Tuesday 01/12/2010 by Bizarro_Jerry

Tte Holds Early Lead As Least Favorite

In a recent poll on Phish.net, one of Phish's new 2009 songs, "Time Turns Elastic", held out an early lead that remained remarkably stable at around 34%. The response options for the poll were those named (derisively) at least three times in a months-old forum thread titled "Worst Phish Song". The poll was closed after two weeks and 3,832 unique voters, with this final tally:  Time Turns Elastic 34% (1,315 votes), Jennifer Dances 22% (843 votes), Big Black Furry Creature from Mars 14%  (545 votes), Prince Caspian 7% (273 votes), Windora Bug 7% (272 votes). Dinner and a Movie 6% (238 votes), Sparkle 5% (192 votes), and Foam 4% (154 votes). Threads in the Phish.net forum and in earlier news comments suggest hope that TTE will evolve as a platform for jamming; others, however, note songs that used to be jamming platforms but have subsided - see the new sidebar poll, on those songs.

Comments

, comment by Jackaroe
Jackaroe Everyone does realize that if the boys read this then we are certain to get Time Turns Elastic every other show in the next tour, right? Actually, I'll be the first to predict that this list of songs will make up a set on the next tour and I will laugh through the whole set if I am there.
, comment by EGA3Phorever
EGA3Phorever I agree...if the guys read this, their inner pranksters will guarantee a set made up of "the worst Phish songs." Anyway, I kind of like TTE. It just needs work. And seriously? Foam? What's wrong with it? I love that song!
, comment by EsthersDoll
EsthersDoll I would just like to say that I refuse to even vote in this poll because I like all of the songs listed. So, I would be happy to hear them play this or any other song, even Meatstick, which I changed my mind about after hearing it the other day for the first time in years, it brought back very good memories! Besides I would rather her them play every song on that list, or even one song on that list over and over again than to have to wait another five years to hear them play live again.
, comment by LaffertyDaniel
LaffertyDaniel I'd like to see if TTE is still the least favorite if it has to comepete with Secret Smile, Friday and Anything but Me. I don't understand why Dinner and a Movie and Foam are even on the list - but I think every one of them is a masterpiece compared to Secret Smile.
, comment by MJZ1974
MJZ1974 I just can't understand how FOAM can even be on this list?!? I LOVE FOAM!
, comment by icculus_inconspicuous
icculus_inconspicuous I really can't believe that TTE is even on this list. It's not my favorite song from Joy but is it really the worst Phish song ever? It has elements in common with other good songs. It has a ton of changes, it's an energy-builder, and at anytime you can listen to anyone of the guys and be seriously impressed with what they're playing, it's not an easy song on any instrument. Its like a Guyute with alot of different moods and alot of intricate melodies. Pretty impressive for a worst song.
, comment by majikpresto
majikpresto My least favorite Phish song has always been Golgi Apparatus.
, comment by starphish1313
starphish1313 Come on, everyone knows the worst songs are: Heavy Things, Friday, and Mexican Cousin. Get a grip people.
, comment by dueyv9
dueyv9 It seems like a very reactionary selection of songs from a not so big group. I would only agree with Jennifer Dances on this list, considering the band only played it twice and a LOT of people(I"m guessing including the band) was just bored with it. Why Windora Bug? so random.....was this poll taken in 1999? If you knew the next 2 songs of a set was gonna be Foam and Dinner and a Movie, or any two songs off Undermind, which you would pick? Seriously.
, comment by rlanantelope
rlanantelope ah opinions. there really is a bad phish song...even their California Love is better then Tupac! Ha!
, comment by rlanantelope
rlanantelope opps ment isn't...
, comment by bopapocolypse
bopapocolypse People voted for Foam in this poll?

Seriously, Foam?

