"Met a girl called POLL-A and I took her back to my place"--ILM Artist Poll #17--The Kinks

"Nice and smooth…"

http://www.wbur.org/files/2010/04/0408_kinks2.jpg

They forecasted Heavy Metal, Glam, Punk, Twee Pop, and Britpop. They were British Invaders in the 60s, a Theatrical Troupe in the 70s, and Arena Heroes in the 80s, before packing it in in the 90s.

And now The Kinks are getting their own ILM poll!

We’ll be using this list for eligible tracks, which includes every Kinks song, plus the solo works of Ray and Dave.

DETAILS:

• 20 Track Ballots, Scoring as usual: 1:40, 2:36, 3:33, 4:30, 5:28, 6:26, 7:25, 8:24, 9:23, 10:22, 11:21, 12:20, 13:19, 14:18, 15:17, 16:16, 17:15, 18:14, 19:13, 20:12.

• Optional Categories:

• Submit ballots to thevillagegreenpollingsociety at gmail.com
• Deadline is Monday April 16th @ 11:00 PM in Muswell Hill=5:00 PM in Oklahoma USA=3:00 PM in the land of Celluloid Heroes.

Woo-hoo! Been waiting for this one!

Further Reading:

Kinks OPX
The Kinks 1963-1970 : Classic or Dud + Search and Destroy
The Kinks post -1970. Classic or Dud + Search and Destroy
Kinks Deep Cuts: B-sides, rarities, etc.

This is gonna be tough.

yay

HOT DAMN

This is gonna be tough.

― EZ Snappin, Friday, April 6, 2012 8:33 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Absolutely. So many many favourite tracks by this band, and condensing them down to just 20 is going to be a serious pain!

As much as I want to rep for UK Jive, I don't think I can do it with only 20 choices (although "War Is Over" may creep in at #20).

Ballot sent!

ha that was fast.

well I assume #1 will be Waterloo Sunset but uh... urgh this is more daunting than the Stones one. may not vote.

#1 #1 #1 "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" #1 #1 #1

i don't know if i can handle this tbh

ha that was fast.

― tylerw, Friday, April 6, 2012 9:28 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I tried not to overthink this one too much. I just made a ranked list of all The Kinks songs I love the most, and then cropped everything from position 20 onwards. Which was hard, but there we are!

fuck it - voted

At least two ballots already in before I got a chance to rep for "Mindless Child of Motherhood," dammit. You guys are too fast.

whoa, we haven't even christened #1 over at stones poll....so looking forward to this one, though!

tbf, the #1 in the Stones poll was christened as soon as rogermexico agreed to run a Stones poll.

that's true

I have to rep for this, my favorite late-70s Kinks song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHEIetihjRM

this'll prob be the first poll I vote in

I want to start a movement to put Ducks on the Wall at #1. C'mon people...

Ducks On The Poll would be a good roll-out title.

My baby's got the most remarka-POLL taste...

Mindless Child of POLLerhood

POLL-A. PO-PO-PO-POLL-A.

POLLa

arggh xp

missed a PO but you see where I'm goin'

I want to start a movement to put Ducks on the Wall at #1. C'mon people...

― dlp9001, Friday, April 6, 2012 10:53 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That actually made my LONG list just for the LOL factor alone! Whether or not it made my final poll remains to be seen ;)

This Man He POLLs Tonight

POLLoway Jail

POLL time won't be the same without mah Donna...

a well respected POLL

dedicated POLLower of fashion

Land of POLL and gloria

You just have to POLL me til the sun shines!

Dedicated POLLower of Fashion

this poll is gonna confirm for me once and for all whether Muswell Hillbillies is actually any cop. never heard a note of it yet love The Kinks' singles etc.

arg oops, sorry rob didn't see yours lol

I kinda want to do this but my ballot would probably be mainly hits, since I never dug v deeply into the catalog :/

Muswell Hillbillies is my favorite Kinks album.

Miming, but hey, it's "DAYS"

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

I only know Face to Face, VGPS, and Arthur...where should I go next, Muswell Hillbillies? (thanks in advance)

I'd go Lola vs. Powerman, then Muswell. Gives a better sense of the evolution that got them there.

thanks!

Yeah, I completely agree with EZ on this one. There's one or two tracks on Lola vs. Powerman which kinda signpost the way to the direction that they'd take on Muswell Hillbillies. I think I actually prefer Lola vs. Powerman of the two, but Muswell Hillbillies is a great record.

underrated (imo) Kinks songs for your consideration:

Animal Farm
Wicked Annabella
Rainy Day In June
Brainwashed
Love Me Til The Sun Shines
Yes Sir, No Sir
Nothing To Say
Two Sisters
I Need You

I kinda want to do this but my ballot would probably be mainly hits, since I never dug v deeply into the catalog :/

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, April 6, 2012 6:58 PM

Same situation here, but it won't keep me from voting.

I only know Face to Face, VGPS, and Arthur...where should I go next, Muswell Hillbillies? (thanks in advance)

― Iago Galdston, Friday, April 6, 2012 5:29 PM (44 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd go Lola vs. Powerman, then Muswell. Gives a better sense of the evolution that got them there.

― EZ Snappin, Friday, April 6, 2012 5:31 PM (43 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

If this means you haven't heard Something Else... and you dig the albums you mentioned, I can literally guarantee you will love that one too.

that said, Lola might be a more interesting next step for the sake of feeling out their range

Sent my ballot. Hope it was received!

voted, not that I'm an expert in the band, but I like a bunch of their stuff so w/e

I think this POLL is affecting my brain.

