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

I was the #1 for "Hawk" - an early version of the cultic ritual vibe that emerges as their whole thing post-Tender Buttons, a sort of mystic stasis over a rattling Wicker Man parade percussion

+ it's a song I felt no one else could have or would have made

"Arc of a Journey" was in my top ten. The moment when she sings "Constellation/of Orion" while the distorted synth slashes in the right channel gives me chills and gets lodged in my head, so sublime

Also love the strange attenuated quality of her vocal performance on "We've Got Time"

Speaking of soundtracks, You Can Fall also appears on the Morvern Callar OST, never seen it but this is quite the list of songs.

1 Can–I Want More
2 Aphex Twin–Goon Gumpas
3 Boards Of Canada–Everything You Do Is A Balloon
4 Can–Spoon
5 Stereolab–Blue Milk (Edit)
6 The Velvet Underground–I'm Sticking With You
7 Broadcast–You Can Fall
8 Gamelan Drumming
9 Holger Czukay–Cool In The Pool
10 Lee 'Scratch' Perry–Hold Of Death
11 Lee Hazlewood And Nancy Sinatra–Some Velvet Morning
12 Ween–Japanese Cowboy
13 Holger Czukay–Fragrance
14 Aphex Twin–Nannou

The moment when she sings "Constellation/of Orion" while the distorted synth slashes in the right channel gives me chills and gets lodged in my head, so sublime

XP that film is great. That’s a real holy shit soundtrack I wish I’d had back in high school.

https://i.imgur.com/q2O3Y8F.jpg

29. Look Outside
From The Noise Made By People, 2000
Fan-made video by Wonder Muddle on YouTube
245 Points, 13 Votes

video link seems to be wrong. here's the right one

think this is the ultimate example of "theme to a 60s arthouse Bond film"

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

28. Illumination
From Extended Play Two, 2000. Compiled on The Future Crayon, 2006.
Fan-made video by Jon Psimer on YouTube
247 Points, 14 Votes

https://i.imgur.com/GuSNH9p.jpg

27. City In Progress
The Noise Made By People, 2000
Fan-made video by Barnaby on YouTube
260 Points, 16 Votes

https://i.imgur.com/vq0EKrM.jpg

26. Poem Of Dead Song
From Extended Play Two, 2000. Compiled on The Future Crayon, 2006.
Fan-made video by ilyphelps on YouTube
291 Points, 17 Votes

"Poem Of Dead Song" had passed me by for ages, kind of wobbly, um, 'exotica'. Like the Gentle People, almost. Another for the ALL-TIME-BEST list. - Alex in Sheffield (Alex in Doncaster), Aug 3, 2005

Just the best EP tracks band ever

Just noticed the last three video links are wrong too, no idea why, sorry all! Something to do with a new Youtube mode. These should be the right ones.

Illumination
City In Progress
Poem of Dead Song

"city in progress" is too low, my #4. sublime, extra-dimensional circus music

https://i.imgur.com/8jtYo8h.jpg

25. Goodbye Girls
From Tender Buttons, 2005
Fan-made video by The Mystery Machine on YouTube
297 Points, 12 Votes

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

24. Winter Now
From Haha Sound, 2003
Fan-made video by TrueLyrics on YouTube
302 Points, 15 Votes

City In Progress and Goodnight Girls both in my top ten.

*goodbye

This one is lovely

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

23. Lunch Hour Pops
From Haha Sound, 2003
Fan-made video by avalancealonso on YouTube
317 Points, 14 Votes

"Lunch Hour Pops" is tops tops tops! - Yngwie AlmsteenMay (sgertz), Mar 28, 2005

"goodbye girls" was a top tenner for me too!

seeing "Lunch Hour Pops" performed live was a complete marvel.

Look Outside 29th?

Fuck is wrong with you people?

One more first-place vote and it could have been... 27th.

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

22. Lights Out
From V/A - NME C96, 1996, Compiled on Work And Non Work, 1997.
Fan-made video by The Mystery Machine on YouTube
322 Points, 15 Votes

One thing I like about this song (though it's possibly most pronounced in the familiar studio version) is how the bass and the buzzy synth line accentuate the end of each bar, almost like they're being switched off altogether. Or like they're employing a tape loop again even though that's presumably not what they're doing this time. At least until later on, lol. Also "I want to watch the carpark empty" is heavy, man. - Nag! Nag! Nag!, May 9, 2022

C96 was a CD you had to send away for, think it was about £5, maybe a little more. I can see the idea, updating C86 for a new generation, but the problem was that the bands clearly didn't sound anything like each-other. Still it's probably better than the c86 tape, Tiger, Comet Gain, Delgados, Spare Snare & Quickspace tracks are all v. good. The compilers somehow managed to get the wrong bit of the Mogwai tape, so instead of the thing that should be on there you have a couple of minutes of rehearsal room noodling, v. embarrassing mistake.

Rather too low for my liking!

iirc it was in the top ten for a while

Ok, last one for today. Top 20 tomorrow!

https://i.imgur.com/6nsuSPg.jpg

21. Accidentals
From Accidentals single, 1996, Compiled on Work And Non Work, 1997.
Fan-made video by GrimlyFormingPW on YouTube
324 Points, 14 Votes

Sorry to be absent this section, immensely complicated morning here. Just wanted to say that we've reached the stage where every entry elicits an "aww" and "I love this so much" from me. Except I wish I had put Valerie as my number one, I think I held back because of the appropriation of the melody, which seems ridiculous now.

