TEARS IN THE TYPING POLL: ILM Artist Poll #114 - BROADCAST (Results Thread)

I keep giggling a little inside about offering voters more ballot slots than I have for any other artist after repeated suggestions that their output was too tiny to bother with a poll. And then CaAL opting for a gloriously comprehensive (and apparently faintly troubling lol) rollout!

They were a way more interesting band than even some strains of fans are accustomed to acknowledging. All along too: 'Accidentals' and Familiar Shapes & Noises sound like basically the same (freaky) band to me.

Incidentally, was Roj the main purveyor of samples in the band or something? They were less conspicuous in his absence. Before Witch Cults anyway.

I hadn't heard that Warp version of sixty forty before, it is fantastic, more of a measured studio take, I wonder when it was recorded? The melody line and lyrics sound so eerily like they could be a Broadcast composition, a slightly more minimal version would have fitted perfectly on tender buttons . Having said that, I love the way it condenses all the best aspects of spacemen 3 circa Playing with fire (thinking particularly Suicide) while the Broadcast-ness remains completely intact.

I think all my more marginal votes have now been placed so I am officially mainstream. Realising my secret hope is that no two people will vote the same number 1. Hawk was an amazing top choice.

Rollout while I'm on holiday and barely at a computer :-(

Following on my phone when I can. Loving the images!

Some quick notes -

Haha Sound my number 1 album - didn't know it at all before because I was an idiot, as I mentioned on the main Broadcast thread:

I've liked Broadcast for what, 20, 25 years now & it's always been a drifting in-and-out thing for me - always approving, occasionally loving tracks. But in the last few weeks they've become all I want to listen to - the soundworld I suddenly need - like I'm hearing just how good they were for the first time & wondering why I wasn't paying better attention even while having their albums on & just feeling that death should fuck off.

So Haha Sound was all new and sunk in deep - the melodies, the astonishing drums, the way the swirls of sound and distortion never quite swallow it but never quite let you settle. But the other two studio albums were no distance behind.

Going to throw a too low at I See, So I See So - find myself half-singing "Solar on the heel, solar on the keel" to myself as I walk the dog on sunny days. Endless pleasure in their melodies, and there are so many of them!

Love Long was the year too - such a way to open - seems so simple, like music for schools or something, so steady and clear. Even now it usually has me waiting keenly for that top line (countermelody?) that comes in.

And the small catalogue thing… I admit I thought I'd basically end up with about 20-25 songs off the three studio albums (plus some others). I'm pretty basic in my tastes and thought it'd just be the ones that are obviously songs - so Witch Cults and Mother… belonging in the albums.

But I kept falling in love, or like, with instrumentals and realised I was going to make 40 songs when I went from 'fine, a throwaway, slightly annoying' to 'hang on this is great' on listen 3 of 'A Man for Atlantis'. In the end 40 was pretty easy, & I missed stuff off & I'm pretty sure I'm going to find stuff I love when I go through the low end of this rollout on my return from this curséd holiday.

I hereby second "I See, So I See So" toolowness. And yes! "A Man for Atlantis", OTM. (Half my ballot is already too low, so I'll restrict myself to seconding/thirding at this point!)

Also: I nominated that fab "I See" clip in the recent music videos poll. I think it might even have attracted a second vote lol!

77. Locusts
76. Chord Simple
75. Microtronics 04
=73. Bit 35
=73. Dead The Long Year
=71. A Quiet Moment
=71. The Be Colony / Dashing Home / What On Earth Took You?
70. I'm Just A Person In This Roomy Verse
69. Let it Begin / Oh Joy
68. What I Saw
67. A Man For Atlantis
66. A Seancing Song
65. The Little Bell
64. Belly Dance
63. The Equestrian Vortex
62. Teresa, Lark of Ascension
61. The Aphid Sleeps
60. 'What You Want' aka 'Dulcimer Jam'
59. Elegant Elephant
58. Small Song IV
57. Mother’s Milk Means Music (At Home in the Universe)
56. O How I Miss You
55. Test Area
54. Distant Call
53. Make My Sleep His Song
52. Ritual / Looking In
51. Dave's Dream
50. You And Me In Time
49. In Here The World Begins
48. I See, So I See So
47. Inside Out
46. Hammer Without A Master
45. Phantom
44. Sixty Forty
43. Forget Every Time
42. Long Was The Year
41. Hawk