Done. Sent.

I know that bad things have probably happened to All Day and All Of the Night over the years (Picture Book, I'm looking at you), but that song is SO TUFF. It makes anyone who's playing it seem just a little (sometimes a lot) cooler than they were before they starting playing the song. It's like magic.

I hope people don't forget to vote for it. I hope the Come Dancing people represent too because that little sweetie got cut p early :(

voted for both of those

phew! i voted for day/night top 5.

I like so many other songs from the AD/AN era more than it, though if I'd had another 10 or so ballot spots it would've made it on.

yeah, all day... is cool but a few other early rockers got my vote in lieu

I hope people don't forget to vote for it.

Some of us might have even voted it #1. (imo it is Empire Strikes Back to the Star Wars of "You Really Got Me.")

That's a great way of putting it. YRGM just hints at the craunch of AD/AN. The latter made my top five easily. Also, best snare sound in the entire Kinks katalog.

Last Day! Get yr ballots in if you haven't.

Remember too, that the ballot is up to TWENTY songs, THREE most hated, and FIVE best albums.

If you only know 5 or 10 Kinks song, vote! The more the merrier.

*songs

noo that is really bad poll advice

a poll w/ 10 hardcore fans has more interesting results than one w/ 100 people who just know the hits

Point taken.

a poll w/ more than 10 people is always better than a poll w/ 10 people

i mean if you only want to measure the opinion of some exclusive elite you can do a private goon poll, but if you're measuring public opinion of the board you should welcome anyone who wants to vote

well it depends on what you want out of a poll but as a general trend the more people participating the more predictable the results. for artists like the kinks where someone might use this list as a way to dive into a pretty deep catelogue, the exclusive elite serve a noble purpose and greatest hits people are just watering it down.

when I become king of ilm we will weigh these polls by how much of a fan you consider yourself so the greatest hits people 'get to play' but don't screw up the purity of the poll that much

That elitist bullshit is not a good look. I'm with some dude on this. Just because well known favorites top a list doesn't mean the rest of the list would be useless. the "elites" will be served by posting their ballots afterwords, as always.

er 'catalogue'

at this point we've polled a ton of artists who have both bit ubiquitous hits and more obscure cult-beloved material and in general i think the cultists have been amply represented in pretty much every case

well ilm is filled w/ cultists, I'm just arguing against voting for the sake of voting

presumably nobody is just throwing song titles in an e-mail for the hell of it, as long as they like some Kinks songs isn't that reason enough?

not arguing for the sake of arguing?
xp

well lots of people like some kinks songs I just think people who like some kinks songs but have heard more than 20 kinks songs are probably better people to go to for opinions on kinks songs

if no deep cut places above "You Really Got Me" the same way "Sway" placed 40 spaces above "Start Me Up" or the way "The Rain Song" placed 20 spaces above "Whole Lotta Love," that's gotta be a reflection on the Kinks' catalog and how people feel about it, not about whether Johnny Fever was being too nice to the posers

nah kinks are a different beast than the rolling stones, more comparable to the beach boys where you have deep cuts that even casual fans haven't even heard of

In order to participate in this poll, 1. please demonstrate that you have memorized "Sweet Lady Genevieve" in its entirety, and 2. submit a short essay explaining its significance, both in terms of the Kinks' overall career, and with regard to current events at the time. You will receive your results within one week, and those scoring above the 90th percentile may submit their votes at that time. Thank you.

otm

20? I did 30 on my poll!

Ok, cut off at 20.

Thought it was too easy...

jeez guys we need a break i didn't even do a stone ballot, this is all too fact

/brokenrecord

if the stones were like the kinks (in the US at least) it would be like if people only knew "it's all over now" and "the last time" and then goat's head soup

Voted. Looking forward to the US/UK disparity.

Listen y'all, don't sweat it -- I can assure you that I have chosen the 20 best Kinks songs and voted for them. Don't worry! It's covered!

I think the best polls have a mix of hardcore and casual fans; for the documentary poll, I encouraged abbreviated ballots, and I'll do the same for Neil Young. The lengthier and more esoteric ballots will take care of themselves.

I see we're about an hour away from the deadline. I'd like to extend it to Midnight CST tonight in hopes of more ballots.

Voted - wouldn't have made it if wasn't for the deadline extension.

I, for one, am very excited to see the results of this.

I'm already cursing myself for some unforgivable omissions. Oh well.

About 15 minutes left!

Polls are closed.

41 Ballots in. I should be able to do an albums rollout and possibly worst tracks fairly soon. I used the spreadsheet to log all tracks votes, and just need to organize into ranks.

Thanks to all who voted, and I feel many will be pleased w/the results, altough I can already hear the cries of "Too Low!".

TOO LOW

Can we extend the poll a week and see if other folks want to submit ballots?

41 ballots seems like a really good turnout for this band!

I thought that.

41 ballots seems like a really good turnout for this band!

My thoughts exactly. This wasn't the easiest poll to vote in, particularly for Americans given the Spotify situation and that much of their key work is only available as imports or in substandard domestic editions on CD.

That said, I've managed to carve out a "Top 50" tracks list and will be up shortly on a new thread w/top albums and then hated tracks as opening acts.

huzzah

Oh good, a full 50!