Could we please be objective cause the other POLLS are queuing up behind us - Artist Poll #94 - Belle & Sebastian - RESULTS

http://i64.tinypic.com/s6t2qu.jpg

52 ballots, 140 track selections.
40 also conveyed opinions on the question of best albums, and 27 on the best EPs.

We'll start with the sub-polls, but this seems a good place for a Spotify link for the eventual track rollout:

https://open.spotify.com/user/empeecee/playlist/4AEQhTWsUuc2FMJIsVScBi?si=OOZanxXxQPqBEc7UcSc5pA

Thanks to Alba and eephus! for the thread title!

Hadn't time to vote, sadly, but stoked for the madness!

Hell yeah

wow that's a fantastic turnout! looking forward to this

Could be a slow start, but I'll try to get through this lot before I retire for the evening.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2zs79kw.jpg

This is the only really important vote this week

10. (TIE)

http://i67.tinypic.com/2m7jhwk.jpg
Storytelling (June 2002)
Points: 1
Votes: 1
#1 Votes: 0

http://i65.tinypic.com/254zwp2.jpg
God Help the Girl (June 2009)
Points: 1
Votes: 1
#1 Votes: 0

This list will, in fact, outline everything that got a vote.

9.
http://i63.tinypic.com/23k45t3.jpg
Belle and Sebastian Write About Love (October 2010)
Points: 8
Votes: 3
#1 Votes: 0

such a pretty sounding album but that's about the right place for it

Stoked! It’s been a long time since I voted in an ILM poll, but I just love this band too damn much not to do it.

This is one I massively underestimated before this exercise. I'd heard it, a number of times, but nothing quite stuck with me in the past. As I hinted on the other thread, I now have much of it swimming around head in quiet moments.

around MY head.

8.
http://i63.tinypic.com/2i9nzo2.jpg
Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (January 2015)
Points: 17
Votes: 9
#1 Votes: 1

So guessing How to Solve Our Human Problems didn't get any votes?

Not much of a spoiler, I guess: no, not as a compilation of the three parts. A mere five slots to fill is frightfully limiting though, so unsurprising.

7.
http://i63.tinypic.com/1emjxy.jpg
The Life Pursuit (February 2006)
Points: 23
Votes: 12
#1 Votes: 1

So far, so good.

with the exception of song for sunshine, nothing but bangers

Voted for both of these last two, glad to see I'm far from the only one.

Good to see Storytelling get a vote (even if it wasn't me)

6.
http://i64.tinypic.com/2akfp5z.jpg
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (June 2000)
Points: 30
Votes: 13
#1 Votes: 0

i'm a little surprised this one did better than The Life Pursuit. i don't really care much for either but i think this is the right way around though

Stevie Jackson on "Fold Your Hands Child":
"For a long time, this was my least favourite record because it was such a miserable time making it. I just hated that period. It was a rudderless operation and there was a lot of intrigue going on with the band. It was the end of the 90s so you had just endless studio time and budgets that no longer exist and I just remember being in there forever and it being a really obscene waste of time. An album emerged from it eventually..."

one thing that really stands out about it is all the harpsichord

uneven but women's realm -> family tree -> there's too much love is a perfect piece of sequencing

If we were submitting our 10 favourite B&S LPs, FYHCYWLAP would have been my #10

but yeah, women's realm and ttml are pretty great

FYH beating TLP is a travesty but I didn't submit an album list so I'm partly to blame.

When it came out, I think I resented Stuart for not writing all the songs.

*extremely me voice* girls in peacetime is also better than fold your hands

girls in peacetime just missed my ballot, i was definitely surprised by it

one thing that really stands out about it is all the harpsichord

yeah it's the most baroque-pop they ever got. my favorite non-comp b&s album these days

Speaking of which, purists holding the opinion that compilations don't really count are invited to avert their gaze...

I've tried listening the The Life Pursuit, I really have. But I just can't understand how anyone could rank it above FYHCYWLAP. Before the Sunrise is bad, but it's not bad enough to sink the whole album! I guess there are just people who want a very different thing out of this band and that's all well and good!

5.
http://i63.tinypic.com/2a8oitz.jpg
Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (singles compilation, May 2005)
Points: 73
Votes: 22
#1 Votes: 4

The nadir of FYHC.. for me is the opening to The Wrong Girl, Beyond The Sunrise is fine.

I ummed and ahhed about voting for Push Barman but ultimately, just look at what's on it.

Yeah, I voted for it, and I've never actually listened to it (just to the EP's that comprise it)

Yes, felt a bit weird putting Push Barman as my #2 even though I don't own it and still don't think I've ever listened to it from start to finish, but that's compilations for you.

I forgot Beyond the Sunrise's name it's so bad. Well it would be fine as a B-side I guess.

4.
http://i64.tinypic.com/206msrs.jpg
Dear Catastrophe Waitress (October 2003)
Points: 79
Votes: 29
#1 Votes: 2

wow too low! classic nearly the whole way through

I was expecting a few more #1 votes. Still, it was on almost 3/4 of ballots.

Yeah, now that i'm looking at the track list again, I feel like I should have had it higher in my list.

Top 3 prediction:
Arab Strap, Tigermilk, Sinister

prefer peacetime and the ones that have placed since to arab strap

3.
http://i63.tinypic.com/jza3pi.jpg
The Boy with the Arab Strap (September 1998)
Points: 92
Votes: 33
#1 Votes: 5

this has some incredible highs but it's way more inconsistent than the first two and DCW

I was surprised to find myself not voting for TABBYWARS, but though I like most of the tracks and it's sequenced well, I just don't go back to it, in the end it was shunted out by The Life Pursuit

The Boy with the Arab Strap #1's Unite!

What is TABBYWARS?

I've never liked Boy with the Arab Strap, kind of mystified by the high placement. Girls in Peacetime and The Life Pursuit deserve to be higher.

will concede that 'it could have been a brilliant career' is an incredible way to start a record

xp ufo
I think The Boy with the Arab Strap is their most consistent album so...

For a lot of people (myself included), it was their first real exposure to the band, which counts for a lot.

I tend to think a lot of the post-two-classics albums from B&S are about equal to each other, they all have some really good, some good, quite a lot of mundane, and a few questionable numbers. Which is partly why it's a great band to poll imo. The later albums are also just less known / familiar.

TWATTYBUS was my highest ranked conventional album (Barman was #1) after a cold scientific calculation of the raw number of favourite tracks on each. Didn't feel quite right somehow, but I went with science anyway.

these acronyms are killing me lol

TWATTYBUS!

TUBBYBEERS has a couple classics but also a lot of riff raff.

I didn't vote in the albums poll but don't get the distaste for FYTCHYWALLOP

did anyone ever ask the Glaswegians from the band Arab Strap what they thought of this album title? (or "Space Boy Dream," which deliberately cribs their whole deal)

they're from Falkirk, not Glasgow, my bad

i thought they were supposed to have been annoyed by it because people kept thinking it was a collaboration?

