ILX 70s album poll - results

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General Elections have taken place in less time..

But, anyway, here's some results.

THE ILX 70S POLL TOP 100 ALBUMS

Hurray!

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:22 (twenty years ago)

100:

points: 199
votes: 6
1st place votes: 0

VARIOUS ARTISTS - NUGGETS

http://www.mymusic.com/covers/170p/280/282420.jpg


Feel free to add your own comments.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:26 (twenty years ago)

#1 Howzat- Sherbert

Hurray!!

Frogman Henry, Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:26 (twenty years ago)

99

points: 203
votes: 6
1st place votes: 0

NEW YORK DOLLS - NEW YORK DOLLS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000001FMX.02._OU02_PIuk-r-fp-697,BottomRight,10,10_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:41 (twenty years ago)

oops.

This is what comes of getting images from Amazon. I can only assume the original cover art did not include a red circle and the phrase
£6.97. Not very punk, that..

Also, I don't have blurbs for most of these, and I'll spare you my comments (for most of them, at least). I could pull something off Amazon reviews to fill in spaces, but again that seems rather pointless when people here will probably have something better to add.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:44 (twenty years ago)

If you click on the Amazon album pics you get a bigger version with no price tag, I think.

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:49 (twenty years ago)

98

points: 203
votes: 7
1st place votes: 0

DAVID BOWIE - HEROES

ihttps://secure.ultrastar.com/store/davidbowie/catalog/images/product/DB-ME-0041CD.jpg


Ties were resolved by

1. Number of first place votes
2. Next highest placing
3. Total votes

Neither of these got a first place - Heroes' highest placing was 7 and New York Dolls' was 8.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:55 (twenty years ago)

arse

http://www.up-to-date.com/bowie/heroes/index.gif

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:59 (twenty years ago)

my linking, not the album

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:00 (twenty years ago)

I think ihttping an https secure image ia a no go, hobart. Go with the bigger Amazon pics!

x-post

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:00 (twenty years ago)

Cheers Alba.

Here's a NICE BIG PICTURE of David Bowie waving his arms about.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00001OH7V.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:07 (twenty years ago)

and here's one of Kate Bush doing..

whatever it is Kate Bush does.

97

points: 203
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 5

KATE BUSH - THE KICK INSIDE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00001OH7V.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:10 (twenty years ago)

Disguising herself as David Bowie, by the looks of it.

She's a tricksy one that Kate, and no mistake.

She REALLY looks like this.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000006U44.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


hopefully.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:13 (twenty years ago)

Kate Bush's highest placing was 4, for anyone that hasn't already run screaming from the thread..

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:14 (twenty years ago)

Aha... the first album in this list which I actually own.

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:17 (twenty years ago)

96

points: 203
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 8

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00008Z5G8.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Bruce's highest placing was also 4, but he got more votes.


I do hope the above is a picture of Bruce Springsteen.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:19 (twenty years ago)

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00008Z5G8.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


fucking hell...

does anyone have a hard object I can bang my head against?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:20 (twenty years ago)

95

points: 204
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 6

THE CURE - THREE IMAGINARY BOYS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000005S0I.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:24 (twenty years ago)

There. One out of six aint bad.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:25 (twenty years ago)

You're doing better than I'd be able to manage at this ungodly hour, Hobart. Before lunchtime on a Saturday = official mental downtime. It can take me two hours to read the Guardian Weekend magazine...

Best album so far, as well. I went off The Cure a bit when "A Forest" came out...

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:27 (twenty years ago)

94

points: 204
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 7

AUGUSTUS PABLO - KING TUBBY MEETS ROCKERS UPTOWN

http://www.ayeverily.com/stuff/images/albums/ktmru.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:33 (twenty years ago)

Shock! (That the results are being posted.) I guess I won't be able to get into ILX by the time I get to work because of the online traffic.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:35 (twenty years ago)

ahem...

94

points: 207
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 7

AUGUSTUS PABLO - KING TUBBY MEETS ROCKERS UPTOWN

http://www.ayeverily.com/stuff/images/albums/ktmru.jpg


That's better.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:36 (twenty years ago)

Thanks for your understanding, btw, Mike.. I will try and repay it by posting one of the next 10 results correctly.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:39 (twenty years ago)

i am starting to worry that Randy Newman Live didn't make the top 100.

Lee F# (fsharp), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:41 (twenty years ago)

93

points: 208
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 5

PHILIP GLASS - EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH

http://www.dunvagen.com/images/einstein.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:44 (twenty years ago)

92

points: 210
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 7

SPARKS - KIMONO MY HOUSE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000007UQ4.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:48 (twenty years ago)

91

points: 211
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 7

CHEAP TRICK - AT BUDOKAN

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000024BVX.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 10:54 (twenty years ago)

The best part about Budokan is how my memory is that there are lots of tracks saying "hello" then Surrender and I Want You To Want Me then lots of tracks saying "goodbye"
-- Sterling Clover, April 3rd, 2003




i had the original lp for years and the way it rocked from beginning to end (except for "need your love" and the horrible "i want you to want me") used to leave me wanting more -- if that "want you .." song hadn't been pandemic radio novelty junk back then Live at Budokan wouldn't have been released at all except in Japan, and Rick Nelson reckoned Dream Police wouldn't have been in the can for a year -- the band wouldn't have lost their momentum, as they seem to have peaked around then

this was the band i always wanted to see appear at the pub when i went out at night, ie one that really rocked -- no bullshit, just thoroughly down-to-work rock music from a band that used to work 200 nights of the year, so they knew how to do it live (so it was nice of Albini to let them headline ATP years after all the fuss)

so when i finally got the double cd it was a great thrill -- the encore stuff in the right order right through to Rick mumbling like some bemused tourist "Mmmm.., the great Budokan .." at the beginning before they hit the stage and get that reaction like nothing they'd ever had back home in the u.s. -- i thought there'd have to be filler in a two cd long concert but no, just this endless energy

as good as the original lps are i think that only "high roller" rocks better in the studio -- the live concert, "warts and all" entirety, really does deliver on live rock, something you couldn't say about most old double live lps that fit on single cds

-- george gosset, April 3rd, 2003

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:01 (twenty years ago)

90

points: 212
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 6

STEELY DAN - COUNTDOWN TO ECSTASY

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00000DI0J.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:10 (twenty years ago)

Good idea, Alba...why didn't I think of that?

(that's a rhetorical question and does NOT require an answer..)

Countdown To Ecstacy is a fantastic album. My Punk story, the day I bought Never Mind The Bollocks I also bought Pretzel Logic. I played the second one much more.

-- Pete (pb1...), February 27th, 2002.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:17 (twenty years ago)

I've listened to Countdown to Ecstasy about 20 times in the last 2 days, and it's not enough. Now I'm drunk as fuck and I'm going to stay up all night with it on rotation. Please note: I'm restraining myself from asking why everybody doesn't live with this thing forever. The slide on "Pearl of the Quarter". Fuck Music. Just submit, mother-lovers.
-- noodle vague (noodle_vagu...), November 26th, 2004

For me the one that bears the most frequent revisiting is Countdown to Ecstasy, but it's unbelievably dark.
-- J0hn Darn1elle (edito...), October 20th, 2003

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:18 (twenty years ago)

In theory I'm at work today, but I can probably keep this up for a while if you want to concentrate on getting the album posts together.

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:19 (twenty years ago)

89

points: 220
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 6

SPARKS - NO.1 IN HEAVEN

ihttp://www.musicmatic.de/S/Sparks_1a.jpg

_The Number One Song in Heaven_ -- the album itself is a Giorgio Moroder-produced classic, and for me is easily the equal of his work with Donna Summer. Anyone even slightly interested in how the eighties were invented needs to hear this.

-- Ned Raggett (ne...), August 28th, 2000.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:23 (twenty years ago)

see if this link works instead:

http://www.connollyco.com/discography/sparks/heaven.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:25 (twenty years ago)

Alba - if you're happy doing that, that's great. Searching is taking a while today. I think my dial-up connection is a little ill.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:26 (twenty years ago)

Hmm. Good as it is, Kimono My House, Propaganda and Indiscreet are all better.

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:27 (twenty years ago)

...and the ILX search facility itself has been horribly slow for quite some time now. I'd offer to help as well, but I'm on steam-driven dial-up myself...

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:28 (twenty years ago)

88

points: 222
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 9

CAN - FUTURE DAYS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000006XE6.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:32 (twenty years ago)

One of several Can albums nominated. IS IT THE HIGHEST PLACED??

(err..did that attempt to copy Mike and introduce an element of suspense work? I suspect not.)

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:35 (twenty years ago)

87

points: 229
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 9

THE B52s - THE B52s

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00002632M.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:39 (twenty years ago)

The 'Future Days' LP, with Damo Suzuki singing low down in the mix of motorik and completely TIMELESS grooves presses my kosmische button, one play is never enough, neither 2, nor 3...
-- Morfe (morf...), September 4th, 2001

Future Days is wonderful "finally finding a path home after driving around lost for an hour or so" music.
-- Alan N (ala...), February 25th, 2003

'Classic' Can is a chore, Future Days excepted.

-- Dr. C (Daveatcrossdee...), February 25th, 2003

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:40 (twenty years ago)

86

points: 231
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 6

PARLIAMENT - FUNKENTELECHY VS. THE PLACEBO SYNDROME

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00002632M.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:43 (twenty years ago)

ahem..

I thought that was going too well..

86

points: 231
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 6

PARLIAMENT - FUNKENTELECHY VS. THE PLACEBO SYNDROME


http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000001FCK.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:45 (twenty years ago)

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000001FCK.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:45 (twenty years ago)


That yellow album has been played at just about every party I've been to.
-- P. Remak (remakp...), November 27th, 2002

the first 2 LPs are godlike.
-- electric sound of jim (electricsoun...), July 9th, 2003

"Planet Claire" = first single mark s evah bought
-- mark s (mar...), September 9th, 2001

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

(sorry - I can't quite keep up. That was for the B52s album)

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

85

points: 232
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 10

LEONARD COHEN - SONGS OF LOVE AND HATE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000024CRK.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:49 (twenty years ago)

Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome = best concept album EVAH.

-- M Matos (michaelangelomato...), July 12th, 2002.

Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome by Parliament. No gaps, no holes, weird stuff right next to glorious pop moments, doo-wop science-fiction funk with no apologies.

-- Matt C. (cibul...), October 3rd, 2002.

If you're looking for the straight-up, most accessible of the Parliament records that sound like what most people consider the "Parliament sound"--i.e. the "disco-y, funky, rubbery bass kinda stuff you see sample on the G-Funk hip hop albums" that Jason D pointed out--then Funkentelechy is tough to beat. Two killer singles, hilarious dead-on concept w/ great characters and great extended jams.
And ironically, in light of the early P-Funk records, it's one of the all-time greatest acid records.
-- Naive Teen Idol (matthewjweine...), March 17th, 2003.

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:51 (twenty years ago)

Any chance you could slow down just a tad? Don't worry if not.

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:52 (twenty years ago)

I was just thinking that might be a good idea.

Thanks for helping with this.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:54 (twenty years ago)

I bought Songs of Love and Hate as a result of this thread. Perhaps I should have been more adventurous and bought something by someone I don't already have anything by.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:57 (twenty years ago)

I'm a Jewish Montrealer, so how can I really hate him? Though I don't own any albums I've certainly spent enough time enjoying his music; haters should check out Songs of Love and Hate.

-- s1utsky (parrisactava...), June 20th, 2003


'Songs of Love and Hate' is about as dark as it gets: in particular 'Dress Rehearsal Rag'.

-- Johnathan (johnatha...), July 11th, 2001

Songs of Love and Hate is one of the most perfect albums I've ever heard.

-- Affectian (niche_ia...), May 29th, 2003

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:57 (twenty years ago)

Bugger - I've got some work to do so will have to duck out for a while.

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 11:59 (twenty years ago)

84

points: 235
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 9

IGGY AND THE STOOGES - RAW POWER

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000024FRW.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:00 (twenty years ago)

Raw Power, baby, raw raw raw. I can't really speak to the original release with the crap mix, but the reissue shows that Raw Power was the most rock and roll album ever made. I played it for someone yesterday, actually, and listened again through new ears, and it's still menacing, loud as hell, and it still even sounds more relevant than most of the material being released today. Is Fun House great? Yeah. If you ask me (and you did), Raw Power is even better.

-- Sean Carruthers (oneiro...), April 29th, 2001.

Raw power isnt even that hot an album except for a few tracks (Search and destroy, Gimme danger). Bowies production is awful too. I know its an obvious thing to say but its true.

-- Michael (carrotbourk...), April 28th, 2001.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:05 (twenty years ago)

The great thing about the bass-shy original Raw Power is that you can crank it up really loud on the scuzziest of hi(?)-fi systems ... there's no distorted bass to spoil things, just searing layers of tinny white noise geetar, with Iggy hollering over the top.

-- I.M.Belong (imbelon...), July 20th, 2001

Raw Power lasts for me because it was a live event, more inspirational, it changed the way I walked down the street.
-- K-reg (drelocatio...), April 29th, 2001


A fry up, a pint of orange juice, "Raw Power" at max volume and down the pub for opening time. Just do it.

-- Dr. C (Daveatcrossdee...), April 28th, 2001

OK, now I work

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:06 (twenty years ago)

When are you going to post the song poll results, Hobart? Because I could still send you the song blurbs I forgot to do when you e-mailed me.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:10 (twenty years ago)

83

points: 236
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 6

THE SLITS - CUT

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004ZE8C.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


Slits! Cut is great.

-- scott m (srmcd...), August 14th, 2003.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:10 (twenty years ago)

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004ZE8C.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

iILX 70s album poll - results

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

This is so endearingly ramshackle! Peel would have approved!

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:30 (twenty years ago)

82

points: 236
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 6

NICK DRAKE - BRYTER LAYTER

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000025H0Q.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

The word "gentle" springs to mind - but that's not quite right. This is pastoral, rather than gentle. Its a quiet two fingers up to the city, and a trudge up into the hills to stare at the clouds above... knowing that, at some point, you've got to go back and face the streets, and the hardness - but hey, for now, let's enjoy the view, and each other. Do you hope to find new ways of quenching your thirst?? I'm not talking about Volvic.

I'm not sure how this blurb is going, or where this blurb is going. Perhaps it should end there.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:32 (twenty years ago)

So low!

P.S. Another tip for searching, esp. with album titles that don't have very distinctive words in them, is to use the Google search (set up on the ILX search page). Google doesn't index all threads, by any means, but it can be handy, esp. as it's much faster and gives you keyword in context.

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=site%3Ailx.wh3rd.net%20%22raw%20power%22%20 for example

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:35 (twenty years ago)

iILX 70s album poll - results

-- hobart paving (elvistear...), April 16th, 2005. (tracklink)
This is so endearingly ramshackle! Peel would have approved!

-- mike t-diva (mikejl...), April 16th, 2005.

Endearingly ramshackle...

You're very kind. Some would be a little harsher. What on EARTH was I doing there?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:35 (twenty years ago)

hobart, nice to see these long awaited results, thanks

Key question--how many people actually voted?

Keith C (kcraw916), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:41 (twenty years ago)

81

points: 237
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 8

THE BEACH BOYS - SURF'S UP

ihttp://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002TEB.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


I'm not sure if that is the original cover.

Surf's Up rules, and if it had any more epics than it contained, it'd probably be too perfect. I appreciate songs like Lookin' At Tomorrow and Student Demonstration Time because they make the Beach Boys seem human.

-- Schwingung (spacela...), November 25th, 2003.

"Sunflower" and "Surf's Up" are absolute classics, almost on par with "Pet Sounds" and better than anything else they did in the 60s.

-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), November 25th, 2003.


On the Sunflower/Surf's Up tip, I would say the former is the better album, while the latter has four or five absolutely AMAZING, PERFECT songs on it with several clunkers packed in. And, I dunno, This Whole World is a pretty amazing song, too. And yes, those are the albums that prove the melodic genius ran through the entirety of the Wilson family, if not the ear for eccentricity and vocal arrangement skills.

-- Chris O. (coconnor...), November 26th, 2003.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:44 (twenty years ago)

I'm not sure why the image link didn't work there, but it wasn't the proper album cover anyway.

Let's try again:

http://img.epinions.com/images/newworld/4001/380101-music-resized200.JPG

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:48 (twenty years ago)

Keith - I think there were 64 votes in the end.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:48 (twenty years ago)

That's Sunflower - not Surf's Up.

http://www.banality.nl/images/surfsup.jpg

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:50 (twenty years ago)

80

points: 238
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 11

NEU! - NEU!

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000056IKS.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:57 (twenty years ago)

Sorry about Surf's Up.

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:58 (twenty years ago)

That's Sunflower - not Surf's Up

fuck

fuck

fuckity fuck

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 12:59 (twenty years ago)

and hurray!!

http://www.zschauer.de/beachboys/bb_surfs_up.jpg


THIS is Surf's up.

It looks very sinister. Is it?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:01 (twenty years ago)

Are we allowed a thread about "Surf's Up" the album, particularly the album cover

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:03 (twenty years ago)

79

points: 241
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 8

THE BEATLES - LET IT BE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002UB6.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Searching the site for "Let It Be" is really very time-consuming, yknow...

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:08 (twenty years ago)

Try the Google thing, or a title search:

http://ilx.p3r.net/searchresults.php?board=2&mode=threads&q=&titlepart=let+it+be&name=&email=&username=&dateafter=&datebefore=&catid=all

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:10 (twenty years ago)

Let It Bee.... now THERE was a good album.

oops, wrong poll.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:11 (twenty years ago)

Hobart, I just emailed you my blurbs for the singles poll.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:16 (twenty years ago)

Ta again, Alba.

solid through and through, though i've never understood the appeal of "get back," which is the template for every bad paul mccartney rock song to come. "i me mine" is sub-par george. "one after 909" is a throwaway that doesn't stand up to great throwaways like, say, "gary's got a boner." "long and winding road" is an ok piano ballad that's got nothing on "androgynous." "two of us," on the other hand, is every bit as good an album opener as "i will dare." "dig it" tops "seen your video" in the celebrating/defecating-pop-culture department. "let it be" is as exactly as good as rem's "everybody hurts," another song i admire but don't need to ever hear again.

-- fact checking cuz (factcheckingcu...), February 23rd, 2005.

Yes, that's a good one, because I agree with it. "Get Back" really is terrible, isn't it?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:17 (twenty years ago)

Thanks, Tuomas.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:17 (twenty years ago)

The results are very interesting so far. I'm surprised to see NEU! so low -- does this mean the other two are higher? Or did vote splitting kill the chances of any of the three getting a high placing? I always thought that their first album was the preferred one.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:21 (twenty years ago)

78

points: 241
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 11

This beats "Let It Be" because its highest placing was 5th, whereas The Beatles highest was 8th.

ihttp://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004WGEL.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

JL/POB's 'angry' tracks like "Well Well Well" haven't aged well. However, the way Lennon sings the last verse of "God" may be the best singing of his career.

-- Justyn Dillingham (aubade8...), September 28th, 2002.

John Lenon Plastic Ono Band is classic stuff. It's been a while since I've heard much of this music, however, so it's that much more difficult to say why I like it. Raw, stripped down, etc.

-- Rockist Scientist (Rockistscientis...), September 27th, 2002.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:25 (twenty years ago)

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hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

That's "Plastic Ono Band", btw..

The bloke on the grass is John Lennon.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

77

points: 246
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 12

FUNKADELIC - MAGGOT BRAIN

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Maggot Brain: Easily the best first 2/3 of any rock OR funk album of the 1970s, but goes way overboard with "Wars of Armageddon". "Super Stupid" is better than 80% of any song written by Led Zeppelin, 90% better than any song written by Black Sabbath, and 250% better than any song written by Grand Funk Railroad.

-- Stupornaut (natepatri...), March 29th, 2005.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:33 (twenty years ago)

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000025766.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:34 (twenty years ago)

That's "Plastic Ono Band", btw..
The bloke on the grass is John Lennon.

aren't there, like, two blokes? it's kinda hazy from afar, y'kno.
;)

t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

Okay, I think I'm stopping at 76 for the moment. More later.

76

points: 251
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 9

BIG STAR - THIRD

http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/b5/10/82713-music-resized200.JPG

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 16 April 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

John Lenon Plastic Ono Band is classic stuff. It's been a while since I've heard much of this music, however, so it's that much more difficult to say why I like it. Raw, stripped down, etc.

It's a little painful to have to revisit my brilliant comments, etc.

RS, Saturday, 16 April 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

Third/Sister Lovers:

The three BS albums are like a drunk's progress. First album - happy buzz, sociable and 'up'. Second album - nasty, sloppy, mean-minded, initially amusing but unpleasant to be with. Third album - all the grief, dysfunction and ultimate serenity of the hangover. I like a lot of their stuff, I love a bit of their stuff - ultimately Chilton has to take some of the indirect blame for lo-fi's cult of the fuck- up.
-- Tom (ebro...), October 19th, 2001 1:00 AM.


Of course the third Big Star record is an Alex Chlton solo album and it's one of the greatest LPs ever made, in my opinion, greater even than "Radio City."

-- Jess Hill (jesshil...), May 9th, 2003

"Kanga-Roo" is a magically fucked up song. It's just devestating, made all the more so by what a total wreck it is structurally and rhythmically.

-- The Good Dr. Bill (fadeout9...), November 9th, 2004


One of the top 10 most depressing albums of all time.

-- alex in mainhattan (alex6...), July 11th, 2001

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

I wonder how many spots will appear for Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Will ILM 2005 display the same tastes of the 70's music-buying public?

Not judging by that quote about Maggotbrain up above! (Which I don't agree with at all.)

Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Saturday, 16 April 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

we've had Beatles Band just now. Floyd'll do well. Dunno about the rest.

zebedee (zebedee), Saturday, 16 April 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

Not judging by that quote about Maggotbrain up above! (Which I don't agree with at all.)

I'm sorry to hear about your Grand Funk Railroad fandom

Stupornaut (natepatrin), Saturday, 16 April 2005 16:13 (twenty years ago)

How many people voted total?

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Saturday, 16 April 2005 17:24 (twenty years ago)

64

Alba (Alba), Saturday, 16 April 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)

So far we have:

100. VA - Nuggets
99. New York Dolls - s/t
98. David Bowie - Heroes
97. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
96. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town
95. The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys
94. Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
93. Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach
92. Sparks - Kimono My House
91. Cheap Trick - Live at Budokan
90. Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstacy
89. Sparks - No. 1 in Heaven
88. Can - Future Days
87. The B52s - The B52s
86. Parliament - Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
85. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
84. Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
83. The Slits - Cut
82. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
81. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
80. Neu! - Neu!
79. The Beatles - Let It Be
78. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
77. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
76. Big Star - Third

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Saturday, 16 April 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

The Wizard of Oz : The Wiz :: Beckett's Happy Days : The cover of Maggot Brain

poortheatre (poortheatre), Saturday, 16 April 2005 17:51 (twenty years ago)

This thread is hilarious! Cheers. I'll try to have my blurbs to you tonight. Will write something after the fact for _Einstein_ as well.

Sundar (sundar), Saturday, 16 April 2005 19:38 (twenty years ago)

I'm really surprised at Maggot Brain placing so low.

stephen morris (stephen morris), Saturday, 16 April 2005 21:35 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, Maggot Brain is actually great. If I had to come up with 100 albums from the 70s, I'm sure I'd come to Maggot Brain before I hit #50.

Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Saturday, 16 April 2005 22:13 (twenty years ago)

When does this resume?

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Sunday, 17 April 2005 10:49 (twenty years ago)

I was going to do some tonight, but its a bit late now. I'll do a couple, and more tomorrow.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:09 (twenty years ago)

75

points: 256
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 7

JOHN CALE - PARIS 1919

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hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:13 (twenty years ago)

I don't think I've ever even seen that album cover before (not that I've particularly sought out John Cale's solo career, but I would think I'd have run into this somewhere).

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:14 (twenty years ago)

74

points: 257
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 6

DONNA SUMMER - ON THE RADIO

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hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:24 (twenty years ago)

I can't get the search thing to work tonight, so I'm afraid you'll have to supply your own comments.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:26 (twenty years ago)

Paris 1919:

Now there's a record which creates a world.

-- Tom (ebro...), May 29th, 2001

Paris 1919, Music for a New Society - two of the greatest albums ever released by anyone, anywhere

-- Dadaismus (kcoyne3...), January 12th, 2004

Somehow I think it's nice to get this one in before going to Church of Anthrax / New Society, which if you heard them completely out-of-the-blue would sound like the flailing piss of a coked-up bag of bellybooze. Which they are. The secret is to learn to love the bag, and that takes a while.

-- Lynskey (pau...), January 12th, 2004 2:19 PM.

It's one of the few albs that make me think that "chamber pop" might be anything other than Chicago Live Vol. 1-2000.

-- Jess (dubplatestyl...), August 7th, 2001.

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:26 (twenty years ago)

Apparently, it works for some....

hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:27 (twenty years ago)

73

points: 258
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 7

MILES DAVIS - A TRIBUTE TO JACK JOHNSON

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hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

72

points: 260
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 5

MARVIN GAYE - LET'S GET IT ON

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hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:31 (twenty years ago)

Thanks for posting those comments, btw, Alba. Sorry for not waiting. I'm going to get up to 70 done, and then go to bed.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:32 (twenty years ago)

although I don't know why I felt the need to share that.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:33 (twenty years ago)

Did you get my blurb for Paris 1919?

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:35 (twenty years ago)

71

points: 262
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 10

PARLIAMENT - THE MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION

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hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:35 (twenty years ago)

Oh fuck not again

hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:36 (twenty years ago)

WHERE IS BRIAN ENO AND WHERE IS YES AND WHERE IS CAPTAIN BEYOND AND WHERE IS EARTH WIND & FIRE AND WHERE IS ZEPPELIN AND WHERE IS JETHRO TULL AND WHERE IS STEVIE MILLER AND WHERE IS STEVIE WONDER AND WHERE IS ASH RA TEMPEL AND WHERE IS KLAATU AND WHERE IS THIN LIZZY AND WHERE IS T. REX AND WHERE IS JONI MITCHELL AND WHERE IS VAN MORRISON AND WHERE IS NEIL YOUNG AND WHERE IS BOSTON AND WHERE IS DYLAN AND WHERE IS HORSLIPS AND WHERE IS SKYNYRD AND WHERE ARE THE FACES AND WHERE THE FUCK IS HAWKWIND???????????????

the white goddess, Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:38 (twenty years ago)

Billy - no I don't think I did - sorry. I got a mail saying you'd try and do one, but no actual blurb. Would you post it here for me?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:38 (twenty years ago)

This is how that should have looked:

71

points: 262
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 10

PARLIAMENT - THE MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION


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hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

Miles Davis - A Tribute To Jack Johnson:

First jazz album I can remember enjoying was Miles' Tribute To Jack Johnson - steady beat, plenty of rockin', lots of surprises. I still don't get Kind Of Blue to this day.

-- Patrick (calimer...), July 16th, 2001

Search: pretty much all the 70s electric stuff sans At Fillmore (no to be confused with Black Beauty: Live at Fillmore West). start with In a Silent Way ('69, but still; most beautiful), Jack Johnson (hardest-rocking), Dark Magus (most ferociously intense).

-- M Matos (michaelangelomato...), December 14th, 2002

Absolutely the best thing Miles Davis in the '70s, even greater than "Agartha" or the best of "Get Up With It."

-- eddie hurt (eddshur...), March 29th, 2004 6:45 PM.

and if you like the standard issue Jack Johnson, the complete sessions box is fascinating. Chockful of random beauty and killer guitar skronk. Really, it's not just another overstuffed ripoff.

-- lovebug starski (writeco...), March 28th, 2004 2:49 PM.

(In reply to "If you were boxer, what would your entrance music be):

'Right Off' from Miles Davis' Tribute to Jack Johnson. Obv.

-- Jordan (jordancohe...) December 2nd, 2003

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

xpost
How queer. Yup, but it'll be tomorrow as I'm at work.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:41 (twenty years ago)

WHERE IS BRIAN ENO

funny you should ask.

70

points: 263
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 11

BRIAN ENO - TAKING TIGER MOUNTAIN (BY STRATEGY)


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hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:43 (twenty years ago)

More tomorrow

hobart paving (hobart paving), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:44 (twenty years ago)

Since when did "On The Radio" become a 70s album. Most of the music may have been released in the 70s, but the compilation was still released in 1980, as was the title track.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:45 (twenty years ago)

Parliament - Mothership Connection:

Absent-mindedly grabbed a tape of this yesterday as I begrudgingly limped off to the gym for a stupefying round of self-torture on the treadmill, and found a new buoyancy in my otherwise lumpen, funkless gait, prompted by the seamless brilliance of this....wait for it....genuinely timeless classic!

I remmber my sister brought this album home (along with Clones of Dr.Funkenstein) sometime in the summer of 1976 or so, whetting my ten year old appetite for it by saying they were "like the black version of Kiss". Well, they sure did look as equally otherworldly as my beloved, grease-painted superheroes....and were on the same visionary record label....but oof were they ever different! For a start, there seemed to be about forty of them, and the sheer production and instrumentation of Mothership Connection was dizzying (Kiss wouldn't manage as varied and vast a sound until Destroyer). But damn....having heard nothing of any semblance of "funk" in any capacity (James Brown didn't get a lot of airplay in our mid-to-late 70's household), this was just a whole different brand of beast.

For a start, Clinton's narrative skills on the first two tracks are completley hilarious and bizarre, hooking me right in. Secondly, the grooves just seem to flow so effortlessly, morphing from full-on punch and then off into jazzy subtlety, buffered by at least three different voices at a time (Lollipop Man, "the Long Haired Sucka" being my favorite). The precise moment during "Mothership Connection (Star Child)," when the band switches back into the "Swing low sweet chariot..." refrain and the giant saucer gently lifts off again (I'm talking bout specificaly 5:13 into the song), it is truly a transcendent bit of music. Damn I love that.

"Unfunky UFO" seems to abduct the riff from Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" and takes it on a strange sci-fi episode involving an alien invasion prompted by a funk famine. Odd? You betcha, but it's wildy inventive and engaging stuff.

