A World of Constant Strangers: The Neil Young Results Thread

Cinnamon Girl - 30
Cortez The Killer - 20
Walk On - 20
Helpless - 15
For The Turnstiles - 15
Tonight's The Night - 10
Down By The River - 10
When You Dance You Can Really Love - 10
Time Fades Away - 10
Old Man - 10
Out On The Weekend - 10
LA - 10
Ohio - 10
Last Dance - 10
Dance, Dance, Dance - 10
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - 10
Like A Hurricane - 10
Cowgirl In The Sand - 10
After The Gold Rush - 10
Hey Hey, My My - 10
Mellow My Mind - 5
Sedan Delivery - 5
Ambulance Blues - 5
Wonderin' - 5
Don't Let It Bring You Down - 5
Barstool Blues - 5
Flying On The Ground Is Wrong - 5
Unknown Legend - 5
Fuckin' Up - 5
One Of These Days - 5

Helpless - 30
Ohio - 27
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - 24
Tell Me Why - 20
You And Me - 16
Powderfinger - 13
The Old Laughing Lady - 10
Long May You Run - 9
My My, Hey Hey - 9
Cinnamon Girl - 8
Pochahontas - 8
Southern Man - 7
Cowgirl In The Sand - 7
Like A Hurricane - 6
After The Gold Rush - 6
Peace And Love - 5
Don't Cry No Tears - 5
Unknown Legend - 5
Rapid Transit - 5
Transformer Man - 5
Rockin' In The Free World - 5
When You Dance, I Can Really Love - 5
Walk On - 5
Don't Let It Bring You Down - 5
I'm The Ocean - 5
This Note's For You - 5
Fuckin' Up - 5
The Needle And The Damage Done - 5
Look Out For My Love - 5
Words (Between The Lines Of Age) - 5
From Hank To Hendrix - 5
Revolution Blues - 5
Down My The River - 5
War Of Man - 5
Cortez The Killer - 5

Ambulance Blues -- 30
Tonight's the Night -- 25
Revolution Blues -- 20
Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown -- 15
Pocahontas -- 10
Sleeps with Angels -- 10
Wonderin' -- 10
I Am a Child -- 10
Comes a Time -- 10
The Needle and the Damage Done -- 10
Philadelphia -- 10
Cinnamon Girl -- 10
Like a Hurricane -- 10
See the Sky About to Rain -- 10
Sugar Mountain -- 10
When You Dance -- 10
Mansion on the Hill -- 10
Harvest Moon -- 10
Someone's Gonna Rescue You -- 10
Big Time -- 10

1. Albuquerque - 30 pts
2. On the Way Home - 29
3. Out of My Mind - 28
4. Down by the River - 18
5. Lookout Joe - 17
6. Expecting to Fly - 16
7. Four Strong Winds - 15
8. A Man Needs a Maid - 14
9. Cinnamon Girl - 13
10. Needle and the Damage Done - 12
11. Tonight's the Night - 11
12. Wrecking Ball - 7
13. I Am a Child - 5
14. Cortez the Killer - 5
15. I Believe in You - 5
16. Down to the Wire - 5
17. Fuckin' Up - 5
18. For the Turnstiles - 5
19. Star of Bethlehem - 5
20. The Old Laughing Lady - 5
21. Broken Arrow - 5
22. Mr. Soul - 5
23. Love in Mind - 5
24. Motor City - 5
25. L.A. - 5
26. Lotta Love - 5
27. Wonderin' - 5
28. Fallin' Off the Face of the Earth - 5
29. Burned - 5
30. Walk On - 5

