They Call Me... Fall Singles Poll!

Marquis Cha-Cha/Room to Live

I was absolutely certain I was going to vote Lie Dream.../Fantastic Life, but I've surprised myself by flipping over to Kicker/Wings. The bonus Peel single doesn't even factor in-- with Kicker you've got your archetypal Fall one-legged rhythmic workout, and with Wings you've got your nonpareil MES psykick shaggy dog story.

Come on, people. You're all at lunch, aren't you?

o fuck no! how can i do this?

I CANNOT DECIDE!

Long weekend ahead, grimly. Make playlist, drink a jar of coffee.

okay. because i let my inner 16-year-old down on the cure albums poll, i've gone for what, for me, was the core fall moment; the point where this band i vaguely knew about began to gel and make sense. namely "free range".

and i very much doubt anyone else will rep it, so yay me.

but FUCK ME, i could have gone for almost any of them.

<i>drink a jar of coffee</i>

... see, i had this in my head the other day and perhaps i should have voted for it.

BUT NO. i have made my decision.

(nb: i was 16 when "code: selfish" came out, to explain what might otherwise appear a confusing statement above.)

"Luciani" because of the harpsichord-y sounding intro or something. I came here planning to vote "Kicker Conspiracy".

Free Range is top 10 Fall material, no doubt. Who can touch a cheap keyboard without jabbing out its hook?

It'd be in the running for me if I cared more for its B-Side.

Are you gonna buy the new Code:Selfish remaster, Grimly? I wonder if it will improve the dull sound on the original.

That record sounds great! On vinyl, anyway...

Totally Wired / Putta Block

This is tough question.

no kidding

toughie = Draygo's Guilt/ Clear Off/ No Bulbs

(made me realize i like Fall EPs better than singles)

best cover is dead easy

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/couldntgetahead_lg.jpg

I'm initially leaning towards "how I wrote 'elastic man'" but this will take some rumination.

kicker conspiracy, wings, and container drivers all on one? this is unfair.

I was actually surprised, going through a discography page, how much I love the line-drawing cover of the Reformation single, with the three alien-looking dudes.

(xxpost)

I could've sworn there was a "birmingham school of business school" single, no?

totally wired but fuck was this hard

kicker conspiracy/wings. hardest one yet

so many favorites: "Various Times", "Totally Wired", "Man Whose Head Expanded", "Fantastic Life", and "I'm Into C.B." are all dragged down by the other side of the single, I guess that leaves "Kicker".

very, very difficult.

"Ludd Gang" is, depending on when you ask me, my favorite Fall song ever.

Yeah, I def. think of "Expanded" "Fantastic" and "C.B." as all having really strong flipsides. Agree though about "Putta Block" and "It's The New Thing".

Like NV, I came intending to vote for "Kicker Conspiracy", instead I went for "the man who's head expanded" "lie dream of a casino soul". NOT an easy one to choose, there are so many good ones!

No love for "Fiery Jack" from anyone else?

'Kicker Conspiracy' for me even though I have a soft spot for 'Living Too Late.' Kicker is ok, but it was the b-sides that carried it.

xpost: yes, plenty. just re-opening this thread made me think i might use my OTHER, NOT VERY SECRET LOGIN to vote again :/

Are you gonna buy the new Code:Selfish remaster, Grimly? I wonder if it will improve the dull sound on the original.

bought it last monday! :)

it sounds, er, like i expected (ie wonderful). like tim, my original's on vinyl and i always thought it sounded tip-top; dunno if the original CD pressing was fucked in some way.

Elastic Man, only because I like "City Hobgoblins" slightly more than "Kicker Conspiracy."

That was an awesome version of the Fall when they had Dave Bush on keyboards.

xpost

I cannuh decideuh between "Sparta F.C." and "Couldn't Get Ahead." Must get drunk and figure this out. I thought "Wrong Place Right Time" was the A-Side.

That was an awesome version of the Fall when they had Dave Bush on keyboards

my favourite line-up, aye.

there was an MES interview in the NME (i guess; can't think where else i'd have read it) around the time of C:S when he went on about keyboards and how they were normally a bit clinical but bush just made them sound fucked-up and dirty. and that made so much sense to me. on the sleeve (i think; i'll check) he's credited with playing "machines" or something and that's exactly what he's doing: just grinding away with the cheapest possible kit.

he was one of their roadies, wasn't he?

hang on: were there new sleevenotes in the remaster? ISTR i started reading them and never finished. coo ur. off to find out.

get in! there are! ace. i'll be reading those if anyone needs me.

aye, here we go, it's all in these sleevenotes (maybe i read them when i was drunk and that's why this all seems oddly fresh in my mind): "this LP's going for brute force ... we've got a keyboard player, he can't play the keyboards, know what i mean? he's an ex-roadie of ours but he sounds good. vicious."

aye. i must have read this the other night, several sheets to the wind. hurrah.

either that or my memory fucking RULES.

I feel bad that Kicker has that extra 7" of Peel Sessions possibly giving it an extra advantage. If Kicker and Wings win, I want it to be on their own formidable strengths! But the double 7" was the only way that single was released, as far as I can tell, so I had to append it.

Also I'm fuckin' buying that C:S remaster, and glad I got to see the Dave Bush line-up a couple of times.

Seriously, that was tough. Can I vote again?

Dammit I left out Ed's Babe/Pumpkinhead Xscapes!

