A World of Constant Strangers: The Neil Young Results Thread

Gee, I wish Ordinary People finished higher. Such a great song.

If you're primarily a dreamer-of-pictures and run-in-the-night type (like me), please don't hit the panic button.

Another Trans track I voted for (and saved from >75 obscurity)!

anyone who thinks a bunch of synthed-out tracks and blue notes numbers tare going to score higher than Ordinary People, Transformer Man and Sample And Hold has probably already eaten the panic button

I am so happy this poll exists because I only really know the Canadian radio/campfire jams but never heard anything like Sample and Hold, for instance. This is so great! Thanks, Clemenza.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/neil70.jpg

"Words" was a late cut. Glad to see it.

Glad you were able to get a ballot in today, FFM--this poll was woefully short of Canadians and females. (Breaking news: obsessive list-making favored by males.)

and by non-Canadians?

I love the version of "Transformer Man" from unplugged but the original never did much for me.

― EZ Snappin, Monday, July 9, 2012 1:15 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

ha i voted for it purely off the Unplugged version, have never heard Trans

^ "Words" a late cut for me as well, I love the last couple minutes of that song.

never been crazy about "words", i always expect it to be better than it is.

xp Hah! Well the Neil Young I do know, I love - and thankfully years of Q107 and summers in the Kawarthas with my parents' friends ensured that I had a decent 20 song ballot. Also now that I am youtubing I am discovering that there's more I knew, but didn't know the titles of. Thanks for slipping my songs into the mix! I felt like such a shit when I realized yesterday was the deadline.

I'm with tylerw re: Words. One of my most skipped songs ever.

A rambling mess, but I've always loved it as an indecipherable mood piece (though not quite enough for my ballot). Can't remember who, but someone made a point of giving it zero points!

I love ILX!

http://phildellio.tripod.com/neil69.jpg

Never make it to those last two minutes of "Words", find it as a letdown for some reason as well and always skip it. I like his solos on it alright, but hate the chorus/vocals for some reason.

Oof. Words is so clearly the best thing on Harvest to me, a little horrified to see it so low.

Words was a late cut for me too, yay for it placing! I don't think Neil does many songs with such eccentric time signatures, so that was way cool to hear

in fact I think Words was one of my '0 pts' teary-eyed votes

old laughing lady is wonderful in all its incarnations -- really got excited about the og studio version thanks to the archives. such a weird arrangement, kind of makes me think of nick drake ("river man" in partic). and then those insane backgrund voices. nothing else really like it in neil's catalog.

I never really cared for "The Old Laughing Lady" until I found a couple of excellent covers of it. Made me rehear the song...though I don't think I've gone back and listened to the original since finding them.

Okay, I misinterpreted LLB--I thought you were saying that those were your three least favourite Neil songs.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/neil68.jpg

Sad song--my favourite from Time Fades Away, along with another that didn't place.

these are some pretty fucking random results!

voted for Transformer Man, love both the Trans and especially the Unplugged versions

I've been jamming Love In Mind over & over today. I'd never noticed it's only 1:40 'til I realised how often I had to keep skipping back.

They are random, and maybe for most people the most interesting stretch. Past today, things fall into place.

Love In Mind was another late cut. So glad others liked it enough to get it to place.

I adore "Love In Mind" -- featured it on a (long ago) mix tape for the wife. Placed it at #30 (out of 50).

aawwww, my #2 - #68 (?!?)
absolutely adore
maybe people consider it slight 'cuz it's so short?

xp ha, i put love in mind on a mixtape for my wife many years - and she hated it.

yet you still married her

It reminds me, of all things, of the Guess Who's "Sour Suite."

The lyrics grate on me some (the "Churches long preach sex is wrong" verse specifically).

xp He played Words at Glastonbury. I was like, really Neil? You're blowing a chunk of a headlining set on this?

Neil already broke up two marriages on the voting thread.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/neil67.jpg

Neil helped make my marriage happen.

"Love In Mind" and "The Old Laughing Lady" were very late cuts for me. Woulda made it into my top 50 for sure.

xp to clem: lol no those were the songs that I just couldn't manage to find room on my ballot for

Was just gonna say that Neil has probably helped/saved as many marriages as come close to ruining them. He has range.

Anyone know who that is?

Who am I to talk? I took my now-missus to see Neil in 2001 and she had to leave to sit down midway through.

believe it or not, my wife is fairly indifferent to neil young. somehow we've made it work.

Hey, my wife loved "Love In Mind" and is (probably) coming to her first NY gig with me in October!

I remember watching the Oscars broadcast when NY played his "Philadelphia" and Springsteen played his and having that AWFUL feeling in the pit of my stomach that Springsteen would win despite Neil writing a 110% more devastating and emotionally charged theme song. Not that Bruce's is bad (it's actually really good), but Neil's is bona fide tear inducing.

Had it at #27.

Pic looks like a young Ken Griffey Sr to me, but I don't think it is...

The movie is manipulative as hell at this point, but when that song plays over the fake home movie footage at the end of the movie ... waterworks.

hmm can't believe i forgot to vote for philly. maybe his best piano ballad?

my wife is a big fan of neil's contemporaries and yet can't stand neil's voice, one of the few folks who are verboten from living room play when she's home. if i'm dying to hear his stuff, I have to settle for the first Crazy Horse album.

Love in Mind, Transformer Man, Cocaine Eyes all on my ballot.