PEOPLE OF THE NATIONS, DANCING TOGETHER! It's the 1990s TOP 100 ELECTRONIC TRACKS poll results!

I'm sorry for the long delay with this poll, but I've finally counted all the votes, so let's start rolling out the results.

woop!

100. Underworld - Dark & Long (Dark Train Mix) (Junior Boy's Own, 1994)
320 points, 4 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://youtu.be/vp1ARiUF4xE

they never played Dark Train or Dark & Long the times i saw them - bastads

― blueski, 21. syyskuuta 2002 16:05

Highlight of the night, DJ plays Dark and Long (Dark Train) and my mate runs up to the DJ box, "I HATE DANCE MUSIC, I HATE GOING OUT EVERY WEEKEND, I HATE TALKING TO THE DJS, I HATE DANCING, OH WOW I HATE IT ALL SO MUCH, BRILLIANT!"

― Ronan (Ronan), 10. lokakuuta 2002 10:55

I had hydrocodone painkillers when I got my tonsils removed, and I was laying in my bed listening to Underworld (dark train). My head on my pillow was in the corner of the room, and as the song went on, I felt like my perspective on the room was climbing up the wall, until I felt like I was up in the upper corner of the room, looking down on the bed and my body. That didn't suck.

― tylero (tylero), 18. kesäkuuta 2005 10:33

Whoops, sorry, forgot the pic:

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/darkandlong.jpeg

:D

Hi Tuomas!

99. Saint Etienne - Like a Motorway (The David Holmes Mix) (Heavenly, 1994)
320 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/likeamotorway.jpeg

http://youtu.be/oD_1Gkz605M

(Couldn't find any quotes on this in ILX, sorry. Maybe you want to say something about it here?)

98. Kerri Chandler - Track 1 (Atmosphere E.P.) (Shelter Records, 1993)
321 points, 5 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/atmosphere.jpeg

http://youtu.be/ImVygpIa1oY

Kerri Chandler

I hadn't actually heard it before running this poll, but that is one phenomenal deep house track!

woop!

― besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 December 2012 16:59 (38 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

97. Basement Jaxx - Red Alert (XL Recordings, 1999)
321 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/redalert.jpeg

http://youtu.be/SJyhZ-3Z8A8

Oh, also for some reason, there's this weird thing at the K'97 weddings and parties I've gone to where the only Basement Jaxx song you can play is "Red Alert," and everything else is considered like hopelessly obscure. I think maybe someone was really into Rooty back in the day and got other people into that song, so now it's a staple.

― jaymc, 26. huhtikuuta 2007 19:48

I saw a student band do a GREBT medley that started with Basement Jaxx's 'Red Alert', went through Block Rockin' Beats and ended with a rendition of Orbital's Halcyon complete with male and female singers doing the Jon and Belinda bits from the live set.

Suffice it to say it was the best thing EVAH!

― Matt DC (Matt DC), 25. marraskuuta 2002 23:00

One thing I wanted to say in the blog post but forgot to was that it's arguable that electro-house is now at the point that phased disco/French House was in '99 - three years on from its commercial/conceptual coalescence ("Silver Screen (Shower Scene)" as "Da Funk"), and now at the point where the formal rules for what constitutes this music begins to break down and all sorts of weird stuff is possible.

In this regard Tiefschwarz are kinda analogous to Basement Jaxx circa 98/99 (although not as revelatory, it must be said). Something like "Red Alert" was still in that post-phased disco/french house mode but you can feel it chafing within those shackles, wanting to bust out into something else - and by Remedy-proper you can really see that transformation taking place. I get that same sense with Tiefschwarz remixes: still obviously in the electro-house mode, but the emphasis on maximalism, the profusion of odd, conflicting ideas and an element of surprise, all the hints of *other* non-electro ideas and sounds being incorporated into the basic groove structure. I don't know if it's going to be Tiefschwarz or someone else who actually busts it open, but I hear a lot of potential in this stuff.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), 24. elokuuta 2004 3:59

96. Bizarre Inc. - I'm Gonna Get You (Original Flavour Mix) (Vinyl Solution, 1992)
322 points, 5 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/imgonnagetyou.jpeg

http://youtu.be/KVmnZG4fb5E

C/D Bizzare Inc. - I'm Gonna Get You

y'all ready for this?

That was the first of my votes to place. Pop house was never better!

I always found the lycra-stockinged rollerskater in the video deeply pleasing

That Kerri Chandler one of two of his in this classic clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZTZthjEhZM&sns=tw

I was just playing that Bizarre Inc album this weekend, the non-singles on it are pretty fantastic too

My #1 was the first to place, definite feeling of anticlimax.

Nice one Tuomas. :D

woop!

― besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 December 2012 16:59 (38 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― So: The Answers (or something), Tuesday, 11 December 2012 17:38 (1 hour ago)

hooray! thanks Tuomas

95. DJ Zinc - Super Sharp Shooter (Ganja Records, 1995)
322 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/supersharpshooter.jpeg

http://youtu.be/bwX6d4wZcso

i have a feeling that on the dancefloor the easy roller opening/spastic melodic bassline for the rinse-out formula he perfected (the apex of which being "super sharp shooter"?) was a killer. but unfortunately by 97 i had stopped raving, and have been to about 4 jungle nights since.

― jess, 9. helmikuuta 2002 3:00

dj zinc's "super sharp shooter" (okay the beats are fairly typical rectilinear jump-up, but that B-LINE)

― jess, 6. toukokuuta 2002 3:00

this isn't really a question, cos my mind's already made up. anyway, i felt like dancing this evening, but couldn't face another late night out; so i was going to just go down the pub & get drunk, but i didn't really feel like that either. instead i'm home alone listening to old trance/techno/jungle tunes (how great is super sharp shooter??) VERY LOUDLY and dancing round the lounge like an idiot. possibly this has been brought on by too many cups of tea and not enough food, but whatever's got me in this mood is clearly a good thing that should be done more often.

― toby (tsg20), 1. helmikuuta 2003 23:48

1048. DJ Zinc was the inspiration for the character of Robbie Rotten in hit kids TV show Lazy Town. During one episode, Robbie hums excertps of "Super Sharp Shooter" whilst attempting to foil Stephanie's attempts at making a trifle.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), 29. kesäkuuta 2006 3:34

94. Acen - Close Your Eyes (Production House, 1991)
324 points, 5 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/closeyoureyes.jpeg

http://youtu.be/K7I6BR_XY10

look, what i really want to know, though, is, what the hell happened to acen. he just disappeared one day. i heard some weird story about him dying or something, and then like 20000 people saw him at a rave AFTER he was supposed to be dead. obviously this is fucked, but i must have got it from somewhere. E's were well good those days, but they weren't THAT fucked. ok, someone clear this up?

― gareth, 7. kesäkuuta 2001 3:00

Acen is an absolute classic. "Trip II The Moon" was the shit, but "Close Your Eyes" was even better. I've converted more people to dance music in general with that song than any other.

― Dan Perry, 7. kesäkuuta 2001 3:00

Maybe the closest thing old skool hardcore had to an outright mad genius? Sometimes a little too mad and meticulous for the dance floor, perhaps. His tunes are structured like proper pieces of music, designed to be listened to from beginning to end rather than just wacked on as floor fillers.

― chap, 6. helmikuuta 2008 20:40

I don't know if this qualifies, but Acen's "Close Your Eyes" is a stimulant-based experience if there ever was one.

― maria b (maria b), 9. toukokuuta 2003 1:59

dammit I should have voted

Thanks Tuomas, some amazing stuff already.

This is my preferred mix of Close Your Eyes, BTW:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2eko6Ix-Sc

93. Foul Play - Open Your Mind (Foul Play Remix) (Moving Shadow, 1993)
325 points, 5 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/openyourmind.jpeg

http://youtu.be/bClOBkAkZYc

steve gurley/foul play - c or d?, rfi.

Man, the way the break is treated in the remix is just brilliant, and the whole thing still sounds totally timeless and classy.

Underworld did "Dark and Long" when I saw them live at Reading Festival...

Fucking yes

Re Foul Play that is

92. Ce Ce Peniston - Finally (Choice Mix) (A&M Records, 1991)
325 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/finally.jpeg

http://youtu.be/DK2fJWPEKaE

Someone should give CeCe Peniston Basement Jaxx's beeper number.

― James Blount (James Blount), 12. joulukuuta 2002 5:13

and vice versa

― James Blount (James Blount), 12. joulukuuta 2002 5:13

How come "Finally" by CeCe Peniston isn't on anybody's perfect songs list? Really, now.

― John Darnielle, 31. joulukuuta 2001 3:00

cuttin' a rug to your 12" of cece peniston's "finally" in your new apartment?

i do this on the reg, it's underrated

― Dark Noises from the Eurozone (Tracer Hand), 10. elokuuta 2011 23:26

Hello?! Ce Ce Peniston - "Finally" (even though it's still so damn annoying due to how inescapable the melody is once it gets in your heaf)

― V or maybe Vee, 1. joulukuuta 2002 23:40

Perhaps the most emblematic house single of the decade? Still a fab tune, anyway. Though I prefer the version with rapping, because, you know, I love 90s dance raps.

Show Me Love is more emblematic imo

Great to see this rolling out. Love all of these so far. Re: Like a Motorway, it's a shameless Hardfloor rip-off but so brilliantly done. 303 porn.

I was gonna say the exact same thing as Ismael

Finally >>> Show Me Love. Perhaps because I don't hear its influence in countless bad dance records.

91. Amira - My Desire (Dreem Teem Remix) (VC Recordings, 1997)
326 points, 4 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/mydesire.jpeg

http://youtu.be/lvVIyKHXJ9U

Amira - My Desire (Dreem Teem Mix) The name says it all. "My Desire" does the whole yearning shtick as well as any indie record ever has, because it captures the texture as well as the narrative of the sentiment. For dancing with tears in your eyes.

― Tim, 11. helmikuuta 2001 3:00

People who wanted to vote for "Flowers' plz vote for "My Desire" instead. Thanks!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), 10. syyskuuta 2004 11:48

this is fantastic

― deej, 29. marraskuuta 2007 22:49

Hadn't heard that one before, but it's really dope, so thanks for repping it, Tim!

Also, I believe that tune has the highest points-per-voter ratio in the whole top 100.

That's because it's one of the top five pieces of recorded sound

This poll is already so great! Thanks Tuomas.

No prob. I won't have time to post any more results today, but I'll continue tomorrow. If someone was disappointed with the very dancey top 91-100, there's some non-dance music too coming up next.

Voted for Super Sharp Shooter, Close Your Eyes & Open Your Mind rmx. Thought I'd voted for My Desire remix too but looking through my ballot apparently not, glad to see it show up anyway.

Just wanted to say thank you Tuomas for doing this! I found so many great music in albums poll, been looking forward to this one.

Right now I have Super Sharp Shooter stuck on repeat, I don't know if I can ever move to others, it's so great.

i should've voted for some acen, dunno why i didn't.

This poll is already so great! Thanks Tuomas.

― MikoMcha, Tuesday, December 11, 2012 9:14 PM (2 hours ago)

I would have voted for "Finally" higher if it would have been the hit version

I like how slowly these tracks are being rolled out

90. The Sabres of Paradise - Smokebelch II (David Holmes Remix) (Sabres of Paradise, 1993)
331 points, 5 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/smokebelch.jpg

http://youtu.be/4E7DKirMqQI

It's an interesting subject because there really are 'gateway' records which got former indie boys into dance. Orbital's "Halcyon" did it for loads of friends at University and the remix of Sabres' "Smokebelch II" was another one.

― Tom, 23. helmikuuta 2001 3:00

I don't know if I'd have Smokebelch so high, I love it and all but isn't it more the pinnacle of a beautiful old style piano breakdown rather than a massive seminal record in its own right?

― Ronan (Ronan), 22. marraskuuta 2002 13:20

sabres of paradise - smokebelch II

Prachtig! Ga 'em direct weer opzetten. De David Holmes-remix was de mooiste, meen ik me te herinneren.

― Niels Aalberts (Niels), 20. helmikuuta 2006 21:55

David Holmes 'Smokebelch remix' is trance surely - arpeggios!

― nebbesh (nebbesh), 13. elokuuta 2003 13:41

I think David Holmes is the only artist in the poll who got more votes for his remixes than his own tunes.

The highest rated remix in the whole poll made it to 10th spot, by the way. I guess that's bit of a spoiler, but now you can start speculating what it is.

I think David Holmes is the only artist in the poll who got more votes for his remixes than his own tunes.

this can't be true, surely?

if so *spoiler* 'show me love' for one isn't placing, unless ilm really likes 'put em high'.

Obviously I'm only counting artists who actually had some of their own tunes on the nomination list besides remixes.

Hmm, actually I was wrong, there is one other artist whose remixes got more points than original tunes.

wb tuomas :D

95. DJ Zinc - Super Sharp Shooter (Ganja Records, 1995)

TOO LOW

more remixes than own tracks sounds right for Holmes

i think i misread that anyway, it was early. frankly i'll be disappointed if that's not the only david holmes thing in this list.

