Name: Keno
E-Mail: keno@fairpoint.net
Subject: Poll Post for the week starting Monday, April 27
Date: Monday, April 27, 2020
Time: 12:28:35 AM
Remote Address: 97.107.69.29
Message ID: 320502
Parent ID: 0
Thread ID: 320502

Poll Post for the week starting Monday, April 27

Let’s get our weekly poll post underway for our 4 weekly polls, and as usual we’ll start off with the Stones poll, where we enter week 1,083 of polling and we will answer this question: Rate the Stones official promo video for “Streets Of Love”

Mick from the "Streets Of Love" video

Okay, so first off, I guess I should note that we are slowly starting to run out of Stones videos to rate. As far as the "newer" vids go, say vids from the last 20 years, and of which we will rate one of this week, I can find about 2 more to rate, and that’s it, but then again, I haven’t looked for the newest ones out there (from the last studio LP anyway, of which we only rated one, so I bet there’s at least one or 2 more from that one?). But there are several real good ones out there that we never got to from the '60s and '70s, but which I can't find anywhere to use in our poll so that we can rate them. The M V Data Base which has several of these old Stones videos from the early and mid '60s online to watch, and which I was holding out on using and had planned to have us all rate those vids, starting about 3 weeks ago - well of course - they went totally off line right at that very time and now where the site was, they have a message up that claims that they will be returning soon. But again, it's been over 3 weeks now and such a message very often means that such a site won't be back ever again, as I've seen this happen before in the past online. I sure hope that isn't the case here, since all of their '60s Stones vides that I planned to use for our polls, aren't up on YouTube and from what I can find, we have already rated most or all of the '60s Stones stuff that is up on YouTube already. There were another 10 or so live performances by the Stones at M V D that are classic songs from the '60s which we haven't rated yet, but if the site doesn't come back, then we are finished rating '60s Stones songs, unless I find another site that has them (but there doesn’t seem to be any such site). Plus we're almost finished up with what '70s vids that YouTube has up (but I think there's still a few left). So, unless perhaps you know of some site that has Stones vids that we never rated and that I've been missing out on, please drop me an email if that's the case!

For this week we will look at a modern-day vid from the Bridges To Babylon Tour (but not from the LP), filmed at Weser-Stadion (or is it spelled "Weserstadion"?) in Bremen, Germany, on September 2, 1998 (according to the Stones YouTube channel). While not the band's greatest song ever made, it's still a nice ballad, and was a big hit - reaching #1 in Spain, plus it was Top 10 in at least 3 other European countries while going to #15 in the UK (thanks mainly to its other double A side, "Rough Justice"). But it didn't chart in the U.S. at all and wasn't a hit over on this side of the pond. The video isn't too exciting and really doesn't go anywhere (totally IMO); it was directed by Jake Nava. The song was finally released on a Stones album in 2005 on A Bigger Bang, and while the performance shown in the vid was from 1998, the video itself with its acting footage was made in 2005. Anyway, let’s find out how us voters look at this one. To vote and to watch the video, just click on this link: Stones Weekly Poll.

Looking back at the results for our Stones poll last week, the question asked: Rate the Stones official promo video for “Hey Negrita”

Billy, MJ, Bill from "Hey Negrita" video

Not the most loved video for the Stones (yeah, I think I said that last week about those results, too), but then again, not the most hated one either. The top pick was an 8 with 38.5% of the vote. “7” came in second with also 38.5% of the vote – but no tie here, as it had one less total vote. Then the other picks after the top 2 were way down the list, with the third-place choice “6” at 7.9%. To see the full, final results from this Stones poll, just click here: Stones Weekly Poll - week 1,082. You can also check out the final results from this poll at the domain’s all in one video page, here: Top Video Ratings and Standings Page. Or at the old Stones video and Top Picks page: here .

Now let’s move on over to this week’s Classic Rock Poll, where we enter week 723 of polling and this week we return to voting on 2 different Rock Poll questions. The first Rock poll will ask this: What is the Best Rock Song with Numbers in its Title (Part 2 of 7)

Yep, more numbers!

