The Top 25

Pretty self-explanatory
TOBYROME
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Re: The Top 25

Post by TOBYROME »

That was so difficult, first cut was 85 tracks, managed to get it down to 35. The final cut was really hard, throwing out some truely great songs and appearing to diss some wonderful albums.

I can't begin to put them in any kind of order, but the top 10 will probably always remain.

Still Too Soon To Know
Indoor Fireworks
I'll Wear It Proudly
God Give Me Strength
The Judgement
Either Side Of the Same Town
This House Is Empty Now
I Hope Your Happy Now ( All 4 versions)
Couldn't Call It Unexpected #4
Stranger In The House
Lipstick Vogue
Blame It On Cain
Shabby Doll
The Comedians (Roy's Version)
Episode of Blonde
Motel Matches
Tokyo Storm Warning
All This Useless Beauty
Riot Act
It's Time
I Dreamed Of My Old Lover
Can You Be True
King Horse
Heart Shaped Bruise
The Other Side Of Summer

Covers, 'Tell Me Right Now', 'What Do I Do Now', 'Egypt', 'How Much I Lied', 'Getting Mighty Crowded' and 'Lost In The Stars'

It's quite interesting what makes the final cut, nothing from Trust, AF, JL, Momo & Spike. All great records of which I could easliy pick two or more deserving tracks from each. Understandingly nothing from GCW, although Home Truth had such great promise & Shipbuilding just fell short. Only 1 track from MAIT, TYM, IB, BY, WIWC, North and SP&S unyet I love all these albums in their entirity.

There are the unrecorded contenders, 'The Girl In The Other Room' 'Unwanted Number' 'Suspect My Tears' and 'Burnt Sugar'

And where are the 'Hits' the singles this was so hard, I'm left feeling guilty.
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Jack of All Parades
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Re: The Top 25

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Why feel guilty? If these are the ones you truly enjoy, then revel in them. Well done!
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
scamp
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Re: The Top 25

Post by scamp »

I thought I would just put whats on my mp3 player as of recently

01 I'll Wear It Proudly
02 Watching the Detectives - later live versions like the 2009 Summer Sonic festival with long solo
03 Wave A White Flag
04 So Like Candy - live from Clearwater FL 2002
05 Green Shirt - demo
06 Blue Chair - live 1986 London
07 New Lace Sleeves - album and live with Brodskys
08 Rocking Horse Road
09 The Chill Before The Winter Came
10 She Handed Me A Mirror
11 Clownstrike
12 I Want You - 2 versions favorites Tim Festival 2005 and quiet from Berlin 1999
13 Lipstick Vogue
14 Party Girl - Clearwater Fl 2002
15 Drum and Bone - live 2008 Nashville or Knoxville
16 Dust
17 Sweet Pear
18 Little Atoms
19 Spooky Girlfriend
20 Narrow Daylight - with Brodskys
21 Indoor Fireworks
22 Beyond Belief
23 Inch By Inch - Berlin 1999
Covers
24 I Wanna Be Luved - live Clearwater FL 2002 and Columbia, MD 1984 (Wolfgang's Vault)
25 I'm Your Toy - East Hampton, NY 1996
TOBYROME
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Re: The Top 25

Post by TOBYROME »

Guilty for having to reject all those other great songs.
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Jeremy Dylan
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Re: The Top 25

Post by Jeremy Dylan »

If we're allowed to include live versions/demos then the 2007-07-25 Lucerne version of ICSUFFD definitely goes into my list, as does the Letterman version of Pads, Paws and Claws and Club Date version of Mystery Dance.
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Jeremy Dylan
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Re: The Top 25

Post by Jeremy Dylan »

Hawksmoor wrote:
Well, on the whole, I believe pop music isn't as good as it was in the period roughly 65 - 75. That's the peak, and it's been up and down since then, never quite reaching the same height. The 80s was easily the nadir.
Interesting. See, for me, it's the late 1970s and (very) early 1980s (OK, that's when I was a teenager and music always sounds better, and all that, but, y'know). 'Punk', or whatever you wanna call the change that happened in popular music around 1977, purported to be a Year-Zero new start, but in fact, like all half-decent revolutions, it was an amalgam of the best bits of what had preceded it.

