Getcha passports ready - the middle-aged dummies are going to the British Isles! Top 31 song countdown. (2 Viewers)

[rockaction]

Legit OMG that All The Way From Memphis is new to you. :ENVY:

Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter are spots I've known are blind, but never was apt to listen to it. This track sounds like New York Dolls if the Dolls lost their rawer edge and went fully glam instead of dirtier city crossdress.

That sax solo. Sounds like the Dolls or Mott took note of each other. "Human Being" sounds a lot like it, only this sax solo is screechier and cooler (sorry, krista!)

 

[Mister CIA]

Underworld, Born Slippy

If I was 13.

 

[rockaction]

Born Slippy is awesome. It's a New York day spent on uppers in your late twenties or early thirties in an Upper West Side Apt., not thirteen.

Hmmm...New York memories.

 

[rockaction]

In the US thread, we employed The Thumper Rule nearly without fail.

That has hit the proverbial you-know-what. It was nice while it lasted.

 

[Mister CIA]

Legit OMG that All The Way From Memphis is new to you. :ENVY:

Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter are spots I've known are blind, but never was apt to listen to it. This track sounds like New York Dolls if the Dolls lost their rawer edge and went fully glam instead of dirtier city crossdress.

That sax solo. Sounds like the Dolls or Mott took note of each other. "Human Being" sounds a lot like it, only this sax solo is screechier and cooler (sorry, krista!)

Hoping for you that a we see a certain combo pick soon. It's 10/10.

 

[Mister CIA]

House of the Rising Sun is a big whiff.

 

[New Binky the Doormat]

Song of the tourney so far that’s been new to me

All The Way From Memphis - Mott The Hoople

I am still gobsmacked that this song is new to you. Hopefully you check out the Mott and the Hoople albums.

 

[Mister CIA]

Legit OMG that All The Way From Memphis is new to you. :ENVY:

Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter are spots I've known are blind, but never was apt to listen to it. This track sounds like New York Dolls if the Dolls lost their rawer edge and went fully glam instead of dirtier city crossdress.

That sax solo. Sounds like the Dolls or Mott took note of each other. "Human Being" sounds a lot like it, only this sax solo is screechier and cooler (sorry, krista!)

Your Mott the Hoople is my Fugazi, I suspect.

 

[rockaction]

I am still gobsmacked that this song is new to you. Hopefully you check out the Mott and the Hoople albums

Certain seventies glam is a blind spot to me. Glam from across the ocean is certainly that with Roxy Music and Mott being among the artists. And after listening to the albums, it's not necessarily an every day thing, but I like the hits well enough.

 

[rockaction]

Fugazi

Except I (shhhh!) don't really love Fugazi that much anymore. Too serious. For serious people with serious thoughts and serious gripes.

Yeah it's a mighty long way down rock 'n' roll
From the Liverpool docks to the Hollywood bowl

Whoops. Hadn't checked the full lyrics. Not really a safe space in 2023. I guess it was fifty years ago. I can guarantee Fugazi wouldn't have done that. So there are trade-offs, I suppose.

 

[rockaction]

"Elektrobank" - Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers were getting selected, so I picked the one with the Keith Murray vocal sample. Not sure why I picked this one, but once you get past a little bit of the intro, it settles into big beat bliss.Yeah, yeah, you know it.

Who is dis doin' this synthetic type of alpha beta psychedelic funkin'?

 

[Eephus]

Song of the tourney so far that’s been new to me

All The Way From Memphis - Mott The Hoople

I am still gobsmacked that this song is new to you. Hopefully you check out the Mott and the Hoople albums.

A lot of bands peak at the beginning of their careers but Mott's picked up steam as they went along and Hunter sharpened his songwriting chops. Their early records have a bunch of covers and that weird Guy Stevens production. There's also a few too many Mick Ralphs songs but that's personal opinion. It was only toward the end that their albums featured all original songs and Ralphs was out the door shortly thereafter to form Bad Company

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Kenny G

Not eligible

 

[Eephus]

Guy Stevens coming back out of nowhere to produce London Calling is one of the great unsung final acts in rock history.

 

[rockaction]

Ralphs was already out the door to form Bad Company.

Aye, Mick, good riddance and don't let it hit you on the way out.

I'm guessing it was more amicable, but I like that story in my head.

