A POLL Bizarre ~~~ It's the ILM 80's R&B TRACKS POLL ~~~ RESULTS THREAD!!!

who is weirdly dismissive of anita

i'm making an enemies list

Greil Marcus. And me probably. Her vocal mannerisms grate on me. Voted for Sweet Love in spite of that I think.

Greil Marcus' dismissal of Baker offended me so much that I didn't read him for years.

Marcus: I think Anita Baker is ridiculous. Any time you hear somebody bringing back this kind of genteel, effete black music--the same number the Pointer Sisters pulled in the early '70s when they gave concerts with "Black Tie Recommended" printed on the tickets--it's an incident in class politics that has nothing to do with music.

who the hell are you to dictate what music black listeners should appreciate at their appropriate income level?

lol that's gross greil

https://img.discogs.com/sCfP7O3eAUeVraLQrYtZZ7DAFGY=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-109994-1365878706-2791.jpeg.jpg
194. Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation
237 points, 5 votes
https://youtu.be/OAwaNWGLM0c

Yes, that's precisely what I'm talking about. This weird, seemingly anti-racist but actually very essentially racist notion that black artists who skew towards a smoother, adult contemporary, or more middle-class sound are somehow lacking authenticity. Because don't they know their place? Corinne Bailey-Rae is a more recent example of someone who's been unfairly criticized on those grounds.

Y'all act like Greil Marcus is never gross.

to be fair to Greil that comment he made 30 years ago. Also, he's a gentleman.

(So just out of curiosity...are we planning on doing a '90s R&B poll after this? Because I really need to get a jump start on that ballot, if so.)

https://img.discogs.com/LgbOaGFueJl_9TP9tHb0SoDi3k0=/fit-in/600x611/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-50075-1416862001-8129.jpeg.jpg
193. Peech Boys - Don't Make Me Wait
239 points, 5 votes
https://youtu.be/yK5V7czvpXE

Adult contemporary is terrible. Not because of politics or class but because aesthetics. A lot of r'n'b dabbles in it and I find a lot of it fascinating and even great but it does make it hard for me.

Not to derail the conversation or thread, but A/C isn't a genre – it's a marketing decision made by radio.

The songs that were locked out of the top 200 are just astonishing. I am absolutely flabbergasted at the songs "Out of Touch" bested.

i am here to celebrate the peech boys

xxp It's definitely a genre. Pop music played as if the 50's never happened and with Broadway as the main reference point.

https://img.discogs.com/arvvbtLg1gif7O2ewZLGJyCI2wA=/fit-in/599x595/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1439832-1248557286.jpeg.jpg
192. The Joubert Singers - Stand on the Word
240 points, 4 votes
https://youtu.be/KL49mz2IQs4

Rapture is a fabulous album, but hardly her debut. Her first album as a solo artist was 1983's The Songstress.

Xp

I don't know. Eric Weisbard makes a http://pitchfork.com/features/paper-trail/9550-top-40-democracy/">solid case for distinguishing genre from format.

export

xpost

"Stand on the Word" would almost be enough to get be back into church.

i.e. hot squiggly synths that you feel in your taint would be enough to get me back into church

"Stand on the Word" should be in the top 20, wtf is it doing so low?! Shame on you, ILX, I would've expected everyone to include it in their ballots.

I didn't have time to vote in this, but Adore is way too low. Prince was obv the victim of much splitting and his tracks will still prob dominate the top end of the poll, but Adore is his purest genre exercise in 80s R&B--such ear candy

Agreed about Stand on the Word, I guess you can blame the too low-ness of those tracks squarely on me

https://img.discogs.com/s93urCWN_JyLOBnPpyNlUHMFaIM=/fit-in/400x401/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-153650-1307538024.jpeg.jpg
191. LeVert - Casanova
240 points, 6 votes
https://youtu.be/Obxx6xHKme8

Yeah, I can't even with "Adore" being as low as it is.

Tho it is probably his most prominent deep cut, as it were.

I'd never heard of "Stand on the Word" before

I voted for 5 of the 10 tracks from 191-200, so this is quite the hot streak. Only voted for one Prince song, not sure it will place at all.

"casanova" too low, i'm gonna say

https://img.discogs.com/ROOEmOMe1KBoJ8dZf0ohEDEu2FQ=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-145775-1288992289.jpeg.jpg
190. Janet Jackson - Come Back to Me
243 points, 3 votes
https://youtu.be/-5ecZWwO_hQ

Kinda bizarre that ranks above "Rhythm Nation," no?

https://img.discogs.com/X6kW1jgiEtZ6uBvyfCiz6NRXAKk=/fit-in/600x592/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2186697-1471194694-1758.png.jpg
189. Paula Abdul - Straight Up
243 points, 5 votes
https://youtu.be/El1kgCqD7Xk

sexualing healing (crüt) at 6:57 9 May 17

I'd never heard of "Stand on the Word" before

Okay, wow! I'm not saying everyone should've known it, but it *is* one of the cornerstones of 80s dance music, specifically of Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage scene. So much so that it's been mistakenly attributed as having been remixed by him, even though he had nothing to do with it beyond playing it in his sets.

Kinda bizarre that ranks above "Rhythm Nation," no?

― insidious assymetrical weapons (Eric H.), Tuesday, May 9, 2017 11:02 AM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

No way! One of my absolute favorite '80s R&B ballads. So lush!

Can't front on any Janet, though. She's probably just behind Prince as my favorite R&B performer of the made-up decade that spans the early-to-mid '80s through the early-to-mid '90s.

"Rhythm Nation" is Janet's "Thriller" in that it feels more like a big production number than an actual song.

That makes sense -- it explains why they're title tracks.

xxp Absolutely. I actually ended up voting for neither, but admittedly they're both amazing.

https://img.discogs.com/06i0VJd7eRrGMKGAh1WIgrShSyc=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-160534-1326957336.jpeg.jpg
188. Nick Straker Band - A Little Bit of Jazz
244 points, 4 votes
https://youtu.be/yb5osClXQHY

For awhile, I called that my favorite Prelude single of all. I think that's no longer the case, but it's still an amazing boogie.

surprised at how low some of these are placing ;_;

also surprised "a little bit of jazz" has placed above so many of these (altho i love it + voted for it!)

https://img.discogs.com/xOkggRJOAh1V7CdivfsxLKi2kRs=/fit-in/551x557/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-535155-1314832924.jpeg.jpg
187. Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me
246 points, 6 votes
https://youtu.be/7YvAYIJSSZY

Let's be real: there's well over 300 legitimately great '80s R&B songs. Some very worthy choices were inevitably going to get the shaft. There truly is no justice in the world.

That's cool, though I do prefer DJ Bobo's version.

jesus

this isn't even a song, let alone R&B

x+x+ post

"a little bit of jazz" and all the other great prelude tracks of 80-83 were so ubiquitous in nyc, i've always wondered if madonna has copped to their influence, she would have heard them in clubs and just walking down the street. if you listen to "gonna get over you" by france joli in that context, it really does predict madonna's early singles (to my ears)

Weren't most of Madonna's early singles produced by Jellybean Benitez, who was definitely part of that NYC scene? That might explain the similarity.