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

waterloo sunset has had too much said about it but for the guy who YAWNed at YRGM, i love that song.

So, staggerlee, would you say the Beatles were the most omnipresent music ever, except maybe behind Christmas music? Because if so, I know a thread for you...

This is one of the trademark Bowie songs that's never done a damn thing for me. Where's Golden Years?

One of my favorites, and one of the 3 Bowie tracks I voted for.

nice. i voted heroes at #13, so i can't complain with where it placed at all. obviously just a fantastic song.

I'm pretty meh about both 'Superstition' and 'Heroes', to be perfectly honest.

So, staggerlee, would you say the Beatles were the most omnipresent music ever, except maybe behind Christmas music? Because if so, I know a thread for you...

ITT: Tell The Beatles to Fuck Off

Yeah I am also a humungous Bowie fan who thinks "'Heroes'" is a bit boring.

Yes I hate when people think The Beatles are the most omnipresent music ever. I could play the 'strawberry fields' intro to all of my friends and I think less than half would actually recognize it.

Ha, LJ, I was actually thinking of the Whiney thread. That thread seems more purpose built for me.

So, staggerlee, would you say pizza is the most omnipresent food ever, except maybe behind cooked/steamed rice? Because if so, I know a thread for you...

Shit that comment upthread probably got me a few SBs.

might as well be the Fripp masturbation

Fetchboy, that Stevie video has the edge for dancing - but I prefer the extended jam with full band on Sesame Street.

'superstition' is nice, just overplayed, which has dulled me to everything that's good about it.

Can't get with everything posted today but a few classix for sure. Fripp masturbation line gonna haunt y'all.

I'm slowly beginning to realize that it seems likely this poll will have no Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Jacques Brel, Sarah Vaughan, Edith Piaf, or Frank Sinatra. Even though the top 25 has been mostly good so far, the lack of those giants seems all kinds of wrong, especially considering that artistically limited bands like Smiths or Joy Division have multiple songs in the top 100.

this thread (list) has really got me obsessing over 'surf's up'. i've been playing it over and over the last couple of days, having previously not given it its due.

I voted for some Fripp and Eno mutual masturbation.

surfin usa > xp

I'm slowly beginning to realize that it seems likely this poll will have no Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Jacques Brel, Sarah Vaughan, Edith Piaf, or Frank Sinatra. Even though the top 25 has been mostly good so far, the lack of those giants seems all kinds of wrong, especially considering that artistically limited bands like Smiths or Joy Division have multiple songs in the top 100.

the last bit is completely otm, the first bit probably otm too

I only listened to David Bowie's Heroes after I heard the Wallflowers cover. I think that made me appreciate it even more. Killer bassline!

oh my god, an overwhelmingly former-and-current indie audience voted a bunch of classic rock and indie heroes into the top 100 songs of the century over a bunch of jazz standards, surely this is the most unexpected result to come out of this poll aside from the shocking lack of Britten

tuomas - screw that, it has no eric b and rakim, nas, melle mel or premo. or grandmaster flash! seriously, no planet rock? i will be slightly annoyed

heroes is nice though.

Exactly how are The Smiths and Joy Division "artistically limited", Tuomas?

Ignoring Tuomas' personal (and thus inevitably wrong) opinion of 'artistically limited', I do think it's a shame that we don't even have a token from some of those big players. I don't even like half of them, but we definitely need more variation again.

xpost We *definitely* need 'Paid In Full' to make an appearance.

yeah sean. I'm a grump. Musicians playing on Sesame Street and the Muppet Show etc. is always a big turn-off for me. I'd much rather get inspired by awesome dance moves than watch a bunch of puppets getting down to a song.

11. KATE BUSH "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" (1985) [2,446 points, 27 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuLlwUaEyr0

tuomas - screw that, it has no eric b and rakim, nas, melle mel or premo. or grandmaster flash! seriously, no planet rock? i will be slightly annoyed

I think "Planet Rock" and "The Message" still have some chances of showing up. But yeah, if neither of them is in the top 100, that is equally baffling and wrong.

xp - If "Love Hangover" had placed, I would have posted the crazy Muppet Show video.

lol

I love this song to bits, but coming on the heels of Tuomas and a hoy hoy's posts underlines my sarcasm nicely

lol ILM

xpost to johnny fever

great song but only my 4th favorite on that record after "hello earth", "cloudbusting", and "hounds of love"

Only things I could think of to nominate for this tbh were "Devil Got My Woman" - which somebody else nominated and I assume finished nowhere, fuck you very much - and Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question, which clearly couldn't hope to outgun something as great as "This Charming Man". So the lesson is: don't play, just bitch.

I'm slowly beginning to realize that it seems likely this poll will have no Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Jacques Brel, Sarah Vaughan, Edith Piaf, or Frank Sinatra. Even though the top 25 has been mostly good so far, the lack of those giants seems all kinds of wrong, especially considering that artistically limited bands like Smiths or Joy Division have multiple songs in the top 100.

Too bad not enough 70-80 year olds post on ILM. I agree with you that its ridiculous and that the poll has for the most part ignored the first half of the 20th century, but I think there's just a certain distance to that era that keeps the music from being very emotionally resonant with the population of people voting in this poll; and I think for the most part people went with music they were subjectively most connected to emotionally, rather than analytically picking "the most important songs." This was a "BEST" poll and not a "Most Important/Influential" so I think people largely went with what satisfies them subjectively and pre-50s stuff just doesn't seem to be it.

I did everything I could during nominations and with my own ballot to get pre-1960 music in the top 125, but it was largely a failed mission.

Any chance of getting the whole top ten over and done with now? I've got to go out in ten minutes.

2nd Kate Bush song, right? #11 is pretty wtf but whatev

top 10 gonna be wall to wall steely dan and fleetwood mac iirc, maybe a smattering of 'you set the scene' which hey I voted for

nice. an incredible 27 votes too. so much for running up that hill/cloudbusting vote-splitting

3rd kate song

'you set the scene' has been totally robbed if it doesn't crack the top 125.

Exactly how are The Smiths and Joy Division "artistically limited", Tuomas?

Compared to the artists I mentioned their stylistic and sonic range as well as skill level is considerably narrower. Sure, they might've been able to do "that one thing" that indie kids love, but IMO to be a giant you have to have a done a lot of things, and done them well.

Any chance of getting the whole top ten over and done with now? I've got to go out in ten minutes.

Nope, but you'll have it to come back to later.

Okay, if it does end up being Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac then you should all be very thankful I'm going out, as I would be swearing up and down this thread.

Still hoping for The Shaggs. Surprise #1, maybe?

And don't worry, JF, I *was* joking.

Yeah, I love The Smiths and Joy Division, but to claim they have much more than one trick would be dishonest.

Viceroy OTM!

xp It's not about tricks.

The earliest track on my ballot was 1954 (it hasn't placed) but I've no regrets about that - I voted for songs that resonate with me - I haven't broken it down by year/decade but I know there was a lot from the '80s/'90s. Picking the most important tracks didn't come into it (though that would've been an interesting exercise).

Too bad not enough 70-80 year olds post on ILM.

But a lot of ILXors are in their 20s or early 30s, so all of the 60s and 70s tunes in this poll are equally historical to them - they weren't alive, or at least not conscious, when they originally came out.