Sometimes I Don't Know What to Poll: ILM Artist Poll #107 - Todd Rundgren - RESULTS

#43 - 70 points - 3 votes
Utopia - "Crybaby" - from Oblivion, 1983

#42 - 73 points - 4 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Is It My Name?" - from  A Wizard, a True Star, 1973

#41 - 77 points - 6 votes
Todd Rundgren - "All the Children Sing" - from Hermit of Mink Hollow, 1978

"All the Children Sing" and "Turn Me On" by the Tubes (form roughly the same period) have a great high-school-musical quality to them.

I didn't vote for "Is It My Name?" but the rawness of tracks like that on AWATS is a big draw to that record. Hammersmith Odeon '75 is really the closest he ever came to that sound again.

Two from my list in this in this first 10, but these are all fine except "Crybaby".

Speaking of rawness, the opening riff of "Heavy Metal Kids" predicted "Cat Scratch Fever" a few years ahead of time.

Yeah, in 13/4 time.

love "Is It My Name?" but I'm a bit confused what it's about. is he saying nobody's gonna love a dude named "Todd"?

I regard the song as a parody of male sexual bravado, like a man's name is his least attractive feature.

ok yeah I just read the lyrics

it's such a great song but I think the production style kinda kills it, the ending in particular always makes me think my speakers are blown

#40 - 82 points - 5 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Marlene" - from Something/Anything?, 1972

#39 - 82 points - 7 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Drive" - from The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect, 1983

#38 - 84 points - 3 votes
Todd Rundgren - "God Said" - from Liars, 2004

I love the fact that Edward James Olmos (from Miami Vice) is on the backing vocals for "Slut"

He really stood and delivered that vocal.

I think Todd Rundgren is an uncool name - it’s down there with Zombies’ drummer Hugh Grundy as least attractive rock star name

I honestly didn't think anyone would have voted for "crybaby" but me… it is the first song by this guy I was aware of… via the video on MTV, although when I watch the one now on YT, where an old man is found by a horrified youthful utopian society a la Logan's Run, I seem to remember a performance version where you really get a load of Wilcox's kit… I don't expect everyone to respond to his naked gambit for mid 80s AOR airplay, but it pushes all my 13 year old buttons… I have only been able to find a live version w? no audio, would love to see a version from that era, it obv is hard to sing that high note when the band fools you into thinking they're gonna modulate but then go back to the original chorus chord pattern…and when you talk about him being a vocal arranger? This is that shit, just as exciting as Mutt lange… on the other hand, you can see Utopia doing "You Cried Wolf" quite easily…

Wasn't there some thread about toxic masculinity in which "Is it my Name" was mentioned? absurd, in that he is parodying attitudes as such here…

Assuming Open My Eyes from 1968 makes it, he’s going to have songs from a 36 year span in his top 40, which is pretty impressive.

God Said getting 84 points but only 3 votes kinda implies a lot of people haven't heard Liars yet

I didn't take much notice of "drive" until around 2012, when it occurred to me that was one of the last times he could really sing with that kind of herculean sweep…and I like that whole record in that it seems like he had discovered Prince by that time and the Linn drum programming shows it…he apparently was like "fuck this, I'm not trying hard for my last record for fuckin' Bearsville" but I really like it…

"Hideaway" was my introduction to TR as a kid -- that video of him in the John Lennon glasses haunts my dreams still. But I never liked the song.

BTW, I was partly torn on whether to embed a lot of YT videos. I decided on including a few, but not many. As much as I like them, I like these poll results threads to be evergreen -- and all the broken links tend to bum me out when I go back to them. But if folks want to add theirs, be my guest.

(I mention this because we are talking about EPTAE)

#37 - 84 points - 4 votes
Todd Rundgren - "I Don't Want to Tie You Down" - from A Wizard, a True Star, 1973

real underrated tune on that LP is "I Don't Want to Tie You Down" which has some pretty weird astral synth going off in the background, makes it sound like the walls are moving or something

― frogbs, Wednesday, March 17, 2021 11:19 PM (one week ago)

#36 (tie) - 84 points - 5 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Wolfman Jack" - from Something/Anything?, 1972
#105 on US Billboard

Not sure where somebody said it, but the moment that "Wolfman Jack" goes into double time is all time.

#36 (tie) - 84 points - 5 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Determination" - from Hermit of Mink Hollow, 1978

oh man these are all perfect

sure I've said this already, but at Brooklyn bowl in 2016, which is by far the best show I ever seen him do, he and the band busted out "Determination" and I done lost my shit… and "wolfman jack" and "you cried wolf" are good examples of how, when Zappa did pastiche, it bespeaks "this shit sucks, look how easy it is to play relative to Varese, it's so teenage, you're a banal asshole if you like this kind of music," todd says "I love this kind of music and I want this to be as good for listeners and for me as 'Get Ready' or Stubborn Kind of Fellow' is."

"Determination" is so great in the context of Hermit of Mink Hollow -- unlike so many other tracks on there, it explodes out of the speakers with that crystalline guitar figure at the beginning. And then the hooks keep coming -- by the time it gets to the "I'm looking for someone/Someone strong enough to believe in" refrain, I'm completely spent. What a song.

one of my very favorite moments in his entire catalogue : "Three days in the rain and I ain't had no sleep/But I won't break down now, I got a promise to keep"

I burned wayyyyy out on determination as a kid but yeah it fucking owns

the chords and backing vocals in the “looking for someone” part are eternal

#34 - 88 points - 4 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Parallel Lines" - from Nearly Human, 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-28Gg9I2dJk

My favorite performance of that song BTW 👆👆

#33 - 92 points - 7 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Black Maria" - from Something/Anything, 1972

#32 - 93 points - 3 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Boat on the Charles" - from Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, 1971

Sorry, that's supposed to have four votes, not three. So:

#32 - 93 points - 4 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Boat on the Charles" - from Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, 1971

Save some results for tomorrow huh?

Half today/half tomorrow seems reasonable. Realizing I should have voted for "I Don't Want To Tie You Down"--such a gorgeous song

Love ‘Parallel Lines’...I remember reading that he broke the Backing Vocalists (including his current wife and I think subject of the song)when recording it. So worth it though.

"Boat on the Charles" was my #1 pick. Just a perfect mixture of sardonic tone and despairing feeling, moving into exaltation.
"Parallel Lines" would probably have been my pick from Nearly Human if I'd had room.

Yep -- and with that in mind, allow me to correct that entry for the second time:

#32 - 93 points - 4 votes - 1 first place vote
Todd Rundgren - "Boat on the Charles" - from Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, 1971

"Boat" reminds me a bit of Steely Dan. Nice song; I just didn't give it a vote since it's not one I spent much time with before this poll. "Is It My Name?" was top 5 for me. Love "Marlene" and "Tie You Down".

As for the saving results for tomorrow, my plan had been to either leave 20 or 25 for tomorrow. But I'm happy to throttle the rest of today's entries a bit if people would like more time to catch up.

Boat’s gorgeous, really love the production on the ballads on ballad (lol)

One more for today ...

#31 - 93 points - 6 votes
Todd Rundgren - "Hideaway" - from The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect, 1983

I wonder why he used trad drums on "Hideaway," being that the rest of the record uses Linn drums…

Never noticed before but Todd is channeling a strong Phil Spector vibe on the cover of ‘The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect’...