Classics of the 80s

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Classics of the 80s

There are lots of 80s fans here, myself included! biggrin

I've hosted a series of polls at RateYourMusic to determine what the true classics of the decade are, in the sense that they are still widely known by the public today. The polls have done pretty well in terms of participation but the more votes, the merrier! A few of the songs with active polls are really close to the border between two classes, so have your say! Also feel free to nominate a song if you're interested!

Below are lists of open polls and results.

Open polls:

130. Chilliwack - My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)
131. Gino Vannelli - Wild Horses
132. Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance
133. Payola$ - Eyes of a Stranger
134. Grandmaster Flash & M...n't Do It)
135. Madness - Our House
136. Sade - Smooth Operator
137. Soul II Soul - Back to Li...u Want Me)
138. Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
139. Hunters & Collectors ... Around Me

140. John Farnham - You're the Voice

141. Split Enz - I Got You

142. Tears for Fears - Mad World
143. Bill Medley & Jennife...of My Life
144. Queensrÿche - Queen of the Reich
145. Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
146. Accept - Balls to the Wall
147. Huey Lewis and the News -...a New Drug

148. David Lee Roth - Yankee Rose

149. Blondie - Atomic

150. Janet Jackson - Miss You Much

151. Berlin - The Metro

120. Irene Cara - Flashdance (...a Feeling): Classic
121. Prince and the Revolution - Kiss: Classic
122. Madonna - Like a Prayer: Ultimate Classic

123. ABBA - Lay All Your Love on Me: Moderate Classic
124. Enya - Orinoco Flow (Sail Away): Classic
125. The Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion: Moderate Classic
126. Soft Cell - Tainted Love: Ultimate Classic

127. Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone: Moderate Classic
128. Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill: Classic
129. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls: Classic

New polls edit.

[Edited 8/29/12 5:32am]

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #1 posted 08/22/12 4:55pm

DJK	That is an interesting project and information. Do you think that you get a sufficient number of responses so that the sample population is representative of the entire population that has an interest in this topic? Overall, good effort.
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Reply #2 posted 08/23/12 5:14pm

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DJK said:

That is an interesting project and information.

Do you think that you get a sufficient number of responses so that the sample population

is representative of the entire population that has an interest in this topic?

Overall, good effort.

Thanks for the reply! Each song has had at least 50 votes, with many being over 100. I'm sure it reflects the biases of the posters at that site, but from what I gather, there is quite a diversity of place of origin and age, which is what I was hoping for. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty darn happy with it so far!

I'd love it if some orgers joined and made their voices heard. The Music: Non-Prince forum has had a lot of folks with crazy-eclectic tastes that could make these polls even more robust.

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #3 posted 08/23/12 5:19pm

Byron	Ambrosia - Biggest Part of Me: Not a Classic No! lol...that song IS a classic! Classic soft rock cheese, but still lol...(I thought it was a 70s song, actually) I Love Rock & Roll by Joan Jett should have been included :yes:...and Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House.
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Reply #4 posted 08/23/12 8:23pm

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Byron said:

Ambrosia - Biggest Part of Me: Not a Classic

No! lol...that song IS a classic! Classic soft rock cheese, but still lol...(I thought it was a 70s song, actually)

I Love Rock & Roll by Joan Jett should have been included :yes:...and Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House.

Those are both coming up. There are over 1700 nominations already! Get yer butt to RYM and vote, mister! deal

Edit: I hadn't heard "Biggest Part of Me" before this poll, so I did vote Not a Classic. It seems like a 70s leftover indeed.

