Is Bee Gees vs. Pet Shop Boys going to break down between English (and Anglophile American) and American (and Americanophile--what's the word?--English) posters?
― _Rudipherous_, Wednesday, 4 August 2010 12:57 (fourteen years ago) link
Oh man, just did a Google image search on "Americanos" and it is brutal. NSFW. Was looking for a picture of a bus from the bus line with that name.
― _Rudipherous_, Wednesday, 4 August 2010 12:58 (fourteen years ago) link
kenny rogers is the best thing here!
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 4 August 2010 13:07 (fourteen years ago) link
I'd have to go with Elton John, who doesn't get the appreciation he deserves around here (though maybe there's simply not a lot to say about him). He's another one of those 70s figures whose reputation is ill-served by his post-70s catalog.
― _Rudipherous_, Wednesday, 4 August 2010 13:11 (fourteen years ago) link
Think I'm going to run these two at a time, simultaneously, for the first eight--does anyone object? (Groups 3 and 4 would go up after this one is finished.)
― Mexico, camp, horns, Zappa, Mr. Bungle (Matos W.K.), Thursday, 5 August 2010 07:36 (fourteen years ago) link
Queen, EJ, Madonna, PSB
― My totem animal is a hamburger. (WmC), Thursday, 5 August 2010 13:36 (fourteen years ago) link
two at a time is probably a good idea
― iatee, Thursday, 5 August 2010 13:39 (fourteen years ago) link
no idea who kenny rogers is but i fucking hate queen so much
lol
― Party Car! (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 5 August 2010 15:34 (fourteen years ago) link
PSBs really seem like the odd outlier to me - like, I wouldn't even have a clue what their biggest selling album is, which is not the case with the rest of these guys. Eurogays buy a lot of records, eh?
― Party Car! (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 5 August 2010 15:35 (fourteen years ago) link
Don't care about the first two at all. Can I vote Pet Shop Boys four times?
― Haunted Clocks For Sale (Dorianlynskey), Thursday, 5 August 2010 15:35 (fourteen years ago) link
I'd assume Very
― Mayor Hickenlooper and the liberal agenda (HI DERE), Thursday, 5 August 2010 15:38 (fourteen years ago) link
PSBs have about 9 different greatest hits albums. That probably counts for a lot of it.
― Johnelle Fevráe (Johnny Fever), Thursday, 5 August 2010 15:40 (fourteen years ago) link
Very must be the best-selling PSB album, it had like 5 or 6 hit singles.
― Tuomas, Thursday, 5 August 2010 15:47 (fourteen years ago) link
According to RIAA.com, in the U.S. (and only in the U.S.), Actually, Introspective, Discography, and Very are all gold (500,000 copies sold). Please is platinum (1 million).
― spicy racist sauces (Matos W.K.), Thursday, 5 August 2010 16:48 (fourteen years ago) link
Wikipedia numbers has Very at 5M worldwide with Introspective at 4.5M and Please at 4M
― Mayor Hickenlooper and the liberal agenda (HI DERE), Thursday, 5 August 2010 16:49 (fourteen years ago) link
i keep thinking i should acquire an actual PSB album beyond discography and pop art
― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, 5 August 2010 16:50 (fourteen years ago) link
You should at least get the first 2 and Alternative (pretty fond of Very and Nightlife as well; used to be a big proponent of Behavior but someone stole my copy of it decades ago and I never replaced it)
(oh and Disco 2 rules hardcore)
― Mayor Hickenlooper and the liberal agenda (HI DERE), Thursday, 5 August 2010 16:53 (fourteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Thursday, 5 August 2010 23:01 (fourteen years ago) link
Queen, Elton John, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys (went with all the gay icons, I think). Is Kenny Rogers a gay icon?
