ILM Artist Poll No. 77 · CAN · Results Thread

Track Ballots Received: 036
Tracks Voted: 090
Album/Compilation/Eps Ballots Received: 034
Albums/Compilations/Eps Voted: 018
Results rollout: top 08 albums / top 50 tracks
Date: 07/26/2016 to 07/28/2016
Spotify Results Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/moteldemoka/playlist/51G2Ur3calfY4vCpxDNcwS

Hey! I'm gonna be busy on the weekend so might as well do the rollout in the following days. I also have to wake up early so I'm leaving you with 3 albums and I'll post the rest tomorrow. Here's how's it gonna be:

Tuesday: Top 8 Albums + Top 50-41 Tracks
Wednesday: Top 40-21 Tracks
Thursday: Top 20-1 Tracks

Let's do this.

http://i.imgur.com/l1fueZf.jpg
08. Unlimited Edition 2 votes, 63 points. Year of Release:1976

It's probably the worst time to post this as you're all either sleeping/waking up but I'll do the rest around 1pm CDT.

http://i.imgur.com/StBSIVa.jpg
07. Saw Delight 2 votes, 73 points, 1 Number 1 VoteYear of Release:1977

http://i.imgur.com/GNSg0wI.jpg
06. Soundtracks 13 votes, 384 pointsYear of Release:1970

See you in a few hours!

<3

:D

oh wow the images are so good

:-)

Beautiful work Moka.

Yeah these pics are amazing! I only got around to listening to Unlimited Edition* for this poll. It's OK.

*Did John Lydon nick this for the lyrics to 'EMI'? That only clicked just now.

I have a soft spot for Saw Delight as it was the first Can album I owned. Don't think it made my top 5 though.

I like it too but choosing it as your #1 is a bit o_0

whew, thought I had missed it. Thinking already Unlimited Edition was robbed -- I always thought it was the next-most essential Can after the classic LPs (esp before The Lost Tapes was issued). Haha even though I didn't vote for it.

As opposed to throwing it out of the window? (see: Can - finally remastered)

definitely! it's all over the place, but the good stuff could easily have shown up on the previous albums somewhere

yeah some of their best ever songs, especially "gomorrha" and "ibis" (which is like babaluma condensed into 9 minutes). hard to listen to as its own unit though

The Mooney songs on Unlimited Edition are excellent

i put "connection" on my ballot at the expense of "i'm too leise" & i'm having regrets abt that

The Mooney songs on Unlimited Edition are excellent

I pretty much like everything from the Malcolm era.

I love the part in the CAN documentary during the Mooney years when they're recording at that white house. It's so goofy. That's one of the things I love most about this band -- they take some things seriously, but not all things at all times.

https://i.imgur.com/A6Cp802.jpg
05. Monster Movie 16 votes, 470 points Year of Release:1969

Beautiful work Moka.

― MatthewK

Thank you!

http://i.imgur.com/5deHyPN.jpg
04. Soon Over Babaluma 27 votes, 873 points, 4 #1 votes. Year of Release:1974

I love the part in the CAN documentary during the Mooney years when they're recording at that white house. It's so goofy. That's one of the things I love most about this band -- they take some things seriously, but not all things at all times.

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Tuesday, July 26, 2016 11:34 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wow somehow it's never clicked in my head till now that there is an actual feature-length documentary about this band that I can sit down & watch

Damn imgur gave me https links on mobile instead of http. Can you see the monster movie and the soon over babaluma images? Only one of them?

can only see Babaluma. Which I am never over!

I forgot how productive bands used to be back in those days. These guys released one album per year! It's blowing my mind they went from monster movie to soon over babaluma in only 6 years.

K here's the monster movie image... hopefully. I don't like posting from mobile.

http://i.imgur.com/qrDTwZ5.jpg

yeh these images are superb

Not seeing any of them :(

Crüt I watched it (2x!) on youtube. Recommend to all!!

On my phone though, so can't be helped... probably.

Yeah you can't see them on mobile but I think that applies to the ilm forum in general. I only see links on every thread with imgs on them. You might be able to see the links to go to the images.

http://i.imgur.com/k5kJNxN.jpg
03. Ege Bamyasi 28 votes, 978 points, 7 #1 votes. Year of Release:1972

http://i.imgur.com/iZ1IJvC.jpg
02. Future Days 30 votes, 1067 points, 12 #1 votes. Year of Release:1973

http://i.imgur.com/GibcthP.jpg
01. Tago Mago 32 votes, 1121 points, 10 #1 votes. Year of Release:1971

Wow, I did not expect Future Days to best Ege Bamyasi!

Compared to the Stereolab poll which I also ran I think there was a much stronger consensus on their top albums. Most of the top 3 votes included tago, ege and fd. In the lower end there were other 10 albums but with only one or two votes.

Well, I got the albums wrong, so let's see how the tracks turn out.

Tracks results is where the real surprises are though, so many songs I hadn't payed attention to. I mostly stick to this top 4 albums and very rarely listen to the rest... this poll has fixed that.

very nice, a little surprised that Landed didn't make it, but Unlimited Edition and Soundtracks did

then again, I think I voted for all the individual tracks on Landed, but it didn't make my albums list, LOL

The albums that followed in the ranking with two votes each (a triple tie for 9 actually) were:

9. Can (1979) 61 2
10. Delay 1968 61 2
11. Landed 61 2
12. The Lost Tapes 58 2
13. Flow Motion 56 2

The rest only got one vote

http://i.imgur.com/XK5nSbk.jpg
TIE 50. Aumgn 3 votes, 64 points.
From: Tago Mago (1971)
https://youtu.be/9vayV9M7ctU

http://i.imgur.com/2AhPQr7.jpg
TIE 50. Little Star of Bethlehem 3 votes, 64 points.
From: Delay 1968 (1981)
https://youtu.be/jxZon0BGvt4

was expecting a higher showing for "aumgn"! it still scares the shit out of me

http://i.imgur.com/M0pY6v2.jpg
49. Tape Kebab 3 votes, 68 points.
From: The Peel Sessions (1995)
https://youtu.be/jwO7Th4i1fo

Wow I haven't the slightest idea what's gonna place, let alone what order everything is gonna be in

TAPE KEBAB

when i listened to everything over the past two weeks this very quickly emerged as my favorite song that was new to me

http://i.imgur.com/TEJliaU.jpg
48. Aspectacle 3 votes, 69 points.
From: Can (1979)
https://youtu.be/y6uSFUeV6R0

Couldn't find the yt for that one so I only linked to the drum break. It's on spotify (Tape kebab isn't though and it's a great one)

Here's the Tidal links for Aspectacle.

tidal.com/track/34510593 and tidal.com/track/34505714

I'm pleased I cranked out a last minute ballot, as that's 2 of mine already (Aumgn and Aspectacle). Aumgn starts off a little anonymous but is totally redeemed by the bonkers final third.

Oh and any time you wanna spill the beans on that font, Moka, I'm all ears. Nice work!

I shouldve voted; Aspectacle wouldve been in my top 10

Oh and any time you wanna spill the beans on that font, Moka, I'm all ears. Nice work!

― Sushi and the Banchan (Spectrist),

The 'title' font is VAL Bold and 'subtitles are Proxima Nova in several weights :)

http://i.imgur.com/XefSov9.jpg
47. Outside My Door 5 votes, 70 points.
From: Monster Movie (1969)
https://youtu.be/_0B33EP4RPE

These graphics are beautiful

These graphics are beautiful

― nate woolls

Can't take full credit for them as these are not my illustrations I'm just finding and adapting (most of Can's titles are very odd to interpret though) most of this come from magazines and sci-fi art from the 70s.

my preferred aesthetic

Love the Aumgn graphic :)

http://i.imgur.com/0ZsijuO.jpg
46. Hunters & Collectors 5 votes, 72 points.
From: Landed (1975)

Tape Kebab sounding very nice on a first lesson.

