Draining the POLL for you - ILM artist poll #98 - The Go-Betweens

http://i64.tinypic.com/2mraatc.jpg

#1
Cattle and Cane
from Before Hollywood (1983)

Points: 816
Votes: 28 (7)

Countdown appearance, ABC TV

ultimately the only choice

Minor mislabelling there: the 'Spring Rain' link is the 1986 video, not just audio.

Amazing top two. One for each songwriter, both anchored to place and childhood, each showcasing their individual strengths. I'm happy.

His father's watch
He left it in the shower

Personally, I think Spring Rain is the only choice... so many details to love:
the lead guitar line during the verse, the suspenseful void of the pre-chorus, lindy's drum fill that leads into the chorus, grant echoing robert's lines during the chorus, and finally the payoff when they sing the last line in harmony

(but cattle and cane was still in my top 5)

^compelling argument, love Spring Rain. Also, is it their only good video? If we're pretending Your Turn, My Turn/SMAL don't exist, which we clearly have been >:(

"River of Money" too high but can't really argue with the top 5.

I'll paste full results in the [GMT+10] morning, if people are interested. I must sleep pretty much immediately.

Thanks everyone for voting and listening and discussing and reading!

Thank you so much! It's kept me glued to ILM over the past few days. What a band.

What are the most famous bands other than the Beatles to have dual lead songwriters (in the sense of mainly writing the songs alone rather than one doing lyrics and one doing the music)? It's pretty rare, right?

great poll, thank you for sacrificing your sleep for us Nag!x3

(xp) I can't think of any with a 50/50 split in songwriting, there must be a few but I can't think of them offhand.

animal collective, maybe?

Husker Du

TMBG, Sebadoh since 1994

This was great fun. Thanks so much Nag Nag Nag

xp

Buffalo Springfield

... three songwriters.

I guess Enochroot and I were the two Spring Rain #1ers. It was the first GB song I ever heard (on MTV), and it's always been my favorite. I didn't expect it to outpoll Cattle and Cain, but I'm glad it beat out the McLennan love ditties, which I like but didn't vote for.

Now I'm eager to see if my dark horse #16, Don't Call Me Gone, had any other support.

Not many bands had an intentional, perfect 50/50 split on almost every album, right?

Too Low: The song I was surprised missed the ballot was 'Karen' - it borrows a few elements from Patti Smith's 'Dancing Barefoot', but it's some of Forster's most iconic lyrics - Helps me find Chandler Helps me find James Joyce She always makes the right choice."

Too high: 'Right Here' has some of my favourite McLennan lines - "You say that you're undone by his kiss", the bit about 33 but looking 45 - and I love the violin, but the rhythm feels stilted and awkward. Not surprised to read it was from the same session as 'Cut It Out'. I had it on my ballot, but #10 seems awfully high. I was surprised 'Finding You' was so high too - it's pretty, but feels a little bit like a hit written to order or something. Not as much personality as most of their best stuff.

Great poll, thanks for running it!

The only reason I left Karen off was having so many other early tracks on my ballot: Hammer, People Say, Your Turn, Lee Remick. Kind of a dumb criterion. I love how the song expresses, with wry self-deprecating humor, the way a young man over-romanticizes rather ordinary situations, but takes the intense passion quite seriously.

Def think ‘Spring Rain’ way too high; pleasant and catchy enough but would pick a million Forster tunes from the period over it (it’s not even the best Forster single off LB. imo). Something oddly perfunctory about it, like McLennan was asked to write a single to order by the record company or something.