1. “Danger Bird” (30 points)
2. “Ambulance Blues” (30 points)
3. “Unknown Legend” (25 points)
4. “Rockin’ in the Free World (Electric)” (20 points)
5. “Tonight’s the Night” (20 points)
6. “Down By the River” (10 points)
7. “Expecting to Fly” (10 points)
8. “Fuckin’ Up” (10 points)
9. “Like A Hurricane” (10 points)
10. “Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)” (10 points)
11. “Albequerque” (10 points)
12. “Powderfinger” (10 points)
13. “Eldorado” (10 points)
14. “Helpless” (10 points)
15. “See the Sky About to Rain” (10 points)
16. “Sugar Mountain” (5 points)
17. “Razor Love” (5 points)
18. “Time Fades Away” (5 points)
19. “Old Man” (5 points)
20. “On the Beach” (5 points)
21. “Cortez the Killer” (5 points)
22. “Thrasher” (5 points)
23. “Ordinary People” (5 points)
24. “Hippie Dream” (5 points)
25. “Mr. Soul” (5 points)
26. “I’m The Ocean” (5 points)
27. “Ohio” (5 points)
28. “Mansion on the Hill” (5 points)
29. “Walk With Me” (5 points)
30. “Buffalo Springfield Again” (5 points)

Really impressed with the sheer array of songs picked in top 3s. Great variety.

top 10

30 Motion Pictures
25 Tired Eyes
25 Mellow My Mind
25 Don't Be Denied
20 Look Out For My Love
20 Revolution Blues
15 Cocaine Eyes
15 Powderfinger
15 Don't Let It Bring You Down
10 Lost In Space

next ten @ 5 points each:

Cowgirl in the Sand
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Down By The River
After the Gold Rush
Helpless
For The Turnstiles
Tonight's the Night
Like A Hurricane
Rocking in the Free World
I'm The Ocean

pretty much impossible to come up with a bad neil young ballot!

oh I dunno, I would vote in WORST NEIL YOUNG SONG poll

did ANYBODY else vote "Lost In Space"? I was kinda trolling myself, but have an irrational love for the song.....also, what happened to "Borrowed Tune"? fell out of my top 20 at the last minute, but I always thought it was people's second fave on that LP....

I'm celebrating the end of this poll by spinning Manassas...

10 POINTS EACH:

1. I Believe In You
2. Like A Hurricane
3. Time Fades Away
4. When You Dance, I Can Really Love
5. Love In Mind

8 POINTS EACH

6. Dangerbird
7. Pocahontas
8. Rockin’ In The Free World
9. Country Girl
10. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong
11. For The Turnstiles
12. Powderfinger
13. Don’t Be Denied
14. Hitchhiker
15. Fuckin’ Up
16. L.A.
17. A Man Needs A Maid (Massey Hall)
18. Heart of Gold (‘’)
19. Will To Love
20. On The Way Home
21. Cinnamon Girl
22. Down By The River
23. On The Beach
24. Cowgirl In The Sand
25. Sea of Madness
26. Love and Only Love
27. Don’t Cry No Tears
28. World on A String
29. Cortez The Killer
30. Do I Have To Come Right Out and Say It?
31. Pushed It Over The End
32. Last Dance
33. Lookout Joe
34. Don’t Cry
35. Love To Burn

7 POINTS EACH:

36. I’m The Ocean
37. Safeway Cart
38. Give Me Strength
39. I’ve Been Waiting For You
40. Goin’ Home

9. Country Girl

didn't keep my ballot, but top 3 ranked:
Pocahontas
Love In Mind
Flying On the Ground

I should clarify: 'good ballot' = 'ballot quite like mine'

hahaha, I was going to say, hey Ismael Klata, you have a good ballot too! ;)

Will to Love did place, btw! (you had it in bold)

1. Expecting to Fly
2. Out on the Weekend
3. Tell Me Why
4. Albuquerque
5. Don't Let It Bring You Down
6. Birds
7. On the Beach
8. Danger Bird
9. Bad Fog of Loneliness
10. Lotta Love
11. Soldier
12. Heart of Gold
13. L.A.
14. The Loner
15. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
16. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
17. Love in Mind
18. Ambulance Blues
19. Will to Love
20. Powderfinger
21. Tired Eyes
22. Pardon My Heart
23. Peace of Mind
24. Ohio
25. Look Out for My Love
26. Walk On
27. Cinnamon Girl
28. You and Me
29. Falling Off the Face of the Earth
30. Like a Hurricane
31. White Line
32. Don't Be Denied
33. Prime of Life
34. Drive By
35. Cortez the Killer
36. Rockin' in the Free World
37. On the Way Home
38. The Needle and the Damage Done
39. Time Fades Away
40. Borrowed Tune

"Bad Fog of Lonliness" in the top 10 is pretty awesome, even if I didn't vote for it myself.

