And they pulled him out of the polled polled ground: Elvis Costello Poll Results

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

http://i.imgur.com/O4cMHpZ.jpg

woohoo!

you're gonna post the text of the results and not just the images, though, right?

i became a fan in the era of the Rykodisc reissues so i always heard the non-album rarities as bonus tracks on the album and had no need to check for Taking Liberties/Ten Bloody Marys/Out Of Our Idiot/etc. certainly plenty of great songs on those collections, though.

10. Taking Liberties 139 points 5 votes

I played the Taking Liberties cassette to death in the 80s. Still love it.

Im still trying to get this whole thing working right, so let me try this again while we wait for more people.

http://i.imgur.com/O4cMHpZ.jpg

10. Taking Liberties
139 points
5 votes

http://i.imgur.com/AtKx7nM.jpg

9. Punch The Clock
210 points
8 votes

I just skimmed Punch the Clock while making my ballot, but it seems as dull now as it did when I was listening to EC a whole lot in the 90s.

Yes. Not much there besides Shipbuilding.

http://i.imgur.com/z309kkl.jpg

8. King of America
407 votes
14 votes

I was hoping this would be higher. It's always been one of my very favorites.

I guess this was his first steps in figuring out a post-Attractions future. I absolutely loved it when it came out, but it seems disjointed now. It would have made my albums list if I hadn't cut it off at five.

Surprised it's not higher (particularly if anything post-'86 beats it).

I didn't hear it as disjointed at the time, but I can definitely hear it like that now. It's also (along with Spike) the most dated-sounding recording he's made, in terms of production.

xp

More than Goodbye Cruel World?

I'd have to give that honor to Punch the Clock or Goodbye Cruel World.

http://i.imgur.com/zT6m396.jpg

7. Blood and Chocolate
554 points
19 votes
2 #1

More than Goodbye Cruel World?

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, December 26, 2013 11:14 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Marginally, but yeah. There's something about the digitalness of the reverb that screams "80s!" moreso than GCW, but tbf, I haven't heard GCW in years.

people are really into Punch The Clock, huh? i guess all four of the post-'80s albums i voted for are getting shut out, damn.

Truthfully, the albums portion of this was not all that exciting. But the songs are the main event anyway. You don't have to be Nostradamus to figure out the top 6.

Top 6 albums, I mean. Nobody will be able to guess the top 6 songs.

yeah...still interested to see the order, though. wouldn't have predicted B&C over King. (xp)

Me neither.

http://i.imgur.com/Gw8EmAv.jpg

6. My Aim Is True
620 points
20 votes

woahhhhhhh

Notice it got no #1s.

there were times in the past when it would've been my #1 but it's never been lower than my #2. hugely important album to me.

I think Clover hurts this record a bit. It really is Elvis Costello and the News.

yep

http://i.imgur.com/M4YJkvW.jpg

5. Imperial Bedroom
620 points
20 votes
2 #1

This got exact same votes as My Aim Is True but the #1s gave it the tiebreaker.

My #1.

This record hasn't aged as well for me, despite some of his best songs.

I listened to it for the first time in a few years for this poll (had gotten burnt out on it) and was happy/relieved at how well it had aged for me. Still not my #1 though.

http://i.imgur.com/yT1Jjez.jpg

4. Trust
720 points
22 votes
5 #1

This has always been my favorite.

Mine too, I think.

Even though Shot With His Own Gun could be his worst song, and Fish N Chip Paper isn't far behind.

http://i.imgur.com/Wbvm5dI.jpg

3. Get Happy!!
867 points
27 votes
5 #1

my aim is true below trust...this is gonna be a weird poll

http://i.imgur.com/97BfZUZ.jpg

2. Armed Forces
997 points
29 votes
7 #1

http://i.imgur.com/KoU04Gc.jpg

1. This Year's Model
1113 points
31 votes
12 #1

Not a real surprise there.

I listened to Trust a bit when putting together my ballot and it remains the I-should-love-it-but-I-just-don't album for me. Didn't represent it at all on my albums list OR my songs list.

I knew TYM would get plenty of luv from everyone else, so it doesn't show up on my albums ballot until #5.

I left TYM off my ballot completely out of protest, because my favorite song from that era is a b-side.

Albums were predictable and somewhat dull. Songs are much better. I'd like to start them when there are more people around. Any suggestions? I think the majority of voters were from the UK and I'm here in New Jersey so time difference may be an issue.

if you started now both the US and UK people would be awake and about for at least the next few hours, right?

Our computer system here at work is down right now, so ENTERTAIN ME!

Alright then...let's get this party started.

SONGS SONGS SONGS SONGS SONGS SONGS SONGS

http://i.imgur.com/lR2uiFP.jpg

60. Veronica
108 points
7 votes

haha perfect

thought this one would make my ballot, as I liked it a lot back in '89, but found it kinda irritating and its production cluttered & oppressive. wound up w/ no post-CBS songs, as it turned out

Spotify playlist! http://open.spotify.com/user/mondosalvo/playlist/1r8PKCoRrPXwEOnOydERVX

http://i.imgur.com/Hizesz7.jpg

59. Uncomplicated
110 points
9 votes

i'm surprised but happy to see TYM, which was my #2, top the poll. surprised because no one seemed to be pushing it, or its songs, on the voting poll. but i think that's the album where elvis turned into elvis, and it's got my favorite opening track in his catalog, and it sounds like a great band discovering itself. MAIT strikes me as the work of a very good songwriter searching for a way forward and only half finding it.

great thread title, korn.

"Uncomplicated" just narrowly escaped being cut from my ballot before I sent it off, so I'm glad leaving it on there helped it make the top 60. great live song, love hearing The Attractions pound away like that when they usually have so much rhythmic sophistication.

x-post

Thanks, cuz. I put quite a bit of thought into it and wasthisclose to going with Poor Napolleon, but then I put on King Of America again...

I'm just glad I figured out how to do the pictures right.

http://i.imgur.com/8rchdSE.jpg

58. Crimes of Paris
112 points
7 votes

I agree about the production clutter on "Veronica," but two things kept it on my ballot -- the chorus has a heck of a hook, and the lyric is possibly his most empathetic one ever. It takes movie-of-the-week material and makes it something loving but unsentimental.

B&C was the first EC record I heard when it was released (so I probably overrate it), and though I was familiar with a few earlier records, "Uncomplicated" simultaneously grabbed me and sent me scurrying back to those records.

Yes, me too. I remember WNEW in New York having a Top Ten at Ten every night where they'd play their most requested songs, and Tokyo Storm Warning was on it for a good month.

Crimes Of Paris has always been my favorite from this record. Such a great chorus.

"Crimes of Paris" made my ballot for some personal nostalgic reasons but mainly for the sheer strength of Costello's singing in it: "heee's irresSISTable TOO".."paper-weight EIFFEL TOWER!"

I wouldn't be shocked if nothing later than "Veronica" made it into the top 60. i voted for six post-'80s songs and that's probably the most anybody voted for.

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

57. Little Triggers
114 points
5 votes

that song always suffered from me comparing it to "Alison" and "Party Girl" by virtue of it appearing around the same point in the album as the other ballads on the early records, but obviously it's pretty good.

Coming in late after lunch!

PTC sounded awful yesterday: those horns clutter some shrieking, non-existent songs. OTOH glad to see my #1 Trust so high. I played the shitty pre-Ryko tape in the early nineties to death, unaware until reading Christgau's review that it had a serious claque.

I suspect "clutter" is a word not too far from any criticism of Costello's songs, vocal arrangements, and choice of producer.

"Little Triggers" is the only song I consider skipping when playing TYM, but it's a nice place to land after "Pump It Up" and before "You Belong to Me."

http://i.imgur.com/5cEzPKU.jpg

56. Big Boys
114 points
6 votes
97 points and 3 of the votes were for demo version

Big Boys demo had 1 first place vote

I can live with clutter being the sin of most of the Attractions' lesser music, because at their best they had a wonderful excess of everything: so many words, so many hooks, so many notes, so many details and embellishments in the performances and production.

lololol my Starbucks is playing "The Only Flame in Town."

woooow

now it's a new version of "I Only Have Eyes For You."

Demo version of Big Boys doesn't do a lot for me, but it's great on Armed Forces.

http://i.imgur.com/RGB1laT.jpg

55. Shabby Doll
116 points
7 votes

Wow that's a large pic.

too low

about right

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

54. From A Whisper To A Scream
116 points
8 votes

Same points as Shabby Doll, but more votes is the tiebreaker.

I know there are ilxors who rate that one highly, but it's one of my least favorite from the first 10 years.

yeah i agree, i am baffled it was a single. it's like a failed experiment.

Yes. Especially when you consider all the other songs from Trust that didn't get released.

shabby doll was my no. 4. bruce thomas running wild

http://i.imgur.com/kv5z7df.jpg

53. Blue Chair
118 points
5 votes

I'm still figuring it out whether I like "Blue Chair." I do find myself going DOWN IN DA BLUE CHAIR a lot though.

It's catchy, but I can think of more than 52 songs of his I like better.

It never really stood out for me before now, but I'm enjoying it at the moment.

"Blue Chair" is one of my favorites from B&C but was cut from my ballot at the last minute. it's twinned in my mind with When I Was Cruel's "My Little Blue Window" as a pleasant little cut buried in the second half of a fairly rocking album with 'blue' in the title.

http://i.imgur.com/vOngBb5.jpg

Little Palaces
118 points
8 votes

Once more with numbering...
http://i.imgur.com/vOngBb5.jpg

52. Little Palaces
118 points
8 votes

Even though Shot With His Own Gun could be his worst song, and Fish N Chip Paper isn't far behind.

