2009 A Head Full of Wishes survey results
December 16, 2009 – 11:43 pm
Another A Head Full of Wishes survey comes to an end, and comes to an end with precious few surprises. It looked for a while as if an upset was on the cards for favourite Luna track but a flurry of last minute votes restored the status quo.
So here are some highlights, head over to the results page to see the full details.
More than 100 responses for the first time since 2006. There’s been one voter from the Lebanon in all but one survey since 2002
On Fire topped the favourite album poll with almost half of all votes cast. Fourth of July just beat Tugboat for favourite track.
Until the last week of the survey California (All the Way) was topping the poll but a strong finish saw 23 Minutes in Brussels retain the top spot it’s held in every survey since 1998. Penthouse was comfortable album winner as usual.
More Sad Hits always runs away with the favourite Damon & Naomi album and This Car Climbed Mt. Washington does the same for favourite track.
I slipped 13 Most Beautiful into the list despite it having only been released as a DVD, no one complained and it picked up a healthy 15% of the vote. L’Avventura was comfortably top. Night Nurse was the favourite track.
Thanks as usual to everyone who voted, and thanks especially to everyone who took the time to write in the comments field. I might put another post together with some of the interesting points raised.
6 Responses to “2009 A Head Full of Wishes survey results”
Has Dean or anyone ever acknowledged how the strings in Night Nurse are blatantly “borrowed” from Lee Hazlewood’s Your Sweet Love?
If this has remained #1 for D&B, perhaps any of you unfamiliar with the brilliance of Lee (surely not many) should take a listen to Lee’s superior track.
By Steve on Dec 17, 2009
Just after Lee Hazlewood died in August 2007 Dean wrote a tribute email to the Dean & Britta mailing list in which he acknowledged “borrowing” the string arrangement of Your Sweet Love for Night Nurse. I don’t think it was a secret! But I wholeheartedly agree that any Dean & Britta fan really should investigate the work of Mr Hazlewood.
By Andy on Dec 17, 2009
Andy, ahhh yes, I do remember that interview, however, I don’t recall that acknowledement. Is that interview somewhere on your site? I would love to re-read it.
In any event, I love both tracks! D&B used the strings wonderfully but nothing tops Lee Hazlewood and this is coming from a longtime Dean Wareham fan.
Thanks for all the great work here at A Head Full of Wishes!
By Steve on Dec 18, 2009
Oh I might be confusing the tribute email you mention with an interview that Dean did with Lee earlier in the decade. Which would explain why I don’t recall the acknowledgement.
Side note: when an artist borrows so heavily, are they not legally bound to acknowledge the original artist on the recording? No where on L’Avventura is Lee mentioned. Just curious
By Steve on Dec 18, 2009
All this talk about the Hazelwood strings and I can’t help thinking about Bitter Sweet Symphony and how the Verve got screwed by Mick and Keith.
Still they DID acknowledge where they sampled the strings from. They even got permission to use them but Mick and Keith felt the Verve used TOO MUCH of them and proceeded to sue, nice. So, they scammed the band out of thousands while they sat on there asses. As Ashcroft later said “BSS was the best song the stones have written in 10 yrs” (or something like that)
Now, I have to research Mr. Hazelwood, thanks for the tip.
By cameron on Dec 22, 2009
I was appalled when I read that about The Verve. It’s not like the Stones were always original, and using other peoples work as the basis for your inspiration is not exactly a new thing (even if sampling has changed the way it might be done). I do wonder at what point a credit is needed. When Galaxie 500’s cover of Cheese & Onions was first released it was credited to Neil Innes – when it came out on the box set it was credited to Lennon/McCartney/Innes. I think its also sad that shortsighted money-grabbing undoubtedly hampers longer term exposure. People like history… and you can be sure that The Verve not only sold a lot of copies of BSS but exposed its younger audience to a past they may have been unaware of. Rights is the next area of music that needs serious sorting out and its why movements like Creative Commons (and the wonderful Cash Music) are going to change the way we make/own/consume music.
By Andy on Dec 22, 2009