I'M PREEE... PRE-POLLIN' - ILM Artist Poll #71 - Tom Petty (discussion/lobbying)

http://i.imgur.com/p5JF7Ao.jpg

40 years now, give or take, since Thomas Earl Petty more or less willed himself and a few friends out of the Gainesville swamp and onto FM radio. Since then, all he's done is release 60+ singles and rack up over a dozen top-40 hits on the way to selling 30-80 million records worldwide depending on how much you trust which record company accountant.

So it's about time ILM decided once and for all: does tom petty have any redeeming qualities?

Full discography:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Petty_discography

And a little light discussion:
Even the Losers Get Polled Sometimes: Tom Petty DAMN THE TORPEDOES
THE RATING IS THE HARDEST PART: Tom Petty HARD PROMISES POLL
then one day the feelin just died: Tom Petty LONG AFTER DARK POLL
Don't Come Around Here No POLL - The Tom Petty "Southern Accents" Thread
POLLIN' Me: Tom Petty's "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)"
Runnin' Down a POLL: The Tom Petty "Full Moon Fever" Poll
Into the POLL Wide Open: The Tom Petty "Into the Great Wide Open" Poll
Let's POLL Another Joint: Tom Petty WILDFLOWERS

THE SKINNY
1. Rank your top 20 Tom Petty tracks
2. Optional: Rank your top 5 Tom Petty albums (fewer is fine too)
3. Send your ballot in to pollingstones at gmail dot com by end of day Sunday, December 6

Scoring is as per usual (1-5 weight heavy, 16-20 weight light) and everything is fair game. With/without Heartbreakers, with Mudcrutch... even Wilburys if you must :)

awesome!

if you're looking for non-hits to consider voting for, may i humbly suggest this deep cuts playlist i made: http://narrowcast.blogspot.com/2014/07/deep-album-cuts-vol-23-tom-petty-and.html

at least one of those deep cuts is a lock for my top 5

Me too.

oh man!

I'm looking forward to this.

"Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)" and "Insider" will make my ballot fer sure.

Are we differentiating live tracks? The versions of "The Waiting" and "Breakdown" on Pack Up The Plantation, e.g., are pretty different from the album tracks.

"Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)" may be my favorite studio album.

My favorite was always Long After Dark, despite some obvious filler.

Phil please note if you're voting for a specific version and I'll do the same in the tally.

Don't sleep on Into the Great Wide Open. In some places it's the Lynne production ethos at its most decadent, but it has loads of CD-era deep cuts ("Two Gunslingers," "You and I Will Meet Again," "Kings Highway," etc).

I kinda stopped following Petty when the Jeff Lynne sound took over, so there are probably lots of excellent later records I'm missing out on.

What am I missing? I do really like the Mudcrutch album. What else is good?

Wildflowers! I don't own She's the One or Echo, but I liked "Room at the Top" when it got AOR play. 2014's Heartbreakers album was as solid as ever.

I just bought Wildflowers, it's $3.99 on Amazon. Echo has Free Girl Now which I loved when it was on the radio.

the two later singles that really stuck with me and will probably be on my ballot are "Swingin'" and "Room At The Top," both from Echoes.

The last two Heartbreakers albums, Mojo and Hypnotic Eye, are really good.

I'm pretty sure I'll consider "Fault Lines."

xpost I need to finally listen to those. "Straight Into Darkness" my fave deep cut, I think. Most underrated/overlooked of Imperial Petty may be the "She's the One" sndtrk. I should revisit "Highway Companion."

Straight Into Darkness is definitely a candidate for this poll's sway, i.e. a relatively obscure album track beloved by fans that places really high.

if you guys haven't read his Paul Zollo "Conversations With..." book, please do! Album by album, track by track discussion. His memory's in better shape than I expected.

Yeah "Straight Into Darkness" definitely top 5 for me. I can't decide whether to spend a long time contemplating this or just knock out a quick list. I can easily come up with 40 contenders for my ballot without thinking too hard about it.

Yeah, that Zollo book is tons of info, and the reason I'm not rushing to read the Zanes book.

There are a lot of these sort of regional superstar meat and potatoes guys hovering just below Springsteen - Petty, Johnny Cougar, even Bryan Adams for a time, all of whom had fare more hits than Bruce. It's interesting to me how little they seem to occupy the same world, despite dominating more or less all at once. I think the Zollo book has Petty recalling Springsteen saying something nice about him once.

http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-i-m-a-big-fan-of-bruce-springsteen-and-tom-petty-they-re-my-two-favorites-andrew-shue-170571.jpg

he said Springsteen praised "Straight Into Darkness" iirc

Another obscure Petty song that I adore: Ain't Love Strange

xposts She's the One is a weird record. Very "90s," but the influences are as present as ever, shading hard toward Beatles and even Floyd. Feels strangely like a precursor to e.g. Aimee Mann's Lost in Space.

I didn't pay much attention at the time but "Walls" is really good.

it's crazy but i feel like i could put together a defensible ballot that starts at Full Moon Fever

Off topic, but still timely: For years I misheard the lyrics of Jammin Me as "that Trump building outside my door."

wow had no idea there would be so much late-period Petty love here

I don't think I've heard an entire post-Full Moon Fever Petty album, just the singles (some of which I like a lot)

I suppose "Runaway Trains" will make a few ballots, right?

What do we think of "Don't Come Around Here No More"? To me it's a solid production, misjudged Campbell solo (is he imitating Dave Stewart?), awful vocal.

shakey I knew the late period could count on alfred but doing my own listening now and I guess I shouldn't be surprised but there's a good stuff in the records they put out in their Best Record Since Blood on the Tracks phase!

re: don't come around here no more, imho it's great. the backing vox really bring the room together

Stevie Nicks' backup singers.

On The Howard Stern Show, Dave Stewart explained that the title's phrase was actually uttered by Nicks. She had broken up with Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh the night before,[2] and invited Stewart to her place for a party after an early Eurythmics show in Los Angeles. Stewart did not know who she was at the time, but went anyway. When the partygoers all disappeared to a bathroom for a couple of hours to snort cocaine, he decided to go upstairs to bed. He woke up at 5am to find Nicks in his room trying on Victorian clothing and described the entire scenario as very much reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Later that morning, she told Walsh, "Don't come around here no more."

As a Petty stan I didn't know what to make of "Don't Come Around Here" when it first hit, but I've come to love it. Don't think it will make my ballot, but I love all the production flourishes on it.

'Runaway Trains' starting out top 5 here off the top of my head.

