ILM Artist Poll No. 77 · CAN · Results Thread

As opposed to throwing it out of the window? (see: Can - finally remastered)

definitely! it's all over the place, but the good stuff could easily have shown up on the previous albums somewhere

yeah some of their best ever songs, especially "gomorrha" and "ibis" (which is like babaluma condensed into 9 minutes). hard to listen to as its own unit though

The Mooney songs on Unlimited Edition are excellent

i put "connection" on my ballot at the expense of "i'm too leise" & i'm having regrets abt that

The Mooney songs on Unlimited Edition are excellent

I pretty much like everything from the Malcolm era.

I love the part in the CAN documentary during the Mooney years when they're recording at that white house. It's so goofy. That's one of the things I love most about this band -- they take some things seriously, but not all things at all times.

https://i.imgur.com/A6Cp802.jpg
05. Monster Movie 16 votes, 470 points Year of Release:1969

Beautiful work Moka.

― MatthewK

Thank you!

http://i.imgur.com/5deHyPN.jpg
04. Soon Over Babaluma 27 votes, 873 points, 4 #1 votes. Year of Release:1974

I love the part in the CAN documentary during the Mooney years when they're recording at that white house. It's so goofy. That's one of the things I love most about this band -- they take some things seriously, but not all things at all times.

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Tuesday, July 26, 2016 11:34 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wow somehow it's never clicked in my head till now that there is an actual feature-length documentary about this band that I can sit down & watch

Damn imgur gave me https links on mobile instead of http. Can you see the monster movie and the soon over babaluma images? Only one of them?

can only see Babaluma. Which I am never over!

I forgot how productive bands used to be back in those days. These guys released one album per year! It's blowing my mind they went from monster movie to soon over babaluma in only 6 years.

K here's the monster movie image... hopefully. I don't like posting from mobile.

http://i.imgur.com/qrDTwZ5.jpg

yeh these images are superb

Not seeing any of them :(

Crüt I watched it (2x!) on youtube. Recommend to all!!

On my phone though, so can't be helped... probably.

Yeah you can't see them on mobile but I think that applies to the ilm forum in general. I only see links on every thread with imgs on them. You might be able to see the links to go to the images.

http://i.imgur.com/k5kJNxN.jpg
03. Ege Bamyasi 28 votes, 978 points, 7 #1 votes. Year of Release:1972

http://i.imgur.com/iZ1IJvC.jpg
02. Future Days 30 votes, 1067 points, 12 #1 votes. Year of Release:1973

http://i.imgur.com/GibcthP.jpg
01. Tago Mago 32 votes, 1121 points, 10 #1 votes. Year of Release:1971

Wow, I did not expect Future Days to best Ege Bamyasi!

Compared to the Stereolab poll which I also ran I think there was a much stronger consensus on their top albums. Most of the top 3 votes included tago, ege and fd. In the lower end there were other 10 albums but with only one or two votes.

Well, I got the albums wrong, so let's see how the tracks turn out.

Tracks results is where the real surprises are though, so many songs I hadn't payed attention to. I mostly stick to this top 4 albums and very rarely listen to the rest... this poll has fixed that.

very nice, a little surprised that Landed didn't make it, but Unlimited Edition and Soundtracks did

then again, I think I voted for all the individual tracks on Landed, but it didn't make my albums list, LOL

The albums that followed in the ranking with two votes each (a triple tie for 9 actually) were:

9. Can (1979) 61 2
10. Delay 1968 61 2
11. Landed 61 2
12. The Lost Tapes 58 2
13. Flow Motion 56 2

The rest only got one vote

http://i.imgur.com/XK5nSbk.jpg
TIE 50. Aumgn 3 votes, 64 points.
From: Tago Mago (1971)
https://youtu.be/9vayV9M7ctU

http://i.imgur.com/2AhPQr7.jpg
TIE 50. Little Star of Bethlehem 3 votes, 64 points.
From: Delay 1968 (1981)
https://youtu.be/jxZon0BGvt4

was expecting a higher showing for "aumgn"! it still scares the shit out of me

http://i.imgur.com/M0pY6v2.jpg
49. Tape Kebab 3 votes, 68 points.
From: The Peel Sessions (1995)
https://youtu.be/jwO7Th4i1fo

Wow I haven't the slightest idea what's gonna place, let alone what order everything is gonna be in

TAPE KEBAB

when i listened to everything over the past two weeks this very quickly emerged as my favorite song that was new to me

http://i.imgur.com/TEJliaU.jpg
48. Aspectacle 3 votes, 69 points.
From: Can (1979)
https://youtu.be/y6uSFUeV6R0

Couldn't find the yt for that one so I only linked to the drum break. It's on spotify (Tape kebab isn't though and it's a great one)

Here's the Tidal links for Aspectacle.

tidal.com/track/34510593 and tidal.com/track/34505714

I'm pleased I cranked out a last minute ballot, as that's 2 of mine already (Aumgn and Aspectacle). Aumgn starts off a little anonymous but is totally redeemed by the bonkers final third.

