The Stone Roses b-sides poll

kinda tough - can't decide between Standing Here, Mersey Paradise, and What the World is Waiting For

Standing Here, Where Angels Play, and Something's Burning are my favourites. I think Standing Here might win, but I'm gonna think on it for a while.

i chose "ring a ding ding ding i'm going down"

jsut cos it's the catchiest.

but standing here, mersey paradise, what the world is waiting for could easily have taken my vote.

i have the What The World Is Waiting For t-shirt. still wear it but only around the house as it's practically see-through. voted for Somethings Burning which I love deeply. used to beat match it with one of the tracks off Two Lone Swordsmen - Stockwell Steppas ep.

the real question is will anyone vote for the backwards tracks?

I really, really, really love Simone, have for years and years. But I'm not voting for it; it's third or fourth favourite at best.

Bumpy bumpy.

"Going Down"

"What the World is Waiting for" barely edges out "Going Down". Both are CLASSIC.

I love 'Something's Burning' and 'Where Angels Play' and went for the latter because Bimble got all excited about it recently. I can't believe Silvertone threw it away as a b-side.

"What The World Is Waiting For" >>>>>>>> "Fools Gold"

that's crazy talk!

Geir IS crazy.

i have the What The World Is Waiting For t-shirt. still wear it but only around the house as it's practically see-through.

Snap. Actually, mine isn't holding up too bad. In fact I may even wear it out today, which I haven't done in about fifteen years or something.

was it really true that 'what the world...' was actually going to be an a side and it got switched? never sounded like much of an a side to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtntk7_3-9A

im tempted to say breakout just for Ian Brown dropping a verse from that terminator x / juvenile delinquintz song, but i'll have to go with standing here.

Thanks to this thread, I spent last night watching Stone Roses videos.

All Across the Sands for me. I always think of it as the Wasp Factory rewritten as a folk rock tune. That's just a personal thing, there is much greatness here - Where Angels Play and Mersey Paradise in particular.

'Where Angels Play' ..... I can't believe Silvertone threw it away as a b-side.

― Ismael Klata, Friday, 14 August 2009 19:24 (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

They didn't! They rescued it from being 'unused' off the sessions for the first LP!

It was their big find the first time the album was repackaged, but they put it out with 'I Wanna Be Adored' instead of using it as a bonus enticement

Tough, probably going to go with Going Down or Standing Here but I really like most of these.

Standing Here by a whisker over Where Angels Play, but really the whole run from Elephant Stone to Fools Gold is delightful - I'd forgotten how fresh, sweet, light and innocent they could sound.

"fresh, sweet, light and innocent" is exactly right; the undertone of threat / malice that creeps through lyrically is a perfect, delicious counterbalance to that. The coda of Standing Here; "I could park a juggernaught in your mouth / and I can feel the hurricane when you shout / I should be safe forever in your arms". Awesome.

Has anyone ever done anything that sounds like Something's Burning? They were channelling something I've never heard replicated on that tune.

Can, not a specific track but the whoole groove. I wish they'd taken time to just record more jams like that.

I guess there are similarities to Future Days in a way, and maybe bits of Ege and Tago. I'm still hearing it as something apart from that, though...

Bjork's 'Human Behaviour' reminds me of it a little bit too.

something's burning always reminded me of a precursor to a man called sun by verve

The end of Where Angels Play might be my favourite musical bit ever.

i'm leaning towards "Going Down" but want to play all these songs again before i vote, luckly i have some time.

what a great collection of songs!

Man Called Sun's definitely trying to get to Something's Burning, but it's just nowhere near as good.

^ agreed.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

3 weeks pass? Blimey, this was a long poll!

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

Surprised at the low showing for Going Down considering how utterly classic it is. Among their (admittedly many fine) b-sides, I think that is the one that clearly stands with their best material overall. I can't recall if I voted in this poll or not..

fuck! I just italicized a song title!

huh, 'something's burning' is horrible and 'what the world is waiting for' is just kind of there.

^^^ I totally agree with this. This is a very hard poll. I guess I'd go with Mersey Paradise, but I'd have a hard time not voting for Where Angels Play, Going Down, and Standing Here. Also, you left our "I Am Without Shoes," which is far and away their best backwards track. I love it, it's like listening to a dream.

Would have voted for 'Where Angels Play'... it helps that I like the song, but I enjoy listening to it mostly because of the drumming. Reni does some great things with the hi-hat in this track!

otm, reni is this band, imo

I can't believe "What the World is Waiting for" won by so much. I think of it as one of the lesser B-sides.

Yup, me too. Really confused as to why 'Something's Burning' came so high as well.

I totally voted for What the World is Waiting For, it's the song in their catalog that splits the difference between their dance music and 60s pop sides most successfully.

The issue that I have with 'What The World Is Waiting For' is that I don't particularly think it's a good song :/

it's really not. I always skip that one, as well as "Something's Burning," which also seems fairly mediocre. The next 6 after those two in the poll are phenomenal.

I do not understand the criteria for which WTWIWF is "not a good song"

it seems fairly half-assed compared to most of their early catalog. It's Stone Roses by-the-numbers.

kinda nice to see some SR love on ilm

xxpost:

In that, strip it down to its bare essence, the top line and the chord progression, and I don't think it even compares to the tracks that Poliopolice was referring to. I honestly think if you stripped this song down it would expose the song as being... not all that. I've always felt the chorus in particular on 'What The World Is Waiting For' is as flat as a fart and just "kind of there" as another poster mentioned above. I just don't find it catchy and it just doesn't fill me with the enthusiasm or hit my 'pleasure centre' as much as 'Mersey Paradise', or 'Where Angels Play', or... several tracks on Second Coming, even. The part that sticks in the cranium on 'What The World Is Waiting For' is the "stop the world, I'm getting off" part, and by the time that rolls around I've pretty much already switched off from the tedium of the verses and the flat chorus.

With Turrican on WTWIWF. Never got it. Adore Something Burning though.

I just noticed that "One Love" is missing from this poll. That's a good one.

'One Love' and 'Elephant Stone' were singles though, weren't they? So they'll be exempt from a B-sides poll :/