Skylarking Poll

And my vote for "Grass" is in. Might as well have been any of the first four though. Or "Season Cycle".

''Earn Enough For Us'' got my vote, but really, almost anything on this disc would be a fine choice.

'Dying' not offered as option, which is a shame, considering I was actually tempted to place my vote there. Fortunately, I haven't opted for Moulding's maudlin melody, choosing instead the perfect Partridge paean 'Another Satellite'. Now THERE'S an 80's keyboard sound that hasn't dated; somehow it still sounds futuristic! As in 'Complicated Game', he totally nails the vocal echo-effects too.

Brellas brellas brellas.

"Grass."

although it doesnt represent the sound of most of skylarking:"another satellite".
and yes, almost every song here can be a fine choice.

p.s. theres something very special about side 2 of the vinyl version - this psych pop atmosphere that is rare in quality...

sacrificial bonfire!

wow...i don't think i've heard this record in at least 15 years. but when i did listen to it, it was every single day (sometimes twice a day) for about six months straight. so i remember it well. i can't decide between "earn enough for us" (the song that initially drew me to the album, with the most perfect snare sound ever) or "the meeting place" (which for me best captures the overall essence of the record).

"Grass" for me thanks

Did "That's Really Super, Supergirl" make it into "My Super Ex-Girlfriend"? If there was ever a use for that song, it was going in a movie with that premise. Andy Partridge should be furious with his people if he didn't even get the offer.

"Dear God" wasn't even on the original UK pressing, it was the b-side to "Grass" and was added to the US release after it became a bit of a sensation.

Anybody else reppin' for 'Ballet for a Rainy Day" ? 'Cuz it's a persistent earworm in the remyverse; one of the few songs I wish were available on backwater karaoke machines & received constant and consistent airplay on commercial eclectic ray-dee-oh. Honest to gorsh, the opening ooohrange - and - leehmons is one of my pretty-fave XTC moments of, uh, evah.

No one ever agrees w/me, but I love "1000 Umbrellas" most on this record -- but many other fine choices ("Ballet" or "Grass" probably closest in line now, tho for a while, "Supergirl" was my fave).

I'm the lamo who doesn't get Skylarking at all. Or English Settlement. However, I purchased Drums and Wires the other day, and I love love LOVE IT. Great record. I'm going to spend a while getting acquainted with that, and Black Sea (which I also purchased), and then work my way forward. Then I will apologize for not appreciating Skylarking. Then I will get married and die, later.

"Summer's Cauldron" -- such an ace leadoff cut and the best summer song evah.

i got yer back, remy. ballet all the way. that piano & guitar bit before, during & after
"when it rains it rains
all the colours in my paintbox"
is just the best few seconds of their career

This is nearly impossible! But it's summer and so needs be "Grass". Ask again in November and it'll be "Earn Enough".

andy: ballet for a rainy day
colin: grass

overall: ballet

I always felt that "Earn Enough" was a total rehash of "Love On A Farmboys's Wages".

Hmm. Too bad the site I got it from didn't include "Dying". In a way, the best version of "Skylarking" is the current remaster, which features both "Dying" and "Dear God".

dying is in there, geir; the error, you'll notice, is yours :-D

Not an easy choice, but 'Supergirl' gets my vote.

"Summer's Cauldron" wins for me, although it's got "Ballet For a Rainy Day" breathing down it's neck.

Season Cycle.

Earn Enough yo! (Mermaid Smiled is close though)

I had to spread a little love toward "Mermaid Smiled."

But I could be convinced to vote for nearly anything on here -- nearly voted for "The Meeting Place," would vote for just the guitar solo in "Supergirl," love the hell out of "Ballet," think "Umbrellas" is probably a high point of Partridge songwriting, have kind of a thing for "Big Day," and was actually going to knee-jerk vote for "Dying" before I saw I couldn't. "Dying" is ... a small, amazing thing, and something about the quietness and the clock's tick-tock seem to perfectly conjure up the hushed tone of a house that news of death has recently been through. (It invariably brings images to my head of my father sitting quietly at the end of his bed the day after my grandmother died.)

The only one I really have any problem with is "Earn Enough for Us," which is ... fine, but just kind of an average XTC throwback track.

umbrellas

this might wind up the most evenly split and hotly-contested ILM poll...ever!

I think I bought Elvis Costello's Juliet Letters thing hoping it might run a little like "1,000 Umbrellas," but it ... did not.

dying is in there, geir

Not in the Wikipedia article, no.

Geir, read your poll very closely. Note particularly the line for "The Man Who Sailed around His Soul."

Man this was ROUGH. This hurt me in my tender places. The obvious answer was Umbrellas, because of all the maudlin mixtapes it ended up on back in high school, but nevertheless I found myself clicking on Another Satellite. SKYLARKING -- the album that escorts you ever closer to death. PS "Big Day" was in my head throughout my wedding day, which can't be a good sign.