Er, there already was another David Holmes remix at #99.

i should go back to bed obv.

no more david holmes tho pretty please.

want gritty shaker

This has been great so far! Thanks Tuomas

I've started a Spotify collaborative playlist, it's got most of the tracks so far, but for a couple I had to put in a different mix as I couldn't find the right one. Anyway, you can listen / add here

http://open.spotify.com/user/usingyourworlds/playlist/40ML9Rz2etb8olfNvNTece

Thanks for doing the playlist, I haven't had the time to look for these tunes on Spotify myself.

89. Global Communication - The Way (Secret Ingredients Mix) (Dedicated, 1996)
332 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/theway.jpg

http://youtu.be/kLVAiIqMIQc

The Way (Secret Ingredients Mix) is some pinnacle-of-recorded-sound shit for me so i guess i'll vote for SI. but really, everyone's a winner.

― unaustralian (jabba hands), 23. maaliskuuta 2009 0:38

i sold my The Deep/The Way on discogs recently. instant regret.

― jed_, 23. maaliskuuta 2009 15:31

Got to be Global Communication. On-selon mi-mos and The Way (Secret Ingredients mix) are two of my all times of the 90s.

― Chewshabadoo, 3. huhtikuuta 2012 2:24

88. DJ Shadow - Stem/Long Stem (Mo Wax, 1996)
335 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/stemlongstem.jpg

http://youtu.be/luL8ZG_IKbA

I've always been partial to "Stem/Long Stem".

― Gregory T (tubesocks), 3. kesäkuuta 2005 15:47

Always been v unimpressed with the guy in Stem/Long Stem: "I could just lay right down, I tell you children I could lay right down" - you could lay right down? Jeez, you must have it tough. Do you want a mug of Horlicks?

― ledge, 11. tammikuuta 2008 17:27

stem/long stem is the most killer after midnight, should've gotten more votes.

― the table is the table, 15. tammikuuta 2008 5:59

Wicked sleeve, never seen that before.

87. Boards of Canada - Turquoise Hexagon Sun (Skam, 1996)
336 points, 5 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/turquoisehexagonsun.jpg

http://youtu.be/jRyYISMXbwc

Anyhow since getting my hands on MHTRTC all I wanted was more BoC stuff - there is something about their music that stops everything else cold. The whole childhood nostalga this is definitely there for me - on the first listen, without any idea of what to expect besides "they're on warp", I was taken straight back to 70's/80's marine wildlife/science documenary projections on the wall at schoool, as well as that wierd huge overpass somewhere in Ammerica with a million cars on it - remember that?

Anyway, MHTRTC has been in my daily travelling stash of tunes EVERY DAY since I got it, and has since been joined by IABPOITC and Geogaddi. It's like they are making music just for me - was nearly in tears when I first heard Turquoise Hexagon Sun, and again with Kid for today and IABPOITC itself. And as for Over the horizon radar - well, That was Kleenex time...

― Johann Morton, 27. helmikuuta 2002 3:00

Sinewy electronic chillout music deeply informed by hip-hop and Robitussin. The beats are mesmerizing, the environmental flourishes in the samples are breathtaking, and "Turquoise Hexagon Sun" is just mind-boggling.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), 2. lokakuuta 2002 17:44

like being sprayed with giant windex bottles of hypercolor twinkle dust. like the turquoise hexagon sun is engulfing you. pleasant as it is, it's almost too much, too saturated, a day dream binge.

― Honda (Honda), 12. toukokuuta 2003 20:22

Boards of Canada - "Turquoise Hexagon Sun"
A man attempts to commit suicide by jumping off a cruise liner into the ocean. The music starts once he is underwater. At first there is only darkness, then we get subtle flashes of brightly colored fish. A glowing object in the distance comes closer, until we see that it is a beautiful mermaid, who pulls him into a cave in a reef, where he passes out.

― n/a (Nick A.), 10. kesäkuuta 2005 21:22

Wicked sleeve, never seen that before.

7" with "Heat version" iirc

Stem/Long Stem was one of my token not-really-dancey choices, nice.

YES to 'the way' and TOO LOW at the same time. just an undeniable track the way it pulls you in. layer on top of layer.

85. (tie) Bizarre Inc - Playing with Knives (Vinyl Solution, 1991)
336 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/playingwithknives.jpeg

http://youtu.be/KQuHvJh_LeA

I think that the Mixmag Live! Hardcore Techno Classics mix is not bad, especially as it contains "Playing with knives".

― Aaron Grossman (aajjgg), 31. elokuuta 2002 6:26

"Playing With Knives" is obv one of the all time classic rave tracks

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), 18. toukokuuta 2005 19:48

i spent last friday night at an altern-8 gig in london (sooo good). i dunno about 'i'm gonna get you' but i'm certain 'playing with knives' got played at least about four times. this thread has just reminded me of it all again and i'm a very happy bunny now indeed ;)
oh and CLASSICCLASSICCLASSIC obviously as if it needs to be said any more....

― peteflynn (piratestyle), 19. toukokuuta 2005 14:10

lots of Bizarre Inc - always thought they were kind of an underrated 90s dance act really.

the three most underrated 90s dance albums IMO:

T99 - Children of Chaos
Eon - Void Dweller
Bizarre Inc - Energize

Don't know how I missed this, but so far the results suggest my ballot would've been with the crowd.

85. (tie) The Source featuring Candi Staton - You Got the Love (Truelove Electronic Connections, 1991)
336 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/yougotthelove.jpeg

Original video with crappy sound.

Longer mix with much better sound.

The Source's "You've Got The Love" bass line

The other mix with a hardcore break and gospel pianos is also amazing.

Loving the overall raviness of this list so far

This feels too UK-centric so far. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Loving the overall raviness of this list so far

― formerly EDB (ed.b), Wednesday, December 12, 2012 6:04 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Can't go wrong with Playing With Knives.

This feels too UK-centric so far. Not necessarily a bad thing.

― Moka

UK dance music 90-94 is perhaps my favourite period of any music ever, so definitely no bad thing.

OTM

The other mix with a hardcore break and gospel pianos is also amazing.

link (or mix name)?

84. Aphex Twin - Rhubarb (aka track 3 of Selected Ambient Works II) (Warp Records, 1994)

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/rhubarb.jpg

http://youtu.be/ZVvjXJentik

the first three tracks on disc one. (especially three.) ;)

― jess, 27. lokakuuta 2001 3:00

With Jess. Especially about that third track.

― Ned Raggett, 27. lokakuuta 2001 3:00

Yup, that's the one for me. Best thing he ever did and he's no slouch when it comes to good stuff.

― Billy Dods, 27. lokakuuta 2001 3:00

Oddly enough, I think I would nominate this because it is so involving and entrancing. It is very out-of-yer-body and is creepy as a result.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), 4. toukokuuta 2003 4:19

i can't overstate how much i love this piece. (as a side note cddb now calls it "rhubarb," which seems a bit odd...are these the unofficial titles people puzzled out from the pics in the liner notes?) it marks the only time i've ever used a repeat function on a cd player. i wanted to listen to it a few times and accidentally left it on for at least an hour or two late at night. it must be tapped into my personal resonant frequency or something.

it seems strange to me that this and nirvana were happening coincidentally, on virtually opposite sides of the world. i experienced them sequentially but they've coincidentally both drifted back into my life- i just added saw II to itunes finally, and it and nevermind keep cropping up on random play.

― rgeary (rgeary), 6. huhtikuuta 2004 8:37

Sorry, forgot the points:

337 points, 5 votes, one 1st place vote.

83. Hardfloor - Acperience 1 (Harthouse, 1992)
337 points, 5 votes, two 1st place votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/acperience1.jpg

http://youtu.be/wj4fj3VJ-Pk

Classic, they perfected one template, wobbly acid-line, fat bass, breakdown, enter strings, here come the drums, whoom-whoom, Nirvana!

― Omar, 10. marraskuuta 2001 3:00

the first time i heard hardfloors hardtrance acperience at the orbit (cant remember who dropped it), and then it fades out, and out and out, and then BBAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMM!! and the whole place is hanging from the rafters and there are lazers everywhere and the floor is shaking and everyone knows wow something really incredible just happened, like, this is the greatest thing ever!

― gareth (gareth), 21. lokakuuta 2002 16:16

although the second time might have been better, becuase this time, we knew! we knew what was coming, the minute that bassline bounces in, and the whole crowd is peaking and like YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

― gareth (gareth), 21. lokakuuta 2002 16:17

There was no point making any more acid trance after that was there? You were never going to top Acperience.

― Treblekicker, 24. lokakuuta 2008 20:15

This list is already loads more fun and unexpected than the albums list. Of the two massive diva house tracks here I think Finally has definitely lasted the best. Possibly it's overplay I dunno, but I never need to hear You Got The Love again, like all enjoyment has been wrung out of it, but I can't imagine ever getting tired of Finally.

I feel the other way round. But I also feel like You Got The Love shouldn't be on this list, or at least if it's on a 90s list it also has to go on every decade's list.

Nice to see Acperience place. Getting kind of excited to see what direction the list goes in from here, because so far I'm not getting much feel for what subgenres and eras will dominate the higher placings.

That's not the Hardfloor track I voted for (my vote went to "Once Again Back", which still has, 21 years after it was released, the roughest, moss kick-ass bassline I've ever heard in dance music), but I'm glad it made it. They were largely responsible for reviving acid in the 90s, and as mentioned in this thread, "Acperience" also popularized the build & release technique that became quite common in 90s techno/house/trance.

I prefer Aceperience 5, which is a bit harder and seems to have more tension in it, but that might just be because I heard it first (a friend taped it for me in early 94, I didn't hear the Acperience 1 until I bought Flux Trax about 18 months later). That whole build & release technique was done to death and sounds annoyingly formulaic now.

I'm not well versed on the history of "You Got the Love", but AFAIK it was originally a disco/boogie tune released in 1986, then some British guy used an acappella of it and remixed with Jamie Principle's "Your Love", which was first released as a bootleg 1989, then officially released in 1991. So yeah, technically it's an 1980s tune, but since this version became commercially available (and subsequently became a hit) only in 1991, it's fair to include it on the 1990s list.

Maybe one or two ILXors heard the remix in 1989, but I assume for the most of us it's firmly a 90s tune.

this edit of it with the beat from "She's a Bitch" has been ruling my world of late

https://soundcloud.com/totalfreedom/slice-4-minimal-complaint-also

82. Origin Unknown - Valley of The Shadows (RAM Records, 1993)
341 points, 5 votes

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/valleyoftheshadows.jpg

http://youtu.be/a5meT63flnM

Can't find any good comment on it on ILX, but this is generally considered to be the first "darkcore" track, right? Or are there earlier examples? Also, it's one of the two tracks in the top 100 to inspire a book title.

Hardfloor disappointingly low. I was one of the #1 votes. The quintessential 90s dance record for me - a track that established a new template and did it so well that countless imitators couldn't improve on it. I never get bored of it.

The other mix with a hardcore break and gospel pianos is also amazing.

link (or mix name)?

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7dMGw3uzEU

Sorry to clutter the thread, but I don't know how to do non-imbed YTs.

Continuing the thought, dance tracks like Acperience and Horsepower (which I hope to see later in the poll) have the same effect on me as, say, I Wanna Be Your Dog - nothing extraneous, nothing high-minded, just the perfect application of noise.

"other mix with a hardcore break and gospel pianos is also amazing" - The Now Voyager mix?

I dunno what it's called, but I just posted it.

for future ref, the youtu.be shortened urls don't embed the video as far as i'm aware.

Yes, that's why I'm posting them instead of youtube.com urls. You get the youtu.be url by clicking "share".

Thanks!

81. I-f - Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass (Viewlexx, 1997)
343 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/spaceinvaders.jpg

http://youtu.be/5Nx6QZnps_0

I-F heeft wel aangekondigd te stoppen met electro en iets heel nieuws te gaan doen. Hij is waarschijnlijk toch wel binnen omdat op elke electro verzamelaar verplicht Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass schijnt te moeten staan.
Ik ben trouwens ook erg benieuwd wat Felix Da Houscat samen met Marilyn Manson aan het brouwen is.

― Martijn ter Haar (wmterhaar), 4. syyskuuta 2002 13:59

Unofficial (as if!) leader of the "The Hague Underground" is I-f, well known for his Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass hit. I think it's all a bit ridiculous.

― JoB (JoB), 4. syyskuuta 2002 13:05

at least in NYC, Electroclash was a very specifically branded thing which attracted dozens and dozens and dozens of bands that came from diverse backgrounds but shared certain things...bad drum machine programming, weak preset synth sounds, assymetrical haircuts, new wave aesthethics etc. Failed ex-techno producers were adding guitars and singers and failed ex-rock bands were adding drum machines and synthesizers. They came from Austin and Chicago and San Francisco other distant locales, though some probably stayed in San Francisco. I can name an absurd amount of these bands but most never got as far as releasing a record beyond a 4 song cd-r demo.

There was the superficial and aesthethic influence coming from "electro" as in the electro-funk revival started in Detroit, Germany and England around 95, but it was more influenced by the electro into italo revival epitomized by I-F's Space Invaders are Smoking Grass in the late 80s and his Mixed Up at the Hague mix from 2000.