I remember especially enjoying "Handcuffs" as a kid, mistaking the chorus for being "Do I have to put my handcuffs on your mama?", which made precious little sense but prompted big laughs. The song, in retrospect, is actually a tad misogynist, but hey....this was the 70's after all.

"Give Up the Funk..." is of course a massive classic, and there's nothing I can say about it that will further its status as utterly brilliant. Even the arguable filler tracks ("Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples") are still completely awe inspiring.

If you don't own this record, you're exiling yourself in a world devoid of fun.

Who agrees? Who dares disagree?

-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), August 14th, 2003

Far and away their tightest, least indulgent funk alb, heavily plundered by Dr. Dre. One of the all-time great alb covers too!

-- Andrew L (andre...), July 15th, 2001

Something of a landmark, being one of the first r&b record that's back to back funk, with not a ballad in sight.

-- Shakey Mo Collier (audiobo...), February 4th, 2004

'Mothership Connection' - you won't believe how many bits you'll recognize, it's been sampled to infinity.

-- tarden (scrape10...), July 15th, 2001

There are some strange and tortured souls out there who prefer "Funkentelechy" but then as George himself said, "Mothership" is the one with "all the hits".

-- Dadaismus (kcoyne3...), August 14th, 2003

Around the age of 12 or 13 my best friend found his brother's Parliament CD and we listened to it on repeat for weeks, out on the porch, dancing. First time I ever really danced. That shit changed my life.

-- Sonny A. (newaddres...), August 16th, 2003 2:17 AM.

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:47 (twenty years ago)

Geir - compilations are often troublesome to pin down to a decade. Would you rather call it an 80s album? That would be even weirder to me, seeing as most of the songs it contains, as you say, are from the 70s.

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:49 (twenty years ago)

(fwiw I didn't think Nuggets should have been allowed in the poll, but there you go)

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 22:57 (twenty years ago)

Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

"Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy" is my favorite Eno record. Darker then the first record but not as sleep inducing as his latter more ambient work. There are "songs" on this record as well as the sonic textures Eno is known for. It works on two levels, you can just "play" it or you can really "listen" to it and enjoy it equally. Still don't know what this record has to do with Chinese spies though...


-- Juan (p1nk8c1...), November 7th, 2002

Taking Tiger Mountain: His second album. Quite strange surreal story. Somehow gripping. With singing.

-- alex in mainhattan (alex6...), July 17th, 2001


Eno is an underrated lyricist...the words on "Tiger Mountain" always struck me as very nice indeed.

-- Jess Hill (jesshil...), February 28th, 2003


"Tiger Mountain" contains some of the best words I know.

-- eddie hurt (eddshur...), July 21st, 2004

I was in a bar where this guy I know works and he was playing songs from his iPod over the stereo. At one point I asked him, Is this the Thinking Fellers? And he said, no it's Brian Eno. Then later another song came on, and I asked him if it was the Swell Maps. Again it was Eno. It turns out both songs were on TTM(BS). That's when I knew I needed to hear the rest of the album.

-- o. nate (syne_wav...), July 21st, 2004

One thing I don't think I've said about Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy is that I got a copy around the time that I had just about lost my belief in Christian doctrine, so it took on kind of a heavy symbolic weight of the scarey, uncertain, world of religious disbelief. (Obviously I hadn't only listened to Christian music up until then. That's not the point.) I want to exmphasize, this is a symbolic purpose I was giving it: I don't think it has much to do with the album itself (although it is kind of interesting in light of some things I've read by him essential outlining an anti-fundamentalism--of whatever source--stance). Just the cover itself took on a certain weight, and I wasn't totally happy about it. It didn't look like an especially happy world (and I've never been unambivalently attracted to hipster jadedness, if I've ever been attracted by it at all), but it seemed somewhat inevitable that I would be joining it. Graphically, it was: the cover of Taking Tiger Mountain vs. the dull blue cover of Cornelius Van Til's Defense of the Faith (given to me by my brother-in-law). I think I was more visually oriented then. Anyway, book covers or album covers could easily become suffused with an emotional coloring.


-- Rockist Scientist (heterophoni...), July 21st, 2004

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 23:03 (twenty years ago)

(I can't seem to find anyone saying anything much about Let's Get It On.)

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 17 April 2005 23:12 (twenty years ago)

Tribute to Jack Johnson at 73?

(rolls in grave)

poortheatre (poortheatre), Sunday, 17 April 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

Geir - compilations are often troublesome to pin down to a decade. Would you rather call it an 80s album?

I wouldn't call it an album. No need for it in the list as long as there is "Bad Girls" anyway

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 18 April 2005 00:02 (twenty years ago)

(rolls in grave)

Davis' corpse was always going to be perturbed by the preferences of tiny samples of online listmaking geeks. But what can you do?

Nice work Hobart Paving. Even though many of my choices have already appeared!

Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Monday, 18 April 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

Geir: What is your stance on the Nuggets inclusion?

Ian John50n (orion), Monday, 18 April 2005 00:47 (twenty years ago)

that was actually me rolling in my own grave.. should have made that clear.

poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 18 April 2005 01:59 (twenty years ago)

Do you have a grave where you take naps and stuff? That would be so cool.

Sundar (sundar), Monday, 18 April 2005 02:09 (twenty years ago)

(Jack Johnson was in my top 5 IIRC.)

Sundar (sundar), Monday, 18 April 2005 02:10 (twenty years ago)

This belongs above...

John Cale - Paris 1919

There was a lot of nostalgia in the early 70's. From Harry Nillson's drowsy take on easy listening to glam's rocket charged reworking of classic rock and roll memes, a whole generation of musicians were looking back to the carefree days of their youth.

If anyone should be immune to such revisionism then John Cale should be that man. Years spent with Lamonte Young and the Velvet's would be enough to prevent such indulgences . Even Cale wasn't immune, but preferred the richer emotional nostalgia of his youth rather than the callow retreads favoured elsewhere.

Paris 1919 was a work out of time, lush and poetic when elsewhere rock was going through a protracted adolescence. The sepia tinted Cover portrait hinted, like the Band's eponymous album, that this was a piece which would transcend fads and fashion.

Ignored at the time it nevertheless proved to be his most emotionally enduring work (though Music for a new society comes close). Playfully adult in it's themes of travel, mystery and nostalgia. A travelogue of the mind and the heart, a mystery which deepens through repeated listening.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Monday, 18 April 2005 07:45 (twenty years ago)

What does Paris 1919 sound like? Is it anything like either the Velvets or the Theatre of Eternal Music?

Sundar (sundar), Monday, 18 April 2005 10:18 (twenty years ago)

not really like the velvets. more like rather soft chamber folk rock music. there is an impressionist atmosphere attached to it. when i think about it i would maybe even compare it to "astral weeks". it's much less airy and spiritual though.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Monday, 18 April 2005 10:28 (twenty years ago)

I think John Cale used to refer to Paris 1919 as his "Procol Harum album". I'm no expert on PH, but I remember there being certains parts on Exotic birds... that sounded very much like Paris. Chris Thomas produced both, of course.

the todster (the todster), Monday, 18 April 2005 10:54 (twenty years ago)

Also, Paris 1919 is amazing. It probably would have been my #1 pick.

the todster (the todster), Monday, 18 April 2005 10:57 (twenty years ago)

"Paris 1919": Europhile apotheosis of '70s LA studio-rock.

edd s hurt (ddduncan), Monday, 18 April 2005 12:35 (twenty years ago)

A Saints album better place high. It'd be a fucking crime if the NY Dolls got into the top hundred and "I'm Stranded" or "Eternally Yours" didn't

Dan Beale, Monday, 18 April 2005 12:36 (twenty years ago)

Speaking of Cale, I remember putting Letter from Abroad on the playlist the other day and not remembering the artist when it came on later and being sure I was listening to Beck. How many guys can have songs that predate Beck by 20+ years and put out the kind of lush stuff that is on Paris 1919?

Cunga (Cunga), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 07:05 (twenty years ago)

That song's post-Beck

A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 07:13 (twenty years ago)

69

points: 266
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 6

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER OFFICIAL SOUND TRACK

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hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

Its surprisingly hard, given its high placing, to find too many positive comments about this one..

disco was thriving in the mainstream pre-Saturday Night Fever, but the movie and especially the soundtrack made the genre unavoidable leading to disco crossovers by everyone from Elton John to Ethel Merman and a big backlash. No Saturday Night fever - no overexposure, maybe disco doesn't die. Of course you can argue that disco never died, it just turned into electro, etc. but try telling that to all the disco acts who suddenly lost their record deals sometime in the early '80s.-- J Blount (littlejohnnyjewe...), April 29th, 2002.

I don't suppose this is really a negative comment. And the Ethel Merman disco albums is FANTASTIC!!

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

I hope I voted for that. I can't remember.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

Saturday Night Fever is one of the best soundtracks evah.

-- helenfordsdale (helenfordsdal...), December 23rd, 2001.

err... a bit on the succinct side, that comment, but it serves the purpose, doesn't it?

x-post I could check if you voted for it if you want - remind me what name you'd have sent the e-mail under.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

It's not important, I'm just curious. I think the name on my oumtransmissions account is "Osmane Omane" or something close to that.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

68

points: 269
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 10

WIRE - CHAIRS MISSING

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hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

Chairs missing" was my first exposure to Wire (after hearing "12XU" on a compilation and finding it hilariously funny) and it blew me away. It still sounds contemporary today, whereas the albums either side of it sound dated - "Pink flag" too punk, "154" too arty. "Chairs missing" is the perfect mix of pop, punk, art and strange beauty. And in fact I'm going to go away and play it again, just to remind myself how good it is.
-- Rob M (robdmorga...), June 6th, 2001.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:13 (twenty years ago)

and Larue? (RS??) no, you didn't..

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:17 (twenty years ago)

67

points: 269
1st place votes:1
total votes: 8

LED ZEPPELIN - HOUSES OF THE HOLY

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002J0B.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


and I have a REAL BLURB SPECIALLY WRITTEN FOR THE OCCASION FOR THIS ONE. HURRAY!!

HERE IT IS:


Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy

Electric guitar as orchestra.

---Sundar


Short, and to the point.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:24 (twenty years ago)

Led Zeppelin's next highest placing was 7th, Wire's was 8th. Hence the positions.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:26 (twenty years ago)

Actually I had "Chairs Missing" 4th. boo, 2 of my top ten have already passed by...

These Robust Cookies (Robust Cookies), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

Shouldn't Wire rank higher on account of the higher number of votes? Is that how ties were settled in other polls? I guess it doesn't matter, we're only at #67.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

66

points: 270
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 13

LED ZEPPELIN - IV

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002J09.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Led Zeppelin - IV

A couple favourite moments:
- when Robert Plant's voice mutates into a bowed string at the end of
"Four
Sticks"
- that sort of crackling chord after "When the Levee Breaks"; the way
the most
traditional blues song is also the most studio-treated
- the piles of overdubbed guitars pulling off suspensions of D before
the
"Stairway to Heaven" solo; the sighing slide guitar overdub in that
solo

---Sundar

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

Shouldn't Wire rank higher on account of the higher number of votes? Is that how ties were settled in other polls? I guess it doesn't matter, we're only at #67.

I suppose it depends whether you think its more important that a few people really, really loved an album or that more people thought it was quite good, but not their favourite. I decided on the former in the end, but can see why you'd suggest the alternative.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

Actually I had "Chairs Missing" 4th. boo, 2 of my top ten have already passed by...

FUCK! No they haven't.

err... look away for a minute...

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

68

points: 269
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 10

WIRE - 154

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00000JR11.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


ahem... erm...note the subtle difference.

This is how that SHOULD have looked.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

Chairs Missing MAY OR MAY NOT be elsewhere in the top 100.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

That's more like it... I will be sort of shocked if Chairs Missing doesnt' even make the top 50!!!

These Robust Cookies (Robust Cookies), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

Thread Best Evah.

mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:39 (twenty years ago)

67 and 66 should look as they do now. I think I was just excited and keen to get to them because someone had written a proper blurb. A bit sad that, really.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:40 (twenty years ago)

Wow- Led Zeppelin "IV" at #68! I can't believe it was that low. I also thought "Countdown to Ecstasy", "Taking Tiger Mountain", and "Future Days" should have been higher. But I guess that's how it goes.

o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:42 (twenty years ago)

"154" is #65, right?

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

This is not a thread that can be read casually.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

and whilst we're going back over past cock-ups...here's a blurb for Plastic Ono Band that should have been inserted several entries ago.

By the wonderful Keith C. I am hoping that by using shameless flattery I can deflect attention from the fact that its 12 (or 10, really, as we've just done 68) entries too late.

John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band

Compare the minimalism of the production and arrangements on "Plastic
Ono Band" to the Beatles' final album, "Abbey Road": in Lennon's
mind, not only were the Beatles over, their entire oeuvre was rendered
moot. "Ono" is a literal and figurative shedding of the albatross
Lennon felt that the Fab Four had become. Sometimes, evidently, you
just need to start from scratch. Backed by little more than Klaus
Voormann's bass and Ringo's drumming, Lennon howls and screams
(literally) about his estranged parents, the impossibility of fame and
the worthlessness of life. That the world's foremost pop music figure
released an album so gut-wrenchingly personal and uncompromising at
the height of his popularity is still shocking. That this LP almost
overshadows the entire Beatles catalog is more frightening still.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

154 is 68.

As a wise man once said: "this is not a thread that can be read casually".

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

anyway, moving swiftly on...

65

points: 271
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 7

PINK FLOYD - WISH YOU WERE HERE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000024D4S.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

Go on, that's a Saucerful of Secrets really...

mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:54 (twenty years ago)

Are you implying that I might have been less than accurate??

HMMMM??!?!?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

man i was the only one who had 'houses of the holy' #1? what's wrong with you people?

Josh Love (screamapillar), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

that album is PERFECT.

Josh Love (screamapillar), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

I am hoping that by using shameless flattery I can deflect

Better late than nevah!

Keith C (kcraw916), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

I just tracked down my vote list.

I predict less than 10% of my votes will be here.

mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

Wow- Led Zeppelin "IV" at #68

#66, but still.

o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:05 (twenty years ago)

"Mr, Bronson, Mr. Stallone. Mr. Stallone, Mr. Bronson."

(Above: Paris 1919 was produced by Chris Thomas, who produced Procol Harum, hence, kinda...)

Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:06 (twenty years ago)

64

points: 281
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 11

BIG STAR #1 RECORD

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=%22big+star%22+%22no.+1+record%22/v=2/SID=e/l=IVI/SIG=11q9gg1k5/EXP=1114012993/*-http%3A//www.mic.gr/dbImages/24820_2.jpg


(not sure if the above image is the correct one, or if it will work)

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:07 (twenty years ago)

as Ray Charles might have said:

genius + internet = hobart

:)

zebedee (zebedee), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

Searching ILM for "Big Star" is taking far too long. Please supply your own comments. Preferably about the record, rather than the style of poll presentation..

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:12 (twenty years ago)

63

points: 289
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 10

BLACK SABBATH - PARANOID

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00022TPSY.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:16 (twenty years ago)

(Ad-hoc blurb for Big Star/#1 Record:)

It fucking rules. Buy it.

Keith C (kcraw916), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)

Paranoid is the greatest ever heavy metal single and album. Being laughable for so long since only makes Ozzy more wonderful.
-- Martin Skidmore (martin.skidmore...), March 4th, 2002.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:32 (twenty years ago)

This isn't really about the album, but about the cover. Never mind:

It's not made clear when Black Sabbath gained freedom over the choice of album art for their records, but it's noted in the liner notes that they certainly didn't have it circa Paranoid. Two revelations from reading the liner notes, the latter of which is funny, were that a) they had to rename their album, originally slated War Pigs, to Paranoid, basically to stem possible protest and banning because of the Vietnam War situation and b) they were very underwhelmed and baffled by the final result of the Paranoid album art. Iommi was quoted as saying "I don't know who the guy with the sword was on the cover -- it wasn't me! What sense did that make? A chap with a sword and a shield on the cover of an album called Paranoid? People kept asking us about that for years afterwards."
-- donut bitch (do...), April 24th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

62

points: 289
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 7

DAVID BOWIE - STATION TO STATION

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00001OH7U.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:40 (twenty years ago)

STS sounds like nothing else in the Bowie catalogue, or indeed nothing else in music at the time: it's Teutonic funk. "Golden Years" and "Stay" funk out more convincingly than anything in Kraftwerk's catalogue. Full credit goes to Bowie's incredible backing band (Alomar, Dennis Davis, etc).


-- Alfred Soto (sotoal...), March 31st, 2005.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Or this whole thread: taking sides: Station To Station vs Low

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Searching ILM for "Big Star" is taking far too long

Try the 'thread title' search or Google tricks with rubbish names like Big Star.

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:59 (twenty years ago)

61

points: 296
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 9

NEIL YOUNG - RUST NEVER SLEEPS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002KDG.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:01 (twenty years ago)

Big Star - #1 Record

That first record sounds more like a revved up Kinks crossed with the glam glory of T.Rex, and there's nothing wrong with that. If it sounds boring and cliched, now, it's only because they invented some of those cliches.
-- Sean Carruthers (oneiro...) October 18th, 2001

The first time I heard "Thirteen" I nearly cried.
-- Helen Fordsdale (helenfordsdal...) October 19th, 2001

I thought #1 Record was my least favorite but recently reappraisals have made me feel that album is a bit tighter rhythm-wise and has more perennials I dig.
-- Anthony Miccio (anthonymicci...), January 9th, 2004

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:08 (twenty years ago)

Rust Never Sleeps is good, yeah.

Ian John50n (orion), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:10 (twenty years ago)

60

points: 297
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 12

ELVIS COSTELLO - MY AIM IS TRUE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005O05K.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

This was probably addressed on one of the other threads ... but I heard "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" on the radio today ... HOW COULD "BAT OUT OF HELL" NOT HAVE BEEN NOMINATED?

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

My Aim Is True is a great record that took me a long time to get into. In fact, it's one of my favourites, despite the pub-rock backing group. I always thought they were the perfect band for the 50s Punk Buddy Holly thing he was being marketed as at the time. The lyrics are great, too: "now that your picture's in the paper / being rhythmically admired"? Brilliance.

-- Dave M. (pton_mwaa...), May 23rd, 2001.

I'll take Trust or The Juliet Letters over My Aim Is True any day.

-- Clyde (clyd...), August 27th, 2002.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

59

points: 299
1st place votes: 1
total votes 12

MILES DAVIS - BITCHES BREW

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000259BA.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:29 (twenty years ago)

I think bitches brew is a pinnacle of all music

-- Josh (kortbei...), August 29th, 2002.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)

58

points: 300
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 9

BOB DYLAN AND THE BAND - THE BASEMENT TAPES

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000025L21.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

Right, I'm stopping there because there's a discrepancy between this computer and my home computer as to the next album. I'd hate to post anything inaccurate on this thread..

More either later or tomorrow. Probably tomorrow.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:49 (twenty years ago)

SUCH SUSPENSE!

Ian John50n (orion), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

I've been listening to the Dylan/Band basement tapes recently, and it's just quality "rock," loose and fun... I don't really listen to lyrics anyway.

-- andy (and...), February 17th, 2004

my very favorite Dylan album (Blonde on Blonde being a very close 2nd).

-- Jazzbo (jmcga...), January 3rd, 2005

I think the arrangements on Basement Tapes exhibit a restlessness, and the positive pressures that talented musicians exert on each other.

-- Amateurist (amateuris...), March 19th, 2003

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)

So far:

100. VA - Nuggets
99. New York Dolls - s/t
98. David Bowie - Heroes
97. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
96. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town
95. The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys
94. Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
93. Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach
92. Sparks - Kimono My House
91. Cheap Trick - Live at Budokan
90. Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstacy
89. Sparks - No. 1 in Heaven
88. Can - Future Days
87. The B52s - The B52s
86. Parliament - Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
85. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
84. Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
83. The Slits - Cut
82. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
81. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
80. Neu! - Neu!
79. The Beatles - Let It Be
78. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
77. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
76. Big Star - Third
75. John Cale - Paris 1919
74. Donna Summer - On the Radio
73. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson
72. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
71. Parliament - The Mothership Connection
70. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
69. VA - Saturday Night Fever
68. Wire - Chairs Missing
67. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
66. Led Zeppelin - IV
65. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
64. Big Star - #1 Record
63. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
62. David Bowie - Station to Station
61. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
60. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
59. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
58. Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 17:37 (twenty years ago)

Oops, I meant 154 for #68.

I guess this is probably all we'll see for Zeppelin, P-Funk, Miles (unless In a Silent Way is more popular than Bitches Brew), possibly some others. Will there be any more compilations on the list (the Harder They Come, hopefully). I'm guessing vote-splitting really hurt Neu and probably Steely Dan as well.

Any guesses for #1? Funhouse is probably not universally loved enough, though I wouldn't be surprised if it got the most #1 votes. Exile, possibly, or maybe a dark horse like Parallel Lines.

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 17:43 (twenty years ago)

for no good reason, let's compare with the equivalent PFM poll results:

58 A Tribute to Jack Johnson Miles Davis
59 Rocket to Russia The Ramones
60 Plastic Ono Band John Lennon
61 Surf's Up Beach Boys
62 The Cars The Cars
63 Zuckerzeit Cluster
64 Lust for Life Iggy Pop
65 On The Beach Neil Young
66 Third/Sister Lovers Big Star
67 Meddle Pink Floyd
68 Head Hunters Herbie Hancock
69 IV Faust
70 Dark Side Of The Moon Pink Floyd
71 The Payback James Brown
72 Red King Crimson
73 Van Halen Van Halen
74 Songs of Love and Hate Leonard Cohen
75 Houses Of The Holy Led Zeppelin
76 Parallel Lines Blondie
77 Aladdin Sane David Bowie
78 Expensive Shit Anikulapo Kuti & Africa '70
79 Sail Away Randy Newman
80 Hunky Dory David Bowie
81 The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust David Bowie
82 All Things Must Pass George Harrison
83 Raw Power Iggy & The Stooges
84 Nilsson Schmilsson Nilsson
85 154 Wire
86 Blue Joni Mitchell
87 For Your Pleasure Roxy Music
88 From Here to Eternity Giorgio Moroder
89 Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo! Devo
90 Zombie Fela Anikulapo Kuti
91 20 Jazz Funk Greats Throbbing Gristle
92 The Man-Machine Kraftwerk
93 Band of Gypsys Jimi Hendrix
94 Starless and Bible Black King Crimson
95 Physical Graffiti Led Zeppelin
96 The Idiot Iggy Pop
97 The Harder They Come Various Artists
98 Rock Bottom Robert Wyatt
99 After The Goldrush Neil Young
100 Before and After Science Brian Eno

i think i slightly prefer the ILM results, but there's not a lot in it.

zebedee (zebedee), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

I deliberately didn't vote for Basement Tapes since I thought it should be considered a '60s album.

o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 17:57 (twenty years ago)

no vote-splitting for joy div. if unknown pleasures is not in the top 3 i will lose all my faith in you folks. please don't let the sex pistols finish in front of joy div.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 18:03 (twenty years ago)

It's pretty impossible to compare two lists until you have the full versions of both. Things you like might not be there because they're higher up, or because they're not there at all.

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 18:06 (twenty years ago)

Miles is gettin the shaft in this list.

jmeister (jmeister), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 18:27 (twenty years ago)

I wouldn't be surprised if On the Corner turns up later, no? (And not because I voted for it. I don't like Miles.)

RS, Tuesday, 19 April 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

I guess this is probably all we'll see for Zeppelin, P-Funk, Miles (unless In a Silent Way is more popular than Bitches Brew)

In a Silent Way is from is from the late 60s (and there seems to be barrels on uncertainty about Bitches Brew should be considered 60s or 70s. It was recorded in late 60s, though).

On the Corner could show up. That album has a lot of hardcore zealots.

For #1, it will probably be London Calling, right? Who knows. This list is GREAT so far. My amazon cart is getting crunk.

I'll eat crow if the Sex Pistols beat either Clash record, Joy Division, Buzzcocks or Television.

poortheatre (poortheatre), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 19:53 (twenty years ago)

Oops, I meant 154 for #68.

Don't worry. Its an easy mistake to make. Anyone could have done it.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 19:55 (twenty years ago)

Joy Division number 1, not a victim of vote splitting like Bowie/Roxy etc

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 19:59 (twenty years ago)

57

points: 310
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 13

THE CONGOS - HEART OF THE CONGOS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000005L86.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

the best reggae album ever is "The Heart of the Congos"

-- cybele (maria...), October 31st, 2001.

Congos---Lee Perry at his best; Jamaican vocal technique at its best...need I say more?

-- oops (buttch9...), February 21st, 2003.

gotta say i think heart of the congos is a little overrated. bought it based upon the number of mentions on this thread [NOT THIS ACTUAL THREAD BUT YOU KNEW THAT DIDN'T YOU???], and was surprised at its blandness. granted, i've only listened to it twice now, but i already want to skip both congoman and especially fisherman..doesnt hold a candle to Cumbolo(culture)-musically, perhaps the most solid reggae record i've heard thats not a Lperry vehicle

-- thomas de'aguirre (knuckleru...), March 14th, 2003.

This is probably one of my five favorite albums of all time.-- Bofus (bofus...), November 8th, 2001.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:06 (twenty years ago)

56

points: 310
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 12

FLEETWOOD MAC - RUMOURS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00009RAJI.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:09 (twenty years ago)

Almost half of my album votes went to jazz records, but I'd be surprised to see any jazz besides Miles in the top 100. As much as like him, I hate that he always gets to be the token. People should listen to, for example, the LPs Herbie Hancock did in the early seventies with his pre-Headhunters septet, they're equally adventurous and groovy as Miles' records of the time are.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:11 (twenty years ago)

More praise for The Heart of the Congos:


Lee Perry's finest hour? JA '77; vocal group, COMPLETELY URGENT AND KEY RECORD - get the 2CD redux version on Blood & Fire, which I think is still available. Deeply spiritual and avant-garde at the same time.

-- Marcello Carlin (marcellocarli...), March 5th, 2003


it sounds like what Brian Wilson would do if he made a roots reggae album.

-- dog latin (doglati...), February 21st, 2003 .


having The Heart Of The Congos as sole reggae album is def pref to The Best of Bob Marley, which is the usual token reggae album.

-- m jemmeson (mjemmeso...), August 21st, 2001.


honestly Heart of the Congos sounds better than just about any Marley I've ever heard.

-- Josh Love (heaveninrowboat...), July 29th, 2004.


one of the best albums ever made, any genre

-- james edwards (jame...), July 20th, 2001

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:12 (twenty years ago)

having The Heart Of The Congos as sole reggae album is def pref to The Best of Bob Marley, which is the usual token reggae album.

Absolutely, if you must have only one reggae album, this is the one. Just sublime.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

This thread is beautiful.

57 7th (calstars), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

LPs Herbie Hancock did in the early seventies with his pre-Headhunters septet

Headhunters wasn't nominated...would have been my #2.

Keith C (kcraw916), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

Thye classic thing about Rumours is not just the songs, which are good, but the gut-wrenching, awful, almost horrifying sound of bile spewing out of a severed duct at the end of a relationship. It's one of the bitterest albums ever, and therefore one of the greatest break-up albums, if not the breakup album.

It also works as kind of a moral lesson about the excess. When you're in a rock band, and you get so coked up every night that you start to think that fucking your band members is a good idea, even when they're married to other band members, these are the feelings you end up with.

Classic. Very.

-- Kenan Hebert (mondria...), March 21st, 2003.


Not often emphasized is how deserved its gargantuan success was. "Rumours" is the summit of pop music.

I've been listening to "Mirage" lately and am reminded of how a great band -- Christine's harmonies, the McVie/Fleetwood rhythm section, say, working in tandem -- can give the frothiest of confections unexpected and even subversive undertones ("Book of Love," "Can't Go Back," "Eyes of the World").

-- Alfred Soto (sotoal...), April 11th, 2005.

I was scared and fascinated by the dirty wife-swapping aura surrounding Fleetwood Mac when I was a kid. It made me think my parents were closet swinger perverts when I saw the cover of "Rumours", and even more so the insert photos, in their collection. Just when I had gotten over realizing they were closet drug addicts after finding that Doobie Brothers record with the giant roach photo on the inner sleeve.

-- fritz (fritzwollner5...), November 9th, 2001.

RUMOURS IS THE GREATEST LP EVER RELEASED. FLEETWOOD MAC IS THE GREATEST BAND IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!! STOP DISSING ON THEM!!!!
NIKAYLA~

-- Nikayla Crews (frozenlove197...), April 20th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:17 (twenty years ago)

Headhunters wasn't nominated...would have been my #2.

Well, I did nominate Sextant, and it was my #1.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

55

points: 320
1st place votes: 2
total votes: 7

ORNETTE COLEMAN - DANCING IN YOUR HEAD

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004STMT.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Ornette Coleman - Dancing In Your Head

i) It's like minimalism without the rigidity, improv without
incoherence.

ii) It's like music as an environment, conceived as a space wherein
everyone can
'do his own thing' while still feeding the group. Individuality and
cohesiveness are not only not opposed but are mutually defining and
sustaining.

iii) It's like a super-advanced polyphony - the lines are so
independent that
they're improvised and they still make sense as part of a whole.

iv) It's just the best bass record there is.

v) It's a multilayered groove and a catchy riff.

vi) You can dance to it.

---- Sundar

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:23 (twenty years ago)

Haha, prove me wrong!

Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

http://www.gustavholmberg.com/tomrum/archives/withnail01.jpg

I must have some PROG! I demand to have some PROG!

Keith C (kcraw916), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

55

points: 321
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 12

RICHARD AN LINDA THOMPSON - I WANT TO SEE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000025RLQ.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Richard And Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

That Richard Thompson remains a relatively obscure figure in the
annals of popular music is an injustice that has yet to be corrected.
Sure, among music fans his name is known and respected, but try
dropping his name outside of ILM or your local record store. "Richard
Who?" is the inevitable refrain. "I Want To See The Bright Lights
Tonight" is Thompson's tour-de-force, consisting of his best set of
songs, all wrapped in an almost ridiculous, painful sorrow. While
tracks like "Withered and Died" and "End of the Rainbow" couldn't be
more stark and depressing, the gravity of the lyrics is countervailed
by a buoyancy that pervades the music, giving it life and beauty.
It's possible the darkness and pessimism of Thompson's music is what
puts people off, but to me that'll always be a mystery. Tragically,
"I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight" remains out of print in the
U.S.