Another She's The One keeper, "Hung Up And Overdue" (BTW, one of Carl Wilson's last recorded harmonies, iirc): https://youtu.be/bSl9ykaiNvw

DCAHNM great, I tend to love when 80s new wave dudes went "60s psychedelic"

lol my wife is reading some Stevie Nicks bio and just recounted that anecdote the other day

xxp

I love the idea that David Stewart has a closetful of Victorian gowns.

yr misreading that anecdote I think

Three songs-for-other-people could make my ballot: "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Ways to Be Wicked" and "King of the Hill."

I'LL STAND
MY
GROUND
AND I WON'T
BACK
DOWN

Forgot there was actually a video for this one: http://www.artistdirect.com/video/roger-mcguinn-king-of-the-hill/27564

lol Won't Back Down is so irritating - won't back down from what? hating rap music?

yeah but it's got that HEEEEYYYYYYY BABY in it.

never been crazy about it tbh. Or "Free Fallin'" *ducks*

"Free Fallin"'s chord progression is like the dumbest riff ever but it works through sheer bludgeoning repetition

lol Won't Back Down is so irritating - won't back down from what? hating rap music?

Getting misappropriated by politicians?

Won't back down from Sam Smith's lawyers.

"Runnin' Down a Dream" is the Full Moon Fever track I come back to most.

(Does "Stay With Me" count as a Petty song now that he has co-writing credit on it?)

'Love Is A Long Road' is pretty awesome.

nice deep cut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9SBMIgbOcA

My top Full Moon Fever track has always been "A Face In The Crowd."

I will make my usual deep-cut case for "Dogs on the Run." Top 10 for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x19fW4yC324

And then there's this one -- his most Byrdsy? Hell, now I'm making it harder to make my ballot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLWMv8bNOTQ

lol Won't Back Down is so irritating - won't back down from what? hating rap music?

fuck outta here that song is the best

Dogs on the Run! Fantastic song.

Another deep cut that deserves many votes: No Second Thoughts from the 2nd album. If you are not familiar, please take the next 2:49 to get acquainted. You will love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2CXaAzg6Z4

narrowing it to 20 is ~tough~ but dogs on the run is a strong contender. runaway trains as well.

Petty's sales are interesting. If he hadn't hooked up with Jeff Lynne and George would he have continued declining? Every album b/w DTP and Let Me Up sold fewer copies than its predecessor.

"the wild one, forever" forever.

also the title track from wildflowers.

basically any petty song with "wild" in the title. forever.

"dogs on the run" always reminds me of "dog on the run" a 9+ minute tune that was an early live staple of TP&theH. great song, too
(starts ~4:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9gCrN8kIjE

holy shit I completely forgot about 'Change of Heart'.

What do we think of "Don't Come Around Here No More"?

Not gonna vote in this because I don't know the catalog well enough, but this is by a mile the best of his hits, in my view.

"Walls" is one of the best forgotten singles of the Nineties. Thank Lindsey Buckingham for the backup harmonies - they make the song.

probably his last video that got a good amount of MTV airplay. "Hope You Never" is my favorite song from the Ed Burns movie, though.

"the wild one, forever" forever.

also the title track from wildflowers.

basically any petty song with "wild" in the title. forever.

haha thus is kinda OTM!

"the wild one, forever" always strikes me as a verse and a bridge shy of an actual song but what's there is so good I don't care.

Petty's sales are interesting. If he hadn't hooked up with Jeff Lynne and George would he have continued declining? Every album b/w DTP and Let Me Up sold fewer copies than its predecessor.

Is there any other big rock band except for Aerosmith that had their commercial peak 15 years out from the debut album? (Full Moon Fever was 13 years after the self-titled, but Petty's peak lasted from about 1989-1995, so you get the idea) And where Aerosmith's Geffen releases are now regarded with some embarrassment when they're regarded at all (Pump is the half-exception), Petty is still best known by his Jeff Lynne period. And still, nothing after "Wildflowers" has had any kind of radio afterlife at all.

OK, I thought of one - the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Whose late-career popular peak concluded with a blatant Petty rip-off, LOL.

ZZ Top would fit (Afterburner huge upon release 15 years after debut, forgotten now though)

David Bowie's Let's Dance was about 15 out from his first lp.

XP - Yeah that's a good one, particularly considering Eliminator (12 years after the debut) *is* ZZ Top to most people.

Singer-songwriters are kind of a different beast.

the truth is the 80s were FULL of 60s/70s acts who had some of their biggest pop hits and biggest selling albums in the MTV era. for every Neil Young or Dylan who was kind of adrift commercially for most of the decade, there was a Springsteen who cashed in.

Walls is going high on my ballot. I probably watched that damn video 1000 times but never gave a shit until hearing it again like 10 years later

I will be heavily representing Wildflowers

That's what's fascinating about Young and Dylan in that period. It's like, "Jeez, guys, the Grateful fucking Dead got a top ten hit."

I love this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQsqMndoM9E

What's that pretty bside circa "damn the torpedoes" called "renata" or "riata" or "reseda" or something? It has a kind of zombies-ish rhythm

thats my fav petty song i think xp

Xp "Casa dega" is what I'm thinking of. Check it out, it's great!

"the wild one, forever" always strikes me as a verse and a bridge shy of an actual song but what's there is so good I don't care.

I don't know if it's intentional, but to me the form mirrors the content. The song is the same as the romance -- sweet, too short, lingers in your mind well beyond its actual end.

Though it isn't even that short by the standards of the first album -- 6 out of 10 songs clock in at 3:03 or shorter. No wonder people thought he was new wave. Amazing that "Breakdown" is only 2:43. It feels longer, in a good way.

Wow. I am listening to Wildflowers for the first time ever and it's fantastic.

love the sound of that record.

yeah "Breakdown" has the feel of one of those drawn out AOR hits and it always kinda catches me offguard how soon it fades out.

I wonder what would win in a least-favorite Tom Petty song poll.

You Got Lucky

You Got Lucky will not come anywhere near my ballot, but I can't say it's my least favorite as long as Forget About Me (Make It Better) exists.

Baffled by all the love for "Don't Come Around Here No More," honestly - that's easily my least favorite Petty track of the ones that actually stick in my head.

"You Got Lucky" is pretty cool imo, has a similar ominous vibe as "Breakdown" and opens up beautifully on the chorus, crazy lead guitar sound.

actually i don't know if i can say i dislike any song collected on the '93 Greatest Hits album, it's all shades of good/great to me. i'm pretty blasé about some of the really overplayed ones like "Refugee" and "Free Fallin'" by now but i recognize them as good songs.