When questioned about it, Arab Strap's leader/singer, Aidan Moffat, said "They have a sense of humour." Malcolm Middleton, the band's instrumentalist, added, "Because Arab Strap is quite an interesting name. The words go well together. That's why we chose it as a band name. We're friends with them, but there's a limit to putting someone else's name on an album. They're taking away something from us." He also mentioned that the album had been confused as a collaboration between the bands

I didn't vote in albums, I had to hustle to get tracks in. But no controversy here.

Nor here, I suspect:

2.
http://i68.tinypic.com/2088nch.jpg
Tigermilk (June 1996)
Points: 116
Votes: 38
#1 Votes: 7

1.
http://i63.tinypic.com/2wd6cev.jpg
If You're Feeling Sinister (November 1996)
Points: 159
Votes: 38
#1 Votes: 20

Tigermilk has IDLA which is super classic. SM really HIOOTP with that one.

GOAT

20 #1 votes out of 40 total. That's what politicians call a "mandate"

Ha! I just looked on eBay to see how much original copies of Tigermilk were going for these days, and the actual stuffed animal from the album cover just sold for $18,500. LOL fans.

BBCODTV

I am one of the two non-Sinister-voters, who are you, other misfit?

LOL @ enochroot.

Being in a silly timezone I will pause at this point and endeavour to resume with EPs on Thursday morning, AEDT. (so...probably not before 8PM Wednesday, GMT.)

Stoked for this!

I can't see the images!

I had Arab Strap at #1! (I don't objectively think it's the best but I can't shake the feeling of what it did to me at the time.)

Easy Chinaski, I thought we had an agreement we'd be objective.

Fallen at the first (tartan) hurdle.

Your favorite between sinister v tigermilk comes down to which one you heard first, I’d guess.

No, I heard Sinister in full before I heard Tigermilk

I voted Sinister but not Tigermilk. Heard Sinister first FWIW.

Fold Your Hands was the album that rose the most in my estimation while re-listening, though not enough to place top 5.

I think I first heard Tigermilk, Sinister and Arab Strap within the same week or month

52 ballots! wtf this band isn't *that* good

incorrect

but seriously has anyone else put out as many deftly crafted pop songs in the last quarter century?

they’re that good

they're grrrrrrrrreat!

Shall we post our albums votes then?

I actually had (have!) a cassette taped from the original Tigermilk vinyl release by Pam from Chickfactor, beat that, hipsters.

speaking of chickfactor, solo stevie jackson then the softies was probs the best show i saw last year

52 ballots! wtf this band isn't *that* good

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, December 12, 2018 4:27 PM (thirty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is like the second or third ILM poll I’ve ever voted in!

I... didn't know you could vote for MC Push Barman for LPs!

that one I never bought since I already had the EPs

push barman was the only two cd's in my car for a good year

I've never actually owned Push Barman. It arrived today.

I am one of the two non-Sinister-voters, who are you, other misfit?

Who didn't vote for Tigermilk?

Apart from Dan.

52 ballots! wtf this band isn't *that* good

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, December 12, 2018 4:27 PM (thirty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Almost 3 times as good as the entire P-Funk catalogue ;_;

I actually had (have!) a cassette taped from the original Tigermilk vinyl release by Pam from Chickfactor, beat that, hipsters.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, December 12, 2018 4:59 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That is pretty cool! I was wondering last week whether bootlegs of Tigermilk circulated in the three(!) years before it got a proper release or was it just this sort of mythical unheard thing.

I definitely had a cassette dub of Tigermilk too, don't remember who dubbed it for me. I do remember it circulating in that period.

I had a cassette of Tigermilk! Definitely before you could buy a CD of it in the store. And there was definitely an "oh my god I HAVE THIS" aspect to it.

I had a dubbed cassette version that had been passed around and was of questionable fidelity, it was written up in high praise by either Jenny Toomey (or Franklin Bruno?) in Puncture Magazine and I put out some ISOs. The Matador crew hooked me up.

It was Jenny Toomey's article circa 1997. Franklin's piece came out later, around the time they toured NYC for the first time around Sinister. I remember FB made a note that SM changed the TSTIAMI lyric from "turning tables round in Marks & Spencer" to "Sears & Roebuck" lol.

Rolling Stone's 20 Best Metal Albums of 2018

Normally wouldn't care but my boys Frontierer got in again!

the boy done wrong again

been one of those days eh

first cup of coffee tasted like washing up

Hey this may be a dumb question but did anyone here see the 1 hour Pitchfork doc on the making of If You're Feeling Sinister? It's stellar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4de-RHHLCBA

Okay, time to run through the EPs perhaps?

yee

you be the driver

Sorry, slight technical issues. I'll skip the intended image...

Part Two: EPs

27 ballots received. As with albums, voters submitted ranked 5 selections. Scoring was a simple 5,4,3,2,1.

Any release with 3 to 5 tracks was eligible.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2hobb86.jpg
9. How to Solve Our Human Problems (Part 1) (December 2017)
Points: 2
Votes: 2
#1 Votes: 0

Er, "5 ranked selections" rather.

Again, this list includes everything that received a vote.

i watched the sinister doc and it is really excellent!

the artwork for the 3 Human Problems EPs is their very worst imo. if you're going to feature monochromatic randos, at least give them enough space to do something interesting for the camera!

*lines up all 3 EPs*

"but you don't understand, now there are TWELVE monochromatic randos doing nothing!"

It's not great. I believe the cover stars were fans, so it may have involved more more deliberation than their average cover!

http://i64.tinypic.com/zthfki.jpg
8. Legal Man (May 2000)
Points: 10
Votes: 5
#1 Votes: 0

Where it all started going wrong.

Where it all started going wrong groovy.

judy and her dream of dickslaps

this is not my favorite B&S EP

I dug the title track. But the others were their first to actually feel like B-sides to me.

I was listening to Push Barman a few days ago and I realized that the Legal Man single is all garbage. If I had actually bought it at the time I woulda been pissed.

http://i68.tinypic.com/jj8sps.jpg
7. I'm Waking Up To Us (November 2001)
Points: 24
Votes: 8
#1 Votes: 2

Sorry, that's actually 3 first-place votes. I can respect that position. All three tracks are possibly a tad under-rated. (Or under-heard?)

agreed. voted for two of these on my traxx poll and the third barely missed the cut.

5. (TIE)

http://i66.tinypic.com/30ml9au.jpg
Jonathan David (June 2001)
Points: 32
Votes: 14
#1 Votes: 0

http://i65.tinypic.com/309ncs9.jpg
Books (June 2004)
Points: 32
Votes: 12
#1 Votes: 3

A tie on total points, at least. The former was on more than half of ballots. The latter received several first-place votes. Pick your own winner if you wish.

judy and her dream of dickslaps

ha

a lot of people who don't like "winter wooskie" itt

you're all wrong

jonathan david is my vote for the best non-classic single. "carriage clock" AND "middle distance runner"???? my god

^ Yeah, what he said.

http://i68.tinypic.com/ix5unc.jpg
4. This Is Just a Modern Rock Song (December 1998)
Points: 67
Votes: 20
#1 Votes: 6

^ Yeah, what he said.

― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Wednesday, December 12, 2018 3:33 PM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this isn't me correcting you angrily or anything, it's extremely not a big deal and hard to figure out even from context, but for future notice i go by they/them

Oh, indeed! I was in furious agreement about Jonathan David! :)

And then I didn't even read that properly. Now I have!

books was my number 1 and all three original tracks made my top 12 (i do love cover (version) too, consider it lumped in with your cover's blown)

http://i68.tinypic.com/j6udld.jpg
3. 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light (October 1997)
Points: 75
Votes: 23
#1 Votes: 6

Books was my number one, Jonathan Davis my number two, Modern my number three. I really love the first two EPs but they each strike me as one stellar song with a couple good ones and a bad one.

Incidentally, I think the tracks rollout shall start at #60, because:

(i) everything has >10 votes out to around that point
(ii) there's an interesting mix of stuff between 50 and 60
(iii) more opportunity to annoy ILM's unbelievers than with 50

i think 369 seconds of light is easily the best of the first three eps, ok i guess they’re all hits so it doesn’t matter

Oh Nag can you also disclose which album track from pre-hiatus didn't get a vote (assuming it didn't in the final ballots)? That's been bugging me.

369 was my #1 too, even though the lead track (or at least the one that got a promo video) was probably my least favourite of that era.

I'll disclose right now which track missed out, because it's probably more of a technical thing than a quality thing: "Act of the Apostle II." Some votes for "AotA" might have implied support for both parts.

http://i67.tinypic.com/5000i9.jpg
2. Dog on Wheels (May 1997)
Points: 77
Votes: 24
#1 Votes: 4

http://i64.tinypic.com/3463rep.jpg
1. Lazy Line Painter Jane (July 1997)
Points: 84
Votes: 25
#1 Votes: 5

These last few kept swapping places right up to yesterday. There ultimately wasn't a huge amount it.

"IN it."

369 was my favorite too. couldn't decide which songs from it to put on my tracks list, ended up with Beautiful and Put the Book Back on the Shelf but it could have been any of the four

I need to perform some last minute quality control checks on the tracks ballot. And I've only just grasped the final positions for the first few. I shall endeavour to commence that bit some 9-10 hours from now. (Perhaps late morning, Greenwich Mean Time!?!)

Amazing work so far. I'd had 3..6..9 top too and it wasn't really a tough decision. Can't wait for the tracks results.

http://i68.tinypic.com/11qiqf5.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/35bat7a.jpg

60. I Don't Love Anyone
From Tigermilk (1996)
Live at Bowlie Weekender, 1999
Points: 156
Votes: 11
#1 Votes: 0

I should arguably have had someone competent do graphics, but it turns out I *really* like adding tints to dorky band portraits.

I get the impression at least one person will find this placement disappointing.

That would've been my number 1, if I'd voted. Way too low obv.

damn... forgot to vote!

I like it a lot, but do find it to be one of the weaker tracks on a really great albums.

How can multiple people have forgotten to vote and yet we have so many ballots?

I didn't forget but hadn't time

one of the more minor tracks on Tigermilk but that means it's still really quite good

http://i64.tinypic.com/2dl17i8.jpg

59. If You Find Yourself Caught in Love
From Dear Catastrope Waitress (2003)
Live at Glastonbury, 2015
Points: 157
Votes: 9
#1 Votes: 0

the whole end section of this one is a delight

Is this one Stuart's coming-out-as-a-christian song?

noh, we always knew..

I recognised all the religious metaphors from my Catholic upbringing, but imagined he was just using them as a source of vivid imagary, right up to this point.

http://i66.tinypic.com/345lb91.jpg

58. I Want the World to Stop
From Belle and Sebastian Write About Love (2010)
Original promo video
Points: 158
Votes: 11
#1 Votes: 0

My Tigermilk choices were a bit more arbitrary than those for other albums. In retrospect I should maybe have picked I Don't Love Anyone, just on the basis of how often I've found myself singing it since relistening to the album.

All songs in the countdown so far have started with the letter I. How long can this carry on?

Love Sarah Martin's vocals on Caught in Love, especially the 'give up your will' bit. The simple village girl verse is far more embarrassing than anyone's religion though.

I think some of Write About Love is very much in the same vein as their early stuff. I Want The World To Stop probably is my favorite 2010’s B&S next to I Didn’t See It Coming

http://i63.tinypic.com/2zje5vc.jpg

57. The Blues Are Still Blue
From The Life Pursuit (2006)
Original promo video
Points: 168
Votes: 13
#1 Votes: 0

^ I was generally avoiding front covers for this bit, as we've seen a lot of them already, but then I saw this charming TBASB promo CD cover.

Can I put in the first "too low!" here?

Too high!

That will be my last piece of carping about my dislike of The Life Pursuit. Sorry.

the blues rock thing they do on this one really does nothing for me

I'm generally down with The Life Pursuit but I seem to get the least mileage out of the Bolan-esque bits.

http://i64.tinypic.com/mkalc1.jpg

56. I Fought in a War
From Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)
Live at Glastonbury, 2004
Points: 177
Votes: 13
#1 Votes: 0

Wish I'd voted to drive the Blues higher. It's such a festival of sweet supporting details and goofy vocal tics. But then I'm in the minority who think that Side A of TLP is the best sequencing they ever did. Weird that people don't like its big pay-off moment.

I like I Fought in a War a lot but it does have one fatal flaw: the implausible concept of Stuart Murdoch having fought in a war.

Fold Your Hands - so many good songs jumbled up with some very bad songs. I Fought In a War serves as a promising intro though.

http://i67.tinypic.com/felajc.jpg

55. Put the Book Back on the Shelf
From 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light (1997)
Youtube audio track
Points: 178
Votes: 12
#1 Votes: 1

...incorporating "Songs for Children" on record. Though I don't think anyone made any reference to that section on ballots.

Also: too low!

yes, a serious "too low!" now, a top 5 for me easily, such a joy from start to finish this one

I mentioned Songs for Children!

Yes, I see you did! I guess I meant that no-one highlighted it as the main attraction or indicated that they were voting principally for SFC. :)

http://i63.tinypic.com/2lazsb4.jpg

54. I Know Where the Summer Goes
From This is Just a Modern Rock Song (1998)
Live at Bowlie Weekender, 1999
Points: 179
Votes: 13
#1 Votes: 0

I'd have voted for PTBBOTS anyway but the SFC coda pushed it way up my ballot.

one of many very lovely songs that didn't quite make my ballot. the This Is Just A Modern Rock Song EP is definitely my favourite EP - it's so delightful the whole way through while even Lazy Line Painter Jane has an oddity like A Century of Elvis on it

good morning!

http://i64.tinypic.com/23krogo.jpg

53. Beautiful
From 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light (1997)
Youtube audio track
Points: 181
Votes: 10
#1 Votes: 0

Arguably a bit much seventies knitwear in this section. Definitely a lot of too-low-ness as well.

http://i65.tinypic.com/mv3wwy.jpg

52. Ease Your Feet in the Sea
From The Boy With the Arab Strap (1998)
Youtube audio track
Points: 187
Votes: 11
#1 Votes: 1

a longtime ex had an interpolation of this as her email so I couldn't in good conscience give it any points

Image not necessarily related to this particular song, but they seemingly spent more than a little time in Hyndland Parish Church in '97/'98.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2gwapky.jpg

51. Is It Wicked Not to Care?
From The Boy With the Arab Strap (1998)
Original promo video
Points: 206
Votes: 12
#1 Votes: 0

good song for singing at home because you can just adlib freely, ie "is it wicked not to care about the vacuum in the air \\ and how the shampoo in the bathroom's beyond compare?"