― Mick's comedy barking (KMS), Friday, 6 August 2010 00:41 (fourteen years ago) link
in a couple of interviews Neil Tennant has claimed Introspective is their biggest worldwide seller, which I might believe since their only best-selling studio album after the eighties was Very.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 6 August 2010 00:46 (fourteen years ago) link
voting the gay-ikon ticket: queen, elton, madge, PSB
― sexual intercourse began in 1963 (m coleman), Friday, 6 August 2010 01:04 (fourteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Friday, 6 August 2010 23:01 (fourteen years ago) link
PSB beating the Bee Gees is fucking WRONG
― Party Car! (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:02 (fourteen years ago) link
Well, they wrote better songs over a longer period. And recorded better albums.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:05 (fourteen years ago) link
no
― Party Car! (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:10 (fourteen years ago) link
I can name at least four great to near great PSB albums. The Bee Gees didn't make great albums, but there's great songs all over them.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:13 (fourteen years ago) link
Bee Gees have like three decades of high quality work under their belts, at least four full-stop classic albums and every one of the Bee Gees is a damn sight better vocalist than Neil Tennant, whose range and tone are for shit. PSBs are better lyricists, I'll give them that. The production on the best Bee Gees stuff, which are very richly textured - beautiful, big budget arrangements - absolutely slays the tinny pre-set synths that dominate most PSB albums.
― Party Car! (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:13 (fourteen years ago) link
Shakes, haven't you admitted you haven't listened to the PSB besides "West End Girls"? How can you then say the Bee Gees are superior?
Neil Tennant, whose range and tone are for shit.
Demonstrably untrue on every level, if you've heard PSB albums.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:14 (fourteen years ago) link
and you think PSB fans love'em solely for their lyrics? Come on.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:15 (fourteen years ago) link
There is, however, a nice essay/post waiting to get written about the Gibb bros and Tennant-Lowe's writing/producing jobs for divas in need. Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield's careers intersect in interesting ways.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:21 (fourteen years ago) link
nah I've heard the PSBs hits, and I think I had Very at some point in the last few years. they are by and large a band I grew up hearing on the radio, whereas the Bee Gees I discovered retroactively
― Party Car! (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 6 August 2010 23:35 (fourteen years ago) link
I've heard little by the PSB but that's largely because what I've heard has left me wondering what the big deal is. But we'll get them in the next round, even if it means voting for a banda superstar.
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 7 August 2010 01:17 (fourteen years ago) link
Queen 57Kenny Rogers 17
Elton John 49Lionel Richie 25
Madonna 63A.R. Rahman 11
Pet Shop Boys 47Bee Gees 27
― spicy racist sauces (Matos W.K.), Saturday, 7 August 2010 03:31 (fourteen years ago) link
Wiki Worldwide Sales Bracket POLL: GROUP THREE (of eight)Wiki Worldwide Sales Bracket POLL: GROUP FOUR (of eight)
Go vote! And thanks again to everyone who's been part of this so far.
― spicy racist sauces (Matos W.K.), Saturday, 7 August 2010 03:40 (fourteen years ago) link
Elton John over Lionel Richie people are the likely to be the most baffling group of this whole poll cycle.
― more lunacy and witchcraft! (kkvgz), Monday, 9 August 2010 12:44 (fourteen years ago) link
elton's early 70s career is solid, I'd vote for him over anyone in this group
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 12:47 (fourteen years ago) link
Okay, really? Did you like magically forget the demographic/taste center of this board when you wrote that?
― people are for loving (HI DERE), Monday, 9 August 2010 13:16 (fourteen years ago) link
I forget it every time.
― more lunacy and witchcraft! (kkvgz), Monday, 9 August 2010 13:22 (fourteen years ago) link
I dunno I wouldn't really call elton john an artist who caters to the demographic/taste center of this board anymore than lionel richie
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 13:25 (fourteen years ago) link
seems like the board itself disagrees with you
― people are for loving (HI DERE), Monday, 9 August 2010 13:28 (fourteen years ago) link
well I meant like, in the sense of 'what would the average demographic be at an elton john concert?' - miles away from the ilx demographic, maybe not so different from the average demographic at a lionel richie concert.
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 13:30 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah I expected it to be close with Richie maybe taking it, but I guess I was letting Spencer Chow's first and only thread go to my head a bit there.
