I've actually started my day by listening to Andromeda Heights. It's probably the first time I've heard it in over 10 years. It's a very pretty album, but a lot of the songs are passing me by. The production really reminds me of ABC's Lexicon Of Love II. Might throw on Let's Change The World With Music next. That's another one I haven't heard in a long time.
― kitchen person, Monday, 16 March 2020 14:14 (four years ago) link
https://images2.imgbox.com/17/2b/XQ3X2vC6_o.jpg
#6PROTEST SONGSJune 1989Score: 23Votes: 10 (0)Youtube audio: Horsechimes
The World Awake / Life of Surprises / Horsechimes / Wicked Things / Dublin // Tiffanys / Diana / Talking Scarlet / 'Til the Cows Come Home / Pearly Gates
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 14:24 (four years ago) link
There's a couple of songs on Protest Songs that feel a bit underwritten, but I still really rate the album. It was my number five.
― kitchen person, Monday, 16 March 2020 14:26 (four years ago) link
I like it a lot, but sometimes forget when it's not playing. It might have benefited from being maybe the second PS LP heard in full. The lack of baggage meant that this was just What Prefab Sprout Sound Like for quite a while.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 14:48 (four years ago) link
https://images2.imgbox.com/79/18/xwztiuDy_o.jpg
#5I TRAWL THE MEGAHERTZ May 2003Score: 27Votes: 12 (0)Youtube excerpt: I'm 49
I Trawl the Megahertz / Esprit de corps / Fall from Grace / We Were Poor / Orchid 7 / I'm 49 / Sleeping Rough / Ineffable / ...But We Were Happy
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 14:51 (four years ago) link
Wow, the Gunman in a top 4 position. Interesting!
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Monday, 16 March 2020 14:57 (four years ago) link
i forgot to vote for i trawl the megahertz in the albums poll bc i'll always think of it as a paddy solo album (whatever that means). title track still made my songs ballot
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 16 March 2020 14:58 (four years ago) link
I hope Swoon can squeeze into the top three.
― kitchen person, Monday, 16 March 2020 15:04 (four years ago) link
oh dear lord I didn't submit a ballot
Have mercy on the coronoavirus!
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:04 (four years ago) link
Surprised there weren’t any number one votes for megahertz. But it sure looks like Steve and Jordan are gonna gobble all the top votes up
― ooga booga-ing for the bourgeoisie (voodoo chili), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:05 (four years ago) link
it's gonna be swoon, langley, then a real toss-up between steve and jordan
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:08 (four years ago) link
(jordan > steve imo)
might've said this in the voting thread, but i love that the two top prefab albums have first names, like they're your friends.
― ooga booga-ing for the bourgeoisie (voodoo chili), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:12 (four years ago) link
https://images2.imgbox.com/06/de/Ae0mz2e3_o.jpg
#4SWOON March 1984Score: 49Votes: 18 (4)Youtube excerpt: Ghost Town Blues
Don't Sing / Cue Fanfare / Green Isaac (I) / Here On The Eerie / Cruel // Couldn't Bear To Be Special / I Never Play Basketball Now / Ghost Town Blues / Elegance / Technique / Green Isaac (II)
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 15:18 (four years ago) link
Spaced out one of those four Brad mentioned. Not sure why since I voted for all of them. Gunman doesn't place, then.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:23 (four years ago) link
Swoon at number 2 for me - thought about pushing it to number 1. Would have shocked me 10 years ago, but all that wordy sidewaysness has got deep under my skin.
― woof, Monday, 16 March 2020 15:24 (four years ago) link
Wordy sidewaysness! :) I was one of the 4 first-place votes here. Too low, etc, etc.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 15:27 (four years ago) link
This evening I momentarily considered dropping the 2 points I allocated to the next one, so it would be a draw with Swoon. But that seemed like insider trading, plus this record is also very good, of course!
