Alright fans- let’s see if I can do this right. Starting off Division G tonight with a killer, killer line-up. As per norm, the GrooveShark playlist can be found here, except for Night Moves. Votes due by Saturday evening.
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) vs. Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen)
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) vs. Up On The Roof (The Drifters)
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) vs. Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.)
New Slang (The Shins) vs. Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin)
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) vs. Night Moves (Bob Seger)
Living the Dream 
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) 6 vs. Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) 5
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) 8 vs. Up On The Roof (The Drifters) 7
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) 7 vs. Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) 5
New Slang (The Shins)5 vs. Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin)6
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) 6 vs. Night Moves (Bob Seger) 6
Poison Ivy (The Coasters): 2
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen): 5
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix): 7
Up On The Roof (The Drifters): 5
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube): 5
Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.): 3
New Slang (The Shins): 6
Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin): 4
Rebellion (Arcade Fire): 7
Night Moves (Bob Seger): 7
Poison Ivy (The Coasters): 5.5
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen): 8
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix): 8.5
Up On The Roof (The Drifters): 3.5
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube): 7
Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.): 6.5
New Slang (The Shins): 5
Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin): 5.5
Rebellion (Arcade Fire): 7.5
Night Moves (Bob Seger): 7.5
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) [6]
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) [10]
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) [9]
Up On The Roof (The Drifters) [7]
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) [4]
Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) [6]
New Slang (The Shins) [6.5]
Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) [6]
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) [7.5]
Night Moves (Bob Seger) [7.5]
No love for Thunder Road? This is one of the greatest songs ever written, breaks from conventional song structure, opens a masterpiece album…but gets lower scores than a schmaltzy Bob Seger tune? I’m baffled.
Poison Ivy [4]
Thunder Road [10]
All Along the Watchtower [9]
Up on the Roof [4]
Today Was a Good Day [5]
Mo Money Mo Problems [4]
New Slang [6]
Dazed and Confused [7]
Rebellion [8]
Night Moves [2]
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) vs. Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) = 5:4 (“You ain’t a beauty, but, hey, you’re alright” is a great line. Doesn’t redeem the song, though.)
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) vs. Up On The Roof (The Drifters) = 8:4
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) vs. Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) = 10:8 (Even my brother likes this song by Cube. Incredible beat and really captures the feeling of a great day. “As the great warrior-poet Ice Cube once said: “If the day did not require an AK, then it was good.”” – Generation Kill, HBO. I’d take BIG over Cube overall, but not on these songs)
New Slang (The Shins) vs. Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) = 3:4
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) vs. Night Moves (Bob Seger) = 6:9
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) vs. Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) 6:5
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) vs. Up On The Roof (The Drifters) 9:6
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) vs. Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) 8:5
New Slang (The Shins) vs. Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) 6:9
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) vs. Night Moves (Bob Seger) 6:9
Poison Ivy (The Coasters): 1.5 [not even good genre/time period pick. Not even a good Drifter’s song. Please explain why this was even on this list. Thx.]
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen): WIN. 8.5. [I’m doing this score as order’s of magnitude better than previous song.] It’s probably even a 9.
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix): 7.5
Up On The Roof (The Drifters): 3.5 (Again, not the best the Drifter’s did.)
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube): 7. Cute.
Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.): Also Cute but more interesting supporting riffs. 7.5.
New Slang (The Shins): 9 (This was exactly right right now.)
Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin): 7
Rebellion (Arcade Fire): 10. I can find no faults with this track. It’s incredibly at simple at heart but unbelievably layered, subtle, and dynamic.
Night Moves (Bob Seger): 7.5 (too bad Bob, but you went against a bullet.)
Poison Ivy 1
Thunder Road 10
All Along the Watchtower 9
Up on the Roof 6
Today Was a Good Day 3
Mo Money Mo Problems 7
New Slang 9
Dazed and Confused 5
Rebellion 2
Night Moves 7
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) 8.5 vs. Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) 10
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) 8 vs. Up On The Roof (The Drifters) 6.5
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) 7 vs. Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) 6
New Slang (The Shins) 5 vs. Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) 9
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) 4 vs. Night Moves (Bob Seger) 6
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) 5.5
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) 8
“You gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion.” Hilarious, but Thunder Road wins based on my affinity for songs about driving west with women.