The distortion-drowned hum on Hawk is fantastic, combined with the addictive motorik drums and bell melodies, it's like a snowstorm in a teacup. Unique in its atmosphere, it really stood out for me and I should probably have put it higher than sixth song from HHS.

HHS is hella rad.

I just had a peek. 40-21 is frequently fabulous. I'll need to sleep through much of it, so please imagine me typing "too low!" in response to every second entry should things fall silent, kthx.

Planned to start at 12 but stuff came up. Anyway here we go!

https://i.imgur.com/uKOcNbv.jpg

40. We've Got Time
From Accidentals single, 1996. Compiled on Work And Non Work, 1997.
Fan-made video by DARI Graf on YouTube
199 Points, 10 Votes

Big TOO LOW on this one, such a beautiful song.

Groovy synth. Just occurred to me how sparingly the drummer was employed on this 1st single.

instantly regretting not voting for this one

https://i.imgur.com/i1MIySP.jpg

39. Still Feels Like Tears
From Pendulum EP, 2003. Compiled on The Future Crayon, 2006.
Fan-made video by theladycandicejuarez on YouTube
199 Points, 11 Votes

Hey all, I'm enjoying the thread greatly, thanks for all your effort, it's making me go back to those corners of the discography I don't often visit.

I made a folder with a couple of early gigs in it for those that may be interested.

I was at the London Forum one, and it was the first time I actually heard the band, they were supporting Stereolab iirc.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwgy0ssya4gizht/AADAnEVGnNxjONweJc1Eukv3a?dl=0

Voted We've Got Time very high. It's really special to me, love that haunting synth melody and the building vocal melody

It could have been my number 1. On another day. I'm really surprised this wasn't top ten.

Ooooh, thanks Marsen3st!

^ grrr, guaranteed typo in every post.

You know, #39 feels a bit lethargic to me. I guess I already outed myself as having some reservations about that EP. That's a goodly number of votes though, so maybe listener error. :)

https://i.imgur.com/VUf9Jrq.jpg

38. Tender Buttons
From Tender Buttons, 2005
Semi-official(?) video by Ramon Bloobmerg on YouTube
201 Points, 10 Votes

Thanks Maresn3st for the live recordings, checking them out now.

Andrew, who recorded them is fairly dismissive of the quality in his notes, but they're really decent.

I didn't vote for Tender Buttons even if it fits well in the album. With the number of votes available, I predict easily more than a dozen 20+ votes, I'm just wondering which it will be.

Will there be that much consensus? Hm...

https://i.imgur.com/xl0xFRg.jpg

37. Arc Of A Journey
From Tender Buttons, 2005
Fan-made video by desertshore on YouTube
206 Points, 12 Votes, 1 First Place Vote

Arc of a Journey is amazing. The warped distorted toy piano is unhinged genius, it starts as a lullaby and builds into a contemplative epic.

Damn, the video excised the nasty distorted coda thingy. I think 87% of the points I gave it were for that shrill bit lol.

Will there be that much consensus? Hm...
― Portrait Of A Dissolvi Ng Drea M (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, June 2, 2022 3:27 PM (eleven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Are you saying I put too much hope in humanity and ILM in 2022

There were certainly one of more tracks attracting 20+ votes. That's a pretty high bar in a pool of 24 though!

Damn, the video excised the nasty distorted coda thingy. I think 87% of the points I gave it were for that shrill bit lol.

