70s Pop Extravaganza: A Rankdown (Complete)

[peacebone]

Sweet, was worried my remaining bottom 3 would outlast my #1. I don't go as gaga for Queen as the rest of you do, and while this song was fairly decent, "fairly decent" could only get you so far on my list in this rankdown.

[Deleted]

ok, NOW can this be my 34? i'm aware i'm sounding like a broken record

[singingrulebritannia]

This was the first song to attain multiple 1s, by the way. Condolences to newpower ...and me.

4

Good Times
Chic
227 Points
Standard Deviation: 10.19293056 (5th lowest)
Median Rank: 14

singingrulebritannia : 1
newpower : 1
★Disco★ : 4
peacebone : 4
Juanca : 6
Pale Shelter : 11
Red : 12
rgreen0625 : 14
SHOOTER : 14
YotamTS : 15
Doc Indie Party Rock : 16
Mirago : 17
Cody Wants Out... : 22
@humanshazam : 23
aerodynamite : 30
@doinktheclown : 37

Movement

5 4 3 2 3 3 2 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 4

1979 Chart Peaks

US - #1, R&B #1, Dance #3 (YE #20) | Canada - #2, Disco #1 (YE #40) | UK - #5 | New Zealand - #8 | Netherlands [Dutch Top 40] - #17 | Ireland - #21 | Germany - #36 | Australia - #48


Spectators:
Zach
Willow Rinadoobee Breakfast


Remaining Songs:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Heart of Glass
What's Going On
Hot Stuff

[Red]

One of the best bass lines in all of music. This pained me to not rank top ten.

[singingrulebritannia]

Should the song at #3 be glad it's #3? Or disappointed it's not top 2 like it was basically the whole submissions process? Only two people did not rank it in their top 20, and only one of those is bottom half. The main reason this could not stay in the top 2, it seems, is a lack of truly next-level support: no one ranked this song top 4. But either way, this was a near-unanimous top 10, receiving ten ranks in said range.

[Deleted]

can i be the odd one out here or am i gonna lose another top 20

[newpower]

Marvin?

[singingrulebritannia]

crazyb Lordef†ones

3

What's Going On
Marvin Gaye
199 Points
Standard Deviation: 9.091891992 (3rd lowest)
Median Rank: 10

Pale Shelter : 5
Mirago : 5
Red : 5
singingrulebritannia : 6
rgreen0625 : 6
SHOOTER : 7
newpower : 8
★Disco★ : 10
YotamTS : 10
Juanca : 10
@humanshazam : 13
aerodynamite : 17
@doinktheclown : 17
Cody Wants Out... : 18
peacebone : 22
Doc Indie Party Rock : 40

Movement

4 2 2 3 2 1 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3

1971 Chart Peaks

USA - #2, R&B #1 (YE #21) | Australia - #69 | Canada - #76

Spectators:
Zach
Willow Rinadoobee Breakfast

[Deleted]

yep, i give up
17 vs 34

[Red]

Doc, go home, you're drunk.

7 vs. 22

I should have ranked my 22 lower, if I knew it was going to do this well. It's good, but not "top two in this rankdown" good.

[singingrulebritannia]

Your final 2.

Heart of Glass
Hot Stuff

I guess Doc Indie Party Rock was right--"Everyone loves Disco" 

The Tale of the Tape:
One of these songs was #1 on all but two occasions.
The other song is the second lowest SD.
Three 1s are still alive.
All told, these songs have 21 top 10s, 13 being top 5s.
The only bottom half rankings left to be revealed are @humanshazam's 34 and @doinktheclown's 46.

[Cody Wants Out...]

There is no. way. I'm this close to winning my very first non-country rankdown!

[singingrulebritannia]

My condolences ★Disco★ and Cody Wants Out... .