Oh and any time you wanna spill the beans on that font, Moka, I'm all ears. Nice work!

I shouldve voted; Aspectacle wouldve been in my top 10

Oh and any time you wanna spill the beans on that font, Moka, I'm all ears. Nice work!

― Sushi and the Banchan (Spectrist),

The 'title' font is VAL Bold and 'subtitles are Proxima Nova in several weights :)

http://i.imgur.com/XefSov9.jpg
47. Outside My Door 5 votes, 70 points.
From: Monster Movie (1969)
https://youtu.be/_0B33EP4RPE

These graphics are beautiful

These graphics are beautiful

― nate woolls

Can't take full credit for them as these are not my illustrations I'm just finding and adapting (most of Can's titles are very odd to interpret though) most of this come from magazines and sci-fi art from the 70s.

my preferred aesthetic

Love the Aumgn graphic :)

http://i.imgur.com/0ZsijuO.jpg
46. Hunters & Collectors 5 votes, 72 points.
From: Landed (1975)

Tape Kebab sounding very nice on a first lesson.

Love the Aumgn graphic :)

― Option 1 : Do Nothing (Mr Andy M)

I was thinking 'Aumgn'!? What does that even mean? Is it a wordplay on Ohm? I dunno... Opening half sounds like monks invoking an ancient demon monster, second half sounds like an action sequence in the jungle... so I couldn't decide on what image to use... I went with robot fighting a dinosaur monsters.

Feeling like I want to meet the only other person to vote for "Butterfly" to shake them warmly by the hand.

Is Mother Sky the first motorik beat?

― jmm

Some attribute it to Velvet Underground I think... but yeah I think you're on to something.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, August 3, 2016 4:14 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

was thinking about this last night and remembered a part of the documentary where irmin schmidt is talking about his time in NYC and the people he met there, which surely would explain the VU influence because schmidt was the person who formed CAN, right? he goes to new york, has his mind blown by weirdos, forms CAN

VU was also famously another band whose album versions were tame compared to loose and far-out live versions
If you add that Jaki was originally a jazz drummer (iirc?) it would totally make sense that the CAN sound developed as it did
idk about first anything, but the evolution of a repetitive drum pattern with far-out elements laid on top of it is historically sound afaict
i have not fact-checked this progression -- going on memory, forgive my errors

I cannot believe I'm the only person that voted for Private Nocturnal! Of the songs that only got one vote mine was highest on the ballot, number five.

Do people just not like it a lot, or is it being slept on? (No pun intended) Check it out ppl!

Tracks -

1. Future Days
2. Mother Sky
3. Halleluwah
4. Yoo Doo Right
5. Pinch
6. Vitamin C
7. Spray
8. Oh Yeah
9. Chain Reaction
10. Spoon
11. Paperhouse
12. Quantum Physics
13. Father Cannot Yell
14. Sing Swan Song
15. Butterfly
16. Mushroom
17. Moonshake
18. Come Sta, La Luna
19. Half Past One
20. Peking O

Albums -

1. Tago Mago
2. Monster Movie
3. Soon Over Babluma
4. Ege Bamyasi
5. Future Days

Big thanks to Moka for running the poll. Those graphics really do seem to fit the Can vibe perfectly.

Pleased that Oh Yeah ended up in the top 10. I always had the feeling that it was one of the more overlooked tracks on Tago Mago - but clearly not!

I cannot believe I'm the only person that voted for Private Nocturnal! Of the songs that only got one vote mine was highest on the ballot, number five.

It's one of my favourite tracks on The Lost Tapes, the bass playing in the first three minutes or so is utterly sublime.

OK I need to re-listen to that, thanks

It is so slow, smooth and haunting. Really takes me to another world.