I don't think "Refugee" will make my ballot, but if we were only voting for the opening 10 seconds it would. I love the way the riff thunders in.

I had kind of burned out on 'Don't Come Around Here No More' until I heard the one on Live USA.

http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-girl-in-video-dont-come-around-here_21.html

The "Alice" from the video was Stan Lynch's girlfriend for 5 years. Funny glimpse of being swept into that world and then back out.

You Got Lucky

For LEAST favorite??? Can we have roger Mexico barred from voting?

The coda of "don't come around here no more" is great, the rest is not my cup of tea. The synth string solo makes my skin crawl

Early Petty's singing voice, especially for those like me used to the late '80s material, takes adjusting. When I dug in past the hits, I was kinda grossed out by his whine tbh

kinda stoked for this poll. i was always kinda 'eh' about the guy and for much of the 90s was frustrated that my friends who wouldn't give springsteen or neil young the time of day fucking LOOVED this guy (although they generally only owned the 93 hits, wildflowers, and maybe full moon fever). i always thought of myself as not really liking him but liking one or two songs that were undeniable, similar to how i feel about don henley or the eagles (and as w/ henley what i told myself is that really i liked mike campbell), only in petty's case if i stopped to actually count the songs i liked it was easily a dozen and of the songs i would point at that i didn't like it was only a handful (i think 'you don't know how it feels' is the only one i actually hated, and even now it can provoke nostalgia). i still basically only know the hits plus a few cuts that got radio play but weren't on that 93 greatest hits (eg 'rebels') and of course pretty much all of wildflowers, which was nearly inescapable in beqs/dorms the winter of 94, similar to how i've never owned pearl jam's vs but know every damn second of it clear as day.

ha -- I got Wildflowers as an Xmas present from my aunt who often failed to guess my music tastes (Poison's Open Up and Say... Ahh! in '88). I listened to it with reluctance but grew to love just about every song. I mean, I just played "Hard On Me" and it sounded amazing.

Early Petty's singing voice, especially for those like me used to the late '80s material, takes adjusting. When I dug in past the hits, I was kinda grossed out by his whine tbh

Lol yeah I dig it, but it is like a weird late 70s idea of "weary sounding". He was born to grow old fast and sound weathered

I was 10 when Wildflowers came out and my dad flipped out over it. He had been a casual petty fan for awhile, but he absolutely CAINED that album for 3+ years and became an uber-fan afterwards so it's kind of embedded in my blood stream at this point.

CANED? Sorry for messed up britism

The Petty vs Mellencamp thread is full of inflammatory challops but lots of interesting stuff as well.

"It's Good To Be King" was a weird choice for a single. Great lyrics but plodding as hell imo. My dad loves it to hell.

I heard "Honey Bee" and "You Wreck Me" far more.

it is interesting just how big Wildflowers was -- triple platinum, only Full Moon Fever and Damn The Torpedoes sold as much or more, and nothing since has even been platinum (let's not invoke the old New Jersey argument, please). that greatest hits comp really gave his legacy a boost.

yeah his late '80s renaissance was its own beast. It's as if his career started over again in 1989, with a hit debut, strong followup and singles, with a comp and followup as culmination.

Is Roy Orbison's "You Got It" eligible? I can't imagine it will get tons of votes since most are unaware that it's basically a Tom Petty & Jeff Lynne song.

tbh anything voters feel is sufficiently Petty is eligible, tho that one might be long odds to make the roll-out.

btw just a PSA here there are some ~really~ good songs on Southern Accents

80s era Petty is really interesting. You have Southern Accents, which he basically seemed to regard as a disaster at the time (it was pitched as his great artistic album IIRC), Let Me Up, a retrenchment album if there ever was one (and my fave), and then the massive Full Moon Fever.
My re-listening so far has Southern Accents as a mess, and Let Me Up as his most consistent release.

Long After Dark has about 5 or 6 of his all time best songs.

Haha, it's early. I meant Long After Dark, Let Me Up is wildly inconsistent, and I like Jammin Me.

In the Zollo book he shows little regard for Let Me Up b/c it came at a dark point in his life: marital trouble, the arson that destroyed his house (there's a lovely anecdote about Annie Lennox showing up out of nowhere on the street and whisking Petty's daughters off to a hotel with her credit card and buying everyone tons of clothes). He thinks Southern Accents needed stuff like "Trailer" that came out as B-sides; he especially hates "Make It Better" ("a piece of crap").

Let Me Up is top five Petty for me (the others: DTP, Wildflowers, Into the Great Wide Open, Hard Promises).

It's as if his career started over again in 1989, with a hit debut, strong followup and singles, with a comp and followup as culmination.

Definitely felt this when I saw him at Bonnaroo a few years ago. Most of the crowd was under 30, and they reacted most strongly to the stuff from Full Moon Fever on. Biggest crowd fave was "Mary Jane." (Saw a group of seven guys wearing t-shirts with one word each on them that spelled out "Oh my my, oh hell yes!" -- the seventh guy was the exclamation point.) Whereas songs that were legit rock radio staples in my high school years, like "A Woman in Love," were received with polite unfamiliarity.

And here's my pick for "Let Me Up" deep cut -- Tom's contribution to the late '80s mandolin craze.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMAmF2diYp0

there's a fairly interesting interview up with Warren Zanes on Freakonmics btw: http://freakonomics.com/2015/11/12/should-everyone-be-in-a-rock-band-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/

The song "Southern Accents" is pretty great. His Wilbury's stuff is great. And didn't Petty back or help out Dwight Twilley?

They sang on each other's early albums. Also supposedly Twilley was the one who said the guitar riff on "Breakdown" should go in the intro instead of just the fade-out. Good call there.

doing a little deep listening for this poll (because I don't really know Petty that well), and hit on "Trailer" as a lovely song that would have been a highlight on Southern Accents. I'd love to hear the Drive-By Truckers it out, it'd suit them well. the bass line is the key: the song almost boogies under what's by other sonic details a wistful tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsvr9_YyVgo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv03V5SVT1w

alfred "you and i will meet again" is a good'un, cf "kings highway" and "all the wrong reasons." i've come around on "learning to fly" in spite of the lynne shine. still not sure about "into the great wide open"...

Another good moment: the Bangles' wonderful backing vocals on "Waiting For Tonight."

come to think, is it just me or does he pretty much always deliver half a great record? like the filler isn't bad, but the drop in quality between the A tracks and the B+ tracks is pretty steep. which i guess would explain why his comps sell so well...