Must try this.

Quoting the name of this track got me blocked from Lena Dunham's Twitter.

what?!

She posted a pic of her book Is It Evil Not to be Sure? and I replied "Is It Wicked Not To Care?" and was immediately blocked.

That promo video of Isobel singing the song to a stuffed lion might be the most B&S thing I've ever seen.

What does Isobel mean by "counting acts"? She uses the phrase in both IIWNTC and The Gate.

XP: Innit. I fiddled around trying to capture suitable frames for ages this week. :)

I've just remembered when Isobel turned up to a cafe I was in with that cuddly lion.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2gwapky.jpg

50. Dress Up in You
From The Life Pursuit (2006)
Unidentified TV footage
Points: 209
Votes: 10
#1 Votes: 0

OH NO! Wait...

http://i63.tinypic.com/ejxv5z.jpg

50. Dress Up in You
From The Life Pursuit (2006)
Unidentified TV footage
Points: 209
Votes: 10
#1 Votes: 0

http://i64.tinypic.com/x6afzs.jpg

49. I Didn't See It Coming
From Belle & Sebastian Write About Love (2010)
Promo video for the Richard X remix
Points: 216
Votes: 13, including one vote specifically for the Richard X remix.
#1 Votes: 1

I'm concerned that's going to be Sarah's only entry.

wow i thought this one would be much higher, it's right up with their very best. it builds so well the whole way through but when it really gets going in the middle section when the synth line comes in is fantastic

Huh. A #1 vote even...

Dress Up In You would be a lot higher if I'd voted. A LOT higher.

“i didn’t see it coming” is way too low

dress up in you was my #6. the least life pursuit-y track on life pursuit. the horn solo kills me (a theme on my ballot)

both way too low!!

Voted for I Didn't See It Coming, easily the best thing on that Write About Love, have not heard that remix before, not bad but not a patch on the original IMO

i thought "i didn't see it coming" would show up somewhere in the top 30, that's where that sort of late career highlight often falls, but i guess this band really just has too many good songs

http://i67.tinypic.com/1znu8g1.jpg

48. Jonathan David
From Jonathan David (2001)
Original promo video
Points: 221
Votes: 12
#1 Votes: 0

ok I'm gonna have to stop myself from saying "too low!!" every time

"beautiful" is prob my biggest "too low," i love everything about that song

I have swung a few times between love and hate for this one, the harmonies in last minute or so are perfection, but afraid I find everything about the vocal/lyric sort of embarrassing for some reason.

glad people voted for "ease your feet into the sea" which fell off the edge of my ballot

Obviously know the song and album but I still had to look up "Ease Your Feet," which I did not recognize by title alone.

looks like a lot of the ones people big-upped on the voting thread are placing around now...

I was the #1 vote for "Didn't See it Coming". Easily my most listened song by them over the past...ten years? Perfect vocals!

http://i64.tinypic.com/hryf5s.jpg

47. Photo Jenny
From Lazy Line Painter Jane (1997)
Live at Bowlie Weekender, 1999
Points: 228
Votes: 16
#1 Votes: 0

Just noticed it, but it sounds like Photo Jenny quotes "Wichita Lineman" with that guitar line at about 2:30?

Didn't make my 30 but the way he sings "Get some fish and chips / La la la la la / What's on the box? 'Man about the house' with Paula Wilcox" is hard to beat.

Now this I expected to be much higher. Think perhaps the twee name / subject matter distracts from quite how good it is.

I've no idea what comment he's making about gender or sexuality in this song. Or really anything about what he's getting out apart from wanting a photo of Jenny.

love this song, also fell off of my ballot

I Know Where the Summer Goes is too low! Delicious melancholy.

the most obvious reading of 'photo jenny' to me is that it's from the perspective of a trans woman but it's not the clearest narrative

it's 1995, the girls are just friends

I love this one.

Didn't make my 30 but the way he sings "Get some fish and chips / La la la la la / What's on the box? 'Man about the house' with Paula Wilcox" is hard to beat.

― Alba, Thursday, 13 December 2018 14:50 (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think out of all their songs this is the B&S moment that pops into my head most frequently.

the girls are holding hands
don't be a fool
it's 1995, the girls are just friends

b&s, my favorite weirdly religious but also weirdly super gay band

glad people voted for "ease your feet into the sea" which fell off the edge of my ballot

It was my number one.

Didn't make my 30 but the way he sings "Get some fish and chips / La la la la la / What's on the box? 'Man about the house' with Paula Wilcox" is hard to beat

Agreed.

it feels a little weird that "straight to the point of boring" man stuart murdoch wrote so many songs with very queer narratives, but i guess i appreciate it?

I suppose it fits in with his self-styled ME origin story, but so much of his songwriter self is vicarious - the effete voyeur too afraid to touch the ground lives through the experiences of others.

dress up in you was my #6. the least life pursuit-y track on life pursuit.

i had it at #8. a little shocked at how low it is. i love the life pursuit, but this song kind of towers over the rest of the album.

loving the images! voted for these so far, of which the first and last two are, as they say, too low:

If You Find Yourself Caught in Love
The Blues Are Still Blue
I Fought in a War
I Know Where the Summer Goes
Beautiful
Dress Up in You

xps That's such a bland point. I guess it's a rejoinder to folk who I've heard say his whole schtick is appropriative and sinister.

I thought it was well put.

You're a star now / I am fixing people's nails

And you've suddenly made me think of Stuart Murdoch in this era as a Harvey Darger like figure with his Story of the Vivian Girls.

"Dress Up In You" is one of their most convincing character studies.

have had 2 show up, Is it wicked not to care and I know where the summer goes.
somewhat surprised by the former.

Henry Darger, I mean!

Not Harvey Danger?

i've got a boyfriend
i've got the feeling that he's seeing someone else
he always had a thing for you as well

That's what was infecting it in my brain, Vinnie!

"I am sick and I'm not well"

This lip dub brought "The Blues are Still Blue" to my attention and ensured a spot on my ballot. Wonder if the staff or the students chose the song? Laundry as a metaphor for romantic befuddlement works for me on it's own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB-1BFWWkcU

I wonder if the Darger thing does hit home in some ways. As in the music is always about the outside, yet Murdoch was always too self-aware to truly be outside anything.