I rarely call in here, so missed all of this completely. But I've spent the last hour or so reading through the results. Surprised, but not disappointed, by the #1.

Good to see a couple of you included Love And Only Love in your ballots. It would definitely have featured on mine - if only the version on Weld. The solo on that is one of my favourite Neil moments.

Excellent presentation, Clemenza.

Spotify playlist updated: http://open.spotify.com/user/124420673/playlist/7tIBGOFg0EDXgAz10slAJZ

Interestingly, the song that came out on top is also one of Neil's most performed songs, beaten only by Cinnamon Girl and Heart of Gold.

http://sugarmtn.org/stat.php?stat=1

Wow, I'm surprised he's only played Motion Pictures once!

My ballot.

Like a Hurricane -- 20pts
Don’t Cry -- 18
Time Fades Away -- 18
My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) -- 16
Crime In The City (Sixty To Zero Part 1) -- 16
Cocaine Eyes -- 14
The Needle And The Damage Done -- 14
Love In Mind -- 13
Blowin' In The Wind -- 13
Cortez The Killer -- 12
Helpless -- 12
The Bridge -- 12
Farmer John -- 11
Winterlong -- 11
Arc -- 10
Powderfinger -- 10
Ordinary People -- 9
Goin’ Back -- 9
Sugar Mountain -- 8
Peaceful Valley Boulevard -- 8
Long May You Run -- 7
For The Turnstiles -- 7
Ambulance Blues -- 6
LA -- 6
Lotta Love -- 5
Harvest Moon -- 5
Comes A Time -- 4
Southern Man -- 3
Ohio -- 2
Tonight’s The Night -- 1

Wow, I'm surprised he's only played Motion Pictures once!

I'm surprised he's played it at all, frankly. all of that OTB and Time Fades Away stuff seems to have dropped off his radar

ambulance blues is the only one that he's really returned to in the past decade or so, there's one on the beach from 2003, maybe a handful of don't be denieds.

favourite line from Ambulance Blues: it's easy to get buried in the past, when you try to make a good thing last.

I got to know "Motion Pictures" as a live staple by local (Knoxville) heroes the V-Roys, who did a great raging version of it. (It's even on their career-capping live album.) Actually there are an awful lot of Neil songs I first heard done by other people.

Didn't rank, but here are my picks that didn't make the cut:

I’ve Been Waiting for You
Tell Me Why
Wrecking Ball
No More
Love to Burn
Safeway Cart
Peaceful Valley Boulevard
Love is a Rose
For the Turnstiles
Country Home
Natural Beauty
Such a Woman

Granted, I made a point of trying to draw from every point in his career.

Whoops, scratch "Tell Me Why" from that.

for the turnstiles made it i think

here are the ones of mine that didn't make it (i think)

Razor Love
Surfer Joe And Moe The Sleaze
Country Home
Give Me Strength
Pushed It Over The End
Too Far Gone
Little Wing
Speakin’ Out
Through My Sails
Safeway Cart
No One Seems To Know

