A POLL Bizarre ~~~ It's the ILM 80's R&B TRACKS POLL ~~~ RESULTS THREAD!!!

Differing opinions of what constitutes R&B is a big reason why the rollout needed to be 250 songs long.

this stretch of the results has really been excellent tho :D

(including "moments in love" which I NOMINATED AND VOTED FOR)

I could only bring myself to make space for one TTD track ('Sign Your Name') but all of his nominated songs were worthy of inclusion among this pantheon imo.

As nice as it is to revisit him that's probably enough terence trent d'arby now xp

dyl at 8:40 15 May 17

meanwhile voting in white women's hi-nrg tracks that didn't even chart r&b without so much as a shrug lol

I've no idea what you're talking about here? And I never voted for anything like that.

Also, I don't understand what radio play has to do with, because few radio stations are strictly and exclusively one-genre only? The local rock station occasionally plays classic soul tunes, that doesn't mean they magically turn into rock music because of that. I can see R&B lovers loving "Moments in Love", but the tune itself is unarguably synth pop. Which is further away from R&B than hi-NRG (a disco offshoot) is.

https://img.discogs.com/_dY1bvRbVBDeFdUfmTYICQAIFMM=/fit-in/594x581/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-574672-1257063944.jpeg.jpg
88. Prince - 1999
393 points, 9 votes

lol at y'all 'hmmmm'ing a track that only gets played on r&b radio in 2017 and has been a fixture of quiet storm sets for years

― dyl, Monday, May 15, 2017 10:39 AM (twenty-nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well this is why i repeated the "sure, why not"

I can see R&B lovers loving "Moments in Love", but the tune itself is unarguably synth pop.

"That's all we have time for right now; thank you very much for tuning in! We'll see you all back here later for another episode of Tuomas Has Spoken."

i'm not pointing fingers at you all since i have no idea what anyone voted for other than me. just think this song is a much better fit than some of the others that have placed and didn't attract a bunch of complaints. admittedly my 'non-r&b-charting hi-nrg tracks by white women' was also not really about a specific track, just a snide remark i made based on some of the stacey q/madonna/george michael/freestyle ones that have shown up thus far (to clarify i think some george michael tracks are perfect fits and others aren't).

r&b stations tend to play only r&b, including the one where i've been hearing "moments in love" for years. that song has also been appearing on compilations that were otherwise entirely r&b for over 20 years now. if anything this distinction of "well actually it's synth-pop" is arbitrary considering that category isn't mutually exclusive with r&b either.

https://img.discogs.com/AxaQZEo7jUfOZk_i3CSEY318RhU=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1149613-1474203283-7345.jpeg.jpg
76. George Michael - One More Try
426 points, 7 votes
https://youtu.be/bG5N3GC-m20

Shit! Sorry, please ignore!

https://img.discogs.com/q9U4AjxND_QPjPW2MbgiW_J-muA=/fit-in/600x593/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-402159-1372169934-2373.jpeg.jpg
87. Imagination - Music and Lights
398 points, 5 votes
https://youtu.be/4iqevB7TNlQ

spoilers!

also "music and lights" WAY TOO LOW

perfect comedic timing, though

https://img.discogs.com/nTQW07BQyPsPlRcq3G3nEyTWVBY=/fit-in/600x591/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1025167-1353702767-5602.jpeg.jpg
86. The Whispers - It's a Love Thing
401 points, 7 votes
https://youtu.be/5AmGcGfMARE

best british group of the 80s

imagination obvs

never heard "music and lights" before, like it a lot!

SEQUINS AND PEARLS

the first two Imagination albums are essential

and the Whispers are just a miracle

"it's a love thing" is my favorite whispers song and could've easily topped my list

perfect comedic timing, though

So perfect.

https://img.discogs.com/wh24apv4a4DeSuMlJY-jHHtNSKc=/fit-in/600x596/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-5448416-1393782652-7844.jpeg.jpg
85. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up the Volume
401 points, 8 votes
https://youtu.be/KjZ4APD6k7E

https://img.discogs.com/CBzg05PUAxWsUvuCdErlKQq56P4=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-442928-1280350464.jpeg.jpg
84. Class Action - Weekend
404 points, 6 votes
https://youtu.be/H7qtDE0gTq8

https://img.discogs.com/u7sY9dunzC5Oh3RvRKkQFrFifBM=/fit-in/588x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2237602-1323650193.jpeg.jpg
83. Vanity 6 - Nasty Girl
407 points, 8 votes
https://youtu.be/s8VWO82v8zE

omg yes

too low

My god

well really everything on this poll has been too low except for the two Madonna songs and the theme from Ghostbusters

last two tracks both have "it's time to jam" in them, perhaps the presence of that line in a dance track reliably correlates w/ greatness??

I introduced Imagination to be a fee KING fans I know last year #publicservice

*a few

https://img.discogs.com/gxTSd7VBrk3OYVu6BjNBH2ghNL0=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-87914-1402013382-7027.jpeg.jpg
82. Loleatta Holloway - Love Sensation
410 points, 6 votes
https://youtu.be/BKmw9UrX99s

^ I know that's the album cover, but the only single images I could find were labels.

Comparing Class Action "Weekend" to the Phreek version from 1978 beautifully illustrates the progression from high disco to postdisco electro-boogie-whatever. plus the spoken intro the Class Action version is so classic

Man, I love high disco.

brb gonna dance

https://img.discogs.com/SKINHlD3yBSqJkk49hN0upsNGRM=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-163030-1204073800.jpeg.jpg
81. Prince - Raspberry Beret
410 points, 7 votes

How was "Nasty Girl" only on 8 ballots? There must be some mistake.

https://img.discogs.com/VFcclt7l_iYkB8gEBIPnj07XEVc=/fit-in/600x606/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-7728051-1447551237-8117.jpeg.jpg
80. Madonna - Borderline
418 points, 7 votes
https://youtu.be/rSaC-YbSDpo

this classic #[n/a] r&b hit

it is an eternal classic just would never have thought of voting for it on this poll

https://img.discogs.com/_-57ipnH8oSirtXWTThtxXQFiBU=/fit-in/600x586/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-7433725-1441441525-8068.jpeg.jpg
79. Prince - Purple Rain
420 points, 5 votes, 1 number one

I find it mind-boggling that anyone would vote for any Madonna song on an R&B poll aside from "Take a Bow", which was ineligible for this one.

Genuinely shocked by that placement. But not disappointed.

a gorgeous, unbelievable song

https://img.discogs.com/u5iRYwn_B_krG513637VZ6SprMk=/fit-in/600x581/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2855234-1331919941.jpeg.jpg
78. Michael Jackson - P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
420 points, 10 votes
https://youtu.be/1ZZQuj6htF4

aw didn't expect to see this this high :)