------------Keith C

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:30 (twenty years ago)

ahem.. 54, that one, not 55...

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

I dunno about London Calling; isn't there a faction here that hates the Clash in a way that there isn't for, I dunno, Bowie or someone? What was number one in the PFM list, Low?

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:38 (twenty years ago)

53

points: 330
1st place votes: 2
total votes: 11

DAVID BOWIE - HUNKY DORY

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00001OH7O.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


David Bowie – Hunky Dory
“Time may change me” sang David Bowie on the cabaret-styled opener to Hunky Dory. But as the album was coming on the heels of his heavy glam rock album The Man Who Sold The World, who could have expected that time would change him so quickly? Bowie exchanged electric guitars with pianos and acoustic guitars, focused even more on his story-telling, and in the end, put out one of his greatest collections of songs he would ever make. Just focusing on the lyrics, Bowie can be found spinning tales about self-proclaimed crazy people (“Kooks”), homosexual desires (“Oh! You Pretty Things”) and giving a Bowie's-eye view of celebrities in “Andy Warhol” and “Song For Bob Dylan.” Bowie even created the greatest Generation X chorus on “Quicksand,” though the song pre-dates that demographic by a couple of decades. Bowie lets loose on “Queen Bitch,” modeled after The Velvet Underground (though it outperforms many of their classics). And hidden among the greatness is the brilliant “Life On Mars,” with its nonsensical yet somehow universal lyrics that speak volumes, and gorgeous orchestrations that swell to orgasmic heights at the song’s close. Hunky Dory’s strengths also come from the little things Bowie added, such as the quaalude-enhanced opening of “Andy Warhol,” the ringing phone at the end of “Life On Mars” (wherein Bowie gives a thumbs-up to that take), and the chanting trolls that close out “The Bewlay Brothers” (okay, maybe the trolls are a figment of my imagination, but after the cavemen line in ‘Life on Mars,” I’m allowed to dream, right?). David Bowie went on to make some of the greatest albums of the 1970s, but for me, he never topped Hunky Dory.


-------------Jonathan Hale

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:41 (twenty years ago)

I forgot to vote in this poll.

Jeff-PTTL (Jeff), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:46 (twenty years ago)

52

points: 337
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 8

THE FALL - DRAGNET

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00012PMQO.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 20:59 (twenty years ago)

51

points: 337
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 10

NEIL YOUNG - TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002KCC.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

In the unlikely event that anyone has wondered:

Fleetwood Mac go above The Congos because their highest placing was 2nd, compared to 5th. Neil Young and The Fall both had 2nd places, so the total number of votes decides the placing.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

...and I'm struggling to find anything to quote about either of the last two albums, so on with the next one, and then the rest tomorrow.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)


(in answer to best Fall album for starters):


Dragnet. No contest.

-- Dr. C (Daveatcrossdee...), October 14th, 2002.

The true heart of the mighty Fall beats in the gnarled, beer n' woodbines sound of Dragnet and the early singles.

-- Dr. C (Daveatcrossdee...), February 12th, 2002.


The lowest of lo-fi and absolutely fantastic! Intense, spooky garage fun, AND has some rarely mentioned Fall classic tracks. The best Fall album IMHO.

-- Dr. C (Daveatcrossdee...), July 10th, 2001 1:00 AM.


It's the absolute essence of The Fall, never bettered.

-- Dr. C (Daveatcrossdee...), July 11th, 2001


Dragnet is real Fallmusik - accept no other (except Room To Live, Hex, Witch Trials)

-- Dr C (Daveatcrossdee...), September 10th, 2001

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

I forgot:

(In answer to: Which FALL album do you get first?)

Not a single vote for Dragnet then?

-- Nag! Nag! Nag! (MarquisChaCha...), August 28th, 2003 5:47 AM.

Dragnet

-- Dr. C (Daveatcrossdee...), August 28th, 2003 10:56 AM.

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

50

points: 338
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 11

STEELY DAN - PRETZEL LOGIC

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00000IPAC.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

Tonight's The Night:


On the Beach is alright, but Tonight's the Night's peerless.

-- otto (ottomanjense...), March 28th, 2004

The only Neil Young album I can love. There's something so dark and tragic yet playful in it. And you can shout along with it brilliantly.

-- Omar (o.muno...), May 2nd, 2001


"Tonight's the Night" is one of the most gloriously, strangely f***ed up records I've ever heard. He just sounds like his hanging on the edge of complete mental collapse. But oddly indifferent to it. Most of his early solo albums have a similar kind of catastrophic feel to them. I think he's great for bad hangovers.

-- Johnathan (blis...), May 2nd, 2001

in answer to 'Name a so-called classic album which you think is a real stinker':

every record by Neil Young except Tonight's the Night.
-- o.munoz (o.muno...), January 12th, 2001

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

I'll be very surprised if London Calling is number one. Are there really that mean people around here who love it that much (given how many people hate the Clash)?

RS, Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

Miles Davis continues to be the only jazz musician in the universe.

polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

um #55

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)


PL is probably SD's crowning glory. Struck the right balance between conventional pop structures, MOR and whatever it is that they do. I love the wintery feeling of the thing ("We could stay inside and play games, I don't know), perfectly reflected on the cover shot.

-- Baaderonixxx le Jeune (fabfon...), November 19th, 2004.

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

It's already begun to an extent, but can there be a seperate thread for people predicting what the top 30/25/20/10 will be PLEEEEASSSEEE????? It totally kills the surprise.

billstevejim, Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:26 (twenty years ago)

RS' last post has a funny typo, I think.

Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:26 (twenty years ago)

Start one, bill!

Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

um #55

Hmm, I'm unfamilar with that Coleman record; I've only listened to his 50s and 60s stuff. I guess I should check it out and tuck my tail between my legs.

polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

I was just writing an e-mail message with the subject line "More mean comments about co-worker" about the same time I posted that.

RS, Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:33 (twenty years ago)

I can find lots of comments about how Pretzel Logic sounds RUBBISH at first but gets you when you aren't expecting it. This sort of thing... I have a nice blurb for the song, but that's the wrong poll.

Oh well, this will do for now. More tomorrow.


As I put on Pretzel Logic for the 1st time, I was like wtf, but since I'd put the album on repeat while computerizing all afternoon I soon caught myself singing along.

-- Baaderist (fabfon...), February 13th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:35 (twenty years ago)

Till then, here are some comments for Nos 100-96, which missed out the first time around. I'll do 95-91 if I have some time:


100. V/A - 'Pebbles'


More than worth it, for me, for the original of 'I Want Candy', which for some reason I assumed was a Bow Wow Wow original! D'oh!

Oh, and the Standell's 'Dirty Water' (has there been a better song about Boston, ever??)etc etc

-- Bill E, January 24th, 2002


Got both Vol 1 and Vol 2, and they're both worth every! Single! Penny! Lots of great material throughout, and not knowing most of it beforehand just makes it all that much better.

-- Sean Carruthers, January 24th, 2002


I love *all* this stuff more than just about anything.
i sometimes find it difficult to *adjust my ears* if I listen to say 20 minutes of Nuggets stuff followed by something with clean, modern production. Somehow you listen to them in different ways, and get used to a particular range of frequencies, or timbres maybe or just the amount of *detail*

-- Dr. C, January 25th, 2002


99. New York Dolls - s/t

As a man whose first records were (45) Ride A White Swan and (33) Slade Alive, and who had only gone to a couple of gigs before going to dozens of punk ones, how can I not love the bridge between them.

-- Martin Skidmore (martin.skidmore...), May 4th, 2002


There's something genuinely expressive about Johnny Thunder's guitar playing. He solos all through the songs – often just distorted extended notes. It bears little relation to the 'acceptable' guitar playing of commercial radio; it's even 'decorative,' fragile, or delicate. It makes all the lyrics of the songs much more melancholy, because they're accompanied by this sporadic, almost contrapuntal, harmony. It doesn't sound like other music. I think the producers tried to make up for it by making these random notes really quiet except in the 'proper' places (at the end of the song usually) but you can still hear them, all the time – it's quite disturbing. I guess he's actually listening to what they sound like.

-- Maryann (tedium200...), June 10th, 2001

*Were* they clever or radical? Johansen was clever, Johnny Thunders was radical even if he wouldn't've known why himself. What did their ultra femininity/ultra masculinity mean? it meant that it was 1973 & time to take rock back off the hippies once & forever. & it still is. (1973 I mean).

-- duane zarakov (pfaiga...), June 10th, 2001


98. David Bowie - "Heroes"

Low is elegant, weird, strange and wonderful, but "Heroes" is all that and more, and is probably the album I've listened to from Bowie the most over the years. "Sons of the Silent Age" may actually be my favorite song by him ever, that weird queasy start, sax and synths and more, the sudden imagistic power of the lyrics -- "they never die, they just go to sleep one day" -- and that sudden break into a twisted tearjerker chorus, a pure spotlight/drama queen moment that feels like the most emotional confession of love ever.

-- Ned Raggett (ne...), June 15th, 2004

Heroes is just as interesting and unusual as Low and yet more accessible.

-- wetmink (minksof...), June 15th, 2004 7:09 PM.

Heroes is the only Bowie album I've ever gotten deeply and emotionally attached to.

- Girolamo Savonarola (gsav@smb.net), June 26th, 2003 11:12 PM.

97. Kate Bush - 'The Kick Inside'

I do still have a bit of a thing for KB, and, last year, listened to the first three LPs for the first time in ages. The Kick Inside won that particular battle easily though, strangely, I've no desire to listen to 2/3rds of it ever again.

-- Michael Jones (tourajsig...), February 8th, 2002

My favorite is "The Kick Inside"... but then again I love Laura Nyro.

-- Sean (saturns...), January 22nd, 2003 7:06 PM.

Go with her debut, "The Kick Inside". My favorite, and the least freakish (my favorite AND the least freakish??).

-- Sean (saturns...), April 8th, 2003

96. Bruce Springsteen - 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town'

What an opening couplet:

I got a sixty-nine Chevy with a 396
Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor

-- Mark (mar...), July 15th, 2002

The stuff that's good on Darkness is good in some really interesting ways. I think he came into his own there, figured out more what worked for him and what didn't. He kept the big anthems, but he also finally figured out the quiet end -- it's the first album that anticipates Nebraska, especially the title track. And even the anthems got more pointed and pared down. Like, "poor man wanna be rich/ rich man wanna be king/ and a king ain't satisfied until he rules everything/ I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got" -- I mean, that's a great fucking lyric, especially joined to the jumping-out-of-his-skin throb of the song. It combines dawning political consciousness with adolescent will to power, and suggests without even meaning to the roots of fascism. And it locates all that in small-town Midwestern we-gotta-get-out-of-this-place cockiness, just barely covering up for a growing certainty that he ain't going nowhwere. (Which is kind of the theme of the whole album, I think, even more than "Born to Run" -- on Born to Run there still seemed to be some kind of idea that all that mythic shit would add up to something, but "Darkness" kind of put an end to that.)

Also, for all its cheesiness, I love "Candy's Room" just for the pure horny build and release of it. ("Prove It All Night," on the other hand, never really gets going -- he makes it sound way too much like work.)

-- spittle (ptu...), July 21st, 2004


If anyone asks "what historical moment would you like to have seen", sometimes I think that being present at the first studio playback of the completed "Racing" would be my real answer. I can't imagine what it must've been like to have finished that song, I picture everyone collapsing afterward. It's a song to put on when the only option in life seems to be staring into space and flicking a lit cigarette into the dustbin for every bad decision you've ever made, half in hope that maybe your house will burn down with you still in it. The delivery of the "Callin' out around the world" line is the finest recorded vocal in the history of music. Or one of them, anyway. ("Badlands" - that's more all-purpose put-on-any-time for me, mainly because I can tune out the words if I want to and train the beady rational-crit half of my brain onto the sonics. IMHO "Badlands" is the most intensely political song ever recorded because it would say the same thing even if I couldn't understand the words or even if there WERE no words. (In distorted symbolic form, what it seems to be saying sonically is "Whatever happened to the Vagrants? Does Leslie West ever step out of his limo to buy a hot dog from them? And why are THEY reduced to selling hotdogs when Lou Reed isn't?" ) The social analysis of the song is built into the structure and playing and arrangement and sound etc., whereas most artists attempt to prove they see beyond their own noses by taking stock forms and then singing lists of famous names and appalling historical tragedies over the result.

-- dave q (scrape10...), July 15th, 2002


Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 21:42 (twenty years ago)

Where is the outrage over "Rumours" not even cracking the op 50??

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 22:58 (twenty years ago)

http://miklas.bad-hosting.com/albums/1mai2003/Bild_1.jpg

rs, Tuesday, 19 April 2005 23:08 (twenty years ago)

I am OUTRAGED.

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 23:15 (twenty years ago)

Well, that's what I did when I found some fucking Fall album beat out MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION

Stupornaut (natepatrin), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 23:17 (twenty years ago)

xpost - go Alba! some ILM context on these selections is good.

i only had one album vote and that was for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I was more about the singles.

gspm (gspm), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 23:22 (twenty years ago)

xpost - I'm outraged that it made the list!

peepee (peepee), Tuesday, 19 April 2005 23:27 (twenty years ago)

> I love the wintery feeling of the thing ("We could stay inside and play games, I don't know), perfectly reflected on the cover shot.

!

!!

Now I finally understand the importance of the sleigh bells on "Charlie Freak." Thank you!

Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 00:36 (twenty years ago)

Folks - this thread is fantastic! Well done Hobart and Alba. But....when was voting? I didn't know about this at all! I hope to see C'Est Chic, The Raincoats, Real Life, Unknown Pleasures, Lodger, The Man Machine, Neu 75 and Ege Bamyasi up there at the top.

Some great selections so far. My only genuine WTF moment was with 'My Aim Is True' - that album is pish! Oh Alright, the singles are good.

Anyway.......GET DRAGNET!!

Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 06:22 (twenty years ago)

This thread loomed in the New Answers for about a month, Dr C!

Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 07:10 (twenty years ago)

the 70s poll (albs and singles) predictions and things are posted here, i guess has been started, so people who don't like predictions to be on this thread, btw.

Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 07:15 (twenty years ago)

49

points: 339
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 11

ROXY MUSIC - ROXY MUSIC

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000256KG.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 08:15 (twenty years ago)

There are bands I've been getting into almost instantly at first listen like Velvet Underground or The Smiths and there are others which took me a long time to appreciate. Like Joy Division Roxy Music belong into this group.
My first audio encounter with their singer and main songwriter Bryan Ferry dates back to the summer of 1976. It was the first time I was in a foreign country without my parents and I was in Bournemouth in a guest family. Two songs were everywhere in that very dry & hot English summer: Let's Stick Together by Ferry and Here Comes the Sun by Cockney Rebel. I liked both of them and didn't realize for a long time that Here Comes the Sun was a Beatles cover. Ferry's sleazy crooner's voice was hard to resist and he was good looking too which could impress a thirteen year old.

But somehow for a long time I had a problem to connect the pop singer Ferry to the more experimental and challenging band Roxy Music which was lauded in music critics circles. And I didn't understand what was so special about them. I don't remember the name of the first song by them I ever listened to and it didn't mark me at all but I know that it was in my philosophy class at school around 1979 (our teacher was young). The class was about existentialism and the teacher said that this song was new wave.

ihttp://musik.antville.org/images/roxymusic/
Let's come back to my album of 1972. The cover is the first in a series of sexily dressed women covers. Mauvais goût but in an interesting way. All the women on the first five albums of Roxy Music have in common that they have a stupid artificial expression on their face and that from my point of view their faces are ugly in their false and unapproachable coolness. I suppose that is intended. This is part of the game. It is not the cover that is supposed to turn anyone on. It is just an eye-catcher. A false package if you want. Inside there is one of the most ear-catching records of the seventies. At least it turned me on but it took a long time.

There is a party going on. People talking, tinkling glasses. A seemingly average rock song starts with a kind of bar piano line. Ferry sings forgettable lyrics about the sweetest queen he has ever seen. With his staccato intonation he sounds like the blueprint for David Byrne in the Talking Heads. Phil Manzanera tries to be Jimi Hendrix and he almost succeeds. And suddenly the song takes a turn. The saxophone becomes freestyle, there is some guitar distortion, the piano becomes atonal, the song morphs into a free jazz session. It slows down at the end like as if the record player is plugged off and the speed is slowing down. A nice drum solo and a fireworks noise finish the song.

A lyrical classical oboe theme starts Ladytron. A song for romantic candle-light dinners. But beware this one speeds up. Never trust the beginning of a Roxy Music song. Eno adds some electronic spices to this.

My favourite song is no.3 If There Is Something. The first 90 seconds constitute about the most boring country rock ballad I have ever heard. But when Andy Mackay's sax and later oboe join in and play a new theme everything changes. Suddenly we are in melodramatic land. Ferry sings vibrato as if he had swallowed one gallon of his own tears:

I would do anything for you.
I would climb mountai-ai-ai-ns.
I would swim all the oceans blue.

The theme is repeated by the piano and varied upon. It is really fascinating how the guitar also merges in. All instruments seem to fuse into one. The oboe is reaching heights where no man has ever been. Ferry almost drowns in his tears now. How can a voice sound so desperate from deep inside? The last minute is a tad boring again with the over and over repeated line When you were young but the four minutes in between 1'30'' and 5'30'' are about the most exciting four minutes in any piece of rock I know.

Marginal note: I just read here in the AMG that there is a probably even superior 12 minute (!) live version of this song performed at the John Peel radio show in January 1972. I really need this now.

The next song is Virginia Plain and I think I'll finish now as everyone will know this anyway. As sparkling as rock music can get. I have to add that there is no weak song on this album. That there are two small rock mini-operas The Bob (Medley) and Sea Breeze which piss on Supper's Ready or anything released by The Who in this field. 2 H.B. and the beginning of The Bob foreshadow ambient. And there is Would You Believe? which anticipates the dreadful Rocky Horror Picture Show without its one-dimensionality. The end is Bitters End, the party is over, the girl is gone and has found another and Bryan asks

will someone find me?

This was a party as it should be. It was fun but it was a disappointment as well. A good pretext for another party, don't you think?

P.S. This has been published before on my blog but I didn't get the feedback I wanted to get. That's why I have recycled it here.

-- alex in mainhattan (alex6...), February 25th, 2005.


or read the thread: In praise of... the 1st Roxy Music album

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 08:19 (twenty years ago)

48

points: 345
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 11

ROXY MUSIC - FOR YOUR PLEASURE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000256KE.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 08:30 (twenty years ago)

amanda lear is really cool on that cover.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 08:35 (twenty years ago)

Alright, who's been block voting Roxy Music?

(I got "Stranded" for a pound in Fopp. Havent played it yet)

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 08:35 (twenty years ago)

I got "Stranded" for a pound in Fopp

You jammy get.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 08:39 (twenty years ago)

For Your Pleasure is pretty much my favourite album by anyone,
-- James Ball (james.bal...), November 11th, 2002.

Morrissey
1. For Your Pleasure Roxy Music*
(*Morrissey claims he can only think of one truly great British album and that this is it)

-- ha ha (a...), June 20th, 2004.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

shite
-- autovac (mrichards2...), June 20th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:41 (twenty years ago)

All I have is For Your Pleasure, but damn is it great. I've actually been listening to the hell out of it lately, and it grows on me a lot with each succeeding listen.
-- Clarke B. (clarkeb...), June 5th, 2001.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:52 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, no front cover/booklet though.

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:56 (twenty years ago)

Only two things I voted for have made it so far (Einstein and Rumours). I know that at least one more gets in cos I did a blurb, but still. There'd better be some Buzzcocks LPs soon (and please NOT the singles comp).

Jeff W (zebedee), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:57 (twenty years ago)

47

points: 348
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 12

STEVIE WONDER - TALKING BOOK

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004S36A.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 09:58 (twenty years ago)

i never realized there was one "automatic" top stevie album in that sense. if anything, i'd think SITKOL fits that role, though i've seen any number of his albums called his best by old stodgy canon makers. talking book is my fave.
-- fact checking cuz (factcheckingcu...), February 22nd, 2005.

I agree with those who say that Talking Book is the pinnacle. But he was pretty much untouchable for a good several album run there.
-- o. nate (syne_wav...), February 23rd, 2005.

(from the OPO thread)

talking book by a mile.

-- fact checking cuz (factcheckingcu...), November 11th, 2003.

Talking Book > Innervisions

-- billstevejim (billsteveji...), February 22nd, 2005

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:16 (twenty years ago)

46

points: 348
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 14

SUICIDE - FIRST ALBUM

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000040OBS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:38 (twenty years ago)

that's the first of the albums of this thread that at the same time i do not have and that i would like to listen to (and own) right now.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:42 (twenty years ago)

good winter-time album; walking through the city, surrounded by dirty piles of melting snow - nice soundtrack
-- 6335 (633...), June 20th, 2004.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's great to listen to at night while trying to fall asleep. Very unsettling.
-- latebloomer (posercore24...), June 21st, 2004.

i love the space in this album. it's simultaneously huge and claustrophobic, droning and jittering. it'll make you laugh. it'll make you cry. it'll make you come out of the theatre wanting to conquer the world. it's definitely my pick for top romantic comedy of the year.
-- Felonious Drunk (wangchungvsah...), June 21st, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:43 (twenty years ago)

45

points: 352
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 12

MILES DAVIS - ON THE CORNER

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004WN2L.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:45 (twenty years ago)

to me, it pointed at the future of how not jazz, but popular music itself would be made. all loops and punched in bits of 'sound' over melody, emphasising rhythm and groove. peep timbaland et al. and the way production dictates everything else. on headphones, the sound of everything being punched in here is overwhelming. i don't think pro-tools has birthed anything as complex.
-- Beta (andybet...), June 9th, 2004.

I didn't get this album until after I had gotten into Can and a lot of electronic dance music - it really seems to be along those lines rather than 'jazz', or even the other Miles fusion records. In a way, it's coming out of Silent Way a lot more than Bitches Brew or Jack Johnson, in the way it was constructed, and the way it gradually unfolds. Right now, I think it's one of the best albums he ever made.
-- dleone (d_leon...), June 9th, 2004.

It's fantastic, by far my favourite of his. It set the benchmark for music for the next 30 years (and beyond), most of the possiblities contained in these grooves haven't even been explored yet.
-- Billy Dods (butterbubble...), June 9th, 2004.
I was expecting something that would need repeat listening before it sounded like music, and instead got a dense but immediately enjoyable slab of energetic funk that doesn't seem any more difficult than, say, James Brown's more abstract live stuff. I'm still baffled by its reputation as Miles's least accessible album.


-- frankiemachine (franki...), June 10th, 2004.

the thing noone has mentioned is how environmental the record is. it's very 'electronic forest,' particularly the last track. i get lost in it.
-- milesrules (mile...), June 16th, 2004.

On the Corner was my first Miles Davis album. My initial reaction was to take it back to the shop, but I like it now. Sort of.
-- PJ Miller (pjmiller6...), June 10th, 2004.


Miles' "On the Corner"

Just one question - what does it mean to be "very electronic forest"?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 10:53 (twenty years ago)

44

points: 358
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 12

CURTIS MAYFIELD - SUPERFLY

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000059ZE1.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:02 (twenty years ago)

that's the only soul/funk album i love wholeheartedly.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:18 (twenty years ago)

Curtis Mayfield, Superfly: "Little Child Runnin' Wild", "Pusherman", "Freddie's Dead". Opening a soundtrack with three of the ten best R&B songs ever (in any definition of the genre) in a row is one hell of a feat.
-- Nate Patrin (natepatrin550...), April 12th, 2003.

better than Maggot Brain if not Riot--nothing on earth is better than Riot--and does just about the same things as both)
-- M Matos (michaelangelomato...), February 27th, 2003.

Go for the Superfly soundtrack, an awesome piece of blaxploitation-funk

-- Patrick (calimer...), May 11th, 2001.

I once walked into a local bar exactly on the opening note of Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly"!!! I felt like they were finally making the movie of my life. I know - I'm a DORK but it was very cool.

-- wallace carothers (wallacecarothersrepentenc...), February 17th, 2004

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:23 (twenty years ago)

**that's the first of the albums of this thread that at the same time i do not have and that i would like to listen to (and own) right now.**

It's pretty rubbish, but at the same time interesting. Don't rush out and get it.

Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:25 (twenty years ago)

If/When a Buzzcocks album comes up I fervently hope that it's 'A Different Kind Of Tension'. But it won't be.

Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:26 (twenty years ago)

43

points: 363
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 12

STEVE REICH - MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000006E4C.03.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:27 (twenty years ago)

I think that's the cover of a later edition.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:34 (twenty years ago)

I like a lot of early Reich and don't imagine I'll ever stop responding to stuff like Music for 18 Musicians
-- Lee G (lgardne...), November 7th, 2002.

5 yrs ago) I borrowed 18 musicians from the library and my first thought was 'There's so much music out there'. Well, it made an impression as I was on a diet of guitar and more guitar and... more guitar based music. But I've heard really brilliant and mind-blowing composition since and SR's been left behind.

-- Julio Desouza (juli...), January 1st, 2002.

as for steve reich,i saw music for eighteen musicians performed live recently and it was great
two things sprung to mind-first of all,how much it sounded like susumu yokota
secondly,you could tell that he had "influenced" (it's seven in the morning and i'm not arsed trying to find a way of phrasing that in such a way as to avoid people complaining about the use of that term,just pretend i did)techno,or more specifically surgeon...

-- robin (robin_lace...), April 24th, 2003.

The ECM version (yes it has to be this one, the pacing and tension are jawdropping) of Music for 18 Musicians is sublime, eternal, terrifyingly beautiful sound.
-- Clarke B. (clarkeb...), April 13th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:34 (twenty years ago)

It's pretty rubbish, but at the same time interesting.
i know that. but it's the kind of rubbishness i am attracted to. a cool, trashy(!) rubbishness. i really love alan vega's voice. it sounds like god's voice if god were an atheist.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:35 (twenty years ago)

(Not just edition but later recording.)

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:35 (twenty years ago)

The ECM cover:

http://www.kitanet.ne.jp/~oikawa/jkt/music_for_18_musicians.jpg

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 11:36 (twenty years ago)

42

points: 381
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 12

TALKING HEADS - MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002KNV.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 12:53 (twenty years ago)

more songs about girlfriends and dudes

j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 12:55 (twenty years ago)

TALKING HEADS - MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD

This was my #1 album pick. It stills sounds fresh today, and I can imagine a four piece band playing it. Even though the Talking Heads pulled off their larger bands (Fear of Music, Remain in Light) live, the flow and hooks of their second album could be imagined as played in a small, veryvery exciting, club.

peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:02 (twenty years ago)

I love this album. Talking Heads had a really unique outlook which didn't really start to get dark till Fear of Music, so it's positive with a signs of paranoia surfacing here and there. It just feels right to me. Musically, it feels as open/progressive to me as Joy Division or Magazine or any of the most innovative post-punk groups. The sense of rhythm is intense and joyful and proficient despite a kid-picking-up-a-guitar-for-the-first-time enthusiastic air. -- Sonny A. (newaddres...), June 3rd, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:33 (twenty years ago)

More Songs About Buildings And Food > Remain In Light > Speaking In Tongues > Fear Of Music > Naked > '77 > Little Creatures > True Stories
-- nickalicious (nickaliciou...), August 10th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

yay for steve reich. if i'd voted, it'd be even higher.

jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:41 (twenty years ago)

41

points: 384
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 14

NEIL YOUNG - ON THE BEACH

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00009P1O0.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:42 (twenty years ago)

I don't think it's very comparable to any of his other records. Yeah, it always gets lumped in with others as part of his "Dark Period", but a song like "Revolution Blues" is probably one of the most st8 ahead rock tracks he ever did and the title track is a prototype for Slint's Spiderland (or, keeping with NY's own work, "Like A Hurricane" and "Cortez the Killer", only more subtle). There's three different batches of songs, done with three different producers/line-ups, so it doesn't really have a same-y feeling throughout that would let you compare it to the other albums.


Ah, what the Hell, I'll just say it's a more rockin' Tonight's The Night, for argument's sake.

-- Vic Funk (doctor_funk_ph...), May 14th, 2003.

Homegrown and Bite the Bullet are two of my favorite songs on the record! Nothing like a bunch of stoned, mean hippies playing thud-rock. I don't get the bad rep for ASB either, I definitely prefer it Zuma and Comes a Time... the country songs are nice and sweet, the rockers are smokin', and it's got one of his bonafide signature tunes, what more could you ask for?
-- Shakey Mo Collier (audiobo...), May 14th, 2003.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:44 (twenty years ago)

This may be just me, but I'm keen for the Singles poll results...

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:45 (twenty years ago)

40

points: 391
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 12

GRAM PARSONS - GRIEVOUS ANGEL

http://www.tuweb.iespana.es/cdcovers/CoversG/Gram_Parsons_With_Emmylou_Harris-Grievous_Angel-Front.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:47 (twenty years ago)

I am currently trying to find any comments on this that are both more than a few words long and reasonably appreciative. Perhaps someone would like to provide on here and save me the bother win the appreciation of all those reading.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

Lots of comments look more like this:

Grievous Angel? More like grievous listener! (for having to listen to this terrible album!)
-- christhamrin (hamr004...), April 10th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 13:58 (twenty years ago)

*won't you scratch my itch sweet Annie Rich
and
wel~come me back to town*

57 7th (calstars), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

I think it's now safe to say that I have very little in common with the rest of ILM when it comes to the 70s.

Still, look forward to seeing the top.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

39

If you're experiencing a sense of deja-vu, its just your imagination.
Running away with you.

points: 400
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 14

WIRE - CHAIRS MISSING

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000024E09.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

154 is 68, you know...

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

Pink Flag = "Oh, wow!" (uttered after first 3 songs)

Chairs Missing = "HOLY SHIT!" (realized about the time "Mercy" finishes)


-- David Raposa (dave...), January 8th, 2002.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

should be even higher than that, but it's still much better than #68.

