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Post by B.E. on May 28, 2023 13:27:07 GMT
Top 10 #5: Songs of the 1980s - "California Dreamin'" 9/9 As you can see, we've had our 2nd unanimous vote-getter with "California Dreamin'". I am a little surprised by that. If I had to guess a song that was going to be the top choice, and especially a unanimous top choice, I'd have thought "Kokomo," and maybe even "Getcha Back" over it. Me too. But that's at least partly due to me not listening to, or thinking about, "California Dreamin'" very often. I know it's a relatively high-quality track, but it's not really a particular favorite of mine (although I did include it in my top 10, obviously) and I haven't noticed huge amounts of praise for it through the years (although it does escape criticism in a way that its compatriot "Rock and Roll to the Rescue" does not - and understandably so, IMO).
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Post by Kapitan on May 28, 2023 13:31:38 GMT
I think I'm in a similar camp. Yes, "California Dreamin" is in my Top 10, but it certainly isn't my #1. (I didn't actually rank them, though I did note that only one of my 10 picks appeared in my personal Top 100, "Livin With a Heartache." The others, I wasn't even comfortable saying I really even like. I more just kinda-like them.)
But I am not that big a fan of the song regardless, even the original. I like it OK, is all. So an '80s'd-up version, even with the Beach Boys' voices, isn't a perfect fit for me anyway.
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Post by B.E. on May 28, 2023 13:45:58 GMT
Announcement:
I don't have a new topic lined up for this week, so I think I'm going to take a one-week hiatus from the Top 10 polls in order to think about how to proceed. And, also, just to take a rest and not to overdo it. I like the idea of a weekly poll, and I'm very happy with how it's gone so far, but I think I ought to mix it up. Eventually I'll run out of suitable Top 10 topics. I've also pondered a biweekly poll. I don't know. I'm open to suggestion and/or feedback.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 29, 2023 12:17:18 GMT
I am a little surprised by that. If I had to guess a song that was going to be the top choice, and especially a unanimous top choice, I'd have thought "Kokomo," and maybe even "Getcha Back" over it. Me too. But that's at least partly due to me not listening to, or thinking about, "California Dreamin'" very often. I know it's a relatively high-quality track, but it's not really a particular favorite of mine (although I did include it in my top 10, obviously) and I haven't noticed huge amounts of praise for it through the years (although it does escape criticism in a way that its compatriot "Rock and Roll to the Rescue" does not - and understandably so, IMO). Is says something about The Beach Boys in the 1980s that a cover would be voted so highly, by us and probably a lot of fans. You gotta give Terry Melcher credit. He produced a nice record.
I'm the guilty one. I didn't vote for "Kokomo". I'm coming clean. I don't like the song and think it's vastly overrated. Flashback: I heard "Kokomo" for the first time on some Disney TV special in the summer of 1988. I stumbled upon it. I didn't know The Beach Boys were even on the show and I never heard of "Kokomo" before that night. I must've been slipping. Anyway, when I heard the song, I thought, "Well, it's been a nice career, guys. You just released the worse single in your long history. This song is terrible. WTF!" As we all know, the song picked up momentum and kept climbing the charts, eventually reaching #1. But, I still didn't like it. People who knew I was a big Beach Boys' fan kept asking me about it and telling me that they liked it. I bluffed and just nodded my head "Yes...". Yuck. I think I liked it for about a week, and that was about when it hit #1. With repeated listens, it won me over for about a week, then quickly faded. Through the years, I debated whether to include it on the Greatest Hits comps I made for others. It depended on the person I was making the comp for.
I just never found "Kokomo" to be special. I don't like the instrumental/percussive intro. People seemed to like Mike's "Bermuda, Jamaica..." line. He did lines like that better before. The verse is only OK as is Mike's vocal. The chorus is fine and Carl sings it fine, but, again, there's several better choruses with Carl Wilson vocals that I like better. And the lyrics? They're also fine I guess. They don't exactly reach me, though, not like other Beach Boys' summer-y songs. I simply find the song as OK and slightly boring. I never listen to "Kokomo" and if it pops up on my car radio, there's a 50/50 chance that I'll keep it on and listen to it. Oh, I appreciate the fact that it was huge commercial success and gave the group an unbelievable career boost. "Kokomo" brought thousands and thousands of fans to the The Beach Boys. But, I won't lower my standards as a Beach Boys' fanatic and rate it highly.
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Post by Kapitan on May 29, 2023 12:23:35 GMT
Huh. I've never been a huge fan of it, but the worst single of their career? A career-killer? I don't hear that at all. I did (and do) think it's extremely corny. But corny often sells, and it sure did that time around. I used to hate it for that mass appeal, but have grown to a pretty level-headed tolerance that has moments of enjoyment. I still don't love it, but I definitely don't hate it. Worst single of their career? Neither up to that point, nor since, as far as I'm concerned. Not even close.
