Linden Arden POLL the Highlights--ILM Van Morrison Poll Results

http://i.imgur.com/7VfH5hM.jpg

30. Tir Na Nog
from No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
5 votes, 106 points

fuck yes I'm gonna bump that one right now

God this song is so wonderful

it really is. my no. 4

listening to "in the garden" now & remembering when I saw Van on Avalon Sunset his piano dude - may have been Mose Allison? - stomping all over the transcendent vibe in the dorkiest but also kinda best way: Van went deep into the refrain, everybody in the house down in that spiritual vibe - no guru - no method - no teacher - just you and I and nature and the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost- there was a very vocal contingent of Christians in the crowd, earlier in the evening when he'd done "Whenever God Shines His Light" he'd sung "He heals the sick / and He heals the lame / and He says that you can do it, too, in Jesus Christ's Name" (in the track there's no "Christ), a whole swathe of the audience down front erupted in cheers - so In the Garden peaks, Van's got pretty much everybody in that garden, it's us & Van and the Trinity, what a vibe - and Van exits, stage left, the band still playing - and dude at the piano smiles huge and exuberantly into his mic goes: "No guru, no method, no teacher -- just Van the Man!" which is kinda like

lol

wonderful

I saw Mose Allison play in 1997-ish and he gushed at length about how grateful he was to VM for the Tell Me Something album and the difference between a songwriting royalty check for a Van Morrison album vs. a Mose Allison album.

that is wonderful jclc

re: Tenenbaums

Early cuts of the movie had it end with the Anthology version of "I'm Looking Through You" (and starting with the actual "Hey Jude" instead of Mothersbaugh's cover) but they couldn't get the rights

Love that story, JCLC. And I think Tir Na Nog has been my best find of the poll.

We're starting up again in 5 minutes.

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

29. Moondance
from Moondance
6 votes, 108 points

wooooowwww

this low

Let me revise

29. Moondance
from Moondance
6 votes, 108 points
One #1

If it weren't for that #1 vote, the song Moondance would have been in the high 50s.

http://i.imgur.com/DLWXf5w.jpg

28. Who Was That Masked Man
from Veedon Fleece
8 votes, 120 points

^^ the peak of Veedon Fleece

tbh if it were possible to vote for "linden arden" and "masked man" as a suite i would've

van's falsetto is totally devastating

i would also like to say that the cadence with which van sings the chorus of "wonderful remark" is one of my favorite things in all of music and is a weird bittersweet moment in an otherwise relentlessly bitter song

it's like he's forcing himself to admit an inconvenient truth

Which Wonderful Remark?

older recording on philosopher's stone

http://i.imgur.com/xCph3sX.jpg

27. Snow in San Anselmo
from Hard Nose the Highway
7 votes, 137 points

I still haven't heard this album!

oh well it's pretty good!

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

26. Steppin' Out Queen
from Into the Music
7 votes, 143 points

I like this song, but I was surprised by how high it placed.

i'm surprised by its placement too but i am very enthusiastic about it, this song was very high on my ballot and is one of his most perfect songs imo; the way the chorus rhythm switches up every two bars (and in general the incredible drumming on this song!!!), the backing vocals, the bridge which feels like it's trying to escape the rest of the song, etc. etc. etc.

not to mention the explosive... viola (?) solo

otm on the drumming.

how's the sequel?

I would have been happy with Steppin' Out as #1. Alternative take is great as well.

i love the sequel a lot too. into the music is already a very long record but i sorta wish the full "steppin' out queen" were on it anyway

What is this full Steppin' Out Queen?

http://i.imgur.com/RT5hQ2r.jpg

25. Cul De Sac
from Veedon Fleece
6 votes, 144 points

Part 2 on The Philosopher's stone, it's awesome

that tension between the horns and the strings is so great on Queen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrSn1QhN1lE

come in my garden and let's look at the flowers

"cul de sac" was my no. 3 and for reasons i expressed back in the voting thread it is so so so so so so so good

Here's one you may know

http://i.imgur.com/l3r5WMZ.jpg

24. Brown Eyed Girl
Single
10 votes, 153 points

what's this

wow so low

when 15, I played this for a girl I liked that had brown eyes and now I want to vomit when I hear it. good song!

Here's another you may know. And this is definitely too low.

nice couplet

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

23. Domino
from His Band and the Street Choir
11 votes, 158 points

all live versions of this song are generally on fire

I always imagine Van wailing the Genesis song.

http://i.imgur.com/o8RVHta.jpg

22. Fair Play
from Veedon Fleece
11 votes, 159 points