Sorry, what I'm trying to get at is electroclash as a distinctly seperate thing from the electro revival, perhaps.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), 11. toukokuuta 2004 21:55

I love Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass

― This Is... The Police (dog latin), 10. syyskuuta 2012 15:00

Oo, new to me. I like that.

Nice choice. Again, probably would've maybe been on my ballot.

80. The Artful Dodger presents Craig David - Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta) (Sony Music Entertainment, 1999)
347 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/rerewind.jpg

http://youtu.be/vEtWdI9FByA

This one goes out to all the dee-hee-jays: Artful Dodger singles poll

Hopefully Movin Too Fast will make it as well, it's way better IMO.

Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass is all time. Electroclash about 5 years before the fact too.

Again, lots of great stuff here!

I-F unfairly still gets a bit of flack from some people about the electroclash connection.

Enjoying most of this rundown so far, naming no names.

This brought to mind..

Well, the introdutory post on this thread:

I can feel Excelsior in the air tonight, oh lord, and I've been LOL all my life, etcetcetrc

Roy North: Rewind, and select when the crowd say bo.
Basil Brush: Reeeeewindddd, and when the crowd say bo, Sellleeeeccter, ah ha HA HA HA!!!

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 25 October 2004 08:42 (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I know Space Invaders was cited as a proto-electroclash tune but it feels like a brilliant anomaly to me. It has none of the tropes that I associate with electroclash in its 2001/2002 incarnation.

ha, I'd never heard it before and within 10-15 seconds of hitting play I was like "electroclash!"

a friend and part-time lurker just texted me to say he'd heard 'acperience 1' for the first time because of this thread and just sat there in his house bopping, enthralled for it's duration. i was jealous. he's listening to them all and next up was the SAWii track which put a downer on him so he stuck hardfloor on again straight after.

Can I get a 'TOO LOW' for Valley Of The Shadows?

(Not disputing that these results are ace so far though).

but this is generally considered to be the first "darkcore" track, right? Or are there earlier examples?
There were def earlier darkcore tunes, but I get the impression that VOTS was one of the tunes where the distance from earlier breakbeat hardcore became really marked - like there's no rave stabs or anything, just bass/beats/sample, so you're already most of the way towards what would become jungle/dnb.

Much love for "Space Invaders" and much love for all the 80s tracks I'd never have heard if not for Mixed Up In The Hague.

What other people did after that isn't I-F's fault - which isn't to knock electroclash, cz ten years after rolling my eyes at it but still buying it I've come round to admitting that I do actually like most of it, or most of what I've bothered remembering

I know Space Invaders was cited as a proto-electroclash tune but it feels like a brilliant anomaly to me

There's a funny thing about wikipedia's reference for Space Invaders being cited as proto-electroclash... (uh, sorry if this crosses a line!)

There were other electro revivalists than I-f in the mid-to-late-90s too... Some of the Cologne posse, like Kerosene and Khan and Jammin' Unit, were doing similar electro-with-90s-sensibilities stuff around the same time, and didn't the Global Communication guys release an electro album too (never really listened to that one)? To me the 90s electro revival felt like an unique thing of its own, not a precursor to electroclash or whatever. (For example, those guys didn't really use the sort of 80s new wave vocals and sounds later artists did, because they were grounded in house/techno, not in pop/rock.) Though by the early 00s I wasn't paying that much attention to the dance scene anymore, so maybe there was some lineage I missed.

To me, the 90s record that really sounds like a precursor to electroclash is DJ Hell's Munich Machine from 1998, especially this tune on it:

http://youtu.be/bNXuOae_f80

This feels too UK-centric so far.

Almost everything I voted for was from the UK, almost no knowledge of things from overseas apart from bits like DJ Shadow. Digesting this poll over the holidays will hopefully fill some gaps.

79. Nightcrawlers - Push the Feeling On (The Dub of Doom) (4th and Broadway, 1992)
348 points, 8 votes.

(Whoever nominated this didn't specify which mix they meant, but I assume people voted for the "Dub of Doom" mix rather than the original version, as the remix was the one that became a hit.)

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/pushthefeelingon.jpeg

http://youtu.be/rSzpOUwiLkc

Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling On has to be some kinda high watermark of the 90s, right?

Also, what the fuck is up with that single cover? I don't think either the original or the remix have any of the instruments portrayed there. It looks like a Bon Jovi cover!

Everything about this is horrible.

ugh, there are scores of mk remixes and dubs that don't set your teeth on edge, why this?

Praying it's another one of Tuomas' practical jokes...

ha ha, great cover

amazing find on the live-on-MTV Acperience, ta Tuomas

ta also chap - I've heard the Now Voyager mix before, but didn't associate with yr breathless descrip. still it's not like there's a *bad* version of You Got The Love

would get touched up in the dark to Rev's bitch edit btw

This track was massive at the time, seemed to be played all over the place and rereleased endless times, so I'm not surprised it places on an ILM poll.

It would have been higher had i not apparently forgotten to vote for it.

The new version doing the rounds this year is genuinely horrible though.

78. 69 - Desire (Planet E, 1994)
350 point, 6 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/desire_zps1b625449.jpg

http://youtu.be/tGDOyKPjK1s

Desire is so distressed as to threaten an emotional response (to techno!)

― gaz (gaz), 23. helmikuuta 2003 11:15

the 69 stuff is awsome. No one so far has mentioned desire off that sound of music album. Very cool stuff, emotional and machiney.

― hector (hector), 21. maaliskuuta 2004 5:49

With Craig you can start any place really. Although that 69 - Sound of Music compilation has a nice mix of emo-tracks a la 'Desire' and bangers like 'Jam The Box'.

― Omar (Omar), 27. syyskuuta 2004 22:18

who was gaz anyway?

Gaz was a regular ILM poster, might still post under some other name?

just wtfing at his comment tbh. i love this obv and i voted for it. so ostentatiously melancholy. it would just about crack my carl craig top 20.

Re: Nightcrawlers, Weren't they mates (or something) of Stiltskin, who did "Inside" ?

Push The Feeling On had a bit of a revival a couple of years ago, I remember hearing it out at lot, it fits in with a lot of contemporary stuff really well.

no doubt. i just vaguely remember them being on top of the pops and that guy miming it and it being awful. it's probably unfair. i do prefer lots of other mk dubs tho.

MK had a big resurgence about 2 years back, people like Maya Jane Coles making pastiche’s of the sound.

The singer is horrible. The video actively puts me off a record that I like.

AV Club pick their least essential albums of 2012, boo to their number one choice http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-least-essential-albums-of-2012,89882/2/

77. 2 Bad Mice - Bomb Scare (Moving Shadow, 1992)
352 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/bombscare_zpsd98bf0d6.jpg

http://youtu.be/iQVv40_9NSo

Music That You'd Wanted To Hear For Ages And Then You Finally Did Hear And It Was Just As Good As You Thought It Was Going To Be YEAH

If I'm going to break my one-word-post rule I might as well break it.

My answer. 2 Bad Mice - "Bombscare". Ten years late but my God what a track.

― Tom, 15. tammikuuta 2002 3:00

"Bombscare" still takes me back.

Dunh dunh dunh
dunh dunh dunh-nuh-nuh-nuh
Dunh dunh dunh
dunh dunh dunh-nuh-nuh-nuh

― rentboy (rentboy), 16. maaliskuuta 2005 0:11

I love evry single 2 Bad Mice tune I've heard - i reckon there's a pretty good case for them being the best of the early jungle / hardcore bunch.

― Robin, 5. huhtikuuta 2002 3:00

Bombscare = proto-Shackleton style. Big white noise breakdowns.

― broodje kroket (dog latin), 23. toukokuuta 2011 17:38

xpost, whoops wrong thread.

Tune.

The Bomb! I hadn’t realised 2 Bad Mice and Deep Blue were connected until I went to my one and only BangFace night (never again!) and the same guy did two sets, which were by far and away the best thing in a night dominated with the world’s worst breakcore.

MASSIVE MASSIVE MASSIVE

i reckon there's a pretty good case for them being the best of the early jungle / hardcore bunch.

ha I was just saying this to strongo a couple of weeks ago; the Kaotic Chemistry album is face-melting

North Herts fact: Bombscare was produced above the (now sadly defunct) dance shop next to my local.

crossing my fingers for a surprise appearance from "Drum Trip II"

76. Nightmares on Wax - Aftermath (Warp Records, 1990)
355 points, 9 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/aftermath_zps5def0613.jpeg

http://youtu.be/HP8BLe8KDVM
(I didn't know there was a video to this tune - looks pretty creepy!)

Aftermath is one of the darkest, moodiest classic bleep tracks evah featuring that extraordinary 'reverse breaking glass' sound effect

― blueski, 1. lokakuuta 2002 19:00

'Aftermath' might not sound like a big deal now but i remember at the time it was really one of those 'What the hell is this?!' tracks/moments

― blueski, 1. lokakuuta 2002 19:05

'aftermath' still sounds fresh to me, 'smoker's delight' disappointed.

― stevo (stevo), 1. lokakuuta 2002 19:18

Aftermath is the business, dont like anything else though...

― gareth (gareth), 2. lokakuuta 2002 10:13

I'll add to this debate....this tune sounds top without drugs. I just happened to dance a lot better listening to it ON drugs...£20 quid a pop sounds right to me man. Even a half of a Dove would piss all over any 'pill' recently...some of you youngsters on here don't seem to understand that getting wasted had a deeper meaning back then, sense of community, a house nation that only WE were part of at the time

Also, apparently the video was co-directed by Jarvis Cocker, that's weird!

he did a few warp videos, right? he did an aphex one IIRC

now ya talkin'

Desire was my number 1. WAY TOO LOW!

75. Daft Punk - Rollin' & Scratchin' (Soma Quality Recordings, 1995)
356 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/rollinandscratchin_zps5f4a0320.jpeg

http://youtu.be/Gbb8kZw-xRg

Daft Punk - "Rollin' & Scratchin'"

74. Groove Chronicles - Stone Cold (Groove Chronicles, 1998)
360 points, 5 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/stonecold_zpse682f7f5.jpeg

http://youtu.be/EigTICaacAg

(Can't find any good quotes for this one, comments? I wasn't familiar with it before, but it's cool, very sleek and minimal.)

Sorry, here's the Yotube link to it:

http://youtu.be/EigTICaacAg

Push The Feeling On, Desire, Bombscare and Aftermath all on my ballot. Even if the results become blander from here on in I already feel vindicated.
xpost Stone Cold too :D

72. (tie) Photek - Ni - Ten - Ichi - Ryu (Two Swords Technique) (Science, 1997)
361 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/nitenichiryu_zpsfccf87d0.jpeg

http://youtu.be/9qJKxaWb0_A

Dark, menacing tracks like Panacea make you want to lock your doors and look out for the maniac with the chainsaw, but something like Photek's "Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu" strikes an emotional core by stripping common emotional signifiers out and stalking you relentlessly with a precisely devastating beat.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), 1. marraskuuta 2002 0:36

Revive cos i have just been listening to Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu and 8 years on it's still truly incredible.

― jed_ (jed), 7. kesäkuuta 2004 1:42

I have this track on an MTV drum n bass compilation I inherited, and it's okay. I've had a couple MRI's done and some of the sounds are similar (though I still think the MRI experience is more intense).

― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), 4. syyskuuta 2004 5:02

if dubstep is the most exciting music of the moment (which it's not, it just can't be), does that make "ni ten ichi ryu" the greatest record of the 90s?

in the new issue of wax poetics, four tet says "everyone goes on about autechre and aphex, but i think photek ... was more ambitious than anything else going on; they were on a whole other level. ni ten ichi ryu is off the scale. what i love about it is not only was it trying to be the most innovative thing ever, it also tried to rock a club at the same time"

― renegade bear shot by cops on frat row (vahid), 12. kesäkuuta 2006 1:17

72. (tie) Underworld - Born Slippy (NUXX) (Junior Boy's Own, 1995)
361 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/bornslippy_zps590ee027.jpeg

http://youtu.be/XiMrrleH_hI

Born Slippy (nuxx)

I remember sorta liking "Born Slippy" as a novelty when it came out in 1995, because it didn't sound like anything else, not even like the earlier Underworld tunes I'd heard... Then the following year it was revitalized by Trainspotting, and the novelty wore off quickly. IMO time hasn't really been kind to it, today it sounds mostly like crap, the only redeeming features are the pretty synth stabs, and some of the drum craziness towards the end (in the full-length version). Then again, I never much cared for Underworld's singing (my favourite track by them are instrumentals), so a track which is pretty much just vocals + drums isn't exactly manna to my ears.

so relieved this has shown up already.

Born Slippy (original) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Born Slippy (NUXX)

I still pack that Groove Chronicles 12 quite often on the rare times I DJ out, such as great tune, and with some Aaliyah too. <3

I could very easily live my life without hearing Born Slippy again.

;_; my #1

this is the version you want: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOi8Gnq_z_U

Obviously that has something to do with how this track hit me in '96 but I'm not going to apologize for that. Still love the drum sounds and the relative economy of means. Love the bleak vocals (and they are very bleak) over the energy of the track. Big.

sorry, thought wrapping that link in (url) brackets would quarantine it

tuomas otm re: born slippy

Groove Chronicles is another new one to me. Just got back from a house party slightly buzzing on a small dab of md and it sounds absolutely lovely.

tuomas roll out before chap comes down ffs. we could do with some visceral comments.