Surprised that it hasn't started topping Pink Flag in polls like this yet--I thought more and more people were coming around to the notion of it being the superior album.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:08 (twenty years ago)

154 is 68, you know...

I think this is an increasingly widely perceived cosmic truth.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

38

points: 400
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 11

STEVIE WONDER - SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004SZWD.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:11 (twenty years ago)

Impressive. Looks like Big Star and Wire will both have all three of their 1970s albums in the poll. Not surprising, but still cool to see.

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:13 (twenty years ago)

re: Songs In The Key Of Life

This album was second in the early stages of the poll, and I hoped it would place slightly higher than this. This is far and away my favourite Stevie Wonder album. Sprawling, and perhaps a little unfocussed like the Summer's day it should accompany.
There are moments on this album which feel nothing short of blissful. The bigger songs - the distilled joy of Sir Duke and the perhaps-too-widely-played-but-still-glorious Isn't She Lovely - tend to catch the attention on first play, but with subsequent listens you're gladly pulled under as the waves of "Knocks Me Off My Feet" wash on over. If I ever had to drown in an album, well, no, that would be a silly idea...and Stevie wouldn't like that. Its not an album for disappearing under, its one for [insert a better metaphor here if you can think of one - I'm not entirely happy with this one] flying up into the cosmos behind, or within. Even songs dealing with loss - Ordinary Pain and Joy Inside My Tears manage to undermine a slightly mawkish tendency with a brutal honesty:

"I've always thought that tomorrow was for those/ Who are too much afraid/ To go past yesterday and start living in today".

That feeling recurrs throughout the proceedings. Get your ass out of the gutter, try and bring your mind with it, and enjoy it while you're here. Life, that is. But if you want to enjoy your ass, who am I to stop you?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:29 (twenty years ago)

Songs In The Key of Life? At least it's the longest
-- Kenan Hebert (edito...), November 11th, 2003.

The ballads, like on any other Stevie Wonder album, are the best tracks on "Songs In The Key Of Life". Those beautiful melodic ballads are the main reason why I love Stevie Wonder. R&B crap such as "Superstition" you may just throw in the dustbin.

-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), November 11th, 2003.


I like a pretty good chunk of his stuff (early '70s mostly), but I really can't wrap my head around Songs in the Key of Life. I'm too used to him in WHOMP WHOMP mode ("Do Yourself A Favor"; "Superstition"; "Livin' For the City") when he brings out those robo-Motown inflections to go for that Quincy Jones-incidental-theme steez save "Sir Duke", "Contusion" and "All Day Sucker".
-- Stupornaut (natepatri...), February 22nd, 2005.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

I should have voted on this thing just so I could give a first place vote to Chairs Missing. Probably my favorite album of all time.

allowed (spaces are allowed), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:42 (twenty years ago)

This may be just me, but I'm keen for the Singles poll results...

It's not just you, because I think most people voted for more singles than albums.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:42 (twenty years ago)

37

points: 411
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 10

CAN - EGE BAMYASI

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0002K0ZK8.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

(again, Stevie beat Wire on highest placing - 2nd as opposed to 4th)

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:44 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I'm more excited about singles for sure. I mean, this list really isn't that different from the Pitchfork one, although I expect I'll become more interested as we move closer to the top.

The singles list will give me lots of download fodder, too.

jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

confession... circus bells hardfloor remix on right now, no foolin. my roommate wistfully recollecting acid basslines of her youth... i too remember EGE BAM YASI in the queen margaret union at glasgae uni and he really did put on quite a show, he WORKED it till his bald heat wuz sweatin all over the damn keyboards, twisting a knob perhaps 1 mm and sending all of us over. does he have a story now?
-- Tracer Hand (tracerhan...), May 2nd, 2001.


Future Days and Ege Bamyasi is both GREBT!
-- Nick Southall (n.j.southal...), February 25th, 2003.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

This may be just me, but I'm keen for the Singles poll results...
It's not just you, because I think most people voted for more singles than albums.

-- MindInRewind (mbvarkestra197...), April 20th, 2005.

Actually, fwiw, I preferred the singles poll too. And yes, there were more votes cast in that poll, although the same number of people (but not the same people) voted in each.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

I'm more curious to see singles poll, too. Album poll is going to be rather predictable, we could all probably guess a reasonably accurate top ten.

On a personal note, I just want to thank this thread for getting me through the day...my wife is due today, so I need something to take my mind off the waiting.

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

..baby wise, you mean? Or is that a mad case of forward planning?

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

Due with her list of 70s albums :-)

No, really she's due to give birth.

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:03 (twenty years ago)

blimey... err... good luck, and stuff.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:06 (twenty years ago)

and maybe some more distraction, then..

36

points: 417
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 13

BRIAN ENO - ANOTHER GREEN WORLD

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00022M51I.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

this thread started off awesome and gets awesomer as it progresses - although i am kind of pouting about More Songs About Buildings And Food not being adequtely revered.

Lee F# (fsharp), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:31 (twenty years ago)

Another Green World beats Taking Tiger Mountain? WTF? I'm curious to see how the top of this poll will finish since so many of my favorite albums are lurking around in the bottom 50.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:49 (twenty years ago)

Sorry, I got distracted there by the fact that YOKO ONO is playing atp and I didn't know and haven't bought a ticket and have about 2 days to try and get one.

Now, all I have to do is convince three people they LOVE Yoko in the next 48 hours. I did nominate Approximately Infinite Universe in this poll. Did it chart? You guess.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Classic.
"The Big Ship" from Another Green World puts me in a trance. Don't drive to it.
-- Jazzbo (jmcga...), January 22nd, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 15:58 (twenty years ago)

agw should have been in the top ten. it is creating a new musical landscape. right in between eno's first two sparkling intellectual pop records and his ambient stuff (ok there was another one in between there, before and after science. which actually showed that eno was changing style by having two totally different sides). taking the best of those two styles. ambient with hooks if you want. calm and very atmospheric but totally mesmerising at the same time. probably the one eno record i'd go for if i had to pick only one.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

what is weird about agw is that it sounds like an instrumental record though about half(?) of the songs are sung.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 16:40 (twenty years ago)

i like the selfconscious simplicity of AGW, although it never cloys like some of eno's satie homages

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 16:41 (twenty years ago)

(or satie for that matter)

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 16:41 (twenty years ago)

This may be just me, but I'm keen for the Singles poll results...

me too. I can't claim enough familiarity with the nominated albums to really have voted for any of them. When the singles poll is released I presume that I will know most of the tracks and thus feel more connected and interested.

gspm (gspm), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:32 (twenty years ago)

35

points: 423
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 11

SERGE GAINSBOURG - HISTOIRE DU MELODY NELSON

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000051YEG.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:57 (twenty years ago)

often imitated, never duplicated

j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 18:59 (twenty years ago)

that wonderful lush romantic album is proof that the 70s weren't as shite as i remember them. of course i discovered it much later. abba should not be allowed to finish in front of the great serge.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 19:16 (twenty years ago)

meh.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 19:19 (twenty years ago)

Nuts. There goes my #1.

poortheatre (poortheatre), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 20:26 (twenty years ago)

if isaac hayes were a white perverted frenchman, this is the album he would've made. great stuff, particularly the semi-title track. also search "bonnie and clyde," one of the finest singles of the 60s. there's a monkey on the track! or at least i like to think so.

-- fred solinger (fred9157...), May 14th, 2001.

Histoire de Melody Nelson is the only album of his I have and I can't imagine him having bettered it. it's also great for sample-spotting. De La Soul's "it ain't over til the fat lady..." from De La Soul is Dead nicks the crazy frenchfunkrock from track 2, and countless scoundrels have remixed and sampled the 1st and last tracks, none of whom have managed to improve it one jot.

We mustn't underestimate the importance of Serge Gainsbourg. His death raised his profile outside France considerably. Without him, Lounge would have been faceless and anonymous, just Muzak. He provided Neo-Lounge with an Auteurist model to aspire to. 'Melody Nelson' is a Lounge album, but also the script for an imaginary film. None of the neo-Lounge artists have yet matched its ambition.

-- Momus (nic...), July 13th, 2001

I bought it when I was staying at a mate's and he was very sceptical. I put it on and could hardly believe how good it was - everything I'd expected. Of course then I left it at someone's flat after a party and have never seen it again.

-- Tom (ebro...), October 12th, 2002

Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

"meh" ?

jmeister (jmeister), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

Oh bugger - the

"Histoire de Melody Nelson is the only album of his ... none of whom have managed to improve it one jot" paragraph was:

-- heronette (heronett...), August 30th, 2001

Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

Haha, I was just starting to type "I really have a hard time believing Momus only owns ONE Serge Gainsbourg album."

Mike O. (Mike Ouderkirk), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

Yes, I thought it might arouse suspicion.

Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 21:49 (twenty years ago)

haha i went 'whaa?' at that too

j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 20 April 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

i was surprised by momus' de la ref

Sym Sym (sym), Thursday, 21 April 2005 00:36 (twenty years ago)

whump.

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 21 April 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

hey hobart, what's going on? did you fall asleep to that melody nelson album? how can we wake you up?

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Thursday, 21 April 2005 19:42 (twenty years ago)

As you kill yourself, what album do you put on?

Maybe hobart's answer was melody nelson?

poortheatre (poortheatre), Friday, 22 April 2005 00:38 (twenty years ago)

Hello. Sorry, life got in the way...

I think I'd like that album. Although I'll skip the suicide.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:02 (twenty years ago)

34

points: 424
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 15

NICK DRAKE - PINK MOON

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000025XKM.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:06 (twenty years ago)

What cover is that!?

Alba (Alba), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:21 (twenty years ago)

I wonder why they've changed it.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf800/f890/f89079p0pkv.jpg

Alba (Alba), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:23 (twenty years ago)

http://ilx.wh3rd.net/thread.php?msgid=5570309

I prefer Bryter Layter myself, but apparently the rest of you don't.

Pink Moon is a perfect album.
-- Mark (r-...), March 11th, 2005.

A preference for Pink Moon makes me think of very difficult men who aren't much fun to be around, at least if they don't find it a difficult call.

-- Alba (albab...), March 11th, 2005.

Pink Moon, on the other hand, is fantastic. IMHO I think it's the "fullest"-sounding of his albums, because even though the instrumentation is "sparse" Nick is able to fill in all corners with just fingerpicking and his voice; every creaking of his fingernail against a guitar string carries the resonance of a thousand Bryter Layters. And despite the constant criticism over the mythologizing of Nick, there really is a transcendent emotional quality to the album that gets to me. It's not depressing; the whole album feels like a cool summer morning at 4 AM, with dawn just faintly lurching over the horizon. It's a feeling of solitude, brushing against sadness occasionally, but certainly not despair.

Alba, I'm not much fun to be around, but I think that's for reasons other than the fact that I'm a pretentious Pink Moon whore ;)

-- I'll Fall With Your Curt1sss (curtis.stephen...), March 11th, 2005.

pink moon is his best album, as well as one of my favorite albums ever recorded. five leaves left and bryter layter are brilliant, but just don't capture the harrowing beauty of nick and his guitar.
anyone who bashes nick drake is a hater and a liar.

nick drake 24 hours a day. wine and sunshine. love it.


-- rockaction (ts67...), March 12th, 2005.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:24 (twenty years ago)

You beat me to it, Alba. Sorry about that. That was the horrid re-issue cover. I shall go off and self-flagellate over that.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:26 (twenty years ago)

That sounds a little unhealthy, actually. Perhaps I'll just post some results instead.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:27 (twenty years ago)

33

points: 437
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 16

ELVIS COSTELLO - THIS YEAR'S MODEL

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005YXIZ.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:28 (twenty years ago)

You know, Fopp had the 2CD version of this, and the 2CD version of "Goodbye Cruel World" for £7, and I couldn't choose.

So, I ended up with "20 Jazz Funk Greats" instead.

Yes. That one.

mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:47 (twenty years ago)

it reaffirms how glad I am that Costello found the Attractions, made one great album ("This Year's Model") and some other great singles

-- Anthony Miccio (anthonymicci...), April 17th, 2003.

He wouldn't have been much without the Attractions, I don't think. I believe it was Langdon Winner, writing in Harper's when "Imperial" appeared, who said that EC knew more about music than anyone else who had previously played rock music...and while I do think he knows a lot, I've always found him to be a guy who played at being smart but whose opinions were actually fairly pedestrian. Anyway, if you've ever sat down to play any of EC's tunes, you'll find that he relies on the same tricks in every song, and I think they sound exactly like tricks or mannerisms and not the work of someone really attempting to do something cool with the pop-music format. EC's world is just such an enclosed one--you could say the same thing about Brian Wilson, except that Wilson's stuff does have that certain something else that opens up as opposed to closes you in. Basically, when I hear Elvis Costello now I want to run from the room, another great example of hidden woman-hating and so forth disguised under stupid wordplay and the typically English addiction to "the great tradition of pop music" and all that shit...uncharitable, I suppose, and a bit unfair. When I see EC's mug these days I simply cannot bear it, stop it, man, stop it...
-- eddie hurt (eddshur...), January 13th, 2004.

To me, the anger on This Year's Model feels more adolescent, brighter, and more optimistic even as it spits and condemns.
-- Kenan Hebert (khebert...), August 3rd, 2003.

i've always thought Elvis Costello (another glaring omission here, guys!) never outdid this year's model (which also rocks pretty hard):


-- Tad (llamasfu...), April 29th, 2003.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:56 (twenty years ago)

32

points: 446
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 13

NEIL YOUNG - AFTER THE GOLD RUSH

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000002KD9.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 10:59 (twenty years ago)

This is probably something I should get over, but I only own one Neil Young CD - partly because I can't imagine listening to another of his albums and not wishing it was this one.

There are the obvious favourites on this album - has anyone ever done fucked-up comedown better than the title track? (I expect at least one post saying YES in response to this, but never mind..); the terrifying imagery of "Don't Let It Bring You Down" and "Birds" which is just plain beautiful and I can't believe I didn't nominate it for this poll. Even the "throwaway" tracks, though, are fantastic. The cynicism of "'Til the Morning Comes" always makes me smile. And cringe a little. Every track on this album makes me feel something bigger than whatever I was feeling before. I've never skipped one of them (though I've played "Birds" on repeat far too often).

Oh, and then there's the song that helped kick start St. Etienne's career. But that's another matter entirely.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:11 (twenty years ago)

This is probably something I should get over, but I only own one Neil Young CD - partly because I can't imagine listening to another of his albums and not wishing it was this one.

There are the obvious favourites on this album - has anyone ever done fucked-up comedown better than the title track? (I expect at least one post saying YES in response to this, but never mind..); the terrifying imagery of "Don't Let It Bring You Down"; and "Birds" which is just plain beautiful and I can't believe I didn't nominate it for this poll. Even the "throwaway" tracks, though, are fantastic. The cynicism of "'Til the Morning Comes" always makes me smile. And cringe a little. Every track on this album makes me feel something bigger than whatever I was feeling before. I've never skipped one of them (though I've played "Birds" on repeat far too often).

Oh, and then there's the song that helped kick start St. Etienne's career. But that's another matter entirely.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:11 (twenty years ago)

oops.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:12 (twenty years ago)

I love this thread.

mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:15 (twenty years ago)

great album, great song. the only piano song on that album if i remember well. though the horn adds something to it. somehow this song makes me think of joni mitchell. they had a relation around that time. the lyrics are simple but difficult to decipher. i'd like to know to whom joni referred when she sang i could drink a case of you and i'd still be on my feet on blue. that was one year later. neil sings of the seventies when they just had begun. does the title after the goldrush refer to the end of the golden 60s flower power thing? it is a very melancholic song. by the way listening to this album helped in overcoming the break-up of my first big love story. i hated neil's voice before. especially in heart of gold from harvest.
-- alex in mainhattan (alex6...), July 26th, 2002.

It is a great album and a great song. It's been many years since I've played it, one day I will again. Did I mention how great the song is?
I read somewhere that a bunch of copies were pressed with the image in the gatefold mistakenly being the image from "The Slider".

-- Sean (saturns...), July 26th, 2002.

I think it is perhaps the most repugnant album ever made. Second only to Harvest.
-- davidh(owie) (howied41'@hotmail.com), July 25th, 2002.


after the goldrush was a screenplay, but it was never turned into a movie. this is why it is not on IMDB.
neil young is NOT a blues singer. anyone who makes this mistake does not know music. neil was first and formost a folk singer. his rock is amplified folk, or folk-rock (with a bit of country.)
the best example of this was everybody knows this is nowhere.(for the heavy)or goldrush(for the folkie)

-- brian goldberg (rabbitfighte...), January 29th, 2003.

THere is absolutely NO excuse for anybody on "I love Music" to not own at least one Neil Young CD (preferably either "harvest", "everybody knows this is nowhere" or "after the goldrush")
shame

-- geeg (gee...), January 6th, 2004.
However, "After The Goldrush", "Harvest" and "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" are great. Out of his later material, "Harvest Moon" is the one sounding more like Young at his best than any of the others.
-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), March 6th, 2003.

I ask because while I know it qualifies as a "classic" by radio standards, its such a weird song. That whole album is pretty fucked up, with enigmatic lyrics and nonsensical song styling, and it makes it great. But Southern Man is one of Neil's first songs where his trademark overdriven guitar tone combines with a brooding bend-solos, providing one of the first bit of classic electric Neil. However, that pounding piano is just so damned chaotic and the vocals are a bit too over the top for me.... Opinions?
-- Bryan Moore (BWMUConn...), February 28th, 2005.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:22 (twenty years ago)

31

points: 454
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 16

BIG STAR - RADIO CITY

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=radio+city+big+star/v=2/SID=e/l=IVI/SIG=11qjp93lf/EXP=1114259228/*-http%3A//www.mic.gr/dbImages/24820_3.jpg

http://www.frontlinearts.com/bigstar/radio.jpg


Which is the real front cover? YOU TELL ME.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:29 (twenty years ago)

Hobart, thank jesus you are back. i thought i was going to have to throw myself out of the window in sheer fucking boredom this afternoon. this is like watching a '100 Greatest...' show on TV, except the celeb pundits aren't quite as lame, and it goes on for weeks. yay!!

Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:32 (twenty years ago)

Which is the real front cover?

The second

Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:36 (twenty years ago)

On the whole the songs on it are not genius, you could make a case for a few but for me it's the performances, the ragged guitar, manish world-weariness vs boyish idealism. The stories from #1 Record have got really complicated, the relationships have gone beyond sour and turned into nihilistic sexual power-games/sleeping around, everything's fucked up by drugs and stupidity.
I dislike the tweeness of much of #1 Record, this is a balls-out no apologies given record, the nastiness is inspiring. Half the tracks actually could have been on The White Album, 'You get what you desrve' and 'What's Going Ahn' in particular sound like outtakes from that record. Which to me is a recommendation.
-- pete s (petesesnai...), January 9th, 2004.

I keep trying, because so many smart people love it...but I have to agree. It sounds okay, but never compelling.
-- Not That Chuck (noemai...), January 9th, 2004.

Overrated? Cheap Trick? Teenage Fanclub?
Daisy Glaze, September Gurls, O My soul, Life Is White, Whats Goin Ahn, Back Of A Car, Way Out West....these songs don't really sound like anything or anybody else. Thats why attempts to rip them off always sound more like the Raspberries or Cheap Trick and miss out on whatever it is that makes them sound unique.
-- David Nolan (dnola...), January 9th, 2004.
I like 'Radio City' because of its ultimate middle-albumness, the way it's still got some of the pop sheen/focus of the 1st alb but at the same time already seems to be sliding down ("any downs at all") into the total breakdown/collapse of the 3rd alb - and yeah, Jody Stephens on 'Radio City', sure is some of the most distinctive rock drumming I've ever heard.

There are maybe more great songs on the first alb, but there are no total duds on the 2nd (I can't really face the 3rd one too much any more and besides, 'Like Flies on Sherbert' is more fun, more scary and just generally more drunken/drugged/wigged out)

-- Andrew L (theplum...), January 9th, 2004.

Radio City is one of my all-timers, but I do know exactly what Anthony means, it does feel sluggish, almost drunken, lovably woozy without being sloppy. I'm listening to right now for the very first time in a long time, and I'm actually amazed how short the songs -- in my mind they're twice as long as they really are!
The first time I ever heard #1 Record/Radio City I feel asleep. Listening to it conscious, I found it impressive but not heart-tugging; then a year later it all seemed to make perfect sense.

It's like Beatles '65 played in Al Jackson time but not funky in any obvious way. It's hard to describe.

-- Michael Daddino (epicharmu...), January 10th, 2004.

Anyone else bothered to check out the lyrics to Daisy Glaze?
The music in the 'third section' is this ecstatic, life-affirming rush, all ringing chords beautifully layered, and i always thought the lyrics would match the same feeling. Instead they're about Chilton getting in a bar-brawl... 'who is this whore?' Totally changes the feel of the song, not necessarily for the worse though.
(RE White Album comparisms - this is clearly their 'Happiness is a Warm Gun')
-- pete s (petesesnai...), January 10th, 2004.

All I know is, "Jesus Christ" has the most perfect electric
guitar I have ever heard, I wish I could play EXACTLY
like that.

-- Squirrel_Police (goblinatri...), January 10th, 2004.

i am a huge powerpop fan and always thought Big Star were over-rated.
-- Orbit (JustOneOpinio...), January 12th, 2004.

I like 'When my baby's beside me' best. I remember reading somewhere that Gordon Brown is a huge Big Star fan, i'd love to think it was true.
-- leigh (melodynelso...), January 12th, 2004.

#1 Record is pretty kickass throughout, but I think Radio City only has a few great songs and then it's all a blur. I'm willing to admit, though, that this may because once you make it to the second half of the CD yer kinda fatigued...(ie, I have the twofer)
)
-- John 2 (poo...), January 10th, 2004.

The "clunkiness" is what prevents it from sounding like The Raspberries - well, that and the superior songwriting, singing and playing
-- Dadaismus (kcoyne3...), January 12th, 2004.

Radio City is great, start to finish. Third is more innovative, # 1 is a bit more conventional pop music. Stuff like the Raspberries sounds frantic and contrived now, whereas the "sluggish" Big Star, with their mastery of tempo...get it? sound just fine now. Radio City doesn't mean to squash you with its rock and roll power, etc. So if you want that, look elsewhere. Cheap Trick! I mean, entertaining and not bad, but it's completely one-dimensional, which they mean to be. There's room for both "September Gurls" and "Southern Girls," thanks, and I do think that the critical response to Big Star has always been a bit ridiculous; there is something flawed and a real drag about Chilton in general and Big Star in particular that one has to come to grips with, and most critics aren't, ahem, chickwithdick enough to say this...but Radio City is supposed to be a drag anyway, that's the point, so it achieves its goal even more subversively than the more obviously screwed-up Third.
The songwriting isn't always great but it's the way it's done that matters; and as an expression of stasis that still "rocks" or whatever, Radio City is hard to beat...

-- eddie hurt (eddshur...), January 12th, 2004.

I think an article in Mojo (yes Mojo) a few years back by Barney Hoskyns (maybe) got exactly why they stand out from a dozen other superficially similar Power-pop bands : theres a darkness to the music, in the arrangements,in that "sluggishness", but especially in the lyrics, that Cheap Trick or the Raspberries could never replicate. Maybe because Chilton was such an asshole and Bell was such a fuck-up. whatever, its there in the sound, difficult to identify exactly, difficult to articulate but apparent to anybody who knows the songs well.
Or to put it another way : Big Star rule!!
-- David Nolan (dnola...), January 13th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:46 (twenty years ago)

30

points: 456
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 19

THE CLASH - THE CLASH

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00002MVQF.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:49 (twenty years ago)

Fuck anyone who deosn't like The Clash.
-- .adam (adamr...), January 11th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agreed.
-- Jazzbo (jmcga...), January 11th, 2005.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:51 (twenty years ago)

i always thought i would like the S/T a lot more if they had never got as far as London Calling. that made the former seem kind of immature and irrelevant. having said that, the cover of 'Police And Thieves' is possibly the best thing they ever recorded.

Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 22 April 2005 11:55 (twenty years ago)

The Clash debut - UK or US version?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:05 (twenty years ago)

(not in answer to your post, Lee, just for those with an interest..)

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:06 (twenty years ago)

29

points: 496
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 20

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - LOADED

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000249FS.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:09 (twenty years ago)

Can I backtrack a little about people complaining about ILM lists being too indie? (In this case maybe it's proto-indie, but still. . .)

RS, Friday, 22 April 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

Loaded has maybe an Ep's worth of fantastic songs on it, and then the remainder is average to poor. i say this as a huge VU fan, but this album should be way further down the list. at the same time, i would love to hear a passionate defence of it, because i almost want to be persuaded i like it more than i actually do - if only for consistency's sake, because the other 3 proper albums are so fantastic!

Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:21 (twenty years ago)

Loaded on the other hand remains a source of constant delight. It took me longer to like than the others, but the melodies sunk deeper. Its the only album that isn't outdone by Lou and Cale solo stuff.

-- Sterling Clover (s_clove...), April 26th, 2003.

Loaded (on the tracks where Lou sings) is where Lou's voice comes into its own (by Rock & Roll heart he sounded way younger, and prior to Loaded he was sounding too callow

Sterling Clover (s_clover@empty.org), April 26th, 2003.

Loaded: I like "Sweet Jane." I like "Rock and Roll." I like "Oh Sweet Nuthin'!" The rest ssssuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkkkssssssssss.

-- Evan (savage156...), April 27th, 2003.

As for albums, I would say "Velvet Underground & Nico" and "Velvet Underground" are the ones that contain most great songs, while "Loaded" is the only one that contains nothing that is so totally unlistenable it has to be skipped every time.

-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), April 27th, 2003.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:24 (twenty years ago)

There doesn't seem to be one of those, Lee... I've only found comments that are pretty equivocable. Then again, my powers of manipulation of ILM aren't quite what they could be.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

Funnily enough, I thonk Geir is right on that point. Not that any VU album is trackskippy for me, but I can see how.

mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:30 (twenty years ago)

28

points: 497
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 13

THE ROLLING STONES - STICKY FINGERS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000000W5N.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:32 (twenty years ago)

Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

"Sticky Fingers," the penultimate entry in the Rolling Stones'
hallowed "middle period" of the late sixties-early seventies, remains
the tightest LP they ever made. While "Exile" has the messy,
double-LP sprawl and "Beggars" a few throwaways, "Sticky Fingers" is
inch-perfect: a note-for-note masterstroke that finds the Stones no
longer channeling the blues, soul, country and early rock 'n' roll
sides they so adored, but instead transcending those genres with a
hazy, drugged-out confidence. From the boozy, Parsons-inflected
country of "Wild Horses," to the desperate Stax-soul of "I Got the
Blues," the Stones not only prove to be the worthy inheritors of the
genres they long parroted; rather, the knowing perfection of these
sides (dare I say?) obscures their sources, rendering them almost
secondary.

by Keith C

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:33 (twenty years ago)

http://www.easterwood.org/trade/art/t_stones_sticky_front.jpg

mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:34 (twenty years ago)

Is that the right cover for The Rolling Stones above? I seem to remember reading something about the original having an unzipped fly. I don't know if that was subsequently censored.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:35 (twenty years ago)

27

points: 505
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 18

WIRE - PINK FLAG

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000024E05.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:38 (twenty years ago)

I always kinda heard *Pink Flag* as one long song.
-- Not That Chuck (noemai...), March 2nd, 2004.

as an album, straight through...PINK FLAG. It's just perfect.
-- Gage-o (gcb...), January 8th, 2002.

The typical line is that Pink Flag is the punk rawk record, and that from there on out they get increasingly "difficult." I think though that PF is probably *more* difficult in a sense than CM or (esp.) 154. Perhaps I haven't given it enough time or attention, but half the time when it's on I don't even notice it's there, or the songs just fly by (it having songs < 1 min doesn't help I'm sure). It feels like more of an exercise--"let's make the absolute most minimalist punk imaginable"--than say 154, which to my ears is far more texturally interesting, musically varied, and in a sense beautiful.
-- Clarke B. (clarkeb...), January 11th, 2002.

Actually I was never terribly impressed with "Pink Flag" - for me, it grew increasingly tedious after a dozen listenings. But Wire certainly deserve praise for inspiring Minutemen and (presumably) Minor Threat.

-- Myonga Von Bontee (scottyfield...), March 3rd, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 12:42 (twenty years ago)

These are the most depressing blurbs ever! For crying out loud, you can't say anything bad about Radio City. Or Loaded. Or Pink Flag. Those three records alone are a year's worth of listening.

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:05 (twenty years ago)

Unequivocal praise for Loaded, Lee:

Loaded is their best album

-- nate detritus (n***p*****550...), January 21st, 2004 12:02 AM.

I'm kind of on the fence about VU apart from Loaded which is just sensational.
-- Dr.C (petethane...), July 23rd, 2004 3:16 PM.

Even though Loaded has nothing to do with White Light, White Heat, it's a great soft-rock album.
-- Huk-L (handsomishbo...), February 23rd, 2005 9:01 PM.

The worst song on "Loaded" is still better than the best thing on 99.9999999999999999999% of other albums
-- Dadaismus (kcoyne3...), November 14th, 2003 3:10 PM.

I *always* hated Loaded when I was younger. Maybe I just wasn't old enough to understand it at the time or something, I don't know. It just sounded like coked-up disco-boogie with that bad 70s production, I wanted the noise and the feedback and all that! So I didn't listen to it for years. And then I gave it a chance when I got the box set (perhaps it was the alternate mixes that did it) and I utterly loved it.
-- Ma$onic Boom (masonicboo...), July 23rd, 2004 1:51 PM.

Oh Sweet Nuthin is SOOOOO good. I bet Reed would've ruined it by making it more snarly/less pretty.
-- Shakey Mo Collier (audiobo...), June 1st, 2004 11:37 PM.

"Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" - 'tis good. And Doug Yule's best vocal performance, period. Plus tasty S. Morrison guitar lead. This song's better than anything on 'Sticky Fingers'. Listen to how shit Reed's vocals are on 'Loaded'. In fact, listen to the caterwauling racket that is the "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" demo on that 'Fully Loaded' dealie. Lou sounds like a cat in heat. Thankfully he didn't sing on the "official" version. Only thing lacking on this track is Mo Tucker on drums.
Am I the only one who finds this song/performance (esp. Yule's vocal) proto-Big Star (say, 'Sister Lovers')? Alex Chilton could've/should've done this one, but, absence of Mo Tucker aside, I think the song is perfect as it is.
-- Kjoerup (s_kjoeru...), November 14th, 2003 10:11 PM.