― kornrulez6969

The lyrics are a little clumsy in Shot With His Own Gun but I don't think it's as bad as that. No real problem with Fish N Chip Paper either, it's a harmless song. Glad to see Trust place that highly great album I listened to a lot when I first got into him.

Very happy to see From a Whisper make it. Love that song so much and still don't know how it was a big hit single for him, it's so catchy.

Little Triggers and Crimes of Paris were both high on my list. They are both feature some of my favourite backing vocals on songs ever.

I had 6 post-80s songs on my ballot. Surprised it wasn't more, somehow, since I ranked 4 albums from that period in my top 10.

"Blue Chair" my #2 song.

EC has a lot of "Little" songs. This is my favorite.

which elvis song is angriest

little palaces and tramp the dirt down pop to mind

Little Palaces has his angriest vocal

Whenever I knock my kids about a bit, that's the song I hear. (Just kidding)

'lipstick vogue' angriest imo, listening to it again a few weeks ago it almost disturbed me, i could remember so many times adolescent me livid and disgusted at some slight from some girl and that song managing to bottle it and fuel it perfectly. 'sometimes i almost feel just like a human being'.

Here comes a real good one...

http://i.imgur.com/9xP8d8V.jpg

51. Girls Talk
121 points
6 votes

I love both versions of "Blue Chair," but prefer the faster Coward Brothers one.

This features one of my favorite EC puns:

Though you may not be an old-fashioned girl, you're still gonna get dated

might also suggest 'pills and soap' for angriest, always seemed the coldfaced killer addendum to 'shipbuilding's resigned mourning. punch the clock is a mess definitely but i've always had a soft spot for it, this tossed off followup to his labored masterpiece, hodpodge mix of ec reacting to the britpop of the day (and managing to draft off 'our house' and 'come on eileen' onto american radio) and coming to grips w/ thatcher (that 'shipbuilding' and 'pills and soap' feel so shoehorned in and out of step w/ the rest of the album almost makes sense thematically and have the bonus effect of breaking up what's a somewhat monotonous sounding album otherwise), almost like rip van winkle coming after a string of ec remaking his record collection. he's probably had more 'english' albums (brutal youth perhaps) but this seems the one where he's most naturally english and most naturally a pop musician trying for a hit, the 'craftsman' hat he put on so often later in his career was never less of an act than it is here.

http://i.imgur.com/Q5jKfHg.jpg

50. Love For Tender
122 points
8 votes

Sorry to see "Little Triggers" so low. It was my #4, which is almost certainly overrating it even by my own standards, but it's been a sentimental favorite lately. It's such a perfect marriage of sound and lyrical concept. So much squeezing tension, especially when those backing vocals rise up at the end, it feels like it's going to go off any second.

great writeup of PTC, balls. I definitely have a soft spot for it as well and "Pills And Soap" was on my ballot for sure

ah limited space meant i couldn't in good conscience vote for it and 'clean money' but love 'love for tender' so much.

"Love For Tender" is the glass of water before the seven-course meal that's GH!!

That has to be his most pun-filled song. Literally every line has one or two of them.

yeah I'm reading Complicated Shadows and he was begging and pleading Langer-Winstanley to get him that 'Our House' dough.

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

49. Indoor Fireworks
123 points
7 votes

Love this song.

oof

anyone like Lowe's version too? I didn't hear it until the mid 2000s and it blew me away.

In terms of points, there's virtually no difference between Veronica (108 points) at 60 and Indoor Fireworks (123 points) at 49. This poll was really close all the way through.

Just youtubing Lowe's now. Not really impressed. Too much slapback echo and sounds like he's a hair away from breaking out a calliope on it.

The Rose of England is swathed in mid eighties reverb, yeah, but I loved the tonality of his voice.

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

48. The Imposter
125 points
10 votes

Love the version of this on Concerts for the People of Kampuchea. They've got their monitors facing out to the audience, and it's probably the fastest thing EC ever played.

"Indoor Fireworks" is part of the handful or KOA tracks that stands far above the rest of the album for me, though I didn't vote for it. Prob his best song that iirc isn't on US Spotify.

My acquaintance with P&S began with a sample of that indelible click track and piano on a Nearly God/Tricky track in '96

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

47. You Little Fool
127 points
7 votes

Let me be the first to say TOO LOW

Love the version of this on Concerts for the People of Kampuchea. They've got their monitors facing out to the audience, and it's probably the fastest thing EC ever played.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, December 26, 2013 3:24 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Looked this up on Youtube, and it is indeed great! "The Imposter" was #13 on my ballot.

"Little Palaces" is great, it was one of my favorite political songs as an angsty liberal college student. (Didn't vote for it, but should have.)

"Girls Talk" was top 5 for me, I think it's his best pop song, or at least his best power-pop song.

The Kampuchea "Imposter" was the first thing I'd ever heard by EC, and it really freaked me out. I'd read a little about him but the aggressiveness in this version was beyond anything I was expecting. I basically avoided him for a couple of years after that, until Imperial Bedroom.

Let me be the first to say TOO LOW

Right on. I think this was in my top ten. And the flangey "imagination" in the bridge always reminded me of Cheap Trick.

Did Elvis ever go back to this wonderfully understated vocal style after 1986, or was that a casualty of his singing lessons?

GH!!! has my favorite organ sound in rock outside of Booker T and the Velvets.

And the flangey "imagination" in the bridge always reminded me of Cheap Trick. - yes! never thought that before but totally a cheap trick move.

http://i.imgur.com/8ZxlEYF.jpg

46. Miracle Man
131 points
7 votes

too high, too slow

and i know ec has always slighted it as an example of how cbs poorly marketed imperial bedroom or whatever but 'you little fool' has always sounded one of the more obv choices for a single from that album. i'm not sure anything from it had a chance at being a hit though really.

'miracle man' made my ballot almost solely due to the live at el mocambo version, so ragged.

GH!!! has my favorite organ sound in rock outside of Booker T and the Velvets.

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn),

A conscious evocation --

The story is that you went into Rock On before "Get Happy" was made and bought £50 worth of old Motown, Stax and Atlantic singles.

Yeah, I did. They were to refresh my memory about what I was trying to do: where the idea was stemming from. I had no intention of making a carbon copy of a Motown record, but I was re-immersing myself in the simplicity of it because you've got to understand . .. One thing I'll say about the "Armed Forces" thing is that from going over to America as a kind of quasi-punk group - at least in their eyes - we then tended to immerse ourselves in Abba and "Low" and "Heroes" Bowie; they were our major influences. We had worked our sound - with the organ to the front and lots of tremelo guitar - to death, and there were other groups coming up using that sound; some actually carbon copies. It got to the point where I felt the next record we made would end up sounding like a parody of ourselves. On the "Armed Forces" tour of America we had arrangements of half the songs on "Get Happy" in our old style. We went in to start recording and the result did sound like cliched new wave music. It would have come out sounding like a cross between "Armed Forces" and "This Year's Model". It would have been less well arranged than "Armed Forces" and slightly more maniacal, more out of control, because we were out of control by that point. I felt it wasn't right and I had the idea of taking a kind of soul base; literally taking the songs and saying 'okay, what song are we going to play this like? Let's play it like, say, "Time Is Tight".' On "Temptation" we actually used a rift that's very close to "Time Is Tight". Each song, I could go through and tell you which band we were being. Al Green on one, The Four Tops on another.

oh I know: the Get Happy!! liner notes are explicit. Garnet Mimms was another influence, I think.

Re: You Little Fool, I never thought it was a single, but that pic I found appears to be the sleeve for a 45

'miracle man' made my ballot almost solely due to the live at el mocambo version, so ragged.

― balls, Thursday, December 26, 2013 1:49 PM

agreed that the live versions are vastly improved, but I say that about almost every MIAT track.

Yeah, sorry, Capn Obvious took control of me there for a sec.

I remember reading that Elvis wasn't happy that You Little Fool was picked as the lead single from Imperial Bedroom, he wanted Man Out of Time or Beyond Belief instead as the were a little harder. I've always found it to be one of the weakest songs on the album.

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

45. Waiting For The End Of The World
137 points
9 votes

killer live version:

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Im-kDpw1LE

Taking a break, but we'll resume in an hour or so.

leaving us on an extended break with "Waiting For The End Of The World," you rascal

My apologies. Y'all ready to get this party restarted?

http://i.imgur.com/5t95qpy.jpg

44. Tokyo Storm Warning
138 points
10 votes

This was his most Beatlesy up to this point, right?

Good song but always kind of wish it was half the length it is.

Ha, was gonna day, his most Dylanesque up to this point, huh?

xp

EC doesn't have many songs longer than 5 minutes, does he?

http://i.imgur.com/fqoT9a2.jpg

43. The Loved Ones
140 points
8 votes

It is definitely worth zooming in on that quote. Makes me appreciate the song even more.

Love this song. Easily my favourite song on Imperial Bedroom and another one that really should have been a single.

Yes. I should have voted for this.

Still only 18 points between this and 60.

EC doesn't have many songs longer than 5 minutes, does he?

― kornrulez6969, Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:12 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

they became more frequent later on. some of the best songs on All This Useless Beauty, Painted From Memory, When I Was Cruel, Wise Up Ghost, etc. are over 5.

http://i.imgur.com/96iDV0f.jpg

42. Lovers Walk
146 points
9 votes

This is a doozy.

This is nuts already. Yes, You Little Fool way too low. And Shabby Doll is one of Bruce's masterpieces -- double stops all the way and those crazy fills at the end

Bo Diddley Beat

This is one of his best vocals, IMHO

I like Lovers Walk but it's always been my least favourite song on that first side of Trust (which is close to being perfect)

(xp) the first of two bo diddley beats on side 1 of trust.

http://i.imgur.com/WrfphV5.jpg

41. Everyday I Write The Book
146 points
12 votes

Lovely song, great vocal. It was one of the last songs I cut from my list.

