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

76-100 RECAP:

76. George Michael - One More Try 426 points, 7 votes
77. Lisa Stansfield - All Around the World 425 points, 10 votes
78. Michael Jackson - P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 420 points, 10 votes
79. Prince - Purple Rain 420 points, 5 votes, 1 number one
80. Madonna - Borderline 418 points, 7 votes
81. Prince - Raspberry Beret 410 points, 7 votes
82. Loleatta Holloway - Love Sensation 410 points, 6 votes
83. Vanity 6 - Nasty Girl 407 points, 8 votes
84. Class Action - Weekend 404 points, 6 votes
85. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up the Volume 401 points, 8 votes
86. The Whispers - It's a Love Thing 401 points, 7 votes
87. Imagination - Music and Lights 398 points, 5 votes
88. Prince - 1999 393 points, 9 votes
89. Terence Trent d'Arby - Wishing Well 393 points, 8 votes
90. Cherrelle - I Didn't Mean to Turn You On 392 points, 9 votes
91. Art of Noise - Moments in Love 391 points, 6 votes
92 (TIE). Inner City - Good Life 390 points, 8 votes
92 (TIE). Whitney Houston - How Will I Know 390 points, 8 votes
94. Anita Baker - Sweet Love 389 points, 9 votes
95. Junior - Mama Used to Say 385 points, 8 votes
96. Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus 380 points, 9 votes
97. Grover Washington Jr. & Bill Withers - Just the Two of Us 380 points, 7 votes
98. Carl Carlton - She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built She's Stacked) 377 points, 8 votes
99. Terence Trent D'Arby - Sign Your Name 376 points, 6 votes
100. Change - A Lover's Holiday 375 points, 6 votes, 1 number one

See you tomorrow!

All of Prince's ballads up to and including this were bland

Do Me, Baby
International Lover
Free
The Beautiful Ones

gtfo with this garbage take

not to mention adore and um...the ballad of dorothy parker

well, I didn't mention those because they came after "Purple Rain" and, according to Tuomas's timeline, Prince didn't figure out how to write a ballad until "Condition of the Heart"

Which, maybe I need to listen to that one again, but odds that it bests "The Beautiful Ones" are ... well, let's just say it doesn't best "The Beautiful Ones."

I mean, I do like "Condition of the Heart" a lot but a good chunk of what makes it good was stuff he'd already done... in "The Beautiful Ones"

well, I didn't mention those because they came after "Purple Rain" and, according to Tuomas's timeline, Prince didn't figure out how to write a ballad until "Condition of the Heart"

― PJD PDJ DPJ (DJP), Monday, May 15, 2017 3:38 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ah yes, i missed that somehow, but the beautiful ones is spectacularly great so he's wrong

did anyone cobble together a spotify playlist of these results? I didn't vote because of lack of time/lack of era expertise, but i'd love to check out all the resutls.

here's the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/olken2000/playlist/7fYWHyWjcMJF7MHAja1EKs

Voted Human and This is the Right Time and expect to see them still. Nasty Girl, Moments in Love and Music and Lights got my vote as well and are the only truly great songs placing today imo. One More Try, Purple Rain, 1999, Just the Two Of Us and PYT are sort of whatever at this point way more than Ghostbusters.

Random thought: I find the lyric and the delivery of "I'm asking you what you know about these things" on How Will I Know kind of haunting. Is that universal?

I don't really count "Beautiful Ones" as a ballad, but sure, I'll give you that, it's awesome, way better than "Purple Rain". "International Lover" and "Do Me Baby" tho are the dullest songs on their respective albums, and "Free" isn't much better. They're all very much paint-by-numbers when it comes to ballad songwriting, maybe elevated a bit by idiosyncrasies in Prince's performance, but still way less unique and sublime than the best ballads he wrote later.

stop pls

OTM

Nasty Girl, Moments in Love and Music and Lights got my vote as well and are the only truly great songs placing today imo

:|

That goes twice over for gospodin.

it was only after he passed that it occurred to me how similar the verses of Radiohead's Let Down are to those of Purple Rain.

