Only three of my picks didn't place afaics:
Polished StonePeachSupa Shoppa
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 09:52 (twelve years ago) link
Fade Away - I do like this one but I didn't vote for two reasons. First, it's almost too unabashed in its parroting of the Specials' second album. Secondly, it's yet another song about disillusioned couples sitting steely-eyed drinking tea in a kitchen, and so it's self-parody as well.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 09:56 (twelve years ago) link
This is sending me on a B-sides binge.
― We need to talk about Bevan (DL), Thursday, 2 June 2011 09:58 (twelve years ago) link
I'd like to know where Polished Stone placed. Definitely a latter-career b-side highlight for me. Almost tempted to say it could have been a single had it not been so soporific and downtrodden.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 10:00 (twelve years ago) link
this was really fun. its been so long since i've even thought about blur.
― spellcheck is really advanced these days (cajunsunday), Thursday, 2 June 2011 10:44 (twelve years ago) link
"He thought of Blur"
― Mark G, Thursday, 2 June 2011 10:46 (twelve years ago) link
Apologies for the formatting of this list, here's the top 60 (actually 61), as sorted by excel so any ties are not shown as such:
1 This Is A Low 5852 For Tomorrow 4903 Beetlebum 4694 End Of A Century 3705 Sing 3576 Badhead 3407 Out Of Time 3038 Girls & Boys 2969 Blue Jeans 27410 The Universal 26411 Tracy Jacks 26412 Coffee & TV 25513 On Your Own 25114 To The End 23815 Tender 23116 Trimm Trabb 22017 Best Days 21618 Chemical World 20519 Clover Over Dover 19620 Trouble in the Message Centre 19321 Yuko & Hiro 19022 There's No Other Way 18923 He Thought Of Cars 18124 Popscene 17725 Death of a Party 16826 Battery In Your Leg 15227 Oily Water 14928 Resigned 14929 Theme From An Imaginary Film 14830 Battle 14431 Sweet Song 13432 Young & Lovely 13433 Caramel 12334 Advert 12235 Me, White Noise 12136 Bugman 12037 You're So Great 12038 Entertain Me 11739 She's So High 11540 All Your Life 11441 Starshaped 11242 Strange News From Another Star 11143 No Distance Left To Run 10044 Country Sad Ballad Man 9945 Song 2 9846 Essex Dogs 9747 1992 8748 Ambulance 8449 Charmless Man 7750 Parklife 7551 Country House 6952 Miss America 6953 Inertia 6254 Globe Alone 5855 Coping 5356 Magic America 5357 One Born Every Minute 5258 When The Cows Come Home 5259 Colin Zeal 5160 Intermission 5161 Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club 51
― Waking Suggs to make music to wake Suggs to (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:13 (twelve years ago) link
and here are the ones that didn't make it:
62 Stereotypes 5063 Sunday Sunday 4864 Fade Away 4765 Headist/Into Another 4766 We've Got A File On You 4767 Far Out 4668 London Loves 4669 Music Is My Radar 4670 Polished Stone 4271 Swallows in the Heatwave 4172 Trailer Park 4173 Dan Abnormal 4074 Dizzy 4075 Bustin' and Dronin' 3876 Caravan 3877 Swamp Song 3878 Don't Bomb When You're The Bomb 3679 Long Legged 3680 Uncle Love 3681 Pressure On Julian 3582 Mixed Up 3383 It Could Be You 3284 Lot 105 3185 Tame 3186 Never Clever 3087 No Monsters In Me 3088 Repetition 3089 On The Way To The Club 2990 I'm Just A Killer For Your Love 2891 Mellow Song 2892 Red Necks 2893 The Debt Collector 2894 Mr Briggs 2595 Bang 2496 Berserk 2497 Fool's Day 2498 Jets 2499 Slow Down 23100 I Know 22101 Look Inside America 21102 My Ark 21103 Explain 20104 Ultranol 19105 Luminous 17106 M.O.R. 17107 Fool 15108 Good Song 15109 Peach 15110 Bank Holiday 13111 I'm Fine 13112 Bone Bag 13113 Jubilee 12114 Supa Shoppa 12115 Theme From Retro 12116 So You 12117 BLUREMI 10118 Day Upon Day 10119 Tell Me Tell Me 10120 Trade Stylee 10
― Waking Suggs to make music to wake Suggs to (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:14 (twelve years ago) link
Good to see every album being represented in the Top 10.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:18 (twelve years ago) link
... except 13, strangely.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:19 (twelve years ago) link
Theme From An Imaginary Film is the top b-side. I love that track, but I'm surprised it did that well.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:20 (twelve years ago) link
1. Parklife (2,786)2. Modern Life Is Rubbish (1,808)3. Non-album tracks (1,535)4. Blur (1,491)5. Great Escape (1,341)6. Thinktank (1,221)7. Thirteen (1,174)8. Leisure (738)
― Waking Suggs to make music to wake Suggs to (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:33 (twelve years ago) link
Think Tank above 13. Very weird.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:37 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, wtf??