(forgot to vote and would've made it 26, fwiw, which is not a lot as 26 < 49, obv)
― rah rah rah wd smash the oiks (a passing spacecadet), Monday, 9 August 2010 13:34 (fourteen years ago) link
This is ILM; sexually-ambiguous British verging-on-glam rock will likely always be more popular than funk/R&B.
― people are for loving (HI DERE), Monday, 9 August 2010 14:02 (fourteen years ago) link
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_04/EltonJohn5_468x230.jpg
'ambiguous'
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 14:04 (fourteen years ago) link
I don't think 'sexually-ambiguous british verging-on-glam rock' describes him outside of the word 'british'. his 'verging-on-glam rock' period is maybe half of one album and probably least appealing to those who actually like glam rock. I voted for him cause he has some A++ classic albums (before the donald duck years) and lionel richie only has a handful of songs I like. it is possible that ilm likes him for reasons beyond him being british and gay, I dunno, I can't speak for other peoples' votes. ej would have been crushed by, say, stevie wonder.
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 14:18 (fourteen years ago) link
my gf works (hopefully not much longer) at a fancy bookstore and their business seems to be elton john-centered, like he comes in a few times a year and buys 10k worth of books...two of everything, one for each house.
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 14:20 (fourteen years ago) link
ej would have been crushed by, say, stevie wonder
I don't believe this for a second
― people are for loving (HI DERE), Monday, 9 August 2010 15:09 (fourteen years ago) link
Me too (Madonna would finish second), and my tastes aren't usually either British or gay-identified, I don't think; they're probably more soul or funk, at least if you're talking older-school versions of those genres. (Bottom line is, Richie's career is just a whole lot spottier. One really good solo album, a good Greatest Hits album as part of his band before he went solo, and maybe a handful of other worthy singles, if that. Would maybe have picked him over Queen -- he's underrated as a singer, I think, especially in "Stuck On You"/"Sail On" mode where he verges on Kenny Rogers-type countripolitan -- but against Elton, given Elton's early '70s run, it's not even close. And Elton's probably underrated as a singer too, come to think of it.)
― xhuxk, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:15 (fourteen years ago) link
stevie wonder made it to the top 8 in the other tournament! no way elton john's fanbase here is anything as hardcore as stevie's.
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:17 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah, it's not even close. Elton has at least twenty songs I care about, while Richie's got Can't Slow Down (don't care for the Commodores at all).
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 9 August 2010 15:18 (fourteen years ago) link
ILX 70s album poll - results
3 stevie wonder albums, 0 ej
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:20 (fourteen years ago) link
And actually, Elton's '70s stuff has plenty of soul influence (and some country) in it, too fwiw. ("Bennie And The Jets," "Philadelphia Freedom," and "Mama Can't Buy You Love" all charted r&b.)
― xhuxk, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:21 (fourteen years ago) link
bennie and the jets? I always considered that his glammiest moment. (would take it over anything on ziggy stardust)
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:26 (fourteen years ago) link
"Bennie and the Jets" topped the R&B chart, I think.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 9 August 2010 15:27 (fourteen years ago) link
then there was Mary J. Blige's version.
― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 9 August 2010 15:31 (fourteen years ago) link
I guess there's actually considerable soul-influence on elton's vocals
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:35 (fourteen years ago) link
(not nec w/r/t that song, but in lots of others)
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:36 (fourteen years ago) link
I agree with that.
All I'm really saying is that Elton John's popularity doesn't surprise me.
― people are for loving (HI DERE), Monday, 9 August 2010 15:39 (fourteen years ago) link
okay I can get that
also any chance to big up tumbleweed connection I'm gonna take:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKXDYMrIqTI
― iatee, Monday, 9 August 2010 15:44 (fourteen years ago) link
Dig the live vocals and the eventually abandoned pianomime on Bennie and the Jets. Philadelphia Freedom sounds like a total lip synch job though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSobF74JxYg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqnDqrL5Y58&feature=related
― Mick's comedy barking (KMS), Monday, 9 August 2010 17:52 (fourteen years ago) link