So you had the 'DIY, guitar-bass-drums, make it in your Dad's garage' back-to-basics approach of skiffle (accompanied by the idea that nobody over 19 ought to make records, and no record ought to be longer than two-minutes-thirty), you had the best bits of glam-rock (sexually ambiguous dressing, great hair, ear-splitting guitar noise), and you had the 1960s beat-group sensitivity for melody.

Add to that the ghetto/outsider mentality and heavy bass feel of dub reggae and the deliberately difficult sounds of Krautrock and electronic music being produced on the continent. Throw in a seriously pissed-off attitude to your parents' generation, suddenly seen as having let 'our' generation down really badly, and on top of that, a renewed interest in ska/bluebeat, and what have you got?

The most fruitful melting-pot known (to date) for popular music. I believe the tidal wave of innovative, clever, thinking-outside-the-box music that poured out in the period c1978-1982 has never been equalled in this country.
It's a compelling argument, but based on the actual recorded output released in the respective periods, I'm going with the one that included:
The Beatles, The Who, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, Jeff Beck Group, David Bowie, John Lennon, Elton John, CSNY, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Al Green, Sam & Dave and Pink Floyd, all of whom hit their peak during 65-75. And Born To Run came out in 75, which is arguably Springsteen's peak. I don't think any other era can lay claim to such a sheer volume of brilliant pop music.
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wordnat
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Re: The Top 25

Post by wordnat »

I tend to like a lot of songs that no one else seems to be too crazy about -- but that's your fault, not mine!

1. cheap reward
2. no dancing
3. little triggers
4. accidents will happen
5. motel matches
6. seconds of pleasure (the Trust sessions version)
7. beyond belief
8. man out of time
9. human hands
10. the comedians
11. king of confidence
12. suit of lights
13. home is anywhere you hang your head
14. miss macbeth
15. couldn't call it unexpected no.4
16. this sad burlesque
17. sulky girl
18. the other end of the telescope
19. poor fractured atlas
20. i still have that other girl
21. tart
22. the name of this thing is not love
23. song with rose
24. the crooked line
25. i dreamed of my old lover last night
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Jeremy Dylan
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Re: The Top 25

Post by Jeremy Dylan »

Thought it would be interesting to look at my actual Top 25 EC songs (in terms of listens) vs. my faves. So firing up iTunes, I find that the Top 25 most listened to EC tracks in my library are:

1. Six Fingered Man (from The River In Reverse)
2. Bedlam (from The Delivery Man)
3. I Want You (from Blood and Chocolate)
4. Either Side of the Same Town (from The Delivery Man)
5. High Fidelity (from Get Happy!!)
6. Clubland (from Trust)
7. Button My Lip (from The Delivery Man)
8. Drum and Bone (from Momofuku)
9. Country Darkness (from The Delivery Man)
10. Monkey to Man (from The Delivery Man)
11. American Gangster Time (from Momofuku)
12. Complicated Shadows (from Secret, Profane & Sugarcane)
13. Brilliant Disguise (from Light of Day)
14. Watching the Detectives (from VH1 Storytellers)
15. There's A Story In Your Voice (from The Delivery Man)
16. Welcome to the Working Week (from My Aim Is True)
17. Down Among the Wine and Spirits (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
18. My All Time Doll (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
19. Sulphur to Sugarcane (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
20. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding (from Armed Forces)
21. Radio Sweetheart (from My Aim Is True: Deluxe Edition)
22. Don't Lie To Me (Live 2009 Aug 28 Massey Hall Toronto)
23. The Monkey (from The Delivery Man: Special Edition)
24. I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down (Live 2007-07-25 Lucerne)
25. Mystery Train (Live 2009 Aug 28 Massey Hall Toronto)
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Jeremy Dylan
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Re: The Top 25

Post by Jeremy Dylan »

Jeremy Dylan wrote:Create your own Best of EC! Pick 25 recordings from across his career. Please list in chronological order.

