Ladies and gentlemen....the 1990s ILX SINGLES POLL RESULTS

#38

PULP - "Babies" (394 points, 23 votes)

http://www.mackers.com/pulpworld/pulp_babies.jpg

"I always saw it as being totally sincere - he never got past the platonic stage w/ her, and she went off w/ someone else (even tho they both really wanted each other); him having sex with her sister ended any possibilities of this ever changing. I dunno, for me the last line works a lot better as a statement on the irony of the whole chain of events than as him trying to talk himself out of a problematic situation, the idea that neither of them got what they really wanted adds a bit of poignancy to the song, plus it's very in tune with the title ("babies" as a signifier of a lack of maturity, they were all too young to deal with things like they should have.) He sounds very bitter and regretful, and the "it happened years ago" line suggests that he's only thinking back on her, or maybe talking to her after a long time has passed (tho of course they could have been an item during all that time too, so the other interpretation is credible here, too, but I still prefer mine)"
-- Daniel_Rf

i thought the KLF would be higher

Justified And Ancient really has everything - 3-4 minutes, 3-400 great bits. Wynette is so delightful on it esp. her pronunciation of 'Mu Mu Land', the choir is so soothing, the rap so sublime and succinct yet satisfyingly nonsensical, that siren/cowbell thing in the background, the 808 usage, the funky geetaw - all combined with the rich KLF imagery (video and TOTP performance just brilliant), there are other perfect pop songs/moments/concepts but not sure any can TOP this

yay! "Babies"!

ODB needs to steal the chorus!

the 90s really were a great time for music, yeah?

all decades are

#37

THE PET SHOP BOYS - "Can You Forgive Her?" (397 points, 23 votes)

http://djbrecord.free.fr/petshopboys002.jpg

" "Can You Forgive Her?" is the best thing they ever did. Just huge and bitter and wonderful. As you say, not what you expect in the top 10."
-- Jim Eaton-Terry

(xxx-post)Not that you'd necessarily know it from looking at this list.

#36

OMNI TRIO - "Renegade Snares (Foul Play VIP Mix)" (399 points, 22 votes, 1 first place vote)

http://www.marshyboy.co.uk/full/ashadow01cd.JPG

" "Renegade Snares"? It's fucking BLINDING..."
-- Dan Perry

Hahaha well it's only downhill from here.

YES!!!

'Renegade Snares' stands out because, more than SUAD's frenetic 'Green Man' or other rave tracks that evoke chaps in wigs and breeches buzzing their tits off by integrating some influence of classical music and the DYS-factor that ensues (we approach and compose these tracks like symphonies), it FEELS slower - because of how often the beat is cut (and how stilted it is anyway), more reserved than the rollercoaster sensations that hardcore is known for. not to say it doesn't rise and fall like it should, but you can tell Haigh's thinking about the persistent beauty of Hertfordshire fields long after the 4am rush has ebbed and the ravers exited said fields in search of confectionary and kids TV.

(for the 4am rush factor multiplied maybe check out the recent High Contrast remix)

Wow, I'm shocked (but pleased) to see this in the top 40.
Bring on Altern-8 and Acen!

did none of you bastards vote for 'Terminator'?

No way Acen is making the top 40 (not with Part III anyway.) I figure "Energy Flash" will probably be the only other rave track to make it.

Yeah Steve it was right on the edge of making it, but I like "Lord of the Null Lines" and "T99" better so. . .

I didn't, but I was in a bloody weird mood when compiling my lists.

I can't believe I was the only one who gave a first place vote to "Renegade Snares" though.

well i prefer 'Dub War' and 'Far Out' personally - what is it that makes 'Renegade Snares' more popular really (assuming it is)? should i blame Mr Reynolds?

yeah, i really expected "Bombscare" to be the one and only "rave" track this high up. but maybe that's the US/UK divide going on too

Argh sorry guys, I should have voted.

and now that I think about it, where's "Sweet Harmony"?

"euphoria (nino's dream)" could still get in, right? maybe? hmm, this is probably just wishful thinking.

No way Acen is making the top 40 (not with Part III anyway.) I figure "Energy Flash" will probably be the only other rave track to make it.
Yeah, I was joking there ... but I think "Energy Flash" does have a shot.
I knew Altern-8 wouldn't be top 40 but I am a bit surprised that they couldn't crack the top 100.

I didn't vote for any rave tracks because, like I mentioned upthread, none of my faves were nominated, there was nothing I felt like throwing votes at*, and I felt there were a load of super-awesome non-rave tracks (I had a shortlist of about 80 songs when I started making my list).

*in comparison, on the albums list I threw loads of votes at techno and house albums (about half of my 30), I felt I could stand behind a lot more techno albums than singles.

I think Alex in SF is right, "Energy Flash" will be the only rave track left to come.

(x-post)

That's four of my choices in a row! Since they were all in my top 30, this means they are all too low here.

very strange given how these genres are supposed to NOT be album-based/stronger on track by track basis

i mean they ARE thought by many to be stronger on an individual track/single basis

But the problem is there are like a million great rave tracks and everyone's got a favorite whereas there are barely a dozen rave albums (and maybe half of them are great) and everyone agrees which ones they are.

Yeah, that's the main point, the clearer consensus.

Exactly.
We need a separate poll for just early 90's rave! :)

Only 6 of my 30 have appeared so far and none higher than my #11...

I thought I was more ILM-mainstream than that...

course, I'm still betting that 8 of my top 10 will be top 15... and probably 5 or so others will still chart ...

that'd put me where I thought I was ...

(EMAIL ME DIRECTLY (or start a separate thread) FOR THIS QUESTION)

I'm willing to do the next poll, but I'd rarely jump the smiths, ahem, I mean the 80s for now and go to the 70s... thoughts?

An ILM 80s poll will be really dull, I fear. 70s might be more interesting, yes.

80s poll would be no worse than this one

I couldn't vote in either. All I own from the eighties is electro and old school rap, and from the seventies just jazz.

you don't have to own it to vote it

Steve OTM. I fail to comprehend why anyone would think any era's poll would be exciting.

At this point, this poll seems significantly less sucky than the 2000-2004 one.

as if!

Yeah I'm not so sure about that either. Fuck three St Etienne songs in a row and god knows how many Pulp and Belle & Gofuckyourself songs doesn't speak much for it's quality to me.

(i.e. some of the stuff I nominated has actually shown up)

I just think the 70s poll might be more unlike the typical NME/Q ones than an 80s one would be. People still aren't sure what to value from the 70s. They will change their mind about the 80s too, in time, but I don't think we're there yet.

You are wrong about Belle & Gofuckyourself, Alex.

its

yeah the further back we go the more the corny indie fuxx will cling to the canon. k-ugh.

Wrong in the sense that they deserve to be here or wrong in the sense that there seems to be only one song by them?

well the 90s poll has an advantage over the 00-04 one in that it's longer established in our minds and time is a big factor - there's also a lot more material to consider (altho with 00s p2pmania maybe that's not really the case)

the 80s poll would hopefully have 'voodoo ray' and 'straight outta compton' in it as well as 'there is a light never goes out' and 'come on eileen'

No, I don't think that's the case with the 70s, blount. Unless disco and stuff is now properly part of the canon. There weren't enough years of indie for it to dominate, and I don't think it would just be full of Neil Young and Nick Drake either.

(xpost) Also "I Wanna Be A Cowboy", "Let's Go All The Way" and "Right On Track".