(10) 1. Mr. Soul (Buffalo Springfield version)
(10) 2. Cinnamon Girl
(10) 3. Like A Hurricane
(10) 4. Don't Be Denied
(10) 5. Rockin' In The Free World (electric Freedom version!)
(8) 6. Cowgirl In The Sand
(8) 7. A Man Needs A Maid
(8) 8. Powderfinger
(8) 9. Sugar Mountain
(8) 10. I'm The Ocean
(8) 11. Prisoners Of Rock'n'Roll
(8) 12. Revolution Blues
(8) 13. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong (Live At The Riverboat 1969)
(8) 14. Cortez The Killer
(8) 15. Campaigner
(8) 16. Pressure
(8) 17. Music Arcade
(8) 18. Over And Over
(8) 19. Be The Rain
(8) 20. Sample And Hold
(8) 21. Ohio
(8) 22. Southern Pacific
(8) 23. Fork In The Road
(8) 24. Natural Beauty
(8) 25. I Believe In You
(8) 26. Hawks & Doves
(8) 27. Goin' Home
(8) 28. Time Fades Away
(8) 29. Sixty To Zero (Crime In The City) (oneada live bootleg versions)
(8) 30. Look Out For My Love (the MTV Unplugged version!)
(8) 31. Prime Of Life
(8) 32. Hey Hey, My My - Into The Black
(8) 33. The Old Laughing Lady
(8) 34. Tired Eyes
(8) 35. Mideast Vacation
(7) 36. The Restless Consumer ("In The Beginning" version)
(7) 37. Shots
(7) 38. Down To The Wire
(7) 39. Peace Of Mind
(7) 40. Driveby

My non-charting cuts (DAMN that's a lot of them!):

Love Art Blues
Traces
Soldier
Sleeps With Angels
Stringman
Burned
Time Fades Away
Cripple Creek Ferry
Pushed It Over the End
I’ve Been Waiting for You
Deep Forbidden Lake
Love Is a Rose
My Heart
Shots
Old Ways
Kinda Fonda Wanda
Journey Through the Past

Flying On The Ground Is Wrong (Live At The Riverboat 1969)
otm

"Pressure" made croup's ballot! awesome

I'm probably most bummed that Hitchhiker didn't make it

powderfinger - 30
expecting to fly - 30
winterlong - 20
the loner - 20
unknown legend - 15
like a hurricane -10
philadelphia - 10
don’t let it bring you down -10
long may you run -10
tonight’s the night - 10
pocahontas - 10
computer age - 10
ohio - 10
cinnamon girl - 10
sedan delivery - 10
cortez the killer - 10
fuckin up - 10
don’t be denied - 5
i’m the ocean - 5
danger bird - 5
when you dance i can really love - 5
ambulance blues - 5
safeway cart - 5
mr soul - 5
harvest moon - 5
the old laughing lady - 5
albuquerque - 5
captain kennedy - 5
helpless - 5
cowgirl in the sand - 5

I actually had a word doc started and was trying to figure out my ballot — procrastinated too long.

Fun post, though I'm surprised 'The Old Homestead' is nowhere to be found.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Cortez The Killer
Don't Cry No Tears
Harvest
Out On The Weekend
The Losing End (When You're On)
On The Beach
Campaigner
Don't Cry
A Man Needs A Maid
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Thrasher
Motion Pictures
Eldorado
Time Fades Away
I'm The Ocean
I Believe In You
Unknown Legend
Razor Love
There Goes My Babe
Star of Bethlehem
Sugar Mountain
Cowgirl in the Sand
Music Is Love
Too Far Gone
Revolution Blues
Albuquerque
Ambulance Blues
Tired Eyes
Look Out For My Love
World On A String
Prime of Life
Down by the River
Comes A Time
Natural Beauty
Sample And Hold
Powderfinger
Such A Woman
Rockin' In The Free World
Country Home

Clemenza: you said at one point that two songs traded the top spot 'til somewhere near the end, when a third song came from nowhere. What were the songs, how did it play out?

It was "Down by the River" with the early lead, then it traded back-and-forth with "Cortez," then Powderfinger overtook them both on the 53rd or 54th ballot.

I'm just finishing the big list. Can someone remind me of the thread where you put a permalink to final results?

