CLASSIC ROCK TRACKS POLL: THE RESULTS

I'm from the part of the country where traffic stops every afternoon, we get out of our cars and "Freebird" plays over the radio speakers

this should be turned into a tv series. would be better than "the leftovers."

http://i.imgur.com/bwlfl1u.jpg

64. Peter Gabriel – Solsbury Hill
974 points, 16 votes

This was top 20 for me. "Tom Sawyer" was top 5 obv.

This was one of those weird out-of-place videos on MTV when it first came on.

Having seen some extended blocks of early early MTV recently, it was largely composed of weird out-of-place videos. They had a lot of time to fill, and there were an awful lot of older band that were trying their awkward level best to remain on the cusp of relevance. I wish I could remember which completely cringeworthy Starship video I saw which in no way indicated that they would someday gain a toehold in the age of music videos.

Solsbury Hill is a good song, but the impact has been somewhat weakened by its appearance in every movie trailer ever.

I'd guess "Jane" or "Miracles".

At this point, I'm convinced the No. 1 song of this ilxor.com/ILM poll will be "Cars" by Gary Numan.

I think the CR radio I've experienced has been much...beefier? brawnier? bro-down-ier? than that with which some of you are familiar. Much as I love "Solsbury Hill", it has absolutely no association with CR radio in my brain.

this one being the best: http://youtu.be/KmkVWuP_sO0

xxp

a whole lot of these songs have baggage now from soundtracks/trailers, but for the most part i'm able to shake it off

Listening to "Tom Sawyer" now and you know, I think of this as a song I like, but in fact its particular brand of bombasticism isn't working for me anymore. I get more actual pleasure from hearing "Come Sail Away" or even "Too Much Time On My Hands."

OK, skipping to "Limelight," always my favorite from this record. OK -- NOW I'm accepting the bombasticism. Starts with a riff instead of a foreboding synthfart.

But even here! It's SLOWER than I remembered. Less urgent. The big reverb on the guitars in the chorus (is it a chorus?) sounds terrible now.

I have switched over to "Turn It On Again." No less bombastic, surely. But when Phil Collins says "Down on my luck again. Down on my luck again" you feel something is actually going on, while when Geddy talks about "society" it just sounds like he's writing a term paper.

ditto xp to old lunch

I have a feeling that if any of the songs that got a lot of write-in talk are going to show up, it'll be soon. Hard to imagine any of them making the top 40.

I thought about playing "Sweet Home Alabama" to try to catch the faint "Southern Man" quote, but that would mean I'd have to listen to SHA and, and, NAW.

Please let all the Blue Sky related songs place.

PINK FLOYD RULES

But hey. I'm from the part of the country where traffic stops every afternoon, we get out of our cars and "Freebird" plays over the radio speakers.

― pplains, Tuesday, July 29, 2014 3:05 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

at last, we finally understand what REM was trying to do with "Everybody Hurts."

gr8080's link is suuuuper key for anybody who hasn't seen it yet, still cracks me up. "Solsbury Hill" is great, obviously, but I cut it pretty early as something I'm not sure I ever heard on CR radio. Maybe in more recent years, I guess? I know Genesis should grandfather solo Gabriel in, but IME he didn't seem to really click into where the format was going.

eephus OTM about term-paper rock, Rush are boring but I wouldn't change the channel on "Limelight," which does sidestep the "oops, a groove, better run" quality that Old Lunch identifies and which I bitched about on the other thread re: Spirit of the Radio. It's not even like they're avoiding a groove, it's like they really can't tell the difference between a groovy part and something else.

My old roommate and pal's dad used to insist, casually, that back in his college days, his band's main rival in town was Steve Miller's, but that he didn't begrudge his former equal's success, as fame takes its toll too: "You should see Steve these days! He's a mess!" I was never convinced the chronology or geography of this worked at all, but I would also totally respect a dude whose imagined, bogus musical rival was Steve Miller.

I love this.

Hard to see any write-ins making it tbh - a dozen votes is a high hurdle.

I only heard the "Solsbury Hill" from the live '82 album.

xps to some dude - that's true for most of these for me, but Solsbury Hill has become such a clichéd signifier for "there's gonna be some heavy shit, but don't worry, it ends happily" that it's hard for me to think of it out of that context.