Grass

If it weren't for Dear God, I'd never listen to this album ever. It's my least favorite XTC record.

:(

on 2nd thought, i wanna change my vote to "the meeting place"

It's true: the "You're a working girl now" bit is such a perfect pop moment.

i would like to hear a cover version of this song done by A.C. Newman, produced by John Collins on the 2nd Newman solo LP.
sometimes wishes comes true..

voted "summer's cauldron" and its buzzing, dank atmospheres

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk41Gbjljfo

dear god has always been an abomination before, er, that guy.
srsly, i was lucky enough to buy the original release when it came out (i r old) without it. as most of you know, andy partridge has always sort of dismissed it as being a bit too obvious and not very interesting. i'm glad it raised their profile and such, but it is by far the worst song associated with skylarking.

I like "Dear God" but it is far from my favourite "Skylarking" track. It sounds more like "old" XTC musically than the rest of "Skylarking" does, so I guess that's why it appeals to those who will otherwise tend to prefer "Black Sea", "English Settlement" or "Drums And Wires"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozu8KGFH-CU

Is it bad of me to be excited about the inevitable nerd seizure that will accompany "Dear God" winning this poll?

no, but i'm not so sure it will

how can you smile and forecast

My guess is "Dear God" will get most of the votes from those who just vote without posting in the thread. This is based upon experience from other ILM polls.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

once again, Moulding trumps Partridge in the "quality" department (while still failing comparatively miserably in the "quantity" dept)

i have to say i'm kind of surprised.
the winner is obv.
but "earn enough" 2nd?
dear god 3rd?
and where is the love for the meeting place,summer cauldron and ballet for a rainy day?

I voted for meeting place. Then it would have been ballet.

Is it bad of me to be excited about the inevitable nerd seizure that will accompany "Dear God" winning this poll?

-- John Justen, Saturday, 28 July 2007 18:07 (4 days ago)

;_;

yeah, results seems a little strange, and somehow I feel it says something about xtc!

I would have voted for "the man who sailed around his soul" purely for the performance filmed at Portmeirion, (prisoner fans).

"somehow I feel it says something about xtc!"

you mean about ilx

dear god and earn enough are good songs, but their production is much more simple,and skylarking they didnt bring the reputation of a masterpiece to the record.
just fine 80's songs from the radio.

purely for the performance filmed at Portmeirion

?!? was this for a video or something? me want

haha Andy looks totally bored

Oh man, even lumped together "Man Who Sailed" and "Dying" got no votes? Hahaha, poor songs.

Yay, first time a choice of mine has come in first in a poll! (w/out being a foregone-conclusionary victor ala "Master of Puppets" or "Sign 'O The Times")

it's a pity 'the man who sailed around his soul dying' didn't get a vote. best emo title ever ;)

ha!

This is a favorite clip btw:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRQGZUKS2Y

This record is frustrating to me. Tracks like Summer's Cauldron are filled with all sorts of beautiful and inventive melodic ideas, but in the end they are spoiled for me by overstuffed lyrical content. I wish that the songs were left with more breathing room. It too often ends up sounding like sitting over a scrabble board while overcaffeinated rather than lying in the grass tripping

love this album

was nice to finally see the OG artwork

has anyone heard the new re-phased version?

re: overstuffed lyrical content. XTC, despite being a formative band for me, are one of those bands whose lyrics usually don't stick for me. I've heard this record a thousand times, but I couldn't recite most of the lyrics to "Summer's Cauldron" on a bet. I *love* that song, mind you! It's like a neighborhood I've driven through since childhood but never bothered to take down the street names.

huh, yeah, that's interesting how that happens with some songs one hears a million times

Overstuffed lyrical content is one of my favorite things about XTC! Trouser Press (on English Settlement, but the point remains:)

His prolix lyrics on offbeat but straightforward topics (war, paranoia, even love) read better than they sing and, as recorded, must be read to be understood.

And I never did sit down with a lyric sheet, so it's taken many plays for some of them to sink in.

the best is when you find yourself humming a song you haven't heard in months. that's really super, supergirl

Brellas brellas brellas.

The drumming on "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" is fantastic.

It's amazing to think that Skylarking was mostly tracked without drums and the drums were pretty much one of the last things to go on. A very unusual way of working, and I'm surprised it turned out so well.

milton parker come share Prairie Prince stories!!!!

xp yeah that is absolutely incredible. some click track. i mean my god, what a nightmare that must've been. can you imagine if that hadn't worked out? but the drums on Earn Enough for Us are fantastic.

also, Grass?? i mean, shit... why is Supergirl so low

finally feels like springtime, time again to break out this record

I’m not nuts about xtc but I am nuts about “that’s really super supergirl” and “earn enough for us”