i voted "can't be sure" (as the poll's title would suggest)
― xuxa pitts (donna rouge), Sunday, 27 September 2009 07:22 (fourteen years ago) link
good choice for a poll! it could be almost any track...but the guitar on Skin & Bones is so out of this world, i think i'm gonna go for that.
― jabba hands, Sunday, 27 September 2009 10:00 (fourteen years ago) link
Oh god... so hard. Lyrically, it would have to be I Kicked A Boy. But I'm in love with the whooping and swooping melody of You're Not The Only One... I Knoooowww... (And I'm too proud to talk to you anyway)
But what is the song with the lyric "You see me in a cardigan and a dress, dress, dress that I've been sick on..." ?
― I Like Daydreams, I've Had Enough Reality (Masonic Boom), Sunday, 27 September 2009 10:52 (fourteen years ago) link
Skin & Bones.
But now I'm reading the lyrics I want to vote for all of them.
― I Like Daydreams, I've Had Enough Reality (Masonic Boom), Sunday, 27 September 2009 10:54 (fourteen years ago) link
Oh god, the coda on My Finest Hour - her voice sends shivers down my spine. The missing link between Cocteau Twins and the Smiths? Except, erm, really, I'll just go ahead and vote for this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H60jKJ4VrdQ
― I Like Daydreams, I've Had Enough Reality (Masonic Boom), Sunday, 27 September 2009 11:32 (fourteen years ago) link
Impossible to choose from "Here's Where The Story Ends," "My Finest Hour," and "A Certain Someone."
― Little starbursts of joy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 27 September 2009 11:53 (fourteen years ago) link
"Hideous Towns" by a million miles for me, the whole song is just this ecstatic rush that in some ways I think is kinda unmatched by anything ever.
But that's not to downplay the brilliance of so much other stuff here - "Can't Be Sure" and "My Finest Hour" in particular. Wow I seem to boring taste in this regard.
― Tim F, Sunday, 27 September 2009 12:01 (fourteen years ago) link
Comes down to "Hideous Towns" vs "You're Not The Only One I Know" for me. I think the latter by a hair.
― a wicked 60s beat poop combo (Pancakes Hackman), Sunday, 27 September 2009 12:24 (fourteen years ago) link
Hideous Towns
― Hazy, Sunday, 27 September 2009 14:25 (fourteen years ago) link
Love this record. "Skin & Bones" for me.
― Alex in NYC, Sunday, 27 September 2009 17:01 (fourteen years ago) link
Such a great album, tough to pick but I'll have to go with "Can't Be Sure", the lyrical refrain at the end still kills me 20 years later.
― ABSOLUTELY NO SCRUBS WHATSOEVER, Monday, 28 September 2009 13:30 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah.
― Mark G, Monday, 28 September 2009 13:35 (fourteen years ago) link
Where did they go?
They came out with a single, then went away.
Came back with something great (the 1st LP), then went away for ages.
Came back with another one, went away for a long time.
Came back with "Summertime", and an LP, then went away........
― Mark G, Monday, 28 September 2009 13:37 (fourteen years ago) link
They take their private lives more seriously than their music, which is commendable.
― Little starbursts of joy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 28 September 2009 13:38 (fourteen years ago) link
"can't be sure," for the drums as much as anything. whatever happened to their drummer? he was good.
― flying squid attack (tipsy mothra), Monday, 28 September 2009 13:42 (fourteen years ago) link
Joining the lurkers and voting for "Here's Where The Story Ends" -- as much as I love this whole record nothing matches the experience of hearing this on the radio and slack-jawing at its raw beauty.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 28 September 2009 13:51 (fourteen years ago) link
I often feel it's kind of bad form to vote for the obvious well-known choice but dammit, I can't NOT vote for "Can't Be Sure" on this one
― ein fisch schwimmt im wasser · fisch im wasser durstig (a passing spacecadet), Monday, 28 September 2009 14:21 (fourteen years ago) link
Wait, huh? Surely "Here's Where The Story Ends" is the obvious well-known choice?
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 28 September 2009 16:14 (fourteen years ago) link
"Can't Be Sure" really is amazing.
― Alex in NYC, Monday, 28 September 2009 16:25 (fourteen years ago) link
It is in Amerikay.
xpost
― Little starbursts of joy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 28 September 2009 16:26 (fourteen years ago) link
Probably the song I come back to the most, along with "I Kicked a Boy."
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 28 September 2009 16:55 (fourteen years ago) link
'You're Not The Only One I Know', which I first heard on a Toy Machine skateboarding video about 12 years ago.