In what universe is Loaded's greatness disputed?
-- dan. (dan_haa...), February 23rd, 2005 8:21 PM.

Alba (Alba), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:06 (twenty years ago)

(also, it placed higher than any other Velvets album - boxed set not included - in the ILM top 100 records poll of 2001.

Alba (Alba), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:08 (twenty years ago)

You know, despite sure that it would not happen, I thought 'oh I've actually been included in an album's blog entry'. Then I see that Kate said it, not me!

mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:10 (twenty years ago)

well i never...

cheers Alba. i'm not exactly convinced, but i am utterly gobsmacked. there's no accounting for taste, i suppose.

Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

I'm new here. But good work so far, voters.

danski (danski), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:19 (twenty years ago)

I do wish I'd heard like ONE of these albums, haha

$V£N! (blueski), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:25 (twenty years ago)

Lonesome Cowboy Bill to thread.

57 7th (calstars), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:30 (twenty years ago)

This is now getting interesting, because there are a lot of records that still haven't placed but easily could be in the last 25 or so.

Keith C (kcraw916), Friday, 22 April 2005 13:44 (twenty years ago)

26

points: 510
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 12

CAN - TAGO MAGO

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0002K0ZJY.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:11 (twenty years ago)

Tago Mago is indeed wicked, apart from Aumgn, which I still think is the sound of Irmin Schmidt farting while Jacki moves furniture around the room.
-- Nick Southall (n.j.southal...), February 25th, 2003.

what's the insane one on Tago Mago? with the ridiculous drum machine passages and the shrieking? I like that one best.
-- gaz (gary.lo...), February 25th, 2003.

The funkiest is also the noodliest (Tago Mago)
-- sexyDancer (jjjjjjjjjj...), May 21st, 2004.

tago mago = higher peaks, wider valleys than ege bamyasi.
-- el sabor de gene (yn...), May 22nd, 2004.

"Tago Mago", "Ege Bamyasi" and "Future Days" are never far from my stereo and despite many, many spins still sound fresh as a daisy.
-- steve (heligolande...), August 21st, 2003.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

http://www.collectable-records.ru/images/GROUPS/can/tago_mago/front.jpg
and this one for the traditionalists...

mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:24 (twenty years ago)

"This is probably something I should get over, but I only own one Neil Young CD - partly because I can't imagine listening to another of his albums and not wishing it was this one."

You might want to get over that. After the Gold Rush is an amazing, amazing album, but far from his best. If Rest Never Sleeps isn't in the top five, this forum is broken.

Shakey, Friday, 22 April 2005 14:25 (twenty years ago)

and this one for the traditionalists...

Sorry - I don't know much about Can (although I'm intrigued, having seen the results so far) so didn't know that one wasn't right.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:27 (twenty years ago)

x-post

some bad news:

61
points: 296
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 9

NEIL YOUNG - RUST NEVER SLEEPS

Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:28 (twenty years ago)

Oh it is right. So is mine, it was the original sleeve in the UK.

mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

No! That's horrible!

Shakey, Friday, 22 April 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

As for albums, I would say "Velvet Underground & Nico" and "Velvet Underground" are the ones that contain most great songs, while "Loaded" is the only one that contains nothing that is so totally unlistenable it has to be skipped every time.

er... "lonesome cowboy bill"?

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

25

points: 513
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 18

DAVID BOWIE - LOW

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00001OH7W.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

far too low

willem (willem), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:43 (twenty years ago)

The only Bowie album I own.

peepee (peepee), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

i can't remember where i put 'Low', but i bet it was lower down than this. even so, i would have expected other people to put it higher, so i'm a little surprised. mind you, i was a little surprised that 'Station To Station' wasn't higher, too.

Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:48 (twenty years ago)

Low is one of my life-changing records as well. I was completely mental for the live half of Still by Joy Division and then I bought this record. I tried very hard to like it at first, and I just could not get my head around it. I let it sit on the shelf for about 6 months and then I broke it out again and it just clicked. I used to play Warszawa at top volume every morning when I got ready for high school for about a semester in 11th grade. I can only imagine what my parents must have thought, they could have had a football player and instead they got this weird kid who blasted 70's ambient from a 130 watt stereo at 6:45 in the morning.
I still listened to Still all the time, but this is when Bowie, Eno and Kraftwerk started creeping into my listening. I really lived in those records during high school. I think it is a real mistake to take sides in regards to this record. This record is about escape, the entire theme of it is that your life is a mess, and the entire record is a sequence of events. It isn't just a collection of well-sequenced tracks; it is an aural narrative.

Speed of life is the intro; it sets the mood.

Breaking Glass is the first vocal track and it starts the theme of alienation and romantic disconnection. Rather than using an ice cream parlor for milkshakes cold and long, or the dream car twenty feet long, he makes the first use of the bedroom as a symbol for isolation. The lyrics are so abstract but you know exactly the feeling he is trying to convey. Rather than using elaborate lyrics to express an idea, situations become less defined and the sound is what communicates the emotion. This definitely ties into Eno's theory that lyrics in rock music are nothing but decoration, and that the real message is timbral.

What In The World is track three and this time the mood switches from agitation to extreme euphoria. The euphoria is not a healthy, genuine happiness, but more like the upward pendulum swing of bipolar disorder. The paranoia and claustrophobia of Breaking Glass is still lurking in the background, but it is submerged in the lyrics, not the delivery. The desire is there, but somehow the connection cannot be created.

This theme would make sense because Bowie's marriage to Angela was breaking up, and he went to Berlin to kick the cocaine addiction he had picked up in LA during the Thin White Duke period of his career.
Bowie has said that at the time he was confused and internally divided, so Berlin in 1976, a divided city, was the most logical place to live.

Sound And Vision is track four and it takes the upward mood swing to its highest point. It is the closest thing this album has to a super pop hit, and even at that it fails. Again, it uses the symbol of bedroom as symbol of isolation, but it makes you wonder if this is a set of chemicals talking, or perhaps really a come down? Has this person just accepted his place? Is he coming to terms with the situation? Perhaps the character is simply found solace in art, for a brief time at least. Although the mood is relatively up, it is still very emotionally ambiguous.

Always Crashing The Same Car is the lowest point on Low. The image of tearing though a parking structure is a metaphor for reckless, perhaps even suicidal behavior. It also echoes the central image of enclosed, stifling spaces. The track title refers to repeated failures in life, in the context of the album, repeated failures at real emotional connection. The emotional pendulum has swung the other way to nearly suicidal depression. The vibe is stark and brooding, it is recognition.

Be My Wife is number six. Most people think that this is a love song, but this song has absolutely nothing to do with a healthy emotional relationship. This is the sound of desperation, of clutching at straws. This is like love as an emotional high, a means of escape. The music is up, but the lyrics and vocal delivery are that of a desperate man. No matter what the long-term consequences of his actions are, he needs deliverance at this very moment. Anything to escape.

New Career in a New Town is the final track on side one. The music suggests hopeful optimism and movement. I always think of the pistons of a train when I listen to the bassline of this song. It has no lyrics, and it introduces the next side as the second part of this person’s life. It is more ambiguous but no less emotional.

The ambient half of the album follows a more linear trajectory. It starts out with the sublime quarter note octave pulsation of Warszawa, and the mood declines from there. Although Warszawa is the more obvious cut, Art Decade is the better track. It is subtler and a bit darker. Whatever relief the protagonist found in travel and the anonymity of a new life, the magic is starting to fade. The mood continues to decline into madness by the end of Subterraneans.

Was Bowie dragging in his fears of potential madness into the end of the album? Did he use the abstract nature of the lyrics and synthetic timbres on the second half as a vehicle to express the disassociated and incommunicable nature of mental illness? Was he expressing his personal fears of being schizophrenic like the older brother who introduced him to music in the first place?

I don't know, but it does give this album an interesting perspective. This is one of the few records I can say that I have truly lived in. I am not exactly sure what that says about me, or the frame of mind I was in during the later years of my teens.


-- Disco Nihilist (current31...), October 16th, 2003.

Rank David Bowie

Here is my ranking:
1. Low

-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), November 4th, 2003.

I'd have to say that my favorite Bowie album would be Low because it has such classics as "Always Crashing in the Same Car", "Speed of Life", and "Warszawa

-- Innocent Dreamer (deethe_downspamdown_lurke...), June 26th, 2003.

Lodger is brilliant and almost Bowie's best although ultimately I think Low pips it to the post

-- pj proby (pjprob...), February 1st, 2005.

I never listen to it as a whole, despite playing it on cd. It's either one or the other. I'd dip into selected tracks on a lot of albums - but this one is different, because I'd only ever be intersted in hearing one particular set of tracks or the other.
I think I prefer side 1. On side 2, Warszawa dwarfs the other ambient tracks in terms of beauty. But the first half has a handful of short, sharp shocks which i thoroughly enjoy. After hearing those, i don't have the patience for the slower tracks. but if i'm in the mood for something less kinetic, they'll more than suffice.

this is the only bowie album i'd listen to, tbh.

-- kilian Murphy (kilian.murphy2...), October 15th, 2003.


One of two records which actually did change my life. I need say no more.
-- Marcello Carlin (marcellocarli...), October 15th, 2003.
One side is a pop record, the other a film soundtrack. Taking sides: chalk or cheese? Then again, I suppose you could say that Sides One of Low and Heroes, put together, would be the most fantastic Bowie pop record ever made, and that Sides Two of Low and Heroes would be... a fairly average prime period Eno ambient release.
-- Momus (nic...), October 15th, 2003.

Side 1 is one of Bowie's best ever, but I still choose side 2, which is one of the most beautiful pieces of instrumental music ever recorded.

-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), October 15th, 2003.

Sides two of "Low" and "Heroes" put together would have been the best electronic album ever, dwarfing all of Eno's other work, including the rather decent "Another Green World"

-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...), October 15th, 2003.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:57 (twenty years ago)

I wonder if this will be the last Bowie album in the poll. Right now by my feeble calculations, he's in the lead for most albums in poll with 4. Next comes Big Star, Wire, Can and Neil Young. Is this right?

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 22 April 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

24

points: 521
1st place votes: 2
total votes: 17

JONI MITCHELL - BLUE

http://www.braggtopia.com/boots/jpg/joni-alternateblue-front.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

Pleasantly surprised at this.

57 7th (calstars), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:07 (twenty years ago)

Alternate Blue?

mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:09 (twenty years ago)

oh, fuck joni mitchell.

those contrarian pink flag blurbs=INEXCUSABLE!

Pink Flag Tago Mago and Low should've been 1, 2 and 3!

latebloomer: venting el pissyranto (latebloomer), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

I guess this means Hejira isn't going to place.

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

OK, so Neil and Bowie are tied with 4 each. THen comes a glut with 3 including Wire, Big Star, Miles, Parliament/Funk and Can. Perhaps Mr. Eno will be getting his third soon...I'd be shocked, SHOCKED if Warm Jets failed to make list.

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:16 (twenty years ago)

I know that I'm saying this too early, but right now...

ILM TOP 100 of the 70s >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pitchfork Top 100 of the 70s

It all depends on how T.E.E., M.M, U.P. and M.B./S.E. perform, though. (I abbreviated to avoid spoiling for some)

poortheatre (poortheatre), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:26 (twenty years ago)

I really should have attempted to write a proper blurb for this, because its my favourite. album. ever. and so deserves something more than random spraffle. Anyway, here goes..

This isn't a perfect album. It sags in parts, and flows in others..occasionally it becomes mawkish, and unashamedly sentimental and Joni's voice wobbles around like an octopus on a unicycle. Despite, or perhaps because of this, its still the most played, and most loved, album in my collection.

This is how Joni is, this is how life is, happy and sad at the same time; raw, sometimes difficult, perhaps just slightly unhinged - in the nicest possible way. From the moment she starts singing about wanting to shampoo her lover, and the frying pan being too wide, you know you're listening to something deeply personal, and individual. Yet despite this, there's a passion, a deep sincerity and, above all, an utter, harsh, honesty here that tempers the sentiment, and makes it bearable, and recognisable, and makes it feel like somewhere you've been, and are, and will go again.

For me, the stand-out track is "A Case Of You". The opening lines -

"Just before our love got lost, you said 'I am as constant as a Northern Star'
and I said 'constantly in the darkness, where's that?
If you want me I'll be in the bar".

- encapsulate what I love about Joni. There's the simultaneous romanticism and cynicism that she reflects upon at length in the disturbingly direct "The Last Time I Saw Richard". On the one hand, she's scared of being hurt again, on the other, she's desperate to stay open to it all, and the harsh words and the distance are only there to cover what she's afraid of showing. Sure enough, she goes and sits in the bar, the TV screen light playing on her face, and draws his picture on a beermat.

Other albums dress her directness up with flourishes and more lavish instrumentation. Blue is bare by comparison - just her and an accoustic guitar (plus a piano in "River"). Nothing is prettified, and the impact is stronger, and the connection more complete. Sure they're stories, but to my mind nobody ever told stories in quite such a compelling manner. And they're the best ones she ever told.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:26 (twenty years ago)

those contrarian pink flag blurbs=INEXCUSABLE!

Pink Flag Tago Mago and Low should've been 1, 2 and 3!


-- latebloomer: venting el pissyranto (posercore24...), April 22nd, 2005.

I posted what I could find, given that searching ILM is pretty slow at the best of times, and it is slowing putting the poll results up consideratly. If you don't like them, please find some more to your liking and post those here.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:31 (twenty years ago)

23

points: 546
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 19

BRIAN ENO - HERE COME THE WARM JETS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00022M518.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:35 (twenty years ago)

"Maybe it's the blistering solo in "Baby's on Fire", or the what the
fuck-ness inherent in the lyrics of song titled "Needles in the
Camel's Eye". Shit, maybe it's some perverted subconscious intrigue
in the golden showers imagery on the cover and in the buried vocals of
the title track. But probably it's just the brilliant songcraft, as
far as I can tell, unmatched by any other artist in an era when great
music was coming from all over the world. I didn't hear any Brian Eno
music until last year when I bought the remastered discs; now I'm
listening to Here Come the Warm Jets at least twice a week
religiously, something I don't see changing. Taking Tiger Mountain
and Another Green World are brilliant in their own right, but there's
something in HCTWJ, from the first time I heard it, that keeps it on a
level the other two just can't quite touch. I think it's the sound of
musical advancement that must have made it even more awesome to an
audience in 74. That the record still holds endless appeal to a
punk-ass American undergrad stuck at a shitty state school in central
Pennsylvania tells me that, beyond just being a seminal record for
genres like ambient, post-punk and new wave, it's still accessible and
still fucking awesome."


Jared

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:35 (twenty years ago)

(x-post: consideratly = considerably)

hobart paving (hobart paving), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:39 (twenty years ago)

sorry, no way is that album better than AGW. And Before and After Science is still yet to come, yes?

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:49 (twenty years ago)

a little conversation on the cover on my blog:

1. Isn't this the most horrid cover in the history of recorded music?

2. Wouldn't the still life without the framed photograph and without the "Eno" writing in rainbow colours be just about ok?

3. Doesn't Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle alias Brian Eno look like a certain Christa Päffgen from Cologne aka Nico on the photo?

place your comment!

nonightsweats, Thursday, 5. August 2004, 00:18
1. no, it's easily the best cover ever made.
2. no, it would make it worse.
3. yes, he does indeed.

when i first saw the cover i thought it was a band called End and didn't realize until later that it was the new Eno album i was desperately looking for.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 22 April 2005 15:55 (twenty years ago)

by the way there seem to be covers with different colour schemes. on mine the dry plant on the left is blue and "ENO" in the top left corner is in yellow and light blue with a pink three-dimensional relief shade.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 22 April 2005 16:16 (twenty years ago)

by the way there seem to be covers with different colour schemes. on mine the dry plant on the left is blue and "ENO" in the top left corner is in yellow and light blue with a pink three-dimensional relief shade.

to get an idea of one possible meaning of the title look closer at that small 8 of spades in the middle part below eno's framed portait with the policeman and the crouching woman. couldn't find a bigger image of that though i am sure it must be out there somewhere.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 22 April 2005 16:20 (twenty years ago)

i hope hejira places high, but i wouldn't be surprised if it didn't place at all.

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 22 April 2005 16:56 (twenty years ago)

hejira should either be top spot or not place at all. everything else is unacceptable. these bloody dichotomies always. stronger than me.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 22 April 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

by the way did keith jarrett's sun bear concerts get any votes, hobart?

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Friday, 22 April 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

no Fela Kuti?

jmeister (jmeister), Friday, 22 April 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

Hobart, that was an excellent blurb on 'Blue'. i guess it was me and you had it as number 1? you have increased my confidence that everyone else is just plain wrong.

Lee F# (fsharp), Friday, 22 April 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

No love for Todd Rundgren. Bah! Oh well, I am gladdened to see I was quoted about Surf's Up. This is a great thread.

Deluxe (Damian), Saturday, 23 April 2005 10:42 (twenty years ago)

Maybe he will appear on the singles list.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Saturday, 23 April 2005 13:20 (twenty years ago)

Alternate Blue?

Alternate Blue, indeed... I didn't spot that when I posted the cover. I just thought it was a nice big picture of it. The one on Amazon looked sort of...grey...which defeats the point, really. I wonder what Alternate Blue can be.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 23 April 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

by the way did keith jarrett's sun bear concerts get any votes, hobart?

-- alex in mainhattan (alex6...), April 22nd, 2005.

I'm afraid not, Alex.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:07 (twenty years ago)

that's what i thought. it would have been my number one if i had voted...

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:09 (twenty years ago)

Is this going to continue over the weekend, or are you waiting until Monday to do the top 22?

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:21 (twenty years ago)

I voted for Koln Concert if that helps. I haven't heard Sun Bear.

Sundar (sundar), Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:38 (twenty years ago)

the köln concert is nice (maybe a little too nice) but the sun bear concerts are the real deal if you like jarrett's solo piano improvisations.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Well, here's what we have so far...

100. VA - Nuggets
99. New York Dolls - s/t
98. David Bowie - Heroes
97. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
96. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town
95. The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys
94. Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
93. Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach
92. Sparks - Kimono My House
91. Cheap Trick - Live at Budokan
90. Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstacy
89. Sparks - No. 1 in Heaven
88. Can - Future Days
87. The B52s - The B52s
86. Parliament - Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
85. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
84. Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
83. The Slits - Cut
82. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
81. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
80. Neu! - Neu!
79. The Beatles - Let It Be
78. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
77. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
76. Big Star - Third
75. John Cale - Paris 1919
74. Donna Summer - On the Radio
73. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson
72. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
71. Parliament - The Mothership Connection
70. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
69. VA - Saturday Night Fever
68. Wire - 154
67. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
66. Led Zeppelin - IV
65. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
64. Big Star - #1 Record
63. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
62. David Bowie - Station to Station
61. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
60. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
59. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
58. Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes
57. The Congos - Heart of the Congos
56. Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
55. Ornette Coleman - Dancing in Your Head
54. Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight
53. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
52. The Fall - Dragnet
51. Neil Young - Tonight's the Night
50. Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
49. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
48. Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
47. Stevie Wonder - Talking Book
46. Suicide - First Album
45. Miles Davis - On the Corner
44. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
43. Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians
42. Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
41. Neil Young - On the Beach
40. Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
39. Wire - Chairs Missing
38. Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
37. Can - Ege Bamyesi
36. Brian Eno - Another Green World
35. Serge Gainbourg - Histoire Du Melody Nelson
34. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
33. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
32. Neil Young - After the Goldrush
31. Big Star - Radio City
30. The Clash - The Clash
29. The Velvet Underground - Loaded
28. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
27. Wire - Pink Flag
26. Can - Tago Mago
25. David Bowie - Low
24. Joni Mitchell - Blue
23. Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Saturday, 23 April 2005 16:58 (twenty years ago)

This is definitely better than the Pitchfork list so far. Less Floyd, for one thing. Though that might not last.

o. nate (onate), Saturday, 23 April 2005 17:03 (twenty years ago)

but i wouldn't consider a top 100 of the seventies complete without pink floyd. dark side of the moon has to be the one.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Saturday, 23 April 2005 17:27 (twenty years ago)

btw it is Histoire de Melody Nelson

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Saturday, 23 April 2005 17:30 (twenty years ago)

Dammit, the seventies was arguably the greatest decade of African-American music, so I'm a bit disappointed by all this proto-indie stuff that's filling the list. But I guess a couple of albums are still to come up ("What's Going On", "There's a Riot Going On"), and the singles list is where, for obvious reasons, we should see a lot more black music.

Anyway, I'm a bit surprised too there's no Fela Kuti on the list at all (was anyhthing besides "Zombie" even nominated?). I guess he could still make it, but I'm kinda doubtful...

Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 24 April 2005 11:11 (twenty years ago)

For those who are comparing this list to Pitchfork's, I'm not sure where all the praise is coming from. There's a *lot* of overlap, and while they've got a bit more classic/FM rock (e.g. King Crimson, Randy Newman, Van Halen), we've got a bit more jazz and funk (albeit restricted to a small number of artists).

Then again, our #1 album isn't "Low", which counts for a lot, but the rest of the Pitchfork top 20 is pretty good.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Sunday, 24 April 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

the pitchfork list was probably better. We've got all three Big Star albums, but they ddin't have LZIV IN THE FUCKING SIXTIES

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 24 April 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

wait, wait, wai.. are the ramones about to COUP this shit?

poortheatre (poortheatre), Sunday, 24 April 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

This is definitely better than the Pitchfork list so far.

Any list where Pink Moon beats out Mothership Connection by 37 places is better than nothing, except maybe prostate cancer.

Stupornaut (natepatrin), Sunday, 24 April 2005 21:11 (twenty years ago)

ahem.

Ian John50n (orion), Monday, 25 April 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)

III and Houses Of The Holy should always place higher than IV. They're all worthy of inclusion, but I don't see why IV should always be given highest placement.

billstevejim, Monday, 25 April 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

Agreed. The third album is brilliant, on most days my favorite...

Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Monday, 25 April 2005 20:37 (twenty years ago)

22

points: 564
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 20

THE RAMONES - THE RAMONES

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005JGAB.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

Wahayyy.

Our Alice took this album (along with McFly and Busted ones) to her last day at nursery.

I don't know if they played it at her leaving party...

mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

I was listening to the Ramones earlier, and I just thought they probably wouldn't care if Shania wore their T-Shirt or not. They are like 1,2,3,4, just get on with it.

-- jel -- (freeduni...), January 23rd, 2003.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

nevermind... No Rockets to Russia, i guess..

poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

I think the reason the Ramones are held dearer than the likes of the Pistols and Clash is at least partly due to something I've rarely seen commented on, and which most of their fans are (probably) not really aware of: the extent to which they borrow, soundwise and imagewise, from early 60s girl groups. They've got more in common with the Crystals than AC/DC. This was always obscured by their "rawk, rawk, rawk!!!" trappings, but I think it's got a lot more to do with their lasting appeal than that ever did. They also borrow a lot from the Beatles - their name, obviously, but also Joey's fake-Liverpool accent - who also owed a lot to the Spector groups, so I guess the Ramones might have absorbed a lot of that through listening to the Beatles.

I could be projecting here, since the main reason I like the Ramones a lot has almost nothing to do with them being "punk legends" (yawn) and everything to do with their girlgroup style. The recent deaths do factor into this as well: once someone dies all sorts of not-entirely-thought-out feelings you had toward that person suddenly twist themselves inside out.

Also, I for one am very upset when I see the Slits maligned.

-- Justyn Dillingham (aubade8...), January 24th, 2003.

errr...let's have some posts about the band rather than about the album... well, they ARE interesting comments on the band, even if something more specific would be better. I'm sure there are lots of pertinent comments specific to this album out there, I'm just having trouble finding them.
I think Justyn is RIGHT.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)


The Ramones *WERE* a handful of magic beans, you fool!

-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), January 28th, 2003.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

Wahayyy.

Our Alice took this album (along with McFly and Busted ones) to her last day at nursery.

I don't know if they played it at her leaving party...

-- mark grout (mark.grou...), April 25th, 2005.

I'm just trying to imagine "Blitzkreig Bop" back to back with "Five Colours In Her Hair". Actually, at the risk of being flayed alive, it doesn't seem so terrible.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:35 (twenty years ago)

21

points: 564
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 16

AL GREEN - CALL ME

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000240T5.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:40 (twenty years ago)

I made it through most of my life not knowing what the big deal was until a pal lent me Call Me which, yeah, is incredible drinking music, and seems to get better with age...

-- Pete Scholtes (pscholte...), April 6th, 2003.

I just got Call Me and I'm going bananas. For me the appeal of the 70s stuff I've heard is like 45% production, 35% Green's voice, 20% songs. The sound of those records, the drums, organ squelches, etc, fascinates me. I think of all the chillout/downtempo producers today & how in love they are with "atmosphere" & they never come close to that sound.

-- Mark (mar...), October 8th, 2003.
ooo listen to those snares...

-- amateurist (amateuris...), October 8th, 2003.

Al Green. As a pure singer he's the best-- eddie hurt (eddshur...)

hobart paving (hobart paving), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

I'll attempt to put some more up over the next couple of days. Sorry for the break over the weekend, I didn't get any spare time.

I dug out a copy of Maggot Brain as a result of this poll. Can't believe I'd overlooked it. Its an immense album - I should have voted for it.

Next poll, maybe..

hobart paving (hobart paving), Monday, 25 April 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

III and Houses Of The Holy should always place higher than IV. They're all worthy of inclusion, but I don't see why IV should always be given highest placement.

Because with the possible exception of "The Battle of Evermore," IV is utterly perfect. III has moments of brilliance but a lot of weak spots as well, HOTH is fairly close but the overall quality level is prob. a bit lower.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 25 April 2005 22:08 (twenty years ago)

20

points: 569
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 16

KRAFTWERK - THE MAN MACHINE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000087HXO.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


This where Kraftwerk's style, image and theme find their ultimate
expression, The Man Machine is where the group's ideas are most fully
realised. Middle-European melancholy set in "Spacelab", futurism with
an old world touch. All six songs are perfect and beautiful, none of
them sound dated 27 years on. The robots that still define
Kraftwerk's image were introduced here, yet the men's eye for the
ladies in "The Model" shows the machines as human after all. This is
the international edition, in Germany the band released a German
language version. Oh my, the gentle kick drum that starts off "Neon
Lights" has just started while I type this. Oh, and there's that
synth line. I love this music so much.

JoB de wit

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 08:47 (twenty years ago)

god what a band

j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 09:02 (twenty years ago)

19

points: 601
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 17

THE STOOGES - FUN HOUSE

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000005IU2.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 09:06 (twenty years ago)

Fun House is the greatest rock & roll record of all time. I feel sorry for people who can't understand that.
-- shemp (curl...), March 13th, 2005.

IT KNOCKS THE FUCKING WALLS DOWN?
-- Tim Ellison (timejeanne...), January 13th, 2005.

'Funhouse' is the only 'real' record. Everything else by [or with or whatever] Iggy Pop is very strange. Like, sort of cabaret music. Why? That is very strange to me. I don't complain about it being cabaret music, I can still listen 'past' the cabaret-ness of it, but I wonder why he was never again able to make a record that was not cabaret? On the other hand, the reason seems obvious.
-- antonius (r...), September 6th, 2004.

I'd been playing Black Grape and the Happy Mondays just now, and suddenly throwing on Fun House is just so much more FULFILLING than those records (not knocking them, mind you). But fuck...."TV Eye" is playing right now, and it's just fucking UNSTOPPABLE!
-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), January 13th, 2005.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 09:21 (twenty years ago)

I never heared this album, until one day the Fun House sessions arrived at my doorstep unbidded.

I love this album.

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 09:29 (twenty years ago)

18

points: 601
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 18

MICHAEL JACKSON - OFF THE WALL

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=off+the+wall+jackson/v=2/SID=e/l=IVI/SIG=12r98co0b/EXP=1114686155/*-http%3A//linux030.cshc.qc.ca/~dmercier/biographie45/michael/otwallalb.jpg

Off the Wall

Michael Jackson

Somewhere in between Michael Jackson’s difficult childhood and his possibly psychotic reactions to his difficult childhood, he managed to come out with Off the Wall. At the time, we thought it would always be thus.

You can no longer listen to this record without thinking about what came after. Thriller may have made him the King of Pop rather than a good-looking guy with a few hits, but the seeds of MJ’s musical destruction are there. The paranoia, the megalomania, the self-reference (fictional and non-) made for great songs on Thriller, but he’s walking on a wire. He wobbled on “We Are the World,” teetered with stuff like “The Way You Make Me Feel” a great song rendered stiff by the production) and eventually fell off, handing in calcified junk like “Invincible.”

Off the Wall breathes; it’s engaging while it’s impressive. You can dance to it without worrying that you don’t look as cool as Michael Jackson dancing to it. “We’re the party people living night and day/ Living crazy that’s the only way/ So tonight/ Gotta put that 9 to 5 up on the shelf/ And just enjoy yourself.” Slight? Maybe, but fun too. And, as on “She’s Out of My Life,” as on everything here, he sings like he knows what he’s talking about (even though he probably already doesn’t).

Weird Al Yankovic never parodied anything from Off the Wall (on record anyway). That’s because he tweaks excess. And there isn’t any here.

Rick Massimo

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 10:03 (twenty years ago)

I nearly forgot about Kraftwerk, even though I voted for them! The Man-Machine should've been in the top 10, I can't see how it could lose to Autobahn, as fun as that record is too.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 10:17 (twenty years ago)

as fun as that record is too

You mean: fahren!

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 10:29 (twenty years ago)

17

points: 604
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 15

VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE HARDER THEY COME

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005LZWR.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

The Harder they Come

John Peel had a rating system for songs: 1 star meant he might play it
on
the radio, 2 stars meant he should, and 3 stars meant he must. Every
few
years he would announce that an album had achieved the distinction of
every
track on it getting 3 stars (I remember Misty in Roots 'Live at the
Counter-Eurovision' and the first Bhundu Boys album being examples)

Anyway, 'The Harder They Come' falls into this category. Every track on
it
is not just good, but great, good enough that if you bought an album
and it
had just one of these tracks, you'd be satisfied with your purchase
even if
the rest of the album was rubbish.

