Now this is how it started: THE ILX 1980s ALBUM POLL RESULTS!!

Enough with the Rio talk, sonny. You'd never shown the slightest interest in Duran before yesterdya evening.

Computer Love will probably be tenth

This was the review where I decided I could no longer trust Robert Christgau:

When friends turn psychotic, I withdraw. I haven't found black leotards sexy since I broke up with Sheila in 1962. I'm rarely persuaded that verbal dissociation reflects any social problems but the poet's own. So while I'm happy to grant the originality and even craft of Kristen Hersh's quavery free-form folk-punk, I'd do the same for the art of H.P. Lovecraft, Anaïs Nin, or Diamanda Galas. Fans of whom will pay more mind to Hersh's buzz than I do. C

I can't believe this poll will likely not have Straight Outta Compton. That's kind of mindblowing to me.

xxxp Martian - The 10th could be Back In Black, Deceit, Youth of America, Reign In Blood or Master Of Puppets. Probably the latter. I really, really doubt it will be Computer Love.

ILM was never OG, and excepting "Express Yourself", the second side of Compton is nowhere near as good. I'd go so far as to say I like Yo, Bum Rush the Show more.

others: the tenth, so many suggestions including

Master of Puppets
JuJu
A Secret Wish
Peter Gabriel 3
Computer World
Colour of Spring
Love
Low-life
Back in Black
Deceit
Youth of America
Reign in Blood

maybe ilm will, like, not automatically vote an REM record into its top 10

(that's the assumption that's annoying me the most, by far. why does it have to be this way? someone convince me.)

I wish the tenth was something totally wtf leftfield like Locust Abortion Technician or Children Of God

xxxp: That's fine, I'm not discounting anyone's individual opinion of it, but I can't believe that there aren't collectively enough people voting for it to push it onto this list. Besides, The Chronic and Doggystyle both placed in the top 50 of the 90s poll, and I would expect Straight Outta Compton to be more ILM-friendly than either of those.

unless everyone thinks Tango In The Night is too obvious to mention

I voted it highly, and really expected it to make the list. I doubt it's top 10, though.

man 100-150 is going to be good

The Chronic

I'd give this album negative points if I could, but that's because I heard it about 6,000 times one summer when my downstairs neighbor would play it full blast all day every day.

I had it in my top 10 fwiw

(straight outta compton, not tango in the night)

in an era dominated by Rob Base and Young MC, it definitely cleared a few cobwebs

(nb i would vote the fuck out of some Rob Base and Young MC in a singles poll)

Singles polls probably have more shiftable results over time, based on how songs age, nostalgia, etc. People's favorite albums are usually set in stone early on.

prolly should have voted the Pretty In Pink soundtrack a bit higher on that basis

Listening to the Madonna debut-- WTF was I thinking not throwing this a vote. It belongs in my top 20.

I had no idea ILM was so into REM until this poll.

if this was just British ilxor's voting i would expect no R.E.M

I had no idea anyone was so into REM until ILM!

i should have voted, then the church might have had a hope of appearing in this poll

or section 25

I ranked Starfish really high, but it's not going to make it. :(

I didnt vote either, i should pay more attentiomn to ILM :/

I didn't vote for some reason (did I know about it?), but just want to say, this has been engrossing reading all day. Big ups to Tuomas for doing this.

'70s (re)poll nominations begin in a couple days. Make sure you're all on board for the process at the beginning.

Can't wait! I also can't stand the suspense with this poll -- WHICH LP WILL REIGN?

predictions

9

Sign o’ The Times
Remain In Light
Hounds Of Love
Doolittle
Daydream Nation
Murmur
Thriller
Purple Rain
Nation Of Millions

but was will be the 10th?

― djmartian, Tuesday, December 1, 2009 5:57 PM

Computer World, Straight Outta Compton or Peter Gabriel (3) are my guesses. Tango in the Night as a long shot shockah.

i kinda have doubts about thriller tbh. not saying it won't make it, and if i was a bookie, i'd say the odds are in its favor, but i still got my doubts...

rest seem otm. computer world seems like it's got about as good a chance as thriller, especially given that a number of people seem super concerned about it. (assuming they voted, but who knows?)

would love to see reign in blood or master of puppets take up the slack, but i'm not holding my breath.

i might be naive but i still hope 'colour of spring' has a chance

yeah, that's another one that lots of posters seem concerned with, so it seems reasonable to hope. plus ilm talk talk cru pretty dedicated in general.