2

Hot Stuff
Donna Summer
192 Points
Standard Deviation: 9.025888691 (2nd lowest)
Median Rank: 10

★Disco★ : 1
Cody Wants Out... : 1
Juanca : 3
Mirago : 6
newpower : 6
YotamTS : 6
Doc Indie Party Rock : 8
SHOOTER : 10
@doinktheclown : 10
singingrulebritannia : 13
peacebone : 13
rgreen0625 : 18
aerodynamite : 20
Pale Shelter : 21
Red : 22
@humanshazam : 34

Movement

14 8 5 4 5 6 4 6 7 6 4 3 3 3 2

1979 Chart Peaks

Australia - #1 (YE #17) | Canada - #1 (YE #18) | Switzerland - #1 (YE #14) | US - #1, Dance #1, R&B #3 (YE #7) | Italy - #2 (YE #24) | Norway - #2 | Sweden - #2 | Austria - #3 (YE #13) | Germany - #5 | Finland - #7 | New Zealand - #7 | Belgium - #8 (YE #55) | France - #10 (YE #42) | UK - #11 | Ireland - #14 | Netherlands [Dutch Top 40] - #14 | Spain - #14 | Japan - #17

---

On the other hand, congrats to peacebone , as his 1 is the winner. Blondie's victory was never truly in doubt after Doc Indie Party Rock 's list, honestly.

1

Heart of Glass
Blondie
143 Points
Standard Deviation: 11.20397995
Median Rank: 4.5

peacebone : 1
Juanca : 2
Pale Shelter : 3
★Disco★ : 3
Mirago : 4
newpower : 4
aerodynamite : 4
SHOOTER : 4
singingrulebritannia : 5
Doc Indie Party Rock : 5
Red : 7
YotamTS : 7
Cody Wants Out... : 11
@humanshazam : 17
rgreen0625 : 20
@doinktheclown : 46

Movement

3 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1979 Chart Peaks

New Zealand - #1 (YE #1) | Canada - #1 (YE #2) | UK - #1 (YE #2) | Australia - #1 (YE #3) | Austria - #1 (YE #11) | Switzerland - #1 (YE #1) | USA - #1 (YE #18) | Germany - #1 | South Africa - #2 (YE #15) | Ireland - #2 | Sweden - #3 | Belgium - #5 (YE #53) | Netherlands [Dutch Top 40] - #5 (YE #78) | Finland - #11

Spectators:
Zach
Willow Rinadoobee Breakfast

[Deleted]

well well, not exactly the BEST i've done in a rankdown. however, i really had no knowledge of 70s pop, but since gates' other rankdowns were so good, i gave this a shot. came out with a bunch of great first listens and new discoveries. fantastic rankdown as always, singingrulebritannia, love the youtube comments as always!

[Red]

Jun 12, 2018 18:40:44 GMT -5 singingrulebritannia said:

@doinktheclown : 46

Okay, Mr. "I Submitted Blondie for WTM".

This was an up and down top ten for me, but the winner is, ultimately, satisfying. It also wasn't close.

I know that I said "burn this rankdown to the ground" a couple of reveals ago, but that was not a reference to you personally, gates (obviously). Another great, fun rankdown hosted, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next one.

[singingrulebritannia]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Final Rankdown Closeness}
Pale Shelter 7.48
Red 8.48
Juanca 8.52
newpower 8.64
aerodynamite 9.52
rgreen0625 11.2
SHOOTER 11.36
peacebone 11.44
YotamTS 12.04
singingrulebritannia 12.2
Mirago 12.56
Cody Wants Out... 12.84
@doinktheclown 12.88
Doc Indie Party Rock 12.92
★Disco★ 13.04
@humanshazam 13.6

SPOILER: Click to show

{Perfect Rankings}Juanca 5
rgreen0625 4
peacebone 4
@doinktheclown 3
Red 3
Cody Wants Out... 1
SHOOTER 1
Doc Indie Party Rock 1
Pale Shelter 1
singingrulebritannia 1
newpower 1
★Disco★ 1
Mirago 0
@humanshazam 0
aerodynamite 0
YotamTS 0

All 50 songs have been revealed. Another rankdown with a great winner in the books. I want to thank all who participated for making my entry into non-rock rankdowns an exciting one. The turnout blew away expectations, the in-thread activity was fun to witness, and we got to make an assessment of classics that sorely needed it on Pulse.

Now, in my denouement posts, I usually transition into my next rankdown. Thing is, I don't know how much crossover there will be between the participants of this rankdown and my follow-up. I'll just tell you it's a hip hop rankdown, and slap down the link here. If that's not your thing, fine by me. With all this rankdown experience I'm building up, I might throw my hat in for a year-end rock chart rankdown soon (I also have more ideas for personal RDs pertaining to the 2000s and 2010s), so either way, I hope this isn't the last time you see me as a host.