― Ernold Sock (Autumn Almanac), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:39 (twelve years ago) link
Are all those points from Out of Time I wonder? I remember when I worked in a warehouse in 2003 I overhead some of the lads talking about it saying "I like this one - it's a proper song!" and I guess I kind of knew what they meant.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:40 (twelve years ago) link
Actually 13 is far more than the sum of its parts, so really it's not that surprising.
― Ernold Sock (Autumn Almanac), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:41 (twelve years ago) link
I guess. There are very few consensus highlights on 13 - it's more of a "I like this one, but you like that one" kind of thing. Still, given how few really great songs are on Think Tank (plus a lack of big hits) it's still surprising it won out.
This thread has convinced me to definitely try and catch them next time they play live. Any idea what they're up to at the moment? Are they recording anything or planning any kind of tour, or is that it?
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 11:44 (twelve years ago) link
Nothing announced.
Planning, thesedays, = "keeping it very secret, denying everything, until the day of announcement"i.e. Album release, tour, etc.
So, who knows.
― Mark G, Thursday, 2 June 2011 12:01 (twelve years ago) link
i can imagine them doing a radiohead, yeah. I wonder if, saying they do make a new album, whether it'll be any cop at all. I did like Fool's Day, but there's no way of telling if it would work in an album context.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 12:05 (twelve years ago) link
The problem with any new Blur album would be making it sound democratic and giving Graham as much clout as Damon. I like Think Tank but I mentally file it alongside Gorillaz or The Good, the Bad and the Queen rather than other Blur records. I wonder if Damon could let go of the creative reins sufficiently to allow the old Blur chemistry to work again.
― We need to talk about Bevan (DL), Thursday, 2 June 2011 12:19 (twelve years ago) link
My biggest shock.. No one pushing for Tell Me Tell Me or Long Legged out there?
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Thursday, 2 June 2011 12:30 (twelve years ago) link
I posted before I saw the list :( at least Mixed Up got love but TMTM only voted for by me I assume. Pity! Love those Seymour songs!
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Thursday, 2 June 2011 12:33 (twelve years ago) link
Well, one thing that this thread has shown is that they did a heck of a lot of work over their active years.
And, the work they would do in the future, potentially, is of the same ilk as before (recording, touring, media, etc)
Whereas a bunch of re-unioned bands would have a couple of members who virtually dropped out/retired, and one who carried on majorly (e.g. the VU).
Again, the world is much the same in 2011 as it was in 2003.
― Mark G, Thursday, 2 June 2011 12:33 (twelve years ago) link
Ah, Pressure on Julian didn't make the top 60, so that's two songs from my list that didn't make it.
113 Jubilee 12
This is a surprise. Also Peach at #109.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Thursday, 2 June 2011 12:37 (twelve years ago) link
A little surprised that M.O.R. didn't feature much higher up the chart, Albarn's best Bowie knockoff. Didn't make it into my 22 but would've made my 30.
― Cluster the boots (Billy Dods), Thursday, 2 June 2011 12:40 (twelve years ago) link
Does anyone rate "All We Want", the Tender b-side? Always liked that, though not quite enough to include in my list.
― Duane Barry, Thursday, 2 June 2011 13:16 (twelve years ago) link
@MarkG I know I'm a weird atypical Blur fan for a start, because my favourite albums are Leisure and 13 and my least favourite is probably Parklife (only because I don't even consider Think Tank a Blur album really) but I've always been a weird atypical Blur fan, even at the height of my participation in Blur fandom (online or otherwise).
― Karen D. Tregaskin, Thursday, 2 June 2011 13:37 (twelve years ago) link
Duane: it's pretty great! I haven't heard that in a long time. I was much more about All Your Life in terms of their three-letter titles starting with All though..
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Thursday, 2 June 2011 13:54 (twelve years ago) link
dammit I should have voted
It only would have been for 4 songs but it would have pushed "Music Is My Radar" into the countdown
― Tom Skerritt Mustache Ride (DJP), Thursday, 2 June 2011 13:57 (twelve years ago) link
Beetlbum is as an amazing song. I remember someone at the time saying how amazing it was that a song which is half instrumental could get to number one.
