Verbwhores' Top 1000 Singles

[Derek Trucks]

Hmm, I don't want to piss on your parade, but at any one time on CaB there's always a plethora of threads that to be honest add up to no more than "Great songs you can think of", and I'm not sure that this idea would be able to stand out from them.  But if people want to do it, and put the effort in on their reviews of the songs, then go for it.

EDIT:  I was going to work on a thread at the weekend looking at some of the best 'Various Artists' compilation albums ever made.  It wasn't going to be a chart/poll, just me picking a few of my favourites & explaining why I love them.  But if people fancy the idea we could turn that into a Top 100, say.

[Uzi Lover]

I have to say, this is without doubt the greatest ever thread on Cook'd and Bomb'd, and one of the biggest jewels on the internet. Well done Ciarán and everyone who took the time to write a review.

Could any Excel wizards compile the list by chronology?

[Uncle TechTip]

Did anyone actually download them all? Repost? Boost your what.cd ratio as the tagger says.

[The Boston Crab]

I got the first 400 or so but my old computer done a poo, then the bastard iPod done one in sympathy and they're gone forever! Cack Lobster!

I reckon weekender might have a fair few from memory, as I recall him saying similar at a fairly early stage. Sorry to drop you in it, old chummer.

[Uzi Lover]

I downloaded "Velocity Girl" which was one of the first reviews, and it became one of my favourite songs of all time. I'm hoping the other 999 aren't similarly life-changing.

[23 Daves]

966



I'm going to be accused of deliberately going for a total obscurity here, but stuff it, I absolutely love this single and don't care who knows it.

EXCEPT...

I've been contacted by someone who has pointed out that this was clearly the track Sebadoh sampled for "The Flame".  Download The Hush single here:

http://sharebee.com/fa85742e

Then compare it to the below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHBNGSBOLbY

Go to 0:50 in The Hush track in particular to get the original riff Lou clearly craftily nabbed.  I'm still trying to find out whether this is widely known or not.

[Uzi Lover]

I've said it before, but I really think this thread is the hidden pinnacle of the internet. And should be stickied if such a thing is possible. Does anyone fancy writing a top ten of great songs they've discovered through it? This is mine in rough order.

1. Primal Scream - Velocity Girl
2. Girls Aloud - Biology
3. The Kinks - Celluloid Heroes
4. Billy Bragg - Levi Stubb's Tears
5. The Specials & Rhoda - The Boiler (sadly this is a great song)
6. Belle and Sebastian - Your Cover's Blown
7. Patti Smith Group - Because the Night
8. Marc Almond - Torch
9. Kirsty MacColl - My Affair
10. Erasure - Always

[trotsky assortment]

I've said it before, but I really think this thread is the hidden pinnacle of the internet. And should be stickied if such a thing is possible. Does anyone fancy writing a top ten of great songs they've discovered through it? This is mine in rough order.

4. Billy Bragg - Levi Stubb's Tears

Wonderful.  'Nuff said.

7. Patti Smith Group - Because the Night

It doesn't get spun as often as it should in the house o' Trotsky, but this many years down the line, it's still an absolute joy to listen to.  Lots of people think that it was Springsteen whom was responsible for giving it the stadium rock chorus.  Not so.  That part was already written before Springsteen gave the song any input, supposedly.

9. Kirsty MacColl - My Affair

Over the past year or so, I've been attempting to appreciate Kirsty's work more, but this is one of those songs I'm most likely to skip.  I really don't like that salsa style stuff at all, which makes me think I ought to give 'Tropical Brainstorm' a miss.

[SavageHedgehog]

I'd always though Because the Night was a slightly more restrained than usual Bonnie Tyler! Fantastic single indeed.

[Gavin M]

The Top 1000 Singles is now a Spotify playlist

Well, only 1000-651 is so far.  And of course some of them aren't available but it still makes for 279 stonking tracks.  I haven't had time of late to finish this, so if anyone wants to pick up the baton simply copy the playlist and start adding to it.

[falafel]

I'm going to have a go at helping to populate this playlist properly. Might take a while...

Cheers, Gav. Good idea. I miss this thread.

[The Plunger]

I can't help but feel that this would be the greatest torrent ever.

[Gavin M]

I've been beavering the way this last few weeks finishing off the Spotify playlist of the top 1000.  There's a few not available but it's still 934 tracks of pure goodness (where there's an EP on double-A all tracks are included).

http://open.spotify.com/user/derekt/playlist/1DfM12zntcAIAkua9ubBIs

If you think I've got the wrong mix/version of a particular track please do let me know.

[Ciarán]

BUMP (Do people still say that? It's been a while...)

Earlier on I was listening to Depeche Mode's Enjoy The Silence (Hands + Feet mix), which I discovered through this thread. So I decided to have a re-read to re-discover tracks I'd forgotten. Then I spotted that I started the thread almost exactly ten years ago. So I got to thinking...

What are the best singles of the last ten years?
Do singles exist any more? Sort of. Yes. But kind of no.
Which of the singles that made the list do people regret including?
What was the crappest single on the list?
What would make the list if we were to do it all over again now?
Wouldn't a thread like this have worked so much better on Twitter? (We didn't have Twitter back then.)
What was the last single you bought? And, in this age of streaming, I probably mean "the last single you ever bought", as opposed to just the most recent one.

[Golden E. Pump]

Well I'll never un-hear 'The Boiler'. Haunting. I love it in a similar vein to that Adult Swim 'Real Footage of a Bear' infomercial. Addicted to the darkness.

This is my favourite place on the internet. I would love it if he did one for albums or artists or B-Sides. Mainly because I feel like I've missed out.

[Custard]

Wow, this was 9 years ago? A supoib thread, which I'm looking forward to going through again

[Artie Fufkin]

What was the last single you bought? And, in this age of streaming, I probably mean "the last single you ever bought", as opposed to just the most recent one.

I'm pretty sure mine was Iron Maiden's Run To The Hills. 1983 ? Though if 12"'s count, it was Psychic TV's Godstar. 1985 ?

[Serge]

What was the last single you bought? And, in this age of streaming, I probably mean "the last single you ever bought", as opposed to just the most recent one.

I bought two 12" singles a fortnight ago on my last trip to Manchester - 'Waffles 002' (mysterious act rumoured to have James Murphy involvement) and 'Cascades' by Mark Barrott. I've only bought one 7" this year - the Shirley Collins reissue from Record Store Day. I was never a big 7" collector anyway, to be honest, I'd always go for the 12" version when I started collecting seriously. I'll have to have a proper read of the thread to answer most of the other questions, though...!

[CaledonianGonzo]

The last physical single I bought was Bing Bong by the Super Furry Animals, but I got a free download of 'I'm In Love' by Teenage Fanclub for pre-ordering their new album - so that *maybe* counts.  I dunno.

Wouldn't a thread like this have worked so much better on Twitter?

Someone needs to set up @VW1000Singles and tweet the whole thing with every entry on a ten year delay.

[23 Daves]

I buy more 7" singles than I do albums - trouble is, of course, most of them aren't new material, they're second hand records obtained from ebay and record shops.

I'm about to buy Hazel English's new EP, so that counts. And I buy stand-alone singles from iTunes like Super Furry Animals' "Bing Bong" constantly. So it depends on your definition.