Biggest Fan Songs - February 2020

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Rob
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Biggest Fan Songs - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Welcome to the February 2020 edition of Biggest Fan. Let me explain for those who only join now. It's about those songs that only got one vote in our recent All-Time Best Song Poll. There were over 13.000 of them! That's too much to get collectively into, but through this series we are going to introduce you to one of them every day. A randomly selected song, so you never know what you're gonna get.

There is also a game element, to make things more interactive. You can give a grade to each song, from 1 (for the worst of them) to 10 (the masterpieces). A 0 will be counted as a 1. Every 100 days I will calculate the average grades and post the current top 100. At the end of each year I'll post the whole list as is.

Some points of note:
- A topic for each song would be a little much, but all songs in one topic too. That's why I make monthly new topics for the entries of that month.
- There will be links to old topics in each new one, so you can easily go back. Once we have collected a decent amount of songs, I will also post a topic with all the songs listed and a link to their initial appearance.
- There is gonna be a Spotify playlist (see below). Each new song will be put atop of the playlist! If songs aren't on Spotify there will be a link to YouTube or any platform it's available on. I will contact the biggest fan through a message if I can't find the song anywhere.
- You can always still vote for each song, even months later. Just go to the right topic.
- You can always change your grade. Again, place it in the right topic.
- You don't have to vote for each song if you don't want to.
- I think this goes without saying but still: always name the artist and title of the song you vote for. I'm not going to guess for which song you vote.
- Comments on the song are more than welcome. Nobody is probably going to review them all, but if you have something to say, please do.
- I know some wanted to go faster. Two songs a day, 10 songs a week, something like that. I'm decided against this, because I wanted to keep it small. We can't deal with over 13.000 songs, so I'm not trying. I just want to give you all one small discovery (or re-discovery) for the day. We'll never get all these songs done before the next All Time Song poll rolls along, but we can have fun getting there.
- I'll try to get each new song up soon after awakening, so in most cases it should be here relatively early.
- Feel free to ask questions or make general comments about this poll if you think it could be better.

You can still vote for the songs of earlier months, but please so do that in it's own topic.

January 2019
February 2019
March 2019
April 2019
May 2019
June 2019
July 2019
August 2019
September 2019
October 2019
November 2019
December 2019
January 2020

The playlist:
Last edited by Rob on Tue Nov 03, 2020 10:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Rob
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Like January we start February with a Latin flavor:

387. Cartola - Sim
Year: 1974
Album: Cartola
Biggest Fan: Dan (#914)

Don’t forget you can always vote for earlier songs or change your vote!
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 11:09 am387. Cartola - Sim
4
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Schüttelbirne »

387. Cartola - Sim: 5/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Brian Eno - I'll Come Running: 7
Another Green World is amazing of course. I'll Come Running works a little better in context and there are songs there that make better standalone singles, but overall this is hard to resist. With it's gentle, playful tone and a central line based around the tying of shoes it also seems oddly a precursor of indie songs of the 2000's.

Cartola - Sim: 6
Apparently this song's parent album is highly respected among fans of samba music. For me, it is one of those genres that I find easy to like, but close to impossible to really love. I didn't look up a translation so I can't tell if he has much to say, but just the sound of it is so pleasant, yet also unmemorable and not particularly captivating. Fans of the genre may try to persuade me differently.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Safetycat »

387. Cartola - Sim - 5
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Another bubbler today. It also marks the return of Hymie, after being absent for the whole of January!

388. Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou
Year: 1955
Released as a single
Biggest Fan: Hymie (#321)

Don’t forget you can always vote for earlier songs or change your vote!
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou: 7

What a voice! It brings down the house.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2020 9:49 am Another bubbler today. It also marks the return of Hymie, after being absent for the whole of January!

388. Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou
It's like I had mononucleosis or something and was laid up for January. I'm very happy that this is listed on the site. Fantastic California R&B.

This is a solid 10. And the flip side is great too, and could come up here.

It was redone in 1959 by Ronnie Hawkins and was a hit in a more polished version that some of you would probably like better than the very raw Young Jessie original.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by StevieFan13 »

Mary Lou gets a 7 from me as well.
Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand - Sir Duke (1976)
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Schüttelbirne »

388. Young Jessie - Mary Lou: 7/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2020 12:21 pm Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou: 7

What a voice! It brings down the house.
Jessie was his real last name. Obediah Donnell "Obie" Jessie.


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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

The Spotify won't play for me, here's the correct track on Youtube.

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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Safetycat »

388. Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou - 8
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Will February be the month of Hymie?

389. The Penguins – Ookey Ook
Year: 1954
Released as a single, the B-side to Love Will Make Your Mind Go Wild
Biggest Fan: Hymie (#670)

Don’t forget you can always vote for earlier songs or change your vote!
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 7:55 am Will February be the month of Hymie?

389. The Penguins – Ookey Ook
Year: 1954
Released as a single, the B-side to Love Will Make Your Mind Go Wild
Biggest Fan: Hymie (#670)
LOL, As I came to this thread I had a STRONG premonition that we'd have two consecutive Hymies!

This one is a 9. The same Penguins of the legendary "Earth Angel."
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Wezzo »

387. Cartola - Sim - 4
388. Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou - 7
389. The Penguins – Ookey Ook - 6
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

The Penguins – Ookey Ook: 5
So we get penguins making monkey sounds? I mean, sure. But doo-wop like this never really gets me excited, although it isn't particularly bad.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Schüttelbirne »

389. The Penguins - Ookey Ook: 4/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Brad »

387. Cartola - Sim: 6.5
388. Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou: 7
389. The Penguins – Ookey Ook: 6

Thanks!
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:56 pm The Penguins – Ookey Ook: 5
So we get penguins making monkey sounds?
Better than Monkeys making Porpoise sound sounds!