[Edited 8/23/12 20:32pm]

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #5 posted 08/23/12 8:49pm

CrabalockerFis
hwife

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Moonbeam said:
Open polls:

120. Irene Cara - Flashdance (...a Feeling)
121. Prince and the Revolution - Kiss
122. Madonna - Like a Prayer
123. ABBA - Lay All Your Love on Me
124. Enya - Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)
125. The Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion
126. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
127. Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone
128. Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
129. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
130. Chilliwack - My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)
131. Gino Vannelli - Wild Horses
132. Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance
133. Payola$ - Eyes of a Stranger
134. Grandmaster Flash & M...n't Do It)
135. Madness - Our House
136. Sade - Smooth Operator
137. Soul II Soul - Back to Li...u Want Me)
138. Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
139. Hunters & Collectors ... Around Me

The first 3 polls have closed; and as for the rest of them, there's only a few of those songs that I've ever heard of.. I voted either 'Not a Classic' or 'Moderate Classic' for all of them.. I was born in '92 and am not an '80s lover, but since you appear to be asking how well those songs hold up today and if the average person would know them, I think my votes were accurate.

I agree with most of the results for the closed polls.

[Edited 8/23/12 21:04pm]

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Reply #6 posted 08/23/12 9:04pm

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CrabalockerFishwife said:

Moonbeam said:
Open polls:

120. Irene Cara - Flashdance (...a Feeling)
121. Prince and the Revolution - Kiss
122. Madonna - Like a Prayer
123. ABBA - Lay All Your Love on Me
124. Enya - Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)
125. The Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion
126. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
127. Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone
128. Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
129. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
130. Chilliwack - My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)
131. Gino Vannelli - Wild Horses
132. Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance
133. Payola$ - Eyes of a Stranger
134. Grandmaster Flash & M...n't Do It)
135. Madness - Our House
136. Sade - Smooth Operator
137. Soul II Soul - Back to Li...u Want Me)
138. Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
139. Hunters & Collectors ... Around Me

The first 3 polls have closed; and as for the rest of them, there's only a few of those songs that I've ever heard of.. I voted either 'Not a Classic' or 'Moderate Classic' for all of them.. I was born in '92 and am not an '80s lover, but since you appear to be asking how well those songs hold up today, I think my votes were accurate.

I agree with most of the results for the closed polls.

[Edited 8/23/12 20:51pm]

Wow - thanks for participating! I posted this original topic a few days ago when those polls were active. Feel free to nominate some songs you think belong and keep voting if you like!

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #7 posted 08/23/12 9:06pm

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I've edited the original post to reflect the currect open polls.

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #8 posted 08/25/12 7:02pm

Byron	How many songs are gonna get their own poll?...
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Reply #9 posted 08/25/12 7:12pm

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Byron said:

How many songs are gonna get their own poll?...

I'm thinking of cutting it off after 2,000. This is looking like a 4-year project, and it's still in its early days!

You can see the list so far here, arranged as follows:

Active Polls

Ultimate Classics

Classics

Moderate Classics

Not Classics

Upcoming Songs

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #10 posted 08/25/12 7:39pm

Byron

Moonbeam said:

Byron said:

How many songs are gonna get their own poll?...

I'm thinking of cutting it off after 2,000. This is looking like a 4-year project, and it's still in its early days!

You can see the list so far here, arranged as follows:

Active Polls

Ultimate Classics

Classics

Moderate Classics

Not Classics

Upcoming Songs

Four year project?!?!?!?! eek

Cutting it off at 2,000!?!?!?! eek

Holy shrimp...

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Reply #11 posted 08/26/12 2:02am

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Byron said:

Moonbeam said:

I'm thinking of cutting it off after 2,000. This is looking like a 4-year project, and it's still in its early days!

You can see the list so far here, arranged as follows:

Active Polls

Ultimate Classics

Classics

Moderate Classics

Not Classics

Upcoming Songs

Four year project?!?!?!?!

Cutting it off at 2,000!?!?!?!

Holy shrimp...

Don't underestimate how much I love the 80s. lol

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #12 posted 08/26/12 5:48am

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I've edited the OP to add new polls.

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #13 posted 08/27/12 8:51am

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Joining Rate Your Music is a rabbit hole I don't want to go down right now (or maybe ever), but this sounds like a very cool project.