Let us recap...

60. Veronica
59. Uncomplicated
58. Crimes of Paris
57. Little Triggers
56. Big Boys
55. Shabby Doll
54. From A Whisper To A Scream
53. Blue Chair
52. Little Palaces
51. Girls Talk
50. Love For Tender
49. Indoor Fireworks
48. The Imposter
47. You Little Fool
46. Miracle Man
45. Waiting For The End Of The World
44. Tokyo Storm Warning
43. The Loved Ones
42. Lovers Walk
41. Every Day I Write The Book

That's a good bottom third, though I believe I've only voted for 2 of them so far.

Wait, three.

Oh, four. Forgot I gave a vote to The Loved Ones.

These are all packed so tightly together, less than 40 points separates them all. Going forward the big boys, as it were, rise to the top. But still, the poll is remarkably close.

GREEN SHIRT OR GTFO

Earlier in the week I actually had a dream about this poll starting. The list started at 250 and my number 1 was right at the bottom at number 250. I was really gutted! Didn't realise I cared that much about this poll but apparently deep down I do.

There were around 185 songs total. I started keeping score for everything above 50 points. Which means..

96. So Young
50 points
3 votes

:(

"Green Shirt" has gotta be coming much later.

"So Young" is fantastic, the only cover on my ballot -- had to finally listen to the original to affirm that the Attractions' arrangement was unique and awesome enough to justify voting for.

So Young is phenomenal. Definitely his best cover.

People, are we remembering What's So Funny... when we call So Young his best cover? I love So Young to bits, but c'mon.

i guess it's pretty clear at this point that veronica, at #60, will be the highest placing post-columbia track, yes?

(xp) i voted for one cover, and it was neither peace, love and understanding, which was a last minute cut, nor so young.

Oh wait, he didn't write Peace Love. OK, that's his best cover. But So Young his his 2nd best.

Veronica...I'm not saying anything

i want to believe "God Give Me Strength" is still to come but i've always felt pretty alone here in my Painted From Memory fandom

Six of my ballot have placed so far. My highest: You Little Fool (my #4).

And I think my favorite cover of his is neither So Young nor Peace Love. But I'll save that until we reveal the ballots. (I suspect no one else voted for it anyway.)

Speaking of covers, if the rules were bendy enough, I would've voted for Dave Edmunds' version of "Girls Talk," and it probably would've made my top 10. I'm hard-pressed at the moment to think of another cover version that so dramatically improved on the original.

I like his Shirelles cover.

I like Lovers Walk but it's always been my least favourite song on that first side of Trust (which is close to being perfect)

― Kitchen Person

otm

I think people are forgetting "She" when talking talking about his best covers. The way it was used in Notting Hill.. stunning!

http://i.imgur.com/nZ3RGZP.jpg

40. Strict Time
153 points
10 votes

found it hard to choose between "Strict Time," "Lovers Walk," "Big Sisters' Clothes" and a few other Trust songs--they wound up kinda cancelling themselves out. Think the only Trust track to make my list was "Watch Your Step"

Speaking of covers, if the rules were bendy enough, I would've voted for Dave Edmunds' version of "Girls Talk," and it probably would've made my top 10. I'm hard-pressed at the moment to think of another cover version that so dramatically improved on the original.

Yeah, that's more or less what I did -- I was voting for the song in all its forms, especially the Edmunds one. (But also the Ronstadt and the new Hoffs/Sweet version, all of which let the song breathe more than the EC recording.)

I LOVE his version of Girls Talk. Haven't heard any other covers besides the Edmunds one which is not in same league (IMHO)

Also, I <3 "The Loved Ones." Always heard "Spare us the theatrics and the verbal gymnastics" as a bit of sly self-deprecation.

http://i.imgur.com/YEY5PJm.jpg

39. Pretty Words
154 points
8 votes

This is another perfect one from Trust.

Steve Nieve's jittery piano is key to that first side of Trust; it's more coked-out than Elvis.

He said in the liner notes it's his druggiest record.

This was his most Beatlesy up to this point, right?

Distant xpost re: Tokyo Storm Warning, but the Beatles (and Byrds) stuff was pretty prominent from the start. I was sort of surprised by how obvious it was when I re-listened to everything. Also, Macca is the real touchstone for a lot of what Bruce Thomas is up to, and especially early on, the bass is doing a lot of the melodic heavy lifting, musically.

http://i.imgur.com/c0mz7Pb.jpg

38. Mystery Dance
172 points
12 votes

Starting to escalate in points here.

Pretty Words is one of the reasons why Trust is one of my favourite albums of his. Such a brilliant chorus.

Yes. Trust is just one classic after another. You'll Never Be A Man is another favorite of mine.

Why don't you tell me 'bout the Mystery Dance? I wanna know about the Mystery Dance.

http://i.imgur.com/ho9FtBy.jpg

37. Motel Matches
184 points
7 votes, one #1

One of the best songs on Get Happy. It was one of the last five songs I had to cut, glad it had enough supporters to make it.

I think that was one of a handful of GH tracks on my ballot, can't check now

Does "I struck lucky with motel matches" qualify as a pun?

completely a pun!

Get Happy is his pun peak.

I wish more hotels still gave out matches :(

Can't recall any motels that have them. Are there any motels in the UK?

Anyway, this next one is what I like to call "way too low"

http://i.imgur.com/a9n9jcO.jpg

36. Hand In Hand
184 points
11 votes

"Don't ask me to apologize" might be his early motto.

felt awful to cut "Motel Matches": I'm glad it placed so highly.

If "Little Triggers" made the cut, I wonder how much of TYM is going to place (even "Night Rally"?).

x-post Or "If I'm gonna go down, you're gonna come with me."

http://i.imgur.com/XHbxr7e.jpg

35. Almost Blue
187 points
14 votes

sweet, I realized when I was making my ballot how perfect this song is and I ended up placing it in like my top 15

still pissed about the placing of Shabby Doll though, what a travesty

EC's bid to write a jazz standard like "I Cover the Waterfront"; what's amazing is that he actually did it. You could hear Ella or Nina Simone singing this one.

http://i.imgur.com/jHU8KLE.jpg

34. Lip Service
189 points
7 votes, one #1

http://i.imgur.com/NIx4Hk5.jpg

33. High Fidelity
194 points
10 votes, one #1

loving all of these singles covers

Thanks! There are plenty more to come. For other songs I had to be more creative.

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

32. Clubland
195 points
13 votes

"high fidelity" waaaaaaay too low. my #1. "i'll bet he thinks he was chosen out of a million" is one of my all time fave pop putdowns.

and i still smile every time i hear that opening lyrical nod to irma thomas.

also: that melody!

Yes. It's a real good one. A lot of the songs on Get Happy sort of blend together but that one is a real standout.

and i still smile every time i hear that opening lyrical nod to irma thomas.

and the supremes, i should add, obviously.

"Clubland" took years to sink in; still not sure what it's supposed to say.

I love clubland, but yeah I'm not sure I could nail it down - he's at his most opaque & over-compressed on a lot of Trust imo.

like it's sex & violence & debts in the soho (& beyond) 50s club-world that his dad must have known pretty well, but exactly what, idk

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

31. Clowntime Is Over
209 points
11 votes, 26 points 1 vote for slow version

-- "Almost Blue" was my no. 3. Such a great song, such great singing.(And totally amazing Bruce Thomas, too.)
-- "High Fidelity" = the last song I cut. Glad others didn't.
-- "Clubland" also great. I love him in noir mode. I've always heard it as a nightlife tone poem, sad nighthawks at the diner, etc. "Your hands and work aren't steady."

Also the piano break on "Clubland" might be my single favorite Nieve showcase.

and Elvis' gnarly solo

Clowntime didn't make my ballot, but I prefer the slow Taking Liberties version. Great vocal.

http://i.imgur.com/Nv7J2aD.jpg

30. The Beat
213 points
13 votes

read "Clubland" as both homage to his dad's world of shady '50s nightclubs and a commentary on Britain-as-casino under Thatcher, but agree it's up there in terms of impenetrable EC songs (not as opaque as "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" tho)

"Clowntime Is Over" is one of my absolute favorites: i waver between the original w/Nieve's wonderful organ accompaniment and the brooding alternate version

-- "Almost Blue" was my no. 3. Such a great song, such great singing.(And totally amazing Bruce Thomas, too.)

This is a rare moment where Neive and Pete Thomas seem out of their depth; they play like someone told them to "play jazz."

But Bruce's playing defines the song; it matches the vocal's emotional depth and fragility.

catching up -

Re: Get Happy!! v This Year's Model - I love TYM (my #3), but prefer GH - think that the messy 20-track rush suits him better than the well-crafted 12-track classic album - for me those first records are about him burning through his talent, awkward not-quite-puns, too much crammed in, speed mania, drunken bile, & the occasional hangover-crash. That version of Elvis sits better in the another-one-along-in-a-minute rush of GH imo.

Re: Punch The Clock. Placed about right for me - it is a mess, but I love (as I've said elsewhere) the langer-winstanley poppiness of it - some of his clearest lyric writing too, carries his thoughts charmingly, with the melody, over a few lines. I don't like Pills and Soap or his Shipbuilding (vs Wyatt's) that much - it's the ones where an arsehole is trying to shape up and find his heart that I enjoy - eg Mouth Almighty.

Want to blow a TOO LOW on Crimes of Paris. It was my number 7, but might place it higher now, sort of relaxed & super-sharp at once. Lines from it running around my head during voting & Cait's backing on the last line of the chorus a master stroke. So, TOO LOW.

Yes. Crimes of Paris is my favorite from Blood and Chocolate. Burying it in the middle of side 2 was a not-so-brilliant mistake.