, comment by Phfishman
Phfishman TTE KICKS ASS!
, comment by dbphishphan
dbphishphan worst song????? lame........ TTE has great musical structure....... not all songs need to be an epic party...... and im ffffaaaaalllliiiiinnnnngggggggg iiiiiinnnnnttttttoooooo a deep well.........
, comment by Fluffyfluffyhead
Fluffyfluffyhead Yep, Trey might read this and do TTE for a whole set. ugh. And what is wrong with people? Foam? Who doesn't like Foam? and BBFCFM?!!

why do I want to kill you?
, comment by PhilMcKay
PhilMcKay I think TTE is getting a rough rap here. I'd like to know how long the band has been toying with this song and how often they've been able to rehearse it. Eventhough I know Trey started writing this in '06, I find it hard to believe they've really had a chance to get the song where they'd like it to be...I'm going to guess they didn't have much time going from the winter to Hampton to Summer tour, to album, to festival, to Fall tour in a short period of time.

Personally, I like what came out of Trey's TTE album. The orchestra version of the song is fantastic. I can't imagine how much work the band had to put in to get the song to be playable at a show (the NPR interview said it took them 270 takes just to get it on the Joy album).

With that, I think the jury needs to stay out for a while and give TTE a chance. Some friends and I saw them perform TTE in Cincinnati and I thought they did a good job with it. I certainly think TTE has some potential.

Other than that...I'm with several other people on this board...Foam? I'm even surprised to see Sparkle. I think Sparkle is a fun tune.
, comment by Thunder
Thunder I think the problem with TTE is that's it's hard to critique because of it being like an opus, so people just planketly say "it sucks". Let me try to illustrate this ... take Mike's Groove for an example only... Mikes > H20 > Weekapaug. There are 3 distinct parts to it, names and everything. If we didn't like Mike's or Hydrogen, but we loved Weekapaug, it would be easy to say, "I hate Mike's and H20, but I love Weekapaug". Get me? (Just an example, I love Mike's, h20 and paug, just to show you what I mean.)

That's how I see Time Turns Elastic. It has 'parts/interludes' that I love and parts that I can't stand. But unless it can be cut down or reworked, I'd prefer to see it come out of the Phish rotation. (I agree with others, it probably is better suited for Trey's side projects.)

What I really liked about TTE when I first heard it was the effort it took to write and pull off such a multi-dimensional piece. I applaud them for that.
, comment by windoranug
windoranug Once again, TTE Reprise needs to make an appearance. Solves everything for me. Love the last 10 minutes of TTE, but the beginning leads me to getting a beer.

Agreed on Mexican Cousin, that song is pretty rough (unless you're a frat boy or something). They encored with it in Denver one time and I almost killed myself.
, comment by Hood369
Hood369 This list is retarded for reasons already listed. Let's start a vote instead of best phish jams ever! Quite a daunting task indeed but one with much more to gain. Heres a start but this is a rough draft because I'm coming up with this off the top of my head. Hmmmm... acdc bag from virginia beach 98, boogieonreagaewoman from chula vista 99? or how bout ghost from IT!?! oh, and the twist from saratoga 04, 2nd night. 2001 from memphis 99. There's that's mine. Anyone else know some epic ones?
, comment by troyott
troyott This pole is negative. The songs do not deserve to be treated like this.
, comment by majikpresto
majikpresto Just listened to the Cincy TTE again. It does take a while to get to the good part, but the ending is really good. I know my boys (fans) in Cincy were all on a roll so they probably didn't notice the long-winded build up. Those who I talked to who were there really enjoyed that show including the TTE.
, comment by AugustWest2001
AugustWest2001 Wow. I feel jackaroe whole-heartedly. They are gonna play what they want regardless of these polls. And really, I feel detached from the majority of fans who voted. And I will get a huge kick out of the boys if they just lay into these hated tunes. How can you hate foam? Mexican cousin.....it's short and sweet! And bangin! I understand tte but don't agree with the masses, I quite like it. To each his own, though.
, comment by troutins1
troutins1 i personally like every song that phish does, i just dont want them to play energy drainers, mood killers, show stoppers, ect... the one song that killed me the most all 2009 was LET ME LIE... worst live song ever
, comment by ObviousFool
ObviousFool This list SHOULD have read:
Let Me Lie
Jennifer Dances
Spread it Round
BBFCFM
Esther (I know I'll catch some heat here, it has it's moments but its so abrasive)
Heavy Things

There, that's what my poll would've been.

That being said, I would LOVE to see the boys bust out a set of "worst Phish songs", it truly would send that "we're gonna play what we wanna play" message.
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