I DON'T WANT TO POLL ON WITH YOU LIKE THAT: The Elton John ballot poll voting thread!

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Rank your top 20 Elton John tracks. If you feel like digging deep and including duets and/or other things he's sung on, that's your prerogative. Really, though...can't you find 20 Elton John songs to vote for?

normal scoring: 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.

Parts 2 and 3, both optional:

2. Include your ranking of Elton John's five best albums.

3. Send a ranked list of your three MOST HATED Elton John tracks, with #1 being most hated. The votes from this ballot won't negatively affect the point totals for tracks -- I'll do a separate "most hated" countdown.

Send your ballots to me at johnnyilxfever AT gmail dot com, or via ILXmail. Deadline is midnight EDT, August 19th. That's a Monday night.

Cliffs:
1. Ranked ballot of TWENTY (20) Elton John, etc. tracks
2. Ranked list of FIVE (5) favorite Elton John albums
3. Ranked list of THREE (3) most-hated Elton John tracks
4. Deadline is @ MIDNIGHT MONDAY, AUGUST 19TH

True confession right up top: "The Last Song" sometimes makes me cry like a baby.

Yes! A major artist who is also pretty much terra incognita - this is the holy grail, what a treat.

Also, "Crocodile Rock" makes me want to kill. I've been able to suppress that impulse so far in life, but that may not always be the case.

I'm pretty ignernt of his work past the 70s -- will do some listening for this poll. Don't sleep on Rock of the Westies, y'all!

I'm pretty sure my earliest memory of Elton was the "I'm Still Standing" video. Even though his fame had diminished a little in the 80s, it still always seemed like he was around—new albums, new singles—and I really like a lot of his work in that decade.

It's basically The Lion King-thru-present day that you have to dig for gold in mounds of feces.

It's there though. Songs from the West Coast is the one album we own, quite a few nice numbers on that. 'Original Sin' is a lovely ballad.

Earliest memory: "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" on The Muppets.

Best album: Rock of the Westies or Honky Chateau but GYBR and Caribou have highlights.

Healing Hands and Sacrifice from 1989 are definitely worth not sleeping on when voting time comes around.

They were his first UK no.1s iirc

although all his albums have clunkers here and there, his run of nine studio albums from 1970 to 1975 is pretty damn amazing.

"i want love" holds up as a great single from the 2000s.

^^^ that's how I feel about "This Train Don't Stop."

that one's good too!

here's where I admit: "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me," "Daniel," and especially "Crocodile Rock" leave me cold.

crocodile rock is sick man

I like Rob Sheffield's terse description of "Daniel": "apparently about dropping your brother off at the airport."

lol tell me there's no subtext

here's where i admit for probably the third or fourth time on ILM: bernie taupin is a godawful lyricist whose lyrics sound amazing coming out of elton john's mouth.

Earliest memory: "Rocket Man" on the radio when it was a hit. Liked that; didn't much like the next one, "Honkey Cat"; liked the one after that, "Crocodile Rock"; didn't like the next one at all, "Daniel." After that, he was huge.

I think that's pretty otm xp

Woo! 'Snowed In On Wheeler Street' from the last Kate Bush album.

as an example of how badly he can sing?

His duet with Pete Doherty at Live 8

Listening right now to the whole Too Low for Zero album, and it's just one good track after another. Title track is pushing all my buttons atm.

I'll rely on you fine people to let me know how many songs are worth salvaging b/w the Blue Moves-Jump Up! period.

TLFZ has "Cold as Christmas" and "Religion" as solid album tracks.

I'm here to 100% rep for The Union with Leon Russell. If you havent' heard the album, please please hasten. It's gorgeous and p marvellous.

Also the acommpanying documentary about making the album is worth yr time (v tearjerky)

Cocaine's a helluva drug:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh2hkTzcT7c

I've been meaning to listen to that. I saw them play on tv a few places during the PR push for that album, and it was always really nice. xp

Does he have some kind of pony/rat tail hybrid in the Heartache All Over the World video?

he's on some cocaine/speed hybrid in that video

^^^ that's how I feel about "This Train Don't Stop."

― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, August 6, 2013 5:00 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that one's good too!

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, August 6, 2013 5:00 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, this is better than I remember. Which 00s single had Justin Timberlake as young EJ in the video? Was it this one? I know Robert Downey Jr. did one too.

"This Train," which I saw for the first time stoned in a Disney World hotel room in early 2002. For the length of the video I didn't move.

We All Fall In Love Sometimes is so great

(xp) robert downey jr did "i want love" and justin timberlake did "this train." that was a pretty awesome run of two videos.

I just watched them both for the first time in many years. Very good indeed.

I always think that I don't like 'honky cat' but whenever I hear it I fall in love with it again

Oh, that song is fantastic.

I have never listened to Honky Chateau

maan oh man Mellow might be my perfect ideal of an Elton John song. His voice, and that gorgeous piano is just sending me off to another place

I fucking loved 'I'm still standing' when I was a kid.

I like to think Elton listened to Nilsson and tried to write his own Nilsson tunes ("I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself," "Slave").

