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Thread: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here! (Read 59960 times) |
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David Morgan
MV Feature
Posts: 53
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Musicians Poll: Results
« Reply #100: 01.01.07 at 22:32 » |
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And, at last, the results of Poll Two are……
The musicians most wanted on the Midvodian desert island are the following, with their points* totals:
1. The Beatles - 114
2. Bob Dylan - 93
3. Joni Mitchell - 71
4. Fairport Convention - 59
5. JS Bach (the early folk-rock pioneer) - 57
6. Mozart - 53
7. The Beach Boys - 52 (a tie between the Beach Boys and Mozart would have been fun, but they couldn’t quite squeeze it)
8= Elvis Costello – 40
8= 10cc - 40
10. Paul Simon - 39
11= Randy Newman – 37
11= Pink Floyd – 37
13. Steely Dan – 34
14= Leonard Cohen – 33
14= The Rolling Stones – 33 (Mick’n’Lenny – nice pairing, don’t you think?)
16. Richard Thompson – 32 (put this score together with Fairport’s and he’d be in third place)
17. Jake Thackray – 31
18= Miles Davis – 28
18= Kirsty MacColl - 28
18= John Martyn – 28
21. Neil Young – 27
22= David Bowie – 23
22= Mahler – 23
22= Frank Sinatra – 23
25= R.E.M. - 22
25= June Tabor – 22
27. Robert Wyatt - 20
28. Schubert - 19
29. The Who – 18
30= Caravan – 17
30= Gilbert & Sullivan – 17
30= Billy Joel – 17
30= Led Zeppelin - 17
After that the field gets crowded (many 16 & 15 scores) but also less meaningful in a relatively small poll, of course. There was an astonishing spread of musicians included in the votes – if we all get stranded together we’ll have an enviable library (and hopefully a large enough island to keep cacophony at bay!). As I pointed out earlier, a strong indicator of our varied tastes is that many people (including your humble pollster) included in their Top Three a choice so individual that no-one else voted for that musician at all.
When you look at our collective favourites in the list above, much is unsurprising – the names at the top could have been forecast, I think. In terms of musical genres, a bias towards folk(ish) performers and 60s/70s pop/rock is very clear, with the core classics as our primary ‘diversification’. Jazz, blues and other 20th century forms didn’t come through so strongly - Miles Davis and Frank Sinatra are the only names above - though many performers in these fields got one or two votes. I suspect that more voting time might have brought out further support for Robert Johnson, John Coltrane and others.
Stewart Betts asked how many of our favourites were satirised on Live Libel - more than one! Exact answers on a postcard, please.....
I was surprised by some musicians getting few or no votes who I would have thought likely to appeal to many MVs (based on similarities to Pete’s work and/or their generally recognised qualities as writers and performers). David Ackles, Harvey Andrews, Jacques Brel, Jackson Browne, Ralph McTell, Morrissey/The Smiths, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits spring to mind. Maybe they lurk just outside many of our Top Tens.
There must be two further ‘honourable mentions’: The Shrinks polled 16 points (so were in 34= position) and the legendary Adge Cutler got 6 (Ickleford jury once again!).
When all’s said and done, even when you were limited to ten musicians, the variety of names that came in was the most striking thing about the poll. And this was exactly what Nigel Long said about the previous survey of MVs’ listening habits in 2000. You can find Nigel’s results here for comparison – the leading names are very similar in both polls, which I guess we should expect. MVs’ general tastes haven’t moved around as much as our preferences for Pete’s songs have done – another illustration of the agony of choosing just 10 of those gems, of course.
The variety of our tastes is a great MV quality, I think. I’ve already made the painless New Year’s Resolution to listen harder, or for the first time, to some of the less familiar musicians: voters’ reasons for liking them are helpful as well. Apart from the fun and curiosity value, these discoveries may be the best justification for rerunning this poll!
Thanks again to everyone for participating, and a Happy New Year to all.
David M
* A reminder about the scoring: Being placed first by a voter gave 10 points; a second placing gave 9; a third 8; 4th or 5th - 7points; 6th or 7th – 6 points; 8th, 9th or 10th – 5 points.