My picks:

1. Radio Sweetheart (from My Aim Is True sessions)
2. I'm Not Angry (from My Aim Is True)
3. Watching The Detectives (from the US pressing of My Aim Is True)
5. Wave A White Flag (unreleased, circa My Aim Is True)
6. No Action (from This Year's Model)
7. Pump It Up (from This Year's Model)
8. You Belong To Me (from This Year's Model)
9. I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea (from This Year's Model)
10. Lip Service (from This Year's Model)
11. Senior Service (from Armed Forces)
12. Oliver's Army (from Armed Forces)
13. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (from the US pressing of Armed Forces)
14. High Fidelity (from Get Happy!!)
15. Clubland (from Trust)
16. Almost Blue (from Imperial Bedroom)
17. I Want You (from Blood and Chocolate)
18. Brilliant Disguise (from Light Of Day: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen)
19. Button My Lip (from The Delivery Man)
20. Bedlam (from The Delivery Man)
21. Monkey to Man (from The Delivery Man)
22. Six Fingered Man (from The River In Reverse)
23. Complicated Shadows (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
24. Sulphur to Sugarcane (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
25. Femme Fatale (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
Well, this is certainly due for a revision:

1. Radio Sweetheart (from My Aim Is True sessions)
2. Watching the Detectives (from My Aim Is True US pressing)
3. No Action (from This Year's Model)
4. Pump It Up (from This Year's Model)
5. You Belong To Me (from This Year's Model)
6. Oliver's Army (from Armed Forces)
7. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (from the US pressing of Armed Forces)
8. I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down (from Get Happy!!)
9. High Fidelity (from Get Happy!!)
10. Almost Blue (from Imperial Bedroom)
11. Shipbuilding (from Punch the Clock)
12. Brilliant Mistake (from King of America)
13. I Want You (from Blood & Chocolate)
14. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (from Spike)
15. God's Comic (from Spike)
16. 45 (from When I Was Cruel)
17. Bedlam (from The Delivery Man)
18. Monkey to Man (from The Delivery Man)
19. The River In Reverse (from The River In Reverse)
20. No Hiding Place (from Momofuku)
21. Complicated Shadows (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
22. Sulphur to Sugarcane (from Secret, Profane and Sugarcane)
23. A Condemned Man (from National Ransack)
24. A Slow Drag With Josephine (from National Ransom)
25. Jimmie Standing In The Rain (from National Ransom)
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wordnat
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Re: The Top 25

Post by wordnat »

"Dr. Watson" would be a new addition to my list for sure.

This black and clipped misshapen thing
Hobbling on from claw to ring
Hung upside down and cawing
Pecking at carrion of the fallen


Fuck me!
redsfan720
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Re: The Top 25

Post by redsfan720 »

Stumbled across this thread in a search and figured it could use a bump.

For each of us I'm sure there are personal and very circumstantial reasons we attach ourselves to certain songs, recordings or performances so I won't try to explain my choices. I will try to put them in chronological order, and I'll stick to studio-recorded cuts.