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 15:39 (four years ago) link
https://images2.imgbox.com/3e/ce/GEm5lzak_o.jpg
#3FROM LANGLEY PARK TO MEMPHIS March 1988Score: 51Votes: 20 (1)Youtube excerpt: Enchanted
The King Of Rock 'n' Roll / Cars and Girls / I Remember That / Enchanted / Nightingales // Hey Manhattan! / Knock on Wood / The Golden Calf / Nancy (Let Your Hair Down for Me) / The Venus of the Soup Kitchen
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 15:40 (four years ago) link
in any other discography this would be the band's best record
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:48 (four years ago) link
OTM. Sometimes feels like their best set of songs, but doesn't come together as an album for me. Maybe because the production's a bit more scattered; maybe because this is when I got into them, and it feels a little like listening to singles.
― woof, Monday, 16 March 2020 15:51 (four years ago) link
Still don't get "Cars and Girls" (I dislike both) but "The Golden Calf" reminds me of the Go-Be's when they rock out, i.e. charmingly and awkwardly.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:51 (four years ago) link
but the song's about how some things hurt more (much more) than cars and girls! i.e. it is diminishing those things you dislike
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:54 (four years ago) link
i almost voted for "does heaven wait all heavenly over the next horizon" in the lyrics poll
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:55 (four years ago) link
xp I remember the Trouser Press Record Guide described 'The Golden Calf' as sounding like Cheap Trick. Maybe if you squint, McAloon's voice on the song is a bit like Robin Zanders?
― righteousmaelstrom, Monday, 16 March 2020 15:55 (four years ago) link
wha
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:58 (four years ago) link
kinda sound like a looser inxs, maybe?
mcaloon's macca-like 'rockin' voice' has always amused me on that song
― ooga booga-ing for the bourgeoisie (voodoo chili), Monday, 16 March 2020 15:59 (four years ago) link
https://images2.imgbox.com/75/38/Jr1LNrw3_o.jpg
#2JORDAN: THE COMEBACKSeptember 1990Score: 97Votes: 25 (8)Youtube excerpt: Jesse James Symphony
Looking For Atlantis / Wild Horses / Machine Gun Ibiza / We Let The Stars Go / Carnival 2000 / Jordan: The Comeback / Jesse James Symphony / Jesse James Bolero / Moon Dog // All The World Loves Lovers / All Boys Believe Anything / The Ice Maiden / Paris Smith / The Wedding March / One Of The Broken / Michael / Mercy / Scarlet Nights / Doo Wop In Harlem
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 16:01 (four years ago) link
https://images2.imgbox.com/c4/5b/o3jNthd0_o.jpg
#1STEVE MCQUEENJune 1985Score: 115Votes: 26 (14) (Including 1 vote for Two Wheels Good)Youtube excerpt: The Yearning Loins (US bonus track, admittedly -- because it's quite good and we won't be hearing it later!)
Faron Young / Bonny / Appetite / When Love Breaks Down / Goodbye Lucille #1 / Hallelujah // Moving the River / Horsin' Around / Desire As / Blueberry Pies / When the Angels / The Yearning Loins* / He'll Have to Go* / Faron (Truckin' Mix)*
* Two Wheels Good bonus tracks.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 16:04 (four years ago) link
of course
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 16 March 2020 16:05 (four years ago) link
Makes sense
― enochroot, Monday, 16 March 2020 16:08 (four years ago) link
In summary...
Rank Points Votes #1 Votes 1 Steve McQueen 115 26 14 2 Jordan: The Comeback 97 25 8 3 From Langley Park to Memphis 51 20 1 4 Swoon 49 18 4 5 I Trawl the Megahertz 27 12 0 6 Protest Songs 23 10 0 7 Crimson/Red 13 6 0 8 Let's Change the World With Music 9 5 0 9 Andromeda Heights 3 2 010 Steve McQueen Acoustic 2 1 0
So, no love for The Gunman...
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 16:10 (four years ago) link
Swoon was my number one...a little faberge egg of an album
― X-Prince Protégé (sonnyboy), Monday, 16 March 2020 16:12 (four years ago) link
I'll return with the lyrics results on (GMT+10) Tuesday, once I've had a proper look at them!
