Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 121: The Who - Tommy (plus Night Verses results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

MetalmindStats's week:
100 gecs - 10,000 gecs
vs.
Lena Raine - Oneknowing
vs.
SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, July 2 at 4:00 PM Central Time; the future week poll will close earlier, when I am putting up the next topic
7. You can sign up to be added to the user cycle (a new user will be added to the end of the current cycle as long as there are four weeks remaining) - the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).
7c. I have added a tiered vote structure - the least popular album will be removed and its backup votes distributed to the other two entrants.
8. Starting with the next cycle, every four weeks will be a competitive week where those listed choose a single album to face off against others.
9. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

The Who - Tommy track list:
(songs in parentheses are under 40 seconds and will be excluded from the rankings calculation)
1. Overture
2. It's a Boy
3. 1921
4. Amazing Journey
5. Sparks
6. The Hawker
7. Christmas
8. Cousin Kevin
9. The Acid Queen
10. Underture
(11. Do You Think It's Alright?)
12. Fiddle About
13. Pinball Wizard
(14. There's a Doctor)
15. Go to the Mirror!
16. Tommy Can You Hear Me?
17. Smash the Mirror
18. Sensation
(19. Miracle Cure)
20. Sally Simpson
21. I'm Free
22. Welcome
23. Tommy's Holiday Camp
24. We're Not Gonna Take It

Current cycle:
7/2: StifledSilence (Incubus - A Crow Left of the Murder)
7/9: MaxGalactica (Carly Rae Jepsen - EMOTION (Deluxe Expanded Edition))

Future cycle:
7/16: MetalmindStats
7/23: HBJDubs
7/30: Raetsel_Lapin
8/6: competitive week
8/13: Steiner
8/20: Snake5555555555
8/27: Jesse_Custer
9/3: competitive week
9/10: ZaziGuado
9/17: firefdr
9/24: Johnbobb
10/1: competitive week
10/8: VeryInsane
10/15: FoolFantastic
10/22: Seanchan
10/29: competitive week
11/5: Giggsalot
11/12: RyoCaliente
11/19: darkx
11/26: competitive week
12/3: neonreaper
12/10: Great_Paul
12/17: jcgamer107
12/24: competitive week
12/31: ChichiriMuyo
1/7: BlueCrystalTear
1/14: rwlh
1/21: competitive week:
1/28: NFUN

MetalmindStats on the choices this week:

10,000 gecs:
The hyperpop maestros broaden their inspirations while bolstering their signature style in their second studio album. My personal introduction to them, I feel its both the most sonically accomplished and consistently, almost overwhelmingly catchy-fun music the two have made to date.
[Year - 2023 | Runtime - 26:53 | Example Track - Dumbest Girl Alive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYOPz1vqeZU]

Oneknowing:
If you know Lena Raine, it's probably for her VGM, not for what she considers her debut artist album. Here, vocals manipulated to serve as another instrument waft in and out amidst echoes of her past compositions and bold new soundscapes alike. The results oscillate from dreamy pop to distorted electronica and elsewhere and back again multiple times, making for an effect I find wonderfully indescribable.
[Year - 2019 | Runtime - 38:51 | Example Track - Trance State: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU8j5TGaX8g]

Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides:
Likely the most familiar of my choices as Fools nominated it twice before, but theyre not the only one here who carries a torch. There's a genre push-pull in play here somewhat like Oneknowing, and as a musical boundary-pushing endeavor from an artist rooted in hyperpop, it bears some similarities to 10,000 gecs too. SOPHIE's sole studio album is singular in all its own ways, however.
[Year - 2018 | Runtime - 39:55 | Example Tracks - Immaterial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv3yIv9nwf8 and Faceshopping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ6ppVyWgCI]

Three discoveries from three different internet sources, the last thanks to our hardworking host (hence their sample song choices). They're all totally distinct and yet birds of a feather in a few different ways, some more obvious than others. And I hold all three nearer and dearer each time I give them a listen.

SOPHIE > 100 gecs > Lena Raine

DamnJessie goes down again

FoolFantastic posted...

They're all totally distinct and yet birds of a feather in a few different ways, some more obvious than others.

<3

Seanchan posted...

DamnJessie goes down again

She'll have her day soon (I hope). Maybe That! Feels Good! will have better luck.

Did a first listen yesterday. Didn't do much for me and I can already tell it's going to be the 3rd week in a row where the ranking is going to be a pain in the ass.

1: Sparks
2: Go To The Mirror!
3: Amazing Journey
4: 1921
5: Sensation
6: The Acid Queen
7: The Hawker
8: Cousin Kevin
9: Fiddle About
10: Sally Simpson
11: Overture
12: I'm Free
13: Tommy's Holiday Camp
14: Tommy Can You Hear Me?
15: Smash The Mirror

16: Pinball Wizard
17: Welcome
18: We're Not Gonna Take It
19: It's a Boy
20: Christmas
21: Underture

1. Pinball Wizard
2. 1921
3. Sparks
4. I'm Free
5. Go To the Mirror!
6. Amazing Journey
7. Christmas
8. The Acid Queen
9. Smash The Mirror
10. We're Not Gonna Take It
11. Sally Simpson
12. Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)
13. Underture
14. Welcome
15. Sensation
16. Cousin Kevin
17. Overture
18. There's A Doctor
19. Tommy Can You Hear Me?
20. Fiddle About
21. It's a Boy
22. Miracle Cure
23. Tommy's Holiday Camp
24. Do You Think It's Alright?

