Favorite song grand finale

[Homesick]

Alright, it's finally time for the grand finale of our favorite song polls.

From every previous poll, I've included the highest-ranking songs that together add up to 50% of the votes, as long as all of the songs have 3 votes or more (in order too weed out entries from polls with very spread-out results, such as Time's Incinerator). For example, from The Silver Lining I've included Oxygen (23%), All Is Well (17%), and Crazy Mixed Up World (12%), since they together make up a total of 52%.

An album or two (like And the Horse They Rode In) may seem overrepresented, but I believe this method is fair enough for this purpose and better than the other methods I considered.

Please note that this method actually excludes Runaway Train from the list, which I would say is kind of ironic and fascinating at the same time.

I'll submit my vote and post my thoughts in a while. A question of this magnitude deserves a well thought-out answer!

If I've forgotten to include a song that should have been included, please let me know as soon as possible.

[lune ellise]

NOOOOOO I CAN'T DECIIIIIDE!!!!

I was afraid this would happen - there would be a time when I HAVE to choose - but I don't want to! This is the only band where I can't choose A song. Grrrrr...

I won't vote - yet or ever.

Please note that this method actually excludes Runaway Train from the list, which I would say is kind of ironic and fascinating at the same time.

Hahaha - it IS fascinating. Hmmmmm...

[sheryl]

Strangely enough, this one, for me, wasn't hard at all. Knowing that we're going with the album version of Closer to the Stars excluded it for me easily, and while this is absolutely an amazing collection of songs I love, it was almost a no contest.

Never Really Been

[philipgar]

Strangely enough, this one, for me, wasn't hard at all. Knowing that we're going with the album version of Closer to the Stars excluded it for me easily, and while this is absolutely an amazing collection of songs I love, it was almost a no contest.

Never Really Been

I agree, NRB is just one of those songs that I've always loved, and it quite deserves it's reputation as the best SA song ever. Although, I think it partially depends how you look at it. If you choose a song that is just all around the best rock and roll song or something, I might have to go with Cartoon or Sometime To Return or something, but as the best SA song, I can't help but think of the songs in the context of when they were written, and what would follow them. NRB paved the way for a lot of SA's sound, and was kind of "experimental" at the time. It really shows the depth that the band would bring in, and all around the song is just fun.

It's also go the amusement factor from a historical context with the line "and where will you be in 1993". I guess back in '86 that seemed quite far away. Who'd have thought the guys would be playing arenas in 1993, and than playing clubs once more (with NRB back in their setlist) in 2003. I wonder which year they prefer.... It's kind of interesting to think about some of that.

Phil

[15yearslater]

If you choose a song that is just all around the best rock and roll song or something, I might have to go with Cartoon or Sometime To Return or something. Phil

This was my exact train of thought, but I ended up voting for Sometime to Return, just for the rocking out factor. Both songs (NRB and StR) feature SA's unique rhyming schemes and wording, but presented in such a different way. I remember when I first heard NRB and having an argument with one of my friends about the line:
"And who is the hound at the downtown dogpound
Who speaks English when the watchmans not in sight"
It sounded strange to me, and I thought they should have said "when the watchmans not AROUND", since that would rhyme with hound and dogpound. But my friend eventually convinced me it sounded better the way they wrote it since the line rhymes with the previous couplet "tombstone in the dead of the night", and it is endlessly more interesting and cool that way. He was right, of course. And I have been an SA fan ever since.

[Judgmental Patient]

What an impossible choice. After MUCH deliberation I went with Somebody To Shove, but there's at least 10 worthy songs on that list.

[sheryl]

I've never really thought about it before,on any kind of conscious level, but Never Really Been has always been the song I use to point out that Soul Asylum is infinitely more than just Runaway Train. When guitar player friends of mine tease me about the SA thing, I just point them at Never Really Been and then wait. It's pretty gratifying

And now I sit here thinking....on that list were half a dozen songs I absolutely love. I've been known to put Cartoon on repeat and let it play for a six hour car trip. I can play Closer to the Stars all day without getting sick of it, and I actually have a mix cd of all of the different renditions of it I currently own, (about 13) And yet without any real deliberation at all I just went for NRB.

Why I'm talking about it? I dunno.

I spend entirely too much time and attention thinking about music.

[Sometime to Return]

Homesick;

I want to thank you for taking your time to conduct these polls and making this site a fun and entertaining to "communicate" with other Soul Asylum fans.

Songs that are on this poll like All is well, Chain and No where to go wouldn't make my top 25 favorite Soul Asylum songs; while songs not on this poll like Success, String of Pearls, Black Gold and Marionette are some of my favorites. That's what makes the website fun. Maybe Dan or Dave will find some new songs to add to the set list.

I didn't realize unitl recently; say the last 6-8 months, that Sometime to return was released as a single or had a video made (this new invention called the internet is great; check it out sometime. ) Back in 1988; there wasn't a radio station playing Soul Asylum in the Twin Citites you were on your own. I didn't have access to videos or mtv; either.

Anways; 3 poor college kids each chipped in $2.50/ $3.00 to the album Hang Time (yes; that black vinyl thing played by a needle.) We played it over and over and over again in our dorm; probably should have been studying but; hey we had priorities.

In my opinion; Hang Time is one of the 10 greatest cd's ever made; (I wish they would do a "special" Hang time tour to celebrate it's 20th anniversary this year.) and it's best song "Sometime to return" is one of the 3 best songs ever recorded in the history of this thing we call rock and roll.

So; "throw away your calender and saddle up your salamander"....You know the rest; in fact you are singing it right now.

[Homesick]

With so many brilliant songs to choose from, it's incredibly difficult to make a pick, but I cast my vote on Somebody To Shove. It starts GDU off with an adrenaline rush that pulls you into the album, and I believe it showcases every aspect of the musical style that Soul Asylum have developed over the years. If I were to recommend a single song to show somebody what this band is about, there's a very good chance this one would be it.

In response to some of the other voters, I have to say that Never Really Been is not a song I considered voting for in this poll. The lyrics are pretty witty (pirneristic?), but it just doesn't "get me hooked" like many of the other songs on the list. To each their own, of course, and I still appreciate the significance the song has in the eyes of many fans.

Songs that, in my opinion, also should have been on the list: Beggars and Choosers, Blood Into Wine, Whatcha Need, and Standing Water.

I want to thank you for taking your time to conduct these polls and making this site a fun and entertaining to "communicate" with other Soul Asylum fans.

My pleasure. Rest assured that there are still a lot of things that we can conduct polls about, so stay tuned for more!

[Judgmental Patient]

With so many brilliant songs to choose from, it's incredibly difficult to make a pick, but I cast my vote on Somebody To Shove. It starts GDU off with an adrenaline rush that pulls you into the album, and I believe it showcases every aspect of the musical style that Soul Asylum have developed over the years. If I were to recommend a single song to show somebody what this band is about, there's a very good chance this one would be it.

Excellent. I've never heard it put so well.

Songs on the list that wouldn't crack my top 25:
Cradle Chain
Crazy Mixed Up World
Easy Street
Just Like Anyone
Nowhere To Go

And NRB is borderline- I think you had to be there for that one. And I grew up in Maryland in the 90's lol. (don't get me wrong though- love the song).

Songs that should be on the list:
Nice Guys (Don't Get Paid)
Bittersweetheart
Die In Your Arms
Miss This
Ain't That Tough
Miracle Mile