Haha.

Too late.

^Always forget just how abrasive Rollin & Scratchin sounds.
Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu was a late cut from my ballot, on another day it might have made it in.

Next day is always a good idea to get back on the Mandy train chap.

Sorry, I was away for the weekend, but I'll continue the countdown today. I'll try to get to #1 by Friday.

71. The Orb - Blue Room (Big Life, 1992)
365 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/blueroom_zpsd3739e48.jpg

http://youtu.be/xIx2X8MSZF4
(The votes went for the full 40 minute version, but I can't find that on Youtube, so enjoy the official video with cool computer graphics instead.)

As for non prog stuff, Orbital's "Out There Somewhere" and The Orb's "Blue Room" are both really great.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), 29. marraskuuta 2003 0:44

"The Blue Room" is awesome even in its 40 minute version (infinitely preferable to "Pulsating Orb") but the single edit is even better.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), 23. marraskuuta 2004 0:21

The 45 minute mix of Blue Room is the bomb.

― sympathizer (sympathizer), 29. syyskuuta 2005 3:37

I found the "waa waah" bit on a Lee Perry dub album some years later.

Yes!

It was on a Mad Professor comp for me, IIRC

That was it: Poptones..

I must have been about 10 or 11 when I first heard the single edit of Blue Room and I remember loving it so much even then. Always found it quite a frightening tune - those alien grunts mimicking the dubby bassline. Well good.

70. Apollo Two - Atlantis (I Need You) (L.T.J. Bukem Remix) (Good Looking Records, 1993)
365 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/atlantis_zpsab99acb0.jpg

http://youtu.be/C1b9cQArti8

great moments in pop history

LTJ Bukem's "Atlantis", after the last "I need you/I want you" sample when the drums suddenly crash in.

― Omar, 12. maaliskuuta 2001 3:00

LTJ's best?

- Bukem w/ "Atlantis"

So poignant.

― viborg, 25. huhtikuuta 2009 10:40

Just last Thursday went to see LTJ Bukem spin. Since I don't go out that much anymore I needed a sure thing and something not too hectic for me overworked dad's brains so this seemed like a good choice. It was too. Total closed-off 95/96 universe sound-wise really, but utterly enjoyable. Still, nagging in the back of my head a voice saying "this is not cutting edge. is this the first sign i'm starting to give up? why the ***** should I care about these bloody questions?" A propos nothing: he closed with Atlantis...still absolutely glorious.

― Ned Raggett, 29. joulukuuta 2001 3:00

Note that this was credited to LTJ Bukem in the nominations, but Discogs.com says it was originally released as Apollo Two.

69. Beats International featuring Lindy Layton - Dub Be Good to Me (Go! Beat, 1990)
366 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/dubbegoodtome_zpsd6fcf86d.jpg

http://youtu.be/-MnELifX3sQ

Beats International - Dub Be Good To Me - Classic or Dud?

Best thing Norman Cook ever did.

Everyone in my school was doing the 'tag fly boss walk' bit in the playground for months after it came out.

Xpost Co signed. First hit song I ever fell in love with. I remember 9y/o me getting quite sore at The Power knocking it off the #1 spot because I wanted it to be number one forever

68. M.J. Cole featuring Caspar Nova & Jay Dee - Sincere (Metrix Recordings, 1998)
378 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/sincere_zpscb572042.jpg

http://youtu.be/IZjHgoBrEpw

(Can't find any good quotes on this one.)

67. Goldie presents Metalheads - Inner City Life (FFRR, 1994)
380 point, 6 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/innercitylife_zps7b713a03.jpg

http://youtu.be/DJDvxRkmeqw

goldie came up with some serious earworm craziness - i've literally had "inner city life" stuck on my head since the instant i saw the thread title.

― the late great, 5. syyskuuta 2012 11:28

And all 53,579,000 versions of "Inner City Life" = classic.

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), 3. lokakuuta 2004 3:15

It still strikes me as odd that Goldie didn't produce more tracks pre-Timeless. I guess we're talking about only a three-or-so year period but it's so usual that these guys do heaps and heaps of stuff before they finally get around to making a patchy album. But Goldie was very efficient, it's like he evolved (and then later "evolved") with big steps every time he released something, such that the road from "Terminator" to "Inner City Life" actually isn't that long and winding at all.

― Tim F, 26. heinäkuuta 2007 12:37

Did anyone see him get classical on yo' ass on Maestro? His conducting totally knocked the judges for six, and only didn't win because they put the last round to a public vote. In retrospect, 'Timeless' reeks of classicism with its contrasting movements, that moody prelude to Inner City Life. So yeh, classic in more ways than one.

― Dr X O'Skeleton, 2. joulukuuta 2008 13:50

66. Leftfield featuring John Lydon - Open Up (Full Vocal Mix) (Hard Hands, 1993)
382 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/openup_zps70099961.jpg

http://youtu.be/hZj9bi7YNmI

You know, the only time I ever really enjoyed Leftfield was when my little brother was playing this baseball video game and it played "Open Up" over the title credits. Except it was this edited version with the "play ball!" samples left in and the boring John Lydon rant cut out, so it was good.

― Ian, 23. tammikuuta 2002 3:00

Ok so Leftism may have made it into the coffee table market but it's still a fantastic album, I can't think of a better icon/dance band collaboration than Open Up.

― Ronan, 2. heinäkuuta 2002 3:00

Yes, "Open Up" was super, a very class track that is still loved and gets dancefloors moving today.

― Carlos, 7. syyskuuta 2007 19:13

Coming up next: the British domination of this countdown will be broken for 4 whole songs! What will they be?

one will be by Moby, probably "Go"

Oh, I just realized it won't be fully broken, as one of the four is an remix by an American act of a tune by a British act.

EBTG?

Jesus Jones?

Yay Atlantis. Yay Sincere.
Inner City Life was one that didn't vote for because I knew it would do fine all on its own, but yay to it too and yay to Dub Be Good To Me which I hadn't even noticed was nominated.

I don't like Leftfield but I think I already moaned about that in the albums rollout so will keep it to a minimum here.

haha yay, someone was around to express Leftfield ire in my absence!

65. Armand van Helden featuring Duane Harden - U Don't Know Me (Armed Records, 1999)
388 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/udontknowme_zps56591b8b.jpeg

http://youtu.be/J8L3_xQr0Z8

"U Don't Know Me" is one of house's great "I'm fabulous, fuck you" anthems

― M Matos (M Matos), 10. maaliskuuta 2003 8:48

The extended version of UDON'TKNOWME (with the Orson Welles vocal clip at the start) is god.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), 15. marraskuuta 2004 20:23

he just needs to pump up the sweetness a bit more, and possibly make it sound wetter too, i mean do you remember how exciting it was when 'u dont know me' came out?

― minna (minna), 2. lokakuuta 2005 18:15

and yeah "U Don't Know Me" is one of those magic 90s dance records that will pop up on the radio here now and again when you're driving the car and cause you to ramp the volume to ridiculous levels.

― Ronan (Ronan), 4. lokakuuta 2005 0:03

Total jam.

I have to say I've never been particularly impressed by AvH... Like everyone, I liked "The Witch Doktor", but the stuff I've heard after that sounds like totally generic loop-based house to my ears, and "U Don't Know Me" is no exception. I guess it works on the dancefloor, but that's about it for me.

"Flowerz" is def better (sample sourced from a better song, more striking falsetto, atmospherics, et al), but Matos' blurb is basically right. To be on board, you have to have a taste for "get out of my way" statements.

Yeah was goin to say it worked great on the radio as well as the dancefloor, a lot of people clicked with that defiant underdog-anthem aspect of it I think.

64. Sneaker Pimps - Spin Spin Sugar (Armand's Dark Garage Mix) (Clean Up records, 1997)
392 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/spinspinsugar_zps73aecc52.jpeg

http://youtu.be/9V73VBUNCMg

The Armand Van Helden remix of "Spin Spin Sugar" is godlike; the rest is pffft.

― M Matos (M Matos), 3. joulukuuta 2002 9:25

If we need a destroy, I'm going for Sneaker Pimps as long as we can keep Armand Van Helden's remake of Spin Spin Sugar.

― Martin Skidmore, 8. toukokuuta 2002 3:00

True history of rock house:

"Rolling & Scratching"/"Rock'n'Roll" --> "Spin Spin Sugar (Armand Van Helden Remix)" --> "Alienz" --> "Yo-Yo"/"Don't Give Up" --> "Little Black Spiders" --> "Where's Your Head At" --> "I'm So Crazy" --> various Subliminal Records efforts --> "Shiny Disco Balls" --> populist electro-house (Deep Dish/Bodyrockers/Rogue Traders etc.)

― Tim F, 29. syyskuuta 2009 5:39

Now, that one is actually better than I remembered, too bad the Sneaker Pimps singer is so weak. Maybe if AvH would've gotten a proper house singer to do the vocals and released this as an original tune, I might've actually liked it.

^Big big big tune, never get sick of that bassline.

Now this next track is very dear to my heart, and I was afraid it wouldn't place at all, so I'm happy it made this high...

that remix is super stompy and awesome

I love the syncopation of the original a lot, which is stompy and awesome in a completely different way, but this remix is undeniable

Oh, fantastic, glad this is back on! And nearly every track posted will get a TOO LOW response (though I'm less familiar with the David Holmes/Aphex Twin end of stuff).

Both the Armand tracks are immense, and I've been hearing the "Spin Spin Sugar" remix out and about again recently, to my delight.

63. Corona - The Rhythm of the Night (DWA, 1993)
395 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/therhythmofthenight_zps4371b9eb.jpeg

http://youtu.be/DFGOC_Yy-ow

Indeed, "The Rhythm Of The Night" by Corono almost defines eurodance.

― JoB, 5. syyskuuta 2001 3:00

we listened to a Corona tape single of 'Rhythm of the Night' for about fifteen minutes during a July 4th barbecue. The song is appearing everywhere again, somehow.....

― trees (treesessplode), 6. heinäkuuta 2006 18:33

This is the rhythm of the night, the rhythm of my life. . .

― mehlt, 16. helmikuuta 2008 5:54 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Also, is it wrong to kind of, uhhh, like a lot of rhythm of the night?

― mehlt, 16. helmikuuta 2008 9:15 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think a number of people around here would call it a classic, especially those contributing to this thread!

― Spencer Chow, 16. helmikuuta 2008 9:42

it sort of sounds to me like they read a simon reynolds article on the greatness of early rave music and decided to build on that, almost by intentionally making all of the "bad taste" mistakes they can

but rave's committment and sense of mission looks almost bolshevik compared to the attitude here

i've been to a couple of nights like this and by far the best thing i heard was "energy flash" into "the rhythm of the night." it was pretty intensely emotional and weird to me.

― goole, 8. joulukuuta 2008 23:09

Do you mind if I post a link to AvH’s finest moment? https://soundcloud.com/homeroespinosa/kim-english-nitelife-avh-vs

It's almost impossible to describe how much "The Rhythm of the Night" epitomizes my teen years: drunken summer nights, youthful optimism, hopes and promises of things to come, the sort of nervous joi de vivre that only exists at that stage of life... Also, this tune has everything that's great about Eurodance, and Eurodance was alway better than it was given credit for.

(xpost)

Links are okay, it's only embedded Youtubes that slow the thread down.

Rhythm Of The Night was my no.3 pick, i think. It has such a perfect blend of Euro-bounce and melancholy.

62. Underground Resistance - Jupiter Jazz (Underground Resistance, 1992)
396 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/jupiterjazz_zpscd022bcf.jpeg

http://youtu.be/EIey7uk8D8E

Detroit is a raw and nasty working town and it likes to party. That is the thread that runs through everything from Real Cool Time by the Stooges, Goin' To A Go Go by Smokey Robinson, to Jupiter Jazz by Underground Resistance. It might not be nice or pretty, but we are going to have a good-ass time. and the rest of the world is going to pick up on it and bite it because they know how good it feels.

― Michael Taylor, 2. elokuuta 2001 3:00

AGENT TRIFE, UNDERWATER BASS SPECIALIST, DJING TONIGHT AT HEADQUARTERS, DOWNTOWN. INSPIRATION IS THE KEY, THE TECHNO COMMUNITY IS WORLDWIDE, LIBERATION IS AT HAND, TRANSITION IS INSPIRATION, THE JUPITER JAZZ WILL FREE US FROM OPRESSION. TURN ON THE 909, TURN ON YOUR MIND...THE FUTURE IS HERE

― gareth (gareth), 5. tammikuuta 2001

yeah, our definitions are coming from different places. My version of techno doesn't have to be "tracky" at all. It's more an aesthethic. My recent idea is that techno IS electro-house. i.e. the Electro-funk aesthetic applied to house music. The techno I love most of often very ornate and lush, I Believe by Octave One, for instance, or 808 State's Pacific or UR's Jupiter Jazz. I wouldn't call any of those songs "tracky."

