ILM POLLS THE 20TH CENTURY'S BEST TRACKS ››› YOUR RESULTS THREAD ‹‹‹

i can think of a few bands who i would be happy to see feature quite heavily - talking heads is definitely one along with kraftwerk, and from what i can tell there's going to be plenty more talking heads featured in this poll. i'm much more interested in seeing the best songs represented from the truly great artists of the century than scratching my head at arbitrary one-offs from second-tier types.

xps The Curé

Full disclosure: Cortez the Killer was 110 instead of 108, Linus and Lucy was 92 instead of joint 91, Ceremony was joint with When the Levee Breaks instead of just ahead of it.

prediction for #1: sumthing beetles

hey, thanks for sending me my ballot, seandalai. looking it over, i'm mortified to note that only about a third of my votes are pre-1970, and only 8 are pre-1950. the remainder, the vast majority are from the last three decades of the 20th century, flatly contradicting any claim that i've moved beyond the shallow passions of my youth. i suppose if i'd given myself less than half an our to work out my ballot on the last day of voting, i might have pushed myself out of that comfort zone, but i dunno. the earlier, abandoned version of my ballot wasn't much more catholic, and i spend several days pecking at it.

i can think of a few bands who i would be happy to see feature quite heavily - talking heads is definitely one along with kraftwerk, and from what i can tell there's going to be plenty more talking heads featured in this poll. i'm much more interested in seeing the best songs represented from the truly great artists of the century than scratching my head at arbitrary one-offs from second-tier types.

― charlie h, Tuesday, November 30, 2010 4:48 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

fine, but one could easily make the case that kraftwerk and talking heads are 2nd tier nobodys relative to the likes of carl orff, claude debussy, duke ellington, miles davis, the beatles, and at least a couple hundred others. many of whom won't get a single track in the final list. (no thanks to me.)

Figure I should spare Johnny the effort of fixing my mistake:

125. JOHNNY CASH "Folsom Prison Blues" (1955) [1,153 points, 13 votes]
124. FLEETWOOD MAC "Go Your Own Way" (1977) [1,155 points, 10 votes]
123. MOTÖRHEAD "Ace of Spades" (1980) [1,159 points, 13 votes]
122. STAN GETZ & ASTRUD GILBERTO "The Girl From Ipanema" (1964) [1,160 points, 11 votes]
121. PIXIES "Debaser" (1989) [1,161 points, 11 votes]
120. HENRY MANCINI & JOHNNY MERCER "Moon River" (1961) [1,165 points, 9 votes]
119. 10CC "I'm Not in Love" (1975) [1,167 points, 12 votes]
118. LINK WRAY & HIS RAY MEN "Rumble" (1958) [1,170 points, 12 votes]
117. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN "Born to Run" (1975) [1,175 points, 10 votes]
116. PRINCE "Controversy" (1981) [1,176 points, 9 votes]
115. THE BEACH BOYS "Surf's Up" (1971) [1,184 points, 10 votes]
114. THE ROLLING STONES "Paint it Black" (1966) [1,185 points, 12 votes]
113. MILES DAVIS "Shhh/Peaceful" (1969) [1,186 points, 11 votes]
112. N.W.A "Straight Outta Compton" (1988) [1,195 points, 11 votes]
111. JOHN COLTRANE "My Favorite Things" (1961) [1,195 points, 12 votes]
110. NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE "Cortez the Killer" (1975) [1,196 points, 11 votes]
109. STEREOLAB "Jenny Ondioline" (1993) [1,197 points, 11 votes]
108. KATE BUSH "Wuthering Heights" (1978) [1,197 points, 13 votes]
107. BOBBY WOMACK "Across 110th Street" (1972) [1,203 points, 11 votes]
106. KRAFTWERK "Computer Love" (1981) [1,209 points, 10 votes]
105. THE SUPREMES "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (1966) [1,216 points, 13 votes]
104. RON GRAINER & DELIA DERBYSHIRE "Theme From 'Dr. Who'" (1963) [1,219 points, 12 votes]
103. THE KINKS "You Really Got Me" (1964) [1,220 points, 12 votes]
102. TALKING HEADS "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" (1983) [1,221 points, 10 votes]