Love the Aumgn graphic :)

― Option 1 : Do Nothing (Mr Andy M)

I was thinking 'Aumgn'!? What does that even mean? Is it a wordplay on Ohm? I dunno... Opening half sounds like monks invoking an ancient demon monster, second half sounds like an action sequence in the jungle... so I couldn't decide on what image to use... I went with robot fighting a dinosaur monsters.

Tape Kebab was one of my favourite discoveries but didn't quite make my ballot. Not too surprising there wasn't any consensus in the albums beyond the top 6

i deleted "hunters & collectors" last minute from my ballot. great guitar solo, essentially

But so much more. The whole arrangement on that remains shockingly futuristic. It has the complexity of serious prog and yet places it in a more-new-wave-than-new-wave pop context.

Anyone know who's singing the falsetto background vocals on that?

But so much more. The whole arrangement on that remains shockingly futuristic. It has the complexity of serious prog and yet places it in a more-new-wave-than-new-wave pop context.

this is true! felt bad reducing it to the noodly parts which i love so much

wow @ tape kebab

http://i.imgur.com/c8zRFc0.jpg
46. Connection 4 votes, 79 points.
From: Unlimited Edition (1976)
https://youtu.be/yYgaTix1bmU

^ Didn't vote for this but probably should have. Banger.

yep, total mooney-era banger

http://i.imgur.com/TgohI2C.jpg
45. Messer, Scissors, Fork & Light 5 votes, 83 points.
From: The Lost Tapes (2012)
https://youtu.be/yYgaTix1bmU

numbers should say 45 and 44 for this one, sorry hehe

Yesssssss love this song. You could make a bunch of equally awesome songs by just expanding on various parts of MSF&L

http://i.imgur.com/x7p7A58.jpg
43. Flow Motion 4 votes, 86 points.
From: Flow Motion (1976)
https://youtu.be/YyinAGNsm7k

there's a youtube comment that compares this song to a dinosaur sinking into a tarpit

otm

There's always a tension/push/pull about the best CAN songs imo. That's another thing I like about this band -- they exploit the serious sonic appeal of that dynamic.

http://i.imgur.com/LnqmSPF.jpg
42. The Empress & the Ukraine King 3 votes, 88 points, 1 Nº1 Vote.
From: Limited Edition (1974)

I actually didn't remember this one and it's amazing. First and last Nº1 vote of the day.

And to wrap it up... drumroll please:

http://i.imgur.com/1qJvgdC.jpg
41. Gomorrah 5 votes, 90 points.
From: Limited Edition (1974)

Shout out to the person who had that number one!

gomorrah is so fuckin good

I've never heard Tape Kebab. It's gorgeous.

Poking around Can obscurities on Youtube, I just stumbled on I'm Hiding My Nightingale. Really cool Inner Space track from 1968. https://youtu.be/aeo7_aiogbc

yay, glad gomorrah placed

^ they perform 'I'm Hiding My Nightingale' in a film (Kamasutra - Vollendung Der Liebe), if you didn't find that clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=KR4tra9Nyq8

Only track not on spotify is Tape Kebab. Haven't heard anything else from peel sessions is it worth it?

yep. pretty much every track rules

Just catching up while on family vacation...

I didn't vote for Ege Bamyasi – it's not that I don't like it—several songs are classics and ended up on my ballot—but it was the first thing I heard by them and never quite lived up to what I had expected based on the review of the Spoon (or Restless Retro?) reissues in Musician Magazine (I think) in the early 90s. In retrospect it still seems smaller and less unhinged than Tago Mago and not edited or electronic enough in comparison to Future Days. Good tunes tho.

Unlimited Edition, OTOH, hit me in all the right places right off the bat. Where "Pinch" had a great, great drum part, I wasn't sure where it really took me. "Gomorrah" as an opener was pretty much everything I had hoped Can would be: electronic, organic, epic, and a little mysterious.

I didn't vote for Ege Bamyasi either, it feels like definitely the weakest from their classic period to me. There's still great moments but unusually for them the highlights are the shorter songs which don't really have the scope of their most exciting tracks.

Yep. Great point.

As for songs, "Flow Motion" was on my ballot. I love how fucking HUGE it sounds. Almost voted for "The Empress and the Ukraine King."

As Milton Parker pointed out on another thread, Holger re-edited "Hunters and Collectors" as "Oh Lord Give Us More Money."

You could make a bunch of equally awesome songs by just expanding on various parts of MSF&L

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Tuesday, July 26, 2016 5:26 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i assumed MSF&L was made up of early variations on "Spoon"

Yes Spoon is filled with parts from MSF&L. It's very obvious but I hadn't realised there's a thematic connection in their songtitles even.

How did I not vote for Uphill?

Spoon seems like the base template to me. The looooong live version on Lost Tapes is so much better than the album version imo. I love the "...yeah" during the intro at the beginning.

What I originally meant was that regardless of whether they expanded the base template or assembled pieces that eventually made the base template, even the pieces are interesting enough to expand into their own songs without sounding like the same song. Maybe all this says is that the collected sounds of Spoon really speak to me. I love the super slowed down part of MSF&L.

Sorry for not posting been busy, will try to update in an hour or so.

http://i.imgur.com/77Bz0hW.jpg
40. Peking O 6 votes, 108 points.
From: Tago Mago (1971)
https://youtu.be/mnAH3JdlKKE

It's back! Gomorrah is 20 positions too low!

Peking O was always my least favorite on TM until this poll – it always sounded like Song of the Bailing Man-era Ubu. Now, having listened back to research I love it. Easily could've put it on my ballot.

Peking O my first pick to place. Always love the way it collapses in a heap then gradually puts itself together again.

I remember listening to that for the first time in just straight up disbelief at what I was hearing

http://i.imgur.com/8eq61NT.jpg
39. Peking O 7 votes, 118 points.
From: The Lost Tapes (2012)
https://youtu.be/J7tD1FDIOlY

GRAUBLAU

Can I just tell you guys, the first Can record I bought was this compilation and it was the sort of singles-type tracks from the Virgin albums, "Gomorrah," plus a couple Mooney tracks from Unlimited Edition and I was just basically like, yeah, I don't understand this band at all!

https://www.discogs.com/Can-InCANdescence/release/263939

http://i.imgur.com/VEKF8bt.jpg
38. Mary, Mary So Contrary 5 votes, 121 points.
From: Monster Movie (1969)
https://youtu.be/YefiMvJdjhY

GRAUBLAU

― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson),

Damn sorry it says Peking O it's GREYBLUE

i'm guessing every song from tago mago and monster movie will appear

Well I mean Monster Movie is only 4 songs long and the 2 least impressive songs already made it so...

:D

though i'd hardly argue "outside my door" is one of the least impressive songs on monster movie

Yeah, that song is awesome... yet still didn't make it on to my ballot, says it all.

i'm guessing every song from tago mago and monster movie will appear

probably Ege Bamyasi and Future Days as well?

The following song brought to you by the sponsor of our poll: Campbell's. M'm M'm Sodium!

http://i.imgur.com/Pzuf4CR.jpg
38. Soup 7 votes, 123 points.
From: Ege Bamyasi (1972)
https://youtu.be/oKX9LDo9eQo

Mary, Mary so Contrary is too low. Was my number 3.