"Southern Accents" was the one Petty album I had as a teen (on cassette, of course) - prior to Full Moon Fever anyway. Will always have a soft-spot for that album.

shit now you guys are making me think I should d/l all the albums I don't have (including Wildflowers ugh)

the drop in quality between the A tracks and the B+ tracks is pretty steep

otm

re-listening to Long After Dark, "We Stand a Chance" is standing out more than I remember it

the guitar tone on "We Stand A Chance" is awesome

"Wasted Life" is pretty odd - almost all keyboards (including what sounds like a mellotron?), quietly reflective closer

man, if the rest of "deliver me" was even half as good as the bridge...

I agree that he has lots of good albums with some great songs, rather than lots of great albums. I think the three album run of Torpedoes-Promises-Dark is his high point in terms of consistency, with only Wildflowers hitting at the same level. (The hard thing for me is coming up with my #5, because a bunch of them are pretty close.)

As an album artist, he's kind of a classic 3-1/2 star guy.

I'm going to rep here for this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00sy6_jv7Lc

the guitar tone on "We Stand A Chance" is awesome

― The Cuddling Of The American Mind (some dude), Wednesday, November 25, 2015

ditto the handclaps

that guitar tone is all over "between two worlds" too, which is basically a campbell loop with not-the-best petty lyrics and kinda crushes.

lol @ the credits on Southern Accents wiki page wtf:

William Bergman – horn, sax (tenor), sound effects, vocals (background)
John Berry, Jr. – trumpet, horn, sound effects
David Bianco – engineer
Ron Blair – bass
Dick Braun – trumpet, horn, sound effects, vocals (background)
Steve Breitborde – photography
Sharon Celani – vocals
Jim Coile – horn, sax (tenor), sound effects, vocals
Malcolm Duncan – saxophone
Molly Duncan – saxophone
Joel Fein – engineer
Dean Garcia – bass
Bobbye Hall – percussion
Jerry Hey – horn, horn conductor
Winslow Homer – artwork, cover painting
Garth Hudson – keyboards
Jimmy Iovine – producer
Clydene Jackson – vocals
Phil Jones – percussion
Martin Jourard – saxophone
Dennis Keeley – photography
Jim Keltner – percussion
Richard Manuel – vocals, harmony vocals
Stephen Marcussen – mastering
Marilyn Martin – vocals
Kurt McGettrick – horn, sound effects, vocals
Jack Nitzsche – string arrangement on "Southern Accents"
Dave Plews – trumpet
Robbie Robertson – producer
Daniel Rothmuller – clarinet, cello
Don Smith – engineer, remixing
Greg Smith – horn, saxophone, sax (baritone), vocals
Stephanie Spruill – vocals
Steele Works – design, cover design
Tommy Steele – art direction, design, cover design
David A. Stewart – bass, guitar, keyboards, sitar, vocals, producer
Julia Tillman Waters – vocals
Maxine Waters – vocals
Alan "Bugs" Weidel – engineer
Maxine Willard Waters – vocals
Shelly Yakus – engineer, remixing

a cast of thousands!
am i right in thinking southern accents was originally conceived as Petty's first solo album? or did i imagine that.
has anyone mentioned "You Can Still Change Your Mind" yet? Love that bit of Beach Boys worship.

Southern Accents was their big overbudget concept album disaster that got saved by a last minute hit single added to the tracklist

Robertson produced "The Best of Everything" iirc

Favorite LAD album track: "Finding Out."

Jimmy Iovine deserves credit for producing some of their best albums, but since his name is mud lately let's talk about the good song he talked Petty out of putting on Long After Dark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ioIuyLWVf4

that SA cast is p nuts - Bill Withers' percussionist! Garth Hudson! insane asshole Jack Nitszche! Robbie Robertson as "producer"!

Notice on the Southern Accent credits the presence of one Dean Garcia, half of Curve, who were or would be soon signed to producer Dave Stewart's Anxious imprint. (Around the same time Toni Halliday was singing backup for Robert Plant.)

Petty said that by LAD Irvine was more on the phone than in the studio.

Iovine

oh man "It Ain't Nothin to Me" is soooooo 80sed out - similar sentiment to "You're Jammin Me" but with slap bass and phased vocals lol I had forgotten about this song

horns flown in from Eurythmics "Touch" sessions

Those sessions were a drug-addled mess

heh yeah, surprised that the credits don't list a coke dealer

yeah that's readily apparent. all these expensive, not terribly well thought-out ideas flying around, the sound is bright and brittle, no one sounds like they are quite sure of what they're doing

Petty, from warren zones' bio: "when i hear that one [Southern Accents], I can taste the cocaine in the back of my mouth."

I'd keep "Rebels", "Southern Accents", "Don't Come Around Here No More", "The Best of Everything" idk about the rest. the horns + female backing vox and Petty's awkward lead vox really kill a lot of these other songs imo

haha when i said "there are some good songs on Southern Accents" those are the ones I had in mind. plus "dogs on the run."

cocaine aside, the credits are a bit misleading tho. half of that list, including a good chunk of the horns, is related specifically to robbie robertson's work on "the best of everything," which petty gave him for the King of Comedy soundtrack. (when good old MCA refused to allow the Petty-written track on another label's soundtrack, he got the song back.)

ron blair gets a credit because he was no longer with the band, winslow homer gets a credit because why not, the rest is backing vox, engineering and strings.

i remember thinking "spike" was funny when i was 10. not sure if i'd like it now.

Petty's vocal affectation on "Spike" is bizarre

"Dogs on the Run" is p good, would make acceptable filler on one of his other albums

spike: I "get" but I hated it then and hate it biw

He'said not good at "satire" or "Randy Newman."

*He's

Part of the problem is that Petty'said voice is worth parodying.

In the Zollo book he shows little regard for Let Me Up b/c it came at a dark point in his life: marital trouble, the arson that destroyed his house

I saw him at Garden State Arts Center on the Let Me Up tour with Del Fuegos and Georgia Satellites opening. He mentioned his house burning down (he didn't like it). One thing I do remember, there was a full moon that night and he was talking about how crazy things happen with full moons. Full Moon Fever came out a couple years later.

his Greatest Hits comp really is unbelievably solid - in some ways it could be argued that it's all you need from TP - inclusion of totally pointless Thunderclap Newman cover notwithstanding

haha awesome (xp)

never realized one of Lone Justice's singles was a Petty/Campbell composition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOCT5RDnJIY

there was a great Replacements bootleg from when they opened for Tom Petty, and the audience is so lukewarm you can practically hear people looking at their watches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1SSy1urjsc

July 5th: 7:00 p.m. (S.H.): Before the show, Petty and the band piddle around the arena, obviously antsy. Campbell emerges from his first meeting with the Replacements, who are opening for the Heartbreakers, and encounters T.P. and Tench in the hall.

