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

candy flip guy formed a hard rock/alt.metal band that was fairly popular in kerrang circles/had a few chart hits. I cant remember their name offhand though. Where is djmartian these days?

If 'In The Midnight Hour' doesn't appear soon I will kill all you ghastly people with murder.

SFF would have been my #1 track if I had ranked my ballot. It's no screaming hell as a piece of songwriting, but its sonic palette is vast and continually mystifying. Still stands as perhaps the most FORWARD THINKING piece of actually popular pop music ever.

Sorry, emily.

'Twas I who nommed Uptown Top Ranking and I'm super-excited to see it pop up. Guess I should give up hope for Marquee Moon though. Dammit!

I sent your ballot via ilx mail, Sir Viceroy.

Thank you kindly, Mr. Senor.

16. TALKING HEADS "Once in a Lifetime" (1980) [2,281 points, 21 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1wg1DNHbNU

wow figured that was a lock for top 10 or even 5

Glad 'O Superman' made it, but wish it had been higher. Also, as many people have pointed out, it was NUMBER 2 IN THE CHARTS, so not sure where the dig about actually popular comes from.

I'm glad that the Dr. Who theme made it but I'm sad that none of the other themes made it and it seems soundtrack music like Morricone was ignored in general. :(

I voted for the themes from Exodus and Gone With the Wind. I haven't looked, but I'd be surprised if I had much company.

does 'moon river' count as soundtrack music?

It should. Was written specifically for Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Never understood why Once in a Lifetime is such a big deal, and I love Talking Heads.

should have nommed the sanford & son theme

xp - Cool video though.

I suggested the Knight Rider theme during nominations, but it didn't end up on the list in the end.

Heads suffered same fate as many other artists on my ballot - instead of laboring over which of many tracks got the shortest straw round after round, they just got cut entirely to avoid that headache. Glad to see this one appear tho.

Glad 'O Superman' made it, but wish it had been higher. Also, as many people have pointed out, it was NUMBER 2 IN THE CHARTS, so not sure where the dig about actually popular comes from.

It didn't do well in the US, which is why the US posters tend to be incredulous when a ton of UK posters are like "oh yes, I know that song well"

as an aside FUCKING YES ULTIMATELY THE BEST TALKING HEADS SONG THAT ISN'T "Take Me To The River"

or "I Zimbra"

should have nommed the sanford & son theme

Some day I will be in a nursing home and the only thing I will be able to remember will be that music.

as an aside FUCKING YES ULTIMATELY THE BEST TALKING HEADS SONG THAT ISN'T "Take Me To The River"

― Yeezy reupholstered my pussy (DJP), Friday, December 3, 2010 6:27 PM (36 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

or "I Zimbra"

― Yeezy reupholstered my pussy (DJP), Friday, December 3, 2010 6:27 PM (13 seconds ago) Bookmark

I agree with you on those two.

I'll be there to call you "dummy" xpost

It didn't do well in the US, which is why the US posters tend to be incredulous when a ton of UK posters are like "oh yes, I know that song well"

Expecting something similar if "Ghosts" shows up

btw folks, "O Superman" is a good example of minimalism in popular music, for your future arguments about ppl like Kanye etc

'This Must Be The Place' got my vote, I went through a big Talking Heads phase in my early 20s and I still hold them in very high regard.

Was "I Zimbra" even nominated? I would have voted that in a heartbeat.

If you had voted, that is.

right

15. THE SPECIALS "Ghost Town" (1981) [2,304 points, 20 votes, 1 first place vote]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqZ8428GSrI

wait, really?

fuck yeah! Totally solid track.

haha ILM in a nutshell, those last two posts

Two great songs in a row that I thought might be in with a shot of being number one.

I just never get bored of Ghost Town.

Excellent!

I have never heard "Ghost Town" before.

Yet another UK chart hit that confuses everyone else.

Holy shit, I don't think I've ever heard Ghost Town except for the intro (is it sampled somewhere?), but it's awesome! Totally worthy of the #15 spot!

xxx-post

Was that track a mostly UK voter thing? I don't think I've ever even heard this before.

wow i don't know this song either, wasn't expecting to be surprised at this stage of the poll

I gotta say, I don't understand not getting "Once In A Lifetime". The beat is great, the vocal performance is great, the claustrophobic lyrics are great... it's a time capsule of awesome from a band that was frequently awesome and possibly captures their aesthetic better than any of their other songs (even if it arguably isn't their BEST song, it reads as the most Talking Heads-ish song ever recorded; I can't imagine another band doing it).

i love when ilx surprises

"Once in a Lifetime" has a brilliant chorus, but all that talks stuff in the verses is boring as hell. Someone should do a remix with just the chorus.

"talks" = "talky"

no! it's the dual talk/bassline that makes the song great!

Chorusing Heads

what the hell, Tuomas

the verses are the HEART of the song

do you also complain about "I Zimbra" being from a Dadaist poem?

Yesss. 'Ghost Town' in a totally deserved place there.

Ghost Town from what I remember was pretty huge in Uk. Possibly got to #1. It was on Top Of The Pops a lot anyway.

xp - I'd suggest "Once in a Lifetime" might be a US version of "Ghost Town" in that its importance is in part associated with the massive effect it had on people at the time, but I could be completely wrong . For me it's definitely a good song but it lacks some of the properties that make the great Talking Heads songs great, and I wouldn't vote for it on a poll like this.

Was that track a mostly UK voter thing? I don't think I've ever even heard this before.

― _Rudipherous_, Friday, December 3, 2010 6:37 PM (39 seconds ago)

Yeah it was a huge number one hit here. The Specials were massive for about three years.

It's so great some people will discover songs like Ghost Town for the first time, this makes the list seem like a huge success.