This week we enter Part 2 of this 7-part series. The same deal applies for Part 2 as we had in the first part and we will once again choose from another 26 songs for this week. To see all of the new songs listed for round 2 and to cast your vote in this week’s first Rock poll, just click here: Classic Rock Poll, and when you get to this page, choose “Poll 1” to vote on this question.

For our second Rock question of the week, we have the Rock Video Polls, and will ask this: Rate The Velvet Underground's Video for “Venus in Furs”

John Cale playing viola, from the Venus in Furs video

Perhaps this week's song/video that we will look at could have been rated an R? Or even an X, by those who give out such ratings, simply because of what it's about? For sure, this vid and song covers a taboo subject to those on the right, if nothing else.

I was thinking that we had already rated a Velvet Underground video here in the past - after this vid came up on auto play for me the other day on YouTube. I haven’t seen it in ages. But no, we haven't rated any VU music yet, or even a Lou Reed vid yet for that matter. Gee, what's wrong with me on missing a chance to have us rate perhaps what was one of the most interesting Rock bands to ever exist? Even people who didn't like their music found this band interesting and unusual, regardless, in part thanks to their connection to Andy Warhol and his famous studio/hangout called "The Factory", which was located on 47th Street in NYC. But this song, released as a single, had to be one of the most far-out Psychedelic/Punk/Goth like rock songs ever made, and the same could be said for its video.

Released on their 1967 debut LP The Velvet Underground & Nico, the album was produced by Warhol (and its very strange video filmed at the Factory and directed by him, too). The song itself, written and sung by Lou Reed, was inspired by the book of the same name (by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch - with the word "sadomasochism" coming from his name in the late 1800s - and - a Stones connection to this guy? Yep, he was the great-great-uncle to Mick Jagger's former longtime girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull). So with that noted, the song is about as sexual as any song can be, about the practice of sadomasochism, bondage and submission. It's known for being looked at as a song that hard mainlining drug users love to shoot up H to, in fact I even read a YouTube comment on this the other day, so I guess today, all these years after its release, that feeling is still alive in drug addicts when they hear this ditty (and talking about YouTube comments, the video for this song has the most intresting comments I think I ever read at Youtube before, not that I even got thru all of them, there's so many!). Yet the song was about perverted sex only, and not drugs. It's also interesting how many films and TV shows it has turned up on, too.

The video was filmed in black and white and features the avant-garde Velvet Underground when they were at their best. Several different things come up in this strange video, including a raid on the Factory by the NYPD while filming the song (we even see one of the cops in the vid). Then there's their androgynous drummer Maureen "Moe" Tucker, who was known for her different style of drumming while standing up - yet here it almost looks like she is sitting down (I can't tell for sure), while yes, still looking like a guy (yet she was/is totally straight in life). John Cale, looking as freaky as a dude could look, plays his eerie sounding viola here while looking like he's in a horror movie, and Sterling Morrison, known as one of the 2 main guitarists in the band (along with Reed), plays bass on this song instead of Cale (who usually did, but again was busy playing viola on this one), with bass being an instrument Morrison never liked playing. Then we see pretty Nico just sitting there with nothing to do, as was the case when she wasn't singing lead (which happened often enough since Reed sang lead more often than she did). Also seen in the video is her young son Ari (not sure why he was included in this vid, other than Andy was found of the boy). Perhaps one of the better known kids of a famous Rocker (there were maybe 4 or 5 such children back then) and a hippie raised child of the '60s, who some clamed was an abused child (which was most likely half correct and half BS; and he did live in the Factory - with his mother and along with its famous transsexuals who hung out all over the joint [and whom were the main subjects of Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" hit song]. So no, not the best place to raise a child). Ari is more engaged in this video then his mom is, playing maracas, while yes, looking out of it a bit too (perhaps since he was allowed to smoke weed freely as a child, is the boy stoned here? I guess that was the main basis for the abuse stories about him, but many rockers back then actually did let their youngins smoke weed back then, even if it was totally a stupid thing to let your babies do). Ari also had a Stones connection, well maybe, as some claimed he was yet another son of Brian Jones, and the boy did look like Brian a bit. But no, I don't think that was so, since while Nico did have several affairs with Brian on and off in the early '60s and then again in the mid '60s, she claimed her son was from an affair she had with French movie actor, Alain Delon, who in return claimed otherwise (he claimed that he never slept with her). Guess it doesn't matter, it's just good to know that the boy did survive his childhood fine and leads a very normal life today as a photographer (guess some of Andy's influence did rub off on him after all). Of course his mother didn't live such a normal life and as we sadly know, died rather young in a bizarre accident (or was it an accident? Nobody saw what actually happened to her. She was found unconscious on a sidewalk while visiting Spain, being hit on the head [that was determined later] and then the local hospitals there refused to help her, this according to her by then grown son.).