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), 24. elokuuta 2004 22:27

i just finally picked up the World 2 World 12" with Jupiter Jazz on it this weekend, i love that song so much but i hadn't even realised i only had it on CD. what a stunning record. UR tunes (especially when performed live!) have brought me to tears on numerous occasions, i dont think any medication aside from more UR in your life is necessary ;)

― pipecock, 30. toukokuuta 2008 6:03

Tune with a 4-line drop-cap capital T.

The greatest moment "Rhythm of the Night" brought me was when I was a college freshman and, very early on in the first semester and the morning of what would end up being my one and only 7 a.m. class for the remainder of college, my alarm clock came on at the precise moment the singer was tearing into the refrain "THIS IS THE RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT!"

Was "Rhythm of the Night" popular in the US too? Somehow I thought it was a hit only in continental Europe...

it hit #11 and on certain stations/markets it was inescapable

Bunch of younger hipster-house/etc art school types got into "Rhythm of the Night" via the Ital/Sex Worker cover; been great to hear the original at house parties again.

61. Aphex Twin - Girl/Boy Song (Warp Records, 1996)
399 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/girlboyep_zpsd6b100f6.jpeg

http://youtu.be/YCSrMEsaNAM

Gareth wrote: wonder how much of a role 'energy flash' (the book) played in rehabilitation of rave? forced a rethink on part of some artists?

I've just looked and Energy Flash appears to be copyright 1998, by which time the breaks style of idm was in full swing. Doesn't mean he didn't lead to more specifically ravey influences creeping into idm and other styles, and as I've said I think it did have some impact on the critical reassessment of rave (plus presumably Reynolds was evangelising on behalf of rave for quite some time before the book was published), but to my mind even without adding Juno Alpha hoover mentasms a lot of breakbeat idm, even (or do I mean especially?) the early stuff is already quite rave- esque thanks to the snare rushes and the sheer joyful, cheeky exuberance and freneticism of the beats. (Thinking of stuff like Girl/Boy from 1996, etc.)

― rebecca, 3. heinäkuuta 2001 3:00

2) The comparative "intelligence" of IDM vs rave circa 92-93 seems somewhat arbitrary now. While it seemed obvious then that believing complex melodies and spacey atmospherics were more "intelligent" than hyperactive breakbeats and mutating samples, once "artcore" bridged the gap between the two the binary dichotomy fell apart, opening up opportunities for IDM producers to explore the other end of jungle not represented by the intelligent end of it (note for example how after "Girl/Boy" drill & bass got progressively darker/wackier, with more hints of ragga and rave coming through).

― Tim, 10. elokuuta 2001 3:00

Girl/Boy Song is entirely a drum machine solo, but theres a part where all the other things stop and the drum goes wild solo, its grate

― Chupa-Cabras, 28. huhtikuuta 2002 3:00

I think "Windowlicker" and "Come to Daddy" are incredible and important records, but I prefer him when he's being sweet and nice. "Girl/Boy Song" and "Melodies from Mars" are two of the most beautiful bits of audio I've ever heard.

― Lynskey (Lynskey), 21. tammikuuta 2003 18:29

I always preferred Milkman.

Girl/Boy Song is stunning.

Gaz was a regular ILM poster, might still post under some other name?

gaz posted as other names during his time here (eg mullygrubber, bulbs) but has been gone for years. He’s alive and fine though!

60. Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate (Chocolate Boy Recordings, 1999)
406 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/sweetlikechocolate_zpsb506be18.jpg

http://youtu.be/_eC6hVbgIv8

Search c90: Twee UK Garage

UKG meant for regressive isolated young men locked away in their bedrooms.

the best i can come up with so far is Sweet Like Chocolate.

― Wyndham Earl, 11. toukokuuta 2003 4:29

well, "Babycakes" isn't that much inferior to "Sweet Like Chocolate" which was one of the most amazing and beautiful things I heard in whatever year it happened.

― The Lex (The Lex), 23. elokuuta 2004 10:45

I'm voting For Sweet Like Chocolate, as there's something wonderfully unjaded about it, and it never fails to put a big stupid grin on my face.

― chap, 5. helmikuuta 2008 17:10

59. The House Crew - Euphoria (Nino's Dream) (Production House, 1993)
410 points, 6 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/euphoria_zps35dccd38.jpg

http://youtu.be/rynXubglrTA

there were a lot of other cool records on production house though too, notably the house crew's euphoria (nino's dream), which is, like, the best dance record ever, obviously...

― gareth, 8. kesäkuuta 2001 3:00

choosing great jungle/hardcore tracks is like shooting proverbial fish.

as for hardcore, my vote still goes to "euphoria (nino's dream)" by the house crew

― jess, 2. toukokuuta 2002 3:00

even then its complicated, as stevem mentions The House Crew - Euphoria (Nino's Dream) (and also some of the manix tunes), because they are definitely post-rave/hardcore, but pre-jungle, but they weren't dark either. you could sense that something was definitely changing with these records, they were totally london, and they were more vibey than hyper, like the tempo same but more woozy. to me ninos dream is a record that falls outside of genre classification

― gareth (gareth), 7. toukokuuta 2003 11:23

The House Crew's "Euphoria (Nino's Dream)" really is the greatest record ever made, I've come to realize after playing it over and over again for amonth.

― M Matos (M Matos), 28. kesäkuuta 2003 7:03

´just be glad you didnt have to listen to "Euphoria (Nino's Dream)" every night for 3 years (as i did) and you can enjoy it for what it is today...actually after those 3 years i think i went another 5 years without hearing it once so all this recent revivalism is fine by me.

― stevem (blueski), 28. kesäkuuta 2003 13:32

I'M SURPRISED THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE EVEN HEARD THIS TUNE. I MADE IT IN A WEEKEND AFTER COMING HOME FROM A RAVE WITH JONNY L'S 'HURT U SO' GOING ROUND & ROUND IN MY HEAD, THINKING 'THIS TRACK IS AMAZING- I WANNA MAKE A TUNE THAT MAKES ME FEEL JUST AS EXCITED ABOUT HARDCORE/JUNGLE AS WHEN I HEAR THIS IN A RAVE!' BIG UP DICE FOR LETTING ME USE THE STUDIO THAT WEEKEND, THANKS 2 EVERYONE WHO POSTED COMMENTS ABOUT IT, LOOK OUT 4 NEW NINO TRAX NOV/DEC 03

PEEEEACE!
NINO

― NINO, Friday, 15 August 2003 09:39 (9 years ago)

aahh.

TOO LOW. <3 gareth constantly repping for it over the years, this + DJ DB's A History Of Our World Pt 1 are my quintessential ILx ardkore picks.

Whoops, sorry, somehow I failed to notice there was a whole thread devoted to the tune, it didn't show up on search for some reason:

Euphoria (Nino's Dream): Best Record Ever?

Yes yes, big up the last two tunes.

58. Autechre - Eutow (Warp Records, 1995)
413 points, 5 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/eutow_zpsb1e84fb7.jpg

http://youtu.be/z205WM8qLoM

Eutow

its a great oldskool acidy track and the title reminds me of Bousch in Return Of The Jedi

― stevem (blueski), 4. helmikuuta 2003 21:24

Tri Repetae: Eutow; this seems to regarded as the most pop song on the entire album, and from the results achieved here I wish they would have continued in that direction this decade.

― Belldog, 8. helmikuuta 2008 5:38

a dozen years out and eutow + 2nd bad vilbel are the only two that I think I'd be able to recognize as being autechre instead of some random wanker's blittered diminished-chord dickaround demo used in some gadget advert

― El Tomboto, 8. helmikuuta 2008 8:19

Eutow is the ultimate Autechre girlsong and it's ace. Actually I think I only like girl songs - Amber and Anvil Vapre are my favourite Autechre releases.

― rah rah rah wd smash the oiks (a passing spacecadet), 2. elokuuta 2010 15:44

This was one hell of a run until we got to Autechre.

Had no idea that ilxors were so into Autechre... Going by the last poll, it won't be the last of them either :/

So, they labelled that one IDM, literally!

lol at "192kbps" label also

bit surprised at any 'Eutow' dislike, and i'm not a fan of their later stuff

doubt i'd dislike anything in this list tho

Only thing I actively dislike so far is Nightcrawlers, though a few of the more housey tracks leave me a bit cold.

I've got nothing against Autechre really, Eutow or otherwise (in fact, I voted for Flutter), it's just the overrepresentation in the last poll.

I am hoping the bangers/chinstrokers ratio in the lower reaches of the countdown is suitably skewed towards the former. Certainly room for a bit of chinstroking though.

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that the chinstroking stuff fares better in the albums poll than in the tracks poll. I think the top 20 of this poll has only one or two chinstroking tunes (with a couple of borderline cases).

Eutow? Good track, unexpected choice though.

The next tune is another favourite of mine that I didn't expect to make it this high, and I can't really explain it except as a sort of "you had to be there" thing...

http://katebushforum.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/th_drumroll.gif

57. Rotterdam Termination Source - Poing (Rotterdam Records, 1992)
414 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/poing_zps584b51b8.jpg

http://youtu.be/dqD1OohY2to

Does anyone know a song called "Poing" by Rotterdam Termination Source?

15 places above Born Slippy! Excellent work all concerned.

I remember "Poing" being in heavy rotation on MTV Europe when I was 13, and hearing that sound with that video was one of those generation-defining moments for me. Me and my friends were really excited whenever it played, while our parents watched the video with utter confusion, and it really felt like it's our time now!

Haha, is that proto-gabba?

Definitely giving me a stupid grin.

Lol at this:

The best thing was the radio ad that came out about a week after the song. It went:

Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing

Have a break, have a Kit Kat

Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing Poing

Genius.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), 5. joulukuuta 2002 18:19

56. Everything But the Girl - Missing (Todd Terry Club Mix) (Blanco y Negro, 1994)
421 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/missing_zps225cbfc6.jpg

http://youtu.be/ycPWuo7CsyA

Todd Terry's mix of Missing is a classic.

― Rick, 19. helmikuuta 2003 13:46

I lost interest after that, though I did like "Missing" the first few hundred times I heard it.

― mike a (mike a), 19. helmikuuta 2003 18:58

i really liked the singles off walking wounded but just never got round to it due to being 13 at the time. not familiar with anything prior to that except the todd terry remix of "missing" which is classic 4eva obv.

i remember the sneering from the time though - the music press was actually pretty shit in the 90s, contra people's romanticism, right? i love her voice - mostly because of her performative strategy, where she sounds precise and somewhat distanced but never detached, this is never at the expense of the song's emotion - it's kind of like, drawing further back in order to make it more affecting.

― lex pretend, 10. helmikuuta 2011 14:33

This is one that's definitely overplayed to the point of my never wanting to hear it ever again.

55. N-Trance - Set You Free (All Around the World, 1993)
422 points, 6 votes, two 1st place votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/setyoufree_zps90a5431b.jpg

http://youtu.be/18W9WYw9HaA

"Set You Free" was in some ways the "Strawberry Fields Forever" of the 90s. Both songs locate the exalted within a kind of veiled kitsch. Desire as comedy sketch.

― Freedom, 22. kesäkuuta 2008 22:20

N'Trance - "Set You Free" (an awesome track that almost makes up for their subsequent crimes)

― Tim, 19. heinäkuuta 2002 3:00

I think 'Set you free' could be the most important song I've heard in months, amazing track.

― Ian, 20. heinäkuuta 2002 3:00

Set You Free by N-Trance = psycho-jilted-lover locking his beau in the basement, demanding affection.

― Jim Robinson (Original Miscreant), 25. marraskuuta 2003 19:39

Pleased someone else had it as their no.1! Electronic Pleasure is almost as good.

Seems I'd had that tune mixed up in my head with another one whose name I can't quite remember... What's the Eurodance song whose chorus goes something like, "your love will set you free!", sung in diva house style?

Also, am I the only one who actually liked N-Trance's version of "Stayin' Alive"? I thought the Euro-rapping complemented the groove in that tune very nicely.

I'm voting For Sweet Like Chocolate, as there's something wonderfully unjaded about it, and it never fails to put a big stupid grin on my face.
― chap, 5. helmikuuta 2008

chap otm

Only thing I actively dislike so far is Nightcrawlers
― I wish to incorporate disco into my small business (chap)

chap not otm

Surprised when looking through this to see how many actual top 40 hits there are in here. Maybe it's age or voting demographic but it's also that the relationship between dance music and the charts has changed to such an extent. It's not just the obvious pop-house picks, a record as (relatively) weird as Blue Room could go top 10. I just had a look at the Aphex discography and even fucking Ventolin got to like #48 and that's abrasive as hell.

Haha, is that proto-gabba?

IIRC "Poing" was gabba going mainstream!

(I guess "Amsterdam Waar Lech Dat Dan" isn't going to make an appearance on this list...)

Love the glockenspiel and brass bits placed v v discreetely in the Amira tune, perfect contrast with the near euphoric stop and start vocals

Tuomas, did it also go "ah ha yeah, ah ha yeah" during the 'chorus'?

Euphoria is def not my favourite House Crew tune but I still like it and I'm glad to see them represented.
Set You Free brings back bad memories of student nights full of semi-ironic dancing and general drunken arsehole behaviour, I'm sure if I'd first encountered it in a different context I'd be more sympathetic to it.