“You gotta meet these guys,” Campbell says. “They’re great. They were telling me how much they like your new song ‘Running Down the Drain.'”

T.P. and Tench leave immediately to meet them.

“You nervous?” Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson asks T.P.

“I’m scared as shit.”

“You want a beer or something?” Stinson asks for the first of several times.

“Nah, you’re opening Pandora’s box there,” Petty replies.

“You still do ‘Breakdown’?” Stinson asks.

Petty rolls his eyes. “Yeah, we still do that. I think I’ll know we’re really doing okay when I don’t have to do that song anymore.”

Singer-guitarist-songwriter Paul Westerberg says, “That was the first song I ever sang with these guys. But I couldn’t really get the high parts. My voice won’t do that.”

“Why don’t you do the song and then we won’t have to?” says Petty.

haha

lol it looks like they finally stopped playing "Breakdown" after 2010 (most of the other big hits have been played many times in the years since):
http://www.setlist.fm/stats/tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers-6bd6e20a.html

there was a great Replacements bootleg from when they opened for Tom Petty, and the audience is so lukewarm you can practically hear people looking at their watches.

― campreverb, Wednesday, November 25, 2015

I saw them on that tour. Audience did not know what to make of the Mats, who to be fair were very obviously drunk as fuck and p sloppy.

Axl Rose came out of nowhere to join in for the encore and shared vox on "free fallin'" - g'n'r were just coming up iirc and there was a moment of "wait is that..." and then he shimmied and it was like "wow it really is"

oh hey there's audio!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N998ZrJ_ENY

“You want a beer or something?” Stinson asks for the first of several times.

“Nah, you’re opening Pandora’s box there,” Petty replies.

Ominous!

In the Zollo book Petty sez that he and the Heartbreakers were not 'big boozers.' Their only drug period, he says, was during the recording of Southern Accents in 1985 in L.A., which coincided with the longest vacation of their lives. Guess we know from Zanes that Petty had his own drug period.

isn't one of the big revelations in the new Petty bio that he was a heroin addict in the '90s and nobody knew about it til now?

oh n/m i gueess that's what you meant

In the Zollo book Petty sez that he and the Heartbreakers were not 'big boozers.'

huh I guess that bottle of Jack Daniels in the upper left photo is filled with water or something
https://6427-presscdn-0-71-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/906431-1200x1171.jpg

feel like the petty documentary had various heartbreakers admitting to heavy alcohol problems didn't it?

these were born and raised 70s southern rock guys, you can't tell me booze + weed were not regular parts of their partying routine

true that Petty's penned more paeans to weed than any other drug but still

Benmont Tench and Howie (smack) were the druggies, so take what Petty says with a grain of alcohol.

it's all relative. they partied pretty hard from gainesville days on - booze, weed, acid all in the mix, but afaik booze was no one's particular monkey.

very few "(rock star) did (drug)" statements could surprise me at this point, it's all ok sure i guess that makes sense

did you guys know that nearly every episode of the TV sitcom Cougartown was named after a Tom Petty song (simply, as far as i know, because he's from Florida and that's where the show takes place)? obscurities and Mudcrutch songs and everything. i made a playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/user/1219464571/playlist/6ZZgjI8WdwUT5DFIsDB8A8

i asked my wife her favorite Tom Petty song and she shrugged that she only knows about 3. incredulous, i named hits until we had almost a dozen she knows. she picked "I Won't Back Down."

These guys drank and smoked so much. Petty's pot notoriety is nearly on par with Willie Nelson's, though I think he stopped smoking a while back? And I find it hard to believe cocaine was not a part of the equation for years. His turn toward heroin is I guess out of character, especially at that late stage. But he had the time/money/self-loathing. And a bassist far worse off than him, which probably took the heat off a little. Benmont had some serious problems with alcohol and drugs but I think cleaned up early.

anyone else listen to the solo album Benmont Tench put out last year? nothing special but pretty enjoyable, i thought.

At their best, they're an amazing live band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNMT4AYf6Xo

So here's what seems to me like the big question about Tom Petty: Is he a minor major artist, or a major minor artist? What's the distinction? For me the answer is, he's a minor major artist -- musically and lyrically adept, building a consistent body of work around a frustrated yearning for transcendence. The narrators in the songs are often reaching for something they can't grasp. The same is true of TP himself, who can't quite pinpoint what troubles him and can only come at it from the side. ("Out the windows of the 747, man there was nothin', only black sky") There is such a thing as a Tom Petty character -- a loser who gets lucky, a girl who thinks there's a little more life somewhere else, a little rough around the edges, inside a little hollow. They're damaged survivors. (And they like rock 'n' roll, which the other major ingredient here.)

on that note, i don't think this one will make my ballot but i hope it make someone's...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9SBMIgbOcA

the first verse of "something big" is really about as good as you could ask for lyrically

haha holy shit compare the intros...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g6h1vI4Xv0

favorite Petty song isn't - his So You Wanna Be a Rock 'n Roll Star cover

"haha holy shit compare the intros..."

hmm.

as an adolescent, i definitely never aped astbury et al's moves in that video more than once or anything.

hey I'm not accusing anyone of... petty theft. just never noticed the similarity until tonight.

I'm pretty unfamiliar with this guy's catalog despite liking most of his hits quite a lot. Bought Hard Promises a while back and like a lot of it (though some of the downtempo deep cuts are on the boring side). In honor of this poll I picked up Damn the Torpedoes, listening to it right now for the first time and it's all sounding super great. The songwriting is strong but I also just am totally into this turn-of-the-eighties rock sound. Very punchy and clear while mostly keeping the sense of a bar band performing live. Suppose I should go back and grab You're Gonna Get it! (was put off by the terrible title/cover) and maybe look around for the debut.

Did you get the reissue with "casa dega"? Somebody must live that song besides me!

live = love

Naw, just an old LP from the cheapie bin (in nice shape though).

Prudent!

Reissue also has an instrumental of "refugee", which was cool to me since I didn't really hear how.. slightly off and swaggy the main guitar riff is.

Belmont tench is the man, btw

BeNmont

Thought I disabled spell check on this phone :/

i think american pharoah won the last belmont tench

Suppose I should go back and grab You're Gonna Get it! (was put off by the terrible title/cover) and maybe look around for the debut.

YGGI is a typical sophomore slump record, but with about 5 really good songs and a couple of classics. Debut is good -- even the filler is tuneful.

