one for the well: top 50 xtc songs

Posted on May 24th, 2007 by Scraps.
Categories: Music, Songs, Lists.

Velma told me today that my name had come up at my old online home, The Well, when discussing XTC -- it was opined that Scraps would doubtless have a list of top 50 XTC songs. And so, of course, I do.

Top Fifty XTC songs:

  1. Earn Enough for Us
  2. Great Fire
  3. Making Plans for Nigel
  4. 1000 Umbrellas
  5. The Mayor of Simpleton
  6. Collideascope
  7. The Wheel and the Maypole
  8. Life Begins at the Hop
  9. Pale and Precious
  10. Towers of London
  11. No Thugs in Our House
  12. Generals and Majors
  13. Scarecrow People
  14. That Wave
  15. Respectable Street
  16. Season Cycle
  17. Beating of Hearts
  18. Jason and the Argonauts
  19. The Mole from the Ministry
  20. Love on a Farmboy's Wages
  21. Ten Feet Tall
  22. The Meeting Place
  23. Human Alchemy
  24. All of a Sudden (It's Too Late)
  25. Another Satellite
  26. Pink Thing
  27. Senses Working Overtime
  28. Dear God
  29. The Loving
  30. Day In Day Out
  31. Vanishing Girl
  32. Funk Pop a Roll
  33. The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul
  34. Washaway
  35. Big Day
  36. Then She Appeared
  37. Ball and Chain
  38. Me and the Wind
  39. War Dance
  40. Burning with Optimism's Flames
  41. Deliver Us from the Elements
  42. River of Orchids
  43. Love at First Sight
  44. Dear Madam Barnum
  45. Snowman
  46. Wake Up
  47. Sacrificial Bonfire
  48. Across This Antheap
  49. English Roundabout
  50. This Is Pop

The last few could easily be replaced by any of nine others.

13 comments.

Mim

Comment on May 25th, 2007.

Hi, scraps! Great list, but.... no "Season Cycle" -- my favorite XTC track!? -- Mim

Scraps

Comment on May 25th, 2007.

Hi Mim! The omission of "Season Cycle" is in fact a plain mistake. I'll fix it.

ethan

Comment on May 26th, 2007.

Whoa, I'm gonna have to listen to "Earn Enough for Us" again...that one has never ever stood out to me.

I love single artist lists like this, but don't you find they're kind of heartbreaking to make? (I guess you do, hence the disclaimer at the end.)

Scraps

Comment on May 26th, 2007.

I like every part of the song, but I love the verse part, and the way it flows back into the chorus ("Glad that you want to be my wife, but honest") is magic to me.

Don Keller

Comment on May 27th, 2007.

"Senses Working Overtime" is only #27???

(Especially since "Great Fire," which I tend to confuse with it, ranks so much higher.)

Andrew Hickey

Comment on May 28th, 2007.

I'd question Dear God being anywhere *near* that high, but that list is very close to mine. Glad to see someone else loving Earn Enough For Us as much as I do. My top 5 would be Earn Enough For Us, Pale & Precious, Mayor Of Simpleton, 1000 Umbrellas, Season Cycle.

The amazing thing about that list is I can look through it, love all of them, and still think of others I'd include (Sgt Rock, 25 O'Clock, That's Really Super Supergirl...)

Scraps

Comment on May 28th, 2007.

Actually, Don, I like "Senses Working Overtime" more than I used to. I have an irrational prejudice against counting songs.

Andrew, I'm conflicted about "Dear God". The lyrics are so sophomoric (although since it begins and ends in a child's voice, maybe that's deliberate -- but I doubt it) that sometimes I can't stand to listen to it; but I love the guitar melody, and the bridge, and the strings.

ethan

Comment on May 28th, 2007.

I've put "Earn Enough for Us" on my new mixtape for driving, so we'll see it if sinks in.

ethan

Comment on May 28th, 2007.

Ne'er mind, it's sunk in already. Wow.

Scraps

Comment on May 31st, 2007.

Hurray!

BT

Comment on June 7th, 2007.

For reasons having to do with work and a broken RSS reader, I'm only just getting to this. Excellent, and I'll have to post in kind...

(and hey, my security word is WOMBLE! Cool.)

Sughosh

Comment on June 20th, 2007.

No Greenman?? That's one of MY favourite tracks. For that matter, both the Apple Venus records seem to be severly under-represented

Scraps

Comment on June 20th, 2007.

They are underrepresented. It's weird; I've listened to them more than any other XTC over the last several years -- because I know all the others too well -- and while I like the Apple Venus albums for their consistent goodness, after many many plays very few tracks have ended up feeling like classics to me. Other than "The Wheel and the Maypole", I rarely come back to any of the songs specifically to play them.

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