Dammit number should read 37

"soup" is great and is also maybe my least fav can epic from the first few records

http://i.imgur.com/nvsRxiK.jpg
36. Half Past One 7 votes, 127 points.
From: Landed (1975)
https://youtu.be/g8b62a4sR6g

http://i.imgur.com/UbsEXa6.jpg
35. Full Moon On the Highway 7 votes, 132 points.
From: Landed (1975)

i wasn't actually expecting either of these to place over "hunters & collectors" wow!

I need to pick up Lost Tapes finally. All these tracks are great.

Well I mean Monster Movie is only 4 songs long and the 2 least impressive songs already made it so...

As someone who ranked "Mary, Mary So Contrary" #2 on his ballot: HMMPH. >=(

Yeah I voted for Mary higher than any other monster movie track

Oh I think I like "Graublau" enough but parts of it sound too much like a dry run for "Mother Sky" for me to vote for it.

Irmin Schmidt's playing on "Half Past One" is one of my favorite things ever.

xp ... although the Hawkwind-meet-James Brown passages are pretty dope. Yeah, maybe could've voted for it.

xxpost hahaha I didn't mean it like that mary mary is still an amazing song. The least interesting tracks for me on an album like monster movie are still better than the rest out there.

http://i.imgur.com/1YgQyTY.jpg
TIE 33. Come Sta la Luna 8 votes, 135 points.
From: Soon Over Bababaluma (1974)
https://youtu.be/jxZon0BGvt4

http://i.imgur.com/qBOvTGF.jpg
TIE 33. Uphill 6 votes, 135 points.
From: Delay 1968 (1981)

These guys really like making songs about the moon.

Can I keep talking about "Half Past One?" It's also Michael Karoli becoming a great lead vocalist.

Whoa is the girl being held by the Mary Mary robot NAKKED??

http://i.imgur.com/u17Kn7q.jpg
32. Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone 7 votes, 148 points.
From: Soundtracks (1970)
https://youtu.be/7nMODpwq2Cs

I might have to wrap it up for the day with the next one since I have to go out :S

http://i.imgur.com/Z2OqfS8.jpg
31. Dead Pigeon Suite 7 votes, 152 points.
From: The Lost Tapes (2012)
https://youtu.be/THc1zz1EqSI

The 'Cannibalism' comp has all of 'Monster Movie' except 'Mary', so this poll is already better.

(Same goes for the 'Anthology', which is where I started with Can. Actually, that's not true we all started with 'I want more' obvb.

'The Lost Tapes' is gonna win with regard to track counts, clearly.

Just catching up (I was out of town yesterday and today) and loving the results so far. That #1 vote yesterday for "Empress and the Ukraine King" was from me -- my introduction to the band about 20 years ago on a great mixtape from a friend.

Happy to see "Outside My Door," "Uphill" and "Come Sta, La Luna" all place.

I did anticipate "Uphill" placing higher, though - such a great groove.

"Come Sta, La Luna" is something I came to appreciate more and more by playing the Babaluma LP as I was falling asleep... It took me a while to get into the post-Damo Can, but that album feels like a companion piece to Future Days.

Don't turn the light off leave me alone, soooooo good

Whoa is the girl being held by the Mary Mary robot NAKKED??
― Pleeesiosaur (Leee)

Shame I am missing this roll-out due to apparent complete opposite work/sleep times, but great images, love seeing it. Also, ' Come Sta, La Luna' is ace.

Motherfunker! Yesterday I was working on the banners for today and suddenly my screen went black, apparently my macbook is 2011 and they have a critical error with the graphics card that fucks everything up. Been able to save the files but no idea when I'll get it working again... even thinking about buying a new one but I'm so mad right now.

Rollout might have to be postponed until next week :/ terribly sorry to leave you hanging.

oh that sucks! Sorry you have to go through that, results can definitely wait

Oh no!!!!

Cliffhanger!

leave it up to CAN to place an uncomfortably long pause in the middle of something
your computer otm!

lol

lol I actually could save numbers 30, 29 and 28. And I have the top 10 too but I'm not posting those yet hehehe. Here they go. Last batch until new notice. sorry guys.

http://i.imgur.com/BC0kgj5.jpg
30. She Brings the Rain 8 votes, 155 points
From: Soundtracks

http://i.imgur.com/YKpQMpc.jpg
29. Splash 8 votes, 1 nº1 vote, 156 points
From: Soon Over Babaluma

http://i.imgur.com/9n9gkKx.jpg
28. Animal Waves 9 votes, 162 points
From: Saw Delight

Kind of an unintentional Noah's Ark story between these three.

"splash" was my no. 1, incredible jazz fusion vortex

"animal waves" also the jam

Glad to see "She Brings the Rain," in which Malcolm Mooney does his best Jim Morrison

Ah yes! It does sound like a distant cousin 'the spy' by the doors.

Moka that's awful - so sorry. Did you know that Apple will replace your motherboard etc. for this very issue? It's a free repair programme and lasts to the end of this year for 2011 machines.
https://www.apple.com/au/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Yeah I already left it with them, it's a hardware error on their part. Free fix however two weeks without computer :/

I have the files I'll see if I can get someone to lend me theirs.

Damn. My grad student had the same problem and they fixed his in 24 hours. Good luck!

What? Only 24hs? Damn you first world.

This is freakin Tasmania, too - not exactly a global hub.

Minor shout-out to Kendra Smith's cover of #30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsvjG5A0EJI

Awesome free fix! Too bad this didn't exist when my 2011 macbook did the same exact thing two years ago >:|

Whoa, "Animal Waves" is awesome!

🗻
46. Connection 4 votes, 79 points.
From: Unlimited Edition (1976)
https://youtu.be/yYgaTix1bmU🔗

Week One of wait

To sate those in the interim, the Eno/More Dark Than Shark Twitter feed has all kinds of great Can rarities linked – sessions, live concerts, outtakes, etc. Highly recommended. Here's one:

https://twitter.com/dark_shark/status/758593988479692800

My mother bought a macbook air like a year ago and she doesn't use it at all so I'm borrowing it until mine comes back. I might be able to post the rest this week after all, I just need to pirate photoshop since I left my original copy in mexico city. Don't tell the feds.

Seems like an appropriate time to post this. Apparently Jaki played this solo impromptu to fill time during a power blackout. It's actually from 1976.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a_XVM7LGnk

http://i.imgur.com/EbDNouf.jpg
TIE 26. Vernal Equinox. 193 points, 10 votes
From: Landed (1975)
https://youtu.be/I4nHr44vE9I

http://i.imgur.com/kgXkn7n.jpg
TIE 26. Turtles have short legs. 193 points, 10 voted
From: Turtles have short legs 7" (1971)
http://youtu.be/QxGaC4wzt50

And we're back.

Huzzah! Don't know why didn't vote Turtles. Holger sounds like he's playing a giant rubber band on Vernal Equinox.

always liked Turtles, think it has the same beat as Halleluwah

YES

Well spotted.

Hadn't heard Turtles before now, which is shocking to me because my favorite Can mode is avant-pop.

It's pretty great

I find "turtles" so charming, I love how atipically daft and playful the band sounds toy piano and all... I'm guessing they're making fun of the british invasion? Even Damo's japanese-english accent seems willfuly exaggerated.

Even when it's somewhat cute the bass and drums make it sound monstrously huge and they can't seem to put the proggy influence down as the track progresses. I love it, it has gradually become one of my top 10 Can's songs even if it doesn't really represent them.

And yes the b-side was Halleluhwah so I think the beat is not accidental. It seems slightly different but it's the same base.

always liked Turtles, think it has the same beat as Halleluwah

― Dominique, Tuesday, August 2, 2016 11:06 AM (18 minutes ago)

...which is the same as Vitamin C just slowed down.