 

[Mister CIA]

Kenny G

Not eligible

of course.

 

[rockaction]

Guy Stevens

What is a characteristic of his productions, or did he change? Just curious.

 

[shuke]

At this point there are so many great songs being picked it's hard putting a list together.

But a huge shout out to these:
worrierking: Shoot Out The Lights - Richard and Linda Thompson
AAABatteries: Baby Blue - Badfinger

And this is very interesting. At first I thought I was hearing Seasons by Future Islands.
The Dreaded Marco: Born Slippy – Underworld

 

[krista4]

Not feeling creative tonight to write teasers, so I'll just give 'em straight up*:

Two of our Big 3 get a double-up tomorrow, while the third gets a triple-up.
Four other artists get a double-up - three bands and a solo artist.
We see one of those songs again.
My last remaining unselected artist, other than the two for whom I will be the only votes, gets selected.

*Paula Abdul not eligible

 

[rockaction]

*Paula Abdul not eligible

LOL

 

[Eephus]

Guy Stevens

What is a characteristic of his productions, or did he change? Just curious.

From what I've read, Stevens was a "vibes" producer rather than a studio technician. He was a character who sort of fancied himself as an English Phil Spector.

The first two Mott albums have always sounded like crap to me. Supposedly The Clash loved working with Stevens but I credit engineer Bill Price (who also twiddled the knobs on Never Mind the Bollocks) for the live and crisp sound of London Calling.

 

[Eephus]

*Paula Abdul not eligible

MC Skat Kat was a British Shorthair

 

[rockaction]

engineer Bill Price

That would make a huge difference. The delineation between producer and engineer is important, it seems.

 

[rockaction]

MC Scat Cat was a British Shorthair

I thought he was MC Skat Kat. That's the important ****, you know?

 

[Eephus]

MC Scat Cat was a British Shorthair

I thought he was MC Skat Kat. That's the important ****, you know?

Fixed (spayed)

 

[shuke]

Baby Blue -- Badfinger (AAABatteries)

Two words: Breaking Bad

This absolutely played a role in me picking it. I like several their songs so they were in contention for getting picked as an artist and then it was a foregone conclusion that this would be the song. The usage of this song in context of the show is maybe the greatest I've ever seen and the lyrics almost sound like it was written just for this usage.

Guess I got what I deserve
...
The special love I have for you
My baby blue
....
All the days became so long
...
Guess that's all I have to say
...
Just one thing, before I go
Take good care, baby let me know, let it grow

I always wondered if Gilligan made the meth blue just to use this song in the finale.

 

[Ilov80s]

engineer Bill Price

That would make a huge difference. The delineation between producer and engineer is important, it seems.

Yeah seems it would make a big difference here, especially if the producer isn't very technical.

 

[shuke]

The Dirty Dozen, starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charlie Bronson, Jim Brown, Trini Lopez, and this soundtrack:

Paper Sun
Sultans Of Swing
Total Eclipse Of The Heart
The Real Me
Time Of The Season
Two Of Us
Substitute

What is this about? None of those songs are in that movie.

You haven't lived until you've heard Ernest Borgnine sing Total Eclipse of the Heart.

 

[Mister CIA]

Not feeling creative tonight to write teasers, so I'll just give 'em straight up*:

Two of our Big 3 get a double-up tomorrow, while the third gets a triple-up.
Four other artists get a double-up - three bands and a solo artist.
We see one of those songs again.
My last remaining unselected artist, other than the two for whom I will be the only votes, gets selected.

*Paula Abdul not eligible

You seem awesome.

 

[Eephus]

Yeah seems it would make a big difference here, especially if the producer isn't very technical.

Especially if the DJ is a cat

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance
To the Radio

 

[Doug B]

@krista4 Did you see yesterday's Jeopardy had a category about sax?

One response was Careless Whisper and no one got it.

[nonbritishgeorgemichael]

"Let's roll the video tape!"

[/nonbritishgeorgemichael]

 

[shuke]

Lol, yeah that Knights of Cydonia video is ****ing ridiculous.

Dude it's awesome. I can't wait to get high this weekend and watch it.

Guys, it's almost time.

 

[shuke]

OMG this Zebra song. Who picked this again?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

OMG this Zebra song. Who picked this again?

If you're talking about Who's Behind the Door from the US countdown, I think that was Doug B.

