Twenty-five, don't recall a time I felt this alive, so Wake Up Poll, there's so many things for us to do - The Boo Radleys (ILM artist poll #60) --- Voting open until Friday April 17, 2015

That picture is amazing.

Cover Songs:

Alone Again Or - Love (7th April 1991) John Peel
Boo! Faith (True Faith) - New Order (7th April 1991) John Peel
There She Goes - The La's (July 27, 1993) So I Married An Axe Murderer soundtrack
Tomorrow - Bugsy Malone (from the aborted Kingsize single)
One of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) - Bob Dylan

any others?

Boom! looking forward to this.

Blimey, I'm going to be away for most of this time period.

I'm sure I'll get one in though.

already have a ballot in.

Hey Bee OK - 'Zoom' from Wishing I Was Skinny is a cover.

Just sent my ballot. Oh man, I'm so excited about this poll, and listening to loads of Boos stuff again.

haha, i already have more ballots then replies in this thread.

since this thread probably won't get a lot of replies, i'm going to do a song of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPl-zTRLQbI

I can't really remember much about Boo Radleys songs but I saw them in HMV in Liverpool playing stuff from the Giant Steps record when they did an in-store performance - they were really good guys. I don't remember about a lot of what they did apart from Kaleidoscope which I adored. I know you won't allow a one song vote but that track sounded f.great to a 13 year old kraudive. So yeah - you should all vote for the shoegaze / noise wash of Kaleidoscope.

xp WOW!!

Voted.

Pretty easy to do my songs list. They're one of the bands I've listened to most in my life. I know their albums inside out.

"Hey George Michael, you don’t know me but I know you very well. They can’t take that away from you.. "

i'm going to do a song of the day

I've probably said this already on some Boos thread or other, but I much prefer the album version of Kaleidoscope to the single. The singing's better for one thing, but the main thing is the ending. The ending of the single is a bit annoyingly upbeat where the album version sounds tortured.

a song that is very dear to my heart, will explain in the roll out if it makes it. can't find on youtube, three minutes of pure bliss.

"Put Your Arms Around Me and Tell Me Everything's Going To Be OK"

http://www.song365.cc/track/the-boo-radleys-put-your-arms-around-me-and-tell-me-everything039s-going-to-be-ok.-695092.html

it will be the song of the weekend.

Not sure how well known that song is. I bought Kingsize in October 98 when it came out but wasn't aware of its existence until a couple of years ago when I got the U.S. version.

How did I forget about PYAAMATMEOK when I voted? The best bsides band of all time imo

This is the b-side I think I love most. The way it bursts open after a minute or so where you're not sure what it's going to do...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLTTZACgcRE

Been doing a bit of re-listening for this poll. A few things occur to me:
1) While I really liked quite a few of the Ichabod & I songs back at the time, it's very difficult to listen to them against what came later because the production is just so different. They sound very lo-fi, not in a good way.
2) Although I know the names of the songs on Everything's Alright Forever, and I recognise all of the tunes, I am incapable of matching those names to the tunes.
3) It's very difficult to judge Butterfly McQueen and Rodney King as separate songs as they're part of the same thing for me

Been busily re-listening too. Seems I'm somewhat likely to vote for ALL of the second side of EAF. Didn't see that coming.

One reason "Rodney King" seems to me like a substantial standalone piece is because I hesitated to buy Giant Steps long enough that the relatively expansive St Etienne remix, heard via radio, became a (slightly misleading) selling point for the album!

Can I assume that for ballot purposes Learning To Walk is not really an album? (Fondness for it being an added incentive to turn one's attention to the EP poll...)

I think the complete list of cover songs (thanks for the help):

Alone Again Or – Love
Boo! Faith (True Faith) - New Order
There She Goes - The La's
Zoom! – Fat Larry’s Band
The Queen Is Dead – The Smiths
4st7lbs – Manic Street Preachers
Tomorrow – Bugsy Malone
One of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) - Bob Dylan

damn, let's try this again:

Covers

Alone Again Or – Love
Boo! Faith (True Faith) - New OrderThere She Goes - The La's
Zoom! – Fat Larry’s Band
The Queen Is Dead – The Smiths
]4st7lbs – Manic Street Preachers
Tomorrow – Bugsy Malone
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvGsIE8VnQ8] One of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) - Bob Dylan

i think i got it right now:

Alone Again Or – Love
Boo! Faith (True Faith) - New Order
There She Goes - The La's
Zoom! – Fat Larry’s Band
The Queen Is Dead – The Smiths
4st7lbs – Manic Street Preachers
Tomorrow – Bugsy Malone
One of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) - Bob Dylan

I'll definitely be putting a ballot in for this! I've been reminded of how much I love this song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ZPmNR1dpw

Also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1KH0XCQX78

I was re listening to Wake Up and it's a seriously underrated album. Cmon Kids has aged a lot worse.

The singles are probably the weakest songs on Wake Up. Twinside, Stuck On Amber and Reaching Out From Here are my favourite songs on there. C'Mon Kids has dated a bit but it's still one of my favourites as it's the album that got me into them.