― spellcheck is really advanced these days (cajunsunday), Thursday, 2 June 2011 14:49 (twelve years ago) link
lol I was finding "Beetlebum" incredibly boring until the singing stopped
― low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy (DJP), Thursday, 2 June 2011 14:56 (twelve years ago) link
half instrumental? I have to listen to it again now.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 14:57 (twelve years ago) link
Missed the poll. Would've voted for "Popscene" just because it reveals something important about Damon Albarn (that he's a spastic smartarse). Top songs would've been from 13 though... I love that album. Tender goes on a long time and is kind of obvious (big gospel chorus etc.), but I like to imagine the catharsis of having 10,000 fans in an arena singing "get through it" with you. "Coffee and TV" is an introvert anthem but (maybe appropriately) really hard to sing along with.
― can't remember why i picked this awful name (forapper), Thursday, 2 June 2011 15:26 (twelve years ago) link
Let me rephrase. My favourite Blur albums are Leisure and side 2 of 13. If the whole of 13 were like the second half of it, it would be my favourite, but because it isn't, Leisure is.
― Karen D. Tregaskin, Thursday, 2 June 2011 15:37 (twelve years ago) link
Also Modern Life Is Rubbish >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Parklife but mainly because of the super aggro bass sound on MLIR, like I swear Alexander the James' music man actually grew TEETH on some of those songs.
― Karen D. Tregaskin, Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:03 (twelve years ago) link
Parklife is a nimbler, more streamlined version of MLIR really. It repeats a lot of tricks, but somehow I still prefer Parklife because it's absolutely all killer whereas there are tracks like Turn It Up and Coping, plus a few dull hoary moments towards the beginning which aren't bad in themselves, but kind of weigh MLIR down.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:11 (twelve years ago) link
Man you are so wrong. Coping and Turn It Up are gr8! Turn It Up especially just has the most amazing little melodic hook and of course one of Alex's trademark "I'm supposed to playing root note & kick on this one-chord bit, but instead I'm going to wander about the fretboard like a ferret in a cage" riffs.
The only songs I skip on MLIR are Blue Jeans and Miss America. (Both of which placed, which is mad crazy talk to me.)
― Karen D. Tregaskin, Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:16 (twelve years ago) link
I listened to "Blue Jeans" yesterday for the first time and thought it was really, really boring.
― low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy (DJP), Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:18 (twelve years ago) link
they're due some remasters but i guess we're getting them at their 20 year anniversary point like Suede's/ Manics' / Primals etc maybe not Leisure though..
― piscesx, Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:19 (twelve years ago) link
yeah I never got the Blue Jeans love. baffles me to this day.
― piscesx, Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:20 (twelve years ago) link
But but I rlly rlly want a remaster of the Japanese version of Leisure...
"She's So High""There's No Other Way""Bang""I Know""Slow Down""Repetition""Bad Day""Sing""High Cool""Come Together""Inertia""Mr. Briggs""Fool""Birthday""Wear Me Down"
(the only way I get to not have to choose between Sing and I Know. I fucking love I Know (it's that damn bassline) but it's a crime that Sing was left off the US release for it.)
― Karen D. Tregaskin, Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:30 (twelve years ago) link
Blue Jeans isn't bad, but it's not THAT good, and that's another prob I have with MLIR is that some songs are duplicated on the album (Blue Jeans/Resigned very similar in feel), whereas no two songs on Parklife sound the same at all.
Do not actually take issue with MLIR btw, just saying why Parklife edges out.
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 16:31 (twelve years ago) link
and here are the ones that didn't make it:63 Sunday Sunday 48
63 Sunday Sunday 48
― Ernold Sock (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 3 June 2011 08:17 (twelve years ago) link
I made a youtube playlist of the top 60 (61) songs:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PL6B4E0C64EF241DEF&feature=mh_lolz
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Friday, 3 June 2011 08:48 (twelve years ago) link
I made that CD of the "MLIR" draft 1 tracks.
Will play it later and report back...
― Mark G, Friday, 3 June 2011 08:51 (twelve years ago) link
I'm sad this poll is over now... did someone say they were thinking of doing the same with Pavement tracks?
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Friday, 3 June 2011 09:06 (twelve years ago) link
iirc Johnny Fever said he wants one but doesn't feel up to running it. I'll start an XTC one in a couple of weeks.
― Ernold Sock (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 3 June 2011 09:09 (twelve years ago) link
That means I'm gonna have to get some XTC albums outside the greatest hits comp (which I love, but have never considered exploring outside of).
― broodje kroket (dog latin), Friday, 3 June 2011 09:18 (twelve years ago) link
ha!
― Ernold Sock (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 3 June 2011 09:21 (twelve years ago) link
You just couldn't do a poll like this with Oasis tracks:
1) Not many 'undiscovered' gems2) A heck of a lot of songs that are "ok I suppose, ho hum"3) never really 'tried something new which didn't quite work'
The closest parallell is "This is a low" to "Champagne Supernova". Beyond that, there's not much that matches up. Oh, "She's so high" is a bit like Oasis, that's it...
― Mark G, Friday, 3 June 2011 09:33 (twelve years ago) link