Go here (~2mins) and adjust speed to 1.25x:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dZbAFmnRVA

https://youtu.be/2dZbAFmnRVA?t=120

Oh wow! That one is new to me!

They could have used that same beat for a full album and I wouldn't mind.

vernal equinox is basically a huge pile of guitar and i love it

that can riddim

Yay "Turtles Have Short Legs"!

Reposting from the voting thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TsqCNy6UU0

Hahaha even though we're back I had to go out and I wont post for a couple of hours sorry to leave you hanging once again. Keep discussing how awesome these two songs are!

And we're back.

Illustrated In A Castle On Better Equipment ;)

Late shout but loving Animal Waves.

TURTLES! <3

Good to have you back Moka :)

http://i.imgur.com/ED9yjUP.jpg
25. All Gates Open. 201 points, 10 votes
From: Can (1979)
https://youtu.be/ojMvGeskIlw

another great one. the part where all the synths come in is one of my favorite Can moments

http://i.imgur.com/8UqMlfG.jpg
24. Tango Whiskeyman. 206 points, 11 votes
From: Tago Mago (1971)
https://youtu.be/DbZcAsgSDP8

should say From: Soundtracks (1970) not Tago Mago

great track

Another great pop song.

... that I didn't vote for :(

http://i.imgur.com/mgGyzFe.jpg
23. The Thief. 234 points, 11 votes
From: Delay 1968 (1981)
https://vimeo.com/51988431

A song which has been known to make me cry.

Huh! That sounds like Contrary Mary so I like it!

http://i.imgur.com/VtXQ138.jpg
22. Bring Me Coffee or Tea. 242 points, 12 votes
From: Tago Mago (1971)
https://youtu.be/Ilk-2tXzlvE

i voted for "thief" really high, it was no. 1 on my ballot for a while

Who the heck wrote "Tango Whiskyman?" It had to have been written in some way - the chord progression is kind of complicated.

There, there by Radiohead sort of steals/is influenced from both Tango Whiskeymam and Thief btw.

Love Bring Me Coffee Or Tea, was my number 3.

http://i.imgur.com/0q671s4.jpg
21. I’m So Green. 248 points, 10 votes, 1 Nº1 vote.
From: Ege Bmayasi (1972)
https://youtu.be/lQhDPikrSNQ

Bring Me Coffee or Tea is cool as hell. I think that was the first Can track I ever heard.

http://i.imgur.com/lMDYHjf.jpg
20. Spray. 260 points, 12 votes.
From: Future Days (1973)
https://youtu.be/JC-887aMt5Y

This track doesn't do much for me tbh.

I love it. I danced to an amazing set by Jeff Mills last weekend and when I drove back home played Future Days. "Spray" felt like a Jeff Mills set condensed to 8,5 minutes.

"The Thief" can make me cry, too. The apex of Karoli's melancholy guitar tone.

http://i.imgur.com/kN6LoSO.jpg
19. Father Cannot Yell. 307 points, 16 votes.
From: Monster Movie (1969)

First 'too low' for me, that

Very so.

http://i.imgur.com/zN4uKFf.jpg
18. Dizzy Dizzy. 358 points, 19 votes.
From: Soon Over Babaluma (1974)
https://youtu.be/gOfWKzMgeac

The first Can track I heard on the first Can album I bought. Not my #1, but in a very real way, the beginning of a long adventure.

Video is kind of a jam version here's the real one:

https://youtu.be/quJI-3y4TBE

The first Can track I heard on the first Can album I bought.

It was the first Can album I bought too, though it wasn't the first time I'd heard them, but, yes, this track threw me a bit! WTF is going on, a sort of upside down reggae beat with wibbly wobbly bass and gypsy violin.

Is "Dizzy Dizzy" the only Can that swings?

'Father cannot yell" *is* swing!

I really love Thief and had it pretty high. Spray is probably the weakest on Future Days but still fantastic. I love the end of Tango Whiskeyman but it just missed my ballot.

http://i.imgur.com/Qnes5yy.jpg
17. Quantum Physics. 361 points, 14 votes, 1 N.1 vote.
From: Soon Over Babaluma (1974)

also not my #1, but if I really think about it, maybe the track that impacted me most of any Can (along with Chain Reaction, which I'm assuming is still ahead). This hit me right in the head/heart, in the same way that Debussy and Messiaen did -- total, magic impressionism, except instead of oceans or clouds, its the dusty toe-prints of angels on the moon. Not sure I've heard a rock band as delicate or mystical as on Quantum Physics.

http://i.imgur.com/qtaFIBt.jpg
16. Sing Swan Song. 375 points, 19 votes.
From: Ege Bamyasi (1972)

I think those are all for today and tomorrow I'll do the top 15 or do you want one more?

also not my #1, but if I really think about it, maybe the track that impacted me most of any Can (along with Chain Reaction, which I'm assuming is still ahead). This hit me right in the head/heart, in the same way that Debussy and Messiaen did -- total, magic impressionism, except instead of oceans or clouds, its the dusty toe-prints of angels on the moon. Not sure I've heard a rock band as delicate or mystical as on Quantum Physics.

^this, pretty much. If Chain Reaction/Quantum Phys. had been counted as one track, that would have been my No. 1.

This hit me right in the head/heart, in the same way that Debussy and Messiaen did -- total, magic impressionism, except instead of oceans or clouds, its the dusty toe-prints of angels on the moon

hell yeah this is exactly it

As I said on the other thread, I had Spray pretty high. Jaki swings the shit out of the opening section and Irmin is doing some cool cluster (tiny c) stuff on the organ. Then Michael or Irmin plays some great spring reverb sounds on the second part while the beat changes and that descending guitar line enters. I usually think of this as an instrumental even tho Damo is great on this.

sing swan song is my favorite of their slower / melancholy numbers.

Sing Swan Song wouldve been my #3 :(

Actually a lot of stuff from today wouldve placed high on my ballot tbh

Starting to worry that there are too many good tracks left to fit in the remaining 15 places.

Then would you say you want more?

and more!
and more!
and more!

http://i.imgur.com/I4y2KLd.jpg
15. I Want More. 379 points, 17 votes, 1 #1 vote.
From: Flow Motion (1976)

disco!

!! "i want more" is my feel-good song of choice, it's so stupid and fun

Genius.

:-)

http://i.imgur.com/a1hZIoC.jpg
14. Pinch. 406 points, 15 votes, 3 #1 votes
From: Ege Bamyasi (1972)

lol that image

I didn't manage to submit a ballot, but Pinch would have been somewhere in the top 5. Can at their hottest.

Hehehe sorry it was the first image that came to mind with the word.

http://i.imgur.com/mk7N7h7.jpg
13. One More Night. 409 points, 17 votes, 1 #1 vote.
From: Ege Bamyasi (1972)

Phew, I was getting worried that wouldn't turn up.

still stunned that "father cannot yell" and "sing swan song" are so low

10 of mine are still to place, drop one of them, which was never going to make it the Top 50, and I think I know what tracks are left.

One More Night would have been another of my top picks. Such a nice groove, which never quite settles into a comfortable mellow. I didn't pay much attention to it for the longest time, but now it's one of the Can tracks I come back to the most.

ha ive only just found out can were on totp

Not my number one but it's worthy of a No.1 vote. (One More Night).

xpost yeah, and Michael Karoli couldn't make it he was on holiday, so they got a random bloke to stand in.

I frigging love "I Want More." Even if it's the only real toe they ever dipped into disco, it somehow manages to lose none of what makes Can great -- the weirdly half whispered treated lead vocal, the hilarious toy keyboard counter-melody, the Rother-esque melody in the guitar and keys refrain. The remaster (on Spotify) sounds great, too. The fact that "...And More" exists, too, which sounds like some lost KC and the Sunshine Band 12", makes it even better. Wow.

thought I Want More was top 5 easy!

