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

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.

https://img.discogs.com/L8UWhyRm_GQV_VBWBqH93EjHu9s=/fit-in/600x596/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-115079-1192377654.jpeg.jpg
67. Prince - Let's Go Crazy
470 points, 8 votes

DEARLY BELOVED

*cue Tuomas *

XD

67?! I think we already went crazy, man.

Well, that's all but three of my top ten that have shown up so far. And those three are absolute shoo-ins.

Sensing the very real Prince vote split factoring in here.

https://img.discogs.com/LYxNbodJy9KhLrY7QW2wBnxR_uY=/fit-in/600x598/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-133187-1228136026.jpeg.jpg
66. Kid Creole & The Coconuts - I'm a Wonderful Thing, Baby
476 points, 7 votes
https://youtu.be/KS3hiJ_mBq8

Kid Creole's songs are so fun (and easy) to karaoke.

https://img.discogs.com/V_qRaghpc62z-CdD38O9kdwwmmE=/fit-in/525x538/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-5352282-1391267274-3679.jpeg.jpg
65. The Whispers - And the Beat Goes On
480 points, 10 votes
https://youtu.be/pEmX5HR9ZxU

tooooooo lowwwwwwwww

Erotic City would've been top 10 if I voted--the way the call-and-response lines flow together in the chorus, the irresistible groove, the brilliant use of negative space.