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 16:14 (four years ago) link
Need to change thread title to A Poll of No Surprises 😉
At least Swoon ran Langley Park pretty close. Also four first place votes!
― Jeff W, Monday, 16 March 2020 16:21 (four years ago) link
Who was the holdout who didn’t vote for Steve McQueen?
Andromeda Heights is way too low, I can understand some finding the production too cloying but the songs are up their with his best work.
― Dan Worsley, Monday, 16 March 2020 17:06 (four years ago) link
Wow, it looks like I'm the only #1 vote for Langley Park. Steve McQueen is more consistent but it took a while to grow on me, whereas Langley Park bowled me over immediately and never stopped hitting.
― J. Sam, Monday, 16 March 2020 17:09 (four years ago) link
It's funny the connections albums make. SM/TWG for me evokes summer of '88, dragging a ping pong table from basement to lawn on sunny Ballard days, playing beer pong with SM/TWG and Temple of Low Men cranked. Makes a quality album that much better.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Monday, 16 March 2020 18:54 (four years ago) link
I was surprised by the rollout - Steve McQueen and Jordan vying for the top two spots is totally expected, but I would have picked Megahertz to come third on ILX.
It has some really good songs, but From Langley Park To Memphis doesn't work as an album for me. I read an interview with McAloon where he spoke to Paul McCartney and McCartney referred to 'The King of Rock and Roll' as McAloon's 'My Ding-a-ling'.
It took me a long time to enjoy Swoon - it's just about the densest pop album I've ever heard.
― aphoristical, Monday, 16 March 2020 21:14 (four years ago) link
I still don't really 'get' Swoon. Probably a factor in its durability for me.
Nice to see some positivity regarding AH here, after I went to bed.
Poor Crimson/Red though. No one wants to say anything about it at all? :)
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 21:45 (four years ago) link
It starts off well and ends well, I can't remember much about the songs in between. This poll has reminded me how little attention I've paid to the albums since Jordan. I need to rectify that.
― kitchen person, Monday, 16 March 2020 21:49 (four years ago) link
C/R certainly sounds great, probably due to the engineer, who I think also produced The Blue Nile's best albums. I rated "The Best Jewel Thief In The World" and "Billy" amongst my top tracks. Can't easily recall any of the others on that album, though.
― henry s, Monday, 16 March 2020 21:49 (four years ago) link
"adolescence" is brilliant and i forgot to vote for it :(
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 16 March 2020 21:56 (four years ago) link
crimson/red and let's change the world with music both quite underrated here!
― ufo, Monday, 16 March 2020 21:57 (four years ago) link
https://images2.imgbox.com/9a/8c/93WazKPt_o.jpg
I'll drop a few these now, I think. Maybe the whole lot?
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 22:07 (four years ago) link
There are a lot of ties and the distribution is pretty flat, as expected. I'll just regurgitate what was submitted and leave you to find whatever patterns might be lurking. :)
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 22:11 (four years ago) link
#32 (TIE)Score: 1Votes: 1 (0)
…I am the next poet laureateAnd she is the cherry Madonna And all of the summer is hers.- I Trawl the Megahertz
- I Trawl the Megahertz
In the morning I go walking, It helps the hurting soften I've seen a lot of places, 'cos I miss her very often- Technique
- Technique
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 22:12 (four years ago) link
Didn't vote in this, but I would've quoted those exact lines from Technique.
― righteousmaelstrom, Monday, 16 March 2020 22:14 (four years ago) link
#28 (TIE)Score: 2Votes: 1 (0)
All my silence and my strained respectMissed chances and the same regrets- Bonny
- Bonny
The sunset makes a fence out of the forest- Faron Young
- Faron Young
Michael, help me write a letter to you-know-whoI will sign it ‘Lucifer Regrets’- Michael
- Michael
Now everybody wears the look Of the child that wished to marry you Who knocking proudly on your door Was greeted by your pretty wife- The World Awake
- The World Awake
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 16 March 2020 22:20 (four years ago) link
every lyric on bonny is fantastic, so, logically, i didn't vote for any of 'em
― ooga booga-ing for the bourgeoisie (voodoo chili), Monday, 16 March 2020 22:31 (four years ago) link
Yes, the Andromeda Heights era in general suddenly sounded a lot better to me - I haven't really revisited since feeling deep disappointment at the time.