Some big surprised coming up...

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

29. Less Than Zero
221 points
14 votes

"the beat" is three or four songs crammed (quite skillfully) into one.

Also the piano break on "Clubland" might be my single favorite Nieve showcase.

― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra)

Yeah I agree with this, the piano playing on that whole album is just incredible.

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

28. Pump It Up
235 points
14 votes, one #1

I tried listening to this with fresh ears, but it's impossible.

left off my ballot out of exhaustion w/hearing it over the past 25 years: one of the few EC songs "classic rock" radio ever deigned to play

I have never once heard an EC song on "classic rock" radio.

at least in CT, late '80s, they played "Pump it Up," "Alison" and "Veronica"

I do actually remember hearing "Veronica" in 1989 pretty regularly on "The Loop" in Chicago. It was an AOR station, so I guess not technically "classic rock" in that they played new stuff alongside the old.

I mentioned this upthread, but WNEW in NY used to play Tokyo Storm Warning all the time when it came out.

http://i.imgur.com/H0kYJH6.jpg

27. Welcome To The Working Week
249 points
15 votes

You got to do it till you're through it.

Didn't vote for this track but years ago when my mom asked me to make her a mix CD for her commute to and from work, I titled it and opened it with "Welcome to the Working Week."

"Welcome to the Working Week" is such a perfect intro to his body of work. "Rhythmically admired" is such a brilliant turn of phrase. The first of about a billion, I guess.

http://i.imgur.com/GJZji80.jpg

26. This Year’s Girl
251 points
14 votes, one #1

In the voting thread, I mentioned a mystery song that I was sure would be a lock for the top ten, but after the first week it had zero votes. Here it is...

http://i.imgur.com/Irp5c04.jpg

25. Brilliant Mistake
254 points
12 votes, two #1

^ great song

25 was one of my few cuts after relistening....penalized for the "ABC news" line which might have been written by a parodist, and for what now strikes me as a fairly meh chorus....

maybe not being on US Spotify hurt "Brilliant Mistake" when people were listening and putting together their ballots...that and "Indoor Mistake" are the only major EC songs that for some reason are held back from Spotify, few of his other albums aren't availabe in its entirety besides KOA.

My (and someone else's!) #1. Kinda surprised to see it placing this low, I must say. This seems to all but guarantee to me that the top 25 is going to be almost exclusively limited to the first three or four records.

lol oops "Indoor Fireworks"

"Indoor Mistake" a classic song title imo!

okay who's the other #1?

not a lot of flash or tricks in this one and the most obvious takedown is a bit too obvious by half but the last verse slays. I kept watching in mild surprise as this worked its way up my ballot and then there it was at the top.

we still have songs from Get Happy, Trust, Imperial Bedroom and Blood & Chocolate that are a lock to appear afaict

haha xpost

giving nothing away to say that "indoor fireworks" made my ballot as well.

actually i can think of at least one KOA song that will prob place higher than "Brilliant Mistake," too...

There are lots of surprises to come.

Here is my #2.

http://i.imgur.com/OElnR7q.jpg

24. Watch Your Step
259 points
14 votes

blink twice if the title track from North is in the top ten... (xp)

this is terrible but now "Watch Your Step" always reminds me of the pointlessly unfunny musical montage it soundtracked in a later episode of The Simpsons

His low-voiced singing in WYS = A+

love this one to pieces; love B. Thomas' bass, the knocking fill P. Thomas does on "breaker's yard," the way Costello sings "you're so tough"

Those old enough to remember: what kind of shock was hearing the opening acoustic strum of "Brilliant Mistake " in early '86?

This next song was in the top 5 for the first week of voting, then it faded in the back stretch…

http://i.imgur.com/0PBg7jj.jpg

23. King Horse
263 points
12 votes, one #1

#6 on my ballot but it probably could've been higher. incredible song.

Those old enough to remember: what kind of shock was hearing the opening acoustic strum of "Brilliant Mistake " in early '86?

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, December 27, 2013 1:44 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

For me it was, "What, no pounding Attractions? Next!"

But I was 13, and came around to it again about a year later, whereupon I dug it immensely.

great Pete Thomas showcase, during the verses he does these fills in groups of 3's over the 4/4 beat, such a cool little detail

Looooove "King Horse" and it's on my ballot despite its impenetrability -- musically too cuz the thing sounds encased in diamond.

I will tell you this about King Horse: it is hard to find relevant EC imagery.

Blood & Chocolate and King Of America are probably one of the great yin yang two-unrelated-albums-in-the-same-year stunts an artist has ever pulled. interesting that KOA did way better in that year's Pazz & Jop but B&C dominated in both this poll and the best Elvis Costello album of the '80s thread I did a few years ago. I wonder if that's a sign of changing attitudes or a quirk of ILM.

Very hard to opine on this without giving results away. But KOA seems to have faded a bit with fans.

Here's one everybody likes...

http://i.imgur.com/JCrP2tU.jpg

22. New Amsterdam
267 points
14 votes

that strummed acoustic sounded like the beginning of the end at the time....if you combine the two 1986 releases, how strong a 50-minute LP can you sequence?

Oh, I had that pegged for top 10.

I always found KOA to be the more consistent of the two '86 records, but I still prefer B&C (higher highs).

Here's one everybody likes...

― kornrulez6969, Friday, December 27, 2013 1:59 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha i'll be the one to argue that! the way he leans into "speak double dutch to a real double duchess" may be one of my least favorite moments on any of the early albums.

Those old enough to remember: what kind of shock was hearing the opening acoustic strum of "Brilliant Mistake " in early '86?

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

I was still so bitter about Goodbye Cruel World that I didn't tune back into him until a friend played me Blood And Chocolate, KoA is still my big blank spot after a week of cramming for this poll.

while i used to love "New Amsterdam" on this revisit, it seemed a bit labored and precious (the "double duchess" line grates for me too) esp. compared to some of the sublime B-sides of the era (a few of which I hope make the top 20, but doubt it)

The "double duchess" line doesn't bother me (wordplay!) but either way, EC's prettiest song?

iirc lots of the cultural establishment wanted to believe in EC as a serious artist in the later 80s & KoA is a big gesture in that direction, fits with that narrative. I can see how B&C might seem a step backwards in that context but I think it looks a lot better than KoA once you've chucked narratives of maturity, canonicity, tradition etc.

Never much liked KoA myself.

"New Amsterdam " was very close to #1. I love the organ, the way his voice leaps an octave during the chorus...

This next one is ILM at its finest...

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

21. Hoover Factory
281 points
12 votes, two #1

catching up on the countdown playlist, and it just struck me what a great accidental sequencing decision it was for "Waiting For The End Of The World" to be followed by "Tokyo Storm Warning"

holy crow. I really didn't think it would place this high. I love this song beyond words.

That is the actual Hoover Factory. Must've been a wonder when it was brand new.

(xp) i didn't think it would place this low. i love it beyond words too. my #2. another song that benefits greatly from the low end of his vocal range.

Voted for New Amsterdam, but yeah, always annoyed by that double duchess line, also 'step on the brake to get out of her clutches'. Seeming-clever wordplay one of his worst habits in the early years imo, where half the pun doesn't seem to be doing anything (ie why is he bringing car pedals into this apart from the coincidence of words? It's distracting!). But then when he just throws a shit-ton at you, as in Love for Tender, it's FUN, so idk maybe I shouldn't grumble.

YESSSSSSSS HOOVER FACTORY

I love you Hoover Factory

I love you 'Hoover Factory'

I love you ilm

Merry Christmas

one of these days "hoover factory" is gonna be all the rage in those fashionable pages.

I'd given up on it turning up. My number one. Has been jumping into my head on hungover trips up and down the A40 for 20 years.

60. Veronica
59. Uncomplicated
58. Crimes of Paris
57. Little Triggers
56. Big Boys
55. Shabby Doll
54. From A Whisper To A Scream
53. Blue Chair
52. Little Palaces
51. Girls Talk
50. Love For Tender
49. Indoor Fireworks
48. The Imposter
47. You Little Fool
46. Miracle Man
45. Waiting For The End Of The World
44. Tokyo Storm Warning
43. The Loved Ones
42. Lovers Walk
41. Every Day I Write The Book
40. Strict Time
39. Pretty Words
38. Mystery Dance
37. Motel Matches
36. Hand In Hand
35. Almost Blue
34. Lip Service
33. High Fidelity
32. Clubland
31. Clowntime Is Over
30. The Beat
29. Less Than Zero
28. Pump It Up
27. Welcome To The Working Week
26. This Year’s Girl
25. Brilliant Mistake
24. Watch Your Step
23. King Horse
22. New Amsterdam
21. Hoover Factory

And the top 20 begins...

http://i.imgur.com/aH7iAOY.jpg

20. I Hope You’re Happy Now
284 points
18 votes

i am happy now!

He opened the 2002 show I saw with "I Hope You're Happy Now."

one of the last great EC spleen-vents. "I know that this will hurt you more than it hurts me!"

And my number 2!

Here's a surprise...

http://i.imgur.com/uIvJ3VK.jpg

19. I Want You
329 points
16 votes, one #1

Surprising. I've never rated this song at all.

It's become one of his signature songs. I thought it would make the top ten.

This isn't top five?!

yeah i think in a 'canon' list of EC songs it would probably be in the top 10, i expected it to be higher than this. never been a big fan personally, though.

Ditto on Crimes of Paris, though I was expecting to be one of its few admirers. Surprised about Hope You're Happy Now. Really love Everyday I Wrtie the Book, despite its lightness/cuteness. Glad to see Pete Thomas getting respect. And yes I do remember the shock of King of America's opening chords (though that beard was a tip-off)

I concur viz I Want You, but there are many who love it. I was thinking it wd crack top ten

Yeah, figured this would be a lock for the top 10.

its force has faded over the years for me - in my heavy costello phase, thought it was amazing, now… can't connect to it, wasn't near my ballot.