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) 8
Up On The Roof (The Drifters) 5
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) 9
Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) 7.5
I like the Biggie verse a lot, but the rest of it sounds a little too glitzy. Today Was A Good Day is a classic. Here’s a link to a blog post I wrote comparing the 2008 financial crisis to this song. http://blogs.som.yale.edu/archives/300
New Slang (The Shins) 8.5
Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) 7
I really like this song. it didn’t change my life like Natalie promised it would, but it is very good regardless
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) 8
Night Moves (Bob Seger) 9.5
I mean, it’s Night Moves.
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) vs. Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) = 3 v. 8
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) vs. Up On The Roof (The Drifters) = 9 v. 6
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) vs. Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) = 5.5 v. 6
New Slang (The Shins) vs. Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) = 7.5 v. 7
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) vs. Night Moves (Bob Seger) = 8 v. 6
I am itching to respond to the haters who were out with knives this round, but I’ll restrain myself and just vote.
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) 7
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) 9.5. I can’t believe some of you gave this a “4”.
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) 8.5
Up On The Roof (The Drifters) 9
I know what the better song is usually, but “Up on the Roof” is a superior Saturday morning tune. Also, have to use this opportunity to call out Grant’s bizarre new-found authoritativeness on 50s music, when he couldn’t even tell apart the Drifters or Coasters in one of his comments. Yes, in fact, this is the Drifters best song.
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) 9.5
Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) 8
Ice Cube was WAY funnier than I remember him. Meanwhile, having just earned the first big paycheck of my life, I fundamentally disagree with P.Diddy’s assertion that the more money you make, the more problems you have. I can’t even conceive of how that would be the case.
New Slang (The Shins) 9
Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) 8
I probably would have matched New Slang against Up on the Roof and had Dazed vs. All Along the Watchtower. This was an odd match-up, but New Slang is one of the prettiest songs of the last ten years. Strong closing by Dazed.
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) 9
Night Moves (Bob Seger) 6.5
Guillermo loves this song, so I’m gonna explain my score. The song really loses me for the last 45 seconds-minute before the “fake ending”, and then I don’t love the post script. Really, would have preferred a 3.5 minute version of this song.
Apologize about the typo, but you should know better than to call me out on mainstream 50s music knowledge, like the coasters (you know I played sax and listened to all of that stuff, right?). (Coasters= Yakkity Yak and Love Potion #9, etc). But their best would be Down in Mexico, which, if you recall (or maybe not), was used in Death Proof’s Kurt Russel striptease, just in case you thought I’m pulling obscurities out of a hat.
Example there.
And are you fisting me about the drifters? “Stand By Me”. seriously. [ I just checked wiki and it gives credit to only Ben E. King, the lead singer for that, but same difference since the drifters performed it live.]
It seems there is not as much as of a chasm between us as first glance. Down in Mexico is in the tournament- I love that song.
And, as you note Stand By Me has traditionally been attributed to Ben E. King as a solo artist. Stand By Me is most certainly in the tournament, and I would agree with you that it’s better than Up On the Roof.
Poison Ivy is something of a personal favorite- it won a music tournament in 1994. Hence its inclusion.
Poison Ivy (The Coasters) 7 vs. Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) 5.5
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix) 9 vs. Up On The Roof (The Drifters) 8
Today Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) 6 vs. Mo Money Mo Problems (Notorious B.I.G.) 5.5
New Slang (The Shins) 7 vs. Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) 8
Rebellion (Arcade Fire) 8 vs. Night Moves (Bob Seger) 9
oh, ok that makes sense about the poison ivy inclusion. The thunderroad match-up with it was what gave it such a low score in my book (although I did start it as a 3.5). It would be interesting to know how folks are going about their rankings, like starting at 10 and subtracting or 5 and adding and subtracting as the song plays, or some combo to reach their point spreads?
My theory is 5 is “average song” and 7 is “good song” 9 is “great” and 10 is “epic”. I give the songs numbers then adjust accordingly if I think one is that much better than another. The strange thing about this tournament vs. old ones is that you see each person’s vote as it comes in, as opposed to blind voting until the final tally comes up then going around and showing the static scores. Don’t know if that would make a difference or not, but there just may be some retribution voting going on. It might be interesting to ask for an explanation for any spread over say “3” just for shit’s and giggles. (I mean, spite is part of the game tourney, right?)
Poison Ivy 6
Thunder Road 9
All Along The Watchtower 7
Up On The Roof 5
Today Was A Good Day 8
Mo Money Mo Problems 6
Dazed and Confused 6
New Slang 8
Rebellion 6
Night Moves 10
Janos, you’re ridiculous. Arcade fire, fine. You’re canadian. We get it.
We were just young and restless and board.