"I Want More" is the song I'm prepared to play at the drop of a hat, should the opportunity ever present itself. I think it'd be a crowd-pleaser and fun to play (and learn) and could segue into extendo-jam w "And More"
It's so goofy and fun while maintaining essential CAN-ness as described upthread, a marvel!

http://i.imgur.com/zM2LRdE.jpg
12. Chain Reaction. 475 points, 20 votes.
From: Soon over Babaluma (1974)

YEAH

Brutal track, bass drum stomping into yr brain like a jackhammer/boot.

Some of Karoli's best guitar playing too.

Yay! Chain Reaction!

http://i.imgur.com/cu95pcB.jpg
11. Yoo Doo Right. 518 points, 22 votes
from: Monster Movie (1969)

Too low.

TOO LOW!! I voted specifically for the Live '71-77 version because I feel it's superior to the original. I have listened to it SO MANY TIMES.

Almost my No.1, changed it at the last minute.

#3 for me, after my other two favorites. this poll has made me realize that CAN is one of my all-time favorite bands. my top 3 on my ballot are some of my favorite songs period. i don't see myself growing out of liking them ever.

wtf @ that placement

It's clear what's in the top 10 though and it's all amazing stuff.

Moka, I have a feeling you chose the font you did based on how it'd look on "Yoo Doo Right."

You think Moonshake's gonna place, jmm? So weird that it would be 10+ slots above I'm So Green, but even weirder if it doesn't make it

It's better than I'm So Green, definite Top 10.

Moonshake is a shoo-in.

voted Moonshake pretty high!
i'm sad Deadly Doris won't make it
i love Deadly Doris - it's so ridiculous!

The thing with I'm So Green is it's so understated that it's possible to overlook when bringing tracks to mind. That's my excuse for not voting for it!

Moka, I have a feeling you chose the font you did based on how it'd look on "Yoo Doo Right."

― Pleeesiosaur (Leee)

Close! First test I did was with 'Spoon'. Love those double-oh's.

TOO LOW!! I voted specifically for the Live '71-77 version because I feel it's superior to the original. I have listened to it SO MANY TIMES.

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera)

I still counted your vote in this one to avoid splitting.

On to the top 10!

http://i.imgur.com/JVfmcvC.jpg
10. Bel Air. 537 points, 22 votes, 2 Nº1 votes.
From: Future Days (1973)
https://youtu.be/LFGcZQuqOI4

I was a bit busy in the morning but I can post the rest with some 15mins in between, is it alright or do you want more time?

xp - thanks moka! i figured you would, i just wanted to specify my favorite bc i feel maximum zeal for that particular version.

even though bel air was my #1, i am genuinely surprised to see it make the top 10!

middle of the night headphone listening

I though it might be higher tbh. People seem to like it.

"bel air" was my no. 3. I think it's basically perfect

http://i.imgur.com/SkmdJMo.jpg
09. Paperhouse. 543 points, 23 votes, 1 Nº1 vote.
From: Tago Mago (1971)
https://youtu.be/Nzry1jz2-oA

I frigging love "I Want More." Even if it's the only real toe they ever dipped into disco, it somehow manages to lose none of what makes Can great -- the weirdly half whispered treated lead vocal, the hilarious toy keyboard counter-melody, the Rother-esque melody in the guitar and keys refrain. The remaster (on Spotify) sounds great, too. The fact that "...And More" exists, too, which sounds like some lost KC and the Sunshine Band 12", makes it even better. Wow.

― Naive Teen Idol

You need to listen to CAN (1979)! There's more can disco to be had, namely 'Sunday Jam' and 'Aspectacle' (which was in the lower end of the poll).

middle of the night headphone listening

Totally. It makes me think of the ocean under a full moon. Also one of my favourite Damo performances.

I can guess 7 of the 8 remaining tracks but the eighth is a mystery

I can count 8.

nm I figured it out.

Uphill next?

Oh, I guess not LOL. Wishful thinking ;-)

Uphill already appeared!

http://i.imgur.com/uL4Ko24.jpg
08. Oh Yeah. 564 points, 21 votes, 2 Nº1 votes.
From: Tago Mago (1971)
https://youtu.be/bRMSjidUB_o

OH YEAH

that's the one I was forgetting!

Love that live youtube version that I linked to! Find it weird that the audience is so static though, I knew German are stoic (assuming they're a german audience) but it's ridiculous that there isn't at least one person head-nodding.

Yeah there isn't that many surprises in the top 10 at this point. Btw, in the count of the initial 6 ballots All Gates Open and I Want More were in the top 3!

That video is indeed awesome. "Oh Yeah" is my number two.

It's weird that people aren't dancing in the audience because most Can live videos I've seen have people convulsing, damn near speaking in tongues.

Oh Yeah swings.

Oh man, Bel Air was my #1. Until my last edit it was my #3 but then realized I couldn't think of a song that captured what I love about Can more than this one. Jaki's best performance?

Following up the only song in the top 10 that made it without a single number one vote. Can you guess which one is it?

Red Hot Indians!

I was gonna say Moonshake but it's definitely Red Hot Indians.

Yes, but my previous guess was so embarrassingly wrong I'm keeping schtum.

Spoon

Tom wins

http://i.imgur.com/1X0PnJ9.jpg
07. Spoon. 582 points, 25 votes.
From: Ege Bamyasi (1972)
https://youtu.be/3buYpfYRlaA

TOO LOW TOO LOW TOO LOW TOO LOW TOO LOW TOO LOW TOO LOW TOO LOW TOO LOW

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/56/26/b5/5626b51fe25255d1a74c9e3e10f79677.jpg

Btw that live performance i funny, iirc this was a minor hit for them in Germany so you hear the crowd excited to recognize the song at the beginning and the band manages to throw an oddball by mixing it with a weird moonshake/spoon jam and the audience are left scratching their heads.

I think it's fair to say live versions of Spoon tended to deviate somewhat from the 7" single.

Why is that though? Did they hate the success the single had, did they just enjoy confusing people?

All of their live stuff is like that!

Their songs were largely improvisations

http://i.imgur.com/5PaeiAH.jpg
06. Moonshake. 628 points, 25 votes, 1 Nº1 vote.
From: Future Days (1973)
https://youtu.be/_ZUCxG3I01I

Often it's just that one note organ riff occasionally surfacing that marks out some 30 minute extemporisation as 'Spoon'.

two hits in a row

that's what i mean about the recorded version of Spoon being a template
(compared to what they would do with those elements in live versions/edits in other songs)

the album version i mean

The album version is an edit though, the original probably was 30 minutes long.

http://i.imgur.com/gjc4z9W.jpg
05. Vitamin C. 650 points, 23 votes, 1 Nº1 vote
From: Ege Bamyasi (1972)
https://youtu.be/QAhTMkXAPUk

I was the number one voter for this.

I regret nothing.

vitamin c was the first can song i ever heard (the kickoff track on a sweet mixtape from a friend), and when i tracked down ege bamyasi and heard pinch, one more night, and sing song swan along the way to vitamin c, i was hooked 4 lyfe

http://i.imgur.com/VUCFocd.jpg
04. Mushroom. 674 points, 27 votes, 1 Nº1 vote.
From: Tago Mago (1971)

Is Vitamin C the best-known Can track at present? I don't see another with more hits on Youtube, and it looks like lots of people have discovered it through Inherent Vice.

Mushroom was the first Can song I heard when I was like 13 and I was mind-blown. It wasn't until 3 years later that I found out that the 'grunge' song I was putting in those mix cd's for my friends wasn't actually from the early 90's but the early 70's.

