La musica si muove appena: The ILM ITALO Poll (Results Thread)

http://i.imgur.com/4ttp9vb.jpg

41 (TIE) M&G "When I Let You Down" [108 points, 4 votes]
http://youtu.be/5cNia_e7_RU

xpost I love the fact that thomas anders' wife was so jealous she made him wear a necklace with her name on it

Antonio Banderas & Gordon Ramsey

this video is even funnier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5C8AC6V2KQ

I love that, as far as I can't tell, there's NO guitar in most of these songs, yet Dieter Bohlen is ALWAYS playing guitar. The same goes for a lot of "live" performances/videos from other acts of the time.

Oof, destroy Modern Talking.

On the other hand, M&G's "When I Let You Down / Boogie Tonight" might be one of the best 12" in the genre. The only two songs they recorded. Fred Ventura did a cover of WILYD in 2007, and it's ok.

the 12" mix of "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" is worth a listen for those skeptical about its placing

this one

I can fully recommend the full length animated movie about Modern Talking: "Dieter - Der Film". It is batshit insane.

There *is* plenty of faux-Nile Rodgers guitar in You're My Heart You're My Soul though, but it bears no relation to what Dieter or Thomas are doing with their instruments in the videos. But yes, badly synced videos not limited in any way to MT.

I've got nothing but love for "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" and I'm glad it placed. I might have even voted for "Brother Louie" had it been nominated.

Back when I was still DJing Italo I always threw in a Modern Talking instrumental somewhere along the line (Cheri Cheri Lady for example has an awesome bassline), always got great response as people invariably recognise the tune but can't identify it without the vocals.

http://i.imgur.com/GADSgQ8.jpg

40 IVAN "Fotonovela" [117 points, 4 votes]
http://youtu.be/3XNscCzSL6s

^pleasantly surprised that this placed!

that YT is blocked

heres another link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L5YJRtvebE

Great great tune.

12" version of Fotonovela is ALL TIME. Definitely the best Spanish Italo Disco song ever, if you are keeping track. Best use of strings in an Italo record? May also be the only Italo track with xylophones and accordion (which you can hear more on the 12").

Absolutely astonished that "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" has had over 44 million YouTube views...

Three tracks so far that I have (knowingly) danced to in actual nightclubs in the actual Nineteen Eighties: Gazebo, Trans-X, Modern Talking.

up next, the first entry on the list with a 1st place vote...

Doesn't surprise me at all, AFAIK Modern Talking was the second best selling disco act of all time after Boney M.

that's a very loose definition of "disco", though

Now I guess, but at the time this was disco to 99% of the population.

they were immensely successful, no doubt about that

something doesn't quite add up for me in "Fotonovela" but it does scream "Classic".

I guess "disco" in the eighties was more or less a synonym for "club music".

xpost - Perhaps that the xylophone riff doesn't really fit, melodically, with the rest?

I think that't it for me but it's also what makes it great.

yeah, it's like that is just one element too many - but it's also the best one!

daavid stop dragging this out, got a horrible feeling my first to show will be my number 1 now.

I think it's the clashing overtones in the xylo.

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

39 LOUI$ "Pink Footpath" [122 points, 4 votes, 1 first place vote]
http://youtu.be/plXB4MFZSMw

And there you go... :(

Can only assume this is so low cos most haven't heard it, it's peerless and unique.

yeah, I'm not familiar with this one. Almost jazzy in the first 2 minutes.

xps

I was thinking about this during the nominations thread but don't think I ever put it out there: who was the audience for non-crossover Italo releases? Was it mostly nightclubs? How many young people in Italy (or France or Spain) in the 80s have heard e.g. "When I Let You Down" or "Hey Hey Guy"? Were there clubs in the UK playing this? (I guess mike t-diva addressed that one a bit)

i think that's a glockenspiel in "Fotonovela" not a xylophone

I personally like my Italo to be on the pop side, but I didn't vote anyway.

I am definitely in the minority who find "Pink Footpath" overrated, but it gets a super amount of love from even non-italo fans.

xxpost, you are right. The bars in a xylophone are made out of wood. But what's a marimba then? I'm confused.

The first time I heard Pink Footpath (in an old Aeroplane mix iirc) was one of those moments you just know right away you're hearing a song that will be an all-timer.

Seandalai: there's an interview here, in which a Venice DJ talks a bit about the perception of Italo in Italy at the time:
http://thump.vice.com/words/bottin-and-mike-simonetti-obsess-over-italo-disco

I feel Italo also appealed to record collectors as well as clubbers: so many devoted labels and sublabels, so many strange aliases and one-offs to geek out over.

oh awesome, thanks!

Xylophones and marimbas are made out of wood, I believe. Glockenspiel has metal bars. Probably more likely that it's a glockenspiel in Fotonovela, but it looks like a xylophone in the video.

LOL at his example of bad Italo. That really is bad.

Interesting interview but both of those guys sound like Italo rockists.

…especially Bottin.

http://i.imgur.com/mAasX49.jpg

38 VALERIE DORE "Get Closer" [123 points, 4 votes]
http://youtu.be/DkQu9CPrrfw

My top 5 dropping like flies all of a sudden

way too low but i'm guessing Valerie Dore was sabotaged by people nominating like 10 million of her tracks

maybe 38/39 isn't dropping like flies idk