 

[Doug B]

Those were the only big US hits for Wham!

Wham! had four more Top 5s in the US, including a third #1 single. Plus an additional song that went to #10.

 

[Eephus]

Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance
To the Radio

Only Ian Curtis could make this sound menacing

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Those were the only big US hits for Wham!

Wham! had four more Top 5s in the US, including a third #1 single. Plus an additional song that went to #10.

And does the average American remember any of them?

 

[Eephus]

@krista4 Did you see yesterday's Jeopardy had a category about sax?

One response was Careless Whisper and no one got it.

[nonbritishgeorgemichael]

"Let's roll the video tape!"

[/nonbritishgeorgemichael]

Jennings sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher

 

[Eephus]

Those were the only big US hits for Wham!

Wham! had four more Top 5s in the US, including a third #1 single. Plus an additional song that went to #10.

And does the average American remember any of them?

They certainly remember one of them around Christmastime

 

[Doug B]

OMG this Zebra song. Who picked this again?

or ?

 

[Doug B]

And does the average American remember any of them?

I'd say the #10 one disappeared, but the other ones are staples if you listen to 80s stations, "at work" stations, light rock, etc. It will depend a lot on how you consume your music, though.

 

[Ilov80s]

They certainly remember one of them around Christmastime

Based on Spotify, that Xmas song is their most popular song. Over a billion streams.

 

[shuke]

OMG this Zebra song. Who picked this again?

or ?

Dude it's AWESOME

 

[Eephus]

They certainly remember one of them around Christmastime

Based on Spotify, that Xmas song is their most popular song. Over a billion streams.

Sir Paul's top solo songs are Wonderful Christmastime and that rubbish he put out with Rihanna and Kanye

 

[Mt. Man]

Even though there were plenty of new songs, today my tastes favored (ha?) a couple of songs with earlier votes. So also thumbs up to DrIanMalcolm (True) and simsarge (Eye in the Sky) for some past picks. And I guess those who take these songs in the future, since I’m going to try not to double up.

#20s
Recognized by title alone: 27
Sounded familiar: 2 (Homicide & Let Her Go)
Knew from this countdown: 1
Didn't know: 13

Selected Favorites:
You Really Got Me (Sullie)
True (Andy Dufrense)
Total Eclipse of the Heart (Mrs. Rannous) - Could get my “special shout out”, but I’ll put it here.
Eye in the Sky (falguy)
Little Willy (ditkaburgers)

Some songs I didn't know that I ended up liking:
Paper Sun (Binky)
Local Boy in the Photograph (titusbramble)
Crank Resolutions (Eephus)
She Said (Mrs. Eephus)

 

[Doug B]

OMG this Zebra song. Who picked this again?

or ?

Dude it's AWESOME

Check out this "campfire" acoustic version Zebra singer Randy Jackson did on a NY talk show in 2018. Just him and his 12-string. He even did the crescendo and the outro sans drums and keys.

If I saw somebody whip THAT out at an open-mike night somewhere, I'd be doing this.

 

[shuke]

OMG this Zebra song. Who picked this again?

or ?

Dude it's AWESOME

Check out this "campfire" acoustic version Zebra singer Randy Jackson did on a NY talk show in 2018. Just him and his 12-string. He even did the crescendo and the outro sans drums and keys.

If I saw somebody whip THAT out at an open-mike night somewhere, I'd be doing this.

Rules. I still can't believe I hadn't heard this song before, but I feel like I've known it all my life.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Underworld, Born Slippy

If I was 13.

Born Slippy is awesome. It's a New York day spent on uppers in your late twenties or early thirties in an Upper West Side Apt., not thirteen.

Hmmm...New York memories.

Yeah. I first heard that song when I was 27. Loved it, obviously. I would have hated it when I was 13.

 

[krista4]

Based on today's update, we finally have a leader in this thing - Chaos34 at 4 points - Top Song for 2, Top Artist, and 1 out of 7 on selected bands:

Maybe today will be the day I finally calculate who wins this.

I did it! I really really did it!

So...the first tiebreaker still left me with a tie. As a result, I'm entering a second tiebreaker, which will be who gets the most points for the song named for the final question of the contest (highest ranking non-Big-Three song). I haven't looked to see what the finalists took for that question, so god forbid we still have a tie.