Also, backtracking a bit but Blue Room is way better than I remember it being. The Orb are hippie music really I guess, but the kind of hippie music that I can get on board with at least some of the time.

do people ITT actually have a problem with Eutow?

54. The Prodigy - Charly (Alley Cat Mix) (XL Recordings, 1991)
426 points, 7 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/charly_zps28cb3d67.jpeg

http://youtu.be/38oABLOeMyI

Also, while I'm here, I think that the cat in "Charly" was gay. A revelation I know, but hey, I think it's true. Not only that, but he was a pedophile.

Think about it, why was the cat hanging around with a small boy. The cat sounded old, lets say at least 5. That would make him 35 in catty years. What a perv!!

I now finally see Liam's meaning behind the whole song. It was a political statement, the cat was John Major. He must be a Thatcher fan. Interesting shit.

― Dave McDermott, 18. lokakuuta 2001 3:00

Charly is my perosal favourite since it has THAT Sound.

― Omar, 7. tammikuuta 2002 3:00

nick's school disco list gets a lot of it but my school discos (i was 11 and went to big school in the autumn of '91) were... ravey/housey. things like cc penniston. there's no way they'd have played new order. the biggest tune of that year round the way was probably 'charly'.

― That one guy that quit, 30. huhtikuuta 2007 12:00

Tuomas, did it also go "ah ha yeah, ah ha yeah" during the 'chorus'?

Maybe... And I think the chorus might've been "you love will set me free", not "you". Do you know the tune?

Is that the first placing for the Prodge?

Yeah.

53. The Prodigy - Everybody in the Place (Fairground remix) (XL Recordings, 1991)
427 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/everybodyintheplace_zps5459028f.jpeg

http://youtu.be/UKmhlA2S2KU

On the dancing of Keith Flint in the video for "Everybody In The Place"...

Lol.

I'm guessing that Firestarter won't place.

^Like both of those Prodge placings but only voted for Charly.

"Charly" (Alley Cat Mix) changed my life, no joke

probably the most formative records I heard between the ages of 16 and 18 in the dance realm were that, "Weekend" by DJ Dick, "Dog Star Man/Helter Skelter" by Meat Beat Manifesto, "The Days of Swine and Roses" by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, "Big Car" by Severed Heads and "Anastasia" by T99

Given the amount of rave-era stuff we've had already I'd say Out Of Space is a potential #1 though.

"Out Of Space" is such a weird, amazing record; I always think it's overrated until I actually play it, at which point I go "oh yeah, how did I forget how ridiculously good this is?"

probably the most formative records I heard between the ages of 16 and 18 in the dance realm were that, "Weekend" by DJ Dick, "Dog Star Man/Helter Skelter" by Meat Beat Manifesto, "The Days of Swine and Roses" by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, "Big Car" by Severed Heads and "Anastasia" by T99
Hoping that Anastasia might still make an appearance.

52. Jam & Spoon - Stella (Dance Pool, 1992)
428 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/stella_zps4104a872.jpeg

http://youtu.be/8Eq0i187kvE

"Stella (Jam and Spoon mix)" is THE! BEST! DANCE! SONG! EVER!

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), 20. tammikuuta 2006 2:28

Stella is a wonderful track. See also Paul Van Dyke's mix of 'Flaming June'.

Trance feels like a part of my past. I often return to various elements of my record collection, but never the trance stuff. I sued to adore it. The other week I dug out a load of my old Gatecrasher compilations, but the buzz and the joy (on the whole) wasn't there. What it did provoke was a whole load of nostalgia. Loving trance was responsible for me getting my first job, so I feel I owe it a bit more love. Genre guilt.

― Anna (Anna), 20. maaliskuuta 2005 19:46

if you don't like early 90s trance you don't deserve to live

― Sven Bastard (blueski), 17. maaliskuuta 2005 2:46

Are we talking Jam & Spoon "Stella"?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), 17. maaliskuuta 2005 3:04

JA. PLOOS EIN TECHNOTRANCE, ICHT LICHTEN R&S VS EYE Q

― Sven Bastard (blueski), 17. maaliskuuta 2005 3:10

argh I hate making lists because I invariably forget something, like "Unfinished Sympathy" and "Pro-Gen"

I miss the days when trance was this evocative, cosmic dance music instead of the adolescent-car-window-rattling stuff (that Finnish clubbers call "wiener trance") that it later turned into. Jam & Spoon, Cosmic Baby, Sven Väth, Oliver Lieb, Marusha, Lazonby, that was my shit when I was 15.

of course, my favorite Väth song was his least trancey ("L'Esperanza")

L'Esperanza is pretty trancey! At least compared to the harpsichord tracks on Väth's debut album, or the stuff he does nowadays.

the single mix was way more progressive house in the vein of "Papau New Guineau"

Anyway, speaking of "wiener trance"...

51. Darude - Sandstorm (16 Inch Records, 1999)
436 points, 6 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/sandstorm_zpse3a3afd6.jpeg

http://youtu.be/XrlOyuVKzH4

it might come down to everyone getting their shallow simplicity kicks from different places, but I do believe that there are people out there who won't accept shallow simplicity kicks unless they have indie cred attached; personally, I prefer PROPER pop music, and dance music you can actually dance to. Like 'Sandstorm' by Darude.

― The Lex (The Lex), 26. heinäkuuta 2003 4:34

I rememeber one night when
I was supporting the lovely Jayne ( does the y stand for Yorkshire?) in the
horrible club Reds for her Nepal trip. Kirsty Cameron came in and we chatted
quite amiably. Then a rather small but muscular man started attempting to
break dance to some cheesy Ibiza tune like The Launch or Sandstorm by
Darude. I strated to laugh a little and lo andbehold, an hour later she was
snogging him in a corner and getting mighty carried away as well. I was
shocked, she was a sociologist!

― Robbie Lumsden (Wallace Stevens HQ), 12. elokuuta 2004 15:44

I am utterly emotionally drained from Real Life stuff. I have 5 hours. I am theoretically on the home straight. This was not how I wanted this weekend to go. Fuck home straights. I am angrier, this time.

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), 13. maaliskuuta 2005 5:08

Coffee brewing. When it hits I shall play hard house from Lex and see if I still feel this way. It may not be too late.

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), 13. maaliskuuta 2005 5:17

SANDSTORM

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), 13. maaliskuuta 2005 6:53

Hahahahahaha greatest break ever! It just, like, goes quiet for a really long time.

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), 13. maaliskuuta 2005 6:53

Sandstorm has saved my degree.

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), 13. maaliskuuta 2005 7:00

I am so glad that "Sandstorm" helped!

Darude, enabling Oxford essays since 2001.

― The Lex (The Lex), 13. maaliskuuta 2005 23:34

yay!

The cat in "Charly" was Kenny Everett, by the way

hahahaha I never knew the name of this track (re: "Sandstorm")

it's fucking excellent

50. Cajmere - Coffee Pot (Percolator Mix) aka Percolator (Clubhouse Records, 1992)
437 point, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/percolator_zpsf8f431d9.jpeg

http://youtu.be/2S-Ti1Aqx1c

"IT'S TIME FOR THE PERCOLATOR. IT'S TIME FOR THE PERCOLATOR."

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), 10. heinäkuuta 2003 22:34

I get angry when people play Percolator and it's clearly not yet time for the Percolator. By people, I mean my often DJ partner Mike. We did Mash-up Percolator and O Superman at the Coral Room once to great, yes suprisingly unappreciated, effect.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), 6. elokuuta 2004 10:20

I saw him a couple weeks ago in grant park. Don't walk, run to see him, etc. It was amazing, intense...like all of chicago came out to hear him play the percolator.

― djdee2005 (djdee2005), 11. syyskuuta 2004 21:54

it's time for the percolator

YES.

How the hell did I forget to vote for this though?

49. Azzido da Bass - Doom's Night (Timo Maas Remix) (Club Tools, 1999)
437 points, 7 votes, two 1st place votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/doomsnight_zps6f949033.jpeg

http://youtu.be/giwMVWR5ETA

Maybe it's not so much homogeneity as compulsive hybridisation creating a much more fluid continuum of musical styles. When Simon Reynolds enthuses about "Doom's Night" being lapped up by any number of different scenes (progressive, trance, breakbeat, garage, dancehall) it sounds a bit nostalgic but I also think it represents an increasing trend. How long will it be before a hip hop fan will basically be into house and drum & bass as well by implication?

― Tim, 2. elokuuta 2001 3:00

Maybe UK ga-RIDGE has a future in the U.S. after all: Saw a commercial last night featuring a computer-assisted infant hula-hooping with a Michelin tire to "Doom's Night." Very odd.

― scott p., 3. lokakuuta 2001 3:00

What's baffling about Maas is that his remix of "Doom's Night" is both the most popular *and* the most clever thing he's done, so why does none of his other material sound much like it? Burbly bass + slippery beats = better schtick than most. He should, heh, schtick with it (sorry).

― Tim, 22. tammikuuta 2002 3:00

Azzido Da Bass - Dooms Night (Timo Maas Remix)

Having Darude place where it did essentially destroys all credibility of this message board. Totally embarrassing result, imo. Call me elitist/rockist/whatever. Totally expect Scatman to finish Top 10 now.

48. Roy Davis Jr. feat. Pevin Everett - Gabrielle (also known as Gabriel) (Large Records, 1996)
438 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/gabrielle_zpsf4234c54.jpeg

http://youtu.be/Y31vj4ft2Tw

Roy Davis Jrs Gabriel

(x-post)

Why diss Scatman??

oh there are plenty of reasons to diss Scatman

I kind of see the point even though I love that Darude track; if you're gonna go cheesy, you might as well go the Smart-E's/Alpha Team route, or The Movement

"Gabriel" and "Percolator" both untouchable.

I hadn't heard Gabrielle/Gabriel before, but it's an amazing tune, so deep and beautiful! Once I finished playing the Youtube I just had to buy it on Amazon immediately.

As for "Sandstorm", I'm not gonna defend that one; it might've had some minor novelty value once, but hearing that staccato riff a kazillion times has made me hate it deeply. And though the video is the only one in this countdown that was shot in my hometown, even that doesn't save it as it only shows touristy postcard locations.

But seriously: what are these reasons to diss Scatman?

As a fun, novelty dance track, there's nothing wrong with Scatman. Same with Sandstorm. However, on a countdown of top 100 electronic tracks, giving place to gross, cheesy, formulaic shit like Sandstorm is detrimental to the legitimacy of the entire list. Again, only my opinion. Maybe you're a big cheese lover and can't wait for the Haddaway and Stakka Bo tour to hit your town.

"detrimental to the legitimacy", you say.

Not really, but Haddaway and Stakka Bo both had tunes that I like ten times better than Sandstorm... Unless you hate Eurodance in general, I can't see why you would diss Haddaway either. His tunes were totally legitimate club music back in the day, not even novelty stuff, if that's what you don't like.

(xpost)

I DJ'd in the early/mid 90s and played all sorts of cheesy Eurodance. Scatman, Haddaway, Stax of Joy etc. There's nothing particularly wrong with it but it's shocking to me that the community that posts here rates Sandstorm above any one of the tracks that finished lower. Again, your opinions may vary.

Haddaway had a pretty "credible" comeback the other year, Wolfram feat. Haddaway 'Thing Called Love' (Legowelt Remix), if that's what concerns you.

It's probably for the best I didn't vote in this, I would have campaigned heavily for "Speed Racer"

still hoping to see "James Brown Is Dead" and "Dildo", too

I have been enjoying this thread immensely but finding out about PERCULATOR (how could I not know?) has taken this to some hitherto unknown level of awesomeness.

Far more peed off about Doom's Night's placing than Sandstorm's if I'm being honest.

… I probably wouldn't place Sandstorm in my Top 5000 though.

I have been enjoying this thread immensely but finding out about PERCULATOR (how could I not know?) has taken this to some hitherto unknown level of awesomeness.

have you gone down the Green Velvet rabbit hole yet?

In calumerio's house, it is now truly time for the Perculator.

Great producer, dubious taste in coffee brewing.

'stella' below 'sandstorm' is the wrongest thing i've seen all year.

The problem with Scatman is that it's kind of degrading to other Scatmen, is it not?

omg I'd never seen the video for Scatman, I may die of laughter

OK, let's all list some tracks we 'want' to see place..

Sunchyme?

Dur Dur Baby - Jordy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNDs571E9k4

I will be so hilariously proud of everyone who voted in this if "Speed Racer" by Alpha Team shows up

"Sandstorm" was the one thing the raver kids in HS listened to that managed to rub off on me just through sheer ubiquity. I dunno, it's cheesy in the best way.

it's marginally better than '9pm til i come'.

Xxposts have been on Green Velvet for a while - accidentally went HEE HEE HEE HA HA along to Flash while out Christmas shopping the other day - but somehow never went to THE PERCOLATOR.

I think, esp. on ILM, "Sandstorm" stands in for an idea of unabashed trance immediacy as much as anything else. While this may result in it being overrated slightly compared to alternative options (if I was gonna choose something from the second golden age of pop-trance I'd probably go for "Toca's Miracle" first, though obv that is much more cheesy), the idea that it besmirches this list in any way is total BS.

