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Thread: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here! (Read 63714 times) |
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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 #40: 24.12.06 at 22:16 » |
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Andy L. wrote
<<I meant "Here We Stay" of course!>>
Too late, mate. It's on the list. Can't change it now. More than me job's worth. Trouble is if everybody else votes for it we're going to finish with a number one song that Pete hasn't actually written (as yet.)
Ian C
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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 #41: 27.12.06 at 12:10 » |
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Right, here's the vote from the Ickleford jury. I wanted to spend more time thinking about all this, and possibly listening to all the songs again to make sure, but I realise I'll run out of time if I don't respond, so here goes.
PA songs: I've gone for the ones that I like the most, or that bring back happy memories, not just the ones that are 'best' musically or lyrically. In some ways this made the choice harder - in any event there were plenty I'd like to have included but regretfully had to drop. So, without further explanation:
1. Thief In The Night
2. Canoe
3. Rider To The World's End
4. Carnations On The Roof
5. Eye Of The Universe (Pathway demo version)
6. Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger
7. I See The Joker
8. Girl On The Train
9. Perfect Moments
10. Star Of Tomorrow
So I had to leave out Hill Of Little Shoes, Here We Stay, Wristwatch For A Drummer, and... everything else.
Other artists: my choice is based more on what I listen to today, rather than in the past, and I've left out artists that bring back memories of my youth, even if I regard them highly. In spite of that I've included a few that I still enjoy and consider have 'aged' well. I haven't included, for example, the Beatles or Stones, or any Motown, Stax or Atlantic artists from the 1960s, although I used to like them a lot and still enjoy them if I hear them - but I don't really play these records a lot any more.
1. Joni Mitchell - first heard in 1968 and knocked me out. OK, not all of her later stuff is as much to my taste, but the first half a dozen albums or so were classics that I still enjoy today. A superb songwriter and a highly influential guitar genius to boot.
2. Bob Dylan - along with the Beatles, the most important and influential artist of the 1960s, who changed the face of popular music. His early albums (up to about 1970) are a must. Although he has been responsible for some forgettable stuff during the intervening years, his latest album isn't at all bad and signals a return to form of sorts.
3. Fairport Convention - many reasons for including them: pioneers of folk rock, and still going strong today after the best part of 40 years, writers of some fine original songs, and the number of superb artists who have passed through their ranks (Thompson, Denny, Hutchings, Swarbrick, Sanders and Leslie, to name just a handful). And of course if I had all the output of the band and their offshoots I'd have enough to listen to for some time to come! 
4. Paul Brady - I first saw him in the late 1960s as part of the Irish folk band The Johnstons, of whom I was a great fan (and even played with a couple of times!). Has blossomed into a superb singer/songwriter over the past 20 years or so, but remains a fairly 'well-kept secret' as far as the public is concerned.
5. Show of Hands - one of my current favourite bands, who've been around for nearly 20 years but remain unknown to many outside the 'folk scene'. Actually they're a duo comprising one of my other favourite songwriters Steve Knightley, and talented multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. But on their recent tour they were supplemented by the superbly talented Miranda Sykes who adds a new dimension to their sound.
6. Adge Cutler - well, thee's got to include'n, don'm? Just the thing to cheer me up during the cold lonely nights on the island. Hopefully there will be some apple trees there so I can make my own cider!
7. Bonzo Dog Band - uniquely entertaining inspired lunacy. I just wouldn't want to be without their albums. I'd like to include 'ginger geezer' Viv Stanshall's solo efforts too if possible (Teddy Boys Don't Knit, Sir Henry At Rawlinson End, etc.).
8. Daphne's Flight - a bit of a cheat, this one! As Daphne's Flight they only made one album, but I wanted to include my two absolute favourite female singers Chris While and Christine Collister (two sublime but very different voices I challenge anyone to beat!) who were both part of this project, along with Julie Matthews, who with Chris has been performing as a duo for several years. While & Matthews are among the best acts I've seen, with everything (vocals, musical ability and songs) being top class. Chris's daughter Kellie While is no slouch either, and their mother and daughter duets are also superb. I'd be well pleased if I could include everything from their various projects!