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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Safetycat »

389. The Penguins – Ookey Ook - 7
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Alas (?), February turns out to not be totally about Hymie. We do get a very short song today, by another regular:

390. Wire – Mr. Suit
Year: 1977
Album: Pink Flag
Biggest Fan: Brad (#732)

Don’t forget you can always vote for earlier songs or change your vote!
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Akhenaten »

387. Cartola - Sim - 3
388. Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou - 7.5
(Liking this - new entry at #5942 in all time list)
389. The Penguins – Ookey Ook - 5
390. Wire – Mr. Suit - 6
But I was caught, like a fleeting thought,
Stuck inside Leonard Cohen's mind
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Live in Phoenix »

Wire – Mr. Suit

8
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Wezzo »

390. Wire – Mr. Suit - 5
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Wire – Mr. Suit: 6
I love Pink Flag, but really only as a whole, were all these short songs seem to create a strange rhythm with each other. Taking alone they never seem quite so great, even if there is nothing wrong with having just 1:25 of rage every now and then.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by ArcadeFire »

389. The Penguins – Ookey Ook - 1
I love Earth Angel, but this did nothing for me
390. Wire – Mr. Suit - 6
Good mid album cut off arguably their best album
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Brad »

390. Wire – Mr. Suit: 9 (now #1337 on my all-time list)
Pink Flag is my favorite album. While I believe it's best consumed in its entirety, the individual parts generally stand out well on their own.
Mr. Suit may be Wire's most Ramones-like song (a band Wire confessed great admiration for - particularly their first LP) and it's fun to sing in the car:
"Take your fucking money and shove it up your arse
'Cause you think you understand, well it's a fucking farce"

Concise, pointed, cheeky, fun.

I suspect there'll be more picks from Pink Flag from me.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2020 7:37 am 390. Wire – Mr. Suit
4 - Good guitar, otherwise a 1.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Schüttelbirne »

390. Wire - Mr. Suit: 5/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

391. The Decemberists – When the War Came
Year: 2006
Album: The Crane Wife
Biggest Fan: SafetyCat (#unranked)

Don’t forget you can always vote for earlier songs or change your vote!
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

The Decemberists – When the War Came: 7
A good song. I hadn't heard it before today, but wondered if I heard him really here the name "Vasilov" in the lyrics. Yes, turns out he did. That was a botanist who protected rare seeds during the years-long siege of Stalingrad in WOII. I saw a movie about that last year, which stuck in my mind. Apparently the band read a book about it. Never thought I'd hear a song about that. Probably made me connect to the song a bit more.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:00 am391. The Decemberists – When the War Came
3
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Schüttelbirne »

391. The Decemberists - When the War Came: 5/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by ArcadeFire »

391. The Decemberists – When the War Came 6

Solid track off a great album.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

You’ll never guess who is coming to the party, nor who invited him:

392. Prince - Partyup
Year: 1980
Album: Dirty Mind
Biggest Fan: Moonbeam (#997)

Don’t forget you can always vote for earlier songs or change your vote!
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by spiritualized »

387. Cartola - Sim - 6
388. Young Jessie with Maxwell David & Orchestra – Mary Lou - 7
389. The Penguins – Ookey Ook - 5
390. Wire – Mr. Suit - 7
391. The Decemberists - When the War Came: 8
392. Prince - Partyup - 4
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Prince - Partyup: 6
We will know every Prince song by heart once this game is over. This one is somewhere in the middle of his discography, quality-wise. It is a fun funk song, that doesn't quite set itself apart and in retrospect feels like an early attempt at a sound he would perfect later. The comparison with 1999 is inevitable, but not in this song's favor.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 1:13 pmPrince - Partyup
4
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

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392. Prince - Partyup 6

Prince's first acclaimed album delivered the goods from start to finish and this is a solid closer.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Schüttelbirne »

392. Prince - Partyup: 6/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Cold Butterfly »

392. Prince - Partyup: 8
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Safetycat »

390. Wire – Mr. Suit - 5
A nice fleeting moment of rage
391. The Decemberists – When the War Came - 9
Sometimes it's all about the atmosphere for me. I'd probably still love the song if it was just the riff.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Safetycat »

392. Prince - Partyup - 7
Great funk but something feels missing? The funkiest parts are the best bits.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

This song comes from an album with one of the great titles:

393. Sandi Thom – What If I’m Right
Year: 2006
Album: Smile… It Confuses People
Biggest Fan: Wezzo (#195)

Don’t forget you can always vote for earlier songs or change your vote!
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Hymie »

Rob wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:36 am393. Sandi Thom – What If I’m Right
4
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Akhenaten »

391. The Decemberists - When the War Came - 7
392. Prince - Partyup - 6.5
393. Sandi Thom – What If I’m Right - 6.5

Good trio of songs those.
But I was caught, like a fleeting thought,
Stuck inside Leonard Cohen's mind
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Rob »

Sandi Thom – What If I’m Right: 4

Nothing special, this pseudo-country pop. Nothing stands out here for me, except perhaps the clunky way Thom arrives at the title during the chorus.
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Re: Biggest Fan - February 2020

Post by Safetycat »

393. Sandi Thom – What If I’m Right - 6
She's a Scottish singer, with an album listed as pop/folk, with the lead single being about wanting to be punk... but this other single is mostly just country. It's alright.
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