...AND THE BEAT GOES ON! The GRAND ILM DISCO POLL results are revealed!

Directed my Philly votes elsewhere, but I'm happy to see any and all of it place.

74. John Paul King - Love Is in the Air (1977)
201 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2133386-1303595994_zps562c0636.jpeg

http://youtu.be/NNC0kIzM1Fo (music video)
http://youtu.be/H9garIoefS4 (12" version)

My Dad flirted with blues and jazz in the 50s. He played ice hockey. His two favourite songs in the 70s were "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" by Ian Dury & the Blockheads and "Love is in the Air" by John Paul Young (a song I later discovered was very popular with other people's dads, for some reason or other)

― Dadaismus (Dada), 7. lokakuuta 2005 12:25

No, the latter masterpiece is expressly for the boogieing needs of Smooth Uncles worldwide.

― suzy (suzy), 7. lokakuuta 2005 12:28

I also like Love is in the Air by some Scottish guy named Young, though apparently not related, which they produced.

― mizzell, 9. elokuuta 2007 17:27

john paul young. no-one in australia really ever needs to hear this again ever ever ever, but it is quite good.

― haitch, 13. elokuuta 2007 3:59

I swear to almighty God, everytime I walk into a Borders 'Love Is In The Air' comes on, the John Paul Young version I think. It's the kind of song that would go well with some hot crazy homicidal killing spree, but not when I'm trying to buy books. One of these I will crack and mow down the toothless hoardes, making them eat on their Barbara Kingsolver paperbacks. They only have themselves to blame.

― toofattoskate, 7. marraskuuta 2009 21:36

This was one of the few songs in the top 100 I was totally unfamiliar with (though the melody sounded instantly familiar when I played the tune, so I guess I'd heard it somewhere). It's very pretty.

Whoops, sorry, that should read John Paul Young, not John Paul King. Don't know where the "King" came from.

Wish "Menergy" had made it higher. Surprised that some people think it's sleazy - it's no "Walk The Night."

I watched this biography of "The Godfather of Disco" Mel Cheren (West End Records/Paradise Garage) last night - really interesting. Lots of NYC queer/disco/AIDS history intertwined there for those curious.

http://youtu.be/KuBGPj-klT8

"Love Is In The Air" is such a dreamy song. The top 20 better really be something, bitches.

The first song I've disliked :(

first result i nommed iirc

didnt think this had a chance outside of the bottom 10-20!

Why do you hate love, Alfred?

the week i first discovered love is in the air i was on a date and as we walked by this record store i said "would you mind if we stopped in here? i promise i'm not browsing, i just want to check if they have this one record" and i went straight for "Y" in the "DISCO" section and there was a copy of the 12" with a $4 price tag on it

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

72.(tie) Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (1982)
207 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-196049-1240168445_zps0b3e349e.jpeg

http://youtu.be/BB-IwOwUR9o

Wanna Be Startin' Something is the greatest song of all time.

― groovemaaan, 25. huhtikuuta 2007 21:29

MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA

― The Reverend, 26. huhtikuuta 2007 0:29

listening to "Wanna Be Startin' Something" god the breakdown at the end is so great

― matt h. (M@tt He1ges0n), 26. kesäkuuta 2009 23:59

amazing, you know oddly i didn't think people thought THAT much of Wanna Be Startin.. so glad that they do. what a TUNE.

― piscesx, 25. helmikuuta 2012 6:3

I never reached the Tavs' version, but I placed the Gees' ^high^. I may have cost this one a good twenty places

I've just played these back-to-back and yes, I've voted for the inferior version (which I still love). Sorry, Tavares.

The first song I've disliked :(

Oh there have been about four or five of them so far for me (one I actually outright loathe), but I'm holding my tongue this time around because it's disco.

MJ-as-disco felt all wrong to me, I couldn't vote for any of his. He is his own thing.

I wrote this about "WBSS" in the Jacksons poll thread, still stand behind every word:

"Wanna Be Startin' Something" was my #2, and it's definitely my favourite MJ single of all time. Everything about is just perfect: the way it starts full-force (thus mirroring the chorus lyric), no intro or anything, with that ridiculously catchy bassline; the way the verses just repeat the same things over and over again, but the way Michael emotes them manages to give each line poignancy; the way the production and arranging on the tune is so impeccable, so aurally pleasing it practically shines; the oddball lyrical injections only MJ could pull of so convincingly ("you're a vegetable", wtf?); the mama-se mama-sa mama mako-ssa coda that (controversy ahoy!) he pulls off with more soul than Manu Dibango ever did in the original. I just love every second of this tune!