If anything the populism of this 90s list should be instructive vis a vis the rigorous middlebrowism of the 00s list.

w/ILM "at its best", immediacy is certainly in play.

it is clear to me that halfway through the list is, exactly, time for the percolator.

also that someone could change their name to cajumerio

Just so we're clear, ILM is happy to stand by Sandstorm being a better song than Inner City Life. I wouldn't have imagined that result. I don't have a problem with populist tracks placing, notice I said nothing about Rhythm of the Night, it's just this particular placement makes me want to call shenanigans. Maybe some people voted for it higher than they truly rate it in order to make a point.

Maybe some people like it more than you.

I'm certain that's true.

Let me drop some science for you: a populist tune liked by lots of people might do better than a celebrated tune that a smaller amount of people really really like in a poll of this nature owing to the tabulation process. This doesn't mean that ILM is "happy to stand by Sandstorm being a better song than Inner City Life" - there might not even have been any individual ballots featuring both tunes.

I'm much happier to see oddball results like this that I don't necessarily agree with than the endless soul-destroying trudge of Autechre albums on the albums list.

it's just this particular placement makes me want to call shenanigans. Maybe some people voted for it higher than they truly rate it in order to make a point

ok dude what, is this the guardian comments box? you think there's a conspiracy going on? you think there's a secret board where a bunch of otherwise impeccably-tasted ilxors have plotted which popular trance track they're going to push to a place at the top of the bottom fifty of the 90s dance trax poll? you think in a poll where people have no obligation to reveal their ballots, where people can only name 75 tracks of a beloved decade's output, people are faking their tastes for the sake of a rhetorical point? is that something you would do?

duly noted. carry on then.

Wish I'd remembered to vote for Sandstorm.

47. Daniel Wang - Like Some Dream I Cant Stop Dreaming (Balihu Records, 1993)
444 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/likesomedream_zps38179665.jpg

http://youtu.be/zyCuWIq2PhU

'like some dream i can't stop dreaming' was the first release on his balihu label, early 90's i believe. it is a classic and seems to have been comped ALOT in the past few years.

― jaime, 11. toukokuuta 2007 6:28

A classic, Daniel Wang - Like Some Dream I Cant Stop Dreaming. Especially from 2.45:

― MikoMcha, 27. helmikuuta 2012 19:17

Yeah, that is great.

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), 27. helmikuuta 2012 19:25

Found a used copy of his Balihu comp on Oxygen Music Works (with some hideous cover art, sorry) and Moodymann's "Silentintroduction" at the local used record/vhsdvd/mostly books store last year. Someone had lost their way, clearly, but it was one of my better music days ever. The Balihu comp is top notch. More love for "Like Some Dream I Can't Stop Dreaming", "Berlin Sunrise", and "Free Lovin' (Housedream)."

― matt2, 11. toukokuuta 2007 17:56

I'd never even heard of that tune before this poll... Is it a case of a rediscovered track or something? I could only find a couple of posts on ILM that mentions it before 2007.

Oh yeah, looks like the EP it's from was repressed in 2007, that would explain its resurgence.

I hated pop trance in 1999-2000 and I still loved Sandstorm and knew it was a fucking banger. I probably enjoy it more than Inner City Life and seeing it pop up here was almost as good as when Smang It finished above Bring The Noise.

That Hey Jude remix is really something.

But seriously: what are these reasons to diss Scatman?

New board description

i liked "Sandstorm" well enough when it came out but the key moment for me was when i was djing this one night somewhere around '05, playing hits old and new to a few hundred students/alterna-types/punks/metalheads, and when i played "Sandstorm"... man, the pandemonium that broke out, i've never *ever* seen anything like it, it literally looked like people were gonna start tearing down the walls!

immensely enjoying this rollout, beats the crap out of the 00s poll's fifty shades of Kompakt snorefest - thank you so much for doing this Tuomas!

Was just gonna revive the albs poll to say thanks so much for filling in my gaps re: Kompakt snorefest.

Enjoying both countdowns v much - but yes, that one chart can be so far from the charts at points while the tracks seem always nearer is something.

46. Stardust - Music Sounds Better with You (Roulé, 1998)
445 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/musicsoundsbetterwithyou_zpscd05ef99.jpg

http://youtu.be/FgAJWQCC7L0

how is it that music sounds better never gets old?

stardust - the music sound better with you video - what are the names of the fake pop bands

Has ILM's love for filter house diminished as the years have gone by? I was totally sure that one was gonna be in the top 10... It was #16 in the general 90s singles poll we had in 2004.

Music Sounds Better With You has only gone up in my estimation over the years tbh.

45. The Aztec Mystic - Jaguar (Underground Resistance, 1999)
447 points, 9 votes

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/jaguar_zps72eb7795.jpg

http://youtu.be/9UFKA1nWH38

Jaguar is a great track, I do like the Mad Mike remix

― espresso fetish (espresso fetish), 12. syyskuuta 2005 4:14

Personally when Carl Craig played Jaguar after a long bleepy glitchy type track and those massive strings just came in, it was fantastic. I therefore nominate DJ Rolando-Jaguar for classic status. What a song.

― Ronan (Ronan), 14. marraskuuta 2002 13:20

'Jaguar' is definitely an ultimate closing track - did a big techno mix once and it made such perfect sense to finish with it

― stevem (blueski), 14. marraskuuta 2002 13:24

I think Jaguar is a fair choice, I mean it really is a fucking triumph for subtlety and a deft touch, it's not just a dance record, not just a record to dance to, it does have a kind of soul feel to it.

― Ronan (Ronan), 22. marraskuuta 2002 13:20

Don't know the Daniel Wang record for some reason - interested to hear that when I get home

there really aren't 44 90s dance tracks that are better than these last 2, there prob aren't 44 better songs full stop

44. Green Velvet - Flash (Relief Records, 1995)
455 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/flash_zps2cb161a2.jpg

http://youtu.be/l_RfediFJFQ

"Flash" - original mix and Timo Maas remix are v. good.

― Tracer Hand, 22. heinäkuuta 2002 3:00

Also Flash is the last song I can think of which made me laugh out loud aswell as think "fuck this is great". Genius.

― Ronan, 22. heinäkuuta 2002 3:00

CAMERAS READY PREPARE TO FLASH

I sometimes think I don't need to ever listen to anything else besides this song.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), 8. kesäkuuta 2005 22:13

One thing that strikes me about the Green Velvet quote I posted is that it is instantly evocative of that paranoid beat, particularly the fantastic snare rolls that immediately follow it. I'm instantly transported into the dingy nightclub, bumping into club kids doing bad club things and taking pictures on my cheap disposable camera. You can see the horrified expressions on the parent's faces as the wander through the club; the worry in their eyes as they scan frantically for their own kids while a little voice in the back of their heads reminds them of what they were like when they were kids, fanning the flames of fear and desperation to a fever pitch.

All of that imagery is tied up in a simple little phrase.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), 20. lokakuuta 2003 17:01

man I REALLY should have voted in this

fuck you, busy life

Jaguar is WAY too low, just one of the most amazing tunes ever.

Can't wait to see where "Children" places on this list

Did anyone nominate Aqua?

Ace of Base

Guru Josh

fingers crossed for "The Key, The Secret"

Stunned at that placing for 'jaguar' tbh.

Careful, Tim could drop some science on you about how polls work, vis a vis populist favorites vs trad classics. You don't want to find yourself besmirched. Questioning poll results is strictly verboten.

would it be better if we swapped out Derude with Rampage - "The Monkees"?

I'd like to see the science that explains this one away.

43. Galaxy 2 Galaxy - Hi-Tech Jazz (Underground Resistance, 1993)
464 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/hitechjazz_zps52f84851.jpeg

http://youtu.be/tljseZ1Q0UM

Hi,

Hi Tech Jazz from their "galaxy 2 galaxy"
double ep is one of my favourites

Yours
Jan

― Jan Geerinck, 29. marraskuuta 2002 0:34

I have to give it up for Hi-Tech Jazz. It takes the whole deep house sound set and takes the form and lays down a sampler horn part than just screams I am somebody. Everything on that track is perfect, programming, writing, arrangements. Love the 808 perc breaks and the acidline break has to be one of the best acid lines in dance music. I loved the way he used it to play a jazz solo that was a bitch to program.

― Display Name, 21. kesäkuuta 2007 11:03

i was wondering where the hi tech jazz love was - i was listening to that and Galaxy2Galaxy today. never tires.

― jed_ (jed), 8. toukokuuta 2005 3:39

It is a shame that Hi-Tech Jazz doesn't have the profile of Jupiter Jazz because it is so much better. Jupiter Jazz seems very concise whereas Hi-Tech Jazz seems a lot more sprawling and ambitious. It is one of those records that is so advanced that it is intimidating. How do you get to a place mentally where you can conceive and execute musical ideas like that.

It is raw and expressive, but there is more sophistication in any 16 bars of that track then there are in any random 50 tracks that get gushing praise on the 2008 bobbins thread. Mike Banks is easily one of the 10 top musical minds of all genres that came out of Detroit. He is second only to Juan Atkins as far as Detroit electronic music is concerned.

― Display Name, 30. toukokuuta 2008 6:22

... huh

I would have picked "Funky Guitar" or "Hot Music" over this in a heartbeat

My favourite Detroit tune. Perfect.

42. Sub Sub featuring Melanie Williams - Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) (Robs Records, 1993)
467 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/aintnolove_zps53a7a39d.jpeg

http://youtu.be/oBj-u98Nce8
There's a music video on Youtube too, but the sound is crappy.

Am I the only who listens to a lot of this disco-house stuff and think '"Ain't No Love" by Sub Sub, only not so good'??!?

― Old Fart!!!!, 20. marraskuuta 2001 3:00

wasn't 1993 when Sub Sub released 'Aint no love aint no use'?

I think they were better as Sub Sub than as the bastard Doves..... zzzz.

― russ t, 19. helmikuuta 2003 16:28

CLASSIC, HELLO EARTH? 'Ain't No Love' by Sub Sub beats this though.

― The Irrelevant Man (Negativa) (Barima), 18. toukokuuta 2005 17:50

Barima that's totally unfair seeing that 'Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)' beats every song ever! (Although Bizarre Inc get bonus points for not turning into sodding Doves at least.)

― The Lex (The Lex), 18. toukokuuta 2005 17:53

Acen scraped in at 94 and this cracked the top 50???????

My hopes for more Acen are probably doomed.

41. Moodymann - I Can't Kick This Feelin' When It Hits (KDJ, 1996)

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/icantkickthisfeelingwhenithits_zps9aa7e67c.jpeg

http://youtu.be/32TOGD-HxzQ

'I Can't Kick This Feelin When It Hits' is a damn good in...

― martin (martin), 9. elokuuta 2004 14:51

Just listened to Moodymann's "I Can't Kick This Feelin' When It Hits" again and I realized this track would be awesome to listen to when you're "in the zone." With its locked, repetitive groove and sleazy cut up vocals.

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr), 19. maaliskuuta 2012 4:10

Whenever I hear ""I Can't Kick This Feelin' When It Hits" played out it sounds pretty amazing in exactly this way, though it also sounds more upbeat than I would have expected from home listening.

― Tim F, 19. maaliskuuta 2012 5:05

"ICKTFWIH" loops the chic sample at the beginning for a bit, but then rapidly degrades it basic-channel style down to the heavily filter "gonna do gonna do gonna do" loop until it turns it into a soft drone. then he introduces whole new beat sample on top of it and lets that beat ride for a while over the drone. the whole thing is so much hazier and more textured than the mike clark track. i would say the first time i heard it, well after i was acquainted with filter house, was one of those OMG brain-melting moments you have maybe once a year or so.

― moonship journey to baja, 16. heinäkuuta 2008 2:40

Gotta agree with Vahid's comment there, I'm not the biggest fan of filter house, but this track is like Gas compared to it, there's so much depth and texture in the groove.

Sorry, forgot the points for that:

467 points, 9 votes.

Can't say I'd describe moodymann as filter house though, more deep house / re-edit territory. Great to have high-tech jazz appear in top 50, such a superb track.

damn, this list is getting pretty real

Careful, Tim could drop some science on you about how polls work, vis a vis populist favorites vs trad classics. You don't want to find yourself besmirched. Questioning poll results is strictly verboten.

― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, December 19, 2012 4:49 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sorry bsd, silly posts tend to bring out the patronising dick in me.

i can't kick this feeling when it hits is like thinking through or moving through some banal but still overwhelming problem from start to finish all in 15 minutes and all you're left with is zen buzz.

40. Orbital - The Box (Internal, 1996)

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/thebox_zps7a1b9759.jpeg

http://youtu.be/9o6OMp-OeV0

If I could vote for a single moment it would be the transition between boxes 1 & 2.

― ledge, 13. maaliskuuta 2012 17:27

Fuck yeah it is. Orbital is the best music to run to ever. Oooh I used to love running in the dark in the suburbs to the sound of the entire Box EP...I can hear it in my head right now.

― Bimble (bimble), 15. lokakuuta 2004 7:41

But then there's the harpsichord bit on the single version of "The Box" - I can feel a Top Ten Orbital Moments coming on, all of which start with "That bit where...".

