapf]],<ref name=BOMB-IsolationDrills-2001>{{cite journal|last1=McGonigal|first1=Mike|title=Robert Pollard|journal=[[Bomb (magazine)|BOMB]]|date=Summer 2001|issue=76|pages=32–37|url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/robert-pollard/|publisher=New Art Publications}}</ref> who aimed to capture the band's live sound more closely than did Ocasek. Though the album debuted in ''Billboard''{{'}}s top 200 and received higher critical notices than its predecessor, it did not achieve the sought-after radio breakthrough.