9. Lovin' Spoonful - one of my favourite 1960s bands, sadly very short lived. I consider their songs (mainly courtesy of John Sebastian) among the best of that wonderful era for pop music. I still love everything they did.
10. Kinks - the original songs of Ray Davies mostly stand up well today and I play them a lot more often than most other 1960s records, including those by the Beatles, the Stones or the Who - hence their inclusion in my list. I believe the Kinks influenced 1960s pop music (including the Beatles themselves) more than many people give them credit for. Although in a different vein from their later stuff, their first big hit You Really Got Me was way ahead of its time, too.
Regretfully I had to leave out Ralph McTell, Pink Floyd (and Syd Barrett), Buddy Holly, and many, many other heroes, but that's how it goes.
Extra item: a guitar with unbreakable strings 
There, it's done now and I can't change my mind any more. Happy New Year to all MVs!
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Staving off the pressure... by drinking real ale
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Mike Walters
MV Fixture
Posts: 127
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #42: 27.12.06 at 14:32 » |
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Like everyone, I've been hesitating because of the impossibility of the task, so there's nothing definitive about either of these lists (and certainly not about the order, with the possible exception of the top two or three in each case). In the end, I decided not to think too hard but just to stick down the first names (songs and artists) that entered my mind on the basis that this would more probably reflect what I really like than if I tried to rationalise it too much. So here goes...
Atkin songs
1. Hill of Little Shoes
2. Faded Mansion on the Hill
3. Canoe
4. Perfect Moments
5. History and Geography
6. Here We Stay ('Wag the Dog' version...)
7. The Trophies of My Lovers Gone
8. An Empty Table
9. Between Us There is Nothing
10. Road of Silk
Favourite Other Artists
1. Bob Dylan - the one authentic genius in popular music, IMHO
2. Richard Thompson - for songs, guitaring and the extraordinary '1000 Years of Popular Music'
3. Nic Jones - the great lost talent of the English folk scene
4. Billy Bragg - if you can get past the 'distinctive vocal stylings', the best songwriter to emerge post-1980
5. Grant McLennan - for me, the most poignant death of 2006. A wonderful songwriter, solo and with The Go-Betweens. Have a listen to his album 'Horsebreaker Star' - a double-CD without an ounce of filler.
6. Robert Wyatt - if we could just get him to cover 'Trophies of My Lovers Gone'...
7. Elvis Costello - he stretches my patience at times, but always in a good way
8. Michael Marra - support for Colin Boag...the most under-rated songwriter in Britain (Marra, not Colin)
9. Warren Zevon - intelligent witty AOR...how often do you find that?
10. Leonard Cohen - not so much for the more familiar early 'Doom from a Room' stuff but for his playful old age...and for 'Alexandra Leaving', one of the most beautiful song-lyrics not written by Clive James.
There - I'll stop before I change my mind.
Happy New Year
Mike
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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 #43: 27.12.06 at 18:17 » |
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Here is the Bottom Ten so far (one vote each.)
Star Of Tomorrow
The Master Of The Revels
All I Ever Did
Wall Of Death
Sessionman’s Blues
Ballad of an upstairs window
Dancing Master
No Dice
Nothing Left To Say
National Steel
Ian C
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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 #44: 27.12.06 at 18:57 » |
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Well, I am still ruminating, but I think one of those will double its vote total if I get done by the end of the year.
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And so goodbye, my lady of a night
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bobtaylor
MV Friend
Posts: 19
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #45: 27.12.06 at 20:22 » |
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Good evening United Kingdom, here are the results from the spanish jury:
Atkin Top Ten:
Some more one vote wonders included, no comments, they all speak for themselves.
