Too LOW: ILM Artist Poll #111 - Low - RESULTS

going to go through covers fairly quickly

10. Lord, Can You Hear Me?
Originally performed by Spacemen 3, written by Pierce
Released on the A Tribute To Spacemen 3 compilation & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
90 points, 9 voters
Studio version

I'm going to be controversial and say that I like them, but I actually am genuinely befuddled by the extreme love for Double Negative...and tbh, the new one.

― I'm a sovereign jizz citizen (the table is the table), Tuesday, 23 November 2021 00:48 (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I'm curious to hear you unpack this a bit - you talked in the other thread about C'Mon and The Invisible Way but not these ones.

re: Double Negative, I can't think of another band that has made that kind of leap 25 years into their career

Things We Lost in the Fire though... the album leaves me pretty cold and I don't get why it has such a strong rep...

― Vinnie, Monday, November 22, 2021

I listened a few times through while voting, and in retrospect it seems a little distant and manicured to me. I don't remember thinking that at the time. I know that could be a criticism of Secret Name, too

i can understand longtime fans being somewhat alienated by double negative but at this point it's genuinely up there with like kid a, loveless etc. as far as pop-experimental rock albums go & it has some of their very best tunes even ignoring the production.

Yeah I said this previously but Double Negative has surprisingly indelible melodies.

Very few points separating Trust, Things We Lost, and DN. I had Things We Lost as #1. It was my gateway disc.

voted for more tracks from Trust and The Great Destroyer than from any of their other albums. they were my #2 and #3

8. Stay
Originally performed by Rihanna, written by Ekko/Parker/Loelv
Released as a single in 2013
92 points, 8 voters
Studio version

8. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Originally performed by The Smiths, written by Marr/Morrissey
Released as as single in 2001 & on A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
92 points, 7 voters, 1 #1 vote
Studio version

Ended up being easier to rank than I thought - for me Fire, Trust, Double Negative, HW just absolutely nail an aesthetic start-to-finish with no dead weight, feel exceptionally replayable. Drums and Guns material is incredibly strong, but with the obvious production issue. Destroyer, Cast, Hope, Secret Name have really high highs but aren't quite top-to-bottom packed with favourites. The 2010 records are still strong but combined with songs that I really struggle to get on with - as much as I wish that weren't the case.

I think the comparison to Kid A or Loveless is apt! The production is striking but underneath that are some very strong songs

xp to Dan: Secret Name is a bit stronger for me than Things We Lost so I kinda get why people like that one, but nothing from either album made my ballot. I guess the connection there is Albini but I've liked other albums he's produced

yeah, that Albini produced those surprised me. I really liked Secret Name though, it was maybe too twee but it felt very intimate to me

7. Long Long Long
Originally performed by The Beatles, written by Harrison
Released on the "Joan of Arc" single & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
96 points, 8 voters
Studio version

Always thought this live version with strings https://v3.fastupload.co/file/9766 of the Last Night cover beat out the box set recording which bumped it up a few places.

6. Blue-Eyed Devil
Originally performed & written by Soul Coughing
Released on the Teleconned Volume 1: We Want The Airwaves v/a compilation & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
108 points, 8 voters, 2 #1 votes
Studio version

ooh what's the context of that live version, are there other tracks from the same performance with strings out there

HEY WHAT too Low! Long Division way too low. Oof.

5. Little Drummer Boy
As made famous by Harry Simeone Chorale, written by Simeone/Davis/Onorati
Released on Christmas
112 points, 8 voters, 1 #1 vote
Studio version

Glad to see other voters put Little Drummer Boy on their list of covers. Christmas drone

that was my favorite Christmas song as a little kid. I've heard it to death, but their version is very nice

4. I Started a Joke
Originally performed by The Bee Gees, written by Gibb/Gibb/Gibb
Released on the Jabberjaw...Pure Sweet Hell v/a compilation & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
140 points, 9 voters, 2 #1 votes
Studio version

Yay!

I don’t agree with all these crazy results but I love seeing em

I'm curious to hear you unpack this a bit - you talked in the other thread about C'Mon and The Invisible Way but not these ones.

― Tim F, Monday, November 22, 2021 4:53 PM (forty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I think the issue for me is that they're both great albums, but at a certain point, DN has more in common with the kinetic aural density of like a Tim Hecker record than with the side of Low that I love best, which is sparse and expansive. Curtain is my #1 because it feels like an endless plain at dusk.

I love the earlier more experimental ambient Low tracks a lot, and sort of wish that these newer records went more in that direction-- instead, that sort of sonic palette seems to be applied to the more 'song-y' side of the band.

3. Fearless
Originally performed by Pink Floyd, written by Gilmour/Waters
Released on the "Canada" single & A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
154 points, 12 voters, 1 #1 vote
Studio version

yup xp

if anything, the melodies on double negative seem to harken back to the sparser approach of the curtain hits the cast to me rather than the more 'pop' direction they'd been exploring for quite a while up until ones and sixes.

double negative was my #1 but curtain was my #2

Like, if anything, I want them to make more barebones tracks (like the really beautiful version of Silent Night) or lean heavier into the indeterminate warbling loops of "Shots & Ladders." Instead it feels a little more like they're really fucking around a lot with tracks from The Great Destroyer.

And maybe that's a part of it: the new records are really LOUD even when they're quiet, and I don't quite like that, tbh!

xpost Yeah - songs like "Always Up" or "Always Trying To Work It Out" or "Poor Sucker" remind me of say "Drag" or "Slide" or "Anon" or "Coattails": insistent rather than conventionally songful.

Hey What doesn't fit that comparison though - definitely reminds me of The Great Destroyer more than anything else.