Very difficult to rank, almost feels like it diminishes the album to look at tracks separately.

tag to do later this week

Please note that I will probably only listen once given that this album is 75 minutes long. Will try to do it twice though!

Yeah, I'm still not sure how we ended up with the 24-track rock opera Tommy over the more traditionally structured 9-track Who's Next. Even if you prefer Tommy for whatever reason, it's a particularly clunky choice for this game. Meanwhile, Who's Next would have been one of those rare classic albums with a truly contentious race for #1 between Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again (and, in my opinion, one of the rare albums where pretty much every song is great on its own).

Also, just as a reminder, every track ranked after #15 gets 0 points, so don't put in too much energy trying to get #16-21 just right; it will only impact the 'average rank' stat.

Jesussss, I just started listening and realized the track lengths don't even match up between versions. The Wikipedia page suggests some editions treat the ends of some songs as the beginning of others depending on version. For example, Overture on Spotify seems to have absorbed the beginning of It's a Boy, reducing the latter from 2:07 to a mere 38 seconds (and thus falling into our 'too short' zone).

I guess as long as we are all ranking the same version, we should be fine.

FoolFantastic posted...

The Wikipedia page suggests some editions treat the ends of some songs as the beginning of others depending on version. For example, Overture on Spotify seems to have absorbed the beginning of It's a Boy, reducing the latter from 2:07 to a mere 38 seconds (and thus falling into our 'too short' zone).

Ah. I did listen to everything on Spotify and wondered why "It's a Boy" wasn't cut with the other short tracks, but figured it didn't really matter. If there are other versions I should listen to, let me know and I'll revise my list as needed.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Ah. I did listen to everything on Spotify and wondered why "It's a Boy" wasn't cut with the other short tracks, but figured it didn't really matter. If there are other versions I should listen to, let me know and I'll revise my list as needed.

I'm assuming most of us are listening through Spotify, so we should use that as the standard. So, in this case, It's a Boy does not need to be ranked.

SOPHIE > 100 gecs > Lena Raine

I'm pretty sure I've seen SOPHIE's name pop up as a collaborator on some songs we've covered (maybe from Grimes...maybe Caroline Polachek?), so yeah, lets see what she's about.

FoolFantastic posted...

Yeah, I'm still not sure how we ended up with the 24-track rock opera Tommy over the more traditionally structured 9-track Who's Next. Even if you prefer Tommy for whatever reason, it's a particularly clunky choice for this game. Meanwhile, Who's Next would have been one of those rare classic albums with a truly contentious race for #1 between Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again (and, in my opinion, one of the rare albums where pretty much every song is great on its own).

No matter that it was nominated, people still voted for it. I'm guessing people saw "The Who" and that was that. Certainly I don't remember anyone mentioning that it was 24 tracks and 75 minutes because that likely would have swayed opinions.

I don't think SOPHIE ever worked with either of those two, but Polachek was definitely influenced by SOPHIE on her recent output - though, do note that these two albums sound nothing alike. My feeling is that Polachek took what SOPHIE was doing and ran in the complete opposite direction. Where Polachek is mellow, there are part of SOPHIE's album that feel like being attacked with a jackhammer.

Of course, 100 gecs can also feel like being attacked by a jackhammer at times.

As much as I complain about Tommy for this particular format, it is still an absolute classic from one of my favorite bands. Not quite but essentially the first major rock opera, it helped push the boundaries of what an album could be. My only issue is, by nature, most rock operas stick to a similar range, and my favorite version of The Who is typically more aggressive than this (or, later, pushing what synths can do). A work that is, by design, better than the sum of its parts.

Pinball Wizard
Christmas
We're Not Gonna Take It
The Acid Queen
I'm Free
Overture
Amazing Journey
Underture
1921
Go to the Mirror!
Cousin Kevin
Sally Simpson
The Hawker
Sparks
Tommy Can You Hear Me?
Sensation
Smash the Mirror
Welcome
It's a Boy
There's a Doctor
Fiddle About
Tommy's Holiday Camp
Do You Think It's Alright?
Miracle Cure

SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides > 100 gecs - 10,000 gecs > Lena Raine - Oneknowing

OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES > 10,000 gecs > Oneknowing

Oil is unabashedly insane and I love it for that. 10,000 gecs is earworm after earworm. Oneknowing is nice ambient stuff, but it's hard to beat the other two. Great selection.

bump

My favourite The Who album by a good margin, a bit difficult to rank but it was fun nonetheless

We're Not Gonna Take It
Christmas
Pinball Wizard
Go to the Mirror!
Overture
Sally Simpson
The Acid Queen
Cousin Kevin
Sparks
I'm Free
The Hawker
1921
Sensation
Welcome
Amazing Journey
Smash the Mirror
Underture
Tommy Can You Hear Me?
There's a Doctor
Fiddle About
Tommy's Holiday Camp
Miracle Cure
It's a Boy
Do You Think It's Alright?

