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

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!)

Yes, exactly!

(actually, make that a reply to both woof re 'Minim' *and* CaAL re "TWB' lol)

https://i.imgur.com/BlAS8xQ.jpg

32. Subject to the Ladder
From Tender Buttons, 2005
Fan-made video by Bueno Film on YouTube
224 Points, 15 Votes

I must retire. Again, if Spotify folk feel like updating that playlist, use the collaborator link from maybe 18 hours upthread!

here's something I feel should be more appreciated (not even a fan video!)

https://i.imgur.com/4rVCT2z.jpg

31. You Can Fall
From The Noise Made By People, 2000
Audio on YouTube
226 Points, 12 Votes

Enjoying sporadically checking in on the rollout; agreed with those above who mentioned how well miscellaneous mostly instrumental tracks work in this arc. This seems odd for me to say, given that I called Future Crayon a slog, but I probably have more investment in the sequence since I partook in the poll (and voted for a few of these lower-placing tracks — including Microtronics 04, which is very Raymond Scott).

think there are only one or two instrumentals to come now. not that You Can Fall is an obvious hit, I would say its opening is probably the weakest moment on TNMBP, but that descending noise after "you can fall" is so gently sinister, such a memorable moment, it elevates the whole thing.

30. Living Room
From Living Room single, 1996. Compiled on Work And Non Work, 1997.
Fan-made video by Donbecker5 on YouTube
235 Points, 11 Votes

something like 'Living Room' which sounds more like Sean Lennon singing (may not have been Keenan but hard to tell!) it seems that there was more 'effort' in the singing but acceptance seems to have set in that there's a restricted range to her voice and the new songs have been written with that more in mind (considering the vastness of their forthcoming American tour perhaps this was a good idea). but i don't really know enough about singing to judge her like that. i'll keep listening and loving it anyway. stevem (blueski) Aug 14, 2003