Didn't manage to vote for "Photo Jenny," how could I not have? Expect i'm gonna have this feeling a lot.

i'm waking up to us this poll

so far i voted for...

i don’t love anyone
i want the world to stop
i fought in a war

I like I Fought in a War a lot but it does have one fatal flaw: the implausible concept of Stuart Murdoch having fought in a war.

so otm. also, let me say without evidence that i fought in a war led directly to the decemberists

"Photo Jenny" was my #5. I'm amazed people are confused by the subject matter! But I agree with Chinaski's reading as SM's allegory for defeating ME (going out of the house) as coming out as trans.

Just catching up. My 3 was I Don't Love Anyone. I thought that would be much, much higher.

that lip dub made me happy, thanks bendy

yes that was nice

Jonathan David is too low!!!

the one on this list so far that I most regret not voting for is I Didn't See It Coming

My overall thoughts after a deep Belle and Sebastian immersion for this poll: their faster ones are much better than their slow ones.

funny, I was thinking about that too, but my feeling ultimately leaned to the opposite

obv a lot of exceptions on both sides

actually I guess it's more complicated than that for me, maybe it's that I'm attracted to their sadder / more reflective songs, fast or slow

One question about the Photo Jenny video from 1999 Bowlie Weekender posted upthread, Isobel is playing bass, what is Stuart David doing?

Think he was already a part-time member by then, though he didn't officially leave until a year or two later

I think he's sitting down playing acoustic guitar. You can see it at about the one minute mark. XP

Ugh so annoyed w/myself for not getting a ballot in, would have voted for the majority of songs starting with I that have placed so far.

My overall thoughts after a deep Belle and Sebastian immersion for this poll: their faster ones are much better than their slow ones.

― kornrulez6969

What do you listen to more often, upbeat or slow songs?

or to put it another way, do your most favorite songs tend to be upbeat or slow?

Fast, but it depends on the band. There are plenty of slow Belle and Sebastian songs that I love but the fast ones are the ones I gravitate to most.

not a huge fan of post-'dear catastrophe waitress,' but i'm still in grieving for how low some of my (few) more-recent favorites placed! 'dress up in you,' 'i want the world to stop,' and 'didn't see it coming' are all gorgeous!

DCW didn’t rate on my albums ballot, but The Life Pursuit did.

The Bolan-esque one up there ^^^ reminded me why I find The Life Pursuit such a slog.

I've voted for Beautiful, Ease your Feet into the Sea, I didn't see it coming, and I want the world to stop, so I feel like a good boy so far. I must say I sadly missed Dress up in you.

I voted for Photo Jenny and Beautiful (which I somehow put at #5!). Wish I could have found room for Ease your Feet into the Sea and Jonathan David.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2z4e2jm.jpg

46. There's Too Much Love
From Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)
Live at Barrowlands
Points: 238
Votes: 15
#1 Votes: 0

My no.7!

Oh looks like we're back on!

I didn't intend to stop when I did, but brain demanded sleep quite suddenly. I'll post a few more...

been meaning to look up the local time in australia, because i've been unable to wrap my head around when the poll results go quiet or active.

this is their best closer imo. it's too much low

There's Too Much Love is maybe my favourite on that album. I love it when they get a bit Northern Soul

XXP: Nor I, really. Been trying to get vaguely close to some of ILM's peak times without being awake at 4am. :)

I like it as long as it's as sad as this. Another of my favourite SM deliveries in "With my face head down just staring at the brown form-i-ca"

Xpost

I want to like "There's Too Much Love" more than I do because of its use in the lovely queer film The Way He Looks, but it just seems kind of ordinary to me.

^ I noticed such snippets amongst the homemade Youtube vids. Lots of them. Must see this film.

Dammit I really should've voted for "There's Too Much Love", genuinely baffled looking over my ballot and not finding it. I apologise to everyone for my part in it's TOOLOWness.

44. TIE

http://i66.tinypic.com/a2vv5c.jpg

It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career
From The Boy With the Arab Strap (1998)
Youtube audio track
Points: 244
Votes: 15
#1 Votes: 0

http://i68.tinypic.com/117cz9h.jpg

I'm Waking Up to Us
From I'm Waking Up to Us (2001)
Live on 'Later With Jools Holland'
Points: 244
Votes: 18
#1 Votes: 0

xp The only possible explanation I have is that I didn't even glance at FYHCYWLAP, just went by memory "save Woman's Realm and BURN THE REST", but this is really top 10 stuff...

For a few seconds I thought that was superman in the wheel chair

I always find I'm Waking Up to Us a bit too uncomfortable -- especially in that video. That's some real dirty laundry.

It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career is, of course, brilliant, though I don't think I quite found room for it in my ballot.

If There's Too Much Love is this low I've got a nasty feeling my favourite Fold Your Hands track of all, Don't Leave the Light on Baby, is nowhere at all.

i love i'm waking up to us, great song title, appealingly melodramatic. a clear tribute to forever changes, but it nearly does it justice.

xp Alba

i doubt that. i put it way up on my ballot, at least

appealingly melodramatic

This is the key, you can pretty much here the swooning

*hear

I'm Waking Up to Us is great but I always want to spoil it by singing "You know I love you, here's the ironing".

http://i65.tinypic.com/2kf2c1.jpg

43. Another Sunny Day
From The Life Pursuit (2006)
Live at Lowlands Festival, 2006
Points: 248
Votes: 12
#1 Votes: 0

'herbaceous border' appears in too few songs.

I don't love the later stuff but this song is great. Good arrangement and playing, really highlights what a strong band they had become at this point

don't know if this is a Challop but Dear Catastrophe Waitress is a significantly better album than Boy with The Arab Strap

chocolate on the boil, steamy windows when we met

xp think most would agree here

The playing on TLP is so good that I felt compelled to look up whether or not they'd brought in any session players and was surprised to find they hadn't

TOO LOW!!!

Stevie's guitar just sings on it. I rated it at #13

yeah i'm not here for the TLP slander. Another Sunny Day stands up to any melody in their catalog and it fits comfortably in the middle parts of my ballot

Fantastic song. 'The referee's giving us fuck all'.

I'd even say TLP is better than Arab Strap. I'm not saying I don't like Arab Strap it's just got a good bunch of unmemorable or annoying songs amongst the good stuff

i realize this is kind of sacrilege on a B&S thread, but does anyone else get kind of burned out on the horn+piano instrumental passages that features on so many of their songs? after the 100th time of hearing it they all kind of blur together

that's half of my problem with a song like "Dress Up In You", tbh. it's all very nice but when the trumpet comes in again it's just exhausting

you are correct that is sacrilege

Yeah, I never get tired of the trumpet. Though I guess Mick Cooke left the band a few years ago, so there should be less of it in the future?