― woof, Friday, 20 March 2020 16:05 (four years ago) link
I didn't vote in the lyrics poll (much too difficult, plus a couple of sentences taken out of context always seem underwhelming) but surprised that there were no votes for any lyrics from The Songs of Danny Galway. Ostensibly about Jimmy Webb, the lyrics of the second and third verses also seem to incorporate Paddy's post Swoon lyrical aspirations and are a good summation of his catalogue.
"In words he paints a vivid sceneOf places you may not have beenYet listen and you're moved to swearI know that house, I've climbed that stairI've shared those overwhelming feelingsI've suffered loss, I've known such joyEmotions we all know are burnished till they glow"
"chord changes like Baptist hymnsThey lift your spirit till its soarsTill you forget that spirit's yoursSound and word in sweet communionEchoes of a better worldWhere chivalry's not dead, we'll look for it instead"
― bressonian, Friday, 20 March 2020 16:11 (four years ago) link
On the C/R artist tributes I really love Mysterious too. When he's describing the "quicksilver task", it's like "to catch the world in images" fine, fine, bit flat maybe, but then "to annotate the feast" just a marvel.
― woof, Friday, 20 March 2020 16:36 (four years ago) link
great poll
i don't know the names of any of their songs for some reasons, kept having to check which one was which
― in twelve parts (lamonti), Friday, 20 March 2020 23:03 (four years ago) link
Thanks for this poll. I didn't vote because I only know about half the catalogue. Time for a catch-up!
― Alain the Botton (jed_), Friday, 20 March 2020 23:09 (four years ago) link
If anyone cares...
1. Swoon2. Steve Mcqueen 3. Langley Park To Memphis4. Jordan The Comeback5. I Trawl The Megahertz
1. Bonny2. Wild Horses3.. When Love Breaks Down4. Cruel5. Appetite 6. We Let The Stars Go7. I Remember That8. Don’t Sing9. Hallelujah 10. Goodbye Lucille11. Technique 12. Cue Fanfare13. Cars And Girls14. The Best Jewel Thief In The World 15. The King Of Rock And Roll16. Elegance17. Radio Love18. I Trawl The Megahertz 19. Lions In My Own Garden20. Life Of Surprises 21. Blue Roses22. Looking For Atlantis23. Faron Young24. Could’ve Bear To Be Special25. Enchanted 26. The Venus Of The Soup Kitchen 27. Green Isaac28. Horsin Around29. The Yearning Loins30. When The Angels
― X-Prince Protégé (sonnyboy), Saturday, 21 March 2020 00:06 (four years ago) link
^ I care. Yours were the only other votes for "The Yearning Loins" and "Radio Love". Which means you roolz!
It just occurred to me that this is the first poll for which I've done the number-crunching where absolutely everyone submitting tracks also submitted an albums ballot. The latter is usually a smaller pool. This is surely a crucial and significant outcome, hinting at some deep truth about the artist but I'm not entirely sure what!
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Saturday, 21 March 2020 04:19 (four years ago) link
My ballot. Albums vote was tactical / applied EOY poll conventions.
LPs01 Swoon02 I Trawl the Megahertz
Songs01 Goodbye Lucille #102 Jordan: The Comeback03 Faron Young04 Nightingales05 Cruel06 When the Angels07 Horsin’ Around08 Moon Dog09 Here On the Eerie10 Cue Fanfare11 Moving the River12 We Let The Stars Go13 I Love Music14 Desire As15 Walk On16 The King of Rock’N’Roll17 One Of The Broken18 Couldn’t Bear To Be Special19 Scarlet Nights20 Mercy21 Appetite22 Diana23 Maching Gun Ibiza24 Lions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone)25 Don’t Sing26 Paris Smith27 The Ice Maiden28 Wicked Things29 Wild Horses30 Looking For Atlantis
― Jeff W, Saturday, 21 March 2020 11:22 (four years ago) link
My main regret is not voting for "Technique".