― Gavin in Leeds, Monday, 28 September 2009 16:55 (fourteen years ago) link
so who else on ilx heard the emma bunton version of 'here's where the story ends' first huh
― thomp, Monday, 28 September 2009 18:04 (fourteen years ago) link
the final straw in an already doomed relationship was when i played this for the girl once and she hated it.
― carne asada, Monday, 28 September 2009 18:13 (fourteen years ago) link
I voted for Can't be Sure as well, but it was a tough call, I was very close to voting for I Kicked a Boy
― Pete Baumann, Monday, 28 September 2009 18:37 (fourteen years ago) link
I have got to listen to this album again! This thread is reminded me of how much I love almost every song on it.
― Pete Baumann, Monday, 28 September 2009 18:38 (fourteen years ago) link
I love this album front to back like I love few other albums, and "I Kicked a Boy" the most. It's all about the little deviation from the melody Harriet does at the end.
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 28 September 2009 18:44 (fourteen years ago) link
all their songs seem to really take off at the end, its their stock in trade.
― ABSOLUTELY NO SCRUBS WHATSOEVER, Monday, 28 September 2009 18:57 (fourteen years ago) link
This album makes me deliriously happy. "Can't Be Sure."
― Jazzbo, Monday, 28 September 2009 19:13 (fourteen years ago) link
I remember taping their '89 Peel Session off the radio with no idea who they were, and absolutely loving it, and then seeing the video for Can't Be Sure on The Chart Show which pretty much sealed the deal for lifelong adoration. So difficult to choose on this one, but went for CBS in the end - close second for Joy though, surely one of the best album closers ever.
― Bill A, Monday, 28 September 2009 19:21 (fourteen years ago) link
you're not the only one
― akm, Monday, 28 September 2009 19:43 (fourteen years ago) link
On my first and only trip to London I picked up an NME, and "Can't Be Sure" was single of the week. Bought it unheard at Rough Trade, but the friend I was staying with didn't have a turntable, so I was unable to hear it in its "proper" environment and had to wait until returning to the US. Beautful single, then and now.
― Such A Hilbily (Dan Peterson), Monday, 28 September 2009 19:50 (fourteen years ago) link
This is such a great autumn record.
― kate78, Monday, 28 September 2009 19:52 (fourteen years ago) link
i voted for You're Not The Only One I Know, but like everyone else here, i've grown to love every track on this album. Would love to hear that Peel Session if anyone has it in decent quality.
― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 28 September 2009 20:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Try these:http://www.duckworthsquare.com/frankosonic/frankosonic/2008/05/sundays-peel-session.htmlhttp://wilfullyobscure.blogspot.com/2008/09/sundays-reading-writing-and-arithmetic.html
― Jazzbo, Monday, 28 September 2009 20:27 (fourteen years ago) link
perfect, thanks
― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 28 September 2009 20:48 (fourteen years ago) link
Drumming on Hideous Towns is so great.
― Jamie_ATP, Monday, 28 September 2009 23:39 (fourteen years ago) link
OTM
― Alex in NYC, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 01:20 (fourteen years ago) link
it's not bad in spring either
― electric sound of jim (original version) (electricsound), Tuesday, 29 September 2009 01:22 (fourteen years ago) link
Pretty great all year round.
― Hazy, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 09:49 (fourteen years ago) link
Cheers for the links, Jazzbo. The Black Session version of Joy from wilfullyobscure is *incredible* - Gavurin's great swathes of guitar towards the end even put me in mind of the sainted Julian Swales from Kitchens of Distinction, which is clearly a VERY GOOD THING.
― Bill A, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 10:30 (fourteen years ago) link
This is so difficult, but I ended up plumping for "I Kicked a Boy".
If "Don't Tell Mother" hadn't been thrown away as a b side and ended up on the album as it should have done, I'd have voted for that.
― Guilty_Boksen, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 12:24 (fourteen years ago) link
The first CD I ever bought, and I'm still listening to it.
― Vast Halo, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 22:14 (fourteen years ago) link
Did you only buy it this afternoon though
I still rate Blind over this - maybe because I heard it first, I know it's a rare and challenging opinion.
― this must be what FAIL is really like (ledge), Tuesday, 29 September 2009 22:17 (fourteen years ago) link
Peel session version of My Finest Hours wipes the *floor* with the album version. SO good.
― piscesx, Wednesday, 30 September 2009 00:21 (fourteen years ago) link
Been thinking about this for a couple days now. I've been torn b/w HWTSE, CBS, YNTOOIK & Hideous Towns, tho an argument could be made for pretty much every song on this fantastic album. I think I'll go for You're Not The Only One I Know.
― govt just cut all ties with acorn squash (Pillbox), Wednesday, 30 September 2009 01:45 (fourteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Thursday, 8 October 2009 23:01 (fourteen years ago) link
Just played my old vinyl of this the other day. I voted "My Finest Hour". I do love this album, but interestingly, on this recent re-listen I found her vocals grated a little. Small doses good and all that.