I was surprised Paul Davis' "65 Love Affair" was overwhelmingly voted 'not a classic'! I used to hear that song all the time on 80s radio playlists.

Another 'not a classic' surprise was Al B. Sure's "Nite and Day". That's his signature song. You don't know Al B. Sure! if you don't know that song.

I suppose I understand based on the qualifiers stated in the poll why these songs did so poorly. 99% of the music I hear now is music of my choice as opposed to a radio playlist or someone else's stereo system over which I have no control so I have no idea which 80s oldies are still popular today.

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Reply #14 posted 08/27/12 5:08pm

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sexton said:

Joining Rate Your Music is a rabbit hole I don't want to go down right now (or maybe ever), but this sounds like a very cool project.

I was surprised Paul Davis' "65 Love Affair" was overwhelmingly voted 'not a classic'! I used to hear that song all the time on 80s radio playlists.

Another 'not a classic' surprise was Al B. Sure's "Nite and Day". That's his signature song. You don't know Al B. Sure! if you don't know that song.

I suppose I understand based on the qualifiers stated in the poll why these songs did so poorly. 99% of the music I hear now is music of my choice as opposed to a radio playlist or someone else's stereo system over which I have no control so I have no idea which 80s oldies are still popular today.

I'd LOVE for you to join RYM so I can raid your ratings for recommendations! And I suppose many people do listen to their own stuff most of the time, including me. But I hear things incidentally on TV, in movies, in shops, at sporting events, etc.

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #15 posted 08/29/12 5:33am

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New polls added for David Lee Roth, Blondie, Janet Jackson, and Berlin.

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #16 posted 08/29/12 9:17am

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I love Berlin's "The Metro", but I think it will be voted at best a 'moderate classic'.

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Reply #17 posted 08/29/12 1:02pm

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sexton said:

I love Berlin's "The Metro", but I think it will be voted at best a 'moderate classic'.

That's what I voted. Why don't you sign up and do the same? mr.green

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #18 posted 08/30/12 8:26am

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Moonbeam said:
That's what I voted. Why don't you sign up and do the same?

lol Seriously, I'd become obsessed with rating everything I owned if I joined. I wouldn't leave my apartment for months. dead

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Reply #19 posted 08/30/12 3:24pm

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sexton said:

Moonbeam said:
That's what I voted. Why don't you sign up and do the same?

Seriously, I'd become obsessed with rating everything I owned if I joined. I wouldn't leave my apartment for months.

Do it! I'm begging you! mr.green

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #20 posted 08/30/12 4:32pm

damosuzuki

sexton said:

Moonbeam said:
That's what I voted. Why don't you sign up and do the same?

Seriously, I'd become obsessed with rating everything I owned if I joined. I wouldn't leave my apartment for months.

Why would anybody leave their apartment? confuse

I've had a neglected RYM account since 2005 or so. I wrote a few pitifully lame reviews that really ought to get deleted and rated about 1/5th of my collection, but I just don't have the moonbeam-level OCD required to maintain focus on it.

Since Moonbeam's been gracious enough to slum it here again, i'll see if i can work out what he's doing and contribute at RYM.

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Reply #21 posted 08/30/12 4:44pm

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damosuzuki said:

sexton said:

Seriously, I'd become obsessed with rating everything I owned if I joined. I wouldn't leave my apartment for months.

Why would anybody leave their apartment?

I've had a neglected RYM account since 2005 or so. I wrote a few pitifully lame reviews that really ought to get deleted and rated about 1/5th of my collection, but I just don't have the moonbeam-level OCD required to maintain focus on it.

Since Moonbeam's been gracious enough to slum it here again, i'll see if i can work out what he's doing and contribute at RYM.

Hooray for the return of flipwilson! woot!