Suppose I should go back and grab You're Gonna Get it! (was put off by the terrible title/cover) and maybe look around for the debut.

There's probably a solid single album of material split between the first two Petty's. He's still kind of finding his way, setting the stage for DTT, which is truly one of the great "flips the switch from being 'good' to 'great'" moments in rock.

XPOST!!!!!

yeah...check out Long After Dark, it hits the Torpedoes/Promises target more than the early albums

Listening to "Something Big" via the link above for the first time in ages made a connection I haven't really thought about before -- the whole song is noir pastiche, and Petty has a lot of noir in him. I was talking about Tom Petty characters up above, and they're almost all noir prototypes. His brand of cool is hard-boiled. I think that's something that distinguishes him from the heartland rock crowd. He's not really heartland. Florida and L.A. are more cynical places.

Dylan was a "Something Big" fan.

Dylan's pretty hard-boiled himself. Petty definitely picked up a lot Bob's affectations, not just vocal.

I'm not sure the exact timeline of the heroin years, but this clip from '99 seems pretty narcotized. Not just the blown lyrics, but the whole bloated blissed-out vibe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PedAgnyi-lA

Ballot sent. I have the songs I expec to be #s 1-2 at 4-3 respectively, which obviously won't dent their dominance. I think my 20 tracks came from 10 different albums.

Actually, 10 Tom Petty albums and one non-Tom Petty album.

man, howie really could sing

20 years prior... what strikes me listening today is benmont tench quietly holding the entire performance together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBcBPMckeyM

Voted. I didn't mean to put so much of Full Moon Fever on there. I just kinda happened.

Just going back through the thread...glad some of my lesser-known favorites have already received mentions: Love Is a Long Road, Crawling Back to You, It'll All Work Out.

"His brand of cool is hard-boiled."

There is nothing cool about Tom Petty

flag post

Ha. From a certain perspective he's the daddest of dad rock. But his affect is cool, his persona is very dgaf (as opposed to say Bruce or Mellencamp).

speaking of dadrock...

i slept on The Last DJ like everyone else bc the single was irritating and lol old man yells at cloud but man there are some ~real strong~ tracks on here, especially "dreamville" (reminds me a lot of aimee mann circa forgotten arm - hi dere jon brion) and "have love will travel." his ballads are all kinda the same ballad but it's such a good one, plus really campbell drops one of the great short, sweet solos.

on that note, has anyone spent time with Echo? i'm not even convinced it totally works but i'm real tempted to find room on my ballot for "swingin"

at 5:28 it's like a petty epic!

Probably will tomorrow. Petty sez he can't listen to it -- divorce and all.

he's missing out on some seriously classic guitar tone imo

yessss "Swingin'" is my jam, vote for it

the mudcrutch stuff is pretty good too tbh. coming around on Old Man Petty in general... sign me up for 20 years from now when he makes his Johnny Cash record with like Diplo

Didn't vote for "Swingin'" but I like it. What makes it for me are all the "like Benny Goodman" asides.

someone started spontaneously playing "Mary Jane's Last Dance" in band practice today so i continued my straw poll of people's favorite Petty songs. lot of talk of "Breakdown" and "The Waiting."

"Breakdown" is sublime

doing some listening over the weekend and was thinking how Petty's persona/approach feels more anonymous and generic than a lot of his peers and forebears, but tipsy makes a good case about the kind of characters that populate his songs, there is some sort of throughline there.

I almost forgot I could vote for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" in this poll

Is Roy Orbison's "You Got It" eligible? I can't imagine it will get tons of votes since most are unaware that it's basically a Tom Petty & Jeff Lynne song.

― billstevejim, Wednesday, November 25, 2015 3:35 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^ really tempted to vote for this

I was thinking that I'don't love a Mellencamp poll. Dude had so many more hits than Petty and Springteen, and those hits are just as good.

I'don't love, that is one lol

run it!

Eh, some Coug hits are just as good. Some are sub-Bryan Adams crud. And his later years - the last 20 (!) years - have been 100 times more boring than Petty's and Springsteen's worst moments combined. Just looking at this list ...

Mr. Happy Go Lucky (1996)
John Mellencamp (1998)
Rough Harvest (1999)
Cuttin' Heads (2001)
Trouble No More (2003)
Freedom's Road (2007)
Life, Death, Love and Freedom (2008)
No Better Than This (2010)
Plain Spoken (2014)

... This might as well be a list of John Hiatt albums I've never heard (of). Except I'm willing to wager that John Hiatt's recent output has been better than Mellencamp's by magnitudes, and maybe as good as Petty's. Not that I'm going to spend any time with either catalog to find out.

I hope someone is willing to rep the newer albums, I have 26 tracks through Wildflowers and a major lack of time.

Except I'm willing to wager that John Hiatt's recent output has been better than Mellencamp's by magnitudes

Impossible because Hiatt cannot sing.

Can the Coug these days?

He's not bad, but, no, I'm not going to listen to find out. We can make a list of post-Wildflowers Petty albums that look daunting and may have a track or three worth preserving. I've got Coog's two-disc comp released in 2004 and even the newer stuff is no pox on the rest.

I hope someone is willing to rep the newer albums, I have 26 tracks through Wildflowers and a major lack of time.

If I get a list together, the last two albums will be represented for sure.

it's just the normal noises in here...

btw when I said Mellencamp was Petty's equal and sometimes better, this is the song I mean. Having Kenny Aronoff and that guitar racket helps too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7eve-kJHSA

glad this thread was bumped, gonna try to do more Petty listenin' tomorrow

i need to throw a ballot together on this (listened to a couple of albums over the thanksgiving weekend but my ballot is gonna be obv as hell, pretty sure there won't be anything on it that hasn't been played on the radio). re: mellencamp i'm just gonna say right now i will be defending 'r.o.c.k. in the u.s.a.' from, i'm sure, many many attacks.

one of the better examples of "Third single is the biggest single."

"Free Fallin'" is like the ultimate example! arguably "American Girl" too.

yep

btw when I said Mellencamp was Petty's equal and sometimes better, this is the song I mean.

I won't back down.

If Scarecrow didn't exist, Mellencamp's best album would be Whenever We Wanted.

my boy

My favorite post-Wildflowers Petty album could be Mudcrutch. That has some doozies, especially Shady Grove and the 9 1/2 epic Crystal River.

9 1/2 minute epic, that is.

Ballot sent. Two tracks from Mojo and one from Hypnotic Eye made my top ten.

ballot sent

scarecrow does exist and mellencamp's best album is uh-huh!