'i hope you're happy now' the first (and best?) instance of ec giving the ppl what they want, this year's model revisited (i guess 'tiny steps' sorta qualifies here). koa (which i love love love and is probably going to be unrepresented since i'm guessing there's only one more song from it still to come) seems a clear sign of things to come but b&c somehow works as both - either the last pre-reunion album w/ the attractions or the first reunion album w/ the attractions and it has the strengths of both eras.

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

18. Radio Radio
332 points
19 votes, one #1

was 'i want you' the canon cut that took forever to show up on a ballot? wasn't on mine, i understand the appeal and occasionally actually get what others get from it but usually it's too slow and too long.

i never thought of "I Hope You're Happy Now" as a deliberately populist gesture to the fans but that certainly gives the title a funny double meaning!

i'm a fan of the genre of "songs that straddle the line between normal love song and stalker manifesto" but "I Want You" tips its creepy hand a little too easily, prefer the comparitively sugary "Every Breath You Take" type songs.

Nice one Ella!

Radio Radio -- also a fine Beastie Boys moment

was 'i want you' the canon cut that took forever to show up on a ballot?

It was Brilliant Mistake, which ended up at 25.

'radio radio' on its own doesn't do a lot for me anymore but as this blast of energy and rage (and hope, in context at least) after 'night rally' or just exploding in the middle of some live set it still manages to be amazing. the snl stunt is classic ec - sorta punk but very very much rock historian.

I can't imagine how cool this song must have sounded when it came out in 1978.

i mentioned on the nominations thread that i was on the fence about voting for "Radio Radio," but in the end i just flashed back to too many times i enjoyed the hell out of that song to leave it off my ballot.

Serious question : would his greatness be secure without KOA and BC?

Yes. Even before 1986 he had a million great songs. Like...

http://i.imgur.com/CENCo6E.jpg

17. Alison
353 points
19 votes, one #1

that's a good question. I think so, but he might be seen more as a period artist---like a Graham Parker---if the best stuff ended in '82 or so. As mentioned above, KOA sets him up for the '90s.

Voted for New Amsterdam, but yeah, always annoyed by that double duchess line, also 'step on the brake to get out of her clutches'.

Aw, I love the puns in that one -- pushed it to top-5 on my ballot.

I like "I Want You" a lot, but it makes me uncomfortable -- listening in on a conversation I don't have any business hearing. I should have put it on my ballot...

Wow, it actually got a #1 vote.

to whom and in what way? like, would My Aim Is True be lower on Rolling Stone-type lists? i dunno...i tend to think that things like continued touring/reissues has helped solidify his status more than any individual album since Armed Forces. (xp)

btw i'm a huge fan of ec giving the ppl what they want, in bootcamp you don't get any type of liberty or anything but towards the end they'd let you hang out in this vague sorta rec center for an hour or so every now and then and in this rec center they had a video jukebox and my play of '13 steps lead down' amidst a marathon of snoop and stp videos drew some serious wtfs from shipmates though thankfully some dude played an indigo girls which drew even more outraged and befuddled wtfs. then somebody played the video for 'find the river' and i got very very homesick.

Just playing catch up here.

King Horse was my number 1 and by quite a long way. Incredible song.

I used to really rate King of America but Brilliant Mistake and Little Palaces are the only songs I really go back to now. I much prefer Blood & Chocolate out of those two albums, it's not even that close.

Very happy to see Welcome to the Working Week so high. Whilst going through his albums for this poll I realised he is probably my favourite person for opening songs (New Order would probably be his biggest competition) All those classic albums of his start with such perfect songs.

Speaking of canon cuts...

KOA and B&C have never ranked highly in my own personal EC canon, but I agree that endless reissues have kept him out there more than any of his new material since Spike (at the latest).

I like "I Want You" a lot, but it makes me uncomfortable -- listening in on a conversation I don't have any business hearing. I should have put it on my ballot...

― millions now living will never kick out the jams (WilliamC), Friday, December 27, 2013 2:58 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That's probably 80% of its appeal for me. Also, I can't think of another slow Attractions song where they dig in so heavily and mightily.

btw i'm a huge fan of ec giving the ppl what they want, in bootcamp you don't get any type of liberty or anything but towards the end they'd let you hang out in this vague sorta rec center for an hour or so every now and then and in this rec center they had a video jukebox and my play of '13 steps lead down' amidst a marathon of snoop and stp videos drew some serious wtfs from shipmates though thankfully some dude played an indigo girls which drew even more outraged and befuddled wtfs. then somebody played the video for 'find the river' and i got very very homesick.

― balls, Friday, December 27, 2013 2:59 PM (51 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hey "Closer To Fine" is a jam

"Alison" was my #4... as signature hits go it's pretty unfuckwithable

i guess i'd say KOA and B&C = his Blood on the Tracks; not essential to the legend but adding a depth. Also would the reissues/tours have been as big without the (relative) commercial success of Spike?

my play of '13 steps lead down' amidst a marathon of snoop and stp videos drew some serious wtfs

Do you think they just preferred Sulky Girl?

lol it wasn't even 'closer to fine' or 'galileo'! and this was when great lakes was still males only, if it'd been after they went coed nobody would've blinked at an indigo girls deep cut interrupting replays of 'wicked garden'.

"alison" is perfect, studied songcraft, and therefore probably the one song on the debut that most predicted his career. also, it's a great song.

Everyone who voted for this next one deserves a gold star. Here it is, my favorite EC by a considerable margin...the greatest B-side ever made….dontcha know….

http://i.imgur.com/X2nvroS.jpg

16. Big Tears
368 points
16 votes, 2 #1

!!!!

the last minute or so, where EC's raging: "tell me WHO me or YOU...TELL ME!" is prob. his best recorded moment for me. Plus, Mick Jones on guitar!

A thousand times, yes! Based on this song, Mick Jones + EC and the Attractions = the greatest rock and roll band of all time.

When he gets to the part about his overcoat he's just showing off. He had mastered rock and roll.

glad to see some non-album cuts here but never been much of a fan of "Big Tears" or "Hoover Factory." and i've given up hope of seeing "Imagination (Is A Powerful Deceiver)" by now.

How could this have been relegated to a B-side? There is no album ever made that wouldn't benefit from its inclusion. If Beethoven tacked it onto the end of the 9th, it would have made it a better symphony.

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

15. (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea
373 points
21 votes, 2 #1

18 tracks from my ballot haven't shown up, pretty sure neither of my post-cbs cuts ('deep dark truthful mirror', 'little atoms') are gonna make it at this point

I wouldn't know "Big Tears" without the Ryco reissues.

anyone know if 'chelsea' got airplay (somehow) in the us at the time? it's one of the ones i hear fairly frequently on radio now and even ten years ago i wouldn't have predicted that, it almost makes me wonder if it popped up in a movie.

An uptight masterpiece

I was one of the #1 votes for "Chelsea." a little shocked it's not in the top ten!

"Chelsea"'s omission from the US TYM seems bizarre in retrospect. Did Columbia really think it was "too English" or whatever the reason was?

anyone know if 'chelsea' got airplay (somehow) in the us at the time?

in the northeast, where tracks like "radio radio" and "pump it up" got tons of airplay, "chelsea" got a little bit of play on the cooler fm stations, but significantly less. it was an import!

I heard Chelsea, Hoover Factory and Big Tears on Taking Liberties, the American b-sides comp. I must have played that cassette ten thousand times.

great note from EC about "Chelsea" in the Girls Girls Girls liners:

"Ha bloody ha" said the first taxi driver that I asked to take me there after the record came out.

And the hits just keep on coming….

http://i.imgur.com/a4vIeD8.jpg

14. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love & Understanding
383 points
19 votes

yeah that's what surprises me about hearing it, it was easily the most obscure canon costello to me when i was first investigating him (i knew it had been a hit in the uk). i can totally get cutting a track to make room for 'radio radio' (and very very much get the similar move w/ armed forces)(lol XP) but cutting 'night rally' and 'chelsea' seemed bizarre.

also WAAAAAAAAAY TOOOO LOOOOOW

so now that "peace," "radio," "pump it up," "chelsea" and a few others have been dispensed with, looks like it's going to be a very slow- to mid-tempo top 10. but "lipstick vogue" is still to come, right? right??

I wasn't aware that Peace Love wasn't originally on Armed Forces. In the USA it was always the last song.

What's So Funny topping Chelsea is probably the upset of the poll so far. I left WSF off my list because it's a cover, but there's no denying that it's an anthem.

Chelsea is perfect, the greatest of Bruce's baselines and an underrated Pete performance.

as balls said, cutting "Sunday's Best" (song i've always hated) to make room for "Peace Love" was a good call

http://i.imgur.com/hbn2kLk.jpg

13. Shipbuilding
405 points
19 votes, one #1

Sundays Best is so bad

haha 'peace' makes me want to start posting like lefsetz

where are the strong?

a question a child might ask, but not a child's question

and who are the trusted?

yes! who indeed?

and where is the harmony?

bringing it back the music, to the soul, to the beating heart of rock n roll. i may not want to go to chelsea but if you do and if you want to pump it up until you can't feel it...we just may want to rock n roll every day and party every night with you.

This top 10 is going to be weird.

So the last three songs are all ones I thought would be easily top five. Will Watching the Detectives or Oliver's Army be next?

the lesser half of Armed Forces is full of bad ideas that kind of work within the confines of the album's highly stylized, claustrophobic aesthetic. of course, the first time I listened to the album was during the worst acid trip of my life, so i would say that...

"What's So Funny..." has my favorite EC rhythm strumming -- it's so damn strong, trusted, and harmonic.