I was just thinking that re the next entry. The trumpet solos, for instance, are good in themselves but they've inserted them in a similar fashion across quite a number of songs.

http://i68.tinypic.com/1zeaxpi.jpg

42. My Wandering Days Are Over
From Tigermilk (1996)
Live at KCRW
Points: 257
Votes: 16
#1 Votes: 0

Fantastic song. 'The referee's giving us fuck all'.

An unlikely complaint from a(n alleged) Rangers fan tbh.

it's not even just the fact that the trumpet features so prominently. it's that they all have the same kind of style. you know what i'm talking about.

Belle & Sebastian trumpet solo time!

Derp, derp, derp-y dah dah!
(da) derp, derp, derpy doodle doop-y dah!
Derp, derp, derp-y dah dah!
(da) derp, derp-ah doop-y do-daaah!

sorry

I really wanted to vote for My Wandering Days Are Over but the "disenchanted pony" part is a bit too twee even for me. The rest of it is amazing though.

'louvre doors' appears in too few songs.

i love My Wandering Days Are Over but it didn't my ballot. possibly due to this trumpet solo. i should really try to explain what i dislike about it, probably

I really wanted to vote for My Wandering Days Are Over but the "disenchanted pony" part is a bit too twee even for me. The rest of it is amazing though.

The trumpet solos are what I'm here for tbh

You are not alone, Karl Malone.

The trumpet (nor tweeness, LOL XP) wasn't enough to stop me from voting for 'Wandering' however.

Oh god, the trumpets invariably make me weak at the knees.

I'm enjoying Karl's trumpet tirade. I can't get on board with it but it's hard to argue against.

the trumpet solos usually just follow the vocal melody, don't they? Idk, it's usually my favorite part of the B&S songs where they show up, including "My Wandering Days Are Over," my #5

Always remember "you said it was a living hell / you said you were in hell" - he sounds so shocked, like it was a throwaway comment but he has taken it really fucking seriously.

Could really find a, er, banging vid for 'Wandering'. I'm trying not to duplicate what's on Spotify where possible, but that vid's a bit tepid tbh.

I'd never thought of it that way. I'll remember that next time I listen. Xpost

Ah shit I meant to come back to ILX for this and now that I've sat down to do it it's already done!

welcome back, Gukbe!

seems like Gukbe should at least get a little fanfare for their return, and actually i do have a pleasant melody that could work...*reaches for trumpet*

lol

Corrected link for There's Too Much Love at the Barrowlands

Belated tooOOOOoo low for this and 'It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career' (my #4 - though I did have suspicions it would not crack top 30)

Whoops, thanks for that.

I have to do some actual boring daytime stuff for a bit but I'll resume countdown within the next couple of hours, probably at a fairly leisurely pace.

this is the first real "too low" for me. I think it's one of their classics, trumpet solo and all. I like how ridiculously over the top the chorus lyrics are. He was very much about establishing their brand in the early days, and this establishes the hell out of it.

Love the trumpet. Imagine if they had gone full-kazoo instead!

this is the first real "too low" for me. I think it's one of their classics, trumpet solo and all. I like how ridiculously over the top the chorus lyrics are. He was very much about establishing their brand in the early days, and this establishes the hell out of it.

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, December 13, 2018 5:53 PM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm. tooooo loooooow

My Wandering Days Are Over... what a song. I'm surprised it's so low. The opening lines pop into my head on an almost weekly basis. 'I'm tired of looking after Michael and the rest of them...'. The verses are especially brilliant although the chorus maybe takes the wind out its sails slightly
I'm kicking myself that I didn't vote

'disenchanted poney' otm. I was going through a few B&S guitar tabs, doing covers for myself in the kitchen, and when it came to this song and that bit I just couldn't carry on through the song.

I'm Waking Up To Us is too low. I LOVE that song. So funny.

Always remember "you said it was a living hell / you said you were in hell" - he sounds so shocked, like it was a throwaway comment but he has taken it really fucking seriously.

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, December 13, 2018 9:38 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh but during this bit I welled up slightly while singing it and couldn't catch my breath for the stupid 'poney' section, which is actually the reason I probably had to stop playing

http://i64.tinypic.com/2en7qiv.jpg

41. Seymour Stein
From The Boy With the Arab Strap (1998)
Stevie Jackson solo in NY
Points: 258
Votes: 14
Number Ones: 0

this is one of the nothingy songs on Arab Strap I was talking about

i like all of these songs

I don't think of this song as nothingy. besides the greatness of the song itself, the piano, organ, guitar, handclaps, and syncopation in the outro to this - and the sound of the airplane taking off - always get to me

This is the song the record store guy who looks like me in High Fidelity plays, and for that reason I can never play it in front of anyone again

:) I had forgotten about that scene!

http://i66.tinypic.com/10f10e0.jpg

40. Piazza, New York Catcher
From Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)
At Lollapalooza Berlin, 2015
Points: 271
Votes: 19
#1 Votes:: 0

Wow, I'm legitimately surprised by this. Figured it was a lock for the top ten.

such a great song

didn't vote for it, tho i do feel bad for mike piazza and his treatment at the hands of the ny sports tabloids

life outside the diamond is a wrench

poor stuart forgetting the words at lolla

you know, this is one of those ones people bang on about that I do not get the appeal of. not a highlight for me on an otherwise excellent album

Agreed. Think it might be my least favourite on the LP.

Never liked this one tbh

SS otoh was in my top 5, gorgeous song, incredible outro as mentioned

music-wise it's one of the rare later B&S tracks that feels like it could come from one of the early albums. and I love how it skips over the real life Mike Piazza into a private reverie

this is fun: https://www.fangraphs.com/not/did-belle-and-sebastian-see-mike-piazza-in-san-francisco/

http://i65.tinypic.com/30t75lt.jpg

39. We Rule the School
From Tigermilk (1996)
Mark Radcliffe session 1996
Points: 276
Votes: 21
#1 Votes: 0

Twee image, perhaps. Doing something pretty while I/she can. :)

Also: seems kinda low.

after The State I Am In, this is my favorite track on Tigermilk

My fave Tigermilk song when I first got the album in ‘99, I found it slipping in my esteem a bit when I listened to everything again. I still like it, though; came in near the bottom of my ballot.

None of my top 10 have appeared yet but several from my 15-30. I had We Rule the School at 13, my highest yet. Such a gorgeous song.

In contrast, I can only assume the relatively low placements of “Dress Up In You” and “Another Sunny Day” are reflective of overall feelings about The Life Pursuit here. I had both in my Top 5.

Xp re: Piazza, New York Catcher, I like this quote from Stuart in Rolling Stone from 2016

“I think he’s a cool enough guy that he’d shrug it off, and be happy that there are a few daft hipster kids who know his name,” he says. “It’s funny, I’ve never met him, but my wife follows the Mets as well, and her folks are down in Florida, so one year we drove down to Spring Training in Port St. Lucie. We watched Piazza hit, and she went up with a baseball to get it autographed, and he didn’t even look down and realize she was a woman. He just said ‘Not now kid, I gotta run.'”

Piazza was known as a pretty big metal fan so I doubt he's into Belle and Sebastian.