[newpower]

Thanks singingrulebritannia for hosting this great rankdown. Awesome Top 10 full of truly classics.

[peacebone]

Jun 12, 2018 18:40:44 GMT -5 singingrulebritannia said:

@doinktheclown : 46

I love "Hot Stuff", but "Heart of Glass" is on an entirely different level, one of the greatest pop songs ever made. So glad to see it win out here.

singingrulebritannia - fantastic list, fantastic job hosting.

[Deleted]

A) Y'all know I love Blondie. Debbie is practically a Goddess

B) This was legit a tough as hell list

C) Heart of Glass is just OK. The chorus is the saving grace

And D) I don't see why y'all complaining, it still won

[Juanca]

20. Love Hangover (20): I love the instrumental --strong disco! I was debating on ranking it a bit higher, but in the end the limited verses played against it.
19. What A Fool Believes (7): This is a strong pop song with some disco influence that has always sounded good to me. A real classic song.
18. Family Affair (23): I had heard this in passing before, but I listened to it closely this time, and the music was much stronger than what I remembered.
17. 25 or 6 to 4 (25): I like several Chicago songs a lot, and I may have under ranked this a bit due to limited familiarity. Very classic Chicago.
16. Wuthering Heights (13): I shouldn't like Kate, as her voice is quite tough to hear... but every song I've heard of her has been pretty strong! An her weird voice ends up fitting the vibe and music of the songs like a T. This is not the easiest song to digest, but it's pretty amazing. Very happy to see it this far.
15. Crazy on You (16): I'm a Heart fan as well, and this is just a strong rock song. I like other songs of them better, but this is still a classic gem.
14. Surrender (37): This was a first listen, and maybe that played a role in my ranking. As a first listen, however, this didn't impress much. (On the other hand, I Want You To Want Me is one of 1970s favorites)
13. Give Up the Funk (22): Like Family Affair, I paid closer attention to this song for this RD, and enjoyed this song more than before.
12. Video Killed The Radio Start (12): A CLASSIC! And another song that sounds much more like a 1980s song. I can see another P-P-P-P-PERFECT RANKING!!!
11. Das Model (29): I barely remembered this one, and I was expecting to rank it in my top 20... but when I heard it again, it was just underwhelming

[Juanca]

Jun 12, 2018 17:27:50 GMT -5 Pale Shelter said:

"Hot Stuff" is a good disco song but it can't compare to everything else that's left

It's MORE than a Disco song, though
It even has some pop-rock sensibilities and one of the best voices in the business at that time
Plus after you ranked Year Of The Cat in your bottom half. you've lost a bit of credibility.... j/k ;-)

[Juanca]

Solid top 10, to be honest! Even though I have a couple of songs below my top 15, I do like both of them. I may say I like them better than my ranking of them would indicate, but I just felt their quality was not as strong as other songs I like a bit less. (Hoping they do leave soon, tho).

10. Cars (27): YAY!! My lowest one goes first. I do like this a lot, as it's yet another 1980s-sounding song. That synth is awesome! At the same time, when really analyzing the song, it's just a bit too simple and monotone. Back in the 1980s, I had a similar appreciation. It's good enough, but could've been much better...

9. Papa Was A Rolling Stone (19): Oh! My second lowest goes next Another song I do like... although my appreciation grew thanks to George Michael's cover. Music is very strong as is the chorus, but verses leave me a bit underwhelmed.

8. Let's Stay Together (14): And my third lowest remaining goes third. Yay! In this case, I like Tina's version better, but the original is quite solid anyway. My 15-6 rankings were extremely close, though, and at some point I had this inside my top 10.

7. Rock Lobster (4): I'm ecstatic that this made the top 10! I thought it may not. I've loved B-52s since I first heard them in early 1980s. (I've seen them live twice already.) This one, Party Outta Bounds and Private Idaho are personal favorites and classics. I still have the 45 of Rock Lobster... I've danced to this like crazy! Good times!

6. Sir Duke (5): Another case of a genre I'm not a big fan of, but a song that is just great on its own merits and thus conquered me and made me a fan.