I still have dim hopes for "Amie," though tbh given how unpredictable some of the results have been, I'm not sure it would have placed even if it'd been in the noms list! But maybe. It's been a darn country list so far, that should favor the Pure Prairie League.

My #1! I know it isn't the most CR of CR tunes, but I can't help myself, I love me some Rush.

― odd proggy geezer (Moodles), Tuesday, July 29, 2014 7:00 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

My #2! PROG HUGS TO YOU FRIEND

What I like about "Tom Sawyer" (or anything else from that album, really) is actually pretty different from what I like about "Come Sail Away". It's more 'Apollonian', more about the elegance of its construction, how the different lines and parts interlock. There's always a strong sense of clarity for me despite the complexity and busy-ness of the texture? It's closer to how I appreciate something like mid-90s Aphex Twin, actually.

I know people keep citing it as a cliche, but can anyone actually name a movie trailer that uses Solsbury Hill that isn't that recut Shining trailer?

I heard Solsbury Hill driving into work this morning -- it's one of those songs that makes me tear up inexplicably, I have no idea what it is that makes me weepy

I really love it though

xpost didn't Vanilla Sky use it?

Yeah, I'm no film buff but I don't have that association with it at all.
2xpost

lol at Solsburry Hill considered classic rock.

Here's an example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPqVNMdx2cU

It's top 100 on the CHEZ and Q107 lists fwiw.
xpost

I'm getting the impression that some people have much more rockist CR stations.

Hey, whats the opposite of Prog?

Yeah... I don't care either, but here's a David Bowie song:

http://i.imgur.com/eXB4L1S.jpg

63. David Bowie – Rebel Rebel
984 points, 16 votes

Not my Bowie picks, but it belongs imo

xxpost: Yes I suppose classic rock stations play it, but I meant even the most saccharine Nancy Sinatra songs sound more ballsy than this song. It sounds weird with 'rockier' songs by its side.

It's as if CR stations only play it because it features that guy from Genesis.

Because Genesis was all about balls-out rock satori?

I wish I could remember which completely cringeworthy Starship video I saw which in no way indicated that they would someday gain a toehold in the age of music videos.

― Butthole Phlebotomy (Old Lunch), Tuesday, July 29, 2014 3:13 PM (30 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Was it "No Way Out"?
http://youtu.be/LQijT1lcR68

(maybe not, since this is from 1984. But I remember it being on MTV all the goddamn time that summer)

Solsbury Hill definitely sounds more mannered and arty than most of what's on CRR playlists, but it's an acceptable outlier at this point.

This and the Ziggy Stardust singles, "Modern Love," and "Changes" were the only Bowie singles I heard on my CR station.

REBEL REBEL

this is the only Bowie I voted for

"Rebel Rebel" one of my least favorite of Bowie's smashes. It's fine, good riff, it just sorta wears out its welcome.

Definitely feel like stations are way more likely to play Solsbury Hill now than in the 90s, say, but I have no data to back this up, just a vague sense that artier/college/iPad commercial sensibilities have trickled into the programming, if certainly not as visibly as 80s hard rock and early alt-rock megahits.

Suspect "Changes" is quietly one of Bowie's biggest CR songs. I hear "Fame" enough though, and "Young Americans."

I've heard "Space Oddity" quite a bit on Classic Rock.

"Rebel Rebel" one of my least favorite of Bowie's smashes. It's fine, good riff, it just sorta wears out its welcome.

This, basically. I would have zero issues with it if it felt like something more than a faded carbon copy of the big guns he'd brought out on the previous two albums.

Because Genesis was all about balls-out rock satori?

― EveningStar (Sund4r)

touche

I'm all about the endlessly circling riff.

"Solsbury Hill" was a staple of AOR/CR in the '80s, at least where I grew up. It has a weird time signature, totally classic rock!

reminds me of being a v little kid

love when i hear "amie" on the radio it's always so surprising

this thread is impossible to keep up with i think i need a desk job

I heard "Amie" while I was waiting in line at Walgreens on Saturday. I sang along.*

*I was carrying an infant, which excuses a significant amount of public singing.

It has a weird time signature, totally classic rock!

If only this were the criteria!