Wave a White Flag
No Dancing
No Action
Little Triggers
Green Shirt
Goon Squad
I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down
Clowntime is Over
Clubland
Beyond Belief
The Loved Ones
Peace in Our Time
Indoor Fireworks
Blue Chair
Battered Old Bird
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
Veronica
The Other Side of Summer
Broken
Lost in the Stars
Why Can’t a Man Stand Alone?
Poor Fractured Atlas
God Give Me Strength
When It Sings
A Slow Drag with Josephine

Getting it down to 25 was more difficult than I anticipated.
when i was cruel
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Re: The Top 25

Post by when i was cruel »

Six Fingered Man
Alison
The Other End (Of The Telescope)
I Want To Vanish
Complicated Shadows
45
Couldn't Call It Unexpected No.4 (bonus disc)
The Sharpest Thorn
I Want You
Less Than Zero
This House Is Empty Now
I'll Never Fall In Love Again
Veronica
Red Cotton
The Scarlet Tide
Shipbuilding
So Like Candy
Tart
Alibi
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Tramp The Dirt Down
Unwanted Number
Watch Your Step
What's So Funny Bout' Peace, Love and Understandin' ?
Battered Old Bird

Some of the best songs ever written for me, was a pain in the ass just to narrow down to 25 !
It's not the days when you leave me, but all I fear are the nights.
SoulForHire
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Re: The Top 25

Post by SoulForHire »

This is an impossible task especially if we can include live tracks.
I'll see if I can fashion an attempt this weekend
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Jack of All Parades
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Re: The Top 25

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Re: The Top 25
by Christopher Sjoholm » Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:46 pm

As Pophead says it is fun to revisit once and awhile, and I have never done one of these for this artist, but I too caution that any such list from me is fluid except for the first five which are always fixed as favorites:

1- Almost Blue
2- Town Cryer
3- Fallen
4- God Give Me Strength
5- New Lace Sleeves
6- Alison
7- King Horse
8- You Little Fool
9- Shipbuilding
10- Indoor Fireworks
11- Baby Plays Around
12- You Tripped At Every Step
13- The Birds Will Still Be Singing
14- The Other End Of the Telescope
15- Toledo
16- This House is Empty Now
17- For the Stars
18- You Turned to Me
19- Still
20- I'm In The Mood Again
21- My Little Blue Window
22- Heart Shaped Bruise
23- Harry Worth
24- Flutter & Wow
25- My Three Sons

As to covers at least two:
I Threw It All Away for the sheer pain and [What's So Funny 'Bout] Peace, Love and Understanding? for the sheer joy.

Yes, it is time to update given the quality of the last record and thank you for bumping back up Redsfan! Had totally forgotten about this thread.


1- Almost Blue
2- Town Cryer
3- Fallen
4- God Give Me Strength
5- New Lace Sleeves
6- Jimmy Standing in the Rain
7- Beyond Belief
8- You Little Fool
9- Shipbuilding
10- Indoor Fireworks
11- I Want to Vanish
12- You Tripped At Every Step
13- The Birds Will Still Be Singing
14- You Hung the Moon
15- Toledo
16- This House is Empty Now
17- Couldn't Call it Unexpected #4
18- You Turned to Me
19- Still
20- I'm In The Mood Again
21- Blue Chair
22- Heart Shaped Bruise
23- Jack of All Parades
24- Flutter & Wow
25- I'LL Wear it Proudly

As to covers at least two:
I Threw It All Away for the sheer pain and [What's So Funny 'Bout] Peace, Love and Understanding? for the sheer joy.
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
Kevin Davis
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Re: The Top 25

Post by Kevin Davis »

Okay, can't resist.

1. Radio Sweetheart
2. Living in Paradise
3. Oliver's Army
4. Accidents Will Happen
5. New Lace Sleeves
6. The Long Honeymoon
7. Man Out of Time
8. Almost Blue
9. Our Little Angel
10. American Without Tears
11. Battered Old Bird
12. Tokyo Storm Warning
13. Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4
14. I Almost Had a Weakness
15. Poor Fractured Atlas
16. Why Can't A Man Stand Alone?
17. Toledo
18. Episode of Blonde
19. North
20. Bedlam
21. Stella Hurt
22. I Felt the Chill
23. A Slow Drag With Josephine
24. You Hung the Moon
25. A Voice in the Dark

Odd that perhaps my two favorite records--"Get Happy" and "North"--didn't end up contributing any individual tracks to this list (the outtake notwithstanding).
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