I listened to AF on the way home from lunch an hour ago and, god, yeah, Miccio was right on the shark thread: "Two Little Hitlers," "a lampshade out of me," another lyric about the Final Solution. It's like, OK dude, we know you think a bad relationship is like the Nazis, chill.

I didn't really register how brilliant What's so Funny was until I saw Lost in Translation.

I never registered "What's So Funny" missing from AF because of early nineties Ryko reissues. I own the cassette, which fits the entire album on one side!

True that Costello's guitar playing on WSF is way more on the beat than usual. I'd always wondered if it was someone else playing

"Two Little Hitlers" is so insanely catchy that in spite of everything it was on my ballot

The guitar is pushing against the organ and drums so hard.

on "What's So Funny"

So uh, Shipbuilding. Good song eh?

i was never missing in america, i remember whenever they did the first round of reissues that split album and bonus cuts into two separate discs wondering if they'd relegate 'peace' and 'radio' and 'detectives' to the second disc and thank fucking god they did not.

It's pleasant enough for me to have voted for it, but y'know. What's there to say?

on Punch the Clock "Shipbuilding" is like a Lubitsch film in a Chris Farley film festival.

that's otm

yeah, 'shipbuilding' is great, if anything hampers it it's that the wyatt version is the definitive one but the ec version has chet baker at least. i like it coming on the heels of 'peace' here, those are two very different and very effective anti-war songs, a genre that has tripped up alot of ppl.

Here is a doozy

because it's ILM I hoped for "Peace in our Time" ranking lol

http://i.imgur.com/P84dats.jpg

12. Riot Act
419 points
19 votes, one #1

always liked the Chet Baker solo, so dreamy....wonder how he felt about the work of the "TKO Horns"?

An uptight masterpiece

― Marcus / Xgau - Whose Century? (broom air), Friday, December 27, 2013

I was the other #1 vote for Chelsea. My favorite Attractions performance, so tightly wound and tense, the rhythm is unstoppable and EC is so ON re: vocals here. I still can't fathom why it was left off of TYM.

I don't remember if I voted for Riot Act but if I didn't I regret it. Classic EC chorus.

also those little rhythmic keyboards jabs in the verses just slay me (re: Chelsea)

Great song. Also, very good Okkervil River cover it that is surprisingly not on YouTube.

*of it

My lack of familiarity with "Riot Act" is due to it coming all the way at the end of an album I usually quit listening to after "Black and White World". I'm not surprised to find out other people love it, I just haven't played it enough.

otm

my #1! thought it would be terribly neglected......the tropical/topical rhyme sets the scene so well and the vocal is amazing....

I tend to listen to GH on shuffle. Seems like it was built for it.

i've always preferred the demo version of "riot act." i like the faster tempo.

I'd given up on it turning up. My number one. Has been jumping into my head on hungover trips up and down the A40 for 20 years.

I first drove past it about 11 years ago and my wife was baffled at my sudden excitement: "A Hoover factory! This must be the Western Avenue! Don't you see?" It predictably and annoyingly gets stuck in my head every time I pass it.

Riot Act was always my favorite EC until I grew up and came around to Big Tears. What's not to love? Big soaring chorus, one of his very best puns (sleeve, cuff) tortured vocal. It works acoustically, and him alone on electric guitar.

In short, too low.

Don't understand the love for this one. Puns and rhymes sound very forced to me here

yeah there's a hurt and drunkeness to his vocals on 'riot act' that distinguishes it from his other 'angry about a gal' songs, alot of his other ones seem rooted in having been rejected or passed over for some other guy or maybe cutting remarks made while you're both getting dressed to go out, 'riot act' feels like the end of a very long breakup argument.

Puns and rhymes sound very forced to me

but that's kinda his whole career, innit?

x-post….that's cool about seeing the Hoover Factory. It's always cool to see buildings you know from songs. I'm from New Jersey so for me the big one was the Palace in Asbury Park, beyond which hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard

'puns for punters and wordplay as swordplay' - xgau

http://i.imgur.com/wrb3IE4.jpg

11. Accidents Will Happen
426 points
21 votes

'riot act' feels like the end of a very long breakup argument.

yeah i think that's why the wordplay, which in other hands (imagine Colin Meloy singing the "heart on yr sleeve" line) would be gruesome, works here. the song's POV is someone who has nothing left but his wit, which is useless

Fac checker: yes for sure, but sometimes it works better than others (as he himself has admitted).

All pride and no joy...

yeah, the heart / sleeve / cuff lines are his single best extended pun.
though I wonder why "put" instead of "wear" sometimes.....

x-post

Gee, I thought the sleeve/cuff thing was kinda clever. Now you're making me feel bad about myself. And when I feel bad about myself I sabotage polls.

the song's POV is someone who has nothing left but his wit, which is useless - yes!

Great sweater (or to be exact "jumper")

Riot Act is probably my favourite Elvis vocal performance. The way he sings "Don't put your heart out on your sleeve" gets me every time.

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/285/d/5/tan_paws_w_pads_and_claws_by_monoyasha-d30lh8q.jpg

10. Pads Paws and Claws
Points: Ten billion

OK, got it out of my system.

Wit / useless - that's surely not the intention, but I salute the reading!

Xpost The kicker to that xgau rip comes at the end. something like, one of those mean something, one of them doesn't, and both took me 10 seconds.

Surprised to look back and see I didn't vote for Accidents Will Happen. I can live with it being #11, though.

if i could, i would cut and paste franklin bruno's entire piece on "accidents will happen," from the 33 1/3 book, right here. the rare piece of music criticism/deconstructionism that has made me love a song that i already loved even more.

Jaysus I'd forgotten about Pads Paws & Claws

What the Dean didn't say in that review is that he measures time differently and his seconds = four days.

OK. So this next song is clearly quite popular. Never did much for me, so I went back and gave it a few more spins. I now officially hate it. Barf out.

http://i.imgur.com/2VpziK2.jpg

10. Man Out Of Time
445 points
20 votes, one #1

Love it love it love it!!!!

i was never missing in america, i remember whenever they did the first round of reissues that split album and bonus cuts into two separate discs wondering if they'd relegate 'peace' and 'radio' and 'detectives' to the second disc and thank fucking god they did not.

― balls, Friday, December 27, 2013 3:44 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ehh i always kinda wished the opposite -- "Waiting" and "Night Rally" and "Two Little Hitlers" are strong songs to go out on and i'm all for the bonus disc having a killer lead cut to give you lots of momentum to get through a bunch of rarities of varying quality.

i like it and it does feel like the centerpiece of imperial bedroom but it wasn't on my ballot.

so good

The ascending chord progression during "will you still love a man out of time" is one of the most beautiful moments in recorded music.

i know it seems odd to complain about the modest puns of something like "Riot Act" when compared to the byzantine ones of "Man out of time" (dutch courage, french letters, etc) but occasionally a line will cut through the murk and really hit me: "real life becomes a rumor...up all night polishing the blade..." Plus the chorus melody is as sturdy as something by Handel.

the last melody in the verse before the chorus ("the high heel he used to be has been ground down, and he listens to the footsteps that will follow him around", just from memory) gives me chills

I only placed one IB song on my ballot...this ain't it. The chorus is mighty, the bridge gorgeous, the verses meh.

Murk. That's the problem I have with Man Out Of Time. It sounds like the whole thing is underwater.

No murk here...

http://i.imgur.com/zB0rfPO.jpg

9. No Action
452 points
22 votes, one #1

i like the intro/outro edits of "Man Out Of Time" more than the song itself -- Beauty Pill copied the format to great effect on the song "Rideshare"

I wrote a short story in the early nineties titled "Telephone Junky."

Surprised to see "No Action" in the top 10, but I'm glad it is. My pick for best opening of an EC record (yep, even over "Accidents"/Armed Forces).

This is how you open a record. Holy mackerel.

Another great opening song. I love the way from the first 10 seconds of this song you know the album is going to be amazing.

probably no album in history has more of a 'shot out of a cannon' energy to its opening track than TYM.

He means business on this one.

yes! his best opening song. and about as close as anyone has ever come to matching the furious pop energy of all those early who singles like "the kids are alright" and "can't explain."

I don't wanna kiss you I don't wanna touch *headbang*

also, this is the song that taught me what bakelite is.

This is the thread that taught me what bakelite is.

And this is ILM's 8th most popular Elvis Costello song...

http://i.imgur.com/tCjr284.jpg

8. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
479 points
24 votes, one #1

Nice one, ilm.

Also, nice pants, Declan.

Oh, I said "I'm so happy, I could die."
She said "Drop dead," then left with another guy.

interesting non-use of the word "my" in the parenthetical song title, stiff.

I have a friend who insists on singing this tune every time we karaoke

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

7. Oliver’s Army
489 points
27 votes, one #1

Not a favorite but the best appropriation of ABBA by a punk.

meh

piano is good I guess, was always a bit underwhelmed by this

Me too.

Yeah but the piano/organ is usually the thing to listen for on post-TYM Costello records

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/AgHgbn_sVUw/mqdefault.jpg

"Angels" seems to work best on MAIT in terms of the band being the most comfortable with/able to get inside of the song. It's the only track on that record where it doesn't sound like the band is playing at the music.

that's a good observation, it was definitely my highest placing MIAT track

same here

http://i.imgur.com/ul4W4Ri.jpg

6.Green Shirt
519 points
20 votes, two #1, 36 points one vote for demo version

stevie nicks' favorite song

TOO LOW

my #2

Thought that was going to be #1 the way folks were talking about it

Glad to infer that Night Rally is top 5

I didn't differentiate on my ballot between the demo and the album versions because I think I love both equally.