I've always assumed that Wake Up! just got overexposed in the UK or something, provoking a backlash. I think it's great as well, and have never gotten why it's not highly rated.

I have never heard anything off Wake Up (apart from that single). I suppose I might as well give it a listen now otherwise I'll never have a reason too.

The one of the biggest misconceptions about this band is that people assume Wake Up! is all full of songs like 'Wake Up Boo!', and it really isn't. 'Find The Answer Within' and 'It's Lulu' (the other singles) come the closest. I think Wake Up! and C'mon Kids both sound dated these days, which is to be expected, really. They both sound like albums made in the '90s. I think I prefer C'mon Kids of the two, though.

fwiw, I've just listened to it for the first time. I quite liked 'Joel', 'Martin, Doom!...' and the ending of 'Charles Bukowski is Dead', but I'm not going to vote for any of them at this late stage.

so to answer some questions. first i didn't know how many people would be willing to do the Singles/EP's part of this poll. i knew i was a big enough geek to look at four songs and compare but didn't know if it would be good for this poll. the good news is everyone but one has submitted a ballot with singles/ep's included, so that is a huge win for this poll. originally i was going to ask for your Top 13 then it was going to be Top 10 as five didn't seem like enough. so finally decided that a Top 7 would probably work best.

song of the day (Foster's Van) from the Boo Up! E.P. and the comp Learning to Walk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeo06Go_4Do

i don't know anything pre-everything's alright forever, let alone and bsides. but i know the album very well and will be voting in this.

AHEM

i don't know anything pre-everything's alright forever, let alone any bsides. but i know the albums very well and will be voting in this.

what happened to the fire that got you through, the days when nothing went right for you

"put your arms around me" was inserted into the middle of the U.S. edition of kingsize and it's like why was it not thrown in there instead of, say, the abominable FREE HUEY

i would like to hear sice collaborate with jim steinman

what the hell is this?!?!? http://www.discogs.com/Boo-Radleys-Find-The-Way-Out/release/742208

OTM, makes no sense to me either. "Free Huey" hasn't bother me this time around, either i'm getting use to it or i have skipped it enough times where it's a bit fresher right now.

xpost

Find the Way Out is the last thing i bought at a record store called Mod Lang in Berkeley. have also played it to death, it's a very good compilation.

love that they added "Tomorrow" to this compilation but hate that this was their chance to add "Put Your Arms Around Me and Tell Me Everything's Going To Be OK" but didn't for whatever reason.

xp Yeah, it looks cool! Just kind of a random selection compared to the "Best Of".. like, lol "blues for george michael"? (the only boo's bside i know of, it's "experimental" tape tomfoolery or whatever, right? Spent many hours digging at Mod Lang as a teen, tiny place but I just loved hanging out there.

I believe it was Martin Carr's selections, as opposed to a 'greatest hits' that was being proposed.

(which also came out about a year or so later)

Blues For George Michael is one of their best songs. Fosters Van is my favourite of their pre-EAF phase.

Foster's Van is great.

I have now re-listened to Kingsize for the first time since 1998. I still don't like it.

Seems I'm getting almost comically 90-93 focused. Time and again I'm reminded of how affecting some washed out little thing like "Vegas" is, and another "It's Lulu" is bumped out of contention.

i think Kingsize is by far the best thing they have ever done, that album is so misunderstood. i get why people don't like it and i think it's because it doesn't sound like anything else they did up to that point. but i think Martin Carr never wrote better lyrics then he did during this time and the album is so pretty. i related to it the year 1999-2000 and some of my favorites are on the album including "Put Your Arms Around Me...," "Blue Room in Archway," "The Old Newsstand...," "High As Monkeys," "Jimmy Webb Is God" and the beloved "Kingsize."

song of the day:
"I can't wait until tomorrow, i don't see how I'm gonna sleep tonight."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7H7tfLiJT8

such a sweet song.
something I noticed about carr's songwriting is how it changed over the years. from Kingsize and on through his solo work I find it increasingly specific to his life, which is something I have trouble parsing sometimes as not-cringey

(spoiler alert) ^ that is one of the tracks in my top 30 that currently risks just missing out on my 25, but I really don't want it to

One of my favourites on C'Mon Kids that one.

i am hella voting for that, they were so great at patching together wildly divergent song fragments and "four saints" is that quality at its best

Four Saints was one of the last songs I cut from my list. Brilliant song. C'Mon Kids was still well represented on my list.

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

Todays OMG b-side

That weird little solo in "Four Saints" that starts at 2:28 is one of my favourite Boos moments. I don't even know what that instrument is, but it sounds awesome. It's a great track, and a very good example of what made the Boos such an extraordinary and unique band.