Every vote recorded

GO-BETWEENS TRACKS
                                                                Pts  Votes    #1s 
 1  Cattle and Cane                   Before Holl (1983)        816     28      7
 2  Spring Rain	                      Liberty Belle (1986)      610     26      2
 3  Bachelor Kisses                   Spring Hill Fair (1984)   577     24      2
 4  Bye Bye Pride                     Tallulah (1987)           571     23      3
 5  Streets of Your Town              16 Lovers Lane (1988)     526     26      0
 6  Part Company                      Spring Hill Fair (1984)   461     20      3
 7  Head Full of Steam                Liberty Belle (1986)      458     22      1
 8  Love Goes On                      16 Lovers Lane (1988)     450     21      2
 9  Right Here                        Tallulah (1987)           382     18      0
10  Twin Layers of Lightning          Liberty Belle (1986)      336     17      2
11  Draining the Pool for You         Spring Hill Fair (1984)   332     18      0
12  Dive for Your Memory              16 Lovers Lane (1988)     332     18      1
13  That Way                          Before Holl (1983)        284     19      0
14  Finding You                       Oceans Apart (2005)       276     16      1
15  Quiet Heart                       16 Lovers Lane (1988)     275     16      0
16  The Wrong Road                    Liberty Belle (1986)      268     14      0
17  The House That Jack Kerouac Built Tallulah (1987)           255     13      0
18  Man O'Sand to Girl O'Sea          Spring Hill Fair (1984)   247     15      0
19  I Just Get Caught Out             Tallulah (1987)           239     15      0
20  You Tell Me                       Tallulah (1987)           231     14      0
21  People Say                        People Say (1979)         228     12      0
22  Clouds                            16 Lovers Lane (1988)     226     11      0
23  The Clock                         Friends of R (2000)       214     12      0
24  Love Is a Sign                    16 Lovers Lane (1988)     211     14      0
25  Dusty in Here                     Before Holl (1983)        211     11      0
26  Darlinghurst Nights               Oceans Apart (2005)       209     13      0
27  To Reach Me                       Liberty Belle (1986)      206     11      0 
28  Apology Accepted                  Liberty Belle (1986)      205     11      2
29  Rock and Roll Friend              Was There... (1988)       203     13      0
30  The Clarke Sisters                Tallulah (1987)           198     13      0
31  I'm All Right                     16 Lovers Lane (1988)     191     10      0
32  As Long As That                   Before Holl (1983)        185     11      0
33  Unkind and Unwise                 Sprill Hill Fair (1984)   179      9      0
34  Was There Anything I Could Do?    16 Lovers Lane (1988)     170     10      1
35  Lee Remick                        Lee Remick (1978)         168     11      0
36  He Lives My Life                  Friends of R (2000)       155      9      0
37  You Can't Say No Forever          16 Lovers Lane (1988)     152     10      0
38  Going Blind	                      Friends of R (2000)       149      8      0
39  Two Steps Step Out                Before Holl (1983)        148     10      0 
40  Surfing Magazines                 Friends of R (2000)       148      9      0
41  A Bad Debt Follows You            Before Holl (1983)        140      9      0
42  Here Comes a City                 Oceans Apart (2005)       139     10      0
43  Caroline and I                    Bright Yellow, (2003)     134      7      0
44  Boundary Rider                    Oceans Apart (2005)       133      9      0
45  The Ghost and the Black Hat	      Liberty Belle (1986)      130      8      0
46  Five Words                        Spring Hill Fair (1984)   123      9      0
47  Bow Down                          Liberty Belle (1986)      123      8      0
48  Born to a Family                  Oceans Apart (2005)       122      9      0 
49  Hammer the Hammer                 Hammer the H (1982)       121      8      0
50  On My Block                       Before Holl (1983)        109      7      0 
51  Too Much of One Thing             Bright Yellow, (2003)     104      6      0
52  Before Hollywood                  Before Holl (1983)        103      9      0