Again, awesome song, but it's kinda disco with an asterisk, unlike "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" (which I presume is still to place).

Yeah I felt fine voting for "Don't Stop..." but couldn't vote for "Wanna..." even though they're like twin godheads controlling the universe with irresistible compulsion.

wonder what change songs are going to show up. feel like "angel in my pocket" has a good chance.

― From the Album No Baby for You! (Matt P), Friday, December 6, 2013 11:15 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"A Lover's Holiday" should win every poll ever but I have a feeling I'm gonna be disappointed on this front.

I will have to be content if "Angel In My Pocket" or "Paradise" place, I suppose.

HOLD TIGHT

I didn't see "Angel in My Pocket" on Tuomas' spreedsheet; that's the only reason I didn't vote for it.

from WIKI

The coda at the end of the song comes directly from Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango's 1972 disco song "Soul Makossa". Dibango sued Jackson and settled out of court for one million French francs, agreeing thereby to waive future rights to this recording but not future use of the material.

news to me!

I agree Tim F, We need some Change!

Yeah I felt fine voting for "Don't Stop..." but couldn't vote for "Wanna..." even though they're like twin godheads controlling the universe with irresistible compulsion.

OTM unto perpetuity.

72.(tie) Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame (1977)
207 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-850672-1175931301_zps6ce41f1c.jpeg

http://youtu.be/2_oGq1USOIo

Can't really find any discussion on this tune on ILM, but maybe you can say something about it?

Evelyn King is probably the youngest artist in this poll; I think she was only 17 when this song came out.

I've never known the title or the artist but this is a classic of course, especially that chorus.

Personally, I prefer her later boogie material; "I'm in Love", "Love Come Down", and "Get Loose" are all awesome. IMO she's still pretty generic on "Shame".

Shame is completely fantastique

changing your middle name to "champagne" is pretty dope imo

let's not preemptively mar this thread with disappointment over things that may or may not yet place (plenty of time for that later) and just enjoy the tunes

btw these covers are awesome! so they'r european? makes me wish disco singles didn't all have those generic labels

also glow of love rules but my fav change tune is not disco but the killer 80's r&b of "change of heart"

xps I know a guy whose middle name is 'Champion' but for some reason he keeps quiet about it. I'd have my full name embroidered on the back of all my shirts.

so far only things on my ballot to have placed are peech boys & jones girls. voted for different giorgio (i wanna funk with you) & patrick cowley songs (mind warp). btw richjuzwiak who is quoted in the menergy post wrote this about p cowley for lgbt history month http://gawker.com/lgbt-history-month-the-aids-masterpiece-of-a-lost-disc-1454245531

"Shame" in my top ten but yeah I prefer "Love Come Down."

xxp http://i.imgur.com/aYmY0No.jpg

If I voted for a "Champagne" track, it would've been "I'm In Love."

71. Class Action - Weekend (1983)
208 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-5015025-1382708257-5366_zps82eeb4b3.jpeg

http://youtu.be/j_RcdZzDg3c (music video)
http://youtu.be/PYy02J51SNo (Larry Levan 12" mix)

Derrick May is awesome w/ hates - "Beyond the Dance" is so intense for me.

and Timbaland's "One In A Million" was the most groundbreaking record of the 90's (except for maybe "Soon")

but the high-hat award goes to Class Action - "Weekend (Larry Levan's Weekend mix).

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), 3. syyskuuta 2002 20:12

Class Action - did the best ever version of "Weekend", vocals by Chris Wilshire (acapella later sampled by Todd Terry), at least one of the mixes by Larry Levan. "I can't take the heartbeat of you leaving me again...etc." Oh, you know the one. Perfect post-disco/pre-house club track, right up there with C-Bank "One More Shot".

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), 5. huhtikuuta 2005 16:55

THREE mixes of Class Action's "Weekend"??? Just buy it already!

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), 12. huhtikuuta 2006 2:25

listen to this over + over yesterday: goosebump-inducing perfection every time

have a disco christmas y'all

― hubertus bigend (m coleman), 23. joulukuuta 2010 17:21

Yay, Class Action - in my Top 10, and another track which I've loved for over 30 years.

"Shame" was in my long list, but just missed the final cut.

Class Action was #5 in my ballot. I think every aspect of the song - the spiky beats, Chris Wiltshire's spirited vocals, the liberated lyrics, that ultra-catchy synth riff - simply kick ass.