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=100#100  |
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Bogus Trumper
MV Fellow
You alone will be my last adventure
Posts: 284
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Re: Musicians Poll: Results
« Reply #101: 01.01.07 at 23:07 » |
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on 01.01.07 at 22:32, David Morgan wrote:I was surprised by some musicians getting few or no votes who I would have thought likely to appeal to many MVs (based on similarities to Pete’s work and/or their generally recognised qualities as writers and performers). David Ackles, Harvey Andrews, Jacques Brel, Jackson Browne, Ralph McTell, Morrissey/The Smiths, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits spring to mind. Maybe they lurk just outside many of our Top Tens.
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Several of those were in my top 20, but again, some had to be dropped down the list because of the variety I needed for the desert island. Some of my top 10 I actually listen to far less than other musicians, but I was following the rules... 
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=101#101 |
And so goodbye, my lady of a night
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David Morgan
MV Feature
Posts: 53
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Musicians Poll: Results
« Reply #102: 02.01.07 at 09:49 » |
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Regarding Bogus's point above, I think that most/all of us had huge trouble with getting down to 10 musicians - probably even more than with the 10 Atkin songs. Maybe I should have asked you all for 20 names? 30? For a level playing field, of course, we needed to get the same number from each voter, and I thought at the outset that a larger number might be too much of an imposition, for both voters and pollsters(!). But with hindsight it would probably have been easier to write down more names than to agonise over the choice of just 10, and this would have left more space for second-favourites in various genres.
This change would probably have had little or no impact on the final Top Ten, but might have led to more of those 'songwritery' names sneaking into the Top Thirty. Ah - speculation about what might have been is at least as much fun as the real thing!
David M
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=102#102 |
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Jim Grozier
MV Feature
The leading young poetic hope of the whole planet
Posts: 37
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #103: 02.01.07 at 16:32 » |
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on 01.01.07 at 10:39, Ian Chippett wrote:| Three people put A King At Nightfall as their favourite but only one other person voted for it at all. You either love it or hate it, it seems. |
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I would have voted for it, but I have to confess that one of the desperate stategies I adopted for cutting my list down to 10 was to give songs a lower rating if I felt I could be pretty sure my girlfriend would include them, and AKAN was one of those. Trouble is, she never got round to voting, despite being reminded about it a few times!
She would also (I'm pretty sure) have voted for All the Dead were Strangers, and also (like me) Trophies. --- I have to say I was pretty gobsmacked to find that the latter song was not among the most popular, as indeed I am also utterly gobsmacked to find that no-one else seems to have voted for Philip Jeays, who I would have thought was a natural for PA fans. Never mind - his time will come!
Jim.
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=103#103 |
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Secret Drinker
MV Fixture
Paul Gunningham, MoM
Posts: 207
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #104: 02.01.07 at 18:43 » |
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on 01.01.07 at 17:14, Ian Chippett wrote:
Ah, but (a) that was several years ago (so Pete may have discovered other artists since then), and (b) it is Pete's top five individual tracks, as opposed to artists. The artists results could be different, for the reasons people have given in previous posts in this thread 
Cheers
Paul
Enjoying the first dryish day so far this year up 'ere
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=104#104 |
Staving off the pressure... by drinking real ale
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Ian Chippett
MV Moderator
In the clear at over fifty-five
Posts: 332
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #105: 02.01.07 at 18:53 » |
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Here's the Top However Many It Was in descending order by album. Lots of things here to think about like how could You Alone and I Feel Like Midnight put together get fewer votes than The Wall of Death, a nice song but not quite in the same class. Just my opinion, of course.Then The Magic Wasn't There gets no votes at all and yet it's (still just my opinion) one of the best of the early songs.