So which of these would people be most disappointed to see NOT place (at all)?

i can assure you that Murmur would be the least-missed one

If Murmur ends up highly ranked, wouldn't it by definition NOT be the least-missed one?

the question was if it failed!

anyway if hounds of love didn't show i think there'd be blood on the streets - KB kroo be hardcore

I guess if it failed it would by definition be the least-missed one.

xpost Yeah, Hounds Of Love for me: not necessarily blood in the streets, but tears certainly... although I'm now resigned to no Gun Club in the list and am already dejected.*

*Hmmm, hounds, fire, what's the difference?

yeah, i kinda agree on murmur. i voted for it (relatively high on the list too iirc), but it wouldn't hurt my butt to see it fail. don't see that as a possibility tho...

won't be surprised if straight outta compton is omitted. it takes a nation... seems a lot more rock-critic friendly, and i much prefer the production on efil4zaggin.

top 5 will be Remain in Light, Daydream, Nation of Millions, and Sign O' the Times. Computer World? hell nah lol

Computer World definitely has a shot.

Given Arvo P made it, I had expected Tehillim to show up somehwere in the 100, but I doubt it could have mustered 300+ points.

I have to confess that five of Arvo's points were tactical, designed to push The Queen Is Dead down a slot in my rankings. I'd never heard of him.

10. Pixies – Doolittle [1989] (323 points, 31 votes)

http://afgmustrock.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/doolittle-by-pixies_i47h1bxwskmx_full.jpg

I don't want to disappoint Vic Funk so I'll offer my two cents, for whatever that's worth (two cents, I guess).

I think the Pixies made good records, though I can't listen to them anymore. For about a year (in the mid-90's, when I was a teenager, and the band was long broken up) I couldn't imagine a better rock band existing and now, six years later, I think the only Pixies record I still own is a 12" promo of live recordings. And I only kept that because I think it's kinda rare. I got rid of everything else. The Pixies are old hat for me now, but I don't hold it against them.

If a young kid likes loud catchy guitar music and hasn't gotten into much rock beyond what's on the radio, I think the Pixies can be a nice thing to hear. I know that Doolittle made me lose interest in the Eddie Vedder/Kurt Cobain angst-rock that I was listening to on the radio at the time. They're a nice "training wheels" band and I think they'll continue to be that for awhile.

― Oliver, 29. marraskuuta 2001 3:00

Pixies are the best and most important band of my life, so, CLASSIC of course.
I'll argue Surfer Rosa and Doolittle as two of the best rock albums ever. "Hey" might be the best song ever.

― Shaun (shaun), 7. marraskuuta 2003 0:20

I'm not saying their goth in the bauhaus sense, Alex. But Doolittle could easily be described as "goth bubblegum."

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), 6. tammikuuta 2004 20:44

i just recently gave a copy of this to my 13 year old niece. she had never heard of them. i saw her the other day and she said that's about the only CD that her and her friends have been listening to.

― carne asada, 3. elokuuta 2007 23:36

i dont think any of the other albums can hope to end as well as doolittle does. the "silver"/"gouge away" ending is perfect. i think this lends a lot to my opinion that doolittle is much better as an album than any of the others. that said, i should really give the ones after doolittle more of a chance. ive heard them each a few times, but wasnt really wowed...

― peter smith (plsmith), 24. elokuuta 2004 17:07

love doolittle more than my own mother tbh

She's not a fan?

I think the Pixies can be a nice thing to hear. I know that Doolittle made me lose interest in the Eddie Vedder/Kurt Cobain angst-rock that I was listening to on the radio at the time. They're a nice "training wheels" band and I think they'll continue to be that for awhile.

one has to be impressed by this level of condescension.

What are Pixies meant to be training wheels FOR? One thing that makes this record still sound fresh, twenty years later, is that it didn't really have successors -- what the Pixies did ended with them, whatever K Cobain may say.

I think I cut a class to go buy Doolittle the day it came out. I was hugely disappointed. The production job defanged them, and what the f is this "La La Love You"? Or the Stones soundalike "Hey"? Even "Gouge Away" seemed contrived. I sold it soon after in disgust. I was hard to please back then. While it still baffles me why anyone could think it's better than Surfer Rosa, it's grown on me some. Still too flawed to be top 10 though.