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

Also Summers otm re that slide solo, it's excellent.

Their best closer.

One reason I never listened to the new sequence of Ghost in the Machine was that I couldn't imagine any other song ending the record.

Also Summers otm re that slide solo, it's excellent.

― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra),

Precisely because it so off-brand: it's like Paul's solo in "Taxman."

write him a letter!

https://i.imgur.com/g1OnF0u.jpg

21. It’s Alright for You
From: Reggatta de Blanc
Released: October 2, 1979
366 Points, 11 Votes, 1 Number One

The song that pops into my head when I think of “new wave”

Great song, one of their few actual ska tunes. (There must be ska band versions of it, right?)

― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Thursday, December 8, 2022

exactly why it never got anywhere near my ballot

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

20. Every Breath You Take
From: Synchronicity
Released: May 20, 1983
374 Points, 11 Votes

"Every Breath You Take" is the Police's and Sting's signature song, and in 2010 was estimated to generate between a quarter and a third of Sting's music publishing income.[5] In May 2019, it was recognized by BMI as being the most played song in radio history.[6][7] With nearly 15 million radio plays, Sting received a BMI Award at a ceremony held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills to mark it being the Most Performed Song in BMI's catalogue, a distinction previously held since 1999 by Spector, Mann and Weill's "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". BMI President and CEO Mike O'Neill stated: "For the first time in 22 years, BMI has a new top song in our repertoire with Sting's timeless hit 'Every Breath You Take,' a remarkable achievement that solidifies its place in songwriting history."

Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, the song also reached the Top 10 in numerous other countries. In the 1983 Rolling Stone critics' and readers' poll, it was voted "Song of the Year". In the US, it was the best-selling single of 1983 and fifth-best-selling single of the decade. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1983.[8] The song ranked No. 84 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It also ranked number 25 on Billboard's Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs. In 2008, Q magazine named it among the top 10 British Songs of the 1980s. In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as The Nation's Favourite 1980s number one in a UK-wide poll for ITV.

Shocked that this placed so low, great job ILM. I do wonder if it's burn out issue, lyric content or other. I'm just sick of hearing it and didn't make my ballot even tho the song is sort of great.

too low????????????????

pay andy you fucks

but yeah it might be burnout. like when I listen to Reggatta I just can't stand to hear "Message in a Bottle" anymore. I know it's a great song but growing up it was both on the RdB CD and the Greatest Hits that was always playing around the house, AND it was on the radio all the fucking time. it's like listening to the Simpsons theme song for fun. "Every Breath You Take" is probably even worse because I also lived through Puff Daddy mania

Also someone sent in a ballot and had number 11 missing. I wrote back and said you missed a song, they said go ahead and add Every Breath to their ballot. So it slid on in to track number 20 on their ballot. What I'm trying to say is, if that wasn't added then it wouldn't have even made our Top 20.

still remember coming home with the single as a kid and playing it for the first time and thinking, what the hell is this garbage? not sure i ever really warmed to it much after that, something about the tune always made me think of 'sailing' by rod stewart, which was a real torture to listen to, thankfully that never persisted in culture like this thing did

it’s a fans’ poll not a casuals’ poll innit

(sorry for negativity, will try and KIP going forwards) xp

It didn't make my ballot, and I don't think burnout was the reason. It's just a creepy song. I realize it's far from the only creepy song Sting has written, it's just not a highlight for me.

It's one of the many, many famous songs that I enjoy briefly and then get bored with after listening to about 90 seconds.

It really hasn't gone away: I hear it in the wild at least three times a week, maybe more if I count the times I've tuned it out.

I wonder if the streaming age has affected Sting's publishing income for this baby.

There's still a lot of money in radio airplay, it's album sales that have suffered the most from streaming. Not to mention that I'm sure the song itself is getting streamed a lot, to the point where the fractions of pennies add up.

1,354 million plays on spotify

That's a crazy amount of plays especially for an 80s song.

