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

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?