01. The Double Agent
02. A Dream Of Fair Women
03. Sunlight Gate
04. Tenderfoot
05. Between Us There Is Nothing
06. Over The High Side
07. Cold Bitches
08. Canoe
09. Wiseacre
10. The Faded Mansion On The Hill
Non-Atkin Top Ten:
01. Lucinda Williams: fab voice, diverse material, but few, if any votes.
02. The Handsome Family: discussed briefly by Pete; ¿will we see his own top tens?
03. The Allman Brothers: especially the early albums.
04. John Fahey: american primitive guitar. Influenced by Mississippi John Hurt.
05. Joe Walsh: especially the early albums.
06. Bob Dylan: ¿likely to win this section methinks? Back on form with his last 3 albums.
07. Brian Eno: ¿any other votes? Alongside Clive, man with a brain the size of a planet.
08. Focus: ¿who? Jan Akkerman - guitar, Thjs Van Leer - flute, keyboards and vocals.
09. Tom Waits: surpised he's not been mentioned, either.
10. Steve Earle: particularly fond of his bluegrass material, but a great rocker too.
Feliz año nuevo.
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Is this headache from his crosswires on my brow?
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David Morgan
MV Feature
Posts: 54
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Musicians Poll Latest
« Reply #46: 27.12.06 at 23:03 » |
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Following on from Ian's Bottom Ten, over on the musicians poll there are of course many one- (and no-) vote wonders: MVs' tastes are just as catholic as they were back in 2000. With four days to go (not much time left to ponder!) there's a pattern emerging with a finger almost in its ear. Yes, the folkies are making a late run, with 60s/70s pop in the hottest pursuit. Top ten-and-a-few musicians as of this evening are:
Bob Dylan (by a very short head)
Joni Mitchell
The Beatles
Fairport Convention
10cc
Richard Thompson
The Beach Boys
John Martyn
Elvis Costello
Rolling Stones
Robert Wyatt
WA Mozart
F Schubert
June Tabor
Pink Floyd
Lucinda Williams
Miles Davis
Van Morrison
JS Bach
Bert Jansch
John McLaughlin
Steely Dan
Neil Young
Janacek
Gilbert & Sullivan
Leonard Cohen
Warren Zevon
Richard Thompson fans will note positions 4 and 6 - put those two together and RT would be well in front.
But we've not been so snowed with votes that this order (as also for the songs poll) can't still be turned inside out. Thanks to everyone who's voted so far: others, for the sake of democracy in Midvodia, to your keyboards please!
David M
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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 #47: 28.12.06 at 08:56 » |
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No names, no packdrill but the New Top Ten as it stands right now contains three songs that weren't in the last one (in terms of the number of votes, not in the list at Smash Flops which took into account other factors.) All this could still change, of course.
If I have time, I'll try to see what the best-represented album is.
Ian C
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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 #48: 28.12.06 at 09:16 » |
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I wrote:
<<If I have time, I'll try to see what the best-represented album is. >>
Well, after a quick glance they all seem to be equally well-represented (in the sense that about 80% of the songs on each album have had at least one vote.) The exception is Live Libel but I suppose that's natural. It's interesting that the most recent albums have done as well as (if not better than) the older ones in terms of the spread of votes.
Ian C
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Jim Scrivener
MV Fresher
I love Midnight Voices!
Posts: 3
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #49: 28.12.06 at 12:01 » |
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1 Laughing Boy
2 Girl on a Train
3 Ice Cream Man
4 Last Hill (with all the original verses)
5 Canoe
6 Thief in the Night
7 Beautiful Stranger
8 Be careful when they offer you the Moon
9 History and Geography
10 All the dead were strangers
1 Bob Dylan
2 David Bowie
3 Jacques Brel
4 Morrissey
5 REM
6 Roxy Music
7 Harry Chapin
8 Lou Reed
9 Gilbert and Sullivan
10 Sibelius
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Cary
MV Feature
I love Midnight Voices!
Posts: 92
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #50: 28.12.06 at 16:19 » |
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Stunned into silence by the impossibity of the task - spurred into action by Pete's 'Newsletter'
In no particular order (they're just numbers!)
