Just a simple song but God I love it Embedded in me, so bittersweet I’m addicted, I’m a melancholic Sing it again, I’ll be your Poll forever: THE BOO RADLEYS - ILM artist poll #60 or new numbering #65

very happy about this, my number two.

I don't think C'mon Kids is the best song on that album but I still like it.....always thought What's In The Box was a much better single.

They're similar in that they both have that noise-guitar thing going on to deliberately shake off some of the newly accrued fans, but I much prefer C'Mon Kids.

and there it is, all songs from Boo Up! made it

I'm delighted by this. Foster's Van is brilliant, but I never seemed to be able to convince anyone of this, so (more than two decades later) I'm relieved to see I'm not alone on this one. I even met Martin Carr once in a pub in Camden and told him it was my favourite Boos song. He didn't even say that he liked it, just something like "ooo...that's an old one" (this was around 1996).

And even more surprised / delighted / relieved to see Naomi make it. Again, this is a track I always rated but seemed to be the only one. By the way, when you say From: Every Heaven EP (B-side), I know what you mean, but I wouldn't really call any of the tracks A-sides or B-sides from those early EPs. It's not like later on, when, say, 'Wish I Was Skinny' was clearly the A-side single and the other tracks were the B-sides. It was quite normal in 1990/1991 for indie groups to release EPs where all four tracks had equal billing and the name of the EP wasn't the name of any of the tracks and none of those tracks would be released on any subsequent album. The EPs were more like mini-albums in their own right, rather than a single with some filler.

very happy about this, my number two.

Yeah, I had to tinker with my list to make sure it got in. It didn't make my original cut, but I knew that was just *wrong*.

And even more surprised / delighted / relieved to see Naomi make it. Again, this is a track I always rated but seemed to be the only one. By the way, when you say From: Every Heaven EP (B-side), I know what you mean, but I wouldn't really call any of the tracks A-sides or B-sides from those early EPs. It's not like later on, when, say, 'Wish I Was Skinny' was clearly the A-side single and the other tracks were the B-sides. It was quite normal in 1990/1991 for indie groups to release EPs where all four tracks had equal billing and the name of the EP wasn't the name of any of the tracks and none of those tracks would be released on any subsequent album. The EPs were more like mini-albums in their own right, rather than a single with some filler.

good point, at first i didn't say B-side but then there were a few in a row and wanted to point out that they weren't the first song on the EP.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0zWbfrQF9b4/VTqdMuyIfbI/AAAAAAAAAgw/4PMNW5c3rG4/s400-no/Giant%2BSteps%2Bm.jpg

23. Upon 9th and Fairchild
From: Giant Steps
Released: Aug 31, 1993
221 Points, 8 Votes, 1 Number One

going to go ahead and reveal this now, "Free Huey" received zero votes.

Smile Fades Fast was someone's #1? Wow, that's surprising! Not that there's anything wrong with it, but the track that comes right after it on EAF is much better. That's Firesky of course, my favourite song from the boogaze era.

I'm also glad to see Four Saints here - it's amazing (my #14), and the weird little solo from 2:30 onwards is one of my favourite Boos moments (pretty sure that I already mentioned this before in the other thread though).

They're similar in that they both have that noise-guitar thing going on to deliberately shake off some of the newly accrued fans, but I much prefer C'Mon Kids.

"We didn't want to scare away the hit-kids, we wanted to take them with us to somewhere that we'd not been before. All we wanted to do was make a different type of album than Wake Up... All we wanted to do was try something new - to keep ourselves fresh and interested. We were very surprised to find that it was seen as a deliberate attempt to scare away newly created fans. That would have been an extremely foolish thing to do."

interesting, i know i liked the new direction and didn't really know why they didn't keep on the Beatles path.

or to me Wake Up! seems to be very Beatlesish.

Apparently people at Creation genuinely thought What's In The Box was going to be a massive hit. It really should have been. It's the song that made me fall in love with them.

Interesting (xps)

I don't know why they thought it would be a massive hit.

Just listening to Four Saints. Really should have voted for it. I love all the different directions that song goes in.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L0q-Ee7v9C0/VTqXqP6uHfI/AAAAAAAAAf0/n3tOXIODzJs/s400-no/Kingsize%2Bm.jpg

22. Put Your Arms Around Me and Tell Me Everything's Going to Be OK
From: Kingsize (American Release Bonus Track)
Released: Oct 9, 1998
223 Points, 7 Votes

yes my user name is because of this song, i have used it on a few music boards. i originally thought that this will be the very last new Boo Radleys song i will ever hear. turns out it wasn't as there were songs from the Kingsize single that i heard afterwards. so my name was going to just be "Be Okay" but the song was OK so that had to stay, then i thought by adding a extra "e" would make for a bit of a better user name. so here today i still use Bee OK.