I also agree that a more abstract / ambient approach would make sense as a next direction.

2. Transmission
Originally performed by Joy Division, written by Curtis/Hook/Morris/Sumner
Released on Transmission EP
156 points, 11 voters, 4 #1 votes
Studio version

1. Low & Dirty Three - Down by the River
Originally performed by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, written by Young
Released on In the Fishtank 7
186 points, 12 voters, 5 #1 votes
Studio version

a more abstract/ambient approach is something they've pretty strongly toyed with on the last two albums & they could easily push much further into that next time if they feel like it

the "down by the river" cover is pretty transcendent

here's the full covers results:

1. Down by the River - 186 points, 12 voters, 5 #1 votes
2. Transmission - 156 points, 11 voters, 4 #1 votes
3. Fearless - 154 points, 12 voters, 1 #1 vote
4. I Started a Joke - 140 points, 9 voters, 2 #1 votes
5. Little Drummer Boy - 112 points, 8 voters, 1 #1 vote
6. Blue-Eyed Devil - 108 points, 8 voters, 2 #1 votes
7. Long Long Long - 96 points, 8 voters
8. Stay - 92 points, 8 voters
8. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me - 92 points, 7 voters, 1 #1 vote
10. Lord, Can You Hear Me? - 90 points, 9 voters
11. Back Home Again - 66 points, 5 voters
12. I'm On Fire - 50 points, 5 voters
13. Let's Stay Together - 50 points, 6 voters
14. Sunshine - 44 points, 3 voters
15. Carnival Queen - 42 points, 4 voters
16. Blue Christmas - 32 points, 3 voters
17. Surfer Girl - 28 points, 3 voters
18. ...I Love - 26 points, 4 voters
19. Heartbeat - 24 points, 4 voters
19. Nowhere Man - 24 points, 3 voters
21. War on War - 20 points, 1 voter, 1 #1 vote
22. Silent Night - 18 points, 2 voters
23. Open Arms - 2 points, 1 voter

i'll be back starting the tracks countdown tomorrow, starting a little earlier probably

i was one of the #1s for "down by the river." i had "i'm on fire" at #2, glad to see other ppl voted for it too

xxp

And maybe that's a part of it: the new records are really LOUD even when they're quiet, and I don't quite like that, tbh!

― I'm a sovereign jizz citizen (the table is the table), Monday, November 22, 2021

that's interesting. makes me realize I love that when Low as a soft band became really loud - there was something about that to me

my favorite of their covers is pretty easily “blue-eyed devil”. wish soul coughing sounded like that (ok not really)

The first 60-80 minutes of that covers list would make a pretty good album tbh

They're a band I'd love to see do a covers record.

Or honestly, given the territory they're ik sonically the last few years, and self-covers record in their current sound-world would be pretty awesome (a la The Knife's 'Shaken Up Versions').

For a little reading before the songs rollout--found the interview Alan graciously did with me almost 20 years ago, when 'Trust' had leaked but not yet been issued. Some pretty interesting thoughts in his responses (no thanks to my amateur fan-perspective questions), and observations that ring as true 28 years into the story of Low as (at the time) 8 years in.

It was so cool of him to do the email-based interview--as I mention in the preable, I had no outlet for an interview and wasn't in any way a professional, but he took the time while they were on tour.

http://www.trustlow.com/articles/2002-10-30_popmatters.php

Great album poll results, I think the only one I had that didn’t place was “In the Fishtank.” I’d be very curious about how the Burton produced albums are rated in ten years or so. They have this Berlin-era Bowie vibe for me right.

Unsurprisingly, I find “Double Negative” to be their “Low”!

xp
that was a really good interview, Soundslike

Things We Lost in the Fire
HEY WHAT
Double Negative
Trust
Secret Name
I Could Live in Hope
The Curtain Hits the Cast
Long Division
Ones and Sixes
Drums and Guns

I was the only vote for their cover of "War on War," it's awesome. (I've never heard the original.)

I like the cover of "Fearless" because the song itself rules, but they don't really do anything with it. Unlike "Down by the River" and "Transmission," they don't make it a Low song.

I ultimately cut all covers from my Top 30 ballot, but "Down" and "Trans." were the last to go.

My #1 was Ones and Sixes, I really can get lost in that album, which is very consistent and like an enclosed universe. Double Negative probably gives a similar impression. I voted for Long Division over I could live in hope, both high in my ballot, surprised this album is not more loved. Trust, Things We Lost in the Fire, and The Curtain Hits the Cast (voted for in that order next to each other) I find of similar strength, with many highlights, but with passages that occasionally keep me at bay over an album length.

Curtain was my #1. I'm actually surprised less of the current era fans get behind it, not least because of the imperious DYKHTW - which unsurprisingly became the centrepiece of touring Double Negative since it"s clearly the progenitor in their history.

Who else was the Exit Papers voter? Love that record.

I didn't expect "Things We Lost in the Fire" to get the most #1 votes, at least not by that margin. It was my #2, and DN my #1, so I can't really complain.

Their covers have never done much for me, having not heard most of them, I didn't send a covers ballot. "Transmission" is too slow (a dumb and obvious thing to say, but it is what it is), "Lord Can You Hear Me?" is one of the worst songs on an otherwise excellent S3 tribute album. "Sunshine" works as a stylistic coda to "I Could Live In Hope" but is otherwise bland and uninspired. I do like the Smiths cover though.

Enjoyed reading that interview Soundslike, first time I read his thoughts outside their music, thanks for sharing !

A day behind here but I did not expect those album results - was sure Curtain would be a runaway #1, Things We Lost and Trust were my top two so I'm happy to see the love for them. I know it's early days but I think Hey What improves slightly on Double Negative, just a bit stronger melodically.