1. Top Ten Atkin Songs
1. Canoe
2. History and Geography
3. Eye of the Universe (demo version)
4. Rainwheels
5. Hypertension Kid
6. I see the Joker
7. Sunrise
8. Thief in the Night
9. No Dice
10. Search and Destroy
2. Top Ten (non-Atkin) Musicians
1. Supertramp
2. Capercaille
3. The Jam
4. Blondie
5. David Bowie
6. The Beatles
7. Suzanne Vega
8. Elvis Costello
9. Simon & Garfunkel
10. Kirsty McColl
Done!!
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…………. _/\ /\_ ………….
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Like Mary @
..With a..“C”..for cat
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Sylfest
MV Feature
Let's try the whole thing again!
Posts: 49
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #51: 28.12.06 at 17:48 » |
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"It won't take a tick."
What is he on?
Here is my own favourites list, finely nuanced yet comfortingly run-of-the-mill:
Pete and Clive songs:
1. I feel like midnight
2. The faded mansion on the hill
3. A hill of little shoes
4. The road of silk
5. The hypertension kid
6. Between us there is nothing
7. The prince of Aquitaine
8. I see the joker
9. The double agent
10 The pearl-driller
Runners-up: No dice, Senior citizens, Dancing master, and many more
To be honest, there's not much order below the top 5, which to me represent various blends of excellent songwriting and forceful expression. After all, the range of the songs is one of the most striking aspects of thier appeal.
Favourite artists:
1. Joni Mitchell (easily)
2. Richard Thompson (all flavours)
3. Stan Rogers
4. Randy Newman
5. Paul Simon
6. Leonard Cohen
7. The Beatles
8. Steely Dan
9. Ry Cooder
10 June Tabor
Runners-up: Elvis Costello, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, U2, The Kinks, The Who, Scott Walker
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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 #52: 28.12.06 at 21:33 » |
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Well, how about a top twenty? 
Atkin/James
Canoe
Beautiful Stranger (my first ever favorite)
Thief in the night
Sessionman’s Blues
Wall of Death
Payday Evening (the last two lines are superb)
The Pearl Driller
Thirty year man ( “an hour alone….” still gives me shivers)
Secret Drinker
You alone will be my last adventure
And practically every other song from the pair of them
Other Artists
Beatles
Steve Goodman (Been in America too long!)
Fairport
Dylan (of course)
Joni Mitchell (been in love with her for ever!)
Queen (need some rock, and I was at Imperial with some of them…)
Jeremy Taylor (NOT James – it is the Africa connection))
Robert Johnson (need some blues, and what could be better?)
Tom Paxton (Vietnam and America – been here too long!)
Mr. Fox (only the two albums, but they are superb)
I have been in the States a long time, and this has obviously influenced my singer/songwriter choices. And anyone who lives near Chicago HAS to like Steve Goodman!
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And so goodbye, my lady of a night
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Noam Greenberg
MV Friend
Posts: 15
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #53: 28.12.06 at 22:26 » |
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This is so hard...
1. Payday evening.
2. Rain-wheels.
3. Canoe - with themes of self-reliance, ingenuity and melancholy, and, well, canoes, this should be the national anthem of New Zealand.
4. Eye of the universe (all recorded and performed versions, however dissimilar, express the energy this song contains.)
5. Beware of the beautiful stranger.
6. The double agent.
7. The ties that bind you.
8. Tonight your love is over.
9. Winter spring.
10. Be careful when they offer you the moon.
The list of "almost made it" is too long. Now to the rest; this is the product of the moment.
1. JS Bach. I've been listening to the mass in b-minor for four years straight with very little time off, and it is always fresh. And my piano education revolvs around the well-tempered clavier.
2. Mozart. For Don Giovanni, the string quintets and the piano concerti.
3. Brahms, mainly for the piano trios.
4. Dylan.
5. Natalie Merchant (with and without 10000 maniacs).
6. Mahler.
7. Sasha Argov (and Matti Caspi). It seems to me that the richness of English-language culture makes it easier for people in English-speaking countries to be ignorant of what the rest of the world has to offer. Argov may be Israel's best song writer.