Is Vitamin C the best-known Can track at present? I don't see another with more hits on Youtube, and it looks like lots of people have discovered it through Inherent Vice.

― jmm

At least in spotify it's their most listened song and by quite some margin.

1. Vitamin C - 3M
2. She Brings the Rain 760k
3. I'm so Green 740k

hmmm this'll be an interesting top three

btw i'm psyched everyone voted "efs no. 99 'CAN CAN'" as no. 1

"Paperhouse" was the first Can I ever listened to and was responsible for getting me into the band!

i am.. not really that big on mushroom tbh, i don't know why

The next song is the one with the most Nº1 votes (7 votes) so going by that ranking we can consider it your actual Nº1.

i am.. not really that big on mushroom tbh, i don't know why

― bagging area (map)

I actually don't like it anymore. It's weird that I heard it so young and relate it to the early 90's because I didn't know what to connect it to... nowadays it sounds like something from other band. Same with She Brings the Rain. It sounds out of place in my ears with the rest of their albums.

http://i.imgur.com/h0PDyIW.jpg
03. Mother Sky. 746 points, 27 votes, 7 Nº1 votes.
From: Soundtracks (1970)
https://youtu.be/VDBpZdQNp9E

weird, imo it's the most can thing in the world for the drums alone

did someone on the other thread describe "mother sky" as the ultimate can song? otm

I'm in agreement with the placing below the next two but what a tune.

I love it -- and Mushroom -- and think both are "ultimate Can songs" (along with the next couple of entries...)

Mushroom in particular tho -- what a weird combination of elements to turn into a great song. Like, why should a James Brown beat + spooky organ chords, drone-y guitar and flutes (!) = dark funk master jam?

Yes, point me on the direction of all these other groups who put out stuff like Mushroom.

weird, imo it's the most can thing in the world for the drums alone

― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson)

Ah yeah that drums on Mushroom are very CAN. But you know for someone with not that many musical knowledge they didn't sound precise to my ears but both vocals and drums sounded lo-fi... like the song is actually from that indie/slacker movement early to mid 90's a la Pavement. I now realize there's a huge difference but it still sounds very ahead of its time to me. Maybe it isn't the song that doesn't fit but that I didn't really start listening through their discography until my early 20's.

I didn't vote, but "Mushroom" and "Mother Sky" probably would have my top two.

Is Mother Sky the first motorik beat?

I remember, as a no-nothing youngster, John Peel playing "Mother Sky" and being amazed that the bass was on one note for all of the song.

... and how sparse it was.

Is Mother Sky the first motorik beat?

― jmm

Some attribute it to Velvet Underground I think... but yeah I think you're on to something.

Mother Sky = Karoli's most explosive work, and the band's most locked-in rhythm groove, IMHO

Let's wrap it up! Apologies for the unexpected delay in finishing the poll. Hope you enjoyed it despite the technical problems.

http://i.imgur.com/VvtoT5P.jpg
02. Halleluhwah. 867 points, 30 votes, 5 Nº1 votes.
From: Tago Mago (1971)
https://youtu.be/yNvJiIvitBQ

http://i.imgur.com/d2mY0lx.jpg
01. Future Days. 940 points, 32 votes, 6 Nº1 votes.
From: Future Days (1973)
https://youtu.be/B9_fQgvPCS4

wow i did not expect that

wow! ILX leans harder toward future days than i thought! which is a good thing imo

That's my No. 1!

halleluhwah is my fav rhythm of all time & my no 1.

Here's the results in image form in case you want to browse through them without opening the full thread:

ILM Can Tracks Poll on Imgur:http://imgur.com/a/8oGdw
ILM Can Albums Poll on Imgur:http://imgur.com/a/uzSlT
Spotify Playlisthttps://open.spotify.com/user/moteldemoka/playlist/51G2Ur3calfY4vCpxDNcwS

:O

And here's the spreadsheet with ballots and full results:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18ew_Yopjtf9akOTJODJuZuYtRYbwf44Loc_yw3s8Zg8/

Good job ILM you chose good and wisely.

I'm pretty sure Halleluwah would have been my top pick. It's just insurmountably awesome.

I'm actually pleased with the top 10. Ranking by nº1 votes and points the top 10 would be:

1 Mother Sky
1 Future Days
2 Halleluwah
3 Pinch
4 Oh Yeah
5 Bel Air
6 Mushroom
7 Vitamin C
8 Moonshake
9 Paperhouse
10 One More Night

I'm So Green was my numero uno and would have traded it happily for Bel Air or Paperhouse in the top 10 but well, you can't always get what you want.

i always thought tago mago was a little long and uneven but i wouldn't drop a second from halleluwah.

Great poll by Moka, the images for each song are all-time, I feel for the poor sap who has to follow this one.

Thank you!

what Tom D said!

Yaaaasssssssssss, perfect number one <3

You know when choosing the images I was originally trying to maintain a theme/palette per album... so per example; the songs from Future Days would have a predominantly blue palette and a clean, bright futuristic theme while Soon Over Babaluma would have blue/violet hues and a more sci-fi setting, Tago Mago would be orange hues with psychedelic motifs, Ege Bamyasi green with 'pop' motifs, Monster Movie green/purple with monster motifs and so on... Eventually I ran out of time and I didn't really end up doing it completely but glad you enjoyed it.

Ace graphics as always Moka, and thanks for the poll! (Although I'm not a fan of, gasp, "Future Days"!)

1-20:
Halleluwah
Mary, Mary So Contrary
Paperhouse
Mushroom
Mother Sky
Bring Me Coffee or Tea
Smoke
Turtles Have Short Legs
Bubble Rap
I'm So Green
Networks of Foam
Deadlock (Titelmusik)
Midnight Men
Yoo Doo Right
Dead Pigeon Suite
Spoon (Live) [Lost Tapes]
Dizzy Dizzy
Spoon
Abra Cada Braxas
Messer, Scissors, Fork and Light

Just realized I fucked up by not choosing stills from the films of the Soundtracks songs that made it, those would've been adequate hehe

great poll, thanks for running it! Wish we all got paper cut-outs of the track images as souvenirs.

I feel like there was more consensus on this than usual, here was my ballot:

TRACKS
1 Halleluwah
2 Vitamin C
3 Future Days
4 Quantum Physics
5 Mushroom
6 Mother Sky
7 I Want More
8 One More Night
9 Yoo Doo Right
10 Spoon
11 Chain Reaction
12 Oh Yeah
13 Come sta, La Luna
14 Moonshake
15 Dizzy Dizzy
16 Laugh Till You Cry, Live Till You Die
17 Pinch
18 Gomorrha
19 All Gates Open
20 Turtles Have Short Legs

ALBUMS
Ege Bamyasi
Tago Mago
Soon Over Babaluma
Monster Movie
Future Days

1. Vitamin C
2. Oh Yeah
3. Bring Me Coffee or Tea
4. One More Night
5. Moonshake
6. Dizzy Dizzy
7. Future Days
8. Chain Reaction
9. Mushroom
10. Don't Turn The Light On, Leave Me Alone
11. Mother Sky
12. Paperhouse
13. Soul Desert
14. Tango Whiskeyman
15. She Brings the Rain
16. Mary Mary So Contrary
17. Yoo Doo Right
18. Sing Swan Song
19. Splash
20. Spoon

1. Ege Bamyasi
2. Tago Mago
3. Soundtracks
4. Soon Over Babaluma
5. Future Days

Tracks
1. Future Days
2. Chain Reaction
3. Quantum Physics
4. Yoo Doo Right
5. Oh Yeah
6. Sing Swan Song
7. Vitamin C
8. Mushroom
9. Thief
10. I Want More
11. Mother Sky
12. Father Cannot Yell
13. Moonshake
14. One More Night
15. Dizzy Dizzy
16. Halleluwah
17. Hunters and Collectors
18. Butterfly
19. She Brings the Rain
20. Vernal Equinox

Albums
1. Soon Over Babaluma
2. Monster Movie
3. Ege Bamyasi
4. Tago Mago
5. Soundtracks

halleluwah is the turning center of the universe

God, listening to that live version of Oh Yeah makes me want to put it #1.

oh and I was the #1 for Moonshake, I can't count the times I have felt a bit low or washed out, put that song on, and felt restored and recharged. It has ... voodoo qualities.