'free fallin' was an interesting third single cuz it had this rep even before it was out, like axl came out at the vmas and everybody already knew the song. i'm not sure if petty was quite in the position where he could be holding back the big hit but i'm thinking of something like 'one' on achtung baby where everyone the first time they listened to that album knew 'well that's obv going to be a huge hit'. it's not surprising that it's maybe had the biggest shelflife of his hits (on another board it'd probably be the favorite to win, if a narrow favorite)(i didn't vote for it).

What was that story of Jimmy Iovine hearing Petty play it the first time at some party, then everyone supposedly asking Petty to play it again and again all night?

btw, I'm down with two or three Coug albums, and just looking at the song titles I only recognize maybe a third of the tracks. But beyond that, gtfo, Coug.

front to back I might honestly rep for Human Wheels, but that's another poll

That one was the last I was into at all, I think. Liked the production (Lanois acolyte Malcolm Burn).

As a singles artist, Petty pretty easily tops Bruce/Coug/whomever. But the problem with being such a strong singles artist is that listening to the albums it couldn't be more clear that he's a singles artist. I remember when I was a lot younger, seeing Damn the Torpedoes was always on Greatest Albums list. I'd put the album on and love the 4 or 5 big tracks, but damned if I can even hum a note of the other 4 or 5. In fact, I just looked, and while I'm sure I would recognize more when the record was playing, I don't see a single Petty album whose entire tracklist currently rings a bell (not even Full Moon Fever). Sure, that's more me than him, but still ... those singles.

BTW, my wife voted for minor-major, not major-minor.

we've all listed plenty of good album tracks though

Oh, for sure! And when the albums are playing I'm into them! But then I look at, say, Hard Promises, and off the top of my head don't recognize a single track beyond The Waiting and A Woman In Love, two out of the 10. Which I'm cool with, because those two songs are awesome and I will never forget them. But those other 8 ... who knows? It's a complete mystery that can not be solved with even the most minimal of effort.

Though for some reason I am always humming Zombie Zoo, so there's one.

Voted. I'll go with Major Minor. I mean, is Petty so different from say, The Cars? When is the last time you said, 'I've really got to hear Misfit Kid right now'?
and yet, I would still classify the Cars as major minor.

'You're Gonna Get It' states the opposite case I suppose, that Petty doesn't really rise above his influences, and 'Listen To Her Heart' wouldn't feel too far out of place on a Gene Clark (minor minor-heh) anthology.
But then there's the amazing for the circumstances Damn the Torpedoes, Hard Promises, Long After Dark run, while he is fighting his record company and his band the whole time. My last minute cut from that era, Don't Do Me Like That, is a great song!

anyway...Stevie did well on my ballot.

The Cars maybe have a closer analog in a band like Blondie. Erratic output, immaculate Hits collection.

Do Blondie have a single album as good front-to-back as the Cars' debut?

Do Blondie have a single album as good front-to-back as the Cars' debut?

Parallel Lines comes closest

But then I look at, say, Hard Promises, and off the top of my head don't recognize a single track beyond The Waiting and A Woman In Love, two out of the 10. Which I'm cool with, because those two songs are awesome and I will never forget them. But those other 8 ... who knows? It's a complete mystery that can not be solved with even the most minimal of effort.

If you're sleeping on "Insider," that's on you.

When is the last time you said, 'I've really got to hear Misfit Kid right now'?

"Dangerous Type"!

Parallel Lines comes closest

― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.),

and Eat to the Beat close mighty close

I haven't heard enough of his full records to want to make a ballot, but Wildflowers is pretty solid. Crawling Back To You is a good one that's already been mentioned, but I like this one too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtPvZ-bEm6U

I've enjoyed listening to his recent stuff for this poll. My ballot will have a couple songs from Hypnotic Eye fer sure. The one that just doesn't work for me is Mojo.

not a ton of ballots yet so EVERY VOTE COUNTS

are you sending out confirmation emails?

oh ya you betcha. you should have one from earlier today.

Ooh I'll send mine in!!

sent.

oh shit deadline is Sunday? I'll throw something together

recently realized that Tom Petty's vocal phrasing is basically:
https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fimage.toutlecine.com%2Fphotos%2Fd%2Fr%2Fo%2Fdroopy-serie-tv--d-a--03-g.jpg&f=1

Dogs on the Run!

Just voted

'I don't believe the thrill is all gone'
how many ballots are there?

I will try to get mine together before deadline tomorrow. Unfortunately there was a death in my family and this week has been spent largely dealing with that.

ballot sent!!

It's pouring rain. Maybe I should send it now.

only off by a few miles...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbbzXpBrm54

haha I thought of that one

aaaaand let's not forget Petty + Campbell's Bangles collaboration. Petty still says it's one of his best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDcMtSXofnc

Sent!

thanks alfred - forgot about that one and yeah, the bangles vox kill. they came up with those in the studio iirc.

godDAMN he has so many songs

also i know this belabors the obvious but holy hell mike campbell can basically do no wrong is how i break it down to an extent

and uh remember this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT2rb7ac3_4

i lived in LA then and i have never seen or heard this before. it's... uh, not his best huh?

he mentions in the zoo book that a couple of LA charities are still getting mailbox money from it tho so good on him :)

also i know this belabors the obvious but holy hell mike campbell can basically do no wrong is how i break it down to an extent

― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.)
this, yeah, but also Stanley and his perfect drum fills; and listenin' to DtT, for example, Benmont is filling up the sound with SO MANY layers sometimes. Petty may be minor/major or major/minor, but the band is certainly major imho
semi-xxpost

Heartbreakers minus Petty:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gkForsLdWU

One of the last times I saw the band, years ago, Petty left for a bit and the band did a long surf medley.

It still freaks me out that Scott Thurston went from being a member of the Stooges circa Raw Power, and playing on Iggy's Kill City, TV Eye Live 1977 and New Values, to being a Heartbreaker. (Not straight from one to the other - he joined Petty in 1991 - but still...)