The Boos should have been massive, yeah. But in music industry things sometimes just don't work out. In my opinion What's In The Box? has got all the ingredients of a hit, but I don't know, I guess it wasn't just fashionable or something at the time.

interesting, i know i liked the new direction and didn't really know why they didn't keep on the Beatles path.

The link in my previous post doesn't seem to be working, but it's pointing to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxCQPk3YqMo

very, very happy it placed. as i thought it was one of those songs that a lot of people probably didn't hear as it was not on the original release of Kingsize.

i remember being at Amoeba Records and seeing the American release. i saw that it had this extra song on it and debated with myself if it was worth re-buying for just one song. well i bought it and even though it was super expensive for just one song, still happy about it. would not have this user name if i didn't.

Bee OK, I remember your story from a certain other music forum, but that's a cool story. It's a great username. :D

I love Put Your Arms Around Me... (it was my #6) and for many many years it was the only Boos track that I didn't "officially" own in any format. I was so sad when they screwed up the release of the Kingsize deluxe edition a few years ago and left out many tracks, but I finally got the song earlier this year when I got the vinyl version of the album!

Just catching up with the countdown, I was the #1 voter for 'Boo! Forever', such a gorgeous song. Pleasantly surprised to see EAF get second place in the albums poll too (though of course Giant Steps deserves its #1 spot as well).

oh it is on the vinyl version? nice.

xpost

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qLl8rCmVkvA/VTvskFM3nWI/AAAAAAAAAo8/QN4BepijZAY/w400-h398-no/Ride%2BThe%2BTiger%2Bpart%2B1%2Bm.jpg

21. Ride the Tiger
From: C’mon Kids and Single
Single Release Date: Dec 30, 1996
228 Points, 8 Votes

yes, the only song of the three singles from C'mon Kide that made my list. love how the songs sort of ends but doesn't.

so onto the Top 20.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i-TpN4rEddE/VTqTQxSqELI/AAAAAAAAAdY/O4FQ_qNX2PE/w400-h398-no/Wake%2BUp%21%2Bm.jpg

20. Twinside
From: Wake Up!
Released: Oct 9, 1995
234 Points, 8 Votes

a song i didn't know i was going to vote for until i re-listened to Wake Up!. then it was like, i remember how much i love this song.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ygvObeqSGE0/VTvziIoEZaI/AAAAAAAAApk/qEHzs0Hpmgs/w400-h399-no/Everything%2BIs%2BSorrow%2Bm.jpg

19. Everything Is Sorrow
From: C’mon Kids
Released: Aug 14, 1996
241 Points, 9 Votes

"Everything Is Sorrow" was not released as a single but i still found artwork for it. does anyone know the story behind that? also that picture looks like what might have been the C'mon Kids prop?

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i-TpN4rEddE/VTqTQxSqELI/AAAAAAAAAdY/O4FQ_qNX2PE/w400-h398-no/Wake%2BUp%21%2Bm.jpg

18. Fairfax Scene
From: Wake Up!
Released: Oct 9, 1995
243 Points, 8 Votes

"Even though I'm keeping busy
there's something more that still escapes me
I had it then, but now it's gone away"

Love Ride The Tiger. Very happy to see it place. Always thought it wasn't an obvious single choice but I guess there weren't many obvious ones on that album.

Twinside has always been one of my favourite Boo songs. I wish they'd put it out as a single. This poll is making me realise I don't think they did the best job choosing singles.

Everything Is Sorrow is such a brilliant song. I'd forgotten how great that whole album is.

Bee, I had no idea that was where your name came from. That's so cool. I didn't know that song until you mentioned it on another Boo thread a few years ago. It's a lovely song.

I love Put Your Arms Around Me... (it was my #6) and for many many years it was the only Boos track that I didn't "officially" own in any format. I was so sad when they screwed up the release of the Kingsize deluxe edition a few years ago and left out many tracks, but I finally got the song earlier this year when I got the vinyl version of the album!

― Tomiboo, Saturday, April 25, 2015

Was it easy to get a vinyl copy? It's the only one I don't have on vinyl and wouldn't mind getting a copy.

