Thanks for doing this! R.I.P. LC
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Tuesday, 13 December 2016 04:07 (seven years ago) link
I feel a bit dopey for suggesting this poll and then not voting in it (life got in the way). Would have had "Joan of Arc" as a #1 and would also have boosted some of those one-voters ("Fingerprints" and "Tonight Will Be Fine" come to mind).
Anyway, fantastic rollout, and here's something else special, The Vogues (yes, the "Five-O-Clock World" dudes) in their waning days addressing "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye": https://youtu.be/BBO2AMMnhOQ
― a full playlist of presidential apocalypse jams (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 13 December 2016 04:33 (seven years ago) link
That's a good one - I spotted it, but I was cover'd out by "Suzanne" (for which I easily could have posted another 10)
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Tuesday, 13 December 2016 04:37 (seven years ago) link
Also, did the gap between the stuff from the debut and the title track You Want It Darker make this the widest spanning artist poll, placement-wise? Dylan had it before, but IIRC his newest countdown track was from the 00s vs. Freewheelin' in '63.
― a full playlist of presidential apocalypse jams (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 13 December 2016 04:40 (seven years ago) link
Not sure, but it's a mighty impressive span, especially when you consider that he released Songs of Leonard Cohen at 33, whereas Dylan was 21/22 in the Freewheelin' era.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Tuesday, 13 December 2016 04:58 (seven years ago) link
I forgot to vote, but thanks to everyone who did - only surprise to me was 'Closing Time' missing out on the top 40 altogether.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 14 December 2016 09:57 (seven years ago) link
I was a little surprised that "I Can't Forget" didn't place, but I suppose the version on I'm Your Man is one of the synthiest on a very synthy album (which I like, but I get that not everyone does). The one I hear in my head is probably spliced with the great Pixies version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEIwADZQN_o
― Andrew Farrell, Wednesday, 14 December 2016 13:48 (seven years ago) link
So is it OK to post our ballots now? That's normally a thing on ILM polls, right?
― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, 15 December 2016 08:00 (seven years ago) link
seems ok to me! here's mine (non-placers in bold)
The Partisan Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye Paper Thin Hotel First We Take Manhattan Hallelujah Suzanne Who by Fire Famous Blue Raincoat The Master Waiting for the Miracle Ballad of the Absent MareOn the Level The Law Lover, Lover, LoverSo Long, Marianne FingerprintsYou Want It Darker Story of IsaacI Can’t ForgetLady Midnight
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 15 December 2016 08:08 (seven years ago) link
Here's mine then, bold didn't place. Interestingly (or maybe not), all four of my non-placers are from Recent Songs.
1. Famous Blue Raincoat2. Joan of Arc3. Suzanne4. Take This Longing5. The Window6. So Long Marianne7. Bird on the Wire8. The Guests9. Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye10. Chelsea Hotel #211. The Traitor12. Alexandra Leaving13. One of Us Cannot Be Wrong14. Sisters of Mercy15. Take This Waltz16. Stranger Song17. Avalanche18. Ballad of the Absent Mare19. Anthem20. If It Be Your Will
― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, 15 December 2016 08:56 (seven years ago) link
a very enjoyable poll, great blurbs
your mini-essay on Paper Thin Hotel made me listen to that song anew and the Dulli rendition is too beautiful
did not vote, had I voted there is a chance that "Darkness" had been my #1 (surely top 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bxbw0wfDOI
no grand statement on life, but a HELLA cool blues
― niels, Thursday, 15 December 2016 09:04 (seven years ago) link
weirdly I am not a huge fan of the Dulli PTH, I had to include it tho obviously
playlist finally updated with the entire top 40:https://open.spotify.com/user/suckerblues/playlist/58W5K0QfbwWu3nbvaf009k
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Friday, 16 December 2016 14:40 (seven years ago) link
listening to "Field Commander Cohen" rn. weird that he mentions Fidel Castro in this song. he's the only named person in the song other than Cohen. they both died Nov 2016.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 17 December 2016 04:52 (seven years ago) link
man, the title track of Death of a Ladies' Man got robbed in this one
― Karl Malone, Friday, 13 January 2017 04:38 (seven years ago) link
It's a strange song, with a kind of off-putting, aloof quality... The lyric is wonderful (though I don't know whether it would stand on its own as poetry), & kinda reminds me of some early mock-ballads of T.S. Eliot (the line about the "working-class mustache" in particular... I couldn't say why)
But the production job -- striking though it is -- seems to lack some necessary dynamic or textural variation, with the result that listening to it just wears me out.
― bernard snowy, Friday, 20 January 2017 16:05 (seven years ago) link
Karl otm
― Οὖτις, Friday, 20 January 2017 17:04 (seven years ago) link
love that drums-less ending that just stretches on, twinkling in the heavens.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 20 January 2017 22:57 (seven years ago) link
haha yeah the coda just goes ooooonnnnnnnnn
Spector's penchant for leaving in drumming mistakes is sort of endearing, shows up most prominently on this song and Dion's "Born to Be With You"
― Οὖτις, Friday, 20 January 2017 23:00 (seven years ago) link
i think about Dion and Cohen's albums all the time. 70s Phil Spector is an odd beast, lots of string synths, leaving in mistakes, etc. DOALM is pretty much an unfinished record, using rough vocals cos the tapes were basically taken at ransom (???) and Cohen never got to finish the record on his terms. from what i have read, Cohen never really hated this album or cursed Spector for doing that. it was a totally unique experience for him, which is a big part of why he wanted them to work together in the first place.
so we have live bands and endless rehearsal replaced by...ethereal multi-track symphonies? it used to be teenage symphonies, now it's middle aged symphonies, fat and bloated, drunk, still lusting after young women and pining over lost loves, trying to deconstruct your persona or fall in love yet again after failing at both so many times. a pop Dark Night of the Soul. fwiw i feel like The Beach Boys "Love You" fits neatly into this category. another attempt at synthesized studio pastiches of 60s doo wop.
love in space. it is not simply a wall of sound anymore, it is a swirling, churning galaxy. in the 70s Spector sort of got into space rock. the lilting keyboards on the intro to "Paper Thin Hotel" is very Spacemen 3. (also see Dion's phaser-drenched cover of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands".)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN6H3B42j1k
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 21 January 2017 02:21 (seven years ago) link
Jason Pierce loves BTBWY iirc. You can def hear 70s Spector in the S3/Spiritualized stuff.
― Οὖτις, Saturday, 21 January 2017 02:30 (seven years ago) link
George Harrison's "Let It Down" also belongs on a Phil Spector-Spiritualized mixtape
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 21 January 2017 02:46 (seven years ago) link
Excellent posts.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 21 January 2017 04:06 (seven years ago) link
nah the whole DOalM album is horrible, by some way LC's worst album
― heaven parker (anagram), Saturday, 21 January 2017 15:16 (seven years ago) link
challops
― niels, Saturday, 21 January 2017 15:19 (seven years ago) link
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/09/24/drank-a-lot
― wayne trotsky (Simon H.), Tuesday, 18 September 2018 14:01 (five years ago) link