For fun, I just checked the board's singles ratings. "Kokomo" got an 8.5, which was 23rd of 71. ("Happy Endings," with a 3.0, won the honors of worst-rated single.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 29, 2023 12:31:32 GMT
Huh. I've never been a huge fan of it, but the worst single of their career? A career-killer? I don't hear that at all. I did (and do) think it's extremely corny. But corny often sells, and it sure did that time around. I used to hate it for that mass appeal, but have grown to a pretty level-headed tolerance that has moments of enjoyment. I still don't love it, but I definitely don't hate it. Worst single of their career? Neither up to that point, nor since, as far as I'm concerned. Not even close. For fun, I just checked the board's singles ratings. "Kokomo" got an 8.5, which was 23rd of 71. ("Happy Endings," with a 3.0, won the honors of worst-rated single.) Just for clarification, as I posted, the "worst single of their career" and "career killer" were my thoughts the first time I heard it. I was literally shocked and didn't like it at all! But, as I mentioned later in my post, after several more listens, it grew on me, but just for a relatively short period of time. Ultimately it does fall into that category of Beach Boys' songs that I will skip over on albums, comps, and the radio, therefore, I can't rate it highly at all. And, there are 10 songs from the 1980s that I think are better despite "Kokomo"'s commercial success. I did/do give the song credit for attracting multitudes of fans.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 29, 2023 13:07:07 GMT
Announcement: I don't have a new topic lined up for this week, so I think I'm going to take a one-week hiatus from the Top 10 polls in order to think about how to proceed. And, also, just to take a rest and not to overdo it. I like the idea of a weekly poll, and I'm very happy with how it's gone so far, but I think I ought to mix it up. Eventually I'll run out of suitable Top 10 topics. I've also pondered a biweekly poll. I don't know. I'm open to suggestion and/or feedback.I think things are going fine with a once-a-week poll. It suits the number of responses we are getting. Also, and I mean this in a good way, you can choose a Top 10 for almost any Beach Boys' topic and it will illicit responses from our core group. It would be nice if we could attract more voters/participants. There are no wrong answers, well, except for...
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Post by kds on May 29, 2023 13:52:50 GMT
I think a Top 10 BB songs from 1964 would be a good topic.
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Post by B.E. on May 29, 2023 13:55:06 GMT
I think a Top 10 BB songs from 1964 would be a good topic. Definitely. And a good one for the summer.
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Post by jk on May 29, 2023 17:47:39 GMT
I think a Top 10 BB songs from 1964 would be a good topic. Definitely. And a good one for the summer. Indeed it would! At least I know (and love) all those songs. Great work, B.E..
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on May 29, 2023 22:29:14 GMT
1964 -- that's quite a year, musically speaking!
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Post by lonelysummer on May 30, 2023 4:52:30 GMT
I like Kokomo - liked it from first listen, thought it sounded like a hit, unlike another single released the same week by a certain guy proclaimed a genius. That said, constant oldies airplay has kind of killed whatever magic Kokomo once had for me. There are other 80's BB's songs I like better - Goin' On, Where I Belong, California Dreamin', Somewhere Near Japan, Livin' With a Heartache, Keepin' the Summer Alive, Maybe I Don't Know, Getcha Back.
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Post by jk on May 30, 2023 9:10:37 GMT
I like Kokomo - liked it from first listen, thought it sounded like a hit, unlike another single released the same week by a certain guy proclaimed a genius. That said, constant oldies airplay has kind of killed whatever magic Kokomo once had for me. There are other 80's BB's songs I like better - Goin' On, Where I Belong, California Dreamin', Somewhere Near Japan, Livin' With a Heartache, Keepin' the Summer Alive, Maybe I Don't Know, Getcha Back. I have no problem with Kokomo -- except that it made me feel very old when I first heard it!! For completeness' sake, these are were my ten (off the top of my head): "East Meets West", "Getcha Back", "Rock And Roll To The Rescue", "California Dreamin'", "Still Cruisin'", "Somewhere Near Japan", "In My Car", "Kokomo", "Wipe Out" and "Make It Big".
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Post by Kapitan on May 30, 2023 13:36:16 GMT
Announcement: I don't have a new topic lined up for this week, so I think I'm going to take a one-week hiatus from the Top 10 polls in order to think about how to proceed. And, also, just to take a rest and not to overdo it. I like the idea of a weekly poll, and I'm very happy with how it's gone so far, but I think I ought to mix it up. Eventually I'll run out of suitable Top 10 topics. I've also pondered a biweekly poll. I don't know. I'm open to suggestion and/or feedback. FWIW, I don't really have any suggestions to change things: I think these threads have been good ones, getting a decent amount of votes and some discussion going. Of course I'd love to see more discussion and more votes, but considering the size of the board, these are doing better than many threads. So my only feedback is, thanks, and I look forward to what comes next. In fact, I don't want to offer possible Top 10 topics because part of the fun is just seeing what pops up next.
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