As for OCD, you don't know the half of it. I've written code to help me maintain my lists of favorite albums and songs using the free statistical software R that I have made publicly available at acclaimedmusic. redface It works by randomly selecting two items (albums/songs/whatever) for the user to compare. I've tweaked it a number of times so that it now has a time effect so that a comparison I make today is worth more than a comparison I made 2 months ago, and I also have 3 different point systems by which to rank the results - one based on mere matrix multiplication, one based on the ELO chess ranking algorithm, and one based on college basketball's RPI. This helps me achieve both ranking my favorite albums and songs (and hence artists from another program I've written) AND reducing the granularity of RYM's star system by using kernel density estimation. So now I can say that Monster Movie by Can is not merely a 4.5 star record, but that it scores 93 out of 100 on my scale, and clearly outpaces Ege Bamyasi (80) and Tago Mago (78). razz

I'm clearly headed for an "Upstairs! Downstairs!" moment.

[Edited 8/30/12 16:47pm]

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #22 posted 08/30/12 4:57pm

damosuzuki

Moonbeam said:

damosuzuki said:

Why would anybody leave their apartment?

I've had a neglected RYM account since 2005 or so. I wrote a few pitifully lame reviews that really ought to get deleted and rated about 1/5th of my collection, but I just don't have the moonbeam-level OCD required to maintain focus on it.

Since Moonbeam's been gracious enough to slum it here again, i'll see if i can work out what he's doing and contribute at RYM.

Hooray for the return of flipwilson!

As for OCD, you don't know the half of it. I've written code to help me maintain my lists of favorite albums and songs using the free statistical software R that I have made publicly available at acclaimedmusic. It works by randomly selecting two items (albums/songs/whatever) for the user to compare. I've tweaked it a number of times so that it now has a time effect so that a comparison I make today is worth more than a comparison I made 2 months ago, and I also have 3 different point systems by which to rank the results - one based on mere matrix multiplication, one based on the ELO chess ranking algorithm, and one based on college basketball's RPI. This helps me achieve both ranking my favorite albums and songs (and hence artists from another program I've written) AND reducing the granularity of RYM's star system by using kernel density estimation. So now I can say that Monster Movie by Can is not merely a 4.5 star record, but that it scores 93 out of 100 on my scale, and clearly outpaces Ege Bamyasi (80) and Tago Mago (78).

I'm clearly headed for an "Upstairs! Downstairs!" moment.

[Edited 8/30/12 16:47pm]

wacky

Dare I ask about your kernel density estimation of Future Days? lol

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Reply #23 posted 08/30/12 4:59pm

malcolmmooney

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damosuzuki said:

Moonbeam said:

Hooray for the return of flipwilson!

As for OCD, you don't know the half of it. I've written code to help me maintain my lists of favorite albums and songs using the free statistical software R that I have made publicly available at acclaimedmusic. It works by randomly selecting two items (albums/songs/whatever) for the user to compare. I've tweaked it a number of times so that it now has a time effect so that a comparison I make today is worth more than a comparison I made 2 months ago, and I also have 3 different point systems by which to rank the results - one based on mere matrix multiplication, one based on the ELO chess ranking algorithm, and one based on college basketball's RPI. This helps me achieve both ranking my favorite albums and songs (and hence artists from another program I've written) AND reducing the granularity of RYM's star system by using kernel density estimation. So now I can say that Monster Movie by Can is not merely a 4.5 star record, but that it scores 93 out of 100 on my scale, and clearly outpaces Ege Bamyasi (80) and Tago Mago (78).

I'm clearly headed for an "Upstairs! Downstairs!" moment.

[Edited 8/30/12 16:47pm]

Dare I ask about your kernel density estimation of Future Days?

Anything above 0 is too high! Take THAT to your soul desert!

Damosuzuki wants to be me.

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Reply #24 posted 08/30/12 5:06pm

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damosuzuki said:

Moonbeam said:

Hooray for the return of flipwilson!

