A World of Constant Strangers: The Neil Young Results Thread

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

(I voted for Oh Lonesome Me)

Post-Rust song I was sure was going to place fairly high (and where I wasn't even close): "Over and Over"

This was actually in regular rotation on MTV in 1991. Granted, said rotation was around 3am, but it was 3am every day for about two weeks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mzo51vF0OQ&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL1D1AE27FE928AA35
(I have no idea why I was up at 3am every day for two weeks in 1991)

(ok, that was supposed to be the "Over and Over" video)

All 11 Gold Rush songs got votes, ranging from a low of 43 to a high of 313. I voted for "Cripple Creek Ferry," also four others. (Everybody Knows and On the Beach have four and three fewer songs than Gold Rush, and that makes a difference.)

Danger Bird >>> Cortez

Alfred otm here...Cortez is a great jam but I hate the lyrics so much. I did give Cortez 5 points though.

Thanks for an almighty poll, clemenza!

Sample and Hold 25
Expecting to Fly 20
Revolution blues 20
Ambulance blues 20
Journey through the past 10
Only love can break your heart 10
See the sky about to rain 10
Mr. Soul 10
Broken Arrow 10
Hey hey, my my 10
Transformer man 10
Harvest Moon 10
Winterlong 10
Helpless 10
Such a woman 10
Ohio 10
Bad fog of loneliness 10
Natural beauty 10
Danger Bird 10
Down by the river 10
Country girl 10
War of man 5
Star of Bethlehem 5
Old man 5
Cortez the Killer 5
Mellow my mind 5
Cowgirl in the sand 5
Motion pictures 5
Last trip to Tulsa 5
Peaceful valley boulevard 5

1. Harvest Moon
2. Don't Let It Bring You Down
3. Cinnamon Girl
4. On the Way Home
5. Lotta Love
6. You and Me
7. When You Dance I Can Really Love
8. It's My Time
9. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
10. Oh, Lonesome Me
11. Ohio
12. Old Man
13. The Needle and the Damage Done
14. Mr. Soul
15. My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)
16. Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
17. Expecting to Fly
18. Tell Me Why
19. Cowgirl in the Sand
20. Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing
21. Long May You Run
22. Rockin' in the Free World
23. Whatever Happened to Saturday Night
24. I've Been Waiting for You
25. Southern Man
26. Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown
27. Will to Love
28. Hey Babe
29. Like a Hurricane
30. Down by the River

- Surprised "Clancy" and "Oh, Lonesome Me" didn't place.
- Surprised "Will to Love" and "Come on Baby Let's Go Downtown" did.
- Not surprised, but disappointed "You and Me" and "It's My Time" didn't place

I don't mind "Cortez" as a jam, but the lyrics really kill it for me.

I LOVE Cortez as a jam but yeah the lyrics are dumb

songs from my ballot that didn't make it

9) The Losing End (When You're On)
14) If I Could Have Her Tonight
15) Down To The Wire
17) Burned
18) Human Highway
22) Oh, Lonesome Me
23) The Emperor of Wyoming
28) Till The Morning Comes
30) Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)

there were 4-5 songs that did make the top 75 that I would have voted for if i had not thrown my ballot together so haphazardly

ok i'm gonna look like an idiot here maybe or maybe i'm regurgitating conventional wisdom but how do ppl read 'cortez'? do they read it as a straightforward song about cortez? not saying this is wrong, it very probably isn't, this is neil young, but the way i've read it the dumbness of the first 6 verses is intentional and maybe neccessary, that those first 6 verses are a daydream or digression and the song only moves into present tense and the actual protagonist is revealed in the 'and i know she's living there' verse, that the song is a variation on 'by the time i get to phoenix' sorta w/ the protagonist thinking of cortez conquering and destroying this paradise and how that mirrors how he destroyed his paradise (and it's not hard to believe, guy's a dumbass, cf. his take on the aztecs), w/ the final 'cortez, what a killer' the narrator hanging his head in shame. why do i keep fuckin up etc.

it could be also that 'cortez is about regret' cuz so many of my fave neil young songs (including my top two) are basically about regret.

it could be also that I THINK 'cortez is about regret' rather

neil shrugs enough about it that there isn't any wrong way to read it

i always thought cortez was neil being maybe a lil too upfront about how much he romanticizes native america and the first nations? like pocahontas rides the line, and manages it, but cortez was what neil did instead of hanging up a dreamcatcher and getting a kokopelli tattoo, i dunno

i'd like to be wrong though!

an innaresting reading

POWDERFINGER

actually, now that i think about it, that reggae-ified coda on Live Rust might have been the wrong way to read it

but yeah any take that involves yearning, regret, wistfulness, etc is plenty right

still wish i could find that quote from erstwhile ilxor stormy davis (grumpier than morbs, even, bless 'im) that said something like "powderfinger is the most important song ever recorded". totally had a moment where i read that, put on powderfinger, and then thought "damn."

the reggae-fied coda on LR is probably a singer trying to keep boredom at bay afte 2000 performances

haha here's where i confess i've never actually listened to live rust (which is doubly weird cuz i LOVE neil young live albums - big year of the horse stan, etc) and you dudes tossing words like 'reggae' around in the context of neil young is not exactly doing anything to change that.

the reggae part is akin to Neil burping midsong

A friend said this in an e-mail today in reference to "Cortez": "unlike that fabled Franco government, I am a Spaniard who feels this song tells my own story quite accurately."

Having said that, I think it's a dead-end trying to analyze the song too closely as words on a page. (Nothing wrong with that, and the stuff above is interesting.) I know it's more literal than mid-'60s Dylan stuff like "Desolation Row" or "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," but I do think it's Neil's version of that. He's got a song floating around in his head, and he's just attaching some words...against interpretation and all that.

Or maybe a bunch of words setting up the one line: "I still can't remember when or how I lost my way." Coming out of the '73-75 period, that line seems very straightforward.

balls, skip to 6:05 for a taste

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSj5yOK_mt4

or you can start at the beginning and let the majesty unfold

when I saw Bryan Ferry perform "A Song For Europe" in 2010 he mimicked a southern accent. What's weirder?

Haven't listened to Live Rust in ages...would have been happier without that reminder! (The reggae schtick, I mean.)

Mine that didn't place:

Pardon My Heart
Hangin' On A Limb
Stringman
Country Girl: Whiskey Boot Hill/Down, Down, Down/Country Girl (I Think You're Pretty)
Ride My Llama
The Bridge
After The Garden (I'm fond of this, and snuck it in at #30, but I suspect it might have been its only vote!)