One More Try, Purple Rain, 1999, Just the Two Of Us and PYT are sort of whatever at this point way more than Ghostbusters.

a POST bizarre

"1999" is definitely my pick for Most Overrated Prince Single but still, heresy

1999 was the second highest rated Prince song on my ballot after Controversy. I love the three different voices in the verse coming together on the fourth line.

I'm so glad to see all the repping for "The Beautiful Ones". I was afraid it might not show up, but...of course it'll show up, duh.

I'm genuinely glad to see there's still stuff in the top 100 that I don't know.

I'm just glad. So glad.

So mad at myself for forgetting to vote for Beautiful Ones

I voted for a few of Prince's ballads, "The Beautiful Ones" among them, "Purple Rain" not.

https://img.discogs.com/cJOgCI7Q1FDbSaLuAApWWgjPxpM=/fit-in/600x597/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1069225-1372764803-6038.jpeg.jpg
75. Ready for the World - Love You Down
429 points, 8 votes
https://youtu.be/r3Ui8_oqc9Q

The problem with the Prince ballads is they're his least unique contributions. They dispense with the nasal robovoice, the raunchy guitar, often the falsetto, and the subtractive/skeletal orchestration isn't so notable in a ballad context. All the things that make Prince Prince.

I'd go with Beautiful Ones > Purple Rain, though. Both weaksauce compared to Sometimes It Snows in April.

https://img.discogs.com/53YkNCBBmA8lAFmlGsUe87Cui_I=/fit-in/535x533/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-785994-1209645609.jpeg.jpg
74. Kool & the Gang - Get Down on It
437 points, 9 votes
https://youtu.be/qchPLaiKocI

Look at that for a double A side

https://img.discogs.com/88z9DnqCEpY2cVdXjjank_wBEcQ=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-3454164-1460661360-8630.jpeg.jpg
73. Sade - Smooth Operator
440 points, 9 votes
https://youtu.be/4TYv2PhG89A

https://img.discogs.com/hfUo_OyU9U6WLk7akYnCyzDi_z0=/fit-in/600x591/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-118664-1218132454.jpeg.jpg
72. Soul II Soul - Keep On Movin'
441 points, 9 votes
https://youtu.be/LEHqOfKeabc

I remember getting really excited when this was a new entry in the charts at number 16 or something. Voted for it, favourite soul II soul, beautiful

https://img.discogs.com/yyIGiVtSNXPr_3myidgsecXojNo=/fit-in/599x580/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-569890-1278810376.jpeg.jpg
71. Prince - U Got the Look
442 points, 6 votes

Same. What a foursome

Love You Down was top 3 for me. Way too low.

That's 3 out of my 4 prince picks already placed. U Got the Look was a very exciting record and video for 11 year old me

https://img.discogs.com/lYjBVGfFY8Xaqbsh0vPm2DR-1as=/fit-in/593x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-310462-1397128199-8314.jpeg.jpg
70. Universal Robot Band - Barely Breaking Even
454 points, 7 votes
https://youtu.be/1E4q7LuUoH4

Tune

Amazing tune, yeah, I'm grateful for the disco poll for introducing it to me.

Flawless so far today

https://img.discogs.com/_SNTtWj8eFEKc25XF1lrRYtLfLw=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1018355-1427879159-3568.jpeg.jpg
69. René & Angela - I'll Be Good
462 points, 9 votes
https://youtu.be/VVj1m8uy5AM

That should be René, of course...

Keep On Movin is sublime

TOO LOW

oh god. This thing SLAMS.

GOO-OO-OO-OO-OOD

https://img.discogs.com/79jt3dsk90JDBZaw4wcWaka1PPY=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-7031782-1462425132-4443.jpeg.jpg
68. Prince - Erotic City
468 points, 9 votes, 1 number one

One slot too high.

HO

Get Down On It is so fucking great

Took me forever to come around on post-Ladies' Night K&TG. But I have.