That’s like the greatest song ever, right there

I thought I would have placed "Accidentals" above "Lights Out" but apparently not. I only heard this upon procuring W&NW, which I presumably bought on the strength of the other A-sides. I was all "wait, I had no idea they feck around with samples and stuff too!" They became a way cooler band in my mind when I heard this remaining wintery A-side out of chronological order, with its faintly jarring sheets of, er, orchestral found sounds or whatever. (And the other more obviously sample-based stuff.)

Allegedly from the score of Losey's Accident innit. I saw that before discovering this fact. Maybe I should re-watch that too, and listen harder.

Ok poll runners were wanting more opinions, not sure these are interesting but there’ve been drinks

Look Outside – It’s so quiet and measured compared to what was happening in the boorish UK indie scene at the time. Maybe (?) a bit slight to be this high.

Illumination – I like slow Broadcast. La la la la. Dreamy. I voted this 40/40

City In Progress – fundamental. None of us know who we are. We haven’t said enough about how this was one of the first Warp bands that played guitar and drums? Again, one of my faves because it’s quiet and measured.

Poem Of a Dead Song – I didn’t vote for this. It’s lovely – is there a Brit folk horror element to this that led to the later collaborations. Exotica.

Goodbye Girls – just too low. One of their best productions. Woozy. Love the repetition of the – what is that – Broadcast production brings so many questions. Love you all night.

Lunch Hour Pops – yes, I don’t know, yes. I don’t know why this makes my think of Twin Peaks, the landing.

Accidentals – yeah of course. I think that when the whole rollout is done I’m not going to be agreeing with what has been placed in the top ten. The slower tracks are placing quite low.

Still don't understand a low placing for We've Got Time

Yeah, I recall it struggling all along, diverging from most of the other early stuff. I was part of the problem though: dig it but didn't vote for it, for no obvious reason.

The top 10 looks pretty decent to me. And the teens.

I seemingly voted for 6 of the 20-somethings, and that's similar to every bracket. My selections are weirdly evenly distributed across the 77 with almost nothing out beyond that. So I'm finding it hard to be appalled by anything much lol.

Feel like I voted for every single song today. What a run and shows how strong their back catalogue is that so many of the best songs ever made didn't make the top 20.

I was hoping more of the early EP/Work & Non Work tracks would be higher up, but those are respectable positions really. I thought Living Room would be a top ten contender. It was the first song I heard by them on the John Peel show back in the day. It'll always have a place in my heart as I still remember how I felt when it came on. Agree on the too low comments for We've Got Time.

When it came to putting my list together, picking out highlights from Haha Sound was the hardest part beyond two songs which are yet to place. Songs like Lunch Hour Pops and Winter Now are two that stood out after a couple more listens. It's an album that works really well as a whole and doesn't contain the obvious standouts unlike Noise Made By People and Tender Buttons.

Look Outside kept climbing up my list and ended up in my top ten. It's a great Broadcast song until that guitar appears at the 1.30 mark when it becomes an amazing Broadcast song. One of my favourite moments of theirs.

I mentioned earlier that Tender Buttons took a long time to grow on me. Subject To The Ladder and Goodbye Girls were two of the songs that were my way in.

Really enjoying the rollout and catching up with the comments. Tempted to take the day off work tomorrow for the top 20.

I had Lunch Hour Pops at 11, but it could have easily been higher, easily one of my favorites, just didn't want to overload on Haha Sound. It's a great image to let go of your fears and anxieties like a bundle of balloons drifting away.

In my brain, the second half of "Look Outside" is grouped, perhaps somewhat improbably, with the second half of "Inside Out". In the "we're going to do something a bit different from here on" basket.

Aaaah I love "Goodbye Girls" so much. "Too low" of course, but I guess everything is at this point. I've always kind of paired it in my mind with "America's Boy"--they strike me as the two most overtly poppy songs on Tender Buttons. I prefer "Goodbye Girls" these days but they're both totally perfect.

Also kitchen person I strongly encourage you to take a personal day tomorrow (for any reason, but especially for this rollout). I would do it too if I hadn't already taken Tuesday off lol.

I saw a preview of the images CaAL was working on about a week ago. The "Lunch Hour Pops"/Red Balloon one might have been foremost in my mind when I responded with "OMG, they're friggin gorgeous" or something. :)

Good morning / afternoon / evening - here's how we stand so far

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
40. We've Got Time
39. Still Feels Like Tears
38. Tender Buttons
37. Arc Of A Journey
36. According To No Plan
35. Valerie
34. Minim
33. The World Backwards
32. Subject to the Ladder
31. You Can Fall
30. Living Room
29. Look Outside
28. Illumination
27. City In Progress
26. Poem Of Dead Song
25. Goodbye Girls
24. Winter Now
23. Lunch Hour Pops
22. Lights Out
21. Accidentals

The three-note fuzzy synth on Goodbye Girls is gloriously dumb / addictive, a repetitive melody all pixelized, I overlooked it sadly.

"Lights Out" is my discovery of the poll and my 4th. It has utterly captured me, being side-to-side depressed and sublime, a perfect spleen. The original and Maida Vale sessions are equally haunting.

Ok, early start today, so I don't have to do the mad rush tonight.

https://i.imgur.com/hoO8w4Q.jpg

20. America's Boy
From Tender Buttons, 2005
Fan-made video by Darryl D. on YouTube

328 Points, 14 Votes

Fitting entry into the best of the best

I also want to add a random general comment that I adore her English accent. I presume it is typical of Birmingham (I am now googling Brummie).

Ok it's definitely her pronunciation as well