I can remember hearing the "20 bit remaster" of this and just being completely blown away all over again

don't know if those have received much discussion here but I really wanna track some of 'em down.

My #3. "But you don't wanna hear about that" is one of my favorite EC vocal moments.

and the little 3-note keyboard thing that follows it is earworm heaven

"Who put these fingerprints on my imagination?" is my favorite EC lyric of them all.

oops I meant after "somebody's gonna get it"

my #1. One of the first EC songs I ever heard. fave EC lyric. all the Attractions in absolutely top form here.

first time I ever heard "quisling"

not on my ballot, i love it but only in the context of side a of armed forces, never want to hear it on its own (same w/ 'big boys' and 'senior service' really), whereas i always have time for 'accidents' and 'party girl'

This next one was a legitimate surprise. It was #2 until the final days of the voting. I had no idea it was so popular...

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

5. New Lace Sleeves
519 points
25 votes, two #1

It's tied with Green Shirt for points, but more votes gives it the tiebreaker.

hahaha i LOVE 'new lace sleeves' but was looking at my ballot just now and thought 'ok either new lace sleeves dont make it which is fucked or it's kinda ridiculously high'

wow. wonderful song but didn't realized it was that loved

Hooray at New Lace Sleeves! My #4.

It just kept showing up on ballot after ballot. I like it fine but figured it would be in the 20s.

Wild

Only song from Trust to make my ballot.

Three of the top four seem obvious but what is the other one

http://i.imgur.com/Q4lLMsi.jpg

4. Party Girl
550 points
23 votes, three #1

Beyond Belief
Watching the Detectives
Party Girl

and...?

xp and...?

i'm guessing 1) beyond belief 2) lipstick vogue 3) watching the detectives

http://i.imgur.com/zm1sLSp.jpg

3. Lipstick Vogue
552 points
23 votes, three #1

Oh right.

Pete Thomas's finest hour

"New Lace Sleeves" is to me EC's most eloquent obscurantism.

There's really not much more suspense. You know the top 2.

Where Sun Ra meets the Bad Brains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dip-FtbsD8E

http://i.imgur.com/RBAcFl4.jpg

2. Watching The Detectives
605 points
28 votes, one #1

Detectives higher than I thought it might be. Party Girl and Green Shirt lower.

In the end, it was never close. It was a landslide from day 1.

http://i.imgur.com/M0PFm9j.jpg

1. Beyond Belief
731 points
28 votes, two #1

Duran Duran's cover was something.

60. Veronica
59. Uncomplicated
58. Crimes of Paris
57. Little Triggers
56. Big Boys
55. Shabby Doll
54. From A Whisper To A Scream
53. Blue Chair
52. Little Palaces
51. Girls Talk
50. Love For Tender
49. Indoor Fireworks
48. The Imposter
47. You Little Fool
46. Miracle Man
45. Waiting For The End Of The World
44. Tokyo Storm Warning
43. The Loved Ones
42. Lovers Walk
41. Every Day I Write The Book
40. Strict Time
39. Pretty Words
38. Mystery Dance
37. Motel Matches
36. Hand In Hand
35. Almost Blue
34. Lip Service
33. High Fidelity
32. Clubland
31. Clowntime Is Over
30. The Beat
29. Less Than Zero
28. Pump It Up
27. Welcome To The Working Week
26. This Year’s Girl
25. Brilliant Mistake
24. Watch Your Step
23. King Horse
22. New Amsterdam
21. Hoover Factory
20. I Hope You’re Happy Now
19. I Want You
18. Radio Radio
17. Alison
16. Big Tears
15. (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea
14. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love & Understanding
13. Shipbuilding
12. Riot Act
11. Accidents Will Happen
10. Man Out Of Time
9. No Action
8. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
7. Oliver’s Army
6. Green Shirt
5. New Lace Sleeves
4. Party Girl
3. Lipstick Vogue
2. Watching The Detectives
1. Beyond Belief

"Beyond Belief" the only Imperial Boredom tune in my ballot iirc

truly truly shocked by that #1.

i'm gonna do you a favor and not link to the toto version of 'watching the detectives'

Never rated "Detectives." It didn't even make my ballot. It's fine, but it's so easy to think of many better EC songs.

'i don't know how much more of this i can take' - you're telling me toto

Beyond Belief should be even higher. I would have voted for it but clearly it didn't need my help.

when did "Belief" become a regular contender as the Best Ever EC song? in the '80s it was relatively obscure compared with the likes of "Radio Radio"

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

xp good question, I assume a movie soundtrack was involved at some point

welcome to ILM, col!

I love it. I love everything on IbMPeEdRrIoAoLm. But never figured it for a consensus pick as EC's best-ever.

when did "Belief" become a regular contender as the Best Ever EC song?

i had absolutely no idea about this until 5 minutes ago!

Lipstick Vogue was my number one. Beyond Belief was number two. And Watching the Detectives was my number three. What do they call that horse that runs out in front for a while, but only to set the pace for the other horses? That's me, I guess.

Songs that I had in my top 15 that didn't make the list:
- Living in Paradise
- Pidgin English
- Tears Before Bedtime (which I'm shocked missed the cut)

when did "Belief" become a regular contender as the Best Ever EC song?

It made the Pitchfork 500 (2008), I think, so I guess it's been bubbling up for a while.

my ballot:

1. No Action
2. I Want You
3. New Lace Sleeves
4. New Amsterdam
5. Indoor Fireworks
6. This Year's Girl
7. I'll Wear It Proudly
8. Motel Matches
9. The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes
10. Oliver's Army
11. Hoover Factory
12. I Hope You're Happy Now
13. The Beat
14. Accidents Will Happen
15. Big Sister's Clothes
16. America Without Tears
17. King Horse
18. Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head
19. Couldn't Call It Unexpected #4
20.Watch Your Step
21. Peace in Our Time
22. Beyond Belief
23. Welcome to the Working Week
24. Possession
25. Watching the Detectives
26. I Still Have That Other Girl
27. Talking in the Dark
28. It's Time
29. Everyday I Write the Book
30. Pump It Up

ALBUMS

This Year's Model
Trust
King of America
Get Happy!!!
Blood & Chocolate

My ballot. Most of it made the cut, but it's a shame some of it didn't. Too many good EC songs, I guess.

Green Shirt
Party Girl
Man Out of Time
New Amsterdam
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
So Young
Lover's Walk
You Tripped at Every Step
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down
Beyond Belief
Waiting for the End of the World
The Beat
The Loved Ones
White Knuckles
Big Tears
Watching the Detectives
Strict Time
You Bowed Down
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
Tramp the Dirt Down
I Hope You're Happy Now
Radio, Radio
Veronica
New Lace Sleeves
Sulky Girl
Shipbuilding
Days
Town Cryer
Mystery Dance

xp: yeah, seeing "BB" in the Pitchfork 500 book from a while ago was the first sign for me of its growing prominence

my ballot

tracks
1. beyond belief
2. what’s so funny about peace, love, & understanding?
3. lip service
4. shipbuilding
5. the angels want to wear my red shoes
6. the loved ones
7. clean money
8. lipstick vogue
9. new lace sleeves
10. king horse
11. miracle man
12. accidents will happen
13. the beat
14. party girl
15. oliver’s army
16. suit of lights
17. riot act
18. tokyo storm warning
19. deep dark truthful mirror
20. clowntime is over
21. i’m not angry
22. you little fool
23. waiting for the end of the world
24. i don’t want to go to chelsea
25. sleep of the just
26. i hope you’re happy now
27. little atoms
28. strict time
29. hand in hand
30. pills & soap

albums
1. this year’s model
2. imperial bedroom
3. armed forces
4. get happy!!
5. king of america
6. live at el mocambo
7. trust
8. my aim is true
9. blood & chocolate
10. all this useless beauty

"Little Atoms" would make my ballot now.

my tracks:
high fidelity
hoover factory
no action
accidents will happen
new lace sleeves
green shirt
welcome to the working week
moods for moderns
alison
chemistry class
lipstick vogue
stranger in the house
shipbuilding
clubland
oliver's army
from a whisper to a scream
all this useless beauty
just a memory
the beat
lovers walk
you'll never be a man
town crier
watching the detectives
secondary modern
i hope you're happy now
getting mighty crowded
this year's girl
riot act
different finger
everyday i write the book

my albums:
armed forces
this year's model
trust
get happy
taking liberties
my aim is true
blood and chocolate
imperial bedroom
punch the clock
our aim is true (aka "help us hype elvis") (bootleg)

Here's my full ballot:

Songs:

1. Lipstick Vogue
2. Beyond Belief
3. Watching the Detectives
4. (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea
5. Oliver's Army
6. Man Out of Time
7. Pidgin English
8. Living in Paradise
9. Radio Radio
10. Alison
11. Welcome to the Working Week
12. Opportunity
13. Tears Before Bedtime
14. New Amsterdam
15. No Action
16. Accidents Will Happen
17. Watch Your Step
18. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
19. Almost Blue
20. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
21. Waiting for the End of the World
22. Men Called Uncle
23. Indoor Fireworks
24. King Horse
25. Possession
26. The Imposter
27. I Want You
28. New Lace Sleeves
29. The Loved Ones
30. Black & White World

Albums:

1. This Year's Model
2. Imperial Bedroom
3. My Name is True
4. Get Happy!!
5. Trust

my ballot:

1. Pidgin English (seriously, how did this not even make the cut?)
2. Lipstick Vogue
3. Green Shirt
4. Beyond Belief
5. I Want You
6. Big Tears
7. No Action
8. Almost Blue
9. Party Girl
10. Accidents Will Happen
11. Radio Radio
12. Goon Squad
13. You Little Fool
14. Shabby Doll
15. I Hope You're Happy Now
16. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?
17. Tokyo Storm Warning
18. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
19. Tears Before Bedtime
20. New Lace Sleeves
21. Less Than Zero
22. Tiny Steps
23. Clean Money
24. Chemistry Class
25. And In Every Home
26. Uncomplicated
27. Oliver's Army
28. Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head
29. Mystery Dance
30. Man Out Of Time

Great list. A couple of big shocks in the top 10. Like others here I had no idea New Lace Sleeves and Beyond Belief were that popular.

