Okay,well as most of you now know from reading posts about it not only on my facebook page but also several of your friends pages etc etc that for the past couple of months I have been busy compiling a giant list of "Industrial" Artists and "Industrial" Songs for a huge project that I have undertaken. It all started while reading a Rolling Stones article about the top 500 songs of all time and getting upset at where they placed Wings "Band of the Run" so low on the list (something like number 430 or something). It got me wondering about what people would consider the top 500 "industrial" songs of all time might be and what songs people would think would actually fall under the "industrial umbrella".
Well the list was completed several weeks ago I had sent it out to several people to vote on it including a bunch of Side-line posters. Who did we going to get to vote on this massive project? Well I sent the emails out to about 250 people to vote on it who are long time established djs, musicians, promoters, magazine editors, some of the better known side-line/metro forum people, club owners, some of the better known people who still collect cds and Vinyl etc etc etc We are not shooting for the "average fly by night" fan but actually people who might have an idea of what they are talking about and whose opinions may actually be taken seriously.I have placed under the "Industrial Umbrella" everything from EBM,IDM, Metal, Synthpop, New Wave, No Wave, Gothic, Drum and Bass,Techno, Dubstep, Ambient, neofolk,martial industrial and powernoise. Also because everyone's definition is different the voters will be made up of people between the ages 20-50+ and from all over the world (USA, Canada, Europe etc etc) I need to have all of the votes back by January 29th so we can tally them up and make some type of statistical report out of it. I know that not everyone will agree with the final list but it might have some serious weight behind it to at least stand up to peoples arguements and my hope is that it will spark some interest again in the "industrial" genre and maybe equal some sales for these artists/labels
I haven't laid out any rules or groundwork and people can even write in their favorites if they don't see them on my master list. Much like voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame they can use whatever criteria they like. Is is based on sales or popularity, is their vote based on how influential the song/artist was?, Is their voting based on the number of requests they get for a certain song while dj'ing?, is it just based on their personal preference? Like I said I will leave that up to each individual voter.
I also made the master list out of the "basic" song and not remix, yes I get it that there are 78 remixes of Front 242's "Headhunter" out there and that some are better than others but I simply put down "Headhunter". Also when it comes to cover versions if they believe that Orgy's, Soman's or even Cat Rapes Dog's version of "Blue Monday" is better than New Order's version than so be it. Hell I think the Normal's "Warm Leatherette" (which I have coming in at number 10 on my list) is probably in my master list of songs about 5-7 times because it's covered by that many bands who do a half decent job at it.
If nothing else I hope that this note and the final report will make for some entertaining reading and may even create some new sales for some of these bands as maybe we can get people who aren't really into our beloved "Industrial Music" or those who have no idea where to even start to pick up some of these songs/albums.
Don't let my list make or break your day and don't get your panties in a bunch over it- but just have fun with it and thank you in advance to everyone who will be participating in this project!! In just a few short weeks we may actually have the answer to the question of what are the greatest "Industrial songs of all time!!
If you guys are interested (whom I haven't already tracked down and asked) send me your email info to greatestindustrialsongproject@gmail.com and I'll get the info out to you asap...remember that it's due back by January 29th
Thanks for reading this long ass topic and hope that many of you can find the time to participate
Much Respect to everyone,
David
WTII Records