Ian C
Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger
Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger 99
Girl On the Train 43
Rider To The World’s End 32
Laughing Boy 30
Sunrise 21
Be Careful 17
You Can’t Expect To Be Remembered 14
Master of the Revels 12
Tonight Your Love Is Over 12
Touch Has A Memory 8
The Original...5
All I Ever Did 5
Luck Of The Draw 3
Frangipanni Was Her Flower 2
Have You Got A Biro...? 0
Driving Through Mythical America
Faded Mansion 138
Thief in the Night 73
Flowers And The Wine 48
Sunlight Gate 45
Driving Through Mythical America 36
Practical Man 24
Prince of Aquitaine 23
No Dice 15
The Pearl Driller 10
Lady Of A Day 8
Where Have They All Gone? 0
A King At Nightfall
Thirty Year Man 103
Between Us There Is Nothing 95
Hypertension Kid 45
The Double Agent 43
Carnations On The Roof 42
The Last Hill 39
A King At Nightfall 32
Wristwatch For A Drummer 22
Screen Freak 13
All The Dead Were Strangers 10
Apparition In Las Vegas 0
The Road Of Silk
Perfect Moments 94
Payday Evening 73
Senior Citizens 68
The Road Of Silk 37
Hollow And The Fluted Night 29
The Wall Of Death 25
Shadow and The Widower 8
An Array Of Passionate Lovers 7
My Egoist 7
Care-charmer Sleep 3
The Man Who Walked Toward The Music 0
Our Lady Lowness 0
Secret Drinker
Tenderfoot 49
I See The Joker 45
Rain-Wheels 21
Tongue-tied 18
Sessionman’s Blues 14
Secret Drinker 9
National Steel 5
Nothing Left To Say 2
Little Sammy Speedball 2
The Man Who Walked Toward The Music 0
Time And Time Again 0
Lakeside Sessions Volume One
Canoe 108
History and Geography 62
Femme Fatale 28
A Man Who’s Been Around 18
I Feel Like Midnight 16
Dreamboat 10
Get It Out Of Your Head 10
Wiseacre 10
Over The High Side 5
Urban Guerrilla 4
My Brother’s Keeper 3
The Magic Wasn’t There 0
Sudden Arrivals 0
Let’s Try The Whole Thing Again 0
Lakeside Sessions Volume Two
Icecream Man 36
The Eye Of The Universe 30
The Trophies Of My Lovers Gone 28
The Ties That Bind You 19
The Commercial Traveller 10
Just For Me 10
A Dream Of Fair Women 9
Landscapes 9
You Alone Will Be My Last Adventure 7
Cold Bitches 4
Search And Destroy 1
With Her It Goes Deeper 0
More In Sorrow Than In Anger 0
Early Days 0
Winter Spring
A Hill Of Little Shoes 64
An Empty Table 38
I Have To Learn 19
Thought Of You 17
Winter Spring 7
Dancing Master 7
Prayers Against The Hitman 3
So Loud I Couldn’t Hear It 0
Daughter Of The Sun 0
Fat Cat 0
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=105#105 |
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JtJ
MV Feature
Allow me to present myself....
Posts: 93
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #106: 02.01.07 at 20:56 » |
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Hi there!
I'm not seriously suggesting this for a moment but....
It would be interesting, wouldn't it, to have a seperate poll for "old songs" and "new songs".
I've been scrolling up and down this album list for some time now, hearing each song in my head and often thinking: I should have included this on my own list.
The great attraction for me is that there are so many GOOD songs here. And a wide variety of styles also.
Just a random thought or two!
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=106#106 |
....Julian Mount
Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Entertainer.
http://www.circusunlimited.com/julianmount.htm
https://soundcloud.com/JulianMount
https://tiny.cc/JulianMountMusic
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Bogus Trumper
MV Fellow
You alone will be my last adventure
Posts: 284
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #107: 02.01.07 at 22:54 » |
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I don't know if it statistically significant, but I notice the new songs seem to be less favored than the old. Many years of familiarity bringing the old ones to mind more easily? Probably true in my case.
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=107#107 |
And so goodbye, my lady of a night
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cjrt
MV Fresher
No dice
Posts: 6
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #108: 03.01.07 at 06:53 » |
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Well, Winter Spring doesn't seem any less popular than Secret Drinker- And Lakeside vol 1, which I believe were old compositions but was only recorded recently, did better than either (though mainly because of Canoe- vol 2 was much less popular).