"You must play *monotonous*!"

http://youtu.be/A93XtkMLXME

I'm So Green is the track I was impressed not making it into the top 20. It's one their simpler, pop songs (at least going thru the youtubes it seems to be the most popular Can song to cover) it's like sunshine krautrock and for once Jaki isn't the highlight of the track but the guitars are.

thanks again moka, amazing pics and a brilliant results rollout

Is there one track missing from the Spotify playlist?

Great poll, thanks a lot! Wish I could've joined in this thread but I've been busy.

My ballot:

TRACKS
1.One More Night
2.Future Days
3.Vitamin C
4.Paperhouse
5.Moonshake
6.Spoon
7.Sing Swan Song
8.Mushroom
9.Bel Air
10.Oh Yeah
11.Dizzy Dizzy
12.Thief
13.Quantum Physics
14.Bring Me Coffee or Tea
15.Spray
16.Outside My Door
17.Fly by Night
18.Millionenspiel
19.Tango Whiskeyman
20.Turtles Have Short Legs

ALBUMS
1.Future Days
2.Ege Bamyasi
3.Tago Mago
4.Soon Over Babaluma
5.Soundtracks

xpost oh right, Tape Kebab. Cheers..

xpost oh right, Tape Kebab. Cheers..

I can do that, Moka, if you make the playlist collaborative.

I have a lot of disagreements with ILX about Can but I would like to say that Brad's love of the 1979 album is totally on point. Thats a really cool album

I like to add those from my library even if I only have it myself as it leaves a placeholder. I'm a nerd like that.
I can do that, Moka, if you make the playlist collaborative.

― Naive Teen Idol

I have it too but I think if I add it from my local library and its not on spotify it only appears for me in the playlist and noone else sees it?

I remember someone else doing that unwittingly adding his own. We could see the entries but not play them.

So... you want me to add it for completion purposes even tho you wont hear it?

That was the idea. I feel like sometimes when the song becomes available on Spotify it will sync up and play appropriately. .

Plus, if you have if locally I think it also plays from your laptop.

Awww yes.
http://i.imgur.com/R1AmhS1.jpg

That is a really cool shirt! Only can shirt I like, the other official ones I've seen are just the other album covers which don't really adapt to a t-shirt that well.

http://www.spoonrecords.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=75&zenid=6bb5c79853a0b2e36f92890f0137fb39

iirc that's the shirt don anderson was wearing the first time i saw agalloch
everyone loves CAN!!

Note, being Australian I couldn't buy it from Spoon - "PLEASE NOTE: We are only taking orders from the US, CA and Europe at the moment. You will be able to order from other countries soon."

Black? That's not right. They had those Ts BITD, Holger is wearing one in some pics.

Just spend a blissful Sunday afternoon with “Don’t Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone” cranked. Why oh why does it fade out?

also would have voted "Shikaku Maru Ten" in my top 20 if I'd known it.

So for the longest time 'I'm So Green' was my favorite CAN song and easily of the 70's. Every now and then I reevaluate my opinion and it lands on "Vitamin C". Today is "Moonshake"... that would be probably my first pick to get outsiders into CAN, the whole Future Days album is amazing, but that's the sampler choice for me. A morsel of the genius behind this band.

"Future Days", "Hallelluwah", "Mother Sky" are of course massive and as shown in this poll the consensus picks for what the band has to offer, but I think of them more as album highlights. For me, when isolating songs for a "best of the decade" I tend to favor those that in my mind work in a pop format. I might entertain the idea that CAN is not really that kind of band but it totally is: "turtles have short legs", "moonshake", "vitamin c", "i'm so green", "i want more", "spoon"... there's plenty of material that is top 10 chart material somewhere in heaven.

oh and I was the #1 for Moonshake, I can't count the times I have felt a bit low or washed out, put that song on, and felt restored and recharged. It has ... voodoo qualities.

― MatthewK

I'm a bit sleep deprived at the moment and 100% agree. I was feeling drowsy, driving to do some chores and played this one and immediately started feeling refreshed.

I often think "One More Night" is my favourite Can track - it's the most low-key on Ege Bamyasi but feels like it could go forever.

"One More Night" is a great example of the surprising emotional depth of much of Can's work. It's basically a one chord vamp in 7/4 time, the only hooks are a muttered chant and an oblique keyboard phrase - but it conveys a strange introspection and even sense of loss mostly through texture and rhythmic patterns.

Glad to see it get some love, I mean obviously it’s such a stacked album but man that tune in particular just really hits me. Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t there some really great track on Lost Tapes which is like an extended jam off of it?

There's a live version where Holger Czukay spontaneously comes up with five or six killer basslines .