Senses Working Poll-vertime: The XTC Poll Nominations and Discussions thread

if anyone votes for "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" you'll make an enemy of me.

aaaaany kind of love is alllriiiight

dw soto its like the worst track on nonsuch

there's competition

u dissing nonsuch!! o lord

I literally don't think I've heard PP in about a decade, I always just skip straight to My Bird Performs. I remember it felt like it had about 12 verses

'omnibus' has more ham on its fist than mike tyson but i can't think of any other disasters

there are things I like about it but it's def not their best. terrible video too

worst on Nonsuch is an unpleasant battle. The hamfisted bookends are both contenders.

booksareburningepicguitarsolo.wav, also gasface

it's the 90's' answer to hotel california

but there was no question asked

I like "Dear Madam Barnum"

yh apart from PP and omnibus it's a gr8 album & I will vote for loads of its trax

I do wonder if other people have a de facto 15 track Nonsuch that begins with MBP and ends with Bungalow

did gangsta andy partridge really just give me the gasface

my version of Nonsuch is 11 tracks - sorry Omnnibus, That Wave, Books are Burning, Bungalow and whatever else I've forgotten and didn't like

that was pato haha

the one I get into big trouble with is The Smartest Monkeys aka Colin's Best Song *fucking flees*

you hate That Wave????!

*continues fleeing*

yeah I hate the vocal effect on That Wave, the wandering melody, the ugly chords, pretty much everything about it

I do like the Fuzzy Warbles outtake of Andy doing funny voices to it tho

forgot "The Art Song (Something Good With Your Life)" from Fuzzy Warbles in my recs list upthread. lyric is a bit over the top but good tune overall imo.

Before buying Nonsuch I knew XTC as the guys who recorded "King For a Day," "Dear God," and "Making Plans for Nigel." It horrified me: "Smartest Monkey," "War Dance," "Then She Appeared," "Holly Up on Poppy," these not particularly winning attempts at Beatles and Rundgren-esque pop.

Ugh war dance and smartest monkeys...

I like then she appeared tho

yea Smartest Monkeys fucking SUCKS

one poll to divide them

Only kidding, but I don't think it's worthy of that epic breakdown that you wrote LJ :)

haha oh god there turned out to be like 16 reasons why it was a great song, none of which anyone else agreed with :D

Well, not all 16 at least

think i lost everyone at SIREN

Moulding's writing is my biggest problem with Nonsuch - My Bird Performs is fine, but his other three songs are sub-par. I like the solo on Smartest Monkeys though; that partly redeems it for me.

first 40-entry ballot received do I hear 50, 50...?

What would win a worst-of poll? Fruit Nut?

NO

Fruit Nut is great

i'm the man who murdered love, probably. not my worst but it drives everyone sick with loathing

I really dislike Church of Women

it's a gorgeous song, even if the lyrics are a biiiiiit embarrassing

like/love all these songs

see what I mean?

these poll results are going to enrage so many lol

The one about hairy backs

the bridge between the verse and the chorus is pretty, but yes it's more about the lyrics, esp as they put more bluntly something present in other XTC songs that I like more where this sentiment is maybe easier to ignore/go along with? xp

Nonsuch is their first record to be 50% clunkers, it was hella dispiriting at the time. But I mean fuck it my man Robyn has made so many 50% bad 50% awesome albums by this point.

I'm willing to relisten to everything except wasp star for this poll...

there is some great stuff on Wasp Star, as noted already

I did think, while clicking Submit, that someone will love Fruit Nut. Your [Angel Brain's) "less overlap on people's choices than most ilm polls" remark is holding up…

The utterly heart melting middle eight in Harvest Festival makes up for a lot of the awkward middle age music, but only just.

most of apple venus 1 is awesome

I like all of those Colin songs on the the last two albums about being a boring middle aged person, they are a nice contrast with stuff like Greenman and I Can't Own Her on Apple Venus vol 1 especially

harvest festival is one of partridge's best lyrics

boarded up is one of the best songs on wasp star and proof that colin could still do it when he got pissed off enough

xp ha, I wrote that before i saw MaresnNest's ref to 'awkward middle age music'

I think maybe soref and I have crossed swords about this before, but to me Moulding's quotidian preferences ruined the last couple of records. XTC music isn't supposed to be brown, in my humble.

I think In Another Life might be my favourite song on Wasp Star, maybe even above The Wheel and the Maypole