99. (TIE) THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" (1968) [1,223 points, 12 votes]
99. (TIE) KING CRIMSON "21st Century Schizoid Man" (1969) [1,223 points, 12 votes]
99. (TIE) MOTT THE HOOPLE "All the Young Dudes" (1972) [1,223 points, 12 votes]
98. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND "Heroin" (1967) [1,231 points, 11 votes]
97. THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. "Juicy" (1994) [1,266 points, 11 votes]
96. BOB DYLAN "Tangled Up in Blue" (1975) [1,268 points, 11 votes]
94. (TIE) NIRVANA "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (1991) [1,275 points, 12 votes]
94. (TIE) CAMEO "Word Up" (1986) [1,275 points, 12 votes]
93. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL "Fortunate Son" (1969) [1,276 points, 14 votes]
92. THE VINCE GUARALDI TRIO "Linus and Lucy" (1964) [1,280 points, 13 votes]
91. TOOTS & THE MAYTALS "Pressure Drop" (1970) [1,282 points, 13 votes]
90. THE CLASH "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" (1978) [1,287 points, 11 votes]
89. THE BEATLES "Penny Lane" (1967) [1,290 points, 11 votes]
88. WIRE "Outdoor Miner" (1978) [1,296 points, 11 votes]
87. ABBA "Dancing Queen" (1976) [1,297 points, 12 votes]
86. AL GREEN "Let's Stay Together" (1971) [1,299 points, 14 votes]
85. MADONNA "Into the Groove" (1985) [1,300 points, 12 votes]
84. CLAUDE DEBUSSY "Clair de Lune" (1905) [1,301 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote]
83. PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION "Kiss" (1986) [1,308 points, 14 votes]
82. THE SMITHS "How Soon Is Now?" (1985) [1,311 points, 14 votes]
81. MY BLOODY VALENTINE "Soon" (1991) [1,313 points, 11 votes]
79. (TIE) LED ZEPPELIN "When the Levee Breaks" (1971) [1,313 points, 13 votes]
79. (TIE) NEW ORDER "Ceremony" (1981) [1,313 points, 13 votes]
78. KRAFTWERK "Trans Europe Express" (1977) [1,327 points, 14 votes]
77. KRAFTWERK "Autobahn" (1974) [1,331 points, 12 votes]

Just realised that 'Clair de Lune' being earliest means that 'The Entertainer' has missed the 100 :( Where'd it end up, JF?

I'm fine with more Kraftwerk as long as there is room for the fourteen Fall songs nominated...

among ilm's "alternative" favorites I would actually prefer The Fall and Saint Etienne to dominate the list. At least they are idiosyncratic in an exciting way and are way to obscure and weird to ever become true canon. The deification of that banal Kraftwerk eccentricity is beyond me. They are just so harmless and fluffy. And yes, I like them but this feels ridiculous

one could easily make the case that kraftwerk and talking heads are 2nd tier nobodys relative to the likes of carl orff, claude debussy, duke ellington, miles davis, the beatles, and at least a couple hundred others

REAL TALK

And like gs just said, I like both Kraftwerk and Talking Heads, but I refuse to believe that people worship their genius the way some ILM polls seem to suggest.

Can I say something?

As a casual Beatles fan I don't care if 1967 was mamsy-pamsy flower power hour. "Penny Lane" is top tier Beatles. Feel good vibes just happen to be a side-effect.

This was the only Beatles song I voted for

Just realised that 'Clair de Lune' being earliest means that 'The Entertainer' has missed the 100 :( Where'd it end up, JF?

― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, November 30, 2010 8:01 PM

522. Scott Joplin - The Entertainer (553 points, 6 votes)

I almost worship Talking Heads but anything beyond two songs by them (which seems realistic with Once In A Lifetime in mind) on a list like this would look bad to me. This Must Be The Place even feels like pushing it, but I love the song so won't complain. my ballot was Heads-less

started (continued?) talking bullshit here. time for sleep.

shame about The Entertainer but damn that's a big list.

Once the results are done I'm gonna start ranting on people who voted canon instead of from their heart. There's a lot of good quotes I can dig up from the nominations thread and maybe one quote from this thread...

Anyways, "Smells Like Team Spirit" is hardly the best Nirvana nomination. In fact, it was the only Nirvana nomination I didn't vote for. Historically it was no better than "Lounge Act" from the same album so we can say fuck historical importance and popularity be damned

I dunno, nineteen years removed from its overexposure, "Teen Spirit" is still one of my top 3 or 4 Nirvana songs. That's where cultural significance would swing my vote one way or the other...I like it already, so picking it against "Serve the Servants" or something wouldn't bother my heart a bit.

12 so far, baby.

123. MOTÖRHEAD "Ace of Spades"
117. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN "Born to Run"
99. (TIE) THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"
98. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND "Heroin"
96. BOB DYLAN "Tangled Up in Blue"
94. (TIE) NIRVANA "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
93. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL "Fortunate Son"
92. THE VINCE GUARALDI TRIO "Linus and Lucy"
91. TOOTS & THE MAYTALS "Pressure Drop"
88. WIRE "Outdoor Miner"
81. MY BLOODY VALENTINE "Soon"
79. (TIE) LED ZEPPELIN "When the Levee Breaks"

Xp
so would pooping on your face

hmmm, that's definitely a good point contenderizer. never really did like orff that much, but yeah the likes of debussy, stravinsky, miles, coltrane, mingus, ellington, coleman, thelonious monk are absolutely top shelf, and probably only a very select few acts from outside the, say, classical and jazz realm are in the same league. but i do think the likes of kraftwerk and talking heads are up there with them. it's just a question of contextualising things.

on another note, i really hope we'll start seeing some roxy music soon.

as much as i love nirvana (historically speaking), it never occurred to me to vote for them.