"Nothing To Do But Scare Myself", however, isn't exactly Top 25 material, but it's quite an interesting track anyway. The contrast between the refrain and the other bits always makes me smile when I hear the song.

what other fucking britpop band was making tracks like Nothing To Do But Scare Myself? fucking no one that's who

^^^^OTM x 1000000000000000000

one thing i have noticed, they really are that good. this poll is going to be so much fun.

please vote even if you only have a 5 song ballot as with any poll i want as many ballots as possible.

still working on my ballot, it is going to be so tough to only pick 25 songs.

btw, you guys are doing a great job with these B-side songs you are posting, they have been amazing.

B-side song of the day, not really this is an A-side but from the single or Learning To Walk comp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z70xstutXw0

How many ballots have you had in Bee?

don't really want to say at this point, we are into double digits however.

got mine in!

whatever the results of the poll, there's still going to be a multitude of oddities and moments that won't make it but'll still be kind of essential to the make up of this band. I think it'll be an interesting run-down in that I somehow doubt the top ten will be composed of hits and A-sides

I do, to be honest..

.. Think so, I mean.

i'm so upset, finally did my ballot last night but apparently didn't save the excel file. so now i have to do it all over again, i just listened to all albums from Everything's to Kingsize. so i only thought i had to put my Singles/EP ballot together.

last Song B-side Song of the Day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGteqENK1D0

so we need a title for the results thread, any ideas?

Mark G and dog latin, your ballots have been modified.

good reminder, you can edit your ballot up until i email you your conformation. they have yet to go out.

Re results title, PM sent

Right, finally got it done. You should have my 25 tracks now, will do the other polls later.

You'll never poll the magic if you don't reach out far enough
Make it wilder Poll the tiger
What's in the Poll? See What You Got!
If You Want It, Make A Poll

The "What's in the Poll?" one is actually quite funny, and the only one of those that isn't absolutely terrible, haha!

Now that we're into the last day of voting, it's the perfect time to mention that there's one Boos cover that we all forgot (that a friend reminded me of)... Here, ladies and gentlemen, is The Boo Radleys (with Noel Gallagher) playing "Live Forever":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqkgQVKn3O0

It's not the greatest of covers in my opinion, but worth a mention anyway.

And here's another track that some of you may have forgotten, one that a lot of people may not even be aware of. It's got a nice video and everything!

"Oh Brother" (from the "Help" War Child charity album, 1995)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ8uy6rCmSQ

I really like "Oh Brother" and wanted to have it in my Top 25, but unfortunately it had to make way for other songs.

keep the puns coming!

Please Vote!

Vote You!

Oh Brother's very sweet - surprisingly straightforward for them. They always seemed shy about showing their experimental side in public and the Help chairty album was no exception.

Speaking of 'sweet' songs, I always liked 'Wallpaper'. Always wondered about Carr's relationship with Christianity. When I saw him play at the Union Chapel the other week he remarked on how much he liked playing in a church despite 'not believing in anything'. But this isn't the only BRs song that plays with religious lyrics and musicality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2O_c7UPkPs

It was that brief period where they were amongst the top bands along with O, B and R.

BTW, time of roll out will start around this time so everyone knows. poll will open during the week next week. i took off some days from work for this.

also love that this thread is like their b-sides thread, with the real stuff still yet to come.

woah thanks Bee OK. Sadly this is coming up to about the time I leave work :-/

Have you got my ballot?

yeap, conformation emails will start to come tonight.

"Wallpaper" is a great song, I agree! I guess I never paid enough attention to the lyrics since I hadn't thought of the religious connection before. But speaking of Carr's relationship with Christianity, I think that the song "Darwin's Tree" (from "Ye Gods") sheds some light on your question. The lyrics are quite "literal" and personal which you might not like, but I think that "Darwin's Tree" is one of the best songs that Carr has ever written. Just a simple song but god I love it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_9GSTCPlbI

"Sing your songs, they are beautiful - but don't misunderstand, they mean nothing to me."

voting is still open.

and lol at that Oasis cover.

need more titles, not sure about these ones yet. might use them but i'm liking the one i have in mind unless someone comes up with a better one.

I think that:

Number one will be obvious
Number six will be a total surprise
The biggest hit will be quite low.

yeah.

well, just kidding. not going to give anything away.

i have almost everything ready to go, i will start posting some results in around 48 hours from now. i am trying to have most results come out at a decent hour for London Time. so it seems like the main roll out will be around 4 to 5 PM London Time or so. have a lot planned for this and think it's going to be a virgin poll. meaning the graphics are already outstanding so i don't see a need to modify anything.

going to be so much much...

lol.

fun, fun.

Just a simple song but God I love it Embedded in me, so bittersweet I’m addicted, I’m a melancholic Sing it again, I’ll be your Poll forever: THE BOO RADLEYS - ILM artist poll #60 or new numbering #65

Tomorrow is an amazing cover. I love it when bands pick songs to cover which could easily have been written by themselves. This (and to an extent Zoom), really do sound like Boo Radleys songs. I've not really heard the original mind you. Vaguely recall being shown Bugsy back in primary school but I was only about 5 and couldn't really understand it.

wrong thread