53  Spirit of a Vampyre               Tallulah (1987)           101      5      0
54  Magic in Here                     Friends of R (2000)       100      8      0
55= This Girl, Black Girl             Man O Sand... (1983)       96	 7      0
55= You've Never Lived                Spring Hill Fair (1984)    96	 7      0
57  In the Core of the Flame          Liberty Belle (1986)       96	 6      0
58  By Chance                         Before Holl (1983)         92	 5      0
59  The Sound of Rain	              Archival - 1978->          86	 5      0
60  The Statue                        Oceans Apart (2005)        83      5      0
61  Spirit                            Friends of R (2000)        80      6      0
62  You Won't Find It Again           Archival - D - 1986->      72      4      0
63  Don't Let Him Come Back           People Say (1979)          69      5      0
64  Palm Sunday (On Board...)         Liberty Belle (1986)       69      4      0
65  Hope Then Strife                  Tallulah (1987)            65      5      0
66  Secondhand Furniture              Peel Session (1984)        60      5      0 
67  Karen                             Lee Remick (1978)          58      5      0
68= When People Are Dead              Right Here (1987)          56      4      0
69= Casanova's Last Words             Streets... (1988)          56      4      0
70  Make Her Day                      Bright Yellow, (2003)      52      3      0
71  Emperor's Courtesan               Archival - C - 1982->      52      2      0
72  German Farmhouse                  Friends of R (2000)        51      5      0
73  Old Mexico                        Bright Yellow, (2003)      49      4      0
74  Ask	                              Before Holl (1983)         47      3      0
75  Slow Slow Music                   Sprill Hill Fair (1984)    42      5      0
76  Your Turn, My Turn                Send Me A Lu (1982)        41      3      0
77  I Need Two Heads                  I Need Two (1980)          40      4      0
78  Someone Else's Wife               Tallulah (1987)            38      3      0
79  Newton Told Me                    Part Company (1984)        37      3      0
80  The Locust Girls                  Going Blind (2000)         31      3      0
81  The City of Lights                Finding You (2005)         30      1      0
82  The Mountains Near Dellray        Oceans Apart (2005)        29      2      0
84  Mrs Morgan                        Bright Yellow, (2003)      28      3      0
83  Eight Pictures                    Send Me A Lu (1982)        28      2      0
85  Lavender                          Oceans Apart (2005)        27      3      0
86  No Reason to Cry                  Oceans Apart (2005)        27      2      0
87  The Devil's Eye                   !6 Lovers Lane (1988)      26      2      0
88  Crystal Shacks                    Finding You (2005)         26      1      0
89  River of Money                    Sprill Hill Fair (1984)    23      2      0
90  Heart and Home                    Friends of R (2000)        23      1      0
91= It Could Be Anyone                Send Me A Lu (1982)        20      2      0
92= This Night's for You              Oceans Apart (2005)        20      2      0
93  One Thing Can Hold Us             Send Me A Lu (1982)        18      2      0
94  Poison in the Walls               Bright Yellow, (2003)      17      2      0
95  Don't Call Me Gone                Right Here (1987)          16      1      0
96  Something for Myself              Bright Yellow, (2003)      15      1      0
97  Just a King in Mirrors            Part Company (1984)        10      1      0
98  The Old Way Out                   Sprill Hill Fair (1984)     9      2      0
99  Careless                          Send Me A Lu (1982)         9      1      0
00  Woman Across the Way              Going Blind (2000)          8      1      0
01  Orpheus Beach                     Friends of R (2000)         6      1      0
02  Rare Breed                        Bachelor K (1984)           5      1      0
03  In Her Diary                      Bright Yellow, (2003)       4      1      0
04= Hold Your Horses                  Send Me A Lu (1982)         3      1      0
05= Mexican Postcard                  Was There... (1988)         3      1      0
06  Summer's Melting My Mind          Archival - A - 1978->       2      1      0