5. Killer Queen (11): I LOVE Queen, too. Bohemian Rhapsody is one of my all-time favorite songs (like Year of the Cat ). This is a pretty strong song, as it rightly mixes the pop and dramatic styles, but it missed my top 10 for a hair. Good to see them this high anyway.

4. Good Times (6): What a strong, timeless melody!! It literally makes me smile every time I hear it. (Same happens with Le Freak, btw). Great to see it Top 5.

3. What's Going On (10): So this is yet another case of a song I wasn't a big fan of years ago, as the genre isn't my cup of tea. But I've grown to like it much better with time. I'll confess that American Idol contributed to my greater appreciation to this and Midnight Train To Georgia, both of which ended in my top 10 for this RD over early favorites like Killer Queen or Video Killed...

OMG! My #2 and #3 are the #2 and #1!!!!

2. Hot Stuff (3): YAYAAYAYYYYYYY!!!!!!! This and Bad Girls are amongst my favorites of the decade for sure. As I shared before (without seeing that this was #2 for this RD), it's a song that for me goes beyond and stronger than disco. Donna's vocals are amazing and she sings with a different type of almost rock energy. Then you have good guitar and bass sounds in the intro and musical bridge. And the cherry on the top is the sound of the background vocals singing HOT, HOT, HOT, STUUUUUFFF, HOT, HOT, HOT. A classic well deserved of the #2 of this RD.

1. Heart of Glass (2): YYAKAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!! Blondie, like Bee Gees and Queen, is one of my all-time favorite artists (see my signature), and since a very early age. At 8 years old I was already a big fan as songs like Rapture, Call Me, The Tide Is High, and HoG were favorite songs. As time went by, my love for those songs only grew. Then, my first concert experience with an English-speaking artist was when they came to Peru back in 2003 or 4, and I spent quite a lot of $$ to be in 2nd row --and I was able to touch Debbie's hand!!! Such an out-of-this-world experience Anyway. HoG is a classic. Not much else to say. As strong as it gets. That OOoohh-oohh uh-oh after the bridge is something else. Superb winner!

Glad to see that I did quite well in this RD in the end.

Great job hosting, singingrulebritannia ! Those screen caps were quite interesting --I don't wanna think about Debbie's teeth tho...

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

10. Cars - Gary Numan
remind me to donate more for payloa next time. At least it made the top 10.

9. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone - The Temptations
This one has that classic soul status. Still not my favorite Temptations' song.

8. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
The melody never worked for me. I guess he has better songs?

7. Rock Lobster - The B-52's
Great f**king New Wave song. Classic KROQ. When KROQ used to be a great radio station. I think they are a pop station now?

6. Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
This is good, but it isn't "Superstition" so I wasn't gonna give it top 10 action.

5. Killer Queen - Queen
For all the ragging I give you guys for tanking classic Rock, you all did very well here. Even better than my rank.

4. Good Times - Chic
I knew this would end up high. Great tune, just a bit repetitious at times. The one I on a pedestal is "Freak Out"

3. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
I don't like this song. End of story. I love "Heard It..." and "Sexual Healing", but those didn't appear here.

2. Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
Everyone loves Disco. Even Metal heads.

1. Heart of Glass - Blondie
This list took a turn for the better. Glad to help in giving Blondie the crown. I also would have put her other songs like, "Call Me", Automatic" "Hanging On The Telephone" "Rapture" "Dreamin" and "One Way Or Another" might have even been my #1 song here?

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

Great job. Looking forward to part 2.

[SHOOTER]

I guess I can’t gripe too much since this is one of the RDs I most enjoyed ranking! Thanks for hosting singingrulebritannia

[Pale Shelter]

Jun 12, 2018 18:45:02 GMT -5 singingrulebritannia said:

SPOILER: Click to show

{Final Rankdown Closeness}
Pale Shelter 7.48
Red 8.48

holy crap, i actually won?!?  i think having been alive through the entire decade helped...i doubt Red is that old

[YotamTS]

barely commented my thoughts on the reveal, but I did follow.
glad Sir Duke made the top 10, and disappointed 25 or 6 to 4 didn't make it, definitely my 2 favorite first listens here.

awesome top 4, really enjoyed them all and can't complain Blondie were the one to get the win.

thanks for hosting this gates, looking forward to your next rankdown to find some gems!