― ceci n'est pas une pipecock (Trayce), Thursday, 8 October 2009 23:11 (fourteen years ago) link
Album is so good, haven't listened to whole thing in a long time. Voted "Kicked a Boy" b/c that one still goes through my head a lot, but I don't remember skipping any of these.
― Mark, Friday, 9 October 2009 01:03 (fourteen years ago) link
god I'd love a good remaster of this CD. I never heard the vinyl (is there one) but the CD is a treble-y mess, so harsh. The bass playing on this record sounds incredible but it's really difficult to hear.
― akm, Friday, 9 October 2009 04:30 (fourteen years ago) link
All the Sundays albums were released on vinyl, but this was the only one released on vinyl in both the US and UK.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 9 October 2009 04:55 (fourteen years ago) link
Its good on vinyl - I could imagine it sounding thin on CD.
― ceci n'est pas une pipecock (Trayce), Friday, 9 October 2009 05:04 (fourteen years ago) link
i have the orig RT press, always sounded fine t' me
― sound of contusion (electricsound), Friday, 9 October 2009 05:07 (fourteen years ago) link
of the cd that is
I had the pic disc version, but it was off-centre which put a big dampener on it.
― Mark G, Friday, 9 October 2009 07:02 (fourteen years ago) link
can't be sure. its the only sundays song I really love
― gman59, Friday, 9 October 2009 09:48 (fourteen years ago) link
You seem awfully sure of that.
― Johnny Fever, Friday, 9 October 2009 10:29 (fourteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Friday, 9 October 2009 23:01 (fourteen years ago) link
I feel sad for "A Certain Someone", LOVE the rawk drama especially at the end.
― Tim F, Saturday, 10 October 2009 03:45 (fourteen years ago) link
TWENTY YEARS!
http://thequietus.com/articles/03709-25-years-on-remembering-the-sundays-reading-writing-and-arithmetic
― piscesx, Friday, 28 May 2010 00:46 (thirteen years ago) link
think i will never not love this album
― y'tulip, y'pea-brained earwig (donna rouge), Wednesday, 4 April 2012 22:14 (twelve years ago) link
^^^
― eyes of dora maar (get bent), Wednesday, 4 April 2012 22:28 (twelve years ago) link
such miserable weather
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 18 April 2014 01:54 (ten years ago) link
easily one of the best records of all time. "Can't Be Sure" just gave me chills, what a sleeper, the textures on that song. i cannot with Harriet's voice.
― Swen, Saturday, 2 March 2024 01:59 (two months ago) link
TWENTY YEARS!http://thequietus.com/articles/03709-25-years-on-remembering-the-sundays-reading-writing-and-arithmetic― piscesx, Thursday, May 27, 2010
― piscesx, Thursday, May 27, 2010
The post says 20 years, the URL says 25 years, and if you click through, the article itself, from 2010, is titled "30 Years On: Remembering The Sundays' Reading, Writing and Arithmetic".
(I guess the quietus goes back and updates their article titles/links to mark the passing of time?)
― enochroot, Saturday, 2 March 2024 02:35 (two months ago) link
haha impressive staffing resources
― Swen, Saturday, 2 March 2024 02:45 (two months ago) link
I remember reading a good interview with the group from years ago in some travel magazine. i remember them being super honest about how hard success was and being perfectionistic, it was refreshing and enabled me to understand their catalog
― Swen, Saturday, 2 March 2024 03:00 (two months ago) link
There’s a very good bandsplain pod on them
― that's not my post, Saturday, 2 March 2024 03:08 (two months ago) link
oh from last year! cool
― Swen, Saturday, 2 March 2024 03:14 (two months ago) link
Love that Alice Donut toured with them - that musta been a bill.
― BlackIronPrison, Saturday, 2 March 2024 03:28 (two months ago) link
sounds like a fun night in the tour bus
― Swen, Saturday, 2 March 2024 21:37 (two months ago) link
Breihan's wonderful essay on "Here's Where the Story Ends": https://www.stereogum.com/2248843/the-alternative-number-ones-the-sundays-heres-where-the-story-ends/columns/the-alternative-number-ones/
― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 2 March 2024 21:40 (two months ago) link
I think it's an absolutely beautiful song but it was always more of a song that sounded like it was written for a film than a go-to on the record
― Swen, Saturday, 2 March 2024 22:18 (two months ago) link
Would love to see a Blind poll; Blood On My Hands is one of their best imo.
ha that's cool about The QUIETUS thing.
― piscesx, Sunday, 3 March 2024 22:51 (two months ago) link