Lena Raine - Oneknowing > SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides > 100 gecs - 10,000 gecs

1. We're Not Gonna Take It
2. Pinball Wizard
3. The Acid Queen
4. Christmas
5. Underture
6. Cousin Kevin - this is fucking chilling in a way I absolutely wasn't expecting
7. I'm Free
8. Welcome
9. Go to the Mirror!
10. Overture
11. 1921
12. Amazing Journey
13. Smash the Mirror
14. Tommy's Holiday Camp - Pinball Wizard eat your fuckin heart out
15. Sally Simpson
16. Tommy Can You Hear Me?
17. The Hawker
18. Sparks
19. Sensation
20. Fiddle About
21. (Do You Think It's Alright?)
22. It's a Boy
23. (There's a Doctor)
24. (Miracle Cure)

downloading the rock opera as I'm writing this out, incredible album

1. Welcome
2. Overture
3. Pinball Wizard
4. We're Not Gonna Take It
5. Amazing Journey
6. Sparks
7. Christmas
8. Sally Simpson
9. I'm Free
10. Go to the Mirror!
11. Underture
12. 1921
13. Sensation
14. Tommy Can You Hear Me?
15. Cousin Kevin
16. Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)
17. Smash the Mirror
18. The Acid Queen
19. Fiddle About
20. Tommy's Holiday Camp

1. It's a Boy
2. There's a Doctor
3. Do You Think It's Alright?
4. Miracle Cure

Ranked the sub-40 second tracks separately cuz why not? Good album, though a lot of it blends together making it tough to rank. Top 8 I'd say were stand-outs to me. Also, Spotify auto-played Baba O'Riley after the album finished, and it made me wish we'd done Who's Next instead again.

SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides > Lena Raine - Oneknowing > 100 gecs - 10,000 gecs

Deleted my old vote to change it, if that's alright. The example songs encouraged me to check out SOPHIE & Lena's entire albums and I think Oil would be more interesting for this topic. (Though I enjoyed Oneknowing).

Ack, meant to listen to this and hopefully rank the tracks, but I'm quite a few weeks behind on even trying by now. Guess I'll at least vote on my slate if my order doesn't count for that:

100 gecs - 10,000 gecs > Lena Raine - Oneknowing > SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides

Here is the next full cycle with the competitive match-ups; last time I tried to spread people out so they wouldn't potentially have a week back to back, but that would limit pairings in the long run, so these will be completely random from now on

Future cycle:
7/16: MetalmindStats
7/23: HBJDubs
7/30: Raetsel_Lapin
8/6: Seanchan/Johnbobb/Great_Paul
8/13: Steiner
8/20: Snake5555555555
8/27: Jesse_Custer
9/3: MetalmindStats/MaxGalactica/firefdr
9/10: ZaziGuado
9/17: firefdr
9/24: Johnbobb
10/1: StifledSilence/Jesse_Custer/FoolFantastic
10/8: VeryInsane
10/15: FoolFantastic
10/22: Seanchan
10/29: neonreaper/rwlh/darkx
11/5: Giggsalot
11/12: RyoCaliente
11/19: darkx
11/26: Steiner/Giggsalot/jcgamer107
12/3: neonreaper
12/10: Great_Paul
12/17: jcgamer107
12/24: Snake5555555555/RyoCaliente/BlueCrystalTear
12/31: ChichiriMuyo
1/7: BlueCrystalTear
1/14: rwlh
1/21: NFUN/Raetsel_Lapin/ChichiriMuyo
1/28: NFUN
2/4: StifledSilence
2/11: MaxGalactica
2/18: VeryInsane/ZaziGuado/HBJDubs

FYI, working on 3rd listen now. Should hopefully done in a little while.

Pinball Wizard
Underture
Go To The Mirror!
Sally Simpson
We're Not Gonna Take It
I'm Free
Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker)
Overture
Welcome
Amazing Journey
1921
Tommy Can You Hear Me?
Cousin Kevin
Sensation
The Acid Queen
Christmas
Smash The Mirror
Fiddle About
Sparks
Tommy's Holiday Camp

I like The Who, but I couldn't really get into this album. I feel like some parts of the story could have been condensed into a single song and would have helped create some more distinct tracks. Pinball Wizard is easily #1 here.

To briefly share my larger thoughts on the album

I guess it grew on me a little bit but in the rock opera category this wasnt as good as The Wall, much less American Idiot. I feel like Id like to hear a more traditional album from The Who.