Still feels like tears and arc of a journey two absolute favourites here. I wish there had been a LITTLE more consensus around the those, but yeah, lack of consensus points to an insanely rich bunch of recordings which mean all things to different people.

i don’t think consensus is bad in this case, i'm curious to see what unites people. i can think of 4/5 songs that are guaranteed to be near the top but the rest is a mystery

Arc of a journey and Still feels… both incredible - both have that subdued or submerged longing/emotion with drive & hesitancy sparring that I love.

https://i.imgur.com/VXOr0O5.jpg

36. According To No Plan
From The Book Lovers EP, 1996. Compiled on Work And Non Work, 1997.
Fan-made video by The Mystery Machine on YouTube
210 Points, 11 Votes

"Arc Of A Journey" is transcendent, was almost my number 1

"Clouds float away like iron tools on the moon"

The way she sings the word "avenues"

I think it’s Nabisco’s obituary where he regrets what she might have written given time - poems, stories. She was such a good, strange writer of lyrics, apart from the melodic gift - folk/popular/clear-rhyming clarity with an honest instinct to play, cut, estrange and twist.

(Thought I’d post this rather than just saying ‘little bell too low’ but it also applies to the above quote from Arc…)

The cool thing about #36 is that I haven't the foggiest idea how it was made. It could be a 100% musique concrète affair derived from stuff on TV for all know. Er, aside from the vocals, obv.

i don’t think consensus is bad in this case, i'm curious to see what unites people. i can think of 4/5 songs that are guaranteed to be near the top but the rest is a mystery

We’ve Got Time and Ac riding to No Plan we’re both top 10 votes for me.

35. Valerie
From Haha Sound, 2003
Fan-made video by earlofeastjurong on YouTube
214 Points, 11 Votes

i think it was marcello who chided boards of canada for lazily appropriating abstract loveless sound smear in place of other ideas please, but "valerie" is one of the few songs i've heard that's really learnt the (RIGHT!) lessons of "to here knows when" (the only exceptional mbv song/vacuum cleaner preset in my humble estimation). when that queasy keening dips into pure corrupt-hard-disk density.. sigh. mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Jun 1, 2003

https://i.imgur.com/No0TtkC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vPhcTXM.jpg

34. Minim
From Haha Sound, 2003
Fan-made video by Tahnee Udero on YouTube
217 Points, 15 Votes

XP: Haha, I was just thinking something similar to mitchlnw. Didn't actually remember "Valerie" building to such an dense cloud of fizz. It's possible I was so focused on those tracks I *wasn't* sure I was going to vote for that I never re-listened to a no-brainer like this one. Not sure it's spectacularly low here though, maybe an 'ABOUT RIGHT!'

Fun fact: I remember saying that there was one track absolutely everyone had voted for, over the few couple of weeks of voting. That was 'Minim'!! Obviously it didn't sustain it, but that's still a very high number of votes for this level, no? I think this is my fourth in a row. The second half is a bit fabulous.

^ 'over the FIRST couple of weeks of voting', rather

found out during this process that i love every song on haha sound and these two are no exception.

minim is the one i voted for, tho. "how sweet the bells, but what can they tell of heaven and hell?"

https://i.imgur.com/dGcBjXf.jpg

33. The World Backwards
From The Book Lovers EP, 1996. Compiled on Work And Non Work, 1997.
Fan-made video by mrdonaldbecker on YouTube
223 Points, 10 Votes

This was #6 on my ballot, love the way the harmonies, the waltz rhythm and the turntable stuff fit together so perfectly. don't know what the extended sample is, but the way her voice lifts out of it is just a perfect moment.

Since they don’t credit it (see voting thread), big shout to Luboš Fišer for the Valerie melody. I have bought a copy of the soundtrack hoping that Finders Keepers are the kind of record company who make sure royalties are correctly directed.

And yes minim got my vote really for what happens when it pulls into the second half - exhilirating (but it shouldn’t start in the second half - the wait makes it!)