Thanks. I'm interested 'cos I never monitored the U2 poll as it ran, and it was only when I counted backwards that I found The Unforgettable Fire had led through most of the voting, and only fell away with the last four or five ballots. It'd've been a similarly unexpected no.1 I think.

ILM Ballot Polls: where to find the results threads

Thanks--I'm going to put the list here and link to it there.

"down by the river" is fine but i would have been bummed if it got the top spot, always preferred "cowgirl"

1) 30 Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)
2) 20 Like A Hurricane
3) 20 Sugar Mountain
4) 20 Harvest
5) 20 Ordinary People
6) 15 No More
7) 15 Here We Are In The Years
8) 15 On The Beach
9) 15 Sail Away
10) 10 After The Gold Rush
11) 10 Soldier
12) 10 Little Wing
13) 10 Don't Cry No Tears
14) 10 Cowgirl In The Sand
15) 05 Flying On The Ground Is Wrong
16) 05 I'm The Ocean
17) 05 Silver & Gold
18) 05 Broken Arrow
19) 05 Hippie Dream
20) 05 Don't Take Your Love Away From Me
21) 05 Someday
22) 05 Looking Forward
23) 05 Feel Your Love
24) 05 Thrasher
25) 05 Love In Mind
26) 05 Ambulance Blues
27) 05 Journey Through The Past
28) 05 Throw Your Hatred Down
29) 05 Weight Of The World
30) 05 Without Rings

As I told clemenza, on another day I could have picked a completely different set of songs, Neil has too many good ones to choose from.

Final Results:

75. “Ordinary People,” Chrome Dreams II (7 votes/68 points)
74. “Don’t Cry,” Freedom (7/71)
73. “Cocaine Eyes,” Eldorado (8/71)
72. “Sample and Hold,” Trans (8/77)
71. “Transformer Man,” Trans (7/78)
70. “Words (Between the Lines of Age),” Harvest (9/78)
69. “The Old Laughing Lady,” Neil Young (8/84)
68. “Love in Mind,” Time Fades Away (11/89)
67. “Philadelphia,” Philadelphia (9/93)
66. “Fuckin’ Up,” Ragged Glory (12/93)
65. “Southern Man,” After the Gold Rush (10/95)
64. “Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Part I),” Freedom (10/96)
63. “Broken Arrow,” Buffalo Springfield Again (11/96)
62. “Harvest,” Harvest (11/97)
61. “Lotta Love,” Comes a Time (13/97)
60. “I Am a Child,” Last Time Around (12/99)
59. “Lookout Joe,” Tonight’s the Night (11/104)
58. “Look Out for My Love,” Comes a Time (12/104)
57. “Unknown Legend,” Harvest Moon (11/108)
56. “Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown,” Tonight’s the Night (11/110)
55. “On the Way Home,” Last Time Around (9/115)
54. “Birds,” After the Gold Rush (12/117)
53. “Motion Pictures,” On the Beach (13/126)
52. “Long May You Run,” Long May You Run (13/129)
51. “Will to Love,” American Stars ‘n Bars (13/132)
50. “Mellow My Mind,” Tonight’s the Night (15/132)
49. “Harvest Moon,” Harvest Moon (15/135)
48. “L.A.,” Time Fades Away (14/137)
47. “The Loner,” Neil Young (16/143)
46. “See the Sky About to Rain,” On the Beach (16/148)
45. “I Believe in You,” After the Gold Rush (17/149)
44. “Sedan Delivery,” Rust Never Sleeps (18/156)
43. “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue),” Rust Never Sleeps (16/162)
42. “Don’t Cry No Tears,” Zuma (19/162)
41. “Comes a Time,” Comes a Time (18/164)
40. “Out on the Weekend,” Harvest (17/167)
39. “Barstool Blues,” Zuma (19/168)
38. “For the Turnstiles,” On the Beach (20/169)
37. “I’m the Ocean,” Mirror Ball (22/188)
36. “Danger Bird,” Zuma (18/189)
35. “Thrasher,” Rust Never Sleeps (20/189)
34. “Time Fades Away,” Time Fades Away (18/190)
33. “Winterlong,” Decade (19/194)
32. “Mr. Soul,” Buffalo Springfield Again (19/195)
31. “Walk On,” On the Beach (15/196)
30. “When You Dance I Can Really Love,” After the Gold Rush (17/197)
29. “Sugar Mountain,” 7-inch (20/197)
28. “A Man Needs a Maid,” Harvest (20/198)
27. “Don’t Be Denied,” Time Fades Away (21/220)
26. “Old Man,” Harvest (24/237)
25. “Pocahontas,” Rust Never Sleeps (26/245)
24. “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Freedom (28/254)
23. “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black),” Rust Never Sleeps (26/260)
22. “Don’t Let It Bring You Down,” After the Gold Rush (28/261)
21. “The Needle and the Damage Done,” Harvest (24/267)
20. “Heart of Gold,” Harvest (28/271)
19. “After the Gold Rush,” After the Gold Rush (28/275)
18. “Tired Eyes,” Tonight’s the Night (25/278)
17. “Albuquerque,” Tonight’s the Night (26/290)
16. “Tonight’s the Night,” Tonight’s the Night (27/308)
15. “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” After the Gold Rush (30/309)
14. “Tell Me Why,” After the Gold Rush (25/313)
13. “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,” Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (31/314)
12. “Helpless,” Déjà Vu (28/315)
11. “Revolution Blues,” On the Beach (30/319)
10. “Ohio,” 7-inch (32/323)
9. “Expecting to Fly,” Buffalo Springfield Again (25/329)
8. “On the Beach,” On the Beach (27/331)
7. “Cowgirl in the Sand,” Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (34/351)
6. “Cinnamon Girl,” Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (34/392)
5. “Ambulance Blues,” On the Beach (33/413)
4. “Like a Hurricane,” American Stars ‘n Bars (40/435)
3. “Down by the River,” Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (41/448)
2. “Cortez the Killer,” Zuma (44/480)
1. “Powderfinger,” Rust Never Sleeps (44/514)