Conversely, in my case I've only discovered Secret Drinker and most of the others around the same time as Winter Spring- I grew up (literally- it was my parents' LP) with BOTBS and nearly half the tracks on it are among my favourites.
Chris
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=108#108 |
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Richard Bleksley
MV Fixture
My time has come to find a better way
Posts: 164
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #109: 03.01.07 at 09:48 » |
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One thing that interests me about Ian's complete song score sheet is that several of the songs that got no votes at all are ones that I actually quite like - just not enough to put them in my top ten. Which leads me to suspect (always assuming that I'm not a wierdo who likes a lot of songs that nobody else does) that many of them may have been near-misses for other people too, and that their lowly position in the poll is a result of the voting system (like the Lib-Dems' representation in Parliament) rather than meaning that nobody likes them.
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=109#109 |
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Jan
MV Fellow
Posts: 312
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #110: 03.01.07 at 10:38 » |
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I agree Richard, five of my top twenty got no votes at all.
Jan
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=110#110 |
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Ian Chippett
MV Moderator
In the clear at over fifty-five
Posts: 332
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #111: 03.01.07 at 11:00 » |
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Well, I got 6 of the Top Ten in my own choice: the other four Black Funk Rex 9 points, My Egoist 7 points (all mine), A Man Who's Been Around 18 points , Nothing Left To Say 2 points were miles away. Anyone get more than 6 out of 10? Did anyone get none of the Top Ten?
Ian C
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=111#111 |
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Bogus Trumper
MV Fellow
You alone will be my last adventure
Posts: 284
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #112: 03.01.07 at 13:29 » |
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Well I got 5 of mine in the top ten.
What we need now is some complex statistics to see who was the closest to the final poll, and hence who is the nearest to an "average" Pete and Clive fan!
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=112#112 |
And so goodbye, my lady of a night
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Richard Bleksley
MV Fixture
My time has come to find a better way
Posts: 164
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #113: 03.01.07 at 14:47 » |
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I got an average-to-modest four songs in the top ten. Ah, but I've also got one of my top ten musicians (Robert Johnson) in Pete's five favourite tracks list. So there.
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=113#113 |
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Secret Drinker
MV Fixture
Paul Gunningham, MoM
Posts: 207
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #114: 03.01.07 at 15:42 » |
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on 03.01.07 at 09:48, Richard Bleksley wrote:| One thing that interests me about Ian's complete song score sheet is that several of the songs that got no votes at all are ones that I actually quite like - just not enough to put them in my top ten. Which leads me to suspect (always assuming that I'm not a wierdo who likes a lot of songs that nobody else does) that many of them may have been near-misses for other people too, and that their lowly position in the poll is a result of the voting system (like the Lib-Dems' representation in Parliament) rather than meaning that nobody likes them. |
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I don't think you're any more of a weirdo than any other of us Pete Atkin fans, Richard 
I don't think any of the songs are bad, but there are some I probably don't like as much as others. However, like you and (I suspect) everyone else, I had extreme difficulty in narrowing down my choice to ten - and the ten I ended up with are fairly arbitrary in that there are many others I like equally but just couldn't include because of the limit. In the end I didn't literally draw lots, but I might as well have done.
I was surprised, for example, that "Biro" got no votes at all - that's a fairly commercial song (well, it would have been if it could have been played on air!) and I think many of us like it and would perhaps have included it in the top 20. But nobody included it in their top ten so it scored nowt.
So, is Pete going to base his album of re-recordings on this poll, or should we have another one where we say which 20 songs we'd like to see on it? 
Cheers
Paul
Getting very wet again today 
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=114#114 |
Staving off the pressure... by drinking real ale
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Ian Chippett
MV Moderator
In the clear at over fifty-five
Posts: 332
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #115: 03.01.07 at 16:21 » |
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Paw wrote!