Pidgin English (seriously, how did this not even make the cut?)

Good question. It's such an important song on Imperial Bedroom, hammers home a lot of the main lyrical themes.

Clean Money can't have missed the top 60 by much?

after "veronica" at #60, what was the next highest post-columbia track?

yeah 'pidgin english' surprising omission. somewhat surprised more koa and post-86 didn't make it though it's understandable (esp w/ the lack of consensus for post-86 stuff)

like I said in the nom thread this is the first time in an ILM poll I neglected consensus post-peak material.

I wonder how much of it is lack of consensus and how much of it is lack of interest. How many of us kept up with each post-'86 release?

Spike was confusingly crapulent -- I had to listen to it maybe 30-40 times before I was able to admit to myself that EC had made a sub-par record, despite his best efforts. I thought "Couldn't Call It Unexpected #4" or "Complicated Shadows" might have crept into the lower reaches of the final results. But ultimately "Last Time Around" was such a perfect parting gesture from such a perfectly conceived "final" album that everything after it, no matter how intricately conceived and delivered, feels like an afterthought. It was EC's "In A Hand Or A Face"/The Who By Numbers.

man I heard Spike on a drive home last night and wondered how in HELL people thought "Any King's Shilling" and "Miss Macbeth" formed part of a good album or an album worth endless relistening.

Great poll -- thanks for running it, kornrulez -- I liked the fast rollout, it was the "Lipstick Vogue" of ILM ballot polls.

I had the #1 vote for "Motel Matches." So many songs in the results I wish I'd been able to make room for.
Motel Matches
Town Cryer
New Amsterdam
New Lace Sleeves
Poor Napoleon
Just A Memory
Watching The Detectives
Party Girl
Clowntime Is Over
Shipbuilding
Accidents Will Happen
High Fidelity
Riot Act
Lover’s Walk
I Wanna Be Loved
Strict Time
Girls Talk
Black Sails In The Sunset
The Imposter
Black And White World
Almost Blue
Boy With A Problem
You Little Fool
God Give Me Strength
Lipstick Vogue
This Year’s Girl
Temptation
Sleep of the Just
(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea
Radio Radio

Albums:
Get Happy!!
Imperial Bedroom
Trust
Armed Forces
This Year’s Model

Could you make the full results available, ideally on a googledoc xls? I'd love to dig into the numbers a bit and rank the albums by the points their songs got.

also, cosigning this:

truly truly shocked by that #1.

― fact checking cuz, Friday, December 27, 2013 4:04 PM (29 minutes ago)

But ultimately "Last Time Around" was such a perfect parting gesture from such a perfectly conceived "final" album that everything after it, no matter how intricately conceived and delivered, feels like an afterthought

completely agree w/this. I wanted to get a Warner track on my ballot, but found that even something I liked at the time--like "Couldn't Call It Unexpected" or "London's brilliant Parade" didn't hold a candle to even "Dr. Luther's Asst."

yes, fantastic poll - thank you kornrulez - really enjoyed the results, idiosyncratic without being perverse. Loved the fast rollout too, a nice thing to follow for a couple of post-festive evenings. & It's been a real pleasure going back to EC, like a reconciliation with someone who was important me a long while ago & I've had trouble with ever since.

Also surprised by Beyond Belief fwiw. It's one of five or so songs I like on IB, but so high…

xp I eventually put Just About Glad on mine - I'd enjoyed it when I was listening but yeah, it was more of a gesture, sort of representing the fact he didn't die in 1986 & there are still things I like. From time to time.

26. I Still Have That Other Girl

totally forgot this song existed. it's a good one.

Could you make the full results available, ideally on a googledoc xls? I'd love to dig into the numbers a bit and rank the albums by the points their songs got.

Was away for a bit. I'll be happy to post the full results and everything. I didn't keep score for any song that got under 50 points but I have the spreadsheet with everything. I'll make it available later this evening and then you EC poll data maniacs can have at it.

I loved running it. The fast rollout was not planned, but I'm happy it worked out.

Thanks so much for doing this, kornrulez!

yes, thanks, now I have a couple of dozen unfamiliar EC songs to absorb and/or revisit

You're welcome! It was my pleasure. This poll will live forever in the Hoover Factory of my heart. I think the biggest surprise was the poor showing of King Of America songs. I thought Sleep Of The Just was a lock for the Top 20, but it got only a handful of votes. Jack Of All Parades too.

As for Beyond Belief, I knew it would place high, but like everyone else I was surprised by the margin of victory. It was a true wire to wire winner, there was never a time it wasn't in first place.

To me, it's more of a great production than a great song, but obviously I'm in the minority there.

01 man out of time
02 riot act
03 party girl
04 shabby doll
05 lipstick vogue
06 tiny steps
07 green shirt
08 i want you
09 oliver's army
10 accidents will happen (specifically the live hollywood high version)
11 black and white world
12 watch your step
13 beyond belief
14 suit of lights
15 the beat
16 possession
17 no action
18 goon squad
19 uncomplicated
20 days
21 lovers' walk
22 american without tears
23 watching the detectives
24 jack of all parades
25 invasion hit parade
26 (i don't want to go to) chelsea
27 pump it up
28 little palaces
29 when i was cruel no. 2
30 couldn't call it unexpected no. 4

thanks kornster!

Beyond Belief is truly grea -- amazing balance of being completely in and out of control.

I'm shocks that Night Rally didn't place -- his best, most paranoid and economical political lyric, with the dual meaning of "singing in the showers" (talk about "are you ready for the final solution"...)

Detectives doesn't rate for me either, but "she's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake" is a great line

My weird-ass ballot:

Tracks

1. Brilliant Mistake
2. American Without Tears
3. You Bowed Down
4. Green Shirt
5. Veronica
6. Little Atoms
7. New Amsterdam
8. Oliver's Army
9. Pump It Up
10. Riot Act
11. Radio, Radio
12. Temptation
13. Sleep of the Just
14. Basement Kiss
15. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding
16. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
17. Just About Glad
18. All This Useless Beauty
19. The Other End of the Telescope
20. Watching The Detectives
21. 13 Steps Lead Down
22. This Is Hell
23. I'll Wear It Proudly
24. Accidents Will Happen
25. No Action
26. Little Palaces
27. (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea
28. When I Was Cruel No. 2
29. I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down
30. Tiny Steps

Albums

1. Armed Forces
2. King of America
3. All This Useless Beauty
4. This Year's Model
5. Get Happy!!
6. My Aim Is True
7. When I Was Cruel
8. Costello & Neive

songs

(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea
Watching The Detectives
Party Girl
Alison
No Action
King Horse
Rocking Horse Road
God Give Me Strength
I Hope You’re Happy Now
Lipstick Vogue
Green Shirt
I’ll Wear It Proudly
Beyond Belief
Living In Paradise
It’s Time
Imagination (Is A Powerful Deceiver)
Welcome To The Working Week
Bedlam
Black And White World
Two Little Hitlers
45
So Young
Hand In Hand
High Fidelity
Waiting For The End Of The World
The Long Division
Radio, Radio
Uncomplicated
You Belong To Me
Mystery Dance

albums

This Years Model
My Aim Is True
Armed Forces
Get Happy
Blood And Chocolate
Painted From Memory
All This Useless Beauty
Wise Up Ghost
The Delivery Man
Goodbye Cruel World

Really enjoyed this poll....

ALBUMS
1. this year's model
2. armed forces
3. get happy!!!
4. king of america
5. my aim is true
6. trust
7. blood and chocolate
8. imperial bedroom
9. punch the clock
10. momofuku

TRACKS
1. i want you
2. beyond belief
3. man out of time
4. big tears
5. shipbuilding
6. less than zero
7. radio radio
8. new lace sleeves
9. i'll wear it proudly
10. hoover factory
11. motel matches
12. human hands
13. indoor fireworks
14. green shirt
15. brilliant mistake
16. miracle man
17. watch your step
18. lover's walk
19. this year's girl
20. clowntime is over
21. night rally
22. party girl
23. welcome to the working week
24. lipstick vogue
25. alison
26. pills and soap
27. (i don't want to go to) chelsea
28. no action
29. clean money
30. couldn't call it unexpected no. 4

i'm not surprised at the #1 at all! i always knew it'd be top 10, probably top 5, and as the likely competitors got knocked out earlier than i expected it seemed more and more likely. afaik "Beyond Belief" was never even a single, but it was the first track and clear standout on a #1 Pazz & Jop album, and appeared on both of his first two best-of compilations in 1985 (one of which is his only platinum record in America). totally deserving winner.

I like to force myself to make tough choices by keeping it to 20 tracks but stretched to 25 for this one... not sure I would have got "detectives" in there even at 30 tbh.

1 Brilliant Mistake
2 Green Shirt
3 Big Tears
4 Alison
5 (I Don't Want To) Go To Chelsea
6 New Amsterdam
7 (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
8 Indoor Fireworks
9 Full Force Gale - did not expect this to chart but it's grebt
10 I Want You
11 Accidents Will Happen
12 Tiny Steps
13 Beyond Belief
14 I Hope You're Happy Now
15 This Year's Girl
16 Red Shoes
17 Uncomplicated
18 Oliver's Army
19 The Other End of the Telescope
20 Man Called Uncle
21 Clubland
22 Shipbuilding
23 Riot Act
24 Less Than Zero
25 Good Year For The Roses