8. Nick Cave, for "No more shall we part" and "kicking against the pricks". What a performer. (Has anyone seen "the proposition"?)
9. Meir Ariel. Another driving force of Israel's world class music.
10. Ennio Morricone. (I wanted to put Nino Rota, but "the good, the bad and the ugly" sealed it for me.)
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Peter Bushby
MV Fresher
I love Midnight Voices!
Posts: 1
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #54: 29.12.06 at 08:31 » |
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Hmmmmm... Atkins / Jame
1. King At Nightfall
2. Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger
3. Driving Through Mythical America
4. Practical Man
5. Carnations On The Roof
6. Be Careful When They Offer You The Moon
7. Hypertension Kid
8. National Steel
9 You Alone Will Be My Last Adventure
10 On The Last Hill That Shows You All The Valley
Other Artists
1. Judith Small
2. Harvey Andrews
3. Mr Fox
4. Def Leppard
5. John Coltrane
6. Charmaine Neville
7. Leonard Cohen
8. Henry Gray
9. Stephane Grapelli
10. Sandy Denny
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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 #55: 29.12.06 at 08:53 » |
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Excitement mounting over here in Paris: we now have a joint number one. Shan't tell you what they are but you can probably guess. One of them is ahead on goal average i.e. more votes than the other but all this can change. I feel that one of them must finish number one as the gap between two and three is quite large (25 points) but any of twenty songs could finish in the Top Ten.
Ian C
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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 #56: 29.12.06 at 09:33 » |
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Another pointless activity: if you take each of the first 5 albums, add up all the points from each song on it and then divide by the number of songs, you get the following:
BOTBS 11.4
DTMA 22
AKAN 26.6
TROS 16.7
SD 10.7
which proves scientifically that (a) Pete's most popular album is AKAN and (b) I've got nothing better to do on my day off. 
Ian C
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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 #57: 29.12.06 at 10:26 » |
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Still no votes at all for the following songs:
Touch Has A Memory
Have You Got A Biro I Can Borrow?
Luck Of The Draw
The Original Original ...
You Can't Expect To Be Remembered
Where Have They All Gone?
Lady Of A Day
Apparition In Las Vegas
The Man Who Walked Towards The Music
Car-Charmer Sleep
An Array Of Passionate Lovers
Time And Time Again
Little Sammy Speedball
The Magic Wasn't There
Sudden Arrivals
Let's Try The Whole Thing Again
With Her It goes Deeper
More In Anger Than In Sorrow
Early Days
So Loud I Couldn't Hear It
Daughter Of The Sun
Fat Cat
Now, I really must find something to do.
Ian C
Staving off the shopping in Pantin France
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Pete Atkin
MV Deity
Posts: 509
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #58: 29.12.06 at 10:34 » |
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Not really for me to suggest - and it would need to be in a different thread - but Car-Charmer Sleep makes me wonder if there's room for a one-letter misprint competition....
With Her It Goes Beeper, Sodden Arrivals ...
Pete
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Kevin Cryan
MV Fellow
I love Midnight Voices!
Posts: 1144
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Re: The Top Ten Polls 2006 - Vote Here!
« Reply #59: 29.12.06 at 11:38 » |
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Atkin/James listing.
1. Perfect Moments.
2. Between us There is Nothing.
3. Touch Has a Memory.
4. Faded Mansion on the Hill.
5. A Hill of Little Shoes.
6. Thirty Year Man.
7. Senior Citizens.
8. Girl on the Train.
9. The Flowers and the Wine.
10. An Empry Table.
Other artists.
1. Mozart.
2. Frank Sinatra.
3. Peggy Lee.
4. Randy Newman.
5. Duke Ellington.
6. Louis Armstrong.
7. Willy Nelson.
8. The Beatles.
9. Jacques Brel.
10. Hazel O’Connor
Kevin Cryan
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