<<So, is Pete going to base his album of re-recordings on this poll, or should we have another one where we say which 20 songs we'd like to see on it?>>
I think he should avoid anything in the Top Ten: after all, he's already done a pretty good job on them (though a funk version of Between Us there Is Nothing in 4/4 might be fun.) I'd like to see him go for some of the rockier, bloozier songs (Touch Has A Memory could almost fall in this category if you slow it down, play it in 12/8 with a screaming lead guitar and Hammond Organ.) The problem with the faster stuff (none of which got into the Top Ten) is the good taste Pete always shows on his records: the guitar and sax solos are always under control which is not really a rock 'n roll attitude. It would have been better if Pete had been a member of a band where concessions had to be made to drunken egoistic guitarists: that way, I See The Joker would only have 3 verses but it would also have an earth-shattering solo between verses 2 and 3. It's probably true that none of us would be MVs now if that had been the case but I'm just presenting an Alternative Universe scenario. Bon, returning to the point, if Pete wants to revisit his past, I think he'd do well to loosen up, find some musos who can play (like the Shrinks, who better?) and go for it even if it means going over the top. My ex-band once did a version of "Perfect Moments" which transformed itself into a kind of reggae-brassband 30-minute epic that can only be described as indescribable. I'd love to see Pete doing the same!
Ian C
Losing what he hardly knew was there in Pantin France
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=115#115 |
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David Morgan
MV Feature
Posts: 53
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Re: Top Tens and Twenties
« Reply #116: 03.01.07 at 16:58 » |
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The debate above about why certain songs fared badly, while being Top-20 candidates for many voters, illustrates the same pattern that I think occurred in the musicians poll, as per my note below.
on 01.01.07 at 22:32, David Morgan wrote:I was surprised by some musicians getting few or no votes who I would have thought likely to appeal to many MVs (based on similarities to Pete’s work and/or their generally recognised qualities as writers and performers). David Ackles, Harvey Andrews, Jacques Brel, Jackson Browne, Ralph McTell, Morrissey/The Smiths, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits spring to mind. Maybe they lurk just outside many of our Top Tens (italics added for emphasis).
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It seems, as Richard observed, that there are certain songs and musicians that benefit from a first-past-the-post election (or at least one-of-the-first-ten-past-the-post). An example is AKAN, which we love or hate as per Ian's analysis. Others, meanwhile, await proportional representation: The Magic Wasn't There (appropriate title in this context!), with no votes at all, strikes me as a standout example of this group.
David M
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=116#116 |
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Secret Drinker
MV Fixture
Paul Gunningham, MoM
Posts: 207
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Re: Top Tens and Twenties
« Reply #117: 03.01.07 at 19:51 » |
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on 03.01.07 at 16:58, David Morgan wrote:The debate above about why certain songs fared badly, while being Top-20 candidates for many voters, illustrates the same pattern that I think occurred in the musicians poll, as per my note below.
It seems, as Richard observed, that there are certain songs and musicians that benefit from a first-past-the-post election (or at least one-of-the-first-ten-past-the-post). An example is AKAN, which we love or hate as per Ian's analysis. Others, meanwhile, await proportional representation: The Magic Wasn't There (appropriate title in this context!), with no votes at all, strikes me as a standout example of this group.
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Harvey Andrews and Ralph McTell would probably have been in my Top 20 but in the end didn't make my Top 10, if that helps confirm your theory David! I say "probably", just in case there's ever a Top 20 poll - don't want to give away too much, do I?
Cheers
Paul
Wondering how to get to the pub across the road without flippers 
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=117#117 |
Staving off the pressure... by drinking real ale
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Bogus Trumper
MV Fellow
You alone will be my last adventure
Posts: 284
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #118: 03.01.07 at 23:03 » |
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on 03.01.07 at 14:47, Richard Bleksley wrote:| I've also got one of my top ten musicians (Robert Johnson) in Pete's five favourite tracks list. So there. |
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Ditto
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=118#118 |
And so goodbye, my lady of a night
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Jan
MV Fellow
Posts: 312
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #119: 03.01.07 at 23:21 » |
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Would the Atkin top 10 be a suitable candidate for the Atkin FAQ thread?
(After a long period of ... well nothing really... this thread has recently sprung into life with a useful explanation about the unavailable CDs which can be used when future new MVs ask why they can't buy them and will save Pete explaining it all over again)
Jan
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=Music&action=display&num=1164823599&start=119#119 |
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