I remember reading part of an article where Stuart’s dad was asked to review TBSTAS and the only track he found exceptuonal was Seymour Stein.. At least that’s how I remember reading it.

I personally think the album is my favorite because the tracks let me zone out and there are lots of great, sunny ones at that. Also none of the songs have the annoying earworm quality that you would get with some of the more upbeat songs in the B&S catalog. Anecdotally, a list of my top 50 favorite songs in the world would probably average out more on the lower end of a tempo spectrum.

37. (TIE)

http://i64.tinypic.com/219nzo8.jpg

String Bean Jean
From Dog On Wheels (1997)
Youtube audio track
Points: 283
Votes: 17
#1 Votes: 0

http://i68.tinypic.com/2iscmqr.jpg

The Rollercoaster Ride
From The Boy With the Arab Strap (1998)
Youtube audio track
Points: 283
Votes: 18
#1 Votes: 0

Speaking of low tempos and TBWTAS...

Another consideration: while we don’t know where the members of Belle and Sebastian will have been every day of the time periods being considered here, we do know when they would have been playing shows. According to the band’s official site, the group had no live shows scheduled during the relevant timeframe in August of 2002.

What fangraphs doesn't know is that SM married a gal from San Francisco, and spent a lot of time here during the courtship.

*there ;-)

I didn't know that!

I think The Rollercoaster Ride should have placed much higher

Both of those were ranked very high for me.

The Rollercoaster Ride was the fourth of my top 10 to appear so far (with Jonathan David, Piazza, New York Catcher, and Seymour Stein). I expect most of the rest will also show up

Rollercoaster way too low, an extreme grower for me during the voting process, starting off the ballot and moving into my top ten

both on my ballot as well. i think rollercoaster was my second highest vote from TBWTAS, which i didn't expect when i started ranking them

I love the blown-out quality of the recording too

Yes, Rollercoaster was prominent on my ballot as well.

xp by blown-out I mean that in parts it's so closely microphoned it's blurry. What I think David Keenan would refer to as “dilated sound”

*of it is*

amazing to think there are 30+ tracks more loved, yet to come

String Bean Jean is so great -- so fun and yet so much sadness

“string bean jean” was my first favorite b&s song. just jumped right out at me on barman

I remember thinking "The Rollercoaster Ride" was a "Waterloo Sunset" for its day. Haven't revisited either enough to see if it holds up.

I didn't expect "String Bean Jean" to rank even this high. A pleasant surprise.

http://i63.tinypic.com/f22eld.jpg

36. You're Just a Baby
From Tigermilk (1996)
Youtube audio track
Points: 285
Votes: 17
#1 Votes: 1

that's my #1, and the rest of you are fucking LIARS

another one of my favorites from Tigermilk

Arguably a bit much seventies knitwear in this section.

No fucking such thing.

nag, if it isn't too much trouble, could you post a recap when you reach a good benchmark?

So kiss me on the cheek before you go to sleep

XP: I shall do so, yes. Actually, I'll post one more track and let things rest for a bit.

Shocking confession: I voted for way more Tigermilk tracks than IYFS tracks but have always found the fourth track on each side of the former ("YJAB" and "IDLA") to be a bit tiresome. They seem more accomplished at things other than repetitive guitar chugga-chugga and the part of my brain that likes "Jonathan David" craves a few more chords, or something. :)

B&S sound cool as shit on You're Just A Baby. the recording and the reverb are absolutely perfect.

yes

plus the "and what's the score?" part during the chorus is weirdly perfect, just one of those things you start singing along with without thinking about it. and then the switch-up on the last chorus, when he's like "so what's theeeeeee ...reason for all the looks we gave?" is so good! and those repeated Befores at end, resolving in a very Beatles-esque pleasing way? you all are insane, that is a top 3 song

and the organ-led instrumental rave-up in the middle is really good, too, one of my favorites in a catalog stuffed with them. unlike a lot of the others, it feels really fun and a bit intoxicated and sloppy. it's wonderful that they developed into such good musicians and cleaned up their recordings, but something was lost in that same gradual transformation, too.

that's such a great description

I shall have to re-listen!

http://i65.tinypic.com/2rrnibq.jpg

35. Funny Little Frog
From The Life Pursuit (2006)
Original promo video
Points: 287
Votes: 14, including 4 votes for the God Help the Girl rendition.
#1 Votes: 1

argh, so you're going on while some of us are going to bed?!

That's it for now. :)

so kiss me before you go to sleep!

on the cheek, lol

i will see you liars tomorrow

The other thread suggested that this may even be their most hated song. What's all that about then?

really did not expect that to do as well as it did, it's ok but not really a favourite from life pursuit or anything

rollercoaster ride managed to make my ballot at the last minute, i love how it drifts along - it feels so much like something yo la tengo could have done

string bean jean is also excellent, the synth bit that starts off sounding like a marimba is great and i love that surf guitar line

There are at least, like, 8 better songs on TLP tbh. But it's good!

Summary (I hope this formatting works)

Rank Title                                              Pts    Votes  #1s
60   I Don't Love Anyone                                156    11     0
59   If You Find Yourself Caught in Love                157     9     0
58   I Want the World to Stop                           158    11     0
57   The Blues Are Still Blue                           168    13     0
56   I Fought in a War                                  177    13     0
55   Put the Book Back on the Shelf/Songs for Children  178    12     1
54   I Know Where the Summer Goes                       179    13     0
53   Beautiful                                          181    10     0
52   Ease Your Feet in the Sea                          187    11     1
51   Is It Wicked Not to Care                           206    12     0
50   Dress Up in You                                    209    10     0
49   I Didn't See It Coming                             216    13     1
48   Jonathan David                                     221    12     0
47   Photo Jenny                                        228    16     0
46   There's Too Much Love                              238    15     0
44=  It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career              244    15     0
44=  I'm Waking Up to Us                                244    18     0
43   Another Sunny Day                                  248    12     0
42   My Wandering Days Are Over                         257    16     0
41   Seymour Stein                                      258    14     0
40   Piazza, New York Catcher                           271    18     0
39   We Rule the School	                                276    21     0
37=  String Bean Jean                                   283    17     0
37=  The Rollercoaster Ride                             283    18     0
36   You're Just a Baby                                 285    17     1
35   Funny Little Frog                                  287    14     1

*phew*

nice!

a great rollout Nag! Nag! Nag!

The singer on God Help The Girl Funny Little Frog has a powerful voice. I had to vote for this.

the points distribution of the roll-out so far has been very very smooth

there aren't any big jumps between any of them so far, like boiling a funny little frog

Sorry I was too busy to comment much. "You're Just A Baby" -- I am basically permanently yessed out so the opening riff from "yours is no disgrace" here just always gets me, the way it seems to announce it is going to be a certain kind of song but then isn't -- or is it? I can't in good conscience say this is B&S prog but the weird harmony on "before" isn't really like anything else in their catalog and they just SIT on it...

And

"the switch-up on the last chorus, when he's like "so what's theeeeeee ...reason for all the looks we gave?"