Poop on my face WOULD hurt my heart. And my dignity.

boriginal is gonna slay up this list pretty soon fwiw

Xp
My mistake :(

neurosis should crack the top 50

To add to this debate, I just want to say I would be outraged if garbage from hacks like Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra make the list instead of This Heat

hahaha well Purify got at LEAST 158 points :D xp

i think initially i had a mind to vote for it, but it got culled at some point. 'locust star' or hell, even 'under the surface' or 'the last you'll know' could have easily made it.

xxp And if Charlie "Whothefuckis" Parker bumped the Funky Cold Medina off the list there's gonna be a lotta SBs handed out.

The deification of that banal Kraftwerk eccentricity is beyond me. They are just so harmless and fluffy. And yes, I like them but this feels ridiculous

http://i56.tinypic.com/w15jdj.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/2ue67sw.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2h4fjom.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/dz9czr.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/255qh4y.jpg

lol

(don't agree, but lol anyway)

'flexfit technology' shd be the next kraftwerk album-title y/n

Is it night-time there in Inglund? Where's the next rezzult?

@contenderizer: I can send you your ballot if you want.

― seandalai, Tuesday, November 30, 2010 7:22 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Can you send mine as well?

It is, but I'm in Florida (where it's also night-time). Next rezzult comes tomorrow.

skip, I just sent it via ilx mail.

haha, thanks. That is a way cheesier list than I remember submitting.

There should be another poll where we get to vote again, only using the songs that didn't make the top 125.

Then we can wittle it down to the best worst song ever.

Thanks, seandalai.

Okay y'all, there was a slight tabulation mistake that would shift some results around slightly, but not change what's in and what's out of the top 125 at all. So you shouldn't be seeing "Search and Destroy" yet, as it's actually #73. I hope you can live with this grievous error, ILM. seandalai and me are incredibly sorry!! ;)

― Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever)

All for the better! Excited to see what happens tomorrow. I don't really disagree with what has made it so far but I'd love to see a little less canon and little more obscure. Something old new for me. Also more jazz, soul and punk and less dadrock.

But what I really want to know is how predictable and variable will the top 20 be?

Will we get several dark horses JF? I'm in love with those.

15 out of the top 25 are artists who don't otherwise appear in the countdown. Do with that information what you will.

I wasn't following today, but nicely done. Of all the songs so far, the only one I had an instantaneous "Really?" reaction to as I scrolled through was "Kiss." Not sure why--it's not awful or anything, I just never cared for it at all. I think four of mine have been listed so far. Did The Larry Sanders Show get any votes? I still want that to win something.

15 out of the top 25 are artists who don't otherwise appear in the countdown. Do with that information what you will.

― Lightning Is For Babies (Johnny Fever)

I really like the sound of that. Even if they end up being boring choices it's a relief to know the responsibles wont be represented elsewhere.

Hmmm I wonder how close I'd be if I made a list of predictions... I will try it when we get to 50 :P

Anyway wanted to say I like this poll. Even if most of the results haven't been particulary exciting for me I love having no effing idea of what will come up next.

re charlie h. above: didn't mean to imply that i view talking heads and kraftwerk as "2nd tier" relative to anyone, only that it takes a particular mindset & taste to put them on par with the great classical & jazz composers/performers of the early to mid 20th century (to say nothing of the canonized gods of gospel, the blues, country & western music, folk of whatever sort, rhythm & blues, soul, early and "classic" rock, and countless other forms not native to the UK or US).

personally, i'm as fond of the talking heads as any musical artist i know of, and it's strange to me that not a single one of their songs wound up on my ballot, despite the fact that i made room for "autobahn" by kraftwerk, a band that means a good deal less to me. not that i'd change that vote, but strange nonetheless.

Might seem ridiculous to some (ok, all) but I'd like to see "Oops, I Did It Again" show up on this list. It's really, to me, THE iconic 90's radio-played pop song. If it was even on the ballot - but anyway.

nine i have stooped to elevate:

MOTÖRHEAD - "Ice of Spides"
STAN GETZ & ASTRUD GILBERTO - "The Girl From Ipanema"
N.W.A - "Straight Outta Compton"
RON GRAINER & DELIA DERBYSHIRE - "Theme From 'Dr. Who'"
KING CRIMSON - "21st Century Schizoid Man"
THE VINCE GUARALDI TRIO - "Linus and Lucy"
CAMEO - "Word Up"
PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION - "Kiss"
KRAFTWERK - "Autobahn"

odd list. not sure what they have in common other than that i love them all and wouldn't rush to defend their importance. it seems that i have a pronounced taste for funky pop. and dreamy abstraction. and ice spides.