"Spotify pays artists between $0.003 - $0.005 per stream on average"

1,354,000,000 x 0.003 = 4,062,000 (!!)

Sting could probably find more than that in his sofa cushions.

Not to mention the additional millions Sting would've earned in my friend Allison's Cadillac junior year when she played Every Breath You Take -- The Singles over and over and over, sometimes on the same drive.

Growing up and listening to KROQ I always thought "Canary in a Coal Mine" was a single. Great little 2:26 long song.

do we agree it's Stew's best song?

Shocked that this placed so low, great job ILM. I do wonder if it's burn out issue, lyric content or other. I'm just sick of hearing it and didn't make my ballot even tho the song is sort of great.

the Gizmodrome version of "Darkness" with Mark King on vocals. better than the original IMO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcNWlA11Llk

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

19. Secret Journey
From: Ghost in the Machine
Single Released: April 1982
436 Points, 13 Votes, 1 Number One

lmao this is peak ILX corny indie fuckery. endearing as hell and absolutely bonkers for a track that ranks up there with "in the air tonight" for establishing an entire sonic template for the 80s. absolutely towering achievement. PAY ANDY.

whoops xpost but secret journey also too low. god bless whoever had it #1 I SWIPE RIGHT ON YOU

#2 on my ballot.

see that's what the EBYT riff would sound like on a good song

Side 2 of Ghost > Side 1 of Ghost

I dig this album track unreasonably and had it top 5. sounds great. catchy as hell. and ~mYsTiCaL~

Where are we stopping today? No rush -- just need to know as I head out.

not gonna lie, my #1

Last three songs on GITM are andy's best song, sting's best song and stewart's best song fyi ;)

#2 on my ballot.

the Gizmodrome version of "Darkness" with Mark King on vocals. better than the original IMO

📹

it sort of marks the beginning of “Serious, Boring Sting.”

100% agree

Where are we stopping today? No rush -- just need to know as I head out.

Going to post up to number 16, will do the Top 15 tomorrow.

getting a little worried “Omegaman” won’t place higher than these two.

Have trouble believing even we would rank "Mother" above "Omegaman".

i think there's about 15 dead certs still to come but there's definitely a few spots left for other things

Awesome I love "Secret Journey" but didn't know if it was beloved or not. Lyric is kinda New Age corny but the production and melody are great and the chorus is a big hook.

https://i.imgur.com/BFNu9Sn.jpg

18. Wrapped Around Your Finger
From: Synchronicity
Single Released: July 8, 1983
473 Points, 17 Votes

This song is vaguely alchemical and probably about a friend of mine, a professional psychic and my tutor in tarot, with bits of Doctor Faustus and The Sorcerer's Apprentice thrown into the pot for good measure.

— Sting, Lyrics by Sting

Sting praised the video, saying:

It's incredibly atmospheric, and I think the set design is brilliant – there's nothing but all those candles, yet it conjures up so many different feelings and possibilities about the song. When Kevin (Godley) and Lol (Creme) came to me with the idea, I got very excited because I realised that they really understood the imagistic approach I wanted. The whole concept is fairly esoteric – it's really a "Sorcerer's Apprentice" type of idea. The song is cunningly being shot at high speed in order to achieve a special effect when it's eventually played back at normal speed. At least, that's the theory...

— Sting, Playgirl, 10/1983

Andy Summers, however, was critical of Sting's overacting in the video.

I never much liked the idea for "Wrapped Around Your Finger." No, I was kind of pissed off about that one. I've never been much of a fan of that song, actually. Sting got to shoot his part last in that video and made a meal of knocking all the candles out. Fuck him.

— Andy Summers, I Want My MTV

haha, andy <3

That is classic.

Omegaman was on my (ten-song) ballot too. I'd be amazed if it didn't make it - more likely to be an odd sleeper top ten placing than miss out entirely.

It was supposed to be the lead single for Ghost until Sting objected.

didn't know that!

I'm picking up food at this Argentine restaurant and of course EBYT is on.