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

that's not gonna place right

pretty sure "Nobody Walks in L.A." won't

I'll be pretty heartbroken if "Sugar Free" doesn't make the list.

xxp Um... I was obviously referring to critical reappraisal. The Bateman reference was probably generational/local in that I know some critics of that ilk who semi-genuinely treat Phil Collins, Whitney and H&O as peak r'n'b. Outside ilm that's the only context in which I've come across someone preferring H&O over anything else. I don't see how them being huge at the time makes a difference in this poll. We'll see I guess.

I don't want to keep arguing these points, but what I know from my own experience with R&B and fellow R&B fans going back to the seventis is that we loved H&O as much as Rene & Angela, Vandross, Stephanie Mills, Debarge, etc -- they were part of the conversation. It was white rock critics who came up during H&O's first Reagan term heyday who were like "Ew lol gross" and still had sufficient suasion to be shocked when I and other critics who came up in the early '00s embraced them. I don't see why this is complicated. The R&B community loved them going back to "She's Gone."

That's fair of course. I'm not actually influenced by the critics when it comes to 80's r'n'b since so much of it is ignored anyway. Simply coming to it as a, mostly isolated, listener. Hall & Oates just rub me wrong. They always sound like a smug and inferior take on Philly soul whereas say Debarge actually sounds like an update.

Oh I totally get not liking them. I mistakenly thought you were saying they didn't belong on this list.

I voted for four Madonna tracks, Ghostbusters and fucking Art of Noise. No purism here.

look I know there are lots of deserving songs in this poll but "Jungle Love" should be wayyyyy higher

I think I inexcusably omitted the Time from my ballot altogether. So if '777-9311' fails to place, you know who to pelt with tomatoes.

Really regret not voting for Yarbrough and Peoples. Think I accidentally culled it with Yoko Ono early on. In a just world, it would be in the top 40.

I voted for 777-9311

"Let's Here It For The Boy" and "Rhythm Of The Night" are both nightmares.

Yes, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.

I don't mind the Debarge. It's a lot better than "All Night Long." I couldn't tell if "Straight Up" upthread was a joke or not.

Anyway, I'm curious to see how high "Ain't Nobody" places. I'm also curious how many tracks on the final list feature JR Robinson on drums.

The results are more interesting with a few songs I hate, and they're way down in the 100s anyway.

omg we forgot to nominate "i can dream about you"

Every time we poll something, I feel like we should follow it up with a '___-not-___' poll for stuff that almost fits the purview of the poll but doesn't quite.

top 100 had better be front-to-back excellent considering some of the unassailable classics that failed to make the tier :(

this carly simon thing was the headscratcher from this latest batch of results for me.

i'm a little sad my favorite change song (and #1 on my ballot) seems unlikely to place considering that "paradise" has already shown up and iirc that was the only change track that placed on the disco poll. (ironically i like nearly every song from the glow of love (the album) better than "paradise".)

I've navigated a lot of head scratchers so far - Crazy For You, Careless Whisper, Ghostbusters - but Why ain't one of them. It's the last great Chic hit.

I really don't understand why people think "Ghostbusters" doesn't belong here? It's undoubtedly R&B, it's by a respected R&B artist, it has a nice, energetic performance and catchy melody, it's fun to listen... So why is it headscratcher? Okay, Parker may possibly have borrowed the bassline from Huey Lewis, but before Lewis the same bassline was used by M on "Pop Music", and even before that Donny Hathaway's "Magnificent Sanctuary Band" had a very similar riff, so who's to blame?

Ghostbusters is majestic. That cartoonish synth riff that builds up tension in the chorus is one of the best ideas in pop ever. The Huey bassline is secondary but still used better than anywhere else.

Anyway, I've read the Weisbard interview and it didn't make me reconsider adult contemporary's genre status. It passes the basic test: do you know it when you hear it?

Glow of Love was in my top 5 and I can't imagine it not placing.

Yea "Thriller" and "Ghostbusters" always felt like distant cousins (more so than "Give It To Me" or "I Want A New Drug" the two songs they were accused of plagiarizing).

At least the Ghostbusters II song, superior in every way, placed higher.

Shoot, just saw that the results are delayed until Monday.

by my estimation, tho it is governed by aesthetic genre conventions (hence us being able to know it when we hear it), adult contemporary is first and foremost a commercial/radio format. compared to proper genres, there's very little of it that's not explicitly aimed to take up room within that commercial space. in contrast, there's plenty of r&b and country music not aimed to succeed on r&b or country radio respectively. genre is a pretty complicated/nuanced topic tho so i won't pretend i have a total understanding of how it all works.

xp i would be very happy if "the glow of love" places. the one i voted as my #1 was actually "a lover's holiday" which i think is unfairly overlooked now. ironic that the one that was most popular back in the day is now basically the least popular single from that album b/c it didn't have luther vandross on it lol

A Lover's Holiday was the first tune by them I ever heard, and I still don't understand why people would rate any of the other singles above it. The others are awesome too, but that one is just the perfect disco song.

"The Glow of Love" is placing, no problem.

I feel like there is plenty of adult contemporary not aimed at that commercial space. Rock, r'n'b and country albums are filled with adult contemporary tracks that never get promoted.

"Angel in My Pocket" is the one I sort of wish I'd thrown support behind aside from "Glow" and "Paradise."

that song is massive and way too catchy

I also voted for "The Glow of Love," and I was the #1 vote for "Paradise." "Miracles" made my top 20, though at this point I don't expect it to place. I like "A Lover's Holiday" fine, but it's a little too blatantly Chic-esque and a little too anonymous for me to rate it in the same league. "Paradise" cops the chord progression from "Good Times" but it's a more distinctive record than "Lover's Holiday" - those marshmallow harmonies on the chorus!

"Miracles" -- is that a celeste or glockenspiel?

Could well be a synth mimicking the sound of either. But yeah, that's one of my favorite little hooks in the world.

kinda glad we get a little break in the rollout, gives me more time to digest discoveries and rediscoveries from 250-101 :)

can't help but wonder how many artists will place more than one song in the top 100. prince, mj and janet seem obvious, but who else? stevie? evelyn king? chaka? rick james? cameo? :D

I think The Gap Band have one or two singles that are gonna place besides the obvious one. And I'd assume the other two huge '80s hits by Kool & the Gang besides "Celebration" are a lock too.

Madonna, Whispers, Luther Vandross, Imagination, Grace Jones, I'm also sure have at least two more entries to come.

Alexander O'Neal?

Have had to catch up with this thread but really enjoying the rollout so far. Loving the unpredictability and enthusiasm and also the amazing record covers.

Maybe Sade?

Zapp, surely. Evelyn "Champagne" King, probably.

My Zapp vote went to something that wasn't nominated.

Mr. Mister probably. "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie."

No thank you.

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https://img.discogs.com/36IXH9NQP_k5hJsJ_TrY2fzhGNc=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1386448-1215191657.jpeg.jpg
100. Change - A Lover's Holiday
375 points, 6 votes, 1 number one
https://youtu.be/sf84HJJ1Dc0

Awesome, that's the best Change tune IMO. A pure, concentrated form of disco goodness, maybe even the last "classic disco" hit? (In that it has diva vocals, funk groove, and an arrangement based on "real" instruments, no synths or drum machines.)

I want to say that I'm ready, but I'm not sure that I'm ready. My mind might get blowed.

x-post

my choice of best Change track too though I'd call it the first post-disco hit; no synths or drum machines but more a complex arrangement & vocals than many classic disco songs, either way it rules