Joe Kay

Various - The Harder They Come (Soundtrack)

To this day, the artist on the spine of "The Harder they Come" reads
"Jimmy Cliff," although the album is indeed a compilation. Maybe it
was a recognition that Cliff's contributions are more numerous and
arguably better than anything else on the record, but it probably had
more to do with marketing, as Cliff starred in the lead role of the
film. The other selections, by reggae stalwarts such as Toots & the
Maytals and Desmond Dekker, are some of the island's greatest tracks,
and serve as a counterpoint to Cliff's four masterpieces. Even though
you'll often hear that this is a "great introduction to reggae," I've
always thought this collection is all the more powerful because Bob
Marley is absent from it. Not because he is in any way a lesser
artist, but the inclusion of such a major personality would have
distorted the balance of the album. Either way, it's indispensable
for both casual reggae fans and fanatics alike.

Keith C

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

16

points: 616
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 22

THE SEX PISTOLS - NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00000G6PJ.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 10:49 (twenty years ago)

I mean the Pistols opened up Punk, Post Punk, Industrial, New Wave... There were obviously antecendants, but the pistols craked open a lot more creative energy and empowered a lot more people the gnr did. Punk exploded in a million directions, and gnr just became another mark in one continious trajectory(aka white hetero testosterone rock).
Not only did the pistols ignite more energy, they had the potential to be a lot more interesting than they already were. One of the things I would most love to see would be their first set of publicity photos which were shot by Peter Christopherson of TG. He framed them as a bunch of psychotic rentboy, and apparently they were so intense that Malcom actually would not alllow them to be used. The other thing that would have made them more interesting is if there had been more of a fusion between Lydon and Jones/Cook. The Lads rock of Jones and Cook would have been a perfect anchor for Lydons more avant tastes. It would have been a true avant garage band, they just needed the right bassplayer. If Wobble had gone in instead of Sid the Pistols would have tore shit up.

-- Disco Nihilist (current31...), October 22nd, 2004.
I mean trying to pick your least favorite NMTB song is like picking your least favorite orgasm.
"Submission" kinda sticks out as a place where maybe the LP drags a bit, to me. I guess that's why I thought of it first.
I dunno, I never really got into "New York" either.
The rest I can't think of a bad thing to say about.

-- AaronHz (aaronh...), August 5th, 2004.

I get the feeling that _Bollocks_ is the ultimate "you had to be there" album.
-- Dan Perry (djperr...), January 17th, 2003.
I can understand having mixed feelings upon hearing Suicide's debut album for the first time or even being underwhelmed by MARQUEE MOON (which, however, is truly a grower if you stick with it), but I can't imagine not being blown away by NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS. Obviously, this many years later it doesn't sound as shocking, but the songs and the character are still there in abundance. Or I think so, at least.

-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), January 18th, 2003.

Bollocks is a far deeper LP than *any* Clash LP in part because its failings — some of which are absolutely deliberate — are more powerful.
-- mark s (mar...), June 4th, 2002.


and "never mind the bollocks" is at least 10000 x better than "the cl..." er, never mind.
-- Pashmina (pashmin...), April 7th, 2003

The first times I heard "God Save the Queen" and "Anarchy In the UK" and enough of the rest for that matter were so momentous that I'll forgive the small repeat play value of Bollocks.
-- sundar subramanian (sundar_subramanian200...), January 17th, 2003.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 11:15 (twenty years ago)

15

points: 683
1st place votes: 3
total votes: 18

THE MODERN LOVERS - THE MODERN LOVERS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000A5BUA.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

Hooray!

Pradaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 12:30 (twenty years ago)

C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CLASSIC. I love pretty much everything Jonathan Richman has ever done. Too much to put into words. I am not rational about it and I don't care.
-- Madchen (madchen_in_unifor...), November 16th, 2004.

ist album is a classic. plus it's hilarious. "I'm Straight" is one of the funniest songs ever, whilst still being a good rock song. "Roadrunner," "Astral Plane," "Pablo Picasso," "She Cracked," "Old World," "Modern World" are all fine tracks as well. Someone thought this was awhiny album, maybe a little but not on the really good tracks. Whoever said it was proto-indie wank or something is just failing to appreciate a pretty unique album. Recorded in 71, the VU influence is obvious but other than that it pretty outside of what was going on in rock at the time. That said, I don't think any of Richman's later stuff has been nearly as good
-- g (graysonlan...), December 11th, 2001.

an obvious classic and "she cracked" alone still means a lot for me.
-- Marco Damiani (magog0...), November 16th, 2004.

[sputtering]...he INVENTED punk rock on The Modern Lovers!

-- M Matos (michaelangelomato...), April 12th, 2002.

i burned a copy of this for my girlfriend, and she told me they were a shitty Doors ripoff. She doesn't know it, but i still haven't forgiven her for that.
-- Felcher (wangchungvsah...), September 17th, 2003

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 12:53 (twenty years ago)

I think this is the only album apart from the Ornette Coleman and Parliament I haven't heard. Gaps in my knowledge I'll have to fill but this high postion has me intrigued.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 12:58 (twenty years ago)

14

points: 692
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 20

DAVID BOWIE - THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00001OH7P.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:08 (twenty years ago)

Its the beautiful sleaze of it all. The world is ending, the bar lights splutter and the boy on the stage looks so very pretty, so corruptible - or corrupted or...well, whatever it is, he'll do.

The TV announcer begins, telling us all of our imminent demise and the rest is a "what the fuck, its all over, let's take what we can get" ride. The last ever rock n roll band appearing, entrancing the kids, and getting torn to shreds. The aliens whispering over the airwaves, and those willing to listen going out, staring at the sky and hoping for some sort of salvation.

It ends with a stagger home, a lit cigarette, screeching brakes as the singer assures you you aren't alone, he'll comfort you, he'll make it all okay. Perhaps you just need to go home, come down, it'll all be okay. The world will be allright, and you imagined everything.

Not completely consistent, but which of his albums is? It doesn't need to be. The result is a technicolour dystopian dream - frightening and utterly seductive.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:29 (twenty years ago)

13

points: 698
1st places: 1
total votes: 19

GANG OF FOUR - ENTERTAINMENT

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00003WG0M.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

This placing strikes me as being on the modish side

Pradaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:53 (twenty years ago)

oh well.

At least The Sex Pistols made top 20--glad the public turnaround on that isn't too intense. And also good to see Kraftwerk and Bowie's best albums both make the top 20.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

I reckon Lodger will be in the top 10.

Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

all right, so what we got left:

Blondie - Parallel Lines
Eno - Before and After Science
Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady
Bruce - Born to Run (?)
Clash - London Calling
Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe
Marv - What's Goin' On
PiL - Metal Box
Stones - Exile
Sly - Riot
T. Rex - Electric Warrior

Am I missing anything?

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

I reckon Lodger will be in the top 10.

I'd bet money against this.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

I thought someone started a separate predictions trhead so as not to take the suspense out of this one....

Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:09 (twenty years ago)

did they? I thought that people said "we should really do that" but no one ever did. Sorry if so.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

"Entertainment" is a pretty seminal post-punk record... I've yet to check out any other Gang of Four records, but that one is recommended unreservedly. Very abrasive, dark, rhythmic record; a fine whole. "Anthrax" is a stunning end to it; breathtaking, jagged guitar-playing and a general wrongfooting malaise...
-- Tom May (joycean_cha...), December 6th, 2002.

"Entertainment!" is a great album. And "Solid Gold" and "Songs of the Free" are real good ones.
-- Not That Chuck (noemai...), December 16th, 2003.

Entertainment! sounds like the beginning of something, (1st alb) a kind of simple, brilliant template for a band: solid-state MGs revamped for maximum spike + Frankfurt school shouting, GO! (exercise: play "Damaged Goods" and "Green Onions" back to back)
-- g.cannon (misterhungr...), September 26th, 2002.
Entertainment! (Warner Bros., BSK 3446) LP
Solid Gold (Warner Bros., BSK 3565) LP

After these, they fell off hard. But these are classics. Listen to the beginning of "Anthrax" if you wanna hear where just about every Albini-played guitar sound comes from (aside from the times when he rips off Metal Urbain, that is).

-- hstencil (hstenci...), December 9th, 2002.

I listened to Gang of Four's Entertainment! while watching a documentary about the a-bomb. There wasn't much synching going on, suprisingly enough. But then, I was also folding laundry.
-- dave225 (adspac...), November 24th, 2003.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:12 (twenty years ago)

You'd be the first person to use it for its intended purpose.

I'd be interested in seeing those predictions, though.

the 70s poll (albs and singles) predictions and things are posted here, i guess


hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:15 (twenty years ago)

oh, sorry--that would explain it anyway. Feel free to have the mod delete my post.

I'll start it up again.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:16 (twenty years ago)

Err... I mean, how you'd place them, obviously, as you've already picked them.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:16 (twenty years ago)

The Modern Lovers at #15 is awesome. i didn't expect it to place that high. an exceptional record - not a weak song on it. with this and More Songs About Buildings And Food both in my top 5, it is clear that Jerry Harrison was the true genius of the 70s.

Lee F# (fsharp), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:21 (twenty years ago)

12

points: 732
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 22

STEVIE WONDER - INNERVISIONS

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004S363.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Innervisions

Stevie's third post-liberation album, and arguably the peak of his
career.
Dazzlingly diverse, from bubble-jazz to stately piano ballads to
singalong
gospel funk, but effortlessly commercial too (is that a Carpenters
influence
I hear on "Golden Lady"?). Every track could be - and probably was -
either
an FM or AM radio staple. Lyrically, it's gently hippie and gently
socially
conscious, which only adds to its crossover appeal. Faultless,
basically

Jeff Worrell

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:21 (twenty years ago)

I thought this was going to place much higher as it led the poll at one point, and was in the top 10 for practically all of it.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

Definitely my most loved Stevie Wonder album - good call, team.

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

11

points: 732
1st place votes: 4
total votes: 18

THE ROLLING STONES - EXILE ON MAIN STREET

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000000W5L.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

If the Rolling Stones had only released Exile on Main
Street, they'd still have a good claim for "World's
Greatest Rock and Roll Band." A double album that
deserves all 4 sides. Xgau says "Weary and
complicated, barely afloat in its own drudgery, it
rocks with extra power and concentration as a result,"
in a remarkably lucid and entirely accurate remark.
An album that sounds good at first listen and
exponentially better on the 10th or the 100th.
Absolutely amazing and essential.

Matt Sab

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

10

points: 746
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 19

MARVIN GAYE - WHAT'S GOING ON?

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00007FOMP.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

that stevie wonder album sounds very seventies, very dated. i purchased it because of one of these best of lists. at least it didn't make the top ten...

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

agreed about Innervisions.

However, it sounds downright futuristic compared to that half-awful Marvin Gaye album. Oh well.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

That Bach album sounds very 18th century, very dated, I'm glad it didn't make the top ten...

o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

hobart paving, if you have it handy, can you post the full results at the end? I'd love to see what was #101 and beyond. Thx.

Keith C (kcraw916), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

The datedness is what's so awesome about it! I mean, yeah, I'd rather listen to retro synth-funk that than the snoozetastic "timeless" "What's Going On?"

jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

dated in the "probably got a free pass at the time because it sounded nifty but really it's just shitty music" sense.

I mean, yeah, I'd rather listen to retro synth-funk that than the snoozetastic "timeless" "What's Going On?"

well, yeah.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

The canon be damned; WGO slays me, every time.
-- mike t-diva (mikejl...), June 7th, 2004.

Teenage Fanclub "Grand Prix"/"Songs from Northern Britain"
Scritti Politti "Cupid & Psyche 85"
Comet Gain "Realistes"
Marvin Gaye "What's Going On"
Paul Weller "Paul Weller"
-- Michael White (michaelwhite3...), December 13th, 2002.

(from the "albums that make you indescribably happy" thread)

Marvin Gaye "What's Going On"
I don't think I ever put it on without playing from start to finish

-- webcrack (signon2...), December 17th, 2003.

Marvin Gaye might be the godfather of soul. Extremely pure and spiritual. Almost like someone singing a prayer. A tad annoying. Curtis Mayfield on the other hand is more funky, more urban, more dirty. I prefer his version of soul. And you?
-- alex in mainhattan (alex6...), June 24th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:58 (twenty years ago)

It's been a while since I heard all of Innervisions, but there's a handful of really great songs on it: "Too High," "Golden Lady," "Don't You Worry Bout a Thing" etc.

jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:58 (twenty years ago)

alex otm about curtis mayfield.

jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:59 (twenty years ago)

I like the singles, and "Too High" is pretty good, but the rest...ugh.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:00 (twenty years ago)

that stevie wonder album sounds very seventies, very dated. i purchased it because of one of these best of lists. at least it didn't make the top ten...
-- alex in mainhattan (alex6...), April 27th, 2005.

Innervisions has some fantastic tracks on it - personally, "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" is one of my favourite tracks ever. Another one I forgot to nominate for the poll.

There are quite a few I skip, though.

jaymc - my choices too, With living for the city chucked in.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

x-post
but it's marvin gaye. whereas the album on the whole is not perfect there are some songs (the title song for example) which are not from this world.

bach obviously sounds like the third millenium! innervisions is just dull and annoys me. i don't remember any song on there. the production is totally not my cup of tea.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

9

points: 758
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 24

BUZZCOCKS - SINGLES GOING STEADY

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005MAGA.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:04 (twenty years ago)

wow, only #9.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:05 (twenty years ago)

If you don't don't own Buzzcocks "singles going steady" LP you suck.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:06 (twenty years ago)

does that mean that the f*cking clash will beat the buzzcocks? that's quite sad.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

Buzzcocks do rule, god fucking dammit, and anyone who speaks derisevely of them will suffer my wrath!
-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), March 23rd, 2003.

I like 'em lots. They should do a cover of Haddaway's "What Is Love?"
What is laaaahhff?!

-- Anthony Miccio (anthonymicci...), March 23rd, 2003.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

Yes, yes, but where is all the PROG, dammit?

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:11 (twenty years ago)

prog did not survive the millenium...

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:13 (twenty years ago)

bach obviously sounds like the third millenium! innervisions is just dull and annoys me. i don't remember any song on there. the production is totally not my cup of tea.

I think that Innervisions sounds great - though it's not Wonder's best, or even in the top three. But it's far from dull. And it doesn't really sound dated - in fact I'd say it sounds a lot less dated than most of the albums on this list. You can turn on the radio and hear lots of contemporary songs (e.g., Alicia Keys) that aren't too far removed from what Wonder was doing on Innervisions, and they are no more nostalgia-driven than something like Franz Ferdinand which sounds like Gang of Four, which is at least as dated as Innervisions.

o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

Absolute total, capital "C", Classic
-- Stewart Osborne (stewart.osborn...), August 9th, 2004.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So classic it hurts. The Sex Pistols or the Saints may have been better bands (debatable), but within the realm of "punk" music there is no finer LP than Singles Going Steady. Who'd have thought that punk could be informed by pop/psychedelia/Krautrock and thrive? I love how "Orgasm Addict" and a few others throw in the occasional weird 7/8 time signature, just so they can hack through a tangled thicket of syllables and arrive at an unforgettable chorus just that much quicker. "Why Can't I Touch It?" could almost pass for a punk version of "Thank You For Talking To Me Africa". As for being a bad influence, maybe; but they were also a GOOD influence on Husker Du, which is alright by me. And Maher was indeed one hell of a drummer. I have a new favourite every time - last time it was "Boredom", next time "I Don't Mind." (Or make that "I Don't Mi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yind"!)
-- Myonga Von Bontee (scottyfield...), August 10th, 2004.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:16 (twenty years ago)

8

points: 758
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 22

PiL - METAL BOX

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000007UDQ.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

You can turn on the radio and hear lots of contemporary songs (e.g., Alicia Keys) that aren't too far removed from what Wonder was doing on Innervisions
that's why i never turn on the radio these days. and i totally agree about all these retro post-punk bands. the world really does not them. but gang of four cannot sound as dated as innervisions as they were after the punk divide. they still sound fresh to me anyways.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:29 (twenty years ago)

"Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing"

I was out eating dinner once a few years back, in a posh new restaurant with a DJ (before the place caught on and became impossibly crowded all the time), and he snuck this song into his set making me hear it as I hadn't for a while. I bought Innversions on CD not long after (not that I didn't already have it on vinyl and cassette). Actually, I don't think it's perfect, but the good material is very very good.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:29 (twenty years ago)

the world does not NEED them. sorry.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:29 (twenty years ago)

"prog did not survive the millenium..."

2nd edition is a prog album. poptones.

a best of the 70s list without yes, floyd, and zeppelin's just a bit autistic, don't you think?

the ghost of 76, Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:32 (twenty years ago)

why isn't the "i" in capitals? Public image Limited?

No. metal box is by no means prog. it is post-prog, come on.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:33 (twenty years ago)

a 70s list without pink floyd is definitely not completely describing the 70s. that's true.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:35 (twenty years ago)

Well, "Wish You Were Here" is at #65...

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:38 (twenty years ago)

i missed that. no love for dark side of the moon? that is the album i'd nominate as the definite 70s album.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:40 (twenty years ago)

There's a reason that record's hailed as genius by everyone: most people don't understand it, and those who do say it's genius.
But really, it is genius. Levene's riff on "Poptones" is incredible! It goes around and around and around...forever! And ever! And EVER! And listen to Lydon's lyrics!! They rule!!

Not easy listening, though. But Levene is hardly wanking. He, even more so than Wobble, is the anchor of that band. Thus, the suckage following his departure...

-- Naive Teen Idol (matthewjweine...), January 8th, 2003.

It's proudly displayed (well, displayed) on my bookcase, but I swear it's been well over 10 years since I've played it. I do remember liking it, although isn't it meant to be boring and/or annoying in places? Also it plays at 45 rpm, doesn't it? I remember reading somewhere that it was funny/cool that it was designed so that you couldn't get the records out without scratching them, but of course you can just turn the package upside down and let them fall out (not at a great height, of course).
-- Sean (saturns...), January 8th, 2003.

It's sort've become a post-punk Rosetta Stone of sorts (and I don't mean the lamentable goth band) that is required listening for anyone seeking information about the genre/era, but that doesn't mean it makes for the easiest nor most enjoyable listening experience. I'm glad I own it, I'm glad it exists, it's *INTERESTING* (in much the same way watching a disquieting snuff film or autopsy in interesting), but I'd be fibbing if I said I played it a lot or that it changed my life. I tend to prefer a bit more melodic cohesion in my post-punk, thank you very much, ala Gang of Four, early Killing Joke, Joy Division, et al.
Still...."Poptones" and "Swanlake" are uproariously, gloriously ugly in the most intriguing way.

-- Alex in NYC (vassife...), January 8th, 2003.

Erm...
I changed my mind!* Metal Box is actually quite brilliant. For some reason it clicked for me this time. Lydon sounds like Gollum. Levene sounds like he's scratching your eyes out. Wobble is implacable (I like that word today). The electronics are genuinely strange, alienating in that way that electronics were back then--you know, they sound like they're wheezing from some big gray mainframe that takes up half a room. The drums are just like, heavy, man. It's a big granite slab of sound rolling over you.

I think my problem was that I bought the album after reading the usual rhetoric about it, and then I didn't hear what I expected to hear based on that rhetoric. I still don't, really... but I like what I hear instead now.

* Well actually, I still think the suburbia-is-conformist stuff is cliched (suppose it wasn't at the time tho) and just wrong, Albatross is a dirge, and it really doesn't have much to do with dub. Even the bass isn't dubby--it's just fat and high in the mix. I only hear about one moment where he plays anything like a dub bassline (midway through Graveyard I think), most of the time it's more rock. And OK, they phase the drums every now and then. But dub is a process more than anything else, and they don't apply that process anywhere--there's no abrupt mixing in and out of instruments, no space in the music (the opposite--it's claustrophobic), no echoing....they're still playing songs, not deconstructing them. Not that it matters, but "avant-garde dub" is one of those phrases that gets thrown around a lot in relation to this album.

-- Ben Williams (benwilliam...), January 9th, 2003.

They should've replaced Lydon with Mrs. Miller:

-- hstencil (hstenci...), January 9th, 2003.
Great blog. As for me, what Matos said. Either you feel this music in your bones or you don't. Metal Box says everything is NOT going to be alright. It's mocking, too, as if depression or fear were below it, and it makes me feel detached, grooving, fuck everything. The complete antipathy is also highly moral, which sets it apart from the nihilist pigfuck/no wave/goth it inspired. Like Sandinista!, it's more punk than most punk.
-- Pete Scholtes (pscholte...), January 11th, 2003.

no-one's topped Beefheart at his own game -- except maybe PiL, and then only once (metal box).
-- Tad (llamasfu...), January 20th, 2003.

I heart John Lydon.
-- Mary (maj23...), January 8th, 2003.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:45 (twenty years ago)

PiL >> Sex Pistols

it's official!

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:47 (twenty years ago)

right, but we don't want to describe the 70s. a bunch of people were asked to list their favorite records of the 70s. obviously they don't seem to like prog much. if you ask me what I like best about the 30s, my answer will be a lot different from the answer you get when you ask me what I think was the most important development in the 30s (rise of the nazis). no I am not comparing Prog and the Nazis. well, maybe a little bit.

egon krenz (slaytrack), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:50 (twenty years ago)

7

points: 775
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 25

BLONDIE - PARALLEL LINES

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005MNP8.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:50 (twenty years ago)

a best of the 70s list without yes, floyd, and zeppelin's just a bit autistic, don't you think?

autistic? what?

Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Some notes from my craw:

KRAFTWERK - THE MAN MACHINE: Their perfect album. Seemless. Flawless. Not long enough.

THE STOOGES - FUN HOUSE: Amazingly precise in its onslaught.

THE SEX PISTOLS - NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS: Dan stated above that he gets the feeling that its the ultimate "you had to be there" album. I agree. Its sounds dated to me today, but I doubt if I'd be "into" music like I am now without it.


GANG OF FOUR - ENTERTAINMENT: I never understood the "Punk-Funk" moniker, cuz I didn't hear the "funk". But it did make the dancers dance harder, and the non-dancers shake their legs with more abandon.

BUZZCOCKS - SINGLES GOING STEADY: Many of my ideas about pop music stems from this album. SONGS!

PiL - METAL BOX: Timeless. By that I mean that when I first heard it, it sounded from another time. It still does, but I'm not sure if its the future or the past, or something else.


peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:56 (twenty years ago)

I've never heard the Blondie album...is it that good?

p.j. (Henry), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 16:23 (twenty years ago)

It's the first lp I ever bought with my own money. It's still one of my all-time favorite records. Gorgeous. Perfect. Classic. Cool fashion sense. Pretty good singer, too.
-- Sean (saturns...), December 2nd, 2002.

Classic with reservations - the last two tracks are weak (Gonna Love You Too + Just Go Away)and it lacks the absolute highs of the two previous albums and Eat to The Beat. My favorites are 11.59, Pretty Baby and Sunday Girl.
There's nothing as good as X Offender, In The Flesh, Rip Her To Shreds, Out In The Streets, Fan Club, Scenery,I'm Always Touched By Your Presence, Dreaming, Union City Blue, or Atomic on there.

-- Dr. C (Daveatcrossdee...), December 2nd, 2002.

reading Please Kill Me, i found it so funny the way that blondie were viewed as the runt of the cbgb's litter, and television used to beat up on them and steal their bassists and stuff, but in the end, it was blondie that had the most long lasting success and widespread appeal. new yorkers are stupid. mwah hah hah.
-- kate (masonicboo...), December 2nd, 2002.
their best record by miles. still holds up pretty damn well to these ears. would be perfect but for the final track ('just go away') but 11 out of 12's a decent strike rate by any measure.
-- angelo (discusdude7...), December 2nd, 2002.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"i know a girl from a lonely street/cool as ice cream and still as sweet" is the most perfect opening couplets to a pop song ever.
the only thing that bugs me about parallel lines are those ugly green mesh and canvas boots that she's lacing up on the back cover.

debbie, debbie, debbie... it's so unlike you to pick unflattering footwear.

-- Fritz Wollner (fritzwollner5...), December 2nd, 2002.

I listened to this for the first time in, gosh, about 20 years when the remastered CD came out. It sounded way different than I remembered, because all the deadpan chick-fronted guitar-pop bands since Blondie - from the Primitives to Slumber Party - have really spun off from just one aspect of their sound. I was conditioned to hear Parallel Lines that way, but everything was more varied and modulated. Deborah Harry's singing was so demonstrative, it's like she's in a Broadway revue. Each song is a different little character portrait. The drumming was a lot less metronomic than my ears have become accustomed to.
-- Curt (curtisgoul...), December 2nd, 2002.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

slumber party are HARDLY a "chick fronted guitar-pop band" thank you very kindly. grrrrrrr.
one of the things that i always loved most about blondie was their genre-slut style-hopping. blondie albums were like mini-musicals, really. i believe that was quite deliberate.

-- kate (masonicboo...), December 2nd, 2002.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 16:26 (twenty years ago)

I'll have to do the top 5 tomorrow as the library kicks out in a minute.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

6

points: 810
1st place votes: 2
total votes: 25

JOY DIVISION - UNKNOWN PLEASURES

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000042O1H.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Joy Division -- Unknown Pleasures.

I first heard "Unknown Pleasures" in 1992. It's still
the darkest record I own. The one that demands being
listened to with all the lights off. Even better, in
a cold basement. Curled up in a ball. Listening to
the soothing crackle of the needle on vinyl. Good
times. Lonely, troubling, but good nontheless. On
this album, "Interzone" is what passes for euphoria.
"She's Lost Control" is what passes for
dancefloor-filling mania. "New Dawn Fades" is pain.


"Unknown Pleasures" is therapy.

Barry Bruner

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 16:34 (twenty years ago)

From this thread:

C/D: Eight-track alternate sequencing?

(as you'd expect, a few other albums on this list are discussed there too)

BLONDIE -- PARALLEL LINES

1 Hanging On The Telephone
Heart Of Glass
I'm Gonna Love You Too

2 Picture This
Fade Away And Radiate
Pretty Baby

3 I Know But I Don't Know
11:59
Will Anything Happen?

4 One Way Or Another
Sunday Girl
Just Go Away

This is also great! The proper track listing drags a bit in the middle during the "Fade Away and Radiate" ... "Will Anything Happen" section. But the eight-track version puts the Big Hits at the beginning and the end ("Heart Of Glass" works MUCH better at the start than tossed randomly into the middle of side two) and mixes things up a little better in the middle.

-- MindInRewind, October 7th, 2004 5:38 PM.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 16:41 (twenty years ago)

I absolutely love 'Just Go Away' and am horrified to see not one but two disses of it above. Weakest tracks for me is 'I Know But I Don't Know'. I'm never sure what I think about 'Fade Away And Radiate' either.

Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 16:46 (twenty years ago)

I never thought of either band as being particularly morbid, emotional etc., I just thought 'Unknown Pleasures' and 'In Utero' kicked fuckin' ass. Rawk on!

-- dave q (scrape10...), December 9th, 2001.

I was pretty histrionic back in the day:

i'll just say that maybe _unknown pleasures_ is a classic because it's a masterpiece, just maybe? maybe because stephen morris and peter hook formed rock's greatest rhythm section ever, able to define a song with startlingly fresh repeated lines that bled out of the most basic elements breathtaking possibilities? because crushing parallel-universe-metal riffs could be stripped, crystallized, and frozen to drip like icicles above? maybe because riffs could become drones and vice versa? maybe because of the sparsest, least pop tracks ("candidate," "i remember nothing") where a bare beat and atmospheric samples could house ian curtis's sighs and cries? because that band could bludgeon ("day of the lords"), rage ("shadowplay"), and caress ("insight")? just maybe ian curtis sang like no one else could, using a uniquely non-singerly voice to move from a purr to a sneer to a bellow?

-- sundar subramanian (ssubram...), May 17th, 2001.

In this month's Spin, Andrew Beaujon says of Unknown Pleasures: "If you've only heard 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', peep these Mancs on their sole proper album (?) for what they really were: an incompetent metal band that somehow touched the stars."

Sundar (sundar), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

incompetent metal band is a praise. metal is per se incompetent. double negation = affirmation.

alex in mainhattan (alex63), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)

Wow, Blondie was definitely the sleeper in this poll. I mean, I *like* Parallel Lines (didn't make my list though) but I had no idea it was THIS loved around here.

Mike O. (Mike Ouderkirk), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 18:35 (twenty years ago)

YAY for BLONDIE!!! I thought you all had forsaken it! My faith is ILM is restored. one of maybe four albums i can honestly say features no dull track.

poortheatre (poortheatre), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 19:16 (twenty years ago)

Parallel Lines is good but #7? No dull tracks? Sure, it might not have any skippable tracks but Heart of Glass stands out leagues above the rest of the album to the point that it almost sounds like a different band.

So what happened? Did a lot of people rate Parallel Lines moderately high or did a few people put it as their #1?

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 20:09 (twenty years ago)

> Did a lot of people rate Parallel Lines moderately high or did a few people put it as their #1?

points: 775
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 25

Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 20:11 (twenty years ago)

Ha ha, oops. I was distracted by all the pretty album covers and hadn't even noticed those numbers.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 20:14 (twenty years ago)

(That Spin blurb was meant as praise if it wasn't clear. They listed the album as one of the essential 'mope rock' albums.)

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 03:01 (twenty years ago)

Gosh. We were different a few years ago, weren't we?

Atnevon (Atnevon), Thursday, 28 April 2005 04:40 (twenty years ago)

I agree with Alex that the lack of The Dark Side Of the Moon seems a bit weird... I mean, I'm a techno/hip hop head myself, and even *I* think it's a good record. Just because prog got a bad reputation later on don't mean you should automatically dismiss *everything* it produced.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 07:52 (twenty years ago)

I've never heard Dark Side Of The Moon, so I couldn't really vote for it.