We All Fall In Love Sometimes is so great

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, August 6, 2013 5:36 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This understated reading may be my fave Elton John cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUq9sgPqfJ8

^^^ otm i love that

Yeah, that's how I knew it first. Left me gasping for breath many a time.

elton's two-part harmony with himself (at least i think it's himself) on the chorus of "mona lisas and mad hatters" is one of my favorite vocal moments by anyone.

I like to think Elton listened to Nilsson and tried to write his own Nilsson tunes ("I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself," "Slave").

Paul Williams was in this clique as well.

Listening right now to the whole Too Low for Zero album, and it's just one good track after another. Title track is pushing all my buttons atm.

i was obsessed with this record when i was a kid

i like don't expect to participate in this poll bc elton's a big blindspot for me except for too low and the first greatest hits. and, weirdly, made in england, which i remember as both kinda leaden and kinda great

Possibly controversial most-hated vote: "Bennie and the Jets." Though, you know, still better than any of those damn Lion King singles.

Not having received any ballots, I can't take ilm's temperature of Elton favorites...but I'd expect Bennie to be one of the big contenders for coming in #1. Or not. Who knows.

is that Elton playing all the synths on the TLFZ title track?

I was listening to Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) at lunchtime and had this AMAZING lightbulb go off

What if Saturday Night was covered in the style of Bruce Springsteen's Racing in the Street
...and Racing in the Street covered in the style of Saturday Night.

I think that would sound p hilarious/awesome. In my head it seriously sounded like the greatest thing. MAN I wish I could play/sing/etc

As the runner of this poll, I won't say anything about its performance in the voting, but as a fan of songs that are good, I'll say that Sartorial Eloquence is getting slept on by a lot of people!

his own fault for not including lesser singles on his comps

"Part-Time Love" also good.

so will "Island Girl" make ballots? It's the most neglected of the imperial phase #1's imo

I gave it a bit of help!

I pretended it didn't happen

yeahhhhh

like, it's not hated in the visceral way like Sacrifice or Crocodile Rock, but it's a bit, hmm...shrill? Something. It kinda bugs me enough that I won't seek it out and I tend not to care if I hear it or not.

hahaha 'island girl' made my ballot so to speak

"Little Jeannie" on my most-hated list. That thing is like being boiled in oil.

hated in the visceral way like Sacrifice

http://awesomelyluvvie.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/EltonJohnshadeface.gif

Hey Mr. Fever,

I just sent you an email, hoping to swap out 1 song for another. Please let me know if this is possible

Sacrifice is viscerally hated?

YES. COME AT ME

Though to be fair, it's not really anything about the song itself that I hate as much the association of my mum playing it at full bore whenever she was depressed, which, after you've heard it for the 10,000th time at earshattering volume something inside you just kind of snaps

so now it's Elton's fault

I also really hate Circle of Life. Like, REALLY hate it.

What do you hate about it most?

So much to do that can't be done
so much to see that can't be seen
so much BLAH that can't be BLAHHHH'd

and the way it's all frumphed up with huge orchestra everywhere like a big horrible ugly dress with a thousand petticoats that just blocks your view and you are forced to stare at it and the more you stare at it the more you hate it and the person wearing it etc

also I could give a shit about the lion king

*oddly enough I do quite like Can You Feel the Love. Feels more classic elton somehow? A bit less bombastic than Circle

I can absolutely see how one can viscerally hate Circle Of Barf and Can You Feel The Barf Tonight tho...

my gift is my ballot, and this one's for johnny fever

Just less than an hour left!

CAAAAAN YOU FEEEEEEL THE POLL TONIIIIIIGHT

That might not be the best wording.

lol I just realized that

then again ...maybe it is :D

Just less than an hour left!

wait, can we west coasters have till our own midnite? please?

Sorry. I can't stay up until 3am for this to close and then still start rolling things out tomorrow.

yikes! ok, ballot coming by 12:15 ET, which i hope i can get a pass for!

And it's no SACRIFIIIICE, just a simple POLLLL...

Yeah, I can do that.

thanks!

15 min grace period, everybody!

.... nets at least one extra ballot

just sent

submitted! with one minute to spare!

Got it!

Okay, voting is officially closed.

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CIIIIIIIIIRcle of LAYF

the wheeeeeeeeeeeeel of faaaawwwwwchuuuuuuuuun

Pretty bummed that I'm away from home right now and won't be able to spend the rollout babbling prodigiously about each and every entry. Seems like a really solid turnout, too!

Elton John, "Circle of Life" - Classic Or Dud? i stand by it all

petticoats. piles and piles of petticoats

Seems like a really solid turnout, too!

32 ballots in the end. That's respectable, for sure.

Will do albums, worst songs and 50-41 tomorrow. Might not have the spare time to spend on graphics for this poll (boo!), but maybe I'll carve out time to make some for the top 10.

just pick your usual cool font and we'll all be happy!

Results!

Since this poll I've had two Elton songs stuck on my head nearly each day and they are "Club at the End of the Street" and "A Word in Spanish" so...thanks

Haha! Late period EJ earworms to be sure.

Club at the End of the Street is hideous

shadooby