YES.

"We Rule The School" was my #6 and not, I thought, an idiosyncratic choice; very surprised to see it this low. It's not the song I'd play for someone to get them excited about Belle and Sebastian, but it might be the one I'd play to explain what Belle and Sebastian is about, or were about then.

wait... hold up.. how is String Bean Jean so low? That song is canon - I'd have expected it to place at least top 10 if not higher.

I mean the lyrics alone. it's the ne plus ultra B&S song

this is one of the nothingy songs on Arab Strap I was talking about

FITE YOU!

“string bean jean” was my first favorite b&s song.

Same here. When I started to get my ballot together I assumed it would be my number one, but listening back I didn't like it quite as much (still right up there though).

and we always have a laugh and then we all get in the bath to save on the 'leccy bill / me and Jo and Phil

I gave votes to Piazza, We Rule, You're just a baby, and clearly, the one I regret not seeing higher, Seymour Stein. Big regrets for There's Too Much Love, I missed it.

I used to be a bit embarrassed by We Rule the School when I felt more defensive about the band. But relistening to Tigermilk it had that feeling of encapsulating everything, and with the benefit of distance it made its way on to my ballot ahead of some other tracks from the album I thought I loved more.

'You know the world is made for men, not us'
'You could either be successful or be us'
'They called us winsome but we're just hopeless'

I might drop a few more of these now, just to spread the timezone love around...

"Belle & Sebastian, on the radio, playing songs for children. And we're really sorry fur all the trouble we've caused".

http://i68.tinypic.com/23r2z9s.jpg
34. Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
From 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light (1997)
Perky performance at Lowlands
Points: 292
Votes: 20
#1 Votes: 1

XP: Ah, yes!

I've always liked Le Pastie but maybe it could have a more blistering production on it. Or maybe I just need to turn up the volume.

Good timing! I’ve had this in my head all morning.

I was the first-place vote here, and the imaginary version that plays inside my head does indeed tend to be more blistering than the familiar recording.

Love 'Le Pastie' and also kind of wish they'd done more songs like it.

Karl Malone otm re: 'You're Just a Baby' - I had it at #15 on my ballot but it should have been higher.

http://i64.tinypic.com/nch9jr.jpg

33. A Century of Fakers
From 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light (1997)
Original promo video
Points: 293
Votes: 15
#1 Votes: 1

The only B&S song I've ever sung on stage.

They nearly made it onto Top of the Pops with "Le Pastie", I forget why they got dropped..

http://i68.tinypic.com/nfi87d.jpg

32. Step Into My Office, Baby
From Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)
Original promo video
Points: 297
Votes: 16
#1 Votes: 0

banger

My output is in decline
I was burned out after Thatcher
My banner I laid down with a sigh
Now I doubt if I'll ever catch her

one of the uncharacteristically extroverted-sounding songs from DCW, really great arrangement

It's odd, the band's been doing period-perfect pastiche from the start but to my ears has almost always come across well doing it, even at its most overt. This song, for example, is a real collision of familiar elements, but somehow it all works for me.

Only six songs from my ballot have showed up so far, so now I'm going through the list again trying to figure out which ones didn't place at all.
(probably the ones from Storytelling)

Nice to see Funny Little Frog garnered a #1 vote. I didn't rate that song at all really until I heard the God Help The Girl version. After that I came around to the original.

It doesn't feel right getting all shirty on the B&S thread, particularly about whimsy, but I'd happily never hear this again - it puts my teeth on edge.

your boss is not your girlfriend

Ah, I was the only one who put "A Century of Fakers" at #1. I was thinking that song would be arriving any minute, seeing so many other early EP tracks showing up in the results.

I do actually like this song despite/because of its insane levels of goofiness; didn't vote for it, mind

we need to talk

Also it's greatly improved if you imagine it really is just about the hazards of wage labor

I'm with you, Chinaski -- I know it's supposed to be in character and all, but it's just kinda ham-fisted (and musically, a bit too disjointed for my liking -- like a bunch of set-pieces)

I'm not in favour of any goofiness but the I was burned out after Thatcher section is strong.

http://i67.tinypic.com/35jc77o.jpg

31. Wrapped Up in Books
From Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)
Original promo video
Points: 300
Votes: 21
#1 Votes: 0

all the arrangements on DCW are so good, i love when the jangley motorik groove suddenly transitions into that brief piano & reeds section

Wonderful album, high on my ballot

Nice work on the image for that one.

I'm very much a 'prefer the early stuff' fan but I love this song, great rhythm guitar and some of their best vocal harmonies. Also I noticed from going through some of their videos that both this and the one for Lazy Line Painter Jane feature someone using a book as a pillow, I'm convinced that has some sort of significance.

30 down and 30 to go. Three more now, I think. Can figure out how to make things a bit more orderly for the end of the countdown after I've had some sleep...

http://i66.tinypic.com/vgj60l.jpg

30. Women's Realm
From Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)
At KCRW, 2003
Points: 305
Votes: 21
#1 Votes: 0

Some things I've learned quite a bit about in recent days because of B&S:
- Mike Piazza
- Eucalypts in California
- Women's Realm magazine

Step into my Office Baby: specifically a pastiche of “Good Vibrations”? That’s the way I heard it once I got past the lyrics. One of those rare pop songs where the lyric stood out on first listen.

"pastie" and "century of fakers" are way too low

"women's realm" about right though, i love that song

"you're just a baby" should've been top ten imo

string arrangement on this one is ridic

I hope 'To Be Myself Completely' pops up, although it's unlikely.

One thing this exercise has clarified for me is that FYHCYWLAP is...bitchin'

http://i64.tinypic.com/ff8nsm.jpg
29. Don't Leave the Light on Baby
From Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)
Live in Rio, 2001
Points: 310
Votes: 17
#1 Votes: 0

hell yeah

couldn't find room for it on my ballot but a great song buried in that first side

Love that moment when the backing vocals finally come in on this track. This is the only FYHCYWLAP that made my ballot.

I've never been one to emphasize the importance of good lyrics, but B&S is a band that really does benefit from having good ones.

There's Too Much Love is approximately 20 times better than the coasting Women's Realm you lunatics. Glad to see Don't Leave the Light on Baby make it though.

5th in the row I haven't voted for.

I bloody love Women's Realm. It'd be good to put some kind of concordance together, to track the different themes and locations in their songs. This has the classic dance/sing like you're on your own, and, I've always linked the 'Indian part of the town' to the taxi driver in TBWTAS.

"There's Too Much Love" is the only Fold Your Hands track I squeezed onto my ballot, and only at the last minute. Which now seems insane. Clearly my biggest mistake was failing to propose a ballot size of 100 slots at the outset.

B&S coast so beautifully.

Clearly my biggest mistake was failing to propose a ballot size of 100 slots at the outset.

― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Friday, December 14, 2018 7:38 AM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i agree that you were wrong

"women's realm" is just kinda "dirty dream no. 3" so i get thinking it's coasting but also i need thirty more of those songs please