I apologize if there's anyone whose favorite single is Ed's Babe. It is a pretty good track...

Marquis Cha-Cha/Room to Live

Where was this a single?

"Cruiser's Creek" made me a fan, and "L.A." is one hell of a B-side, so that.

was BILL IS DEAD not a single then? blimey.

I voted for kimble just to be interesting. I would have voted for Rowche Rumble if only I knew what that second line in the lyric was ( "valiox sa sa")

This is my happening and it freaks me out!!!!!!

well, i voted for 'marquis' even if it wasn't a single! cuz that's the best combo i see on here. 'slates' era fall was otherworldly.

http://visi.com/fall/discog/pics/marquis%20big.jpg

Kimble is a damn good single with an excellent B-side.

Lie Dream!

Plumped for Totally Wired in the end but it could have been Free Range, Kicker Conspiracy, High Tension Line, How i wrote elastic man or Telephone Thing. Was Blindness not a single, if that had been on the list it would have got my vote?

I come back I love "Why Is People Grudgeful" HEHEHE cos they are a toaster bye bye boooooom why why why are people grudgeful baaaah

am i the only one who's going to vote for susan vs the youthclub?

bonus question: is that song about susan kennedy from neighbours when she lost her marbles or what?

I know, I know, this is such a hard task to choose, but really...the Bingo Master's Breakout single is just plain THE most memorable Fall single, I think. "Repetition" especially is pretty classic, the absolute essence of the Fall eh?

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Bistro/7458/fa/fall1.gif

Marquis Cha Cha I've worn out, though, because it's always my "go to" song when trying to convert people to the Fall.

I come back I love "Why Is People Grudgeful" HEHEHE cos they are a toaster bye bye boooooom why why why are people grudgeful baaaah

I know, right? That's what made it so hard...eventually Cruiser's won out

B-b-bump for the work week. Couple of days to go.

Results spreading out after initial Kicker domination.

ah HUP now!!

the biggest library yet!!

ah HUP now!!

the biggest library yet!!

Ohhh, that's a good one! Such a vivid tale.

I have to go for ex-Mike Read Single Of The Week "Rowche Rumble."

On the recent(ish) 2CD Fall best of compilation, why is "Why Are People Grudgeful?" not "Why Are People Grudgeful?"

Marquis Cha-Cha / Room To Live
Kamera ERA014, October 1982 (7")
Initial copies were incorrectly labelled Papal Visit on the B-side.

xpost when it is a jar-ah?

I have to go for ex-Mike Read Single Of The Week "Rowche Rumble."

I almost voted for that but cannot make my mind up

An observation: while lots of people are (understandably) dithering, this list isn't half as long as I expected for a band that's been going 30 years. And since the 90s, MES has put out, what, one single per year on average?

There seems to be a high degree of quality control demonstrated here too, which stretches to the B-sides as well. I'm no Fall fanatic, but I know a hell of a lot of these.

Anyway, I'm voting for "Hit the North" (cos the cassingle has "Australians in Europe" on it). Most of my Fall consumption was via Beggars Banquet cassettes I now notice.

Yeah, all those extra tracks!

Now they are all on CD.

I was on crack upthread, "Lie Dream" is another one of their best. If that wins, I can support it.

Currently working my way through the Peel Sessions box, lotsa fun.

went with my intial instinct. elastic man / hobgoblins.

Bump for the last day of voting.

Also, Marcello, I give up. What were you getting at upthread re: Grudgeful?

My favourite Fall song is Wings so I'm going for that one.

I assume the track marked as "grudgeful" actually plays something else.

Ah. I only have that comp (50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong) as MP3s. The person I got it from probably corrected the tagging.

Speaking of Fall comps, the excellent, gap-filling A World Bewitched 2CD seems to have come back into print. I'd put it alongside Early Singles and the Beggars B Sides as an essential Fall non-album release.

I don't remember my copy being wrong.

Nothing on "FallNet" about it, and they have mentioned other 'mistakes'

AH!

Whoa! Those are actually pretty damn interesting results.

I totally did not see Hit The North coming.

Top 2 both from Beggars years! I sort of thought the top few would come from the Rough Trade/Kamera period.

Someone voted for Chiselers!

That result shocks me.

Cool, "Cruiser's Creek" got both of my votes.

Ha! Well, it still would have won anyway. Unless someone else was stuffin'...

Quite nice that "Cruisers Creek" and "Hit the North" split the votes- that they can pull off such a satifsfying garage rocker and and synth popper why they're great.

There'd be more concensus if there was a Least favourite fall single, probably.

No way is "Cruisers Creek" the best Fall single! "Hit the North" is great tho...

This is horrible. I can't find the Fall best album poll.

And I really really did want to quote lyrics from Perverted By Language, Oh well. I'm doomed.

cruisers creek???

Aw, Cruiser's Creek wins. That's sweet. That was like the first Fall thing I heard that got me into them.

attention The Fall fans! did this version of 'Cruiser's Creek' ever come out on record? it's 6 minutes long here in the promo clip but is not on my 12" vinyl copy. normal version is 2 minutes shorter, so this version seems to have an extra couple of verses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDTTisFHw0A

perhaps it will be amongst the rarities on the proposed 2CD reissue of 'Saving Grace'?

Funny, the discography on the Fall site says the six-minute version is on the single (12" and 7"). Anyway yes, word has it the 3CD reissue will contain the full-length version.

Yeah, the 7" was at 33rpm.