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

i wanted to nom some hugh mundell, who is my favourite reggae artist along with the congos, but i feared no one would vote for it. wouldn't have mattered anyway - it's not like dudes were all like "i gotta vote me some minor threat and big black".

I'm kind of in the same boat as peter up there. By and large, reggae doesn't do much for me outside of a few select tracks. Dub can be interesting in most cases, and old ska has a little more going for it to my ear, but standard reggae just lays flat. I hear "Uptown Top Ranking" and all I can do is shrug.

I didn't know 'Don't Fear The Reaper' at all. It's really good. I'd maybe heard 'September Gurls' only a couple of times before too - hadn't really expected to be still learning new stuff at this stage. Off to check me out some 'More Cowbell' now.

Never going to begrudge Big Star, but 'Holocaust' is the most perfectly formed thing they ever did. So so good.

Didn't vote for it, but 'Uptown Top Ranking' is such a joyously fun song - it's a couple of teenagers messing about in their rooms braggin' and bigging each other up.

I didn't know 'Don't Fear The Reaper' at all.

Amazing.

It's just hard for me to imagine this, but that's clearly a generational thing.

I don't feel that old (27) and assume everyone I know knows Don't Fear the Reaper.

I usually feel like I know everything, but clearly I have some curious blindspots

i like "Don't Fear The Reaper" and all, but it seems like a really unlikely top 25 song, had no idea it would even place

I don't feel that old either and assume everyone who'd post on ilm would know every song in this countdowb tbh

Big Star, but 'Holocaust' is the most perfectly formed thing they ever did. So so good.

At the risk of sounding rude, gag me with a spoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

22. PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION "When Doves Cry" (1984) [2,152 points, 23 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt-gcp-ERM0

About a fifth of them are new or mostly new to me xp, which is a bit more than I'd thought. I wouldn't've thought very many people would know all 125 though tbh.

yeah i am pleased that i have found some new tunes thru this, was expecting to know them all going in. the bobby womack song is my favorite discovery so far

this is my clear favorite of the big classic Prince tracks. best groove, most memorable chorus.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xk5s3_when-doves-cry_music

I know probably 2/3rds or a bit more of the songs on this countdown.

This is the first time in my life I've knowingly listened to "Don't Fear the Reaper" too, and I'm 31. I've actually seen the "more cowbell" skit, but I didn't remember this song was in it. Somehow, in my head, I've always thought Blue Öyster Cult is the band that did "El Bimbo", but now I realize that's because "El Bimbo" plays in the Blue Oyster gay bar scenes in the Police Academy movies.

As for "Don't Fear the Reaper", it was pretty good, at least up until the guitar solo. With a title like that I expected heavy metal, but this is closer to Simon & Garfunkel.

Prince is too low

"Reaper" is a surprise outlier.

Where did "Uptown Top Ranking" come from? I've never even heard of the song or Althea & Donna. I honestly didn't expect I'd have something sprung on me like that in the top 25.

"When Doves Cry" is the only Prince song I voted for. It's just sui generis, and all these years later it still sounds so 'outside'. What a jam.

So that's it for Prince then? I assume Purple Rain wasn't nominated?

I have not been familiar with every track on this list.

Oftentimes I think Prince's best single was "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "Mountains" or "Alphabet St"

Purple Rain was nominated.

Was nominated Matt I think

it's probably #1

I don't see how that would do better than "When Doves Cry," but what do I know, I'm already surprised by three of the tracks that have placed in the top 25.

"When Doves Cry", it's a really good tune, but IMO it should've switched places with "Kiss". Both as a composition and as a peace of genius pop minimalism "Kiss" is simply better. (And the album version of "Doves" actually sacrifices that minimalism to include a gratuitous keyboard and a gratuitous guitar solo.)

agreeing with Tuomas here...

Wow at that Prince clip. When Doves Cry has never been one of my favourite Prince songs but after watching that it should have been in my top ten, incredible performance and those moves are pretty awesome too.

'When Doves Cry' is probably the only Prince song I'd rep for - I often like the idea of Prince more than the reality, but WDC always works for me.

(In reference to kornrulez upthread, what does 'gag me with a spoon' actually mean?)

itt Tuomas shows that he doesn't understand Prince

Cockahoop to see Uptown Top Ranking feature - was really not sure how the present ILX gestalt viewed it.

Kiss>>>When Doves Cry for me.

like, the entire POINT of "When Doves Cry" is the expansion into the instrumental coda; this is why the single version always feels neutered/interrupted

(no comment re: comparing it to "Kiss", which is a badass song that I like better, but by a fraction of a degree, and as I said before there are a bunch of other Prince singles I'd rate higher than both)

not to begrudge althea and donna or ? and the mysterians - great songs from each no doubt - but i wonder if their high, somewhat surprise placements have anything to do with their placement on the master list, alphabetically.

was not familiar with shh/peaceful, dr. who, 21st century schizoid man, aguas de março, israelites, genius of love, good times, uptown top ranking

i'd at least heard of all the artists except for althea & donna

Trying to think what else pre-Beatles might make the list... Strange Fruit, Georgia On My Mind, Summertime maybe?

Also my guess is that there'll only be one solitary Beatles track left to place, and that'll be She Love You.

like, the entire POINT of "When Doves Cry" is the expansion into the instrumental coda; this is why the single version always feels neutered/interrupted

I just liked the idea they should have switched places on the poll.

21. MICHAEL JACKSON "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (1979) [2,181 points, 21 votes]

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

like, the entire POINT of "When Doves Cry" is the expansion into the instrumental coda; this is why the single version always feels neutered/interrupted

But "Kiss" has a (sort of a) guitar solo too, and it feels much more integrated to the song than the over-the-top solos on "Doves", a song that's (deservedly) praised for it's icy synth minimalism. I dunno, maybe Prince intended the solos to disrupt the song, but for me it doesn't work.

(x-post)

Whoa, that should've been in the top 10. "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" is flawless no matter how you look at it.

I didn't vote for that MJ song, but am happy to see it.

the top 20 is entirely MJ fyi

That was the only MJ song I voted for. Would've voted for "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" too (another flawless song IMO) if it had been nommed.

Hah I wonder what the percentage of tracks on this countdown have been produced by either Quincey Jones or Trevor Horn.

This song is so great... I had it on my shortlist but eventually cut my MJ tracks... rightfully predicting others would make up for my lack of votes to the King of Pop.

Whoa, that should've been in the top 10. "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" is flawless no matter how you look at it.

OTM. It's one of the last times in Jacko's career that you hear sheer unbridled joy in his vocals.

the whole first half of Off The Wall is still jawdropping.

number of michael jackson songs i voted for: 0

number of michael jackson songs i considered voting for: 0

i know it's futile, but please no more michael jackson.

you are a soulless husk of a human being and I have nothing but pity in my heart for you