Dick Taylor, of the early Rolling Stones and Pretty Things, ended up in the Mekons!

this, yeah, but also Stanley and his perfect drum fills; and listenin' to DtT, for example, Benmont is filling up the sound with SO MANY layers sometimes. Petty may be minor/major or major/minor, but the band is certainly major imho
semi-xxpost

― Edgard Varese is god (of music anyways) (outdoor_miner), Saturday, December 5, 2015

def not taking anything away from those guys! you can hear lynch and tench holding this one together imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBcBPMckeyM

fantastic interview with stan lynch in Modern Drummer, 1984:

http://thepettyarchives.com/?page_id=1902

Need a last second judgment call on including a song written by but never officially released by Petty except as a demo on the box set: "Ways to Be Wicked"

go for it imo

the story goes petty wasn't quite sure what to do with it and iovine just kinda handed it off to lone justice on the sly

I should've listened to She'd The One before I voted because I k ow there's 1 or 2 songs on there I would've voted over (redacted)

also i know this belabors the obvious but holy hell mike campbell can basically do no wrong is how i break it down to an extent

― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Saturday, December 5, 2015 4:20 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i became really infatuated w/ Mike Campbell's leads/solos at one point in the '90s, to the point that i would started namedropping Campbell and talking him up every time a Petty song came on until my brother was like "okay, i get it"

I didn't vote for Ways to be Wicked based on the fact that Petty's version of it is kind of...terrible. It sounds like he's playing a cover.

But now I've been listening to a lot of Petty over the past 2 weeks, and I'm wondering does 'Ways To Be Wicked' even feel like a Petty lyric?
I doesn't to me. 'Well, I've been your fool before, honey/Yeah, and I probably will again' does, but nothing else really.

It took a while for it to happen, but I get the sense Lynch was eventually ousted for the same reason Wilco got rid of Ken Coomer. He had a lot of personality and played really well, but both prime songwriters had moved to a place where the consistency of a dude with session chops and restraint was what they needed. Lynch and Coomer never did the same take twice, apparently.

Lynch, of course, has done a ton outside the Heartbreakers, as a songwriter and producer. Campbell fans should seek out the web series he did, where he was interviewed at length about each of his guitars, their back story, their history, etc. Here's a clip:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/mike-campbell-the-guitars-documentary-chapter-6-20120703

Chapter One is here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-campbell/the-guitars_b_1406937.html

I wish there was a way to see them all for less than $45.

Lynch was also, according to the doc, bored to tears by Petty's new material in 1993.

I remember at the late '80s time a lot of Lynch drama - might be in the doc, too - about Full Moon Fever featuring every single Heartbreaker except him. He was not a happy Stan.

I think it's in the Classic Albums doc where it's revealed that during the recording of "Refugee" something with the drums wasn't quite right, so Jim Keltner wandered over during downtime from some other session and added (uncredited) shaker to the track, which gave it that certain something.

Sent!

One thing I've been coming back to is how in the Petty Behind The Music (which was done circa Echo), nobody who'd been in the Heartbreakers--bar Campbell and maybe Epstein--held Petty in much regard. I remember Tench being especially vitriolic, and he was still in the band!

Their dynamic is fascinating. It's clear Petty respects their chops, and he's said how proud he is that all of them have done terrific work playing, writing, and producing for others; but on the other hand I get the sense that Tench wanted to write stuff w/Petty but was ignored (the only song they wrote was Rosanne Cash's "Never Be You"). Stan too. Stan has the demeanor of a big ass kid who's goofy and an asshole but tells shit like it is. I wonder how the others regard Campbell.

by the way: good song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKV2OzRtxE

Got mine in, decided to leave "Ways to be Wicked" off since it's really not part of the Petty "canon" as such. It wasn't really hard to come up with 20 songs in any case, and my top five were never even in doubt anyway!

Goddamnit, Tom Petty sucks. What the fuck is wrong with you people?

stfu

In your heart, you know I'm right.

mariah needs you to stfu

don't come around here no more

i'm getting out. i really just don't think he's worth a damn.

i hope trolls like yourself populate any thread where you wish to sincerely discuss an artist you enjoy

alex in nyc has posted worse messages.

"I (Don't) Need To Know (Your Challops)"

oh wow you were on the STP thread being a dick too. seriously, take a break from posting.

yeah dude you're camped out on like nine other threads, take a hike

i never meant for anyone to take it personally. sorry.

gonna stand our ground

i was goofing. i just thought people would attack ideas, not me. i was goofing. sorry. i want no part of this.

xp. gonna leave.

in any case, it's dumb that people like tom petty, anyway.

carry on.

where do you stand on campbell?

i was goofing. i just thought people would attack ideas, not me. i was goofing. sorry. i want no part of this.

xp. gonna leave.

Your self-pity would make more sense if you seriously thought "Goddamnit, Tom Petty sucks. What the fuck is wrong with you people?" is an 'idea.'

like it's any worse than jackasses popping into the mariah carey thread, and contributing nothing, and talking about how much they hate her.

jackasses posting when you were knee high to a grasshopper

get over it.

bye!

you're mad because i don't like tom petty, and was kidding around about how much i don't like tom petty.
give it a rest, cunt.

i don't hate tom petty. i just dislike him.
i could learn to like him, if i tried.
i just thought it was funny how much i dislike tom petty. i thought my sense of humor was obvious. forgive me.

monster mash, you are stan lynch and I claim my 5

i'm not getting mad on the internet about tom petty.
eh.

let's drop it.

alex in nyc never got shit for doing similar things.

fucker doesn't even love music.

"let's drop it" = I'm going to post two more times.

i like all of you on a personal level.
i was a little drunk.

i am incredibly sorry.
i like all of you on a personal level.

i'm truly bad at talking about music i dislike.

i am new to ilx. i am here to shoot the hay over music, and to goof around on the other boards, and to make friends -- i am incredibly lonely, and often drunk.
that's all.

sorry. sorry! i just don't like tom petty! sorry for being a dumbass and using expletives.

dude fuck off

you're a jerk.

did I miss anything?

hey monster mash i know you have issues and that's a shame but it doesn't make you special, it just makes you human. it also doesn't make you a loser. but that doesn't mean you aren't one. explore yr options.

Even the losers get lucky sometimes.

just sent in my ballot! I got down to a point where there was a song I was dying to add but nothing I could bear to swap out and just hit 'send' so i could stop hemming and hawing over the decision.

Got it! Thanks everyone!

Polls remain open until I wake up tomorrow :)

the waiting is the hardest part

This is still open? Cause I'm strongly resisting the urge to send in a ballot that consists only of tracks from Southern Accents.

Southern Accents has some amazing songs that would really benefit from a re-recording, preferably live in the studio with the current band.

technically closed and pretty much fully tabulated, but it would be easy enough to add one more ballot if you zip it in asap

Nah, it's all good. If I was gonna play along, i'd wanna do it right.

Roll-out begins tomorrow am Pacific time

YOU RANK ME BABY, YEAH YOU RATE ME 1-2 - ILM Artist Poll #71 - Tom Petty (results)

Excuse me, but I actually "got shit" for quite a lot, and I do indeed love music, so let's please refrain from that bullshit, shall we? Thanks.