Bring On the POLL - ILM Artist Poll #116 - THE POLICE - (Results Thread)

This song used to piss my dad off so much when it came on, maybe this was the most punk thing they ever did? Also funny that Andy goes full-freudian on sting's jung-themed album

Didn't vote for it though - as much as I admire it, it really is terrible

"You think you can misread Freud, boy-o? Watch MEEEEEE!"

xps 1978-1983 is a kind of a transitional time. The last gasps of the New Hollywood ("Days of Heaven," "Apocalypse Now," "Raging Bull," "King of Comedy," "Heaven's Gate," etc.) The "creative executives" were taking over and you can see more studio meddling with the mutilation of films like "Blade Runner."

But a lot of great stuff happening in the margins. Great burgeoning talent (Albert Brooks with "Real Life" and "Modern Romance," David Lynch with "The Elephant Man," Jonathan Demme with "Melvin and Howard," David Cronenberg with "Videodrome," Sara Driver with "You Are Not I," George Miller and Joe Dante getting established in Hollywood with their "Twilight Zone" segments), long-time mavericks making a comeback or still plugging away (John Cassavetes with "Gloria," Sam Fuller with "The Big Red One" and "White Dog," Ivan Passer with "Cutter's Way," Dennis Hopper with "Out of the Blue," John Huston with "Wise Blood") and the underground scene was just starting to flourish (Charles Burnett's "My Brother's Wedding" among many others).

This song is amazing and hilarious. And it's in 7/4.

solo is awesome tho

Great post birdistheword and I agree that there are some great movies during this era. Looking at a list of movies tho, there was a lot of crap too. I hope I got some good posters out of this exercise.

https://i.imgur.com/gQ7QXsZ.jpg

39. Rehumanize Yourself
From: Ghost in the Machine
Released: October 2, 1981
119 Points, 4 Votes

I mean:

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

I'm very busy at work today and won't be able to do 20 like I had originally planned. This will be a slow reveal today but maybe that's OK?

That movie looks like a remake of Bedazzled which was actually a fun movie.

it's okay -- rehumanize yourself!

love this song, maybe my favorite of Copeland's Police tunes

It’s actually a collab with Sting? I’d forgotten that.

I think Sting wrote the lyrics, Copeland did the music. well, Sting is probably responsible for the uh "sax arrangements" as well

sting wrote the lyrics, Stewart wrote the music iirc. Never been a fan of this one tbh, lyrics are way too on-the-nose and delivered with sting's most snide-sounding vocal, listening to it actually makes me want to turn into a robot and tase the guy till his socks catch fire.

shocked by the c word in this as a kid, first time I heard it on record

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

38. Too Much Information
From: Ghost in the Machine
Released: October 2, 1981
143 Points, 5 Votes

the weird filler tracks on ghost are better than the weird filler tracks on the other albums. i voted for a couple, not this one tho

xp or this one

love this one, what a groove

otm

See the whole world six times over

Voted for both of those Ghost tracks, they're jams.

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

37. Shadows in the Rain
From: Zenyattà Mondatta
Released: October 3. 1980
148 Points, 5 Votes

RIP

have realised that I now very much prefer the police when they're exploring atmospheres, textures and grooves - I guess in retrospect you could say their proto post-rock tendencies - rather then when they're more bent on rocking out, as potent as they often were in that mode. But it's the spaces I'm into, and how they arrange things around that, and this ghostly one is one of their best for that I think

anyone want to say anything about the differences between the police and the clash in how they approached dubby sounds? clash always seem to use dub for political songs, police use it for creating haunted spaces

I mean I could develop that thesis further myself but I know fuck all about the clash tbf

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

36. Murder by Numbers
From: Synchronicity
Released: June 17, 1983
Bonus track on cassette and CD editions
149 Points, 5 Votes

lol, i did not relate images with songs but in this case it works.

I think the Police incorporated dub more organically than the Clash did — as a core part of their Sonic foundation rather than an adventurous add-on. Though some things on Combat Rock got close, like “Ghetto Defendant.”

lol

"police use it for creating haunted spaces": in this, they mostly resemble Remain in Light Heads to me…

is it at all clear that the Police knew about and listened to dub? The Clash surely did, whereas I almost think Sting was like, "I like Bob Marley and reggae is the element that differentiates us from many acts," but did he go further than that? I don't see Andy being particularly interested, and Stewart liked it again as a way to distinguish his drumming, but I don't see them being all into King Tubby or Heart of the Congos…

I dunno -- I could imagine Stew blasting HOTC.

In the movie Copycat there's a part where Sigourney Weaver is reading a letter written by a serial killer and I'm pretty sure it's verbatim from "Murder By Numbers."

Murder by Numbers made my ballot. I had the cassette version of the album. Was surprised that it only got five votes.

eh, i'm pretty sure that most bands hanging around in london at that time would've been exposed to some dub. don't see why he wouldn't have heard HOTC either - he loved the beat and the beat released it on their label. check the tees!

https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.imvdb.com/video/250306704722-police-the-dont-stand-so-close-to-me_music_video_ov.jpg http://quietus_production.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/9007/Congo_Main_1339269341_crop_550x500.jpg

was just listening to this actually, it is a pretty terrible recording but they are literally playing dub reggae - with a guest appearance by ranking roger!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XqvfyRkGCI

I find the lyrical conceit and sing-songy chorus of “Murder By Numbers” to be a little insufferable.

“Too Much Information” OTOH is a pretty fun afropop jam. Didn’t make my ballot but it’s def. a good time.

https://i.imgur.com/9hsuinW.jpg

35. Contact
From: Reggatta de Blanc
Released: October 2, 1979
165 Points, 6 Votes

lol winner

"Shadows in the Rain" the only one from my list so far.

lovely picture that i hadn't seen before of the police hanging out with uk reggae legends steel pulse:

https://www.urbanimage.tv/img-get2/I0000xCneKoF51f8/fit=1000x750/Steel-Pulse-U16822.jpg

andy not in that shot as i'm assuming he took the picture?

xxxp dammit

Forgot about this - Zenyatta Mondatta actually makes a memorable appearance in Jacques Rivette's Le Pont du Nord. Couldn't find a good clip, but here's two screencaps:

https://64.media.tumblr.com/106eeb397cc442b7d8e6153863188c7a/82e8c559c574302a-a4/s540x810/c53cc5708913a3b8f0ab1b89c04f1fd2f706c76d.png

https://64.media.tumblr.com/6f1c932d13604964e0d7cc36d94b4880/82e8c559c574302a-b6/s540x810/98cb4d81da8184b4b53e185c4851fdc4c9655ece.png

alright now here's a photo

https://i.redd.it/y8j84eep98541.jpg

oh wow! O_O

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

34. Does Everyone Stare
From: Reggatta de Blanc
Released: October 2, 1979
170 Points, 6 Votes

its so catchy, that last chorus could go on forever