TRACKS, RANKEDAppetiteGoodbye Lucille #1BonnyDesire AsFaron YoungWhen Love Breaks DownMoving the RiverCue FanfareJesse James SymphonyJesse James BoleroWe Let The Stars GoI Remember ThatNightingalesScarlet NightsLions in My Own GardenEnchantedCarnival 2000The End of the AffairGod Watch Over YouThe Ice MaidenWeightlessAll The World Loves LoversThe Sound of CryingLife Of SurprisesSweet Gospel MusicThe Best Jewel Thief in the WorldIf You Don't Love MeWild HorsesHallelujahWhen the Angels
ALBUMSSteve McQueenJordan: The ComebackFrom Langley Park to MemphisAndromeda HeightsLet's Change The World With Music
― Joey Corona (Euler), Saturday, 21 March 2020 15:59 (four years ago) link
Has anybody heard the Jimmy Nail version of ‘Blue Roses’...I’ll stick my neck out and say it’s better the Prefab Sprout version...*sees people with pitchforks amassing on doorstep...
― X-Prince Protégé (sonnyboy), Saturday, 21 March 2020 16:58 (four years ago) link
The fourth episode of the Netflix series I Am Not Okay With This opens with a teenage boy bouncing around his bedroom singing along with "The King of Rock and Roll." If I wasn't in love with the show before that point, I definitely am now.
― Maria Edgelord (cryptosicko), Thursday, 2 April 2020 22:55 (four years ago) link
i didn't vote in this, sorry, but i appreciated it. 'when love breaks down' might be their best song. might be the best song
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Saturday, 4 April 2020 05:08 (four years ago) link
I just realized Blueberry Pies only landed at 81 here. Absolutely ridiculous.
― josh az (2011nostalgia), Thursday, 16 April 2020 00:57 (four years ago) link
At least it's one track we know isn't modestly ranked due to being hopelessly under-heard. :)
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Thursday, 16 April 2020 02:41 (four years ago) link
Oh, dope! I didn't vote or follow the rollout, but I'm over the moon about "Appetite" winning.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 16 April 2020 02:47 (four years ago) link
I didn't post a ballot in March, but this will do.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 1 June 2020 02:30 (three years ago) link
The more I think about it, the more futile ranking PS songs is...my top ten is an ephemeral beast that could contain ten different songs from one day to the next.
― yugi ex, Monday, 1 June 2020 09:53 (three years ago) link
...it's telling that a quarter of your top twenty didn't make the top forty in the ILX poll!
― yugi ex, Monday, 1 June 2020 09:59 (three years ago) link
good list, but ya can’t quote ice maiden without including it dammit
― voodoo chili, Monday, 1 June 2020 11:40 (three years ago) link
I went to sleep with Spotify shuffling 2020 releases and woke to this conspicuously not-so-2020 sampled loop. Freaky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgGkr6Qi8ro
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 26 October 2020 01:34 (three years ago) link
"life of surprises" is just the greatest goddamn song of all time
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 March 2021 03:16 (three years ago) link
"We Let The Stars Go" will fight you for that title.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 9 March 2021 03:33 (three years ago) link
It's "The Sound of Crying" for me, but we're splitting hairs here
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 9 March 2021 03:51 (three years ago) link
1) this goddamn band. 2) I now have an earworm mashup from Life of Surprises to Forever by Charli.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Tuesday, 9 March 2021 12:27 (three years ago) link
I went through a period of listening to "Elegance" a lot after this poll. Not sure I'd parsed the lyrics properly beforehand but I was suddenly really digging it as a class warfare anthem. Secretly their best song. Maybe. Sometimes.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Tuesday, 9 March 2021 22:41 (three years ago) link
Nah. Cue Fanfare is the zenith.
― yugi ex, Tuesday, 9 March 2021 23:01 (three years ago) link
When everyone comes in at the start of “Life of Surprises” is the best
― Master of Treacle, Tuesday, 9 March 2021 23:32 (three years ago) link