Alba (Alba), Thursday, 28 April 2005 07:53 (twenty years ago)

5

points: 838
1st place votes: 2
total votes: 23

KRAFTWERK - TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS

ihttp://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000087HXN.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:26 (twenty years ago)

hmmm... was something wrong with that?

ihttp://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000087HXN.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:32 (twenty years ago)

Too big, probably.

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:35 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://valen.host.sk/discografia/resultado/discos/imagenes/trans-europe-express-(1977).jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:37 (twenty years ago)

IMG SRC DUDE

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:38 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://home.c2i.net/roesvoll2/kraftwerk/images/trans_europe_express_400.JPG

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:42 (twenty years ago)

hmmm.... I'm getting this:

Warning: getimagesize(): php_network_getaddresses: getaddrinfo failed: Name or service not known in /home/ilx/dev/stable/boardfunctions.php on line 1455

Warning: getimagesize(http://valen.host.sk/discografia/resultado/discos/imagenes/trans-europe-express-): failed to open stream: Resource temporarily unavailable in /home/ilx/dev/stable/boardfunctions.php on line 1455


I'm assuming there's a temporary problem with linking that way.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:43 (twenty years ago)

One last try, using the IMG SRC thing.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000087HXN.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:48 (twenty years ago)

Ah good. It's not the same without the sleeves...

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 08:50 (twenty years ago)

it's a quite boring album, isn't it? i quite like it, but even people i know who swear by it admit that it's a bit dull, albeit in a good way (whatever that means).

Lee F# (fsharp), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:02 (twenty years ago)

rah!

"Trans-Europe Express", "Man Machine" and "Computer World" are all 5 star and the rest ain't too shabby either.

-- Dadaismus (kcoyne3...), November 2nd, 2004.

Hmm... I'm struggling a bit to find blurbs. Perhaps its a mistake to attempt this before coffee.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:07 (twenty years ago)

4

points: 873
1st place votes: 0
total votes: 25

TELEVISON - MARQUEE MOON

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000AI45P.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:14 (twenty years ago)

That was my number one! (sob)

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:19 (twenty years ago)

Ahh, Marquee Moon. Is there anything it can't do?

-- mark grout (mark.grou...), May 9th, 2004.

The original LP faded the track. The CD and the remaster let the track conclude to a brilliant ending, adding 2 mins onto the track.

Regards

-- mark grout (mark.grou...), May 9th, 2004.

Television's Marquee Moon influenced a lot of bangladeshis to move to Britain and thus changed English cuisine forever. In the same year, Verlaine also invented the sewing machine.
-- Pulpo (pulpopulpissim...), July 10th, 2002.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:19 (twenty years ago)

Err...Mark, what name did you send your ballot under??

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:19 (twenty years ago)

My own, the google mail as shown here, to yours as shown there...

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:29 (twenty years ago)

Poll abandoned. Start again.

Alba (Alba), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:40 (twenty years ago)

Umm, I'm not bothered if my poll's been missed off on the albums vote, I don't think it would have made too much difference.

They were both (singles/albums) mailed on March 3rd.

Can my singles be included/checked though? I can resend...

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:51 (twenty years ago)

Hang on...you sent it to elvistears, rather than ilx70s?

That might be the problem.. I set up ilx70s for the poll because I'm on the Avenue list at elvistears, and I never remember to read it and anything sent there disappears under a tonne of St Etienne rantings.

But I'll put the singles in, yes... its ilx70s@yahoo.co.uk

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:55 (twenty years ago)

Righto.. Commin to you...

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 09:57 (twenty years ago)

If you send the albums I can do a "what would have been" at the end of this, if you want.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 10:06 (twenty years ago)

THERE'S A RIOT GOIN ON ISN'T THAT GOOD DAMMIT

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 10:26 (twenty years ago)

Sly's biting his fingernails. 3? 2? 1? or number 101?

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 10:34 (twenty years ago)

3

points: 884
1st place votes: 3
total votes: 21

BOB DYLAN - BLOOD ON THE TRACKS

http://www.artof.org.uk/Bob/Albums/images/BloodOnTheTracks.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 10:40 (twenty years ago)

Is the cover usually that colour? I'm sure mine is far less red.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 10:42 (twenty years ago)

xpost: Recount! Recount!

(We've been here before with the 1000 UK Number Ones poll, when hobart's votes went missing...)

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 28 April 2005 10:53 (twenty years ago)

xpost: Recount! Recount!
(We've been here before with the 1000 UK Number Ones poll, when hobart's votes went missing...)

-- mike t-diva (mikejl...), April 28th, 2005.

Nooooooo!!!! I'm off the hook, as Mark DID NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS!!
(phew....I did think I'd just missed your vote..)

But yes, I'll do the Grout 100 after this one. And the 101-200 of both.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:01 (twenty years ago)

Writing a blurb for "Blood On The Tracks" is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Though I love every track on this album, its hard to define it, somehow. Am I alone in thinking that although every track is a classic (I might be alone in thinking that, actually) it doesn't flow quite as it could? I mean, that doesn't really matter when you've got songs like this, but it makes writing impassioned bollocks about it just that little bit harder. Does someone else want to write something?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:04 (twenty years ago)

http://ilx.wh3rd.net/thread.php?msgid=2043333

I always assumed it was a fictional narrative, which what I always thought all the songs on Blood on the Tracks bar 'Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts' were, not knowing anything much biographical about Dylan. But basically: boy gets girl, boy and girl split up, they meet again, he decides he can't stay, and then remembering some time later boy decides to go look for girl again.
(all of Dylan's lyrics, by the way, are online at bobdylan.com, although I don't recommend looking at them without listening to the songs first, obviously. and: tangled up in blue.)

-- thom w. (thom...), March 30th, 2002.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dylan said somewhere that TUIB was his attempt to write a song that was like a painting - that wasn't tied to the flow of time..so the emotions and scenes in the song are all fractured and non-consecutive. Its one of the things I love about that song, and most of Blood on the Tracks. Idiot Wind is the same, you're never sure whether it's a historical or present-day song.
-- Mat O (winterland7...), March 31st, 2002.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:10 (twenty years ago)

I often think its the quieter tracks that make an album stand out. Its easy to love Tangled Up In Blue, or Idiot Wind, but its the likes of Meet Me In The Morning and If You See Her, Say Hello here that make it complete. There's the ranting of Idiot Wind, the cynicism of You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go and sprawling Western in Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts but inbetween, there are moments of recovery, quiet hope, and a sense that there's something still to come, that you can pull something back from all this.

I just said that the album doesn't flow. Looking at it again, that's almost certainly deliberate. The quiet moments follow the shouting, as the times spent sitting alone, regretting what you said, regretting what you didn't say and thinking "what the fuck do I do now?" follow the arguments in life. Maybe the difficulty in defining this album comes from the fact that there's no over-arching emotion to it, and the bitterness is tempered with never-give-up. I certainly need to listen again to be sure that I'm not talking crap.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:16 (twenty years ago)

Anyway, you don't want to hear my musings on that, you want to know what finished top...so...

2

points: 936
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 23

THE CLASH - LONDON CALLING

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00002MVQO.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Clash - London Calling

Nothing in the first two Clash albums could have prepared listeners
for the sprawling, omnivorous sound that makes up "London Calling."
Although there had been flirtations with reggae and R&B mannerisms in
the previous two records, the Clash go "all in" on this one and reveal
their entire record collections to everyone. You want rockabilly, New
Orleans funk, disco? It's all in here. But what is important to
point out is that the genre-hopping on "London Calling" never sounds
forced or self-indulgent, like it would on "Sandinista." Rather, the
Clash's way of paying tribute to their influences was the most
time-honored way—that is, drinking deeply from the variegated cup of
popular music and coming up with something uniquely their own.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:20 (twenty years ago)

well fuck.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:21 (twenty years ago)

i was sure that was down for the top spot.

Lee F# (fsharp), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:22 (twenty years ago)

I mean YAY #1 ELECTRIC WARRIOR

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:22 (twenty years ago)

1

points: 970
1st place votes: 1
total votes: 27

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE - THERE'S A RIOT GOIN ON

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000277F7.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:29 (twenty years ago)

Supply your own comments for that, I think..


hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

I'll never understand why this album's rep outshines Stand!

I mean, take away the circumstances and context, and there are only what, four great songs? Three?

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:35 (twenty years ago)

(and yes, I know Stand! was a 60s album and thus inelligible for the poll. I mean in general.)

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:36 (twenty years ago)

Electric Warrior was number 122.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:39 (twenty years ago)

wow.

What was #101?

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:42 (twenty years ago)

I have never heard There's A Riot Going On. It was one of those 'albums I should get' when I was younger and never did. Blimey.

Where was Station to Station, hobart?

Congrats on conduting a very entertaining poll

Alba (Alba), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:44 (twenty years ago)

So, at a quick top up, in the alternate paralell universe of my votes included, Marquee Moon was number one. Well well....

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:44 (twenty years ago)

How in the hell did this album beat out London Calling? I've been playing London Calling again recently and it's a perfect album...I'm always amazed that they were able to construct so many perfect songs. Maybe I need to hear There's a Riot... on vinyl, because the CD never did anything for me.

John Cole, Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

By the way, The Clash blurb was by Keith C also.

x-post Alba Station to Station was number 62.
Mark, I think Marquee Moon would have made number 2 with your votes included - but I'll go away and add them up properly.


101-200 coming up..

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:55 (twenty years ago)

Station to Station was number 62.

Oops! Totally missed that.

Alba (Alba), Thursday, 28 April 2005 11:59 (twenty years ago)

Great poll, if woefully deficient on the prog front - thanks for doing it, Hobart, and BRING ON THE TRACKS.

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:05 (twenty years ago)

seriously, can't wait for tracks.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:06 (twenty years ago)

Yes, thank you Hobart. I didn't vote but I did some tallying. And prolly made some mistakes....

YEAR BY YEAR
(Overall rank in parentheses)

1970 - The Stooges, Fun House (19)
1971 - Sly & The Family Stone, There's a Riot Goin' On (1)
1972 - Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. (11)
1973 - Stevie Wonder, Innervisions (12)
1974 - Brian Eno, Here Come The Warm Jets (23)
1975 - Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks (3)*
1976 - Modern Lovers, The Modern Lovers (15)**
1977 - Television, Marquee Moon (4)
1978 - Blondie, Parallel Lines (7)
1979 - The Clash, London Calling (2)***

*Had Columbia rushed the release of Blood on the Tracks a couple weeks (it is sometimes dated 1974), the best record of '75 would have been Eno's Another Green World, which ranked #36 overall, cementing the notion that for whatever reason — post-Watergate exhaustion? Quaaludes? — 1975 was kind of a drag. (BTW where the hell is Physical Graffiti?!)

** If you believe that Modern Lovers is really a 1973 record, then the best album of '76 was The Ramones' debut (#22).

***The bumper crop. 1979 had 6 among the top 18. (Are you listening, I.M.?) In addition to the overrated London Calling: UNKNOWN PLEASURES, Singles Going Steady, Metal Box, Entertainment! and Off The Wall.... (+ Dragnet, among many others, insulted at #52...)

Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

That's an amazing #1. IT IS SO THAT GOOD.

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:32 (twenty years ago)

Writing a blurb for "Blood On The Tracks" is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Though I love every track on this album, its hard to define it, somehow. Am I alone in thinking that although every track is a classic (I might be alone in thinking that, actually) it doesn't flow quite as it could? I mean, that doesn't really matter when you've got songs like this, but it makes writing impassioned bollocks about it just that little bit harder. Does someone else want to write something?

-- hobart paving (elvistear...), April 28th, 2005.

I'm not sure this could be topped as a blurb.

Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:34 (twenty years ago)

101 Richard Hell And The Voidoids - Blank Generation 197
102 Giorgio Moroder - From Here To Eternity 196
103 Yes - Close To The Edge 193
104 George Harrison - All Things Must Pass 191
105 Magazine - Real Life 190
106 Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby 190
107 Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Armed Forces 188
108 Various - No New York 187
109 Fleetwood Mac - Tusk 184
110 Todd Rundgren - Something/Anything 182
111 Cars - s/t 182
112 Curtis Mayfield - Curtis 181
113 Pop Group - Y 180
114 Steely Dan - Katy Lied 179
115 Herbie Hancock - Sextant 172
116 Bruce Sprinsteen - Born To Run 172
117 Joao Gilberto - Joao Gilberto 172
118 James Brown - Sex Machine 170
119 Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom 169
120 ABBA - Arrival 167
121 Fripp/Eno - Evening Star 166
122 T. Rex - Electric Warrior 164
123 Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove 163
124 James 'Blood' Ulmer - Tales Of Captain Black 162
125 Faust - Faust IV 160
126 Human League - Reproduction 159
127 Pink Floyd - The Wall 158
128 Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance 158
129 Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 155
130 Boston - Boston 154
131 Led Zeppelin - Physical Grafitti 152
132 Van Morrison - Moondance 152
133 Talking Heads - Fear Of Music 150
134 Velvet Underground - 1969 Velvet Underground Live 149
135 Who - Who's Next 148
136 Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story 147
137 ABBA - Voulez-Vous 146
138 Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - 'Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band' 144
139 Fall - Live At The Witch Trials 143
140 Patti Smith - Horses 137
141 Fela Kuti - Zombie 137
142 Ramones - Rocket To Russia 136
143 Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen 136
144 Neu! - Neu! 2 136
145 CCR - Cosmo's Factory 131
146 Aretha Franklin - 'Spirit In The Dark' 130
147 Police - Regatta de Blanc 129
148 Dr. Alimantado - The Best Dressed Chicken In Town 128
149 Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! 127
150 David Bowie - Aladdin Sane 124
151 lou reed 'metal machine music' 124
152 Joni Mitchell- Court And Spark 123
153 Carole King - Tapestry 122
154 Undertones - The Undertones 122
155 Willie Nelson "Redheaded Stranger" 121
156 Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges - Clube Da Esquina 121
157 Culture - Two Sevens Clash 121
158 T. Rex - The Slider 120
159 Charlemagne Palestine - Four Manifestations On Six Elements 119
160 Black Devil -- Disco Club 118
161 Donna Summer - Bad Girls 116
162 Townes Van Zandt - Live At The Old Quarter 114
163Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak 113
164 Brian Eno - Music For Airports 113
165 Capt. Beefheart & the Magic Band - Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) 110
166 This Heat - This Heat 110
167 Jerry Goldsmith - Alien 109
168 Jorge Ben - Africa Brasil 109
169 Gong - Camembert Electrique 108
170 Mott The Hoople - Mott 107
171 Faust - Tapes 107
172 cecil taylor 'silent tongues' 105
173 Randy Newman - Good Ol Boys 104
174 Kiss - Destroyer 104
175 Carole King - Really Rosie [soundtrack] 103
176 cerrone - cerrone 3: supernature 99
177 Bauhaus - In The Flat Field 98
178 Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water 97
179 Specials - s/t 95
180 Gram Parsons - GP 95
181 Saints - I'm Stranded 95
182 Genesis - Selling England By The Pound 94
183Ivor Cutler - Life In A Scotch Sitting Room Vol. 2 93
184 Pere Ubu - Dub Housing 92
185 Neil Young- Zuma 91
186 Who - Quadrophenia 91
187 Swell Maps - A Trip To Marineville 91
188 Alvin Lucier - I Am Sitting In A Room 90
189 Nilsson - Nilsson Sings Newman 90
190 Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight 90
191 Queen - A Night At The Opera 90
192 Joni Mitchell - Hejira 90
193 Roxy Music - Stranded 89
194 Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys 89
195 John Martyn - Solid Air 88
196 Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon 87
197 Yes - Fragile 86
198 Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert 85
199 Bob Dylan And The Band - Before The Flood 84
200 Brian Eno - Before and After Science 84

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:36 (twenty years ago)

A fine list. Poor Who's Next. What happened?

Roadkill Bingo (Roadkill Bingo), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:37 (twenty years ago)

Err... did you want that in digestible chunks??

(and why does that make the poll sound like cat food?)

hobart paving (hobart paving), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:38 (twenty years ago)

Hmm, quite a few of my votes in that 101-200 list...

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:40 (twenty years ago)

110 Todd Rundgren - Something/Anything 182

This might have been my #1. I don't remember. I guess #110 isn't that bad..

billstevejim, Thursday, 28 April 2005 12:59 (twenty years ago)

I was going to say how "The Modern Dance" would have been in the top 100 if my vote had counted, but it's beginning to sound churlish.

So, what I would really say here is how striking it is that even though there's been nearly seventy sets of votes, one vote can make all the difference.

You know what to do come election day, right?

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 13:02 (twenty years ago)

Vote for Pere Ubu?

Alba (Alba), Thursday, 28 April 2005 13:06 (twenty years ago)

Mierdre mierdre.

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 13:08 (twenty years ago)

#103! I'm blaming myself. There must have been something I could have done.

Too bad about John McLaughlin's Devotion. I really think a lot of you could love it if you haven't heard it. It seriously has more of a stoner Zep/Sab feel than his other stuff.

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

Wow, even Electric Warrior and The Slider added together would have made only 64th place!

sleep (sleep), Thursday, 28 April 2005 13:42 (twenty years ago)

Where's The Saints?

David Gunnip (David Gunnip), Thursday, 28 April 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

111 Cars - s/t 182
112 Curtis Mayfield - Curtis 181
116 Bruce Sprinsteen - Born To Run 172
118 James Brown - Sex Machine 170
123 Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove 163
131 Led Zeppelin - Physical Grafitti 152
133 Talking Heads - Fear Of Music 150
138 Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - 'Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band' 144
142 Ramones - Rocket To Russia 136
145 CCR - Cosmo's Factory 131
146 Aretha Franklin - 'Spirit In The Dark' 130
149 Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! 127
163 Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak 113
168 Jorge Ben - Africa Brasil 109
179 Specials - s/t 95
181 Saints - I'm Stranded 95
186 Who - Quadrophenia 91
196 Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon 87

I know there aren't any real absolute truths in music fandom, but can I at least submit the possibility that any of these albums should be in the top ten instead of Metal fucking boring dirge-ass go-nowhere joyless piece of shit Box?

(But why am I bitching when my two favorite albums of the decade finished 1-2? Because I gotta be me, I guess.)

xp: Where is Radio goddamned Birdman?

Stupornaut (natepatrin), Thursday, 28 April 2005 13:53 (twenty years ago)

I mean, I saw PiL's infamous performance of "Poptones" on American Bandstand and no matter how goofy John was getting wandering around onstage and causing a minor fracas in a sea of baffled studio audience TV casualties, all I could think of is "when will this song DO SOMETHING?"

Stupornaut (natepatrin), Thursday, 28 April 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

Metal Box is better than Cars - s/t
Metal Box is better than Bruce Sprinsteen - Born To Run
Metal Box is better than Led Zeppelin - Physical Grafitti
Metal Box is better than CCR - Cosmo's Factory
Metal Box is better than Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
Metal Box is better than Who - Quadrophenia
Metal Box is better than Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon !!!

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

xpost: #103! I'm blaming myself. There must have been something I could have done.

I voted it #1. My conscience is clear...

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:01 (twenty years ago)

Well, that turned out alright, I guess. It was weighted too much towards the late-70s/punk years, but that's no surprise, given the average tastes on this board. Kinda boring but inevitable albums like "London Calling" placed high, as usual, whereas fun and exciting punk albums like "Germ Free Adolescents" and "Can't Stand the Rezillos" didn't even appear, but again, that's not too surprising. I have higher hopes for the tracks poll though.

o. nate (onate), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:05 (twenty years ago)

What would the list look like if only left-handers had voted?

RS, Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:07 (twenty years ago)

I got that rezillos CD recently, it's not dated particularly well.
i.e. quite a lot of fun/wacky bands of less than success later...

But, take your point about X ray Spex.

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:11 (twenty years ago)

"Why won't they just ROCK??! Where are the songs!?"

Come on, Metal Box is great!

sleep (sleep), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:11 (twenty years ago)

that's an xpost stupornaut with "when will this song DO SOMETHING?"

not meant to be taken totally seriously (though Metal Box is great).

sleep (sleep), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:14 (twenty years ago)

I got that rezillos CD recently, it's not dated particularly well

Hmm, that's funny, because I thought it had dated excellently.

o. nate (onate), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:15 (twenty years ago)

metal box is ok but it's not as good as "dark side of the moon" no way never. Or "selling england by the pound".

Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:17 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah it is.

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:20 (twenty years ago)

I'm not sure I can agree with J Mascis, who claims in the liner notes that "Can't Stand the Rezillos" is the best album ever released on Sire (after all, the Ramones were on Sire), but it's certainly a lot better than "London Calling", and funnier and catchier than "Singles Going Steady".

o. nate (onate), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

Just to recap, for convenience and posterity:

100. VA - Nuggets
99. New York Dolls - s/t
98. David Bowie - Heroes
97. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
96. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town
95. The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys
94. Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
93. Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach
92. Sparks - Kimono My House
91. Cheap Trick - Live at Budokan
90. Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstacy
89. Sparks - No. 1 in Heaven
88. Can - Future Days
87. The B52s - The B52s
86. Parliament - Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
85. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
84. Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
83. The Slits - Cut
82. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
81. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
80. Neu! - Neu!
79. The Beatles - Let It Be
78. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
77. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
76. Big Star - Third
75. John Cale - Paris 1919
74. Donna Summer - On the Radio
73. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson
72. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
71. Parliament - The Mothership Connection
70. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
69. VA - Saturday Night Fever
68. Wire - 154
67. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
66. Led Zeppelin - IV
65. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
64. Big Star - #1 Record
63. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
62. David Bowie - Station to Station
61. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
60. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
59. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
58. Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes
57. The Congos - Heart of the Congos
56. Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
55. Ornette Coleman - Dancing in Your Head
54. Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight
53. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
52. The Fall - Dragnet
51. Neil Young - Tonight's the Night
50. Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
49. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
48. Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
47. Stevie Wonder - Talking Book
46. Suicide - First Album
45. Miles Davis - On the Corner
44. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
43. Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians
42. Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
41. Neil Young - On the Beach
40. Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
39. Wire - Chairs Missing
38. Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
37. Can - Ege Bamyesi
36. Brian Eno - Another Green World
35. Serge Gainbourg - Histoire De Melody Nelson
34. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
33. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
32. Neil Young - After the Goldrush
31. Big Star - Radio City
30. The Clash - The Clash
29. The Velvet Underground - Loaded
28. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
27. Wire - Pink Flag
26. Can - Tago Mago
25. David Bowie - Low
24. Joni Mitchell - Blue
23. Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
22. Ramones - Ramones
21. Al Green - Call Me
20. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine
19. The Stooges - Fun House
18. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall
17. VA - The Harder They Come
16. The Sex Pistols - Nevermind the Bollocks
15. The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
14. David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
13. Gang of Four - Entertainment
12. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
11. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
10. Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On
9. Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady
8. PiL - Metal Box
7. Blondie - Parallel Lines
6. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
5. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
4. Television - Marquee Moon
3. Bob Dylan - Blood On the Tracks
2. The Clash - London Calling
1. Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

Thanks Hobart, great job!!

Keith C (kcraw916), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:40 (twenty years ago)

151 lou reed 'metal machine music' 124
152 Joni Mitchell- Court And Spark 123
153 Carole King - Tapestry 122


Pay close attention, as you will never see this result in a '70s poll ever again.

Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

Yes, thanks for sure.

Did anyone else vote for Caress of Steel? (Pashmina?) Side 2 is one of the most unique things I've ever heard anyone do with rock. It has a very distinctive and special feel for me, warm and open or something. Seeing it on the nominations list got me to play it again and realize this. Much better than 2112.

xpost haha

But, yeah, what the fucking fuck happened to Who's Next

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

?

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:50 (twenty years ago)

Hobart I'm really sorry I never contributed comments for this, I will try and do so on the tracks thread as they happen maybe.

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

I didn't vote, Sundar, I'm on and offline intermittently, and missed it.

Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

Well, I love the 2CD Deluxe edition I won in a competition. (Who's next I mean)

And have you seen the triple LP version?

That said, I didn't vote for it because I didn't.

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 28 April 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

A Night At The Opera is WAY TOO LOW.

billstevejim, Thursday, 28 April 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

I really wish I had voted in this, if only to prop up some of the classic rock sacred cows (WHO'S NEXT YO) that were robbed.

Al (sitcom), Thursday, 28 April 2005 15:12 (twenty years ago)

yeah, classic rock got destroyed on this--and I deliberately steered my list towards songs over albums (60 / 10) so that I could avoid voting for the dinsoaurs.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

I'm surprised at how much "classic rock" made the list. Lots of Neil Young, Let it Be?, Floyd, Stones, Zeppelin... I didn't expect to see all of that.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 28 April 2005 15:51 (twenty years ago)

ILM never rocks hard enough for Sundar.

RS, Thursday, 28 April 2005 15:56 (twenty years ago)

I got in a argument with a friend just last week over which Kraftwerk album is the best, me saying TEE and he saying Man Machine. The thing is I couldn't really articulate why I liked Trans Europe Express the best (and I love them all). It just kind of has always struck me as the most perfect expression of what they were trying to do. So I feel vindicated to see it at #5.

I'm really surprised to see London Calling so high as there seems to be nothing but anti-Clash sentiment around here. I was sure that would be the one canonic album to be toppled. I thought Metal Box would have been a bit higher.

The #1 matches my #1 though so I was quite happy with the way it all ended.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 28 April 2005 15:56 (twenty years ago)

I'm pretty surprised that Rock Bottom, The Modern Dance, The Pop Group or Space Ritual didn't make it.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:00 (twenty years ago)

Space Ritual is better than Metal Box.

steve hise, Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

115 Herbie Hancock - Sextant 172

156 Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges - Clube Da Esquina 121


Hey wow, I wasn't the only one who voted for these! I guess I'm not surprised by their placing (actually, #115 is higher than I expected for Sextant), but I find it weird Fela Kuti didn't even make the top 100.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

"Space Ritual is better than Metal Box."

Damn fucking str8.

"Space Ritual is better than xxxxxxxxxxxxx."

you fill in the exes, and it'll probably still be right.

Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

I think you're probably just being goofy, RS, but just FTR I don't think I was the biggest whiner about the lack of rock (at all). And I strongly praised the #1. I just commented about specific albums. (There was barely any classic rock at all in my top 10, depending on how you classify Band of Gypsys and Brian Eno.)

But, come on, fucking Who's Next! John Entwistle!

xposts Sextant was my #13, Tuomas. I want to thank you for having turned me on to it a year or two ago.

haha the inverse might work for me: "xxxxxxx is better than Metal Box". OK, truthfully, I did buy it, there are a couple really good songs, and a lot of cool ideas. But I still find it hard to relate to how anyone could really love it. (I like the Pistols FWIW.) It might be the sort of thing that has to grow on me, like lots of other records have. I do like the guitar sound. I wonder if it might be a British thing, somehow.

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:25 (twenty years ago)

BTW what's London Calling like compared to The Clash (which I own but never listen to)?

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:26 (twenty years ago)

Fascinating stuff. At a quick glance, there seem to be more records I hold dear in the 100-200s than in 1-100.

And re: "bumper crop" in '79---yep, I'm listening : )

I.M. (I.M.), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

xposts Sextant was my #13, Tuomas. I want to thank you for having turned me on to it a year or two ago.

You're welcome, I think this is the first time I've heard someone on ILM say I've influenced their listening tastes. Sextant was my number 1, it is indeed a brilliant record, and cannot be praised enough (Lord knows I've tried, though).

Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)

BTW what's London Calling like compared to The Clash (which I own but never listen to)?

much, much, much better.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)

So I put Refazenda in my top 10 and it didn't even make the top 200? sheesh.

These Robust Cookies (Robust Cookies), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)

122 T. Rex - Electric Warrior 164

this has got to be the real SHOCKA... how could this have happened??

And I'm glad The Who got clowned haha

poortheatre (poortheatre), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

BTW what's London Calling like compared to The Clash (which I own but never listen to)?

much, much, much longer

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

Have we done one of these for the 80s? maybe i missed it

Michael Copeland, Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:48 (twenty years ago)

No, we haven't.

Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

Sundar, yeah, I was just joking around, maybe unsuccessfully.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:51 (twenty years ago)

Damn, well we should. I'm definitely voting in that one.

Michael Copeland, Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:52 (twenty years ago)

Hold up.

If you don't think DSOTM isn't top fucking ONE HUNDRED you're a dickpipe.

PB, Thursday, 28 April 2005 16:56 (twenty years ago)

Most criminal omissions:

Who's Next
Every Picture Tells A Story
Born To Run
Zuma

Classic rock was woefully under-represented and post-punk was over-represented. Can't wait to see the singles poll.

What's next, Hobart? 80s? 90s? 60s? This is the most fun ever.

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:00 (twenty years ago)

90's was done already, sometime last year, I think. I'd vote for doing 80's next, personally.

whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:06 (twenty years ago)

in other news: what comes next: 80s or 60s? ?

-- Matt Sab, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought we agreed on the 50s.
-- Alba, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

80's next, definitely.
-- Keith C, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hold your horses, people - we still haven't done the tracks poll.
-- o. nate, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd like to see the 50s next (and do vaguely remember that that we'd agreed on that, whatever "we" "agreed on" might mean).
-- RS, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess I missed that debate. 50's-60's would be perfectly fine for songs, but I don't think it's as interesting to do albums for those decades since the LP format wasn't dominant in rock or r&b until the mid 60's.
-- Keith C, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What about other genres though?
-- RS, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This doesn't have to be limited to rock and R&B.
-- RS, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doing the 50s will level the playing field in a way, since hardly any of us were alive then (even some older posters like me).
-- RS, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith - JAZZ!
-- Alba, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This doesn't have to be limited to rock and R&B.
Oh, of course not. In fact, if I voted for 50's albums it'd be mostly jazz and vocal stuff anyway. But rock and r&b would get the shaft, though.

Don't get me wrong, I never met a poll I didn't like.

-- Keith C, April 28th, 2005.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

please no 50s or Jazz polls
-- The Good Dr. Bill, April 28th, 2005.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:11 (twenty years ago)

8 postpunk albums
20 classic rock albums

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:26 (twenty years ago)

only 20 still strikes me as pretty low.

Al (sitcom), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:30 (twenty years ago)

I counted 10 postpunk albs, depends on how you classify of course

These Robust Cookies (Robust Cookies), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:30 (twenty years ago)

As much as I think this was a success, there were a lot of key records that weren't even nominated, like Starsailor and Headhunters.