But I recall thinking as a kid when I first saw this far out vid, that I never seen anything like this on TV before. I can't recall what TV show I watching that day on the tube, but considering what the songs was about, interesting that it was even on the TV in 1967-8 when it was released. But as Mick Jagger once noted, TV stations never listened to the song's lyrics while they were being sung on TV (other than good ol' Ed I guess), so they really had no clue in what most songs were about most of the time.

All that matters today is what you think of this vid overall, and how well it has aged throughout the years, too. If you have seen any of Warhol's movies before, then you will understand why it was filmed in this strange matter (filmed in B&W and at times purposely out of focus, etc, and used in the VU's doc "A Symphony of Sound"). But in closing this up, if you get a strong desire to drop acid after watching this clip, don't say I didn't warn you! To view and vote on this video, just click here: Classic Rock Poll, and when you get to this page, choose “Poll 2” to vote on this question.

Last week, our first Rock Poll question asked: What is the Best Rock Song with Numbers in its Title (Part 1 of 7)

It was all about the numbers

We had a nice turnout last week for this question, and while the top spot doesn’t mean that much since there’s still 6 weeks to go for this question, The Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week won Part 1 by about 20 votes (11.3% of the votes), while the rest of the top choices were closer grouped to one another. Here they are in order of their finish: “25 Or 6 To 4” by Chicago (at 10.2%), “59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)” - Simon & Garfunkel (10.1%), “Oh Well (Parts 1 and 2)” - Fleetwood Mac (9.2%), and “Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd (at 8.8%) may or may not make it into the final round while the other 4 all will (depending on how Parts 2 -6 go).

To see the full, final results from this poll question, click here: Classic Rock Poll, week 722, Poll 1.

Last week in the Rock Video Poll we voted on this question: Tie-Breaker Video Poll: Rate Gerry Rafferty's Video for “Baker Street”

Baker Street

Finally, we have an answer to this question, yet early Sunday morning it looked like that might not be the case, when the only 3 spots to vote for, were tied yet again! But at the close of the poll, “9” took the top spot with 33.4% of the vote!

To see the full final results from this poll, just go here: Classic Rock Poll, week 722, Poll 2. Or, to see where this video lands in the video standings, just go here: Top Video Ratings and Standings Page.

Last week we ran a third Rock Poll, as I brought back the Rock VS poll and asked this: 'Wild Thing' by The Throgs vs 'Wild Thing' by Jimi Hendrix. Which cover version is better?

Wild Things

Well it was fun asking a VS question again and for sure in the future we will ask some more (just not this week). The Throgs cover of this song won out over Hendrix’s version. By how much? Well to find out, just click on here: Classic Rock Poll, week 722, Poll 3. Or, to see the final results at the old VS page, go here: Classic Rock VS Page 3, List Page 15. Results are listed at the very bottom of the page.

So, as is usual, we close out this Poll Post talking about the Beatles Poll. We enter week 474 of polling, and we’ll continue answering questions about how much we like or dislike the Beatles albums covers. This week we vote on this: Rate the artwork for the front cover of the Beatles U.S. 1964 LP, The Beatles' Story.