Wonder what the Malcolm / Damo split is in the top 50!

here's my list:

Tracks:

Mother Sky
Bel Air
Spoon
Halleluwah
Aspectacle
Tango Whiskyman
Vitamin C
Paperhouse
Future Days
Thief
Mushroom
All Gates Open
Father Cannot Yell
Gomorrha
Peking O
Sing Swan Song
She Brings The Rain
Chain Reaction
Graublau
Der Millionenspiel

Albums:

Tago Mago
Future Days
Can (1979)
Radio Waves
Ege Bamyasi

Great poll, Moka, thanks for running it -- fantastic graphics as always.

I'm proud my #1 vote pushed "E&UK" into the top 50.

The Empress and the Ukraine King
Oh Yeah
Future Days
One More Night
Mushroom
Moonshake
Lalleluhwah
Aumgn
Bel Air
Dizzy Dizzy
Unfinished
Vernal Equinox
Vitamin C
Mother Sky
Outside My Door
Paperhouse
Spoon
Splash
Soup
Father Cannot Yell

ALBUMS
1. Tago Mago
2. Future Days
3. Ege Bamyasi
4. Unlimited Edition
5. Soundtracks

Paperhouse was my #1, I wasn't really expecting it to be there but it just sort of does everything.

Great poll!

Missed the roll-out, but you guys rule!

1. I Want More
2. Vitamin C
3. Half Past One
4. Paperhouse
5. On the Beautiful Side of a Romance
6. You Doo Right
7. The Empress and the Ukraine King
8. All Gates Open
9. Fall of Another Year
10. Father Cannot Yell
11. Spoon
12. Tango Whiskyman
13. Moonshake
14. Hoolah Hoolah
15. Hunters and Collectors
16. Below This Level (Patient's Song)
17. Future Days
18. Deadlock
19. EFS No. 99, 'Can Can'
20. Halleluhwah

Thanks, Moka.

Extremely pleased with #1. Didn't expect "Bell Air" to be top 10 based on the voting thread, but nice to see that, too. Christ, I love this band - just about everything on my ballot could have been #1. Ranking was very hard.

01 Future Days
02 Ege Bamyasi
03 Tago Mago
04 Monster Movie
05 Soon Over Babaluma

01 Future Days
02 Pinch
03 One More Night
04 Vitamin C
05 Paperhouse
06 Mushroom
07 Spoon
08 Mother Sky
09 Moonshake
10 Uphill
11 Father Cannot Yell
12 You Doo Right
13 Bel Air
14 Halleluhwah
15 I Want More
16 Dizzy Dizzy
17 Sing Swan Song
18 Oh Yeah
19 Outside My Door
20 Come sta, La Luna

Thank you for doing this Moka!! These results were full of surprises.

Halleluhwah
Mother Sky
Spoon
Mushroom
Vitamin C
Future Days
Moonshake
Tango Whiskyman
Yoo Doo Right
Sing Swan Song
Father Cannot Yell
Bel Air
Don’t Turn The Light On, Leave Me Alone
Bring Me Coffee Or Tea
Peking O
Fall Of Another Year
One More Night
Come sta, La Luna
Connection
I Want More

Tago Mago
Ege Bamyasi
Future Days
Soundtracks
Monster Movie

Thanks for doing this, Moka!

Albums:
Future Days
Tago Mago
Unlimited Edition
Soon Over Babaluma
Flow Motion

Tracks:
Bel Air
Hallelujah
Future Days
Spoon
Spray
Cutaway
Mushroom
Gomorrha
Boat-Woman-Song
I Want More
Flow Motion
Animal Waves
I’m So Green
Ibis
Blue Bag
All Gates Open
Cascade Waltz
Turtles Have Short Legs
Mother Sky
Full Moon on the Highway

You're all welcome. Cool band, cool results! Thank you!

This was probably the most enjoyable ILM poll I've taken part in and read. Splendid stuff!

I just dug out my copy of the 2cd "Anthology" as I do like the 'edited, but still long' versions of 'Halleluwah' and 'Morning Sky'. This CD set was my first proper into (I did buy 'I want more' back in the day)

Anyway, it still has the HMV price tag of £19.25 on it! I mean, what was I, made of money in those days?

Thanks again Moka, splendid poll!

My ballot:

Albums

1. Soon Over Babaluma
2. Monster Movie
3. Ege Bamyasi
4. Tago Mago
5. Future Days

Songs

1. Future Days
2. Yoo Doo Right
3. Mushroom
4. Quantum Physics
5. Private Nocturnal
6. Pinch
7. Oh Yeah
8. Sing Swan Song
9. Father Cannot Yell
10. All Gates Open
11. Dizzy Dizzy
12. Mary So Contrary
13. Come Sta, La Luna
14. Dead Pigeon Suite
15. Vernal Equinox
16. Halleluhwah
17. Animal Waves
18. Waiting For The Streetcar
19. Chain Reaction
20. Turtles Have Short Legs

hard to complain about anything in the top 10 but I am a bit sad that "One More Night" didn't make it, that has got to be the most quietly funky tune I've ever heard

One More Night was #13!

Or, wait: are you saying you were sad it didn't make the top ten?

hard to complain about anything in the top 10

Well, I could, but I'm not going to.

great poll!! thank you for doing it, moka.

didn't vote albums, here are my songs

Mother Sky
Halleluwah
Yoo Doo Right (Live 1971-1977)
I Want More
Messer, Scissors, Fork, and Light
Dead Pigeon Suite
Moonshake
Deadly Doris
Spoon (live from Lost Tapes)
Graublau
Vernal Equinox
Mushroom
Flow Motion
Soul Desert
Come sta La Luna
Millionspiel
Shikaku Maru Ten
Sing Swan Song
Tango Whiskyman
Paperhouse

Honorable mentions:
And More
Can Can (for being so vexing to google)

I frigging love "I Want More." Even if it's the only real toe they ever dipped into disco, it somehow manages to lose none of what makes Can great -- the weirdly half whispered treated lead vocal, the hilarious toy keyboard counter-melody, the Rother-esque melody in the guitar and keys refrain. The remaster (on Spotify) sounds great, too. The fact that "...And More" exists, too, which sounds like some lost KC and the Sunshine Band 12", makes it even better. Wow.

Then there's this, which I said I'd vote for but then didn't :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iInAuoio-pQ

Really enjoyed the rollout, especially the images. I was starting to imagine them in packs of Can trading cards, with all the different gum flavors that could be included. Collect them all!