As for OCD, you don't know the half of it. I've written code to help me maintain my lists of favorite albums and songs using the free statistical software R that I have made publicly available at acclaimedmusic. It works by randomly selecting two items (albums/songs/whatever) for the user to compare. I've tweaked it a number of times so that it now has a time effect so that a comparison I make today is worth more than a comparison I made 2 months ago, and I also have 3 different point systems by which to rank the results - one based on mere matrix multiplication, one based on the ELO chess ranking algorithm, and one based on college basketball's RPI. This helps me achieve both ranking my favorite albums and songs (and hence artists from another program I've written) AND reducing the granularity of RYM's star system by using kernel density estimation. So now I can say that Monster Movie by Can is not merely a 4.5 star record, but that it scores 93 out of 100 on my scale, and clearly outpaces Ege Bamyasi (80) and Tago Mago (78).

I'm clearly headed for an "Upstairs! Downstairs!" moment.

[Edited 8/30/12 16:47pm]

Dare I ask about your kernel density estimation of Future Days?

I actually have "frozen" that album as I haven't listened to it in a long time. From memory, it was just a little bit below Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi, which means that I thought it was quite good. But that was some 5 years ago now. I'll give it a spin, run it through the works and get back to ya. smile

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #25 posted 08/30/12 5:11pm

damosuzuki	malcolmmooney said: damosuzuki said: Dare I ask about your kernel density estimation of Future Days? Anything above 0 is too high! Take THAT to your soul desert! [img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/flipwilson1/markesmith.jpg[/img:$uid]
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Reply #26 posted 08/30/12 7:17pm

Hudson

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Looks like fun. Do you need a certain number of posts to vote in the polls? i've never been to that forum.

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Reply #27 posted 08/30/12 7:36pm

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Hudson said:

Looks like fun. Do you need a certain number of posts to vote in the polls? i've never been to that forum.

You don't need any posts, but you need to register with RYM, unfortunately. I can recommend the site in general as I've discovered a ton of great music that way.

Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!

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Reply #28 posted 08/31/12 3:00pm

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malcolmmooney said:

damosuzuki said:

Dare I ask about your kernel density estimation of Future Days?

Anything above 0 is too high! Take THAT to your soul desert!

Future Days is awesome! It's easily my favorite of the first five Can albums.

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Reply #29 posted 08/31/12 3:04pm

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Moonbeam said:

damosuzuki said:

Why would anybody leave their apartment?

I've had a neglected RYM account since 2005 or so. I wrote a few pitifully lame reviews that really ought to get deleted and rated about 1/5th of my collection, but I just don't have the moonbeam-level OCD required to maintain focus on it.

Since Moonbeam's been gracious enough to slum it here again, i'll see if i can work out what he's doing and contribute at RYM.

Hooray for the return of flipwilson!

As for OCD, you don't know the half of it. I've written code to help me maintain my lists of favorite albums and songs using the free statistical software R that I have made publicly available at acclaimedmusic. It works by randomly selecting two items (albums/songs/whatever) for the user to compare. I've tweaked it a number of times so that it now has a time effect so that a comparison I make today is worth more than a comparison I made 2 months ago, and I also have 3 different point systems by which to rank the results - one based on mere matrix multiplication, one based on the ELO chess ranking algorithm, and one based on college basketball's RPI. This helps me achieve both ranking my favorite albums and songs (and hence artists from another program I've written) AND reducing the granularity of RYM's star system by using kernel density estimation. So now I can say that Monster Movie by Can is not merely a 4.5 star record, but that it scores 93 out of 100 on my scale, and clearly outpaces Ege Bamyasi (80) and Tago Mago (78).

I'm clearly headed for an "Upstairs! Downstairs!" moment.

[Edited 8/30/12 16:47pm]

I have trouble maintaining my simple list of all the albums I own (minus comps) separated by year, ranked in order from best to worst. No way could I keep up with something this complicated. dead

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