70. Patrick Cowley - Sea Hunt (1981)
210 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-114402-1143741113_zps859b6428.jpeg

http://youtu.be/E0L7sKXEdG0

sea hunt is definitely one of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard. i played it this one time and my friend was shouting at me "OMG THIS SOUNDS LIKE PORPOISES FUCKING IN OUTER SPACE!!!!"

― jaime, 20. elokuuta 2007 8:05

Sea Hunt. Wow.

― Violent In Design (Masonic Boom), 3. heinäkuuta 2009 18:09

I can't speak to the rest of his catalog -- but most of that record (LP, right? There's certainly 40 minutes of material on there) is outstanding and feels very italo. I particularly love his deplyment of female vocals -- on "Get a Little" but also the wordless cooing doubling the synthesizer lead on "Sea Hunt."

― Naive Teen Idol, 15. lokakuuta 2009 19:10

This is only the second non-single on the list, after "At Last I Am Free". It's not hard to see why people (myself included) voted for it, anyone who loves epic synth instrumentals should love "Sea Hunt".

Apparently the tune is a cover version of the theme from a late 50s TV show of the same name:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HFdvCy6ivY

Sea hunt is epic, my fav cowley tune

huh didn't know it was a theme tune cover, but that makes sense! It's a very "action tv" oriented melody.

Btw, everyone should read that Patrick Cowley article Flopson linked to a few posts above... It's a touching text, and the anecdote at the end of the article is hella impressive.

wonder what change songs are going to show up. feel like "angel in my pocket" has a good chance.

― From the Album No Baby for You! (Matt P)

I went for The Glow of Love, it was one four songs I voted for with Luther Vandross on vocals.

I voted for a few Change songs - "AIMP" wasn't one of them - and will be very disappointed if none place in the top 50.

'Ain't nobody' is still (11 years after the quote above) some days my favourite song ever but yeah it's not disco and I didn't vote for it.

'A Lover's holiday' somehow slipped off my ballot at the last minute, I think partly because it never registered much with me until i heard Greg Wilson play the LNTG edit out, before that I was always a 'searchin' kind of guy or a 'glow of love' kind of guy on a Sunday.

I was a woman-with-a-purpose-in-the-city the other day when Shame came on in the car

69. Chic - My Feet Keep Dancing (1979)
211 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2255109-1272628018_zps62ce1bf9.jpeg

http://youtu.be/A75Bb0erCU4

The incredible restraint of the strings on "My Feet Keep Dancing" is quite nice. In my head that strident triplet (is it?) comes in every few lines, on the track it happens something like twice. And the tap solo w/Bernard repeating this incredible surging figure OVER AND OVER is nice, too. And! Tony does the most incredible drumroll, just a straight long duggaduggadugga that's pretty fucking stunning after nothing (I think. Effectively, anyway, really) but that same exact and perfect beat for the whole song.

― Mr Mime (Andrew Thames), 21. huhtikuuta 2004 15:09

My God, this is powerful stuff, almost religious. Undeniably physical music that is utterly ethereal yet tough as nails at the same time. There's a deep chasm of melancholy and sadness at the heart of what are, on the surface, very jubilant songs, and I find that undercurrent unbearably affecting. The austerity, tightness and restraint in something like the tap-dance breakdown and slow build-up in "My Feet Keep Dancing" makes me feel like my lungs and heart are going to explode.

― Clarke, 3. helmikuuta 2008 20:25

listening to 'my feet keep dancing' right now and thinking how NEXT LEVEL the groove on this is, the short, rapid guitar bursts

― deej, 1. heinäkuuta 2007 23:21

Reverend, the way Rodgers/Edwards mixed strings and Thompson's drums negate the need for extra percussion! Listen to "My Feet Keep Dancing" again! Their ethos is crafting this huge drama using minimalist ends.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, 1. heinäkuuta 2007 23:27

Generic is the last thing i would call a song like (and i hate to use this example again but its the one i've been playing over and over today) "my feet keep dancing" - so many of their best songs seem like an exercise in originality/creativity, an attempt to take a standard soul-disco formula and make it interesting, while keeping the same communal vibe and incredibly lockstep-tight dance grooves. You can here them experimenting w/ hemiolas and other rhythmic tricks, minimalism, playing the groove of the guitar-bass-drums off the strings-horns-lushness, bells and handclaps, using a small palette of instruments and styles (how many times did you ever hear nile rodgers guitar doing the 'nile rodgers trick') but somehow making it all sound v. v. different from song to song...everything in their catalogue sounds so distinct to me

― deej, 2. heinäkuuta 2007 8:45

"My Feet Keep Dancing" - the greatest song from this greatest of disco bands

― Kevin John Bozelka, 11. syyskuuta 2009 18:39