And the Top 10 albums again, just so they’re in the same place (people were voting for songs, not albums--the points were added after-the-fact):

1. After the Gold Rush (1970) -- 11 songs/1,861 points
2. On the Beach (1974) -- 8/1,729
3. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) -- 7/1,607
4. Rust Never Sleeps (1979) -- 9/1,598
5. Tonight’s the Night (1975) -- 11/1,414
6. Harvest (1972) -- 9/1,390
7. Zuma (1975) -- 9/1,155
8. Time Fades Away (1973) -- 8/766
9. American Stars ‘n Bars (1977) -- 7/699
10. Freedom (1989) -- 10/652

so boss that powderfinger won

Highest points-per-voter among the Top 75 (intensity quotient, if you will):

1. "Expecting to Fly" (13.16)
2. "On the Way Home" (12.78)
3. "Tell Me Why" (12.52)
4. "Ambulance Blues" (12.52)
5. "On the Beach" (12.26)
6. "Powderfinger" (11.68)
7. "When You Dance I Can Really Love" (11.59)
8. "Cinnamon Girl" (11.53)
9. "Tonight's the Night" (11.41)
10. "Helpless" (11.25)

Songs from my list I most wanted to place: "Country Girl" and "Bad Fog of Loneliness" (I knew "Ocean Girl" had no chance)
High finish that puzzles me most: "Walk On"
Song from Tonight's the Night I wish had placed: "Roll Another Number (For the Road)"
Post-Rust song I was sure was going to place fairly high (and where I wasn't even close): "Over and Over"

Thanks to the action-film and horror-film polls, which got me interested in spending lots of time on the images, and also to the Paul Simon poll, where I liked the sometimes cryptic juxtapositions.

After The Gold Rush getting the most points is pretty remarkable given that its highest song was #14

who voted for Cripple Creek Ferry