What is the logic for only voting on nominated albums, anyway? Why be so exclusive?

Keith C (kcraw916), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:32 (twenty years ago)

80 rock albums

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:33 (twenty years ago)

I count about 20 punk/postpunk/new wave (which probably comes closer to the flexibility of the definition of "classic rock") records, not even including dubious things like Stooges or Kate Bush.

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)

Mind you, a good number of those are stuff I've never heard like The Fall and Elvis Costello, in which cases I was going by how rock history books tend to classify them.

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:37 (twenty years ago)

What is the logic for only voting on nominated albums, anyway? Why be so exclusive?

I think the idea is to prevent having lots of albums that only one or two people have voted for, to make insure that the winners have won by some sort of substantial margin.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:38 (twenty years ago)

(If you're just counting British doom-rocky postpunk from like 1977-1979, that's a pretty narrow subgenre, isn't it? 8% is pretty great representation then.)

xpost Especially considering how flexible the nomination process was for this poll.

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:40 (twenty years ago)

151 lou reed 'metal machine music'

A joke taken too far?

Cunga (Cunga), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:40 (twenty years ago)

What is the logic for only voting on nominated albums, anyway? Why be so exclusive?
I think the idea is to prevent having lots of albums that only one or two people have voted for, to make insure that the winners have won by some sort of substantial margin.

-- RS_LaRue (Al__suca...), April 28th, 2005.

oh, i take back the "I really wish I'd voted", I forgot that the reason I abstain from all these polls is that I think this 'nominations' process is the stupidest bullshit ever.

Al (sitcom), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

3 disco albums - don't talk to me about classic rock getting robbed. plz.

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

I count about 26 classic rock (as in "gets play on FM classic rock stations") records. But like half of those are Bowie, so maybe that doesn't count. Actually this might be higher if I throw in stuff like Talking Heads.

xposts Fair enough. I think minimalism and free funk and motherfucking FUSION were robbed worst. Those and fucking Who's Next.

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

(OK, truthfully, I was just happy to see Ornette place at all. You know I'll always still love you, ILM.)

Sundar (sundar), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

o no, you dickpipes missed Dark Side of the Moon! more like I Hate Music, jeez!

Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:49 (twenty years ago)

151 lou reed 'metal machine music'

A joke taken too far?

No, that would be:

15 THE MODERN LOVERS - THE MODERN LOVERS

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:49 (twenty years ago)

I forgot that the reason I abstain from all these polls is that I think this 'nominations' process is the stupidest bullshit ever.

I agree, I'd prefer if there were no nominations and we could vote for whatever we like. In that case, we'd need about 400 more people to vote in order get any sort of consensus so that the list would mean something.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

I think the idea is to prevent having lots of albums that only one or two people have voted for, to make insure that the winners have won by some sort of substantial margin.

I think it'd be better to eliminate the one-offs from the tally at the end instead of excluding them outright from the voting. For instance, you just say up front that "albums with only one vote don't get counted." So if you want to take that risk, that's your choice.

xpost

The poll results wouldn't look that different with open nominations. Look at pitchfork's.

Keith C (kcraw916), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:56 (twenty years ago)

yeah i have to say having seen the whole poll and what didn't make it ornette placing seems like a pleasant miracle (esp. since that's the one that made me think 'fuck, i think i forgot to vote for that!' most.

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 17:58 (twenty years ago)

HEY YOU GUYS - POST YR 70s BALLOT RIGHT HERES SUPERFUNFUN

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

Is someone really considering starting up the next poll already? The results for this one aren't even all posted yet.

billstevejim, Thursday, 28 April 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

I only actually have 11 of those. I thought it'd be more. I thus can't be any kind of an authority on the subject but I will say my vote would've gone to Singles Going Steady.

Nick H (Nick H), Thursday, 28 April 2005 21:26 (twenty years ago)

Look at pitchfork's.

Exactly -- you can't get much consensus by polling only 20 people, which is why you need to take some of those lists with a grain of salt (they do make up for it somewhat by voting for 100 albums each, rather than the 35 (on average) that we did).

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 28 April 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

Is someone really considering starting up the next poll already? The results for this one aren't even all posted yet.

I was thinking of volunteering my servics to do an 80's poll, but I was going to leave it a few weeks. Well, at least until the tracks are out of the way.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Thursday, 28 April 2005 21:51 (twenty years ago)

this has been the most drawn-out poll in history.

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:00 (twenty years ago)

didn't nominations start in november or december?

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:00 (twenty years ago)

november at the very latest

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)

it's like chinese democracy.

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

or chinese democracy, if you will. AND YOU WILL.

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

Mellow out dude, it's the '70s.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:09 (twenty years ago)

http://www.vvinyl.com/toys/musictv/cc/cc.jpg

Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:12 (twenty years ago)

I only have 68 of the top 100. I should pick up 2 more so I can make it an even SEVENTY!

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:13 (twenty years ago)

We did start nomination in November, after the 90's poll. Then we had the ILX outage, which killed some of the poll's momentum and took some of our nominations with it. Then we ran into end-of-year listmaking, so that's another few weeks gone.

If we do another poll, I think it should be saved for the fall. Give ILM a few poll-free months so that we come back in October ALL HUNGRY FOR SOME POLLING ACTION.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:18 (twenty years ago)

seconded!

j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:19 (twenty years ago)

Thirded for the fall (summer is slow anyway), but I think we need a Council of the Elders sit-down on the rules. Heretics unite!

Keith C (kcraw916), Thursday, 28 April 2005 22:21 (twenty years ago)

How do we know we'll be alive in 6 whole months!? Eight-ees! Eight-ees! Eight-ees!

And three cheers for HP.

Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Thursday, 28 April 2005 23:10 (twenty years ago)

HOBART HAS DONE WELL

Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Thursday, 28 April 2005 23:16 (twenty years ago)

Where's The Saints?

Abso-fucking-lutely!!!!!!!

Pradaismus (Dada), Friday, 29 April 2005 08:29 (twenty years ago)

yeah, put off a new poll. the 70s singles poll is yet to be posted. and that should take us through to the end of the May.

gspm (gspm), Friday, 29 April 2005 11:28 (twenty years ago)

Can somebody post the link to the 90s poll? I'd love to see it.

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 29 April 2005 18:08 (twenty years ago)

THE 1990s POLL RESULTS - THE ALBUMS

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Friday, 29 April 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

(You were helped by a librarian today!)

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Friday, 29 April 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)

Ladies and gentlemen....the 1990s ILX SINGLES POLL RESULTS

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Friday, 29 April 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

Thanks so much. I've never heard the majority of those albums, but it's still cool to see the results. Where the hell was Built To Spill? And no Lonesome Crowded West, Being There or Wowee Zowee? And I'm not their biggest fan, but you'd think Spiderland would make it in there somehwere. Geez Louise!

kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 29 April 2005 18:42 (twenty years ago)

This has been bothering me so....700! Entertaining list, thanks Hobart.

jmeister (jmeister), Saturday, 30 April 2005 04:41 (twenty years ago)

Hi, sorry I haven't started the singles poll yet, and I agree that this has been drawn out. I'll explain that, and then stop being so defensive - when I started this, back in November, I had quite a lot more free time than I do now. The power outage put things back quite a bit, and we lost a lot of nominations. I don't think ILM was quite back to normal until mid-Jan, was it? (I might be wrong there). The idea was to be counting votes through December, and putting up the poll in January - I'd planned it so that I had a clear patch from coursework (I'm a student, second time around, working part-time, commuting and basically drowning in work right now - although you don't want to hear my woes) in which to finish this off.

But it didn't happen like that.. Giving a month to finish nominations, and another month to vote put things back longer, and then it did take me a while to count votes. There are good reasons for that, that I'm not going to go into here. Some things happened earlier this year that caused me a few problems, and made me want to hide away from the world for a bit. Including the internet.

Anyway, that, together with coursework, exams, you name it...meant it all got put off until last week. May not being a particularly quiet time at University, they took longer to post because they had to be slotted in between staying up all night writing bollocks that is of no interest to anyone essays. Which is the reason for the delay in the singles poll too...

Anyway, I didn't post this as a whinge, but as an explanation. I can start putting the singles poll up on friday, but there will be a big gap in the middle, as next week is going to be one of those drinking far too much caffeine, avoiding sleep if possible and trying to cram work that would normally take about a month into one week type of weeks.

Or it can go up the weekend after next when it all ENDS! Temporarily.

It ended up as a whinge, anyway, didn't it?

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

Nominations...

Well, I tried to make them a bit more open for this poll - and there was some criticism of that in the initial thread - some people thought there should only be two nominations for each category as in previous polls.

Its a lovely idea not to have to nominate at all, there were so many things I discovered I'd missed out. Or perhaps to have an unlimited number of nominations - to give people a list to think about, even if hey don't have to stick to it (I know there are things I'd miss if they weren't on that list). Just one problem - it would be a huge list and complete fucking nightmare to add up. I wonder if Steve (I think it was Steve who started the whole thing) wisely chose two nomiations for each so he could attempt to keep track of the poll.

If anyone was brave enough to try it with no nomiations, that would certainly make it interesting. You might wish you hadn't, though.

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

I like the noms. The number of albums I'd have forgotten to include!

Oh, any news on the album poll with my vote included? If too busy, that's cool no worries.

mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

I wonder if Steve (I think it was Steve who started the whole thing) wisely chose two nomiations for each so he could attempt to keep track of the poll.

The whole thing being the 00s poll or the 90s poll or whichever one prompted the current round of polls.


hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 14:42 (twenty years ago)

x-post...yes, Mark, that shouldn't take very long - I meant to do it earlier and I'll get onto it..

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 14:48 (twenty years ago)

No problem HP. I think that the song list is antipated more by most of us, so the wait just builds the excitement even more. I don't mind. I really appreciate the work you've done. (btw, the album poll was great!)

peepee (peepee), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 15:26 (twenty years ago)

The Grout 100 (or 102, actually) - or how things MIGHT have looked.

1 (2) Clash - London Calling 998
2 (1) Sly And The Family Stone - There's A Riot Goin On 970
3 (4) Television - Marquee Moon 943
4 (3) Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks 884
5 (5) Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express 838
6 (8) PiL - Metal Box 824
7 (6) Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures 810
8 (7) Blondie - Parallel Lines 781
9 (9)Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady 758
10 (10) Marvin Gaye - What's Going On 746
11 (11) Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street 732
12 (12) Stevie Wonder - Innervisions 732
13 (13) Gang Of Four - Entertainment! 706
14 (15) Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers 693
15 (14) David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust 692
16 (19) Stooges - Funhouse 625
17 (16) Sex Pistols - Nevermind The Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols 616
18 (17) Various - The Harder They Come (Soundtrack) 604
19 (18) Michael Jackson - Off The Wall 601
20 (22) Ramones - The Ramones 600
21 (20) Kraftwerk - The Man Machine 569
22 (21) Al Green - Call Me 564
23 (27) Wire - Pink Flag 549
24 (23) Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets 546
25 (26) Can - Tago Mago 544
26 (24) Joni Mitchell - Blue 521
27 (25) David Bowie - Low 513
28 (28) Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers 497
29 (29) Velvet Underground - Loaded 496
30 (30) Clash - The Clash (Uk Version) 456
31 (31) Big Star - Radio City 454
32 (39) Wire - Chairs Missing 447
33 (32) Neil Young - After The Goldrush 446
34 (33) Elvis Costello - This Year's Model 437
35 (34) Nick Drake - Pink Moon 424
36 (35) Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire Du Melody Nelson 423
37 (36) Brian Eno - Another Green World 417
38 (37) Can - Ege Bamyasi 411
39 (38) Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life Wire - Chairs Missing 400
40 (40) Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel 391
41 (41) Neil Young - On The Beach 384
42 (42) Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings And Food 381
43 (43) Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians 363
44 (46) Suicide - First Album 359
45 (44) Curtis Mayfield - Superfly 358
46 (45) Miles Davis - On The Corner 352
47 (46) Stevie Wonder - Talking Book 348
48 (48) RRoxy Music - For Your Pleasure 345
49 (49) Roxy Music - s/t 339
50 (50) Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic 338
51 (51) Neil Young - Tonight's The Night 337
52 (52) Fall - Dragnet Fall - Dragnet 337
53 (53) David Bowie - Hunky Dory 330
54 (54) Richard And Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight 321
55 (55) Ornette Coleman - Dancing In Your Head 320
56 (56) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours 310
57 (57) Congos - Heart Of The Congos 310
58 (58) Bob Dylan and the Band - The Basement Tapes 300
59 (59) Miles Davis - Bitches Brew 299
60 (60) Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True 297
61 (61) Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps 296
62 (80) Neu! - Neu! 291
63 (62) David Bowie - Station To Station 289
64 (63) Black Sabbath - Paranoid 289
65 (68) Wire - 154 289
66 (64) Big Star - #1 Record 281
67 (65) Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here 271
68 (66) Led Zeppelin - IV 270
69 (67) Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy 269
70 (69) Various - Saturday Night Fever OST 266
71 (84) Iggy & The Stooges - Raw Power 265
72 (70) Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) 263
73 (71) Parliament - Mothership Connection 262
74 (72) Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On 260
75 (73) Miles Davis - Jack Johnson 258
76 (74) Donna Summer "On the Radio" 257
77 (75) John Cale - Paris 1919 256
78 (76) Big Star - Third 251
79 (83) Slits - Cut 248
80 (77) Funkadelic - Maggot Brain Neu! - Neu! 246
81 (79) Beatles - Let It Be Beach Boys - Surf's Up 244
82 (82) Nick Drake - Bryter Later 241
83 (78) John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band 241
84 (81) Beach Boys - Surf's Up 240
85 (85) Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Hate 232
86 (86) Parliament - Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome 231
87 (87) B52's - The B52's 229
88 (88) Can - Future Days 222
89 (100) Various - Nuggets 221
90 (89) Sparks - No. 1 In Heaven 220
91 (92) Sparks - Kimono My House 214
92 (94) Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown 214
93 (90) Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy 212
94 (91) Cheap Trick - At Budokan 211
95 (93) Philip Glass - Einstein On The Beach 208
96 (127) Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance 208
97 (97) Kate Bush - The Kick Inside 206
98 (95) Cure - Three Imaginary Boys 204
99 (105) Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby 204
100 (98) David Bowie - "Heroes" 203
102 (96) Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town 203 203
102 (99) New York Dolls - s/t 203

hobart paving (hobart paving), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 21:19 (twenty years ago)

That's actually a Top 105, as #39 #80 and #81 are all tied.

mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 4 May 2005 23:02 (twenty years ago)

That's an interesting list, there.

Regret: As my vote was sent to the wrong place, Pere Ubu's "The Modern Dance" and CaptBeef's "Lick my Decals" missed out (shame).

However, there was something so right about the Nuggets box being in position 100.

And heck, how much fighting would there have been if "London Calling" was the 'real' number one?

You choose.

mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 5 May 2005 06:50 (twenty years ago)

I finally got around to listening to Metal Box based solely on this thread and I have to say... I don't get it.

polyphonic (polyphonic), Thursday, 5 May 2005 07:04 (twenty years ago)

Listen to it like 10 or 15 more times. Seriously. Poptones was the first track that hooked me.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 5 May 2005 07:05 (twenty years ago)

preferred the 100 sans grout (sorry mark)

for completeness, here's the rest of the PFM 100. you can barely put a feather between the two camps these days, huh?

1 Low David Bowie
2 London Calling The Clash
3 Marquee Moon Television
4 There's A Riot Goin' On Sly & the Family Stone
5 Blood On The Tracks Bob Dylan
6 Trans-Europe Express Kraftwerk
7 Led Zeppelin IV
8 Entertainment! Gang of Four
9 Unknown Pleasures Joy Division
10 Another Green World Brian Eno
11 Exile On Main Street Rolling Stones
12 Fun House The Stooges
13 Pink Moon Nick Drake
14 Loaded The Velvet Underground
15 Who's Next The Who
16 Singles Going Steady Buzzcocks
17 Maggot Brain Funkadelic
18 Bitches Brew Miles Davis
19 Ege Bamyasi Can
20 Electric Warrior T Rex
21 Histoire de Melody Nelson Serge Gainsbourg
22 Pink Flag Wire
23 Ramones The Ramones
24 Here Come the Warm Jets Brian Eno
25 Neu!
26 Innervisions Stevie Wonder
27 Led Zeppelin III
28 Let It Be The Beatles
29 Tago Mago Can
30 On the Corner Miles Davis
31 Fear Of Music Talking Heads
32 The Wall Pink Floyd
33 Chairs Missing Wire
34 Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)
35 Y Pop Group
36 Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd
37 My Aim Is True Elvis Costello
38 Drums and Wires XTC
39 Suicide
40 The Modern Lovers
41 Rumours Fleetwood Mac
42 The Specials
43 Off The Wall Michael Jackson
44 The Clash
45 More Songs About Buildings and Food Talking Heads
46 Heart of The Congos
47 Call Me Al Green
48 Live-Evil Miles Davis
49 What's Going On Marvin Gaye
50 Starsailor Tim Buckley
51 Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols
52 This Year's Model Elvis Costello & the Attractions
53 Music for 18 Musicians Steve Reich
54 Cosmo's Factory Creedence Clearwater Revival
55 Bryter Layter Nick Drake
56 Future Days Can
57 Paul Simon

zebedee (zebedee), Thursday, 5 May 2005 10:50 (twenty years ago)

I can't imagine too many people "getting" Metal Box on first listen.

peepee (peepee), Thursday, 5 May 2005 11:05 (twenty years ago)

Poptones was the first track that hooked me.

Hah! Me, too. I hated it until "Poptones" came on during shuffle. I'd heard it many times by them, but that anti-lilting guitar line just assailed me.. After that, listen to "Swan Lake" and then "Albatross".. I'm still not sure if I really like the second side (as it were) all that much..

poortheatre (poortheatre), Thursday, 5 May 2005 11:18 (twenty years ago)

I finally got around to listening to Metal Box based solely on this thread and I have to say... I don't get it.

I feel the same way about "Exile on Main Street", which I finally got around to listening to the other day. I mean it's pleasant enough - kind of like the Stones doing the Dead - that sort of innocuous jammy country-blues-rock, but best Stones album? I don't get it.

o. nate (onate), Thursday, 5 May 2005 14:01 (twenty years ago)

The 70s were pretty fucking rad.

M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 5 May 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

This was an amazing read and I can’t wait for more in the future.

A singles list seems like a nightmare because there are so many of them.

BeeOK (boo radley), Saturday, 7 May 2005 23:31 (twenty years ago)

. but that's the beauty of the nomination system.

Sorry, was this thread going to sleep beore I prodded it again?

mark grout (mark grout), Sunday, 8 May 2005 19:26 (twenty years ago)

This thread is retired but will make occasional appearances to do cosnulting.

RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Sunday, 8 May 2005 20:09 (twenty years ago)

xpost Pitchfork vs. ILM: at a glance it says the biggest difference is ILM doesn't recognize the Mighty Splendour that is Led Zeppelin. This makes me sad.

Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Sunday, 8 May 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

ILM's kinda boring now. I miss the days when we'd vote Britney's "...Baby One More Time" the best single of all time or whatever. Those were better times. Now we vote for Radiohead.

Atnevon (Atnevon), Sunday, 8 May 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

Not in this thread, necessarily, but you understand what I'm talking about. Populism will do that.

Atnevon (Atnevon), Sunday, 8 May 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

To be fair, Radiohead did obscenely well in that poll that 'Baby One More Time' poll too.

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 8 May 2005 23:16 (twenty years ago)

English.

Alba (Alba), Sunday, 8 May 2005 23:16 (twenty years ago)

So what would have been the #1 in your ideal fantasy ILM 70s poll? Not necessarily what you would pick for #1 but what you would have expected it to be based on the type of stuff that's generally discussed here? I haven't been here for very long so I can't really answer that myself but I did expect the poll to be a lot more post-punk heavy.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 9 May 2005 00:03 (twenty years ago)

"old ilm" (groan!) 70s poll woulda been more dominated by bowie, had more roxy, had at least SOME t. rex (still a wtf).

j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 9 May 2005 04:10 (twenty years ago)

So, less Pitchfork, more Mojo?

walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 9 May 2005 04:59 (twenty years ago)

yes cuz mojo often has glam acts on the cover

j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 9 May 2005 05:09 (twenty years ago)

http://www.tilldawn.net/images/mojo47.jpg

walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 9 May 2005 05:20 (twenty years ago)

If I'm interpreting Alba's, er, breviloquence correctly, then it's proof that my ILM is Extremely British (and Stylus isn't far behind) Theory is spreading like wildfire.. I will present it in full at next year's Experience Music Project 2006. Until then, recommended viewing: The ILM Top 100 Albums of the 90s (note the disturbingly high placement of trip-hop, St. Etienne, Different Class, and Magnetic Fields); Stylus Magazine's Top 40 albums of 2004 and Top 50 Albums of 2000-2004 (note mad love for Nellie McKay, Junior Boys, and esp. Girls Aloud); finally, both groups' forthcoming Top 100 Albums of the 1980s, which The Stone Roses will invariably win in a landslide, almost certainly followed by 23 consecutive releases by The Fall (which would certainly have been 27 had compilations not been forbidden) from Totale's Turn to the Cab it Up/Descendant EP.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum

Thank you.

poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, 9 May 2005 05:42 (twenty years ago)

four years pass...

Just to recap, for convenience and posterity:

100. VA - Nuggets
99. New York Dolls - s/t
98. David Bowie - Heroes
97. Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
96. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town
95. The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys
94. Augustus Pablo - King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown
93. Philip Glass - Einstein on the Beach
92. Sparks - Kimono My House
91. Cheap Trick - Live at Budokan
90. Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstacy
89. Sparks - No. 1 in Heaven
88. Can - Future Days
87. The B52s - The B52s
86. Parliament - Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
85. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
84. Iggy and the Stooges - Raw Power
83. The Slits - Cut
82. Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
81. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
80. Neu! - Neu!
79. The Beatles - Let It Be
78. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
77. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
76. Big Star - Third
75. John Cale - Paris 1919
74. Donna Summer - On the Radio
73. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson
72. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
71. Parliament - The Mothership Connection
70. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
69. VA - Saturday Night Fever
68. Wire - 154
67. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
66. Led Zeppelin - IV
65. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
64. Big Star - #1 Record
63. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
62. David Bowie - Station to Station
61. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
60. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
59. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
58. Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes
57. The Congos - Heart of the Congos
56. Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
55. Ornette Coleman - Dancing in Your Head
54. Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight
53. David Bowie - Hunky Dory
52. The Fall - Dragnet
51. Neil Young - Tonight's the Night
50. Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
49. Roxy Music - Roxy Music
48. Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
47. Stevie Wonder - Talking Book
46. Suicide - First Album
45. Miles Davis - On the Corner
44. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
43. Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians
42. Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
41. Neil Young - On the Beach
40. Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
39. Wire - Chairs Missing
38. Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
37. Can - Ege Bamyesi
36. Brian Eno - Another Green World
35. Serge Gainbourg - Histoire De Melody Nelson
34. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
33. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
32. Neil Young - After the Goldrush
31. Big Star - Radio City
30. The Clash - The Clash
29. The Velvet Underground - Loaded
28. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
27. Wire - Pink Flag
26. Can - Tago Mago
25. David Bowie - Low
24. Joni Mitchell - Blue
23. Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
22. Ramones - Ramones
21. Al Green - Call Me
20. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine
19. The Stooges - Fun House
18. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall
17. VA - The Harder They Come
16. The Sex Pistols - Nevermind the Bollocks
15. The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
14. David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
13. Gang of Four - Entertainment
12. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
11. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street
10. Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On
9. Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady
8. PiL - Metal Box
7. Blondie - Parallel Lines
6. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
5. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
4. Television - Marquee Moon
3. Bob Dylan - Blood On the Tracks
2. The Clash - London Calling
1. Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On

― whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Thursday, 28 April 2005 15:36 (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 30 November 2009 14:47 (sixteen years ago)

I'd actually love it if Tuomas or Gear were to run the 70s poll again next.

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 30 November 2009 18:23 (sixteen years ago)

hobart paving made a bit of a pig's ear of this really.

DavidM, Monday, 30 November 2009 18:44 (sixteen years ago)

I'd be happy to curate another take on the seventies poll (lord knows I spend enough time on the computer already).

Johnny Fever, Monday, 30 November 2009 18:51 (sixteen years ago)

woohoo!!!
Please dont limit nominations per person though!

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 30 November 2009 19:02 (sixteen years ago)

I'll start a nominations thread as soon as the current poll wraps up, then.

Johnny Fever, Monday, 30 November 2009 19:03 (sixteen years ago)

cool, looking forward to this

karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Monday, 30 November 2009 19:07 (sixteen years ago)

fuck all other decades but the 70s imo

it's like 10,000 goons when all you need is a trife (m bison), Monday, 30 November 2009 19:08 (sixteen years ago)

there better be prog in the top 100 this time

a. cole, u thic (acoleuthic), Monday, 30 November 2009 19:09 (sixteen years ago)

thanks Johnny! This could be great!

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 30 November 2009 19:10 (sixteen years ago)

There'll be a lot of crossover, but surely we can surpass this nominations list right?

the 70s poll - rules, and nominations (¡FINAL VOTING ABOUT TO CLOSE - LAST CHANCE TO "MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE"!)

Johnny Fever, Monday, 30 November 2009 20:13 (sixteen years ago)

well copy and paste that list onto the nominations thread then we can all add to it and make it comprehensive.

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 30 November 2009 20:26 (sixteen years ago)

Steely Dan will be in the top 5 positions knowing ILM ;)

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 30 November 2009 22:19 (sixteen years ago)

I just had an idea about the re-poll. What if we remove the 100 albums in this list from contention in order to produce a much more interesting poll? Like, anything that placed here is completely off limits for nomination/voting this time. Canon be damned!

Thoughts?

Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 1 December 2009 10:37 (sixteen years ago)

I'm in favour. Then I can vote for "The Belle Album"!

E Poxy Thee Fule (Tom D.), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 10:40 (sixteen years ago)

I like that idea.

mooncup journey to vaja (The Reverend), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:00 (sixteen years ago)

cant believe 'tusk' didnt even place on that poll

just sayin, Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:32 (sixteen years ago)

ILM hadn't discovered it then

E Poxy Thee Fule (Tom D.), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:32 (sixteen years ago)

nor Aja!

jabba hands, Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:33 (sixteen years ago)

i would be *completely* down for excluding everything here, but i'm not sure it should happen, if that makes sense

a. cole, u thic (acoleuthic), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:34 (sixteen years ago)

i mean it would distort things too much and i wouldn't be able to vote for 154 which is godhead

a. cole, u thic (acoleuthic), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:35 (sixteen years ago)

Or "Pacific Ocean Blue". ILM had different favourites in those days.

E Poxy Thee Fule (Tom D.), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:36 (sixteen years ago)

no, dont remove anything please. You will get much less voters too if you do, people wont be bothered to vote. The results will be different enough.

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 13:46 (sixteen years ago)

What's missing? From my library: I am Sitting in a Room, Sex Machine, Look-ka Py Py, Food for Thought, The Revolution Will Not be Televised, Delusion of the Fury, Right Time, Cochin Moon, Disco Club, Music for Airports, The Flying Lizards. Would a single one of these garner enough points to make the list? Maybe the Eno.

Biodegradable (Derelict), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 14:00 (sixteen years ago)

You will get much less voters too if you do, people wont be bothered to vote.

You could be right about this. But on the other hand, less people vote in polls now because the thinking is "Oh, [x albums] will make up most of the list, and that's boring...zzzz." I can see both sides of this, but not sure what would better suit a re-poll.

Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 1 December 2009 18:29 (sixteen years ago)

My brain couldn't handle coming up with a best albums of the 80s list, so it certainly won't be able to handle this

E Poxy Thee Thule (Tom D.), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 18:31 (sixteen years ago)

fuck all other decades but the 70s imo

Fixed.

I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 18:32 (sixteen years ago)

no point in running a poll if you exclude stuff.

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 20:09 (sixteen years ago)

cant believe 'tusk' didnt even place on that poll

______________________________

Or "Pacific Ocean Blue". ILM had different favourites in those days.

Indeed. A re-poll is needed.

Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 1 December 2009 20:15 (sixteen years ago)

Start from scratch a la the '80s poll imo.

DavidM, Tuesday, 1 December 2009 20:16 (sixteen years ago)

Okay, everything will be eligible then. I'm just not looking forward to seeing the same ol'. Do not disappoint me, nominators and voters!

Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 1 December 2009 20:18 (sixteen years ago)

As i said, start the thread off with every album nominated last time so we can all add to it and make it really comprehensive.

pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 20:19 (sixteen years ago)

naw, Johnny Fever, your OG idea is great, ignore this dude

mooncup journey to vaja (The Reverend), Tuesday, 1 December 2009 22:57 (sixteen years ago)

I'm ready for this!

Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 03:45 (sixteen years ago)

Any position on the canon/no-canon debate?

Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 03:47 (sixteen years ago)

ILX 70s album poll - results

Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 03:48 (sixteen years ago)

FIRMLY FOR NO-CANON

balearific, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 04:30 (sixteen years ago)

dunno how many votes we get but i think all of mine will go to the cars debut JUST TO MAKE MOTHERFUCKING SURE

all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 2 December 2009 04:54 (sixteen years ago)

I'm going to use the same system Tuomas did, except nominations will have no limit.

Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 2 December 2009 05:09 (sixteen years ago)

steve reich - drumming
philip glass - music in 12 parts

it's like 10,000 goons when all you need is a trife (m bison), Thursday, 3 December 2009 04:34 (sixteen years ago)

oops!

it's like 10,000 goons when all you need is a trife (m bison), Thursday, 3 December 2009 04:34 (sixteen years ago)

So, what do we need to do?

Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 3 December 2009 04:37 (sixteen years ago)

go here and get to nominatin'
DAMN THE CANON! It's the Alternate 1970s Albums Poll on ILX — Nominations Thread (Due by 11:59pm GMT, December 14th)

WmC, Thursday, 3 December 2009 04:40 (sixteen years ago)

What a great poll. Too bad I missed it!

US EEL (u s steel), Friday, 4 December 2009 02:35 (sixteen years ago)


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