― Mike (mratford), 29. huhtikuuta 2003 22:56

Can we get some love for the insanely long version of "The Box?" I happened to pick up the 2 disc In Sides in the summer of '96 and it turned my head around all summer. Oh, the days when I somehow randomly bought music that was absurdly great.

― r. geary (rgeary), 1. toukokuuta 2003 2:10

I do think The Box EP was the closest thing to what I might have called a real surprise from them, a broadening of the horizons. It takes a special kind of band/artist to grow to that extent, it might even take a certain brilliance they simply don't posess, and how could we fault them for that? Surely none of us are even a smidgen as brilliant as they are.

― Bimble (bimble), 2. heinäkuuta 2004 12:23

Awesome poll Tuomas!

...I say coming home from drinks. But still.

love that tuomas' polls pack the added punch of finnish month names

39. The Sabres of Paradise - Wilmot (Warp Records, 1994)
486 points, 7 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/wilmot_zpse034d0e0.jpeg

http://youtu.be/DUxZz4lVRfA8

Wilmot

Track ID: Sabres of Paradise - Wilmot

37. (tie) Dillinja - The Angels Fell (Metalheadz, 1995)
487 points, 9 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/theangelsfell_zps11072fef.jpeg

http://youtu.be/HW_ReouVI94

The few tracks I know from his mid'90s output - espec 'The Angels Fell' and 'Ja Know Ya Big' - constitue the finest D&B I've heard. He took bass in directions no one ever had before, or since.

― stevo (stevo), 9. kesäkuuta 2004 22:17

um I all hypertense/jittering & etc last night, & to "calm" myself I was sitting in the dark listening to this jungle/etc tape I'd made myself & sorta forgotten the tracklisting - the first three were "Atlantis", "Where Do You Fit In?", "Renegade Snares (FP VIP remix)", & I was completely lost in the beats/etc, a lot closer than I usually listen to anything when I've got nothing stronger than coffee in my system. Next track - Dillinja's "The Angels Fell". The bass entering in that track almost seized up my respiration, I swear.

― Ess Kay (esskay), 17. maaliskuuta 2003 5:31

1st place: The Angels Fell (does not need what it has not got - kind of a darker dreamier successor to my favourite casual b-more based jungle stepper 'The Burial'. also fun if you think of the two-note bass signature as like Nelson Muntz laughing thru a megaphone connected to a mile-long steel tube pitched at -12...also demonstrates Dillinja's not immediately obvious playfulness, which usually comes thru the brass hooks and is more evident on 'Warrior Jazz' and the Sade-sampling 'Promise'). And the other two tracks on the release are strong enough to clinch it.

― god of tosh (blueski), 10. elokuuta 2010 15:25

i've been thinking hard about this one guy, and is it really fair to vote for "angels fell"?

some large percent of the greatness of the track must be down to vangelis' "blade runner blues"

― moonship journey to baja, 11. elokuuta 2010 0:16

That's sorta like saying it's not fair to vote for anything with an Amen break though, isn't it cuz some large % of the greatness belongs to the Winston's drummer?

― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), 11. elokuuta 2010 0:28

"Angels Fell" is distinguished by one of the best programmed rhythms ever though - if it was awesome cinematic intro followed by standard amen choppage I think this might be an issue.

― Tim F, 11. elokuuta 2010 0:53

37. (tie) Basement Jaxx - Rendez-Vu (XL Recordings, 1999)
487 points, 9 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/rendezvu_zpsbb58fe4c.jpeg

http://youtu.be/6LvFUC-198s

Though there's nothing quite as insistent as "Rendez-Vu" and "U Can't Stop Me" still sound to me, I still think it's ace. That's my summer encapsulated, then ...

― Robin Carmody, 2. heinäkuuta 2001 3:00

"'Rendez-Vu' = immediate satisfaction."
- Eric H

I don't even remember sending comments, but I know I could've done a whole lot better than that. I should at least mention that the fuzzy friction of the last chord in the flamenco's four-chord progression in the intro is like pulling what you think is a pubic hair out of your mouth and discovering it's pull-n-peel red licorice.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), 7. marraskuuta 2004 11:13

'rendez-vu' is also one of my top 10 'when i first heard it i really was like WTF?!?!' tracks of all time

― stevem (blueski), 4. tammikuuta 2004 2:59

No comments on the last three tunes?

The last four are all tracks I liked and bought in the 90s, but even then they would have struggled to get into my top 100. Listening to them now I just can’t hear what I liked about them in the first place, sorry to be a miserable so-and-so.

Trip II The Moon will definitely place but I'm overjoyed to see Sub Sub in here, such a fucking great record. Weirdly you don't actually hear it around very much relative to a lot of other charting vocal house from that era.

I love exemplary genre tracks but it's nice to see The Box and Wilmot so high - both are one-of-a-kind records.

"So High" = inside the top 40.

Plainly, there's a lot of awesome music to come.

Again, thanks for the slow roll-out, it's like an advent calendar, but a bit faster, or something..

If I had a theme tune, it would be Wilmot. I'll never forget seeing Two Lone Swordsmen DJ a seamless set of vintage dub which they somehow segued into techno using this track - one of those life-changing musical moments.

It's good to see Hi-Tech Jazz place so highly as well, although I'd never expected it to finish above Jaguar.

Pleasantly surprised by the handful of records I've never heard, or even heard of, given how much of the 90s I spent immersed in dance music. So much more fun than the albums poll, which was basically albums I knew and liked + a ton of Autechre.

36. AIR - Le soleil est près de moi (Source, 1997)
490 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/lesoleilestpresdemoi_zpsca1f1b6b.jpg

http://youtu.be/yjb9Mn7_IHs

(Can't find any ILM posts on this one, but obviously people like it.)

Matt otm re: sub sub. I've never heard that Moodymann track before - I like it, but 15 minutes of almost exactly the same thing is a bit much.

35. Dem 2 - Destiny (Sleepless) (Locked On, 1997)
493 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/destiny_zpsa5d6fdd6.jpg

http://youtu.be/48zg8o-XzPA

Odd realisation re: Dem 2's "Destiny"

Great Air tune, probably one of my very favourites by them.

Yassssss, to Dem2.

YES YES YES YES

34. Carl Craig - At Les (Planet E, 199?)
503 points, 10 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/atles_zpsc6fc1839.jpg

http://youtu.be/vm6pm5mCLXg

under his own name'at les' is stunning

― michael wells, 31. toukokuuta 2001 3:00

Can't believe no-one has mentioned "At Les" yet!

That record for me summed up a era of beautiful emotional techno music

― blue, 22. helmikuuta 2003 2:05

so many good tracks

at les, microlovr, rushed, dominas, stam, throw the list is almost endless.

― jed_ (jed), 21. maaliskuuta 2004 1:46

Search: all versions of 'At Les'

― Omar, 30. toukokuuta 2001 3:00

"Destiny" hell yeah!!!

very pleased with the amount of 2step in this poll

Does anyone know what's the exact release history of "At Les"? I can't find any info on it been released as a single, so it doesn't seem like CC had on his own record before 1997 (on "More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art"), but it seems to have appeared on this compilation as far back as 1993...

"doesn't seem like CC had it"

The Virtualsex compilation is regarded by some as the best techno LP. Stefan Robbers 'Foreign Dimensions' is such an amazing track, which was also exclusive to it.

and 'tedra' and 'desire'. 'tedra' is the high point i think, voted it top 3 in my ballot. in answer to tuomas' question i don't think 'at les' got an official release between 'virtual sex' and 'more songs...' though it was surely on white label or something.

33. Adamski - Killer (MCA records, 1990)
510 points, 8 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/killer_zps73dcb691.jpg

http://youtu.be/gIcPawP_0KM

I liked Killer. Also, I remember seeing on one of those nostalgia clip shows an old Smash Hits Pollwinners Party performance (I think) where he tried to trash his keyboard like you would with a guitar. Unfortunately keyboards are much sturdier than guitars and he only managed to break one key.

― Chriddof (Chriddof), 29. elokuuta 2004 9:20

That was a damn shame. It's like he blew his entire creative wad with "Killer" and "N.R.G.", both of which are good enough to keep him in the Big Book Of Dance.

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), 28. elokuuta 2004 19:44

Seal was only great in combination with Adamski.

― MarkH (MarkH), 25. lokakuuta 2002 16:44

Adamski-Killer, plus name more songs being given new context by the current climate in dance

32. Moby - Go (Outer Rhythm, 1991)
511 points, 11 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/go_zps10f999cb.jpg

http://youtu.be/NLCHARjjrws

"Go" is classic indeed (and BTW look for the recent remixes by the Trance Allstars project = ATB, Taucher, Schiller, Mellow-D, Sunbeam and Talla 2xlc. All of them are very interesting.).

― Siegbran Hetteson, 2. elokuuta 2002 3:00

however the 'go' 12" (with vitalic remix!!) is wicked. (I forgot how good the original was.)

― slackety yax (H2-H4), 11. tammikuuta 2007 1:14

I think Moby has gained a permanent spot in my heart for "Go", to be honest.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), 25. tammikuuta 2005 0:33

The original version of "Go" was released in 1990, but it's the Twin Peaks quoting mix from 1991 that everyone knows, so I included that one here.

Oh man, I used to love Adamski (I think I had his album "Adamski's Musical Pharmacy"? Or something). Anyway, 9 y/o me always found Killer a bit dark and doomy but I loved NRG.

Remember 'Space Jungle'? It was just a cover of 'All Shook Up'. Apparently it was an instrumental track until one day Adamski was playing live when he got possessed by the spirit of Elvis and started singing over the track. And the rest, as they say, is history.

As a side note, Adamski's image gallery in Discogs.com is rather fun to look at.

Didn't vote for it, but Le Soleil Est Près De Moi is probably my favorite track by Air. I haven't heard it for years, might be all you really need from them in the end.

xp pictures of people who haven't figured out how to live

might be all you really need from them in the end.

hell no

It's still Casanova 70 for me. Love those early singles.

hell no

Hm, knew this would be controversial! :)

Maybe I'm overstating things, I remember quite liking Virgin Suicides soundtrack, bits and pieces of their albums post-Moon Safari. The latter though, I can't say I ever need to hear again, and I still strongly associate them with that record.

Discogs tells me that they released a record this year, didn't even notice, also something called Love 2 from 2009 (?)

Adamski was one of the "Stupid Babies" you know...

31. Paperclip People - Throw (Open, 1994)
519 points, 9 votes.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u641/Lixenixen/throw_zps75e41bc7.jpg

http://youtu.be/fuRKe9JVmAU

Back to the review-plate, I listened to AVH in full, chased with the recently-purchased The Secret Tapes of Dr. Eich by Paperclip People (a.k.a. Carl Craig). Tracky and not a great listen, but lots of good tracks sorta made up for it, plus it includes "Throw," one of the best neo-disco records of the '90s.

― M. Matos, 22. elokuuta 2001 3:00

finishing second set of 50 scissor kicks to find that yr pulse is in perfect rhythm with "Throw" by the Paperclip People = CLASSIC

I think my ankles might still be emo though

― Millar (Millar), 30. heinäkuuta 2003 22:10

I feel like a lot of the filtering is drawn from a few chicago &
detroit records. Paperclip People 'Throw' in particular, though
filtering is a trick thats been used since disco djs hit the decks.

― Ulysses, 27. marraskuuta 2007 16:27

throw remake uno by paperclip people is soooooo killer.

― hector (hector), 28. syyskuuta 2004 4:48

Dem 2 placing is kind of a relief, I thought speed garage was going to end up being pretty much the only genre not to place.

is Gabrielle speed garage?

I'd call it deep house, personally.

can I just say the results are fuckin' A so far!

neither Destiny nor Gabriel(le) are speed garage tracks - the latter was a garage/2 step outlier but really unique

cral craig the autechre of tracks

Yeah but with Carl Craig it's more deserved b/c he's touched on so many different styles in his career, it's not like "At Les" and "Throw" could stand in for one another.

wouldn't go with that really (as much as i'd rather listen to 90s CC than Autechre or indeed most things) - depends on yr definitions e.g. CC hasn't strayed out of a pretty narrow bpm range or structural framework in his time compared to AE

There's at least three acts who have more tunes on the list than Carl Craig, it's just that not all of those tracks have showed up yet.

xpost crossed over many more dancefloors though. In dance music social demarcations are way more important than bpms.

probably everyone has already said everything that needs to be said about "Go" but man, what a great, great, great track

In dance music social demarcations are way more important than bpms.

i don't necessarily disagree but...in what sense? career longevity? critical reception? both? other?

As in I think the space between "At Les" and "Throw" in terms of the kind of contexts in which they work is actually more meaningful and impressive and worth representing on a poll than the space between (say) Amber and EP7.

Slowly moving back through these, Roy Davis Jr. - Gabriel - what a track, but I'm probably more of a fan of the Large Joints Remix. At least, am more familiar with that one from Sound of the Pirates mix.

Just realised I accidentally left 'Rendez-Vu' off my ballot so I'm doubly glad it placed.

Large Joints remix of "Gabriel" is all time.