Leaving these [non-outtakes] receiving no votes:

Stop Before You Say It
World Weary
People Know
The Girls Have Moved
Midnight to Neon
All About Strength
Ride
Arrow in a Bow
Heaven Says
The Power That I Now Have
The Life at Hand
Little Joe
Cut It Out
A Little Romance
Time in the Desert
Doo Wop in 'A'
Wait Until June
When She Sang About Angels
Haven't I Been a Fool (Live)
Crooked Lines
Unfinished Business
Instant Replay
Taxi Taxee
Girl Lying on a Beach
Erotic Sunshine
Stone
Sleeping Giant

Doo-wop in "A" (Bam Boom) was robbed.

plan to spend part of this evening going through the last part of the countdown.

thank you for doing this Nag! Nag! Nag!

So 'Karen' was just one place outside my arbitrary dividing line and only a handful of us acknowledged the existence of SMAL, tracks-wise.

Spotify list (in first post) now complete. The 66 Go-Betweens tracks are overwhelmingly available, happily. Solo tracks somewhat less so.

that is a hell of a points jump for C&C but in the end… yes, that is right, it goes out on its own and for all we chatter and back & forth and rank things, it just sits there and is magnetic and mysterious and perfect to me.

Alone, but so at home.

This has been a lot of fun. I've never participated in or even much followed any of this type of poll before. Going in, I thought of myself as a somewhat knowledgeable devotee, however with my first stabs at filling out a ballot, I realized that I didn't know shit. I've been playing their music occasionally but often not listening very closely, and barely paying attention to the song titles. That's not the case anymore. Reading all the great insights posted here has made me want to keep playing this music over and over. It has really enriched my appreciation.

So thanks, Nag and everyone who took part.

Now, I feel like going out in the street and buttonholing random strangers to proselytize for this 13-year defunct Australian band that I feel everyone should know about.

polls like this always give me a greater appreciation of the music.

Yes - thank you Nag, it's been such a pleasure. I think my love for them has been patchy and isolated and gappy - like I've never been in conversations about them, never really known what other people make of them. I mean I came to them 25 years ago expecting/wanting soaring melodies and bittersweet pop, but… I got addicted to some spiky Forster flavour, the funny-sharp writerly songs that catch you in some way that nothing else does. Their best sides. So it's been a joy wandering through the records with ilx.

Fantastic poll. Many thanks to Mr. Nag for running it. I can say with certainty it will live forever in the Orpheus Beach of my heart.

Thanks so much Nag for running this. This has been such a joy to follow and I enjoyed listening through their music in preparation to vote. One of my favourite polls on here.

Incidentally were there any other voters in East Asian/Pacific timezones? Apologies if you too lost sleep while I attempted to post results a bit closer to ILX peak times. :)

love

Incidentally were there any other voters in East Asian/Pacific timezones? Apologies if you too lost sleep while I attempted to post results a bit closer to ILX peak times. :)

New Zealand

Top 20 is exactly half Grant and half Robert.

Though if you treat Finding You as a joint song then Robert has the edge but … Grant has the #1 and more of the top 10.

This is amusing. I've done the collation for two artist polls here now. This video features both on the same stage. And then they go and perform a rendition of a song by a further Best Band Ever.

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

XP: NZ! High five!`

My God, somebody slap that cunt, Murdoch.

LOL. You've not grown fonder of B&S in the past six months then!

:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=7dEgNfpKwi8

While we're on the subject (sorry Tom), there's a line in their song about the Go-Betweens, Shoot the Sexual Athlete, that says Robert "dressed like Sherlock Holmes". It's very apt but does anyone know if he ever literally did this? And, just as importantly, did Grant dress as Dr Watson?

Belated thanks to Nag! Nag! Nag! for this poll, it's been great fun. I had 'Bachelor Kisses' at #1 but I can't quibble with 'Cattle & Cane' winning, absolutely amazing song, the opening lines are some of my favourite lyrics in all music. Hadn't realised 'Bye Bye Pride' was so widely loved but on reflection it's one I really should have had on my ballot.

Nice to see Love Goes On finish so high. That should have been a single.

Also IMHO this poll had the single most obvious winner of any poll. Cattle and Cane was always going to win by a comfortable margin