I don't really like the lyrics to Everything Is Sorrow.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-13vN7GP1i8w/VTqVUVWuZ2I/AAAAAAAAAfE/VJkG0GZtTls/s400-no/C%27Mon%2BKids%2Bm.jpg

17. Bullfrog Green
From: C’mon Kids
Released: Aug 14, 1996
246 Points, 9 Votes

https://youtu.be/l1KH0XCQX78

this is quite simply one of my all-time favorite songs.

"Everything Is Sorrow" was not released as a single but i still found artwork for it. does anyone know the story behind that?

Was it easy to get a vinyl copy? It's the only one I don't have on vinyl and wouldn't mind getting a copy.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0zWbfrQF9b4/VTqdMuyIfbI/AAAAAAAAAgw/4PMNW5c3rG4/s400-no/Giant%2BSteps%2Bm.jpg

16. Rodney King (Song for Lenny Bruce)
From: Giant Steps
Released: Aug 31, 1993
One Vote For: Rodney King (St. Etienne Remix)
259 Points, 10 Votes

YouTube

I got lucky and found a reasonably cheap (around 20 euros) copy on eBay a few months ago. I hadn't really been looking for it that actively before, but I've never seen it in record stores here in Finland... which isn't really much of a surprise. There were a few a bit more expensive copies for sale when I bought mine, but even though there doesn't seem to be any on eBay right now, I'm sure that you'll be able to find one if you really want. There seem to be a few used copies for sale on Discogs, but I've never bought anything on that site so I don't know how reliable it is.

― Tomiboo, Saturday, April 25, 2015 10:19 PM

Thanks for the info. I've used Discogs a lot and will just keep an eye out on there. I haven't had a good look for it yet.

Bullfrog Green is such a wonderful song. Probably had it too low on my list.

interesting placing for " Rodney King (Song for Lenny Bruce)", never thought of this as a stand out on the album.

As I said already on the other thread, I like it, but I think of it as part of 'Butterfly McQueen' - if I could have voted for the two combined they would have been higher up my ballot - they both seem incomplete without the other

Ride The Tiger is great, especially the ending is beautiful, but for some reason I don't like it as much as I used to. A few years ago it would have been pretty high in my top 25, now it didn't make it on my list.

I'm actually a bit surprised that Twinside made it in the top 20! I've never heard anyone praise it before, and while I do like it, it's not in my favourite Wake Up! tracks either.

Everything Is Sorrow is gorgeous, it's one of my favourite "feeling miserable" songs. I find the lyrics pretty cool...

Fairfax Scene was my #3! It's such a beautiful little pop tune.

Bullfrog Green also made it on my list (#22), the lyrics are so hilariously weird that you just gotta love that song. It's like The Boos' own "I Am The Walrus".

Rodney King is obviously also great. (I probably should stop repeating this, as I don't think that it's possible that there are any tracks in the top 20 that I do NOT like!) It's one of those songs that nearly made it on the list but had to be dropped in the end. I guess it's a bit too repetitive. Does anyone know if the weird lyrics are just played backwards or is it some weird/imaginary language?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gh6qSrA_FUo/VTqjgxtZiuI/AAAAAAAAAhg/DPAQ7WvCKw4/w400-h378-no/Boo%21%2BForever%2Btwo%2Bm.jpg

15. Does This Hurt?
From: Everything’s Alright Forever and Boo! Forever
Released: June 8, 1992
260 Points, 10 Votes

Video released on the 4th of June 1992

lol at that video. it's not bad, just so the time i guess.

It's been a long time since I've seen that Does This Hurt? video... thanks for posting it.

And speaking of Boos videos, how about this one for Ride The Tiger?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU8pfwlPF4I

The video hasn't aged that well, but it was quite jaw-dropping at the time it was released... and apparently cost quite a lot to make too. I love it how all those weird "Boo items" from different eras make an appearance in it. I guess it might be my favourite Boos video, even if I normally prefer the simple videos that aren't very artistic.

(Oh, and I forgot to mention in my previous post that Everything Is Sorrow was my #18 - one place higher than its actual position!)

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L0q-Ee7v9C0/VTqXqP6uHfI/AAAAAAAAAf0/n3tOXIODzJs/s400-no/Kingsize%2Bm.jpg

14. The Old Newsstand at Hamilton Square
From: Kingsize
Released: Oct 9, 1998
261 Points, 10 Votes

YouTube

love you ILM for placing this so high.