The Beatles' Story front cover

Okay, so while we are now finished with the Beatles live LPs, and yes, we only covered 2 of them for reasons noted last week, this week we start off looking at Beatle compilation albums, which there are several of, in part since many were only released in the U.S., or just in the UK. The ones we will vote on are all official LPs and they all sold really well (Top 10 LPs, that is). The Beatles' Story was the first official Beatle Compilation album, but an unusual one that some might question if it should have been considered one. But what else would you really call it? It was unusual and for sure not entirely a compilation album since it was put together as the album's title states, as a story with narration. But it was official and considered the 6th album released by the Beatles in the United States, issued on November 23, 1964 on Capitol Records. But what it really was, was a documentary double album featuring interviews, press conferences, and bits of original or orchestral versions of Beatles songs, with voice-over narration. It's original liner notes described it as a "narrative and musical biography" of Beatlemania. So, going by that, no, it wasn't a compilation album at all. But it was still official and after its release, it made the U.S. Billboard Top 10 at #7. It was produced by songwriter and producer Gary Usher and disc jockey and lyricist Roger Christian, and narrated by John Babcock, Al Wiman and Christian. If you were a U.S. Beatle fan who was alive and old enough in 1964 when it was released (and 99.9% of American kids between 8 and 28 were Beatle freaks back then), you either had this LP or knew somebody who did and therefor you heard the album. But chances were, you didn't play it anywhere as often as the other Beatle albums, since it wasn't that kind of LP, and perhaps like myself, have forgotten today a lot of what is inside this album.

It’s now time to vote on this album cover. To do that, just click on this following link: Beatles Weekly Poll.

Last week at the Beatles poll we asked: Rate the artwork for the front cover of the Beatles LP, Live at the BBC

Live at the BBC album cover front cover

A “9” was the top pick for this one, taking in 33% of the vote.

To see the poll’s full result, just go here: Beatles Weekly Poll – week 473. Or to see the album rating standings on the Beatles List Page, click on: Favorite Beatles Album Covers List Page. The standings can be found up on the top of the page.

So now for the 1,082 time, I get to say that it’s time to close out this week’s Poll Post. Actually, back in those long-ago days, I just called it the “Stones Poll Post”. But no matter any way I put, let me rap this up. I hope that all of you are staying safe and still following the stay at home orders like most of us sane folks are doing. Last week, for the first time ever – I finally got around to making, or should I say, baking, homemade Italian bread, and it turned out great! It wasn’t that hard to make – and no, I don’t have one of those home bread makers that does the work for you. I made 2 loafs from scratch – but the truth is, I’ve been making pizza dough crust for years, and making bread is almost doing the same thing, just a bit difference on how to prep it and using different amounts of flour and sugar, etc. But it took this pandemic to finally get me to make this bread and now I’m wondering why it took me so damn long, since that hot bread tasted just fantastic once out of the oven! I’ll for sure be making it again soon!

I also want to say “Happy Birthday Cooper” to my youngest grandson who turns - and I can’t believe this – 20 tomorrow! How the hell can he be out of his teens already? Of course I’ve said this about all my kids when they hit 20, but when it’s a grandchild, and your youngest grandkid at that, turning 20, you say it a lot louder and with less belief. But I mainly raised Coop alone (after his grammar died when he was 10) and just wish he would grow up in the brain, too. He’s been living with this girl for the last 3 weeks whom I haven’t met yet, and I’m impressed that he’s still with her, since he seems to have been going through girlfriends like a damn player for the last half plus year. But I guess it’s hard picking up girls with everything closed right now, too. But he phoned me tonight and told me this gal is throwing a party for him tomorrow night and all of his friends will be there. Just what the hell is wrong with this Z generation? Everybody else (other than the trump nuts perhaps) are social distancing, but not these kids it seems. I told him to call off the party, but he’s 20 now and living on his own, so while I hope he listens to me, I know he won’t.

So that’s my closing bitch for this week, I guess. I hope that at least the rest of you are all staying safe and all staying at home, other than to food shop. I got to do that this upcoming week, but I’m buying everything online and picking up my groceries at the store and won’t have to even leave my car when I do it. I actually don’t like shopping this way, but for now it’s the only way to go, IMO anyway, as I am past 65 and have underlying health problems as it is.

So again, stay safe everybody, and do remember to vote in our polls!

Keno

• Poll Post for the week starting Monday, April 27 by Keno on 4/27/2020 12:28:35 AM <-- You Are Here

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