Future Days
Tago Mago
Landed
Ege Bamyasi
Flow Motion

Future Days
Moonshake
Red Hot Indians
Spoon
Halleluwah
I Want More
Full Moon on the Highway
Vitamin C
Oh Yeah
I’m So Green
Mushroom
Paperhouse
Vernal Equinox
Bel Air
Tango Whiskyman
Babylonian Pearl
Hunters and Collectors
Unfinished
Sing Swan Song
One More Night

this was my ballot! this was so fun and i listened to so much incredible music bc of it

songs:
1. Splash
2. Spray
3. Bel Air
4. Tape Kebab
5. All Gates Open
6. Vernal Equinox
7. November
8. Animal Waves
9. Thief
10. Unfinished
11. Father Cannot Yell
12. Deadlock
13. Gomorrha
14. Chain Reaction
15. Ibis
16. Mother Sky
17. Future Days
18. Sodom
19. Smoke (E.F.S. No. 59)
20. Graublau

albums:
1. Soon Over Babaluma
2. Future Days
3. Ege Bamyasi
4. Tago Mago
5. Can

Or, wait: are you saying you were sad it didn't make the top ten?

yeah kinda a petty complaint given it placed #13 but still, relistening to this stuff I'm amazed at how stupidly great that track is

Feeling like I want to meet the only other person to vote for "Butterfly" to shake them warmly by the hand.

Is Mother Sky the first motorik beat?

― jmm

Some attribute it to Velvet Underground I think... but yeah I think you're on to something.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, August 3, 2016 4:14 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

was thinking about this last night and remembered a part of the documentary where irmin schmidt is talking about his time in NYC and the people he met there, which surely would explain the VU influence because schmidt was the person who formed CAN, right? he goes to new york, has his mind blown by weirdos, forms CAN

VU was also famously another band whose album versions were tame compared to loose and far-out live versions
If you add that Jaki was originally a jazz drummer (iirc?) it would totally make sense that the CAN sound developed as it did
idk about first anything, but the evolution of a repetitive drum pattern with far-out elements laid on top of it is historically sound afaict
i have not fact-checked this progression -- going on memory, forgive my errors

I cannot believe I'm the only person that voted for Private Nocturnal! Of the songs that only got one vote mine was highest on the ballot, number five.

Do people just not like it a lot, or is it being slept on? (No pun intended) Check it out ppl!

Tracks -

1. Future Days
2. Mother Sky
3. Halleluwah
4. Yoo Doo Right
5. Pinch
6. Vitamin C
7. Spray
8. Oh Yeah
9. Chain Reaction
10. Spoon
11. Paperhouse
12. Quantum Physics
13. Father Cannot Yell
14. Sing Swan Song
15. Butterfly
16. Mushroom
17. Moonshake
18. Come Sta, La Luna
19. Half Past One
20. Peking O

Albums -

1. Tago Mago
2. Monster Movie
3. Soon Over Babluma
4. Ege Bamyasi
5. Future Days

Big thanks to Moka for running the poll. Those graphics really do seem to fit the Can vibe perfectly.

Pleased that Oh Yeah ended up in the top 10. I always had the feeling that it was one of the more overlooked tracks on Tago Mago - but clearly not!

I cannot believe I'm the only person that voted for Private Nocturnal! Of the songs that only got one vote mine was highest on the ballot, number five.

It's one of my favourite tracks on The Lost Tapes, the bass playing in the first three minutes or so is utterly sublime.

OK I need to re-listen to that, thanks

It is so slow, smooth and haunting. Really takes me to another world.

"You must play *monotonous*!"

http://youtu.be/A93XtkMLXME

I'm So Green is the track I was impressed not making it into the top 20. It's one their simpler, pop songs (at least going thru the youtubes it seems to be the most popular Can song to cover) it's like sunshine krautrock and for once Jaki isn't the highlight of the track but the guitars are.

thanks again moka, amazing pics and a brilliant results rollout

Is there one track missing from the Spotify playlist?

Great poll, thanks a lot! Wish I could've joined in this thread but I've been busy.

My ballot:

TRACKS
1.One More Night
2.Future Days
3.Vitamin C
4.Paperhouse
5.Moonshake
6.Spoon
7.Sing Swan Song
8.Mushroom
9.Bel Air
10.Oh Yeah
11.Dizzy Dizzy
12.Thief
13.Quantum Physics
14.Bring Me Coffee or Tea
15.Spray
16.Outside My Door
17.Fly by Night
18.Millionenspiel
19.Tango Whiskeyman
20.Turtles Have Short Legs

ALBUMS
1.Future Days
2.Ege Bamyasi
3.Tago Mago
4.Soon Over Babaluma
5.Soundtracks

xpost oh right, Tape Kebab. Cheers..

xpost oh right, Tape Kebab. Cheers..

I can do that, Moka, if you make the playlist collaborative.

I have a lot of disagreements with ILX about Can but I would like to say that Brad's love of the 1979 album is totally on point. Thats a really cool album

I like to add those from my library even if I only have it myself as it leaves a placeholder. I'm a nerd like that.
I can do that, Moka, if you make the playlist collaborative.

― Naive Teen Idol

I have it too but I think if I add it from my local library and its not on spotify it only appears for me in the playlist and noone else sees it?

I remember someone else doing that unwittingly adding his own. We could see the entries but not play them.

So... you want me to add it for completion purposes even tho you wont hear it?

That was the idea. I feel like sometimes when the song becomes available on Spotify it will sync up and play appropriately. .

Plus, if you have if locally I think it also plays from your laptop.

Awww yes.
http://i.imgur.com/R1AmhS1.jpg

That is a really cool shirt! Only can shirt I like, the other official ones I've seen are just the other album covers which don't really adapt to a t-shirt that well.

http://www.spoonrecords.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=75&zenid=6bb5c79853a0b2e36f92890f0137fb39

iirc that's the shirt don anderson was wearing the first time i saw agalloch
everyone loves CAN!!

Note, being Australian I couldn't buy it from Spoon - "PLEASE NOTE: We are only taking orders from the US, CA and Europe at the moment. You will be able to order from other countries soon."

Black? That's not right. They had those Ts BITD, Holger is wearing one in some pics.

Just spend a blissful Sunday afternoon with “Don’t Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone” cranked. Why oh why does it fade out?

also would have voted "Shikaku Maru Ten" in my top 20 if I'd known it.

So for the longest time 'I'm So Green' was my favorite CAN song and easily of the 70's. Every now and then I reevaluate my opinion and it lands on "Vitamin C". Today is "Moonshake"... that would be probably my first pick to get outsiders into CAN, the whole Future Days album is amazing, but that's the sampler choice for me. A morsel of the genius behind this band.

"Future Days", "Hallelluwah", "Mother Sky" are of course massive and as shown in this poll the consensus picks for what the band has to offer, but I think of them more as album highlights. For me, when isolating songs for a "best of the decade" I tend to favor those that in my mind work in a pop format. I might entertain the idea that CAN is not really that kind of band but it totally is: "turtles have short legs", "moonshake", "vitamin c", "i'm so green", "i want more", "spoon"... there's plenty of material that is top 10 chart material somewhere in heaven.

oh and I was the #1 for Moonshake, I can't count the times I have felt a bit low or washed out, put that song on, and felt restored and recharged. It has ... voodoo qualities.

― MatthewK

I'm a bit sleep deprived at the moment and 100% agree. I was feeling drowsy, driving to do some chores and played this one and immediately started feeling refreshed.

I often think "One More Night" is my favourite Can track - it's the most low-key on Ege Bamyasi but feels like it could go forever.

"One More Night" is a great example of the surprising emotional depth of much of Can's work. It's basically a one chord vamp in 7/4 time, the only hooks are a muttered chant and an oblique keyboard phrase - but it conveys a strange introspection and even sense of loss mostly through texture and rhythmic patterns.

Glad to see it get some love, I mean obviously it’s such a stacked album but man that tune in particular just really hits me. Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t there some really great track on Lost Tapes which is like an extended jam off of it?

There's a live version where Holger Czukay spontaneously comes up with five or six killer basslines .