You Could Get Lost Out Here: the ILM Canadian Pop Music Results Thread

I think I nominated both So Long, Marianne and Subdivisions and for some reason didn't vote for either. Both are great, Sundown is unimpeachable. I was never a big fan of After the Gold Rush (the song, the albums is good of course) but I should give it a re-listen.

Voted for a bunch of these including "The House That Heaven Built," a personal favorite, and glad to see it rank!

voted for it too, but was honestly surprised to see it make it that high!

I need about 30 minutes to get the last seven images for today ready, will resume then.

voted for it pretty low on my ballot. an anthem!

Well, I've run into an issue--Tripod won't load images at the moment for some reason. (Yes, you read that correctly: Tripod. This poll is being brought to you by Tripod, Microsoft Paint, and a large roll of Scotch tape.) I'll try to get the last seven in a little while from now, but if I still can't, I can finish everything on Wednesday (home all day).

Problem fixed, so let me finish up.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/27-backbone.jpg

27. "Let Your Backbone Slide" (1989)
Maestro Fresh-Wes
50 points/6 votes
video

https://phildellio.tripod.com/26-privateers.jpg

26. "Barrett's Privateers" (1976)
Stan Rogers
51 points/3 votes
video

The Honest Ed's image--nothing to do with Stan Rogers, I don't think--is from the day in '84 when Mr. T was there to promote something. I lived about 5 minutes south; my friend and I were there to shoot some super-8 footage!

I've to get dinner, so I'll just plow through the last five for today.

"got to"

https://phildellio.tripod.com/25-things.jpg

25. "All the Things I Wasn't" (1989)
Grapes of Wrath
51 points/3 votes
video

If you've never seen the video for that, take a couple of minutes out to watch it--especially if you like spotting famous album covers. (And see the film I took the image from too!)

Dammit--screwed up on the points there, will repost.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/25-things.jpg

25. "All the Things I Wasn't" (1989)
Grapes of Wrath
52 points/5 votes
video

https://phildellio.tripod.com/24-safety.jpg

24. "The Safety Dance" (1982)
Men Without Hats
52 points/6 votes
video

My favourite paradox ever: you can't call Men Without Hats "the Hats" because they didn't have any.

Iconic photo up here! Scandalized half the nation, charmed and seduced the other half.

Homer Simpson, cursing loudly.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/23-shoreline.jpeg

23. "7/4 (Shoreline)" (2005)
Broken Social Scene
52 points/6 votes
video

jpg, jpeg, let's call the whole thing off...

Once more for good luck--photo and points correct, everything clicking together. (I will politely ask a mod later on to removed all the ugly mis-posting.)

https://phildellio.tripod.com/23-shoreline.jpeg

23. "7/4 (Shoreline)" (2005)
Broken Social Scene
53 points/5 votes
video

https://phildellio.tripod.com/22-eyes.jpeg

22. "These Eyes" (1968)
Guess Who
54 points/4 votes/one #1 vote
video

December '68 release, so the date is correct. Many Guess Who songs I like better, but I'm a huge fan.

https://phildellio.tripod.com/21-blinding.jpg

21. "Blinding Lights" (2019)
The Weeknd
54 points/6 votes
video

Will finish up Wednesday...indexed wanted to clarify that he cast a #1 vote for "The Weight." It was a numbered list with the points distributed evenly, so I wasn't sure.

I never knew about the Great Blizzard of '71 in Montreal until doing this.

I voted for "The Safety Dance". It was so big at the time. I remember we were on vacation in Miami Beach with my family and it played everywhere. The video was iconic too.

"All The Things I Wasn't" was on my long list. Great song.

Very atmospheric.

Blinding Lights is surprising given that I didn't think ILX cared much for that song.

Oh wow, "Limelight", "Let Your Backbone Slide" and "All the Things I Wasn't" were all on my ballot/playlist, which means I'm already doing better than I do on most ILM polls. I worried Rush would be votesplit so good to see "Subdivisions" also make it. I didn't vote for "7/4 (Shoreline)" but it was on my long list and I do love that groove. Weird to recall that I actually saw BSS on Canada Day one time when I was doing my MA in Toronto.

"Sundown" obv classic but I voted for a different Lightfoot song.

Ditto "Like a Hurricane"

I’ve voted for a surprising number of these. I’d have disqualified “For What It’s Worth” just because it’s a Stills (i.e. not Canadian) song — Neil’s involvement hardly seems like enough juice to make it Canadian — but it’s not my poll. 15 y/o me loved the Grapes of Wrath but they’ve aged exceedingly poorly to my ears. I was the dork who gave Etienne d’Aout 50 points. Not because it’s my fave song ever, but just because sometimes I just want more people to hear it and luxuriate in its exquisite sadness.

As I said above, I do get that. But you can't think of it as just Neil--of the other four guys in the band besides Stills, three are Canadian.

Aw shit, I’m glad we got Gordon Lightfoot in there, just under the wire.

That's so spooky.

I was listening to and commenting online a lot about Leonard Cohen the day he died, but didn't even know it because the news broke a few days after the fact. I still feel somehow guilty.

I really hope “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” ends up winning this, it’s one of the greatest songs and certainly the greatest Canadian song. Gord’s ability to write socially critical lyrics with razor accuracy and boundless compassion was astounding

I suspect there'll be another of his songs higher up.

My only vote that placed today was for the Grapes of Wrath, but I voted for other songs by some of the artists who placed (I limited myself to one vote per artist). In fact I thought I had voted for "Limelight" but I chose another Rush song.
I just listened now to all the songs I wasn't familiar with - mostly bright, hopeful synth pop. I was vaguely expecting that there would be some things that I have overheard at the supermarket, which is basically the only place I hear music I don't choose myself... but that probably won't be, unless we get a surprise turnout for the No Frills rap "Bag It Up".

I have definitely overheard Closer and Bright Lights at the supermarket, though I'm not sure those are the synth pop songs you are referring to.

Wow. For sure we have at least one more Lightfoot song coming up. RIP
Wonder how different this poll would have been if we did it two weeks later.

Aw shit, I’m glad we got Gordon Lightfoot in there, just under the wire.

Great to see The Grapes of Wrath in there, and one of their best tunes too, imho.

RIP

Coincidence, or something more?

As Gord would put it, "I'm Not Sayin'..."

23. "7/4 (Shoreline)" (2005)
Broken Social Scene
53 points/5 votes
video

― clemenza, Monday, May 1, 2023 4:55 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

One of my favorite songs of the 00s full stop, and so thrilled to see it rank this high.

Will finish up Wednesday...indexed wanted to clarify that he cast a #1 vote for "The Weight." It was a numbered list with the points distributed evenly, so I wasn't sure.

― clemenza, Monday, May 1, 2023 5:07 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Don't worry about it at all -- no need to adjust at this point -- but my list had points that were not evenly distributed...presumably this means "7/4 Shoreline" should be even higher!

re: the Honest Ed's image, I spent a few months working in Toronto a decade ago and would take the subway from downtown to Bathurst for a vegan restaurant I liked. Nice to see a familiar landmark in this rollout, as I'd completely forgotten it until the image popped up here.

now it's a condo :(

Ah, dammit--sorry, indexed. I'll